The wolf might have been nothing but bones, but each bone was as thick as Yuto's forearm, and its body was as large as a house. Black light blazed in its empty eye sockets, while purple flames streamed like breath between its parted, razor-sharp teeth.

The gauntlet on its right arm stood out in particular. The rest of its body was bone, but that alone was made of some unknown, pitch-black metal.

WOOOO...

As though responding to the bloodlust pouring from the creature, intricate purple patterns appeared across the gauntlet's surface. Void aether flowed through them.

'An item imbued with the Void's power.'

The tower's purpose was not merely to make Yuto stronger. He had been told that his partner, Flokiro, could also grow stronger through its trials. In that case, the gauntlet was most likely a reward prepared by the Void itself.

'I don't use gauntlets, so it must be a reward for Flokiro.'

Yuto's lips curled into a smile. As Flokiro had said, whenever Yuto grew stronger, so did he. Even so, being able to give his partner a reward like that pleased Yuto.

Equipment for Evomon was not rare in itself, but as with any equipment, truly exceptional pieces were hard to come by. Unlike other Evomon, Flokiro could evolve into several different forms, so even in their previous life, finding equipment that suited him perfectly had been difficult.

"It's been a while since you said you wanted something other than food."

"What do you take me for, a pig?"

Flokai grumbled, scraping his claws across the floor.

"That weapon's far too good for a bag of bones like him. Besides... I felt it the moment I saw it. That's something I'm meant to use."

Apparently, he was not speaking out of simple greed. His eyes were utterly serious as he stared at the gauntlet.

"With that, I can become stronger," Flokai whispered.

Yuto was not alone in his longing for strength. Flokai's desire was every bit as desperate. On that dreadful night in their previous life, when they had lost everything, Flokai, too, had met a wretched death, howling at his own helplessness.

"All right."

Sharing his partner's yearning, Yuto strode forward.

"Let's take it."

Flokai grinned at those words.

["GRAAAAH!"]

The monster roared, its skeletal jaws stretching wide. A black shock wave spread out with its roar. It, too, wielded Void aether.

That was only natural. This was a tower created by the Void. What's more, the creature appeared to be Floor 0's boss. Its power would be on an entirely different level from the skeletons they had passed earlier.

The monster kicked off the ground with speed that belied its bulk. Its gauntleted right arm came forward first. Though it was still well out of reach, the monster swung.

At that instant, black light flashed from the gauntlet. Claws of aether extended like blades, cleaving through space. Yuto immediately swung his Void Blade.

CRACKLE!

The aether blades collided, shaking the darkness. The impact left his right arm aching and sent him flying backward. At once, the monster spewed purple flames from its mouth, and Flokai opened his own jaws wide to breathe fire.

ROOOAR!

Flame tangled with flame. The tremendous heat made the floor shimmer and the darkness seethe. Before Yuto could even land, Flokai lunged at the monster.

He spun in midair.

BOOM!

His flame-wreathed tail slammed into the monster's flank. Fire spread across its ribs, only for black aether to erupt and drive it back.

Then the monster's tail lashed down like a whip. Flokai sprang backward to evade it, and the spot he had occupied split wide open. Landing, he glanced at Yuto.

Yuto was watching him, too, Gloria in hand, poised to intervene at any moment. At the sight, Flokai spoke.

"Yuto, stay out of this."

Yuto blinked. Flokai continued.

"He's my prey."

A brief silence fell. The monster growled and moved again, and Yuto spoke.

"Understood."

He lowered Gloria, retreated to the closed door, and leaned against it, making it clear he would not interfere. Flokai did not look to check. He had no need to. When Yuto said he understood, he meant it.

Flokai blocked the monster's path. With a savage cry, it swung its gauntlet. Claws of aether tore through space toward him. Rather than retreat, Flokai swung a forepaw.

BOOM!

Flame and aether collided, but unlike Void Blade, Flokai's fire could not stop the monster's claws. In the end, the flames split apart.

Flokai had expected as much. Crouching low, he darted beneath the claws. His momentum carried him right up to the monster's torso, where he sprang up and bit at its neck.

Though his teeth were wreathed in flame, they could not bite through. He tightened his jaws, but his teeth would go no farther. Powerful aether barred both fang and flame.

Rather than stubbornly persist, Flokai changed tactics. Instead of trying to crush it between his teeth, he breathed fire.

BOOM!

The explosion sent the monster staggering. Flokai pulled back clear of the blast, his eyes flashing.

'His aether isn't limitless.'

Flokai's flames could not penetrate the monster's aether and burn its bones to ash. But his repeated attacks had not been pointless. With each hit from his flames, the monster's aether was growing thinner.

If he fought alongside Yuto—no, if Yuto fought alone, it would be an easy hunt. Void Blade ignored the monster's defenses. Even repeated blows from Void Touch would be enough to break them down. No, a single swing of Void Scythe might simply cleave the monster in two.

But then it would become Yuto's fight. Flokai did not want a share of the spoils from an enemy Yuto had defeated alone. He wanted to be Yuto's equal partner.

That had been possible in their previous life—but not now. Yuto had rapidly strengthened his younger body through the Status Window the Void had given him, but he had been unable to do the same for Flokai. Yuto was not the only one who had grown younger upon returning to the past.

It was true that the aether Yuto supplied became Flokai's strength, but that alone was not enough to restore the power he had possessed at his peak. On top of that, Yuto even had Void Skills. The gap between their strength could only continue to widen.

He hated that. He was sick to death of helplessness and weakness. Flokai wanted to be a warrior who could stand back-to-back with Yuto and fight alongside him. If Yuto was growing stronger through new power, Flokai had to do the same.

This was his chance to prove himself. If he could not defeat even a monster on the tower's mere Floor 0 alone, he would never be able to keep pace with Yuto's battles. He would be no different from a pet, receiving gifts from the spoils of enemies Yuto defeated.

For Flokai, who possessed a warrior's heart, such a fate was a humiliation as dreadful as death itself. His heart pounded faster and faster, and the blood in his veins seethed. His longing for strength and his fighting spirit, hungry to prove himself as a warrior, heated his aether to a blaze.

"GRAAAAH!"

He breathed fire with his roar. Fiercer than before, the flames swallowed the monster. Within them, it raised its aether and swung its claws.

WHOOOSH!

The shredded flames scattered, and the monster lifted its head.

High above, where its gaze turned, was Flokai. Scarlet fire plunged toward the monster like a meteor.

CRUNCH!

His descending forepaws cracked its aether defenses. The monster's skeletal body shuddered and buckled.

["GRAAAGH!"]

The monster twisted with an agonized howl.

CRACK! CRACK-CRACK!

Some of the bones that formed its body broke free, sheathed in aether, and shot toward Flokai like bullets.

BOOM!

Flokai sprang out of the explosion. Bone bullets untouched by the blast pursued him, and the monster kicked off the ground after him.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Red and darkness raced along, intertwined.

The monster swung its gauntlet again and again, unleashing slashes. Flokai's heart was racing and his blood burned hot, but his mind remained cool. He had seen through its attacks: powerful though they were, they were simple.

That only made him covet the gauntlet more. The monster did not know how to make proper use of the treasure it possessed.

It was larger than Flokai, but not faster. Each time it recklessly unleashed another barrage, that weakness became more apparent. Every attack left it riddled with openings.

Flokai concentrated on a single target: the legs that let it run around so annoyingly. Whenever an opening appeared, he darted beneath the monster and attacked its hind legs.

His main target was a rear knee joint. After thinning its aether with several attacks, Flokai latched onto its hind leg with confidence.

FWOOSH!

Flames wreathed both his forepaws as they clamped around the joint. The intense heat made the aether boil. Before, it had driven his flames back, but now it could no longer do so. The aether covering the joint began to melt away.

The monster's bone lay exposed. Flokai opened his jaws wide and bit into it.

CRACK-CRUNCH!

Flames burst out with the sound of breaking bone. The monster's hind leg snapped off.

["GRAAAAGH!"]

Could even a monster made of nothing but bones feel pain? Its body twisted with a harrowing howl. Its massive frame tipped to one side. Flokai had severed the hind leg directly behind the gauntleted forepaw. The monster could no longer swing its gauntlet as it pleased.

From there, it was an utterly one-sided mauling. The monster could no longer run. If it lifted its forepaw to attack, it could not even limp. In the end, all it could do was crouch in place and swing its gauntlet, and Flokai would never let attacks like that touch him.

Even with victory assured, he did not grow impatient. He often became overexcited at the sight of a sweet dessert, but never in battle. Slowly and methodically, Flokai maintained his hit-and-run tactics, wearing down the monster's aether.

At last, when the monster's aether was entirely spent, his gaping jaws closed around its neck.

["GRAAAAGH—!"]

The monster tried to lift its gauntlet in a final act of resistance, but Flokai's forepaw pinned its arm bone down. It no longer had even the strength to shake him off.

CRUNCH!

At last, the monster's neck bones shattered with a resounding crack. With his teeth sunk firmly into them, Flokai shook his head violently.

CRACK! CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!

Fractures spread through the broken bones. And finally—the monster's head tore free.

["Oooooh..."]

With a pitiful death rattle like escaping air, the monster's body slumped heavily to the ground. Its bones turned into black mist and began flowing into Flokai. He flinched in surprise, but did not resist, accepting the darkness streaming into his body.

It was Void aether. Flokai's eyes trembled.

FWOOSH!

Flames sprang up of their own accord and enveloped his body. The darkness unique to Void aether mingled with the once-scarlet fire.

THUD.

The monster's body had vanished completely, but the gauntlet remained. Left suspended in midair, it fell to the floor. Flokai stared at it for a moment, then looked at Yuto with a broad grin.

CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.

Yuto smiled back and applauded.

"That took twenty minutes. It would've been quicker if I'd helped."

"You just have to be annoying, don't you?"

The flames subsided along with his grumbling. Reverting from his evolved form, Flokiro tilted his head from side to side as he spoke.

"I still finished before your appointment with Levian!"

"That's true."

Yuto chuckled as he answered. Pushing away from the door, he approached the gauntlet.

"Mind if I check what it is first?"

Flokiro nodded at the smiling question.

The gauntlet was drawn into Void Storage.