The Forgotten City was still panting in its suspicious silence following Yuki's victory. The black ash left by the Hunger Monster was still falling slowly through the air like burnt snow. Kaito stood watching Yuki, who sat on the ground trying to catch her breath, while Ren and Haru stood beside her with clear tension.
Suddenly… Kaito felt something.
He slowly raised his head toward the top of one of the abandoned buildings. There, in the darkness between the shattered windows, eyes were watching them. Golden eyes.
"Ren," Kaito said with cold calm. "This is yours."
Ren's eyes widened. The darkness around him began to move, as if the walls, the ground, and the sky were closing in on him. From the accumulated shadows, the *Monster of Absolute Darkness* emerged.
It had no fixed shape. It was a massive mass of dense darkness and multiple hands, moving like living smoke, expanding and contracting, manifesting in several forms—a man, a woman, a boy, a girl. Wherever it passed, it absorbed the light completely, until even the colors of the buildings and cars turned gray.
"Is... is this what was watching us?" Ren whispered with a trembling voice.
Kaito took a step back. "No one interferes. This is Ren's test. If anyone tries to help him… I will stop them myself."
Ren looked at Kaito with a look full of panic for a moment, but he nodded slowly. Then he stepped toward the monster alone.
The darkness attacked immediately, ignoring the others as if challenging him specifically.
Massive black arms extended from the monster's body as if endless, trying to deliver multiple punches. The moment he received a blow, Ren felt his deepest fear manifest: utter loneliness. The world disappeared. He could no longer hear his companions' voices, he could no longer see any light, even his heartbeat felt distant.
*"You... alone... always... alone..."*
Ren trembled. The darkness was entering his lungs, filling his chest; he could no longer breathe. But he bit his lip until blood flowed and screamed in a broken voice: "No... I am not alone!"
The darkness exploded around him. He summoned the *Shadows of Isolation*. Shadows erupted from his body and turned into sharp black swords, striking the monster with force. But the monster absorbed them easily and grew larger.
"Stronger... stronger. To defeat it, I must become stronger," Ren whispered to himself as he blocked the monster's rapid punches.
Ren stumbled and fell to his knee. The monster covered him in a thick layer of absolute darkness. Inside it, Ren saw his memories: his dark room in childhood, the days he cried alone, the fear of being left forever.
"Enough..." Ren whispered, his voice shaking. "Enough... I should have lit the lamp back then!"
Then he opened his eyes. The gray in them turned to a deeper color, closer to black.
"I... I am the darkness."
At that moment, the **Veil of Darkness** exploded from his body. It covered the entire area in total darkness that no light could penetrate. Within this veil, Ren became the master. He could see clearly while the monster was completely blind.
"Now... you are the one who is alone."
Ren attacked fiercely. Shadow swords launched from every direction, piercing the monster repeatedly. Every strike increased his control over the darkness. The monster shrieked with a horrific voice; four arms, six arms, eight arms—the monster attacked Ren with eight arms at incredible speed. Ren blocked them using '**Veil of Darkness—Wall**' then '**Prison of Loneliness**', trapping the monster inside an isolated sphere of darkness, causing the creature to lose all its senses.
With one final cry, Ren stabbed the monster's heart with a large shadow sword. He absorbed the surrounding darkness and everything else, then the monster exploded into black pieces scattered in the air.
Ren fell to his knees, panting heavily, his body covered in sweat and blood from deep wounds. But he had won.
Kaito gave a rare, slight smile. "Well done, Ren."
Haru and Yuki approached him, smiling. Yuki said, "Well done, I was really worried about you."
"Sir, is it my turn?" Haru asked, rubbing her hands nervously.
Before Kaito could answer… they heard calm, steady footsteps.
From between the fog and ruin, a man emerged.
"I didn't sense him," Kaito said, looking at him warily.
He was wearing a **perfectly tailored black suit**, so clean it looked unnatural in this destroyed city. His blonde hair was meticulously styled, his shoes were polished, and his tie was dark red. He walked slowly and confidently, as if strolling through a park, not a city ruled by monsters.
The man stopped ten meters away and looked at them with a calm, polite smile, as if the destruction, ash, and darkness around him meant nothing to him.
"An impressive sight," he said in a soft, clear voice. "Few overcome their own darkness... and emerge stronger."
Kaito stared at him sharply, his purple eyes narrowing.
Who is this man? And how does he look this elegant in the heart of hell?!
Questions for Readers😎:
1) Ren went from fleeing the darkness to controlling it. Will this power change his quiet personality and make him harsher in the future?🙃
2) A mysterious, overly elegant man appeared in the midst of the destruction. Do you think he's an ally sent by Lilith, or is he the true enemy who has been watching them all along?🤫
3) Kaito didn't sense the elegant man until he appeared before him. What does this mean for the stranger's power level compared to Kaito's?😙
Don't forget to support the chapter with Power Stones and Collections as we continue to uncover the secrets🙏🏻💎🥰