In the demon realm, the Demon King and his younger brother stood before the colossal window of obsidian crystal, watching the battle unfold across the human world. The moment the Abyss Army bowed to Ren—the Ninth King of Shadows—a thin curl of satisfaction rose on the Demon King's lips. It was faint, but unmistakable.
His brother, however, felt his pulse freeze.
The beasts of the abyss—the same creatures their upper-ranked generals struggled to survive against—were not only obeying Ren… they were fighting for him.
"Brother…" the younger demon whispered, disbelief forcing the words out of him. "Who is he? How did a human earn the allegiance of monsters that even our armies dread?"
The Demon King did not answer. His eyes, ancient and cruel, merely narrowed—watching the darkness rise around the young human on the battlefield.
On the surface, the world was a graveyard.
Demons that had crawled out of the gate for destruction now lay scattered—some brutally torn apart, others half-eaten by abyssal beasts. The stench of blood and decay was thick enough to choke breath.
Only Sivrath, the High Commander of the Shadow Demons, remained standing among the corpses. His body steamed with demonic aura, his claws dripping crimson.
Across from him, Ren walked forward, his entire frame drowned in twisting shadows.
Darkness poured from him like a storm with no center.
Sivrath thrust out his arm and unleashed a devastating blast, a surge powerful enough to annihilate a fortress. But before it could touch Ren, the darkness writhing around him expanded—devouring the blast whole.
Ren kept walking. Silent. Unblinking.
The rage that had been carved into him after seeing Yume's broken form had warped his power beyond its limits. Shadows howled. Darkness spiraled upward, swallowing the sky. The earth trembled as Ren's fury reshaped the battlefield into a realm of blackened storm.
Sivrath lunged, but his claws met empty air.
Ren had already slipped past him—untouchable.
Sivrath took several steps back, his confidence cracking. Then he bared his fangs and released his true power. The ground shattered beneath him as demonic energy erupted outward.
"That girl could barely withstand even a fraction of my strength," Sivrath snarled. "You may be the Ninth King, but not even you can stand against this power!"
But Ren did not answer.
He simply struck.
The ground split from the force. Shockwaves roared outward. Sivrath was thrown back, his expression twisting with disbelief.
"Impossible! No one can endure my power—no human, no demon!" he screamed.
Ren's body shifted.
Darkness wrapped around him like molten armor. His form elongated, sharpened—the armor forged entirely from shadows and abyssal flame. His helmet leaked black fire like a crown of infernal smoke.
Sivrath staggered.
"What… what is this form?"
Ren gave him nothing. Not a word.
Then the real battle began.
Blades of shadow clashed against demonic claws. Explosions of power lit the battlefield in brief flashes—each brighter than lightning. The ground trembled violently. Wind storms ripped across the wasteland. Every nearby structure that had survived until now collapsed under the violent pressure of their fight.
Sivrath had entered the battle certain of his victory, convinced he would crush the Ninth King easily.
But now he understood something terrifying:
He was the one being pushed back.
"How—how is he doing this?" Sivrath staggered again, wounded, panting. "No one should be able to fight me head-on!"
No matter how he attacked, nothing touched Ren.
And Ren… Ren kept advancing, blow after blow, overwhelming him.
Far away, the surviving hunters watched in silence.
Some hunters trembled. Some cried. Some clasped their hands together in desperate prayers.
"Please… please win this for us," one of B ranked hunter whispered. "Please…"
Yume's eyes fluttered open. Her voice was barely a breath.
"What… is happening?"
Akari, sitting beside her, placed a trembling hand on her arm.
"It's alright now. All the shadow demons are dead. Only their leader is left. Mr. Ren… he's fighting him. And I think he's angry very angry at him."
Yume whispered something faint, a tiny smile ghosting over her lips, before she lost consciousness again.
Sivrath, usually calm and composed, had fallen into full rage. His own body was carved with cuts—dozens of them—left by Ren's shadow blades.
Then a voice echoed inside his skull. Deep. Commanding.
The Demon King.
You know your duty, Sivrath.
Fulfill it.
Sivrath's eyes widened—and he roared.
His power exploded outward, more corrupted and violent than before. From the gate behind him, groups of elite demons began emerging—thick-skinned, towering, each radiating a murderous aura.
Panic swept across the battlefield.
"They're coming again!" Elysia an elite A ranked shadow bound shouted.
The Abyss Army prepared to charge, but suddenly—
Shadows erupted from the far side of the battlefield.
A massive pile of demon corpses burst upward.
Arata turned toward it, eyes wide.
"What the hell is happening there!?"
Everyone followed his gaze.
From atop the mountain of bodies… a figure rose.
Haru Kenzaki.
His body radiated shadow, his aura sharp enough to cut air.
Daiki's jaw dropped.
"What the—… Didn't Ren also tell him to go back with us?"
He fell onto one knee, overwhelmed.
"That entire pile… did he do that alone?"
Haru was yet. He only cracked his neck as Kaen's voice echoed through him.
"You've done well so far. The training paid off."
Haru's body darkened even further, transforming into a pure shadowborne form.
Kaen's voice rumbled through him again.
"Shall we end this, Haru?"
Haru smirked.
"Let's end it."
"Then show your power," Kaen commanded. "Let the world remember your name."
Haru shot into the sky like a meteor.
Demons flying overhead were shredded instantly. Limbs fell like rain. Wings were severed. Bodies disintegrated. Haru cut through every one of them—alone.
When he descended, landing beside the hunters, nobody could speak.
Akari finally whispered, "That… that was amazing."
Daiki placed his hand on Haru's shoulder.
"That whole pile… that was you?"
"Y–yes," Haru replied. "Why?"
Daiki leaned in, lowering his voice.
"How did you master your new power?"
Haru chuckled softly.
"I haven't mastered it. I only built my body to withstand Kaen's strength. And I'm not even using his full power."
Daiki froze.
The realization that Haru had slaughtered hundreds with fraction of his strength which left Daiki speechless.
On the battlefield, Sivrath's body twisted again—into something monstrous. His horns lengthened, wings tore out from his back, and thick saliva dripped from his jaws. His aura warped the air around him.
Ren stood before him—calm, unmoving.
Sivrath launched forward and for the first time, his punch connected. The force sent Ren flying.
Before Ren could land, Sivrath slammed another punch and hurled him into the sky. Ren twisted mid-air and countered, but Sivrath dodged, seized his opening, and smashed Ren into the ground, burying him deep.
Daiki stepped forward in panic.
"Ren is being pushed back! Althric, we need to help him—"
But Althric didn't move.
His eyes remained fixed on the battlefield.
"Our king has not fallen yet," he said.
And he was right.
A flash of movement.
Ren blurred into existence behind Sivrath and delivered a kick that sent Sivrath flying. Before the demon could recover—
Darkness erupted.
Ren unleashed everything.
The entire battlefield was swallowed by pure shadow.
The air thickened. The ground groaned. Even the strongest hunters felt their knees weaken.
Sivrath felt his chest tighten as if an invisible weight pressed down on him—crushing, suffocating.
"What… are you?" he gasped.
Then a voice—not Ren's—rumbled through the darkness, heavy and merciless.
"Your death."
A chill unlike anything he had ever known stabbed straight through Sivrath's spine. Something ancient and terrifying wrapped around his soul.
For the first time in centuries…
Sivrath felt fear.
Ren stepped forward, blades of shadow forming in his hands.
"I wonder…" Ren whispered, his voice cold enough to freeze blood. "Did higher-ranked shadow demons feel fear too?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Well… I think I've got my answer."
In the next instant—
He severed Sivrath's head.
Silence fell.
The darkness peeled away.
Ren's armor dissolved.
His body returned to human form, breathing heavy, eyes locked on the closing gate above.
He lifted Sivrath's head.
His expression was unreadable—calm, controlled, yet carrying the weight of an unspoken message.
As the gate narrowed, Ren threw the severed head through it—straight into the demon realm.
Where the Demon King watched it roll at his feet.
The message was clear:
This world… now belongs to the Ninth King.