The cave trembled with each passing second.
The screams had faded. One by one, Lucian's comrades disappeared into the dark, devoured by Nate's summoned beasts—silent, merciless predators of shadow.
Now, only Lucian and his guild master remained.
Lucian stood frozen, his legs barely supporting him. Sweat poured down his face, his sword long forgotten at his feet. Panic consumed his eyes.
Nate took a step forward, eyes glowing faintly, the shadows curling around him like a cloak.
"Emily. Athena. I leave him to you," he said without looking back.
At the far end of the cave, the guild boss stood firm. A brute of a man, his armor dented and scratched from countless battles, he wore a confident smirk as if the disappearance of his men meant nothing.
He raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, kid—who the hell are you supposed to be?"
Nate returned the smirk.
"I thought I already told you…" His voice dropped, dark and low. "I'm your worst nightmare."
The man laughed. It was deep and hollow, echoing through the cave like a death knell. "Nightmare, huh? Let's see if you can back it up."
Then came the storm.
They clashed in the center of the cavern—steel and shadow colliding with bone-shaking force. The walls rattled. Stone cracked under the pressure. Nate's fists moved like twin meteors, and the boss's strikes were wild, driven by sheer power.
Athena turned away, eyes narrowing as she focused on Lucian.
"Emily, get the women out," she ordered, stepping toward the trembling knight.
Emily didn't argue. "Right this way!" she called, ushering the freed prisoners toward the cave's exit. The women—malnourished and pale—leaned on one another for support, each step an effort. But their eyes were alive again, filled with cautious hope.
Athena approached Lucian slowly. Shadows danced at her back as Nate's summoned beasts emerged behind her—eyes glowing, fangs bared.
Lucian dropped to his knees, shaking. "P-Please… I didn't want any of this! I—I was forced to join! I had no choice!"
Athena tilted her head, smiling faintly. There was no warmth in it.
"Oh, don't worry," she whispered. "Neither do I."
The beasts didn't need orders.
They lunged.
Outside the Cave
Emily gently cradled Samantha's limp body. Though the spark of mana remained, it flickered—thin as a dying candle flame.
Outside the cave, Eden and Owen were already waiting.
"Call for medical help—now!" Emily shouted, urgency sharp in her voice.
Eden vanished in an instant. Owen moved to help, catching one of the injured women as she stumbled.
"Where's Nate and Athena?" he asked, breath tight.
"Still inside," Emily replied, her voice faltering. "They'll be here."
She hoped.
Deep in the Cave
Nate sidestepped another heavy swing. The boss fought like a brawler—strong but undisciplined. His blows were loud, wasteful, and slow.
"You said you'd show me a place darker than hell!" the man shouted between attacks.
Nate ducked, sliding beneath a wild strike. "And you're getting cocky," he replied coolly.
He reappeared in front of the man—faster than thought.
His palm slammed into the man's face with enough force to send him skidding across the cave floor, stone shattering beneath him.
"System," Nate called out. "Equip: Wolf's Fang Gauntlet."
[System: Equipment Complete.]
Dark, serrated gauntlets formed around his hands, glowing with raw, feral energy. Spikes protruded from the knuckles—made for breaking more than bones.
"Let's test them."
He vanished again.
This time, he reappeared behind the man, grabbing him by the hair and slamming a gauntleted fist into his ribs. The sound of cracking bone echoed through the cave.
The man screamed—loud and unfiltered. Nate didn't stop.
He pinned him to the ground and began hammering down strikes. Each punch was a sentence. Each blow an answer.
When the boss's body finally stopped moving, Nate paused.
Blood dripped from his fists.
Then, calmly, he reached into his pouch, uncorked a potion, and forced it down the man's throat.
The guild leader gasped violently as the healing brew flooded his veins.
"Please…" he whimpered. "I surrender. I swear—I'll never—"
Nate crouched, resting a hand atop the man's bloody head like an old friend.
"I believe you," he said softly.
Then flames erupted from his palm—black, burning without heat.
The man's scream this time was one of soul-deep agony.
Nate watched, eyes unreadable, as the fire devoured him slowly. Just before he turned to ash, Nate quenched the flame and administered another potion.
The man lay twitching, clothes burned to ash, skin scorched and raw.
"You've learned your lesson," Nate said as he stood. "Now follow me."
And the man obeyed—dragging his broken body behind the one who had judged him.
The Clearing
The forest clearing was packed with armor-clad Holy Knights. Their formation was tight, weapons ready.
But when Nate emerged—blood-stained and quiet—they didn't raise their swords.
They dropped to one knee.
The commander stepped forward. "Great Hero. We've come to apprehend the dark guild. They're wanted across all the capital's nations."
Nate didn't answer immediately. He glanced around. The women had been clothed. Bandaged. Some were smiling for the first time in days.
His gaze found Emily.
She was kneeling beside Samantha's body.
Too late.
Her shoulders trembled.
"You could've saved her," she whispered as he approached. Her voice was small, but the pain in it was immeasurable.
Nate said nothing.
Instead, he raised his hand.
A massive shadow bloomed beside him.
Bound within it were the remaining dark guild members—eyes wide, mouths gagged, limbs bound tight.
"No one will be taken," Nate said, his voice cold, almost inhuman. "These women will pass judgment."
The Holy Knights exchanged glances, hesitant.
"But sir… the king—"
"They will be delivered," Nate interrupted, "after their justice is done."
The silence that followed was filled with tension.
Then—
The women rose.
They weren't warriors. But they were survivors.
They gathered stones. Broken blades. Their eyes no longer held fear—only resolve.
The sound of vengeance echoed across the clearing.
Samantha's sister stepped forward. She didn't scream or shout.
She simply spat on the man who had ordered her sister's death, then turned away.
The End of the Dark Guild
Nate stepped toward the girl.
She looked up at him—broken, but not defeated.
"Join us," he said.
She hesitated.
Then reached for his hand.
The moment their fingers touched, a surge of power rippled across the ground.
And then—
Pop. Pop. Pop.
One by one, the heads of the bound dark adventurers burst like watermelons, painting the clearing in arcs of red.
A final judgment.
Fireworks of blood.
Nate turned to the Holy Knights.
"Now," he said. "You can take what's left to the capital."
And without another word, he turned.
Athena, Emily, Owen, Eden—and now Isabella—fell into step behind him.
As they left the forest, dawn beginning to break, a single thought echoed in Nate's mind:
If this world revolves around the strong…
Then I will become strength itself—and I will redefine justice.