Darkness swallowed everything.
No sky. No ground.
Only pressure.
Kai hit the ground hard, rolling instantly to recover. The mana dagger still clutched in his hand.
"Ren!" he called out.
A burst of flame answered immediately.
Not wild. Not chaotic.
Controlled.
The darkness recoiled slightly as Ren Ren Korr stepped forward, flame circling his arm like a living serpent.
"…Still breathing?" Ren asked.
Kai exhaled once.
"…Barely."
A brief silence passed between them.
Then—
They both smirked slightly.
"Good," Ren said.
"…Let's fix that."
Behind them, Lira Voss, Dain Korr, and Sera Nyx regrouped quickly.
Sera's voice cut through the tension.
"…Listen carefully."
Everyone froze.
Her eyes locked onto the shifting darkness ahead.
"…It's a Voidbound."
"…Normal attacks won't work."
A pause.
"…Only attacks imbued with mana can damage it."
Dain clenched his fists.
"…So we hit it harder."
"…No," Sera replied calmly.
"…You hit it smarter."
The darkness moved.
Then—
It appeared.
The Voidbound.
Humanoid.
Distorted.
Too tall.
Its limbs stretched unnaturally, fingers dragging across nothing.
Its face was hollow.
Split-like.
Watching.
Lira Voss raised her barrier instantly.
It trembled on contact with the presence.
"…This is wrong…" she muttered.
Dain stepped back slightly.
"…That's not a beast."
Ren's flame dimmed slightly.
"…Something is suppressing it…"
Kai's grip tightened on the dagger.
Inside his mind—
A whisper.
…Danger…
The Voidbound tilted its head.
Slowly.
Curiously.
Then—
It moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
Kai reacted instantly.
"MOVE!"
The Voidbound passed through where they stood, distorting space behind it.
Ren's flame erupted.
"Got you."
Flame Ball.
A compressed sphere of fire shot forward and exploded on impact.
The Voidbound staggered.
For the first time—
It reacted.
Kai's eyes sharpened.
"…So it works."
Ren smirked.
"…Told you."
Kai stepped forward.
"Blood Enhancement… 50%."
No backlash.
No strain.
His body had adapted.
"…I'm used to it now."
The Voidbound lunged again—
Kai didn't dodge.
He stepped INTO it.
CLANG!!
Mana dagger met its arm.
"NOW, REN!"
"Already!"
Ren moved instantly.
"Myriad Sword Slash!!"
Flame condensed into multiple sword-like arcs, slashing the Voidbound back violently.
BOOM!!
Lira reinforced her barrier.
"…Don't let it recover!"
Dain stepped in.
"…Then I'll keep it busy!"
Sera's voice stayed sharp.
"…It's adapting. Don't give it time."
Kai exhaled slowly.
"…Then we end it."
From his shadow—
A second figure formed.
"Blood Clone."
The clone stepped forward instantly, mirroring Kai's stance.
Ren glanced at it.
"…Still weird seeing that."
Kai didn't respond.
"…Keep up."
They moved.
Kai and his clone split.
One front. One flank.
Ren followed perfectly.
Flame bending around him with precise control.
"Left," Ren said.
"I see it."
Kai struck first.
Clean slash.
The clone followed instantly.
The Voidbound staggered.
"NOW!!"
Ren slammed his hand forward.
Flame exploded—but controlled.
Not wild.
Focused.
Pushing the Voidbound back into Kai's range.
Kai's eyes sharpened.
"…This ends now."
Blood surged along the dagger.
Condensing.
Hardening.
"Blood Strike."
He vanished.
A split second of silence.
Then—
SLASH.
The Voidbound froze.
Cracks spread through its body.
Then—
It collapsed.
Disintegrating into nothing.
Silence followed.
Heavy. Real.
Kai stood still.
Breathing steady.
Ren exhaled slowly.
"…Not bad."
Kai glanced at him.
"…You kept up."
Ren smirked.
"…Barely tried."
Behind them—
Lira stared.
"…That wasn't normal."
Dain laughed lowly.
"…Those two are monsters."
Sera watched Kai silently.
Her eyes narrowing.
"…No…"
A pause.
"…Something else."
Guild Hall — Later
The noise of the guild returned.
Life continuing like nothing happened.
staff officer approached.
Black uniform. Official tone.
"…Team report for verification."
Ren sighed.
"…Finally paperwork."
They stepped forward.
A crystal tablet activated.
MISSION REPORT
Target: Voidbound Entity
The officer paused.
Then corrected:
"…Classification update issued during post-analysis."
Kai's eyes lifted slightly.
"…Mid E-Rank (Voidbound Class)."
Silence.
Dain blinked.
"…That thing was E-Rank?"
Lira frowned.
"…That behavior doesn't match."
Sera replied quietly:
"…It evolved abnormally."
Ren exhaled.
"…So it was weaker than it acted."
He glanced at Kai.
"…And still forced us serious."
Kai didn't respond.
But his hand tightened slightly.
💰 Reward Distribution
"…High-risk anomaly elimination confirmed."
1,500,000 Credits Total Reward
Dain immediately grinned.
"…Now we're talking."
System transfer activated.
300,000 Credits per member.
Kai's device vibrated.
Transfer complete.
Dain laughed.
"…I'm eating like a king tonight."
Lira sighed.
"…Gear upgrade."
Sera calmly:
"…Information gathering."
Ren stretched.
"…Flame refinement materials."
He looked at Kai.
"…You?"
Kai stared at the screen.
Then closed it.
"…I'll decide later."
Ren smirked.
"…That sounds like trouble."
The group relaxed slightly.
Noise returned.
Jokes resumed.
But Sera didn't relax.
Her eyes stayed on Kai.
Ren stepped closer.
Lower voice.
"…You're getting stronger too fast."
Kai didn't answer.
Ren continued.
"…That's usually not a good thing."
A pause.
Then he stepped back.
"…Try not to become a problem I have to fix."
Kai finally looked at him.
"…You couldn't."
Ren chuckled.
"…Cocky."
But his eyes stayed serious.
Sera spoke quietly.
"…That wasn't the end."
Everyone paused.
She continued.
"…It was just a signal."
Kai's eyes narrowed.
"…Signal for what?"
Sera finally answered.
"…Something higher than E-Rank."
A cold wind passed through the guild hall.
But it didn't feel natural.
Good day to you my beloved readers, don't forget to keep voting for me as I need motivation to continue