Rebirth From Ordinary Person To The Strongest

Both Shirayuki-sensei and I stood in stunned silence, staring at the sprawling suburban landscape in front of us. This definitely wasn't what I expected.

I had assumed we would be transported to some countryside setting again.

Moreover, there was nothing familiar about the surrounding buildings. It was unsettling—dark houses lined up, not a single streetlight on, and not even a flicker of light coming from the windows. For a nighttime suburban neighborhood, the lack of illumination made it unnervingly eerie.

It was, of course, a mental world, where anything could happen. But still, could it not have been just a little brighter?

As I mulled over this, I noticed a faint thread extending from my chest. Without exchanging words, Shirayuki-sensei and I both moved in unison, following the thread to its source.

Our pace quickened, soon turning into a sprint as we dashed across a crosswalk devoid of any traffic lights or life.

"Itsuki-kun, stop!"

At that moment, Shirayuki-sensei's voice rang out, and suddenly, two monsters appeared, drifting around the corner at the intersection right in front of us.

"Left lane's too scary, so we'll use the passing lane!"

"Trudging along... I'll kill you..."

The "drifting" was literal. The monsters were riding in what looked like old-fashioned horse-drawn carriages, grinding against the asphalt, sending sparks flying as the wheels skidded.

But instead of horses, pulling the carriages were massive, grotesque figures—human heads over two meters tall, with limbs sprouting out at odd angles. It was as if a child had drawn a nightmarish sketch and brought it to life.

Driving the carriages with whips in hand were human skeletons. Yes, skeletal figures holding the reins.

"I-I'm sorry if my words cut to the bone!"

"Shut your trap, or I'll kill you..."

The monstrous carriages roared toward us at what had to be 80 kilometers per hour, heading straight for us on the sidewalk.

"...!"

Instinctively, I grabbed Shirayuki-sensei and shot Silveit toward a nearby building. As soon as the thread lodged into the concrete wall, I activated Body Strengthening and pulled us up with all my might.

With a lurch, our bodies were yanked into the air.

The spot we had been standing on was immediately plowed through by the two rampaging carriages.

A loud crash resounded through the air as they slammed into a convenience store at the base of a nearby apartment building, smashing through the guardrails.

Still holding Silveit, I gently lowered both of us back to the ground.

"Thank you, Itsuki-kun," Shirayuki-sensei said, her voice shaking slightly.

"Don't mention it," I replied, not taking my eyes off the situation. I quickly wove Silveit into a defensive net.

"It's just a misunderstanding! I accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brakes... So sorry..." Enjoy exclusive adventures from m-v l'e|m,p-y r

Emerging from the wreckage of the convenience store was one of the skeletons—or so I thought. But now, it looked more human, almost identical to the heads that had been pulling the carriages earlier.

Though, thankfully, this one's head was of a reasonable size.

But that didn't matter.

"Homurabachi!"

My magic spear pierced the monster at supersonic speed.

The carriage driver, if I could call him that, dissolved into a black mist after being impaled, leaving only one more monster to deal with.

I kept my Silveit in a ready stance, eyeing the convenience store. Suddenly, a shelf full of products was hurled through the flames straight at us.

"Whoa!"

I quickly expanded Silveit into a web-like structure, catching the shelf just in time. But at that moment, another monster descended from above.

"Quit dragging your feet!"

It moved with a speed that could've been mistaken for teleportation—but it wasn't. I had caught a glimpse of it jumping while I dealt with the shelf. It was a diversion—throwing the shelf to distract me while it closed the distance.

But I wasn't fooled. I didn't even need to look at it.

The moment I sensed the monster getting caught in the web of Silveit I had laid out in mid-air, I severed its head.

And just like that, it, too, dissipated into a cloud of black mist.

Making sure the second one was fully gone, I turned back to Shirayuki-sensei.

"Sensei, we need to find Aya-chan," I said.

"...Y-Yes," she replied, though she seemed like she wanted to say something else. She swallowed her words and nodded.

Just as we were about to move on, a foul, sludge-like stench assaulted my nose.

I looked in the direction of the smell, and there it was—a creature beyond description.

It had four legs, so at a glance, it might have resembled a dog.

But it wasn't a dog.

The legs—all of them—were human arms. And where its head should've been was just another large, grotesque hand. It looked like a shadow puppet dog made of nothing but limbs.

And then, it spoke, staring at us with that hand-shaped head.

"I'm looking for someone."

"...What?"

"I'm looking for someone."

Its speech was surprisingly clear. This grotesque creature continued talking.

"I'm looking for a person. Age: 8. Clothes: ordinary. Have you seen them?"

I didn't know how to respond—whether I should respond at all. As I hesitated, the creature continued.

"It's a girl. Likes dogs. Doesn't have a head. Do you know where she is?"

"...No, I don't," Shirayuki-sensei answered before I could.

As soon as she spoke, the hands forming the creature's head opened wide.

"She probably had a face like this," it said, revealing Shirayuki-sensei's own face within the opened hands.

"...Hii!"

As Shirayuki-sensei let out a small scream, I decided this thing had to be exorcised.

My Silveit shot out, wrapping around the monster's hand-head and forcing it shut.

I then quickly bound the rest of its body, tying it up tight. The creature struggled violently, flailing its arm-like legs.

"I'm looking for someone. I'm looking for someone."

"...You're not really looking, are you?"

"I just like saying it."

I couldn't help but feel a wave of exasperation. With a sigh, I sliced the monster's head apart. I watched it disintegrate into black mist, fading into the night.

Once the monster was gone, I turned back to Shirayuki-sensei.

"Why are there so many monsters here...?" I asked.

"...I don't know," she replied, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"It's possible that resentment or envy towards people has manifested into 'monsters' within this mental world... but with this many, it seems more likely that something is creating them..."

"And what of you, exorcists? Still you persist?"

A new voice suddenly cut in, interrupting Shirayuki-sensei. We both spun toward the source of the voice.

There, standing on top of a traffic signal, was a girl—a pure white figure.

She had white hair and blue eyes, her appearance distinctly foreign. She was wearing a white kimono, and her figure seemed delicate, as though she could disappear with the slightest touch of sunlight.

But it wasn't just her looks that stood out.

Around her, snow fell—just around her, as if the world surrounding her belonged to another realm entirely.

"How brazen of you to intrude upon a maiden's heart, prying and stomping around without even a hint of remorse, flaunting your arrogance!"

The temperature around us plummeted.

The gentle snowflakes turned into a raging blizzard, and the world around us was swallowed by white.

"Be gone, exorcists! You dare trespass in my presence? Know your place!"

With a thunderous stomp, the girl shattered the traffic signal beneath her feet and roared,

"I stand before you—one of the Sixth Hierarchy, the Ice Princess!"