With a flick of his wrist, the blood clinging to the dagger splattered into the dirt, regaining its original shine.
Lifting the blade, his reflection stared back at him, his eyes cold and hollow, so much like his father's. Empty. Emotionless.
He looked way. Unable to look at himself, he dismissed the daggers and wiped the streaks of blood from his cheek, then reached down and gripped the massive sword the scarred hunter had used. The hilt was still warm to the touch.
[Long Great sword]
[Rank: Awakened]
A two-handed sword forged from the hardest metal found in the depths of the world.
• Built for endurance and balance under extreme heat and impact.
• Passive Trait: Reliability — maintains its edge and form through prolonged combat.
He lifted the massive sword effortlessly and gave it a glance.
"Huh. Nothing special about it."
'Take his armor too—and everything he has. Strip him naked if needed.'
He reached for the man's armor, but the moment his fingers touched it, the metal crumbled to dust.
His expression darkened. "What the hell…"
"You can't take the armor."
The man spoke softly, a hint of gentleness returning to his tone.
"Why?" he asked while searching the hunter's pockets for shards.
"Unlike weapons, armor becomes part of you, unless the owner willingly gives it away."
He turned, confusion flickering across his face.
"But aren't both part of you?"
The man nodded. "No. Think of it like this," he said. "Equipment are alive. Armor exists to protect its owner and will die with them unless that protection is passed on. But weapons… weapons desire strength. They'll abandon their dead master in search of a stronger hand to wield them."
He turned toward the man and instantly noticed the lady had her head down, barely meeting his eyes. The words that were about to leave his throat suddenly decided not to.
He turned away.
"Let's get moving."
"The sun hasn't come up yet," the man muttered, worry bleeding into his voice.
"It's fine. Just tell me which way to go."
Moving forward, just like he'd seen before, the ground was dry and cracked, the air heavy with silence. Neither he nor the gentle couple spoke. Every once in a while, he glanced at them, only for the woman to look away.
The endless field offered no comfort either. It stretched ahead, hollow and still, as though the world itself had been bled dry.
A few barren trees scattered across the wasteland, their twisted branches reaching skyward like skeletal hands.
Beyond them, the mountains watched in silence, dark, lifeless, and unmoving, as if the world had abandoned this place.
After a long, silent walk, they came across a stretch of hills, countless and uneven, each riddled with dark holes.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed the couple's gaze darting around, tense and restless, as if they were waiting for something to crawl out of the holes.
He stopped without looking back.
"Is there a monster nearby?"
The man nodded, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes. We have to stay quiet, or else we'll wake the queen."
His eyes swept across the hills. Countless giant bones lay scattered over the ground, bleached white beneath the pale light. Skulls of beasts, some large enough to swallow a man whole, littered the dry field like the remains of a forgotten hunt.
"Whenever monsters appear, I need you to create a dome and stay safe inside until I tell you to come out," he muttered as they continued to pass by larger hills.
A moment later, they passed the last of the hills and stepped into an open clearing. The couple let out a quiet breath of relief, the tension in their shoulders easing.
In the far distance, a faint light flickered against the horizon, steady and rhythmic, cutting through the darkness like a heartbeat.
"What is that?" he pointed at the distance.
"It's a lighthouse," the man replied softly. "Built to guide people who lose their way."
Just then, a sound began to ripple through the ground. The tremor crawled up through his legs.
He stopped.
"Something's coming."
He turned with a broken smile.
"Don't worry. I might be a monster, but even a monster like me won't harm the ones who saved my life."
His voice lowered.
"The first people to show me love."
The couple froze. The woman's lips parted as if she was about to say something.
But before she could reply, the giant sword materialized in his hand. Shadows rippled across his face, hiding whatever emotion still lingered there.
"Please," he said softly, eyes fixed on the approaching tremors, "put up the barrier."
From the shadows, the Black Knight rose beside him, followed by the Great Ogre. They towered over the dome, standing guard like silent sentinels.
Countless ant-like creatures crawled toward the hill, their movements perfectly synchronized. Each stood nearly six feet tall, their mandibles extending outward like jagged blades. Their black armor gleamed under the pale moonlight as they swarmed forward, covering the ground in a tide of chitin and hunger.
In their mandibles, they carried pieces of what looked like other monsters. Some resembled the remains of animals, while others were fragments of giant humanoid bodies—arms, torsos, faces half-devoured.
Shiro sat there, waiting, leaning against the massive black sword. The moment his eyes met theirs, every creature froze. Then, as if seized by instinct, they dropped what they were carrying.
He pulled the blade from the dirt, leapt high into the air, and came down like a meteor. The ground exploded on impact, sending those outside his radius hurtling backward while crushing the ones trapped within.
Without giving them a chance to recover, he gripped the hilt with both hands and spun, hurling himself toward the rest. His massive blade didn't cut—it tore. Flesh and armor alike ripped apart under the swing, their black shells shattering like glass.
His blade tore through the ground and the monsters alike. His knight and ogre moved like a storm of black steel, cutting through the swarm with effortless precision.
The air filled with the sound of cracking shells and splattering ichor. Shards of black armor rained down, glinting faintly under the moonlight before falling into the dirt.
He weaved through the chaos, every step fluid, every swing calculated. Even when their mandibles snapped shut around his waist, they couldn't pierce him. His body was too enhanced.
They went down under the swing of his blade, under his kicks and his fists.
To his surprise, they were much easier to kill than he had expected. But as their numbers thinned, the ground began to groan again, this time more violently. The earth trembled beneath his feet, shifting like something massive was moving below.
From the holes in the hills crawled a different breed of ants. They looked unlike the rest, standing on four legs with two muscular arms that flexed as they pulled themselves free from the earth.
There were around fifty of them.
As they climbed down, he didn't wait. He leapt forward and brought his blade down, crushing one of their heads flat. The strike ripped through its thick armor with ease.
He moved on to the next one without waiting for them to attack. Sliding between their massive arms, he cut through limbs to break their stance. Nothing survived the weight of his blows.
Even the Black Knight and Ogre didn't have any troubles. They were able to clean up the rest quickly.
Nothing stood a chance against the Black Knight's ebony blade or the brute force of the Ogre's fists.
[Entity: Black Knight]
[Rank: Dormant]
[Shadow Fragments: 100 / 100]
Threshold reached.
Next Rank: Awakened.
Would you like to awaken the Black Knight?
[ Yes ] [ No ]
"Oh"
He had been so focused on the fight that he almost forgot about this strange message.
Glancing at the Black Knight, he wondered what it meant, and the moment he thought about it, another message appeared before his eyes.
[Title Granted: King of the Abyss]
[Core Status: Dormant]
[Passive Acquired: Limitless]
[Restriction: Shard Consumption — Prohibited]
[Soul Fragments: 100 / 100]
Fragment capacity reached.
No additional fragments can be absorbed until the current trial is completed.
Would you like to accept the trial?
[ Yes ] [ No ]
He reached out, trying to press Yes, but just then Ari peeked her head from his pocket and shook it rapidly.
"Why? If I don't do it now, they won't let me get any more fragments," he muttered.
She puffed her cheeks, glaring at him, looking like she was about to headbutt him.
"Fine, fine, we'll do it later. Can I at least awaken the Black Knight?" he asked.
She gave a small nod, although he couldn't help but hate the fact that he wouldn't be able to collect any more fragments until he finished his trial.
He sighed out of frustration but mixed with excitement—a curiosity to see what the Black Knight's evolution would look like.
The ground seemed to share his excitement, because with a guttural crack, a limb burst from the ground, thick, hairy, and dark, coated in hardened chitin that glistened under the faint light.
Then the earth convulsed violently as the hills around them crumbled into dust, the land sinking like something vast and ancient was clawing its way to the surface.
Behind him, the couple's dome began to sink as well. He shot forward, shattering the barrier in one strike, scooped them both up, and leapt clear of the collapsing ground.
He looked them over.
"You two okay?"
The man staggered to his feet, still trembling. His eyes widened, twice their size, as he stared into the pit.
"It's a Nightmare-rank… an apex predator."
He grabbed Shiro's arm.
"We have to run!"
The man pulled, but Shiro didn't move an inch. His gaze stayed fixed on the pit, calm and unshaken.
"Run?" he said quietly. "Why should I ever run? Running means I lose."
His crimson eyes glowed brightly, a faint smile touching his lips.
"I will never lose again."