In Nirvalen, the hunters were already gathering inside the grand hall. The atmosphere was tense, anticipation heavy in the air as even the higher ranks began to arrive — this meeting was not one to be taken lightly. After all, it was called by none other than him.
No one knew who that hunter was — the one so powerful that even the country's higher-ups were seated beside him.
Time passed, and murmurs rippled across the room. The hunters waited — for the one whose very presence could silence nations.
Then, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the stillness. Kuro, Daiki, and Althric entered the hall together. Instantly, every hunter in the chamber rose to their feet, bowing slightly in respect to the highest-ranking among them.
"Where's Ren?" Ichiro asked, stepping forward, his brows furrowed. "He told me he was on his way, but he still hasn't shown up."
Kuro sighed softly. "He was stopped by the Kings. But don't worry — he'll be here soon."
The hunter asked, "Aren't you the ones who called us here, Mr. Kuro, Mr. Daiki?"
But Kuro replied calmly, "No, we're not the ones giving the presentation. The person who will be presenting is currently occupied with other business."
Meanwhile, far from the hall, after their meeting with the Eight Kings had concluded, Ren and Yume returned to Earth. The portal shimmered shut behind them as they stepped through the veil.
Just as they reached the surface, Ren suddenly stopped. His tone softened. "Yume… there's something I want to tell you — something I've been meaning to say for a long time."
She blinked, slightly startled by how close he was. It had been so long since he'd spoken to her with such warmth.
"I'm proud of you," he said quietly.
Yume tilted her head, confused. "Proud? Of what exactly?"
Ren's gaze softened further. "Power chooses its master, Yume — not the other way around. And the fact that you were chosen… it made me happy."
For a moment, Yume's breath caught in her throat. Then, without hesitation, Ren reached out and pulled her into a gentle embrace.
She froze, her heart pounding — then slowly wrapped her arms around him. "Ren… be like this every time," she whispered.
He smiled faintly against her hair. "For you… I'll try."
As they stepped apart, Ren raised a hand, summoning a folded pack of clothes with a flick of shadow. "Here — wear this for the meeting. You're still in your medic's uniform."
Yume blinked, surprised, then nodded. She disappeared briefly to change, and when she returned, she stood in formal attire — elegant, composed, radiating strength.
Together, they walked toward the meeting hall.
But the moment they entered, the temperature seemed to drop.
The air turned heavy — suffocating — as invisible pressure filled the room. Even the strongest hunters could feel it, a raw aura that didn't belong to mere mortals.
One of the hunters swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "Wh-what is this power…? This isn't something a human should possess."
Then — before anyone could breathe again — Ren stepped forward through the dim light, his shadow stretching long across the floor, and came to stand before the assembled hunters.
"Hello, Shadow Bounds."
Ren's voice was calm, his presence heavier than the silence that filled the room.
"I am Ren Akatsuki, and I will be leading you in this upcoming operation."
He reached for the reports on the table — precise, controlled — but before he could continue, a voice cut through the air.
A tall man with red hair and a smug smile rose from his chair. His badge gleamed — James, a foreign hunter known more for his arrogance than skill.
"Lead us?" he scoffed, laughter dripping with contempt. "Who the hell do you think you are? Mr. Daiki, Mr. Kuro — two of the strongest hunters in the world — are sitting right here. And you? You just walk in and act like some kind of monarch? Don't make me laugh."
A few low chuckles echoed from his side of the table.
James leaned forward, smirking. "We've been waiting hours just to see your pitiful face, and this is what shows up? A nobody with borrowed fame."
Ren stayed silent, his eyes unflinching.
James' gaze shifted toward Yume, who stood calmly behind Ren.
"And you…" he said, his tone dripping with mock admiration. "Miss Yume, the famed S-rank beauty of the East. What a shame. Someone like you wasting your time beside this… thing."
Yume's expression froze — her aura flickered, but before she could speak, Ren slightly raised his hand, stopping her.
"Enough," Ren said quietly, returning his focus to the documents. "Let's proceed with the discussion about the gate—"
But James wasn't done. His grin widened.
"Oh, I get it now," he said, his voice turning cruel. "You're not her commander, are you? You're just keeping her close for other reasons. Maybe she needed someone to warm her tent at night?"
The room froze.
Kuro and Daiki both stiffened, their faces darkening. Ichiro, the higher-ups — even they broke into a cold sweat.
"James," one of them muttered, "that's enough—"
But it was too late.
Ren's hand twitched — then in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
A gust of pressure slammed through the room as Ren appeared before James, his crimson eyes burning with restrained fury.
Before he could strike, Althric stepped forward, summoning his aura barrier in panic.
Everyone gasped — none had even seen Ren move.
"Take. That. Back."
Ren's voice trembled, not with weakness — but with pure, deadly rage.
"Please, my king… stand down," Kuro said, stepping in. Daiki followed, placing a hand on Ren's shoulder.
Even Althric's knees trembled behind his barrier.
But James — ignorant, arrogant, foolish — still smirked.
The air trembled.
Ren's hand was inches away from James' throat, but Althric's barrier shimmered between them, cracking under the sheer pressure of Ren's aura. The lights flickered — the world seemed to narrow, all sound crushed under a single, rising pulse of power.
"Take it back," Ren said again — slower this time, voice rumbling like something ancient waking beneath the earth.
James sneered, his arrogance unbroken even in the face of that storm. "What? Did I touch a nerve, nobody? Or maybe it's true what I said — she's just another prize for the fake hero who thinks he can command us—"
A sound tore through the room.
Not metal.
Not stone.
Reality cracked.
The barrier exploded. Althric was hurled back across the table, his armor shattering as he crashed against the wall. Papers scattered like feathers in a storm.
James didn't even have time to scream. In a flash, Ren's hand gripped his collar and slammed him into the reinforced table, splintering its edge.
"Say that again," Ren hissed. His eyes glowed crimson, pupils thin as blades. "I want to hear it from your filthy mouth one more time."
"Ren—!" Yume shouted, but her voice was drowned by the oppressive force pouring out of him.
The hunters couldn't move. The S-ranks, the commanders, the generals — every single one was frozen under the weight of Ren's killing intent. Even Daiki and Kuro strained to breathe.
James tried to speak — but his words came out as a choke, his skin paling under the invisible grip around his throat.
"I warned you once," Ren said quietly. "I gave you a chance to show respect — not to me, but to the people who've bled for this world."
He tightened his grip. "But you decided to spit on them instead."
Kuro stepped forward, forcing words through the crushing air. "Ren! If you kill him here, the Council will—"
Ren turned his gaze toward him — a single glance — and Kuro stopped. Not out of fear… but out of awe.
That was not the gaze of a man.
It was the gaze of a Monarch.
A deep, monstrous energy rippled across the room, shadows crawling from the floor like living smoke. The ceiling lights dimmed; the very air seemed to twist around him.
Yume reached for him, her hand trembling.
"Ren… please."
Her voice pierced through the storm.
For a moment — just a moment — the crimson faded.
Ren blinked, and the weight lifted. The shadow tendrils retreated, dissolving into mist. He exhaled sharply, his hand trembling as he released James, who collapsed to the floor, gasping.
The silence that followed was heavy — suffocating.
Ren straightened his coat, his expression calm again, though his eyes still burned faintly.
"If this is the level of discipline among hunters," he said, his tone like sharpened ice, "then no wonder the Shadow Gates keep swallowing your people."
He turned away, walking toward the exit.
As he passed Yume, his voice softened — barely a whisper meant for her alone.
"I'm sorry."
The door opened with a hiss of pressure, and Ren stepped out, leaving behind a room of trembling hunters, shattered pride, and the faint scent of fear.
Kuro sighed, watching the cracks in the table.
"…He was holding back."
Daiki nodded. "If he hadn't… this building would've vanished."
James, still on the floor, could only stare at the door where Ren had stood moments ago.
The arrogance in his eyes was gone — replaced by something colder.
Pure terror.
The heavy door closed behind Ren, sealing the silence like a coffin.
For a few heartbeats, no one spoke. The scent of ozone still lingered in the air — the remnants of power too immense for human lungs to breathe. The lights above flickered back to life, humming weakly as if even they feared the man who had just walked out.
Althric struggled to stand, his gauntlet crushed, his arm trembling.
He looked at the shattered table, then at James, who sat collapsed on the floor, his breath uneven, eyes wide in disbelief.
"What… what was that?" he muttered hoarsely. "That wasn't aura — it wasn't even mana."
Kuro and Daiki exchanged a glance — both grim, both silent.
Daiki was the first to speak. "That, Althric… was the reason he was chosen to lead."
Ichiro, one of the higher-ups, slammed his hand on the table, his voice shaking between fear and fury. "You call that leadership? He nearly killed a hunter! Inside the central hall!"
Kuro met his glare calmly. "And if he wanted to, none of us would be standing right now. Not you, not me. Not even your guards outside this chamber."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Yume crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. "He endured James' insult until the very last line. You all heard it — he insulted me, yes… but that wasn't why Ren moved. He moved because James disgraced the name of the Shadow Bounds."
Her tone softened — a faint, pained sigh. "And because he's tired of watching arrogance mock sacrifice."
James turned toward her, trembling, his face still pale. "He's… he's a monster. No human moves like that."
Yume's eyes glinted. "You're right. He's not like us."
Daiki placed his hand on the broken table, his shadow stretching slightly across the floor. "When Ren entered the Order, the Gate readings reacted. The mana detectors spiked off the charts. The archives marked it as a 'shadow resonance anomaly' — but now I think we all know the truth."
Ichiro frowned. "What are you saying?"
Daiki's voice lowered, solemn.
"He's not just a hunter. He's something beyond us — something the Gates themselves recognize."
Kuro added quietly, "The Monarch of Shadows… reborn in human flesh."
A tremor went through the room — disbelief, awe, and dread all mingled in one heartbeat.
"Impossible," said one of the high rank hunter. "Those are myths — legends from the Old Abyss."
"And yet," Daiki replied, "you all felt it. His aura didn't radiate mana… it devoured it. It bent the light. It suffocated even the S-ranks. Tell me, when was the last time you saw a human do that?"
No one answered.
Through the reinforced glass wall, they could see Ren standing outside, looking out over the distant skyline — a world slowly being swallowed by the glow of the Shadow Gates.
Wind stirred his coat, and for an instant, the reflection of his eyes gleamed faintly violet — the color of an ancient power long forgotten.
"Whether he is human or not," Yume said softly, "he's the only one who can lead us through what's coming."
Althric clenched his fists, his pride burning with the memory of that overwhelming pressure. "If that's true… then the world is already bowing before a new monarch."
The higher-ups remained silent. No one dared speak further.
Only the hum of the failing lights remained — and the faint, rhythmic echo of Ren's footsteps fading down the corridor.
Later that night…
A secure chamber deep beneath the capital.
Daiki and Kuro stood before a vast holographic display showing the largest Gate ever recorded — a storm of darkness swallowing the eastern horizon.
"The readings are rising," Daiki said quietly. "Class has shifted again — from 'Omega' to 'Undefined.' The core's energy signature matches the one we recorded around Ren."
Kuro nodded, arms folded. "Then it's as we feared. The Gate… is reacting to him."
"Or," Daiki said darkly, "it's calling him."
The silence stretched, broken only by the hum of machines.
Kuro turned toward the window — the faint moonlight glinting across his sharp eyes.
"Tomorrow, we move out. Whether he's a man or a Monarch doesn't matter anymore."
He exhaled slowly.
"If he's truly the shadow reborn… then maybe, just maybe, this world still has hope."
(To Be Continued)