“Toc, toc.”

  “?Ya terminaste?”

  “Ya te dije que te avisaré cuando salga, tío.”

  Respondí la pregunta de mi querido tío en piloto automático. Sé que me quiere mucho, pero a veces se vuelve un poco dependiente. ?Acaso una chica no puede ser bonita en paz hoy en día?

  Me encontraba dándole los toques finales a mi atuendo; ese no era el momento para que mi desalmado tío interrumpiera el extremadamente importante deber de una dama de verse linda.

  —Eso dijiste las tres últimas veces... Date prisa, el desayuno está listo.

  —?Bien, tío! Ya casi termino.

  Con energías renovadas, despedí alegremente a mi querido tío para poder volver a la parte más importante: perfeccionar mi look.

  ?Posando frente al espejo!

  Pero tendría que darme más prisa de la que quisiera... Hoy Rob había hecho panqueques azules ba?ados en miel. Mis favoritos.

  Saltando entre poses, me aseguré de revisar cada detalle para no perderme nada. Solo había una manera de describir mi apariencia:

  "?Uf, qué desastre de pelo tan despeinado!", me dije, haciendo una mueca al acercarme al espejo. "Está por todas partes, como si tuviera vida propia. Blanco, blanco, blanco... ?parece que me he caído en un cubo de nieve! Pero bueno... me gusta. Es largo, suave y me abraza la cara con delicadeza. ?Eso es un punto a favor!"

  Y ni me hables de ese flequillo rebelde… Siempre molesta, pero no lo corto porque queda bonito ahí, siendo molesto.

  Aunque, sinceramente, me vería mucho mejor sin esas desagradables mechas rosadas.

  Miro mi cara.

  “Hmm… ?hola, yo!” Me sonrío.

  Tengo las mejillas un poco sonrojadas, y ni siquiera los polvos faciales pueden atenuarlo. Uf... y mis ojos rosados. Odio ese color.

  Mis orejas de gato cayeron un poco, como si también estuvieran aburridas de mirarme.

  "Ojalá hubiera nacido con los ojos de mamá...", susurré. Tenía unos hermosos ojos verde primavera. Como un bosque en su época más vibrante.

  Suspiro.

  —?No, papá! No te desanimes —me digo, recuperándome con una sonrisa exagerada—. ?Eres guapa! Y ningún color puede cambiar eso.

  Me di unas palmaditas en las mejillas para ahuyentar esos pensamientos sombríos. Era demasiado temprano para estar de mal humor. Además... ?Todavía tenía que revisar el look de hoy!

  Levanté la mano y admiré mis u?as recién pintadas. Eran color perla. El blanco siempre ha sido mi color favorito, aunque la gente solía decir que era aburrido.

  Se veían limpios y elegantes, sin llamar demasiado la atención. Los giré ligeramente para comprobar si tenían alguna imperfección o defecto.

  De las u?as pasé a las joyas. Tenía varias pulseras: algunas de metal, otras con dijes colgantes que tintineaban al moverlas. No las había elegido por ningún significado especial; simplemente me gustaba el sonido que hacían.

  Me acerqué al espejo y parpadeé un par de veces. Mis pesta?as seguían bien rizadas, justo como me gustaban. No necesitaban más rímel; ya tenían el volumen perfecto.

  Abrí el cajón y saqué mi perfume favorito. Me rocié un poco en el cuello y las mu?ecas. Era floral con un toque dulce, algo que dejaba una estela sin ser demasiado pesado. No solo olía delicioso, sino que también me recordaba a mamá.

  Perfecto. Todo es perfecto.

  Estaba tan orgullosa de cómo me veía hoy. Estaba divina.

  Ahora…para terminar.

  Todavía tenía que revisar la última parte de mi look, y fue la parte más difícil para mí.

  Llevaba una sudadera negra extragrande con capucha. Las mangas eran sueltas y en la parte delantera tenía la cara de un gatito blanco.

  Llegaba hasta mis rodillas, ocultando toda mi figura, y sobre todo, lo que más me preocupaba: las vendas que envolvían mi cuerpo desde el cuello hasta los talones, terminando justo encima de mis zapatillas.

  Una fuerte oleada de depresión me atravesó por un instante, pero la detuve antes de que me arruinara el día. Otra vez.

  No, Pap! Don’t let it get to you. You’re the best!

  I shook my head hard and patted my cheeks again.

  Remember, Pap: keep going. Don’t think about the past.

  With renewed vigor, I decided I’d been in the bathroom long enough and had to get out. Besides, I didn’t want to miss breakfast.

  I put on a black knit cap with holes for my little ears to complete the look. I gave myself a bright smile in the mirror.

  I did a little hop and stuck out my tongue.

  Yep. I’m ready to cause adorable chaos today.

  With one last smile, I left the bathroom ready to eat the world… and, well, breakfast too.

  I walked down the hallway of the Gersteyl Centurión Grade 5 Pro dimensional tent… Yes, it’s an unnecessarily long name.

  I headed toward the kitchen with bouncy steps. I could already smell the delicious aroma of freshly made pancakes.

  When I stepped in, I saw my boring, terrifying, and affectionate uncle finishing up cleaning the counter. He loved order and cleanliness.

  “I see the little princess finally honors me with her presence,” he said as he turned around, drying his hands with a dish towel.

  “Hehe, sorry, Uncle. You should know by now that a lady’s bathroom time is sacred.”

  With an exaggerated sigh, Rob shook his head dramatically.

  “Oh, what am I going to do with you? Now, why don’t we sit down? Or do you want to eat cold pancakes?”

  Shaking my head energetically, I sat down quickly. I was dying to enjoy those treasures.

  Smiling, Rob took a prepared plate of pancakes and placed it in front of me. That was when I started studying his outfit.

  My Uncle Rob is… well, imagine a muscular wardrobe with the attitude of a strict nanny and the look of a video game villain in glam rock mode. He’s over two meters twenty tall (yes, we measured once, and yes, I was the one who wrote the results on a napkin), bald as a freshly polished lightbulb, and he shines almost as much as his clothes. Literally. Because of course, instead of dressing like a normal person, he prefers a metallic green leather set that screams LOOK AT ME from the other side of the world.

  Oh, and the leather thing is not a joke: long jacket with silver buttons, a dark fur-lined interior, and a neckline that basically says I have abs and I know it. Underneath, his torso is an ode to the intergalactic gym—pure muscle and tension, like he fought dragons just to warm up.

  And what does he do with all that presence? Be a bodyguard? Smash doors with his forehead? No. He puts on a white apron that says “Best Uncle in the World”—which we gave him, by the way—and makes bear-shaped pancakes. Because that’s who he is: a mix between a living nightmare and a mutant cuddly teddy bear. Though if you get too close, you might see some critter peeking out of one of those weird holes in his greenish skin. But relax, they don’t bite… much.

  “So you made them bear-shaped today, huh?”

  I said it with a face halfway between a pout and a smile. The amused snort he dared to throw back at me only made me more annoyed.

  “I already told you that I—am—not—a—kid!”

  I made sure to stress every word so it would sink into that bald head, but the disrespectful man kept that teasing smile as he sat down.

  “And I told you that as long as I’m breathing, you’ll be a kid in my eyes.”

  “Uncleee! I’m an adult now and you have to treat me like one.”

  “Why don’t you eat your pancakes? They’re your favorites. I also added red mushrooms.”

  Looking away from that affectionate, smug smile, I stared at the cute little bears on my plate. And yep, there they were: those adorable red mushrooms on blue bear-shaped pancakes, drenched in honey and cream.

  With a sparkle in my eyes, I began eating my long-awaited reward.

  This time I’ll forgive you, Uncle.

  This time I’d be merciful with my helpful uncle and forgive his irreverence.

  His smile seemed to widen, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking, sitting with his own plate.

  Breakfast passed in silence. I didn’t have much to say while I devoured plate after plate of those adorable bears.

  As for Rob, he was content with simply eating in silence while watching me with that fond smile he always had for us.

  “Aaah, stop that! You’re embarrassing me!”

  Halfway through my fifth bear genocide, I couldn’t take it anymore. The embarrassment exploded for good reason.

  “Kid, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “You know perfectly well what I’m talking about… Stop smiling! I don’t like it!”

  Hahaha.

  Like a dam breaking, a booming laugh burst out of my uncle. To my annoyance, I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as I blushed.

  “I’m not a kid!”

  I yelled indignantly, throwing a paper ball at him, which only made his laughter stronger.

  Pouting in my seat, I blew a couple of strands out of my eyes, which only added to how annoyed I felt.

  “Alright, alright, I’m sorry, Paper. I was just messing with you. Don’t get mad.”

  Mmm.

  All he deserved was my silence.

  “Come on, Pap. How about you forgive me and the four of us go to that new park you and María mentioned for your birthday?”

  Mmm.

  “I’ll also buy all three of you whatever you want.”

  Mmm, mmm.

  “And we can watch whatever movie you like on the way back. What do you say? Do you forgive me?”

  He really looked sorry this time. He was doing that silly attempt at sad eyes.

  “Fine… but only if you sing that song Lucía keeps asking you for.”

  “Deal,” he said in a bitter voice, knowing that to earn my forgiveness he’d have to suffer for it. Muahaha.

  With renewed energy, I continued the bear massacre. I’m the best.

  When breakfast was over, Rob decided to use his disgusting but efficient cleaning method to wash the dishes.

  A tangle of insects burst extravagantly from every part of his exposed skin—not just the holes—and feasted on the leftovers, leaving the plates spotless.

  “I’ll never get used to that sight. I don’t know how Mom finds it adorable.”

  Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t disgusted by the critters my uncle controlled. It was more like… uncertainty, maybe? I couldn’t define it, but they made me a little uncomfortable.

  “Eh, you’ll get over it one day.”

  As always, Rob brushed off how weird his cleaning method was.

  When the critters returned to his body after finishing their job, all the happiness on his face died. Looks like the mission had begun.

  Ah, and I wanted to rest a few more minutes…

  “It’s time, Paper. Are you done with your preparations?”

  “Yes, I finished last night. Don’t worry.”

  “Good. If everything is ready, we’ll proceed as follows: you handle the subordinates while I finish off the boss.”

  It was a simple plan, one we’d done many times before, but I didn’t like it.

  “That’s not fair! You always take the leader. Won’t you let me have him this time? I promise I’ll behave. Come on, let me have him, okay?”

  Rob shook his head, sighing with a merciless expression.

  “Sorry, kid, but you know why you can’t face this one. I promise the next one will be yours.”

  “Oh, come on! You always say that and you never let me kill the ‘big fish.’”

  “Next time. I promise.”

  His tone was inflexible. Clearly, he wasn’t going to let me get my way.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Puffing out my cheeks, I nodded and turned around; as punishment, I wouldn’t talk to him for the rest of the walk.

  “Uugghh, fine, let’s go.”

  With nothing else to do, we headed to the entrance of the dimensional tent. Placing his hand on the door, Rob was instantly teleported outside. Following his example, I stepped out too.

  Outside was… well, how do I explain it? It was simply one of the many forests you could find in the Messias Empire: a gigantic forest of blue mushrooms.

  There were blue mushrooms as far as the eye could see.

  What were blue mushrooms, you might ask.

  The short answer was that they were everything. By everything I mean that every product, from food to the making of electrical devices, used blue mushrooms. These mushrooms—

  They are EVERYTHING for modern civilization.

  The long answer… I have no idea.

  I was humming as I walked through that endless forest of mushrooms. Uncle Rob, at my side, didn’t look too happy with my carefree attitude, but why should I care?

  Smiling to myself, I turned my humming up a notch just to annoy him more.

  This is what you get for trying to act all serious and cold.

  “Paper, the enemy camp is three kilometers ahead. You know what to do. I’ll sneak in and finish the leader.”

  After giving that simple instruction, Rob was wrapped in a swarm of insects and vanished.

  Hmph, coward.

  How dare he leave his defenseless niece at the mercy of dangerous criminals?

  Didn’t he care what might happen to me?

  With those random thoughts, it didn’t take long before I reached my destination. A few hundred meters away, I could see the “lair” of those villains.

  It was a small settlement: a bunch of simple wooden-and-thatch huts, with a bigger, more elaborate one in the middle. The whole place was “protected” by a flimsy wall of stakes. Surrounded by mushrooms used as cover.

  It had a single entrance “guarded” by two drunk sentries. I even saw one of them swaying on the edge of sleep.

  How many were there this time?

  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember how many weaklings I was supposed to deal with today.

  Maybe I shouldn’t have fallen asleep while Rob was talking.

  But he gets so boring when he gives those long briefings about the mission, what we might expect and blah, blah, blah…

  Isn’t it easier to just go and do the mission?

  “Yep, that’s it. I just have to ‘say hello.’”

  With that brilliant idea, I sped up my little hops toward the guards.

  They didn’t take long to notice me. Even if they were two drunk Rank 4s, they were still guards, I guess.

  “Hi! How are you? Do you want to be my friends?”

  “Blah, blah, blah.”

  “Blah, blah, blah.”

  Apparently they spoke a different language than I did. Or they were mocking me.

  That was a problem.

  What’s fun about a mission if your enemies can’t understand you, and vice versa?

  “Blah, blah.”

  While I was distracted, it seemed the two Rank 4s walked up to me. So… they did want to be my friends?

  “Oh, I’m so glad you came closer. That makes it easier.”

  Right in front of me, the closest one stretched out his arm to grab me. They both had smiles that, for some reason, I found disgusting.

  “Then let me introduce myself: I’m Paper. Nice to meet you!”

  And then the heads of those trash bags hit the ground.

  Not a drop of blood reached me as I kept walking to finish the mission quickly.

  Their corpses took a few seconds to fall.

  Entering through the rough entrance of the settlement, I was assaulted by a combination of extremely unpleasant smells and noises.

  Looks like they’ve got some kind of isolation field… and what a filthy place.

  It wasn’t the first time I’d run into a criminal group using isolation to hide their vile acts. But this place… this one easily made my top three grossest missions.

  Walking between huts, grime, substances I preferred not to identify, and drunks, I headed toward the noisiest area.

  I could probably start there.

  I could feel the presence of several Rank 6s, dozens of Rank 5s, and hundreds of Rank 4s. There were lower ranks too, but I knew those weren’t enemies. Even if I hadn’t paid much attention to Rob’s explanations, I had a good idea of the kind of criminals I was facing.

  One of the drunks tried to touch me as I passed, so I turned him into shredded meat without breaking pace.

  Strolling through the place, I reached my destination quickly. The noise had dropped a lot. The poor slaves I passed looked at me with fear and… hope?

  Along the way, more drunken idiots tried to touch me. They only achieved one thing: joining their “friend.” After a few of those, they stopped trying.

  “How weird… where is everyone?”

  My tone was teasing as I stepped into what looked like a tiny plaza, packed with all my targets.

  “Heh, so you waited for me, guys. How considerate.”

  No one seemed to get the joke. They just stared at me with baffled expressions.

  “How boring… what did I do to deserve this?”

  Like I said: there’s nothing fun about playing with trash that can’t understand you.

  Maybe I should wipe them all out with one attack?

  As I thought that, insects started pouring out from every corner of the settlement. Some kind of ants. They formed a ring around the mini-plaza.

  But Uncle… didn’t you say the trash was mine? Are you trying to keep them too?

  I was outraged. Not only had he taken the leader from me—now he wanted to steal my prey too!

  When I see you I’m going to—

  Before my internal tantrum could fully explode, a handful of flies approached carrying what looked like a note. They dropped it into my hands, did a few cheerful loops, and flew off.

  The note had just one sentence: There are no more hostages.

  You didn’t have to be a genius to get what that meant. Go wild, there’s nothing to worry about.

  My smile came back twice as strong. Rob’s attempt to steal my prey—forgotten… for now.

  “Insects…? Paper…? By chance… you be Paper?”

  In broken speech and horrible Spanish, one of the Rank 6 criminals asked me, visibly terrified.

  “Oh, this is perfect! You speak Spanish. I’ll save you for last.”

  How nice that someone spoke my language. I pointed at him to remember his face and tagged him with red paper.

  You’re probably wondering: what’s up with the paper?

  Well, the answer is simple. Just like Uncle Rob can control all kinds of critters, I also have a super special ability. I can control PAPER!

  Yeah, I know it sounds useless. You should tell that to the pile of corpses this “useless” ability has left behind.

  Now… how should I have fun with them?

  With a finger on my chin, I wondered how to continue. Taking it as a moment of distraction—or thinking he had a chance—a Rank 5 launched himself at hypersonic speed, intending to kill me.

  He was sliced into millions of pieces by paper, then swept around me by sheets of the same material. Not a single drop touched me.

  The buildings behind me took the worst of it, reduced to rubble by the shockwave. A bunch of the poor little ants got blasted away too.

  “Hey! I’m thinking about how to kill you. Could you stay still for a moment?”

  “BLAH!”

  With a deafening shout, one of the Rank 6s apparently ordered everyone to charge me while he stayed in the rear.

  Around fifty Rank 4s and 5s rushed at me. The Rank 6 must have had some kind of buffing ability, because I could feel his energy draining as he empowered the ones attacking me.

  Without wiping my smile away, I yelled my super-duper special attack:

  “Stellar Confetti!”

  Almost fifty enemies were erased from existence—along with all matter for kilometers in front of me. Oh, and the ants got caught in it again.

  Since this was a linear paper attack moving at over thirty thousand kilometers per second, I had no way to control it. So I didn’t just kill the ones charging me—I also took out the poor bastards behind them. And the ants… does anyone ever think about them? The poor little workers. What an industrial tragedy.

  The Rank 6, apparently, was fast enough to escape the blast radius before getting vaporized like his buddies.

  Though he lost a leg.

  “Um… good thing Uncle wasn’t in that direction. He would’ve hit me with one of his legendary scoldings.”

  Though I wonder how he’s doing.

  I looked toward the leader’s building. It was surrounded by what looked like liquid silver.

  I hope you’re okay.

  A bit of worry slipped in—but I crushed it immediately.

  Don’t be silly, Pap. He’ll win easily. You just have to focus on having fun.

  Recomposing myself, I refocused on the terrified criminals in front of me.

  “Let the party begin!”

  NARRATOR: ROB

  “Silver Ant Cataglyphis.”

  With those words, I activated the maximum capacity of my silver ants, completely wrapping the house of the gang leader: The Bandits of the Burning Arm.

  What a stupid name…

  I had already evacuated all the slaves before sealing it. Good thing too, because the criminal leader’s first reaction was to release his power and reduce everything to ashes.

  And by ashes, I mean molten lava.

  Surrounded by a one-centimeter-thick layer of my silver ants, I stood on a pool of what had once been a wooden hut. In front of me stood the supposedly imposing leader of the gang.

  The man was also standing on the burning pool. He fired useless fireballs at the ant walls.

  He matched the mission report perfectly:

  Black hair with scattered blond feathers, 1.85 meters tall, athletic build, an attractive face by general standards, a few piercings, orange eyes, and brown skin.

  At the moment, he was using his own flames as clothing. The real ones had burned along with his hideout.

  “You must be Rob. Rob, the Endless Hive. You’re not as impressive as the rumors say. How about this? If you stop this act, I—”

  “Scolopendra of Desolation Gigantea.”

  I didn’t let him finish. I spoke another ability and tore off all four of his limbs.

  “Dream Butterfly Plexippus.”

  With that name, I nullified his ability to reason.

  “I don’t like wasting time.”

  Even though I was going to torture him a little.

  What? I have to give my girl some entertainment.

  If I finish too quickly, she’ll definitely get mad if I end up helping her.

  I approached the agonizing bastard, though I wasn’t really seeing with my own eyes, but through the ants surrounding me.

  His state was exactly what I expected: no limbs, foam spilling from his mouth, face twisted in agony.

  When I was a few steps away, he reacted miraculously.

  “W-wait! P-p-please… d-do you know w-who I work for?”

  “Huh, so you can still speak. I’ll admit that’s surprising.” It genuinely surprised me that he could still put coherent sentences together. “And who would this supposed boss be?”

  “T-the… the Brain Collector! So—”

  He didn’t finish. I violently crushed his chest. Jets of blood burst from his mouth, mixing with the foam as his ribs cracked.

  “You don’t have to say more.”

  From my leg, ants began to pour out and head for his mouth, nose, and eyes.

  Among them, a small lone tapeworm was carried up to his right eye.

  “Devour Taenia Solium.”

  As I named the ability, the tapeworm entered through his eye to devour his memories, while the ants slowly consumed his body.

  What is a “skill name”?

  It’s the maximal expression of a power, the pinnacle many aspire to, reserved only for geniuses.

  Pure nonsense.

  I’m not going to tell you that with no talent and sheer effort you’ll reach the level of prodigies, because that’s a lie.

  But even someone like me, who was born with talent, needed a lot—a lot—of effort to get here.

  Skill names aren’t the end. They’re the beginning of a hard path.

  Everyone has a single name for their conceptual ability.

  But me? I have a name for every species of critter in my Endless Hive. So I’ve got quite a few.

  And Paper? She only has one. Though she likes naming her attacks with loud nonsense.

  Sensing the bastard’s life reaching its end, I returned to reality.

  “Around five minutes. I guess that’s enough. I hope you’re not mad, Pap.”

  It wasn’t my fault this idiot was so easy.

  “On top of that, as expected, he was too disposable to have any useful information.”

  What could you expect from someone that weak?

  But the Brain Collector roaming free in the Empire… that was worrying.

  “Phoenix of Resurrection.”

  In a burst of fire, his body turned to ash without affecting my ants too much. The tapeworm did die, though.

  A few meters away, the bastard reappeared, visibly exhausted, panting with pure horror on his face.

  “Wait! I swear I—!”

  “Scolopendra of Desolation Gigantea. Dream Butterfly Plexippus.”

  And with that, he returned to his previous state.

  “So your ability has a name. That’s certainly impressive.” As I said it, I crushed his chest once again.

  More ants poured out of my body, this time forcing their way violently through his skin, tearing through muscle and veins. I ordered them to be as cruel as possible.

  “Let’s see how long you can last.”

  “Be grateful, Pap. This guy bought you a few more minutes.”

  NARRATOR: PAPER

  Five minutes earlier…

  “Paper, ‘the White Storm’! I beg you, spare our lives and send us to prison…”

  The only one who could understand my jokes was now on his knees, begging for mercy.

  “I already told you you’re the last one, so be a good boy and stay still.”

  Rainbow Confetti!

  When I finished singing the spell for my super-duper attack, the evil villain’s legs were pierced at insane speed by colorful blowdart-like bursts, which then exploded into a rainbow, tearing his legs off.

  I looked at the rest of the evil villains.

  They all wore expressions of fear and uncertainty, which only improved my mood.

  “Behold, filthy criminals!

  I, Paper, will put an end to your path of evil!”

  I said my grand line while pointing at the sky, where everyone could see the glorious preparation I’d brought for today. I wasn’t going to waste it!

  Even if these useless idiots turned out to be this weak…

  By reflex, every one of the criminals lifted their heads, following my finger.

  Which only made their fear and confusion grow.

  But what were they seeing?

  What incredible preparation had I brought for this occasion?

  High in the sky, in plain view of all, was an impressive paper airplane: one hundred and fifty kilometers long by sixty wide.

  Though I wasn’t actually going to use it.

  That would be way too boring.

  I could have sent it down at an unimaginable speed, with perfect precision, and finished each of them off without damaging any structure—or even a single little ant in the place.

  But that would be too easy.

  So I went with the second-best option.

  Shrinking the airplane’s size, I created several thousand origami puppets, which I dropped to wipe out everyone present.

  “Origami puppets, end them!”

  Following my order, the thousands of puppets began their ferocious assault on those unfortunate criminals.

  They were extremely fast and, above all, very sharp.

  With simple movements, they reduced every opponent to minced meat.

  Worst of all, if they managed to break them—which wasn’t that hard—they regenerated instantly, or another simply took their place. A tireless army.

  Those who tried to escape the ant ring were stung by poisonous wasps, which ended their lives immediately.

  Which, by the way, did not make me happy.

  “Oh, come on, Uncle… they were mine!”

  The “grand army” quickly became a handful of super-injured individuals and heaps of minced meat.

  “Seriously… and I’m holding back. Can’t you try a little harder?”

  This was the curse of prodigies, like I used to hear in movies.

  With just a tiny bit of effort, I’d already won.

  How boring…

  Anyone who managed to push through my origami puppets was simply shredded by the fine paper dust that always floated around me.

  “Yeah, if this keeps going…”

  Sometimes I hated being so talented. All I had to do was stand still and let my puppets do all the work, sowing despair in my enemies.

  I wasn’t even trying, and in less than ten minutes I was standing before a mini-plaza stained red.

  Sure, some put up incredible resistance—mostly the Rank 6s—but in the end, my cute puppets overwhelmed them.

  “Ahhh!”

  Like so many times before, the one doing the best let out that distinctive scream. It seemed the desperation of being the last one alive let him draw out the maximum of his power.

  “Diamond Skin”

  An incredible force wrapped around the Rank 6. His skin had turned into unbelievably hard… and beautiful… diamond.

  Charging at full speed to crush me, he ignored all the puppets trying to stop his advance. His defense was so good they could barely pierce his skin.

  I tried to slow his charge with paper-dust blades, but I only managed to delay him a few seconds.

  “Great! You know your skill’s name. Why didn’t you use it earlier?” He didn’t look like he was going to answer while he pushed forward through my defense. “Oh, so that’s how we’re doing this… Well don’t worry, I know the name of mine too! Let’s see which one is better!”

  I extended my hand toward him.

  “Paper Storm.”

  It was as if time itself stopped in that instant. A massive concentration of paper gathered in front of me. A second later, it shot out at the speed of light. It was so absurdly fast that the paper simply turned into plasma.

  The attack didn’t just reduce the poor man to ashes—it kept going, pierced the clouds, and vanished into space.

  Only the “unlucky one’s” feet remained, because of course I aimed upward.

  With no more enemies in sight, I approached my little “appetizer.”

  “A rock?”

  Why was there a big rock where the Rank 6 was supposed to be?

  Well, more than a rock it looks like… a turtle shell?

  Yes—what I had in front of me was a human-sized turtle shell.

  I tossed a few paper balls at it and confirmed it was ridiculously tough.

  “Now… what should I do with you?”

  “Die, you damn monster!”

  Or at least I think that’s what the idiot who attacked me from behind said, thinking I was distracted. He’d probably been hiding to launch a surprise attack.

  But before he could reach me, dozens of wind blades—clearly slower than my paper—cut him into pieces.

  “Uncle! I had it under control!”

  It was always the same with him. How was I supposed to have fun if he was always covering my back?

  “Kid, how many times do I have to tell you to stop playing around?”

  There wasn’t even a speck of dust on his clothes. He didn’t look tired at all as he unfairly scolded me.

  “What? But they were my prey! Why shouldn’t I have fun?”

  With an exasperated sigh, Rob did the most sensible thing and walked away from a conversation where, obviously, I was right.

  “Then would you be so kind as to kill the last one so we can leave?”

  “But I still haven’t decided what fabulous attack I’m going to use.”

  My comment only made Rob’s frown darken. It seemed he wasn’t amused by my behavior.

  “Pap, finish this now or… I will.”

  “Wait! Please! I’m not like the rest! I barely committed atrocities! Just arrest me! Don’t kill me, please!”

  Apparently the turtle man decided to rudely interrupt our conversation by begging for his life.

  “Fine. We’ll take him to the authorities.”

  Rob accepted his explanation without hesitation, wrapping him in a tangle of insects before making him disappear.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me! You actually believed him? He could be lying!”

  Tuve que cuestionar la cordura de mi tío; normalmente él era el lógico.

  —Te estabas demorando demasiado. De camino, revisaré sus recuerdos para confirmar sus palabras. Si todo cuadra, lo entregaré. Si no... lo mataré. Fin de la historia.

  ?Cómo puedes quitármelo así? ?No es justo!

  "?De verdad quieres matarlo con tantas ganas?"

  Esa pregunta me dejó paralizado. ?Tenía que matarlo?

  O sea… si lo que dijo fuera cierto, sus crímenes no serían tan graves y las autoridades decidirían su destino. Su pregunta me dejó un poco confundido.

  “Está bien… tú ganas.”

  De cualquier manera, ya no me importaba ese estúpido bastardo. Que el destino decidiera su fin.

  "Buena chica."

  Rob empezó a darme palmaditas en la cabeza. Con casi setenta centímetros de diferencia de altura, era extremadamente humillante. Como venganza, le di una patada en la espinilla, lo que solo lo hizo reír, para mi fastidio.

  “Bromas aparte, trae ese avión de papel para que podamos ir”.

  Refunfu?ando, acepté. Quería terminar la misión y tomarme unos días libres. ?Además, se acercaba mi cumplea?os!

  Mientras reconstruía el avión que nos llevaría a la ciudad de Catalxor, una pregunta cruzó mi mente.

  Oye, tío, ?qué hiciste con el líder? ?Lo mataste?

  Tenía un poco de curiosidad por cómo iba la pelea, ya que Rob no parecía cansado en absoluto.

  Rob respondió con voz monótona mientras se concentraba en mover a los rehenes inconscientes y al criminal a una zona de fácil extracción.

  —Oh, él... resultó ser inmortal. Tras confirmarlo, lo guardé como alimento inagotable para mis criaturas. Agradecieron mucho su nueva comida.

  Así fue como fue…

  No era la primera vez que nos topábamos con alguien con habilidades que lo hacían prácticamente inmortal. Todos corrían la misma suerte... aunque normalmente no duraban mucho.

  También miré a las avispas carro?eras gigantes que devoraban felizmente los cadáveres desmembrados.

  Sí... Casi siento pena por el líder de los criminales. Casi.

  Con el avión en tierra y los rehenes subidos a bordo, me quedé con un solo pensamiento:

  Tengo hambre… Me pregunto qué cocinó Sofía.