Reincarnated as The Greatest Scientist in Another World

Ain fired the first shot — and his voice thundered louder than the crack of his crude rifle.

"The Nulls will never be oppressed again!"

For a heartbeat, silence devoured the battlefield. The knights stood frozen, staring at the strange iron stick clutched in the boy's trembling hands. None of them truly understood — until Ain pulled the trigger again. Another deafening crack split the air, and a second knight crumpled to the dirt, crimson blooming across his chest like a cursed flower.

The knights' commander — a grizzled general clad in shimmering enchanted plate — squinted through the rising smoke. His voice cut through the stunned ranks like a blade.

"Mages! Shields up! There's something unnatural about that weapon!"

Ain fired again. And again. He had no training, no discipline — just raw terror and rage welded into each blind pull of the trigger.

"Run! Into the forest! Now!" he shouted over his shoulder at the terrified Nulls huddled behind broken carts and makeshift shelters.

But the knights were drilled for chaos. Their front line braced, and with a flick of their wands, a dome of blue mana shields unfolded. The next bullets sparked and flattened against the shimmering barrier — useless now. Ain's eyes narrowed in fury as his last shots pinged harmlessly into the magic wall.

Behind him, Nasuha found her voice — dirt-smudged and trembling, but clear enough to cut through the panic.

"This way! Into the trees — move!"

Her outstretched arms waved the frightened Nulls forward. Old men stumbled, mothers hauled crying children onto their backs. The world had become a storm of fear and half-spoken prayers.

Three knights broke from the ranks, blades raised high. Zuko, pinned and bleeding from a shallow cut across his cheek, braced his feet in the churned mud. His eyes flared violet as he hissed a single incantation — the air warped around him, and in a blink he vanished. He reappeared beside Ain and Nasuha in a burst of displaced air.

"Lead them!" Ain shouted, voice ragged.

Zuko didn't hesitate. He turned to the mass of terrified faces and spread his arms wide.

"All of you! Follow me — NOW!"

As the exodus lurched forward, Ain fired the last rounds into the advancing knights — each bullet a heartbeat stolen for the fleeing families. When the final shot clicked empty, he spat a curse, hurled the useless rifle aside, and bolted after Zuko and the Nulls into the moonlit forest.

Behind them, the knights regrouped fast. Above the clearing, Great Mages rose into the night like black crows, their robes snapping in the wind. They thrust wands downward — spears of jagged ice shimmered into being and plunged earthward in a deadly rain.

Zuko skidded to a halt. He pivoted on his heel, slammed his staff into the muddy ground, and bellowed:

"Barrier — Prism Shell!"

A dome of refracted light burst up, swallowing the ragged stream of Nulls. The first wave of spears shattered on impact, frozen shards clinking harmlessly to the forest floor. But Zuko's breathing grew ragged — each spell scraped more mana from a well that would soon run dry.

In the trees above, a Great Mage barked to his comrade, spitting curses into the wind.

"The prince is buying them time! Bring him down — now!"

The forest spat the fugitives onto the edge of a vast gorge — a chasm that seemed to swallow the moonlight itself. The Nulls stumbled to a halt, gasping for breath, eyes wide with despair. Behind them, knights and guards burst from the tree line, weapons drawn, runes blazing like wildfire.

The general strode to the front, armored boots crunching twigs and frost. His blade hissed free in a sweep of steel and cold magic.

"There's nowhere left to run," he called, voice echoing off the gorge walls. "By royal decree, the Null filth are to be erased. Rebellion will be paid for in blood."

Zuko stepped forward to meet him — shoulders squared, power humming in the air around him like a summer storm.

"Over my dead body, butcher. Come and try."

Behind them, Ain's eyes darted over the abyss, desperate for any bridge, any rope, any impossible salvation. His fists dug into his threadbare coat — his fingertips brushed something hard. Mana stones. Raw, cracked shards of faintly glowing blue.

Above, the Great Mages wheeled again. Another storm of ice spears gathered in the freezing air. Zuko's barrier flickered, cracks of failing light spiderwebbing through the dome.

One spear broke through. It hissed toward Nasuha — Ain moved before his mind caught up. He slammed into her, knocking her sideways. The spear slammed into a tree trunk behind them, splitting it to the roots.

Zuko roared in defiance, sweat stinging his eyes. He dropped to one knee, channeling more mana than his body could bear.

"Fifth Circle Magic — Sacred Spear of Ice!"

The air spun cold and bright. A spear of pure crystal formed overhead, longer than any man, its tip spinning faster than a hawk in freefall. Zuko's arms trembled as he hurled it forward.

The general sneered, stepping into its path. His runes flared — steel met magic. The spear exploded in a flash of white and blue. When the light died, the general stood unscathed, the spear's shards scattered at his boots.

He stepped forward, eyes gleaming. Before Ain could react, the general blurred — steel flashed. The enchanted blade punched through Ain's stomach like parchment. The scream that tore from his throat cracked through the roar of magic and steel.

Zuko froze. The world lurched sideways — the Nulls behind him screamed in horror, but the prince's feet felt bolted to the dirt. Mana fizzled at his fingertips, drained and empty.

Overhead, the Great Mages struck again — a rain of icy lances that found flesh and bone. The refugees howled in terror. Mothers clutched lifeless children. The gorge became an open grave under the cold stars.

Ain dangled from the general's blade — blood pooling at his feet, eyes wide and vacant. A trembling gasp rattled through his chest.

"AIN!" Zuko's roar cracked his throat raw — but his legs wouldn't move.

Through the chaos, Nasuha crawled to him. Her fingers scraped through blood and dirt until they found Ain's slack hand — still warm. Tears carved channels down her bruised face.

"A-Ain…" she whispered, voice breaking. "Please… please don't…"

The general ripped his blade free. Ain's body crumpled forward — his scream a raw thread torn from his last breath.

And in that heartbeat — something inside Nasuha shattered.

Memories flared — Ain's laughter, his stubborn hope, his cracked hands building light from junk. Her eyes lifted — black as the void between stars. Shadows coiled around her ankles, up her torn dress, swirling like smoke given life.

The knights stepped back. Even the general faltered, his stained blade hovering mid-air.

"What… what is that aura? That's not mana… What are you?" he rasped.

Nasuha's eyes snapped open — two bottomless pits where hope had once lived. Her voice was no longer a girl's voice, but something vast and old.

She rose — shadows rippling from her flesh like liquid night.

"What are you?" the general demanded again, voice cracking.

Nasuha blurred — a streak of darkness. She smashed into him, fist first. Steel shrieked as his blade cracked in her grip. Her punch drove him back through trees — trunks snapped like dry twigs in his wake.

Zuko stared, breath caught in his chest.

"Suha… what… are you?"

Behind her, the surviving knights wavered. The Nulls huddled together, bloody and beaten — but they saw her now: a slip of a girl wrapped in devouring shadow, standing between them and extinction.

A predator — born from their ruin.

And for the first time in generations, the knights trembled.