By Zephyria 
The situation didn’t allow me to observe closely, but the size and shape of the wings were clearly different from before.
They were still black membrane wings, but… were they always this big? Something hard, like a horn, was protruding from the tip of the wing bone. The color had also deepened.
Each time he flapped his large wings as if to land, a gust of wind blew, raising thick clouds of dust from the ground. It was so hard to see that even Aska’s figure was obscured.
I pressed my face against the transparent barrier, not taking my eyes off the direction where Aska landed.
What kind of expression did he have? I couldn’t quite remember, so I frowned and didn’t even blink. Through the hazy dust, something black, like a whip, moved swiftly.
What is that?
I was glad he was back, but the situation was definitely strange. Even after I told him so clearly, he left, and now he’s back this quickly? What did he even go for?
The time Aska was gone was probably less than five minutes. Did he resolve everything in that short moment?
“Aska?”
I quietly called his name in the strange silence. Then, a whirlwind blew, scattering the thick dust, and finally, Aska’s figure came into view.
I wasn’t mistaken. The size of his wings was much larger than before. The color at the tips of his wings had also turned dark red, and most of all, a slender, long black tail was swaying behind him like a snake.
“……”
A tail? A tail on top of wings?
I was so surprised that I was momentarily speechless, but I couldn’t afford to be stunned any longer. Aska’s eyes, which were getting closer, were too strange.
The places where there should have been white were all black. His vivid red eyes and the long, narrow pupils were no different from usual, but there was an indescribably eerie feeling.
Is it because he has no expression that I feel that way even more? Aska stared at me as if observing me, with an expressionless face that made it impossible to know what he was thinking. Then, he tilted his head to the side and then tilted it to the other side again.
It was truly the gaze of someone looking at something unknown for the first time in his life.
“Aska.”
I called his name, but there was no response. Just in case, I took a step to the side. Aska’s gaze followed me. I moved further to the side and back, but it was the same.
Could he be out of his mind?
Then, Aska, who had barely moved, raised his hand. Then, he placed his hand in the same spot where I had my palm.
“……”
Our hands were in the same place, but they couldn’t touch each other because of the thin barrier. Aska, who was carefully examining that part, lightly tapped the barrier.
Tap.
“……”
Tap, tap… Tap tap.
“……”
The movements, which were cautious at first, gradually became rougher. Even his tail was twitching nervously. Then, the moment the tip of his tail touched the stone floor, it shattered with a loud crash, and fragments scattered.
The loud noise and vibration were conveyed directly, and I couldn’t help but be startled. I unconsciously took a step back, and Aska’s gaze, which had been examining the barrier, landed on me.
I definitely knew it was Aska, but it felt like I was looking at a different being that only resembled him on the outside. It was similar to the feeling of wandering through the jungle in a vulnerable state and encountering a carnivore.
I constantly felt goosebumps, and my fine hairs stood on end, giving me goosebumps all over my skin. I instinctively wanted to run away from the danger signal flowing down my spine like an electric shock, but I couldn’t.
Then, Aska’s fingernails became sharp.
Screech.
He placed his elongated fingernails on the barrier and slowly moved his hand as if looking for an entrance. Every time his slender fingernails touched the barrier and slipped, a nasty noise like metal scraping against metal echoed.
Aska, who had fixed his gaze on me, moved his legs and circled around me once. Still unable to find a suitable gap, he scratched the barrier strongly.
I couldn’t help but cover my ears with both hands at the sound that felt like it would tear my eardrums. It was a noise so intense that my head throbbed. When I opened my closed eyes, Aska was hitting the barrier as if to break it.
Bang, crash! Crash!
The earth vibrated, and the stone floor shattered and scattered in all directions. It was a force that seemed like it would burst my body and crush my bones just by touching it. Even though he was only attacking the barrier and not hitting me directly, the impact was so severe that my head was ringing.
Eventually, I couldn’t stand any longer and collapsed on the spot. I covered my face with my arms and couldn’t even open my eyes, but finally, the roar stopped.
“Kyle.”
My ears were so muffled that I thought I was hearing things at first.
“Kyle.”
Of course, it’s Aska, so he can call my name. But why am I so nervous? Is it because Aska’s condition is strange? Whatever the case, it’s a relief that he’s at least in a state where we can communicate. No, I guess I’ll have to wait and see if it’s a relief or not.
I slowly lowered my arms and looked ahead. Aska was sitting right in front of the barrier, matching my eye level. Then, he tapped the barrier as if knocking.
“This is weak to impacts from the inside, you know?”
“……”
“You can break it more easily from the inside than by hitting it from the outside.”
“……”
“You can break it just by swinging your sword.”
“……”
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Can’t you hear my voice?”
The long pupils in his eyes narrowed. I could feel the air touching my skin becoming sharp. I swallowed once and opened my mouth.
“I can hear you.”
“It’ll break quickly if you attack from the inside.”
“……”
“Try it.”
His voice, whispering softly as if tempting me, tickled my eardrums. His overly unnatural appearance suddenly made me doubt if that was really Aska.
When I think about it, there were also flying earthworms here. Couldn’t there be monsters that mimic the appearance of humans?
Moreover, his hair was incredibly long. It was originally long, reaching his waist, but now it was almost down to his ankles.
Since he was sitting, his white hair covered the broken floor like a blanket. The wounds on his shoulders and arms had also disappeared without a trace.
“I said try it.”
Aska said, urging me when there was no movement. I could see strength entering the hand holding the barrier.
Then, something small and pointed, the size of a millet grain, emerged from the smooth skin near his left forehead. It was very small, but it looked like a horn.
The tension reached its peak, and cold sweat flowed down my back. I moved a little closer to Aska.
“Are you really Aska?”
At my question, Aska smiled brightly with his eyes.
“Does it not seem like it? Why? Because I’m disgusting? Because I don’t look like a person?”
“……”
“It’s Aska. The Aska you love. The Aska you love the most in the world. Your only seal, Aska.”
“……”
Everything was true, but the biggest problem was that he was saying those words himself. There was no way Aska, who was usually shy, would say such things so casually.
“Let’s get rid of this first and then talk. We have to look at each other’s faces when we talk.”
He was hugging his knees and swaying his body from side to side as if he was having so much fun. The tail behind him was also raised high and swaying gently as if in a breeze.
It would have been a cute sight under normal circumstances, but I kept getting goosebumps.
“I can see your face even now…”
“I can’t touch you!”
Crash!
Before I could finish my sentence, Aska shouted like a thunderbolt and slammed the barrier down hard. It was such a loud noise that it was a miracle my eardrums didn’t burst.
My head throbbed from the vibration, so I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side. I was frowning while waiting for the aftershocks to subside when I heard a soft voice in my ear again.
“I’m not angry. It’s just that you keep acting like you’re scared of me, so I don’t know what to do.”
I opened my eyes and looked at Aska. His pleading, pitiful face looked like he was about to cry at any moment. The corners of his eyes were also drooping.
“Am I scary?”
He was whimpering softly, but the veins on the back of his hand holding the barrier were gradually bulging. I couldn’t take my eyes off his trembling hand, as if he couldn’t control his anger.