Evolution

In an alley during midnight, the roars, shrieks, cries and sounds of things being devastated could be heard. It was a long narrow straight alley, with both sides blocked by concrete walls. The buildings on both sides should be student dormitories. In the alley, seven youths were panting heavily, and three were already down on the ground, bleeding.

The seven youths were holding onto things like switchblades, batons, and tear gas canisters. Though those were all devastating weapons, the people holding them didn't seem to be proficient enough to use them, giving one the feeling that they just took them out from a plastic bag or something. Since those things were weapons, no, maybe it was because amateurs were wielding them that those things were extremely dangerous.

The seven youths surrounded the one girl.

Their eyes were bloodshot.

However, the girl who was being surrounded didn't do anything.

To the girl, the seven armed people surrounding her didn't seem to exist in her sight. She just looked up at the night sky that was cut into a long strip as she stood around looking like she was pondering about something.

The girl seemed to have come back from a convenience store, as she was holding onto a plastic bag with a shop brand on it. The plastic bag was swaying about, and there were more than ten slips of popsicles in that fully filled bag.

The impression that the girl gave was nothing but orange.

But what gave a larger impression was the title of being the Ouroboros Symbiote.

"Gahh!" Another delinquent rolled onto the floor, crying in pain.

One of the delinquents surrounding Sion thrust a sword at her back, but Sion didn't even give a look back. The delinquent exerted all his weight onto the sharp point of the sword as he attacked at that seemingly defenseless, weak back.

BAM!

The sound of a bone breaking could be heard from behind Sion. Of course, that devastation didn't come from Sion's body. The delinquent who charged at her back with a sword had his wrist broken. The darkness magic that was exerted onto the blade of the sword had caused the slender wrist holding it to break, as it had been unable to withstand that force.

"AAAAAH!" Another delinquent's cry could be heard. The delinquent grabbed his hand as he rolled about on the dirty ground. It looked almost comical.

It seemed like from that moment, Sion Kenzaki was no longer considered a value to the Zodiac Knights, and thus, a nobody.

However, her power hadn't changed at all despite her demotion.

Their comrade's voice seemed to have become a trigger and the six remaining youths charged forward. Their eyes were bloodshot. But that seemed to be due to extreme nervousness, insecurity, fear and anxiousness.

Ever since that battle with Tsuruko Sejren, Sion had been attacked from all directions, whether day or night. The legend that she was considered a saint of magic was broken, that was what everyone who attacked her believed. Amongst the roars, the swords and batons started to swing, but Sion ignored them. She lazily let her arms drop, not doing anything, just waiting for the enemy to defeat themselves.

All the forces of the savage youths attacks would be redirected and concentrated on their complicated but weak wrist bones.

But like the rest, those people seemed to realize something.

The moment they had failed the first time, they realized that the Ouroboros Symbiote still existed.

The sounds of the savage youths breaking their bones could be heard. They let out cries of agony and rolled onto the floor, but Sion continued to ignore them.

At that moment, one of the youths used a fire magic spell at Sion. Why had he waited until now to use it? Maybe he realized that it was too dangerous to use normal physical attacks, or maybe his own remaining bit of conscience had caused him not to use it until the end.

But the number of attacks never decreased.

No matter how many times she beat the enemies, no matter how many times she proved her power, she couldn't break the label those idiots had stuck on her.

Sion didn't know what kind of power it was that the savage youth just let out, but naturally Gehaburn had devoured it; it was just that simple.

The youth who had his attack redirected seemed shocked, and the next second, he took the full brunt of the attack he had been so confident in and rolled away on the ground. However, since he was not dead, it seemed like he was somewhere around a beginner mage.

"Hm?" Sion suddenly noticed the commotion surrounding her had disappeared. At that moment, she turned her eyes away from the long stretch of the night sky and looked around. The people who had stubbornly surrounded Sion had defeated themselves, and they were lying peacefully on the dirty ground.

With the blood splatters, maybe the word 'sleeping' was too much of an understatement, but at least no one had died. To have fought Sion Kenzaki head on and still be able to remain alive could be considered a miracle in itself.

Looking back, the ten youths who had attacked Sion were on the ground, but Sion hadn't done anything, let alone fight.

To Sion, the scenario was such that she just went to a convenience store to buy some popsicles and wanted to find a nice bench to sit on—that was how it was to her. She didn't intend to deal the finishing blow to them as well. She could kill those she could kill tomorrow, and those she could kill tomorrow, she could kill them one year later. It was stupid to be serious with those people. This was different from a fight when she was under the Zodiac Knights, no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't be able to reach the end. How was swimming endlessly different from drowning?

From the beginning, she never felt that she could communicate successfully with anyone. Even up to the end, she really never managed to do so.

However...

It seemed like that battle did really change her, Sion thought.

The problem was, what changed?

Why?

What did it change?

She was not some omnipotent saviour, and she was not a detective in a novel. She had never lived a life where she could take care of any problem that came at her, and she couldn't solve every problem that happened just by thinking for a few seconds.

She couldn't do anything.

That was why she chose to leave, and not do anything.

Just like that.

Sion walked onto the road as she thought. Besides, no matter what, her personality wasn't suited to help others. The world she existed in wasn't like that. Tsuruko Sejren should be suited for something like that.

Besides, what could she do now? Did she have the right to do anything? She was the one who had dragged numerous innocents into hell; she was also the one who caused those violent deaths by failing to diffuse that bomb in time. No matter what she did, what she chose, she would always end up hurting others. Such a person helping others would defy all logic.

"...!!?" Sion was at a loss for words—the person in front of her was...

Their cloak and robes were a bright white with a gold trim, the same was true for the hood she had over her head, which was slightly star-shaped around a bright orange coloured mask with curved silver portions around it. At their chest were two straps that had several rings clicked onto it, and at their waist was a silver belt that was adorned with a familiar phoenix symbol. This was...the Phoenix Knight. "Ouroboros, you defected from the Zodiac Knights?" Her tone was one of concern.

Sion spat, "What's it to you? I'm sure you, with your 'holiness', you're here to piss me off too. Well, come on; give me your worst, since I'm at the goddamn bottom of the barrel anyway." She slumped, sighing deeply. Sion Kenzaki had lost the will to fight back. She realized that she and Tsuruko could never get along, because of their world views and races.

"I'm not here to mock you, you fool." The Phoenix Knight chuckled a bit under that orange mask of hers—as she snapped her fingers, a strange belt manifested in her left hand. This belt possessed a medium-sized sun-shaped buckle; which, in the middle, had a single slot; also possessing several black runic markings.

"...The hell is that?" Sion could only say that in response.

"It's yours, now." The Phoenix Knight casually tossed the belt towards Sion, whom caught it in a dumbfounded manner.

"Why the hell are you giving me, a symbiote, a belt which I can't probably even use?" Sion was just amazed at how nonchalantly the Phoenix Knight gave her this Driver Belt.

"You'll be surprised at what you can do once you have a little belief in yourself." The Phoenix Knight began to leave, before Sion could ask her any more questions; as mysterious as ever. "There's a fire at an amusement park downtown. It's make or break time, Ouroboros."

Sion gazed down at the ground, immersed in thought. Sion knew that for someone like her to do such a thing was illogical. But even so, she wanted to save people. A being of darkness like her could protect. She'd show them all.

Before she knew it, Sion's legs were moving by themselves—sprinting in the direction of downtown.