The shard-fire flickered low as the group sat in uneasy silence. The mission panel still glowed faintly before Mori's eyes.
> **Objective Update:**
> Stalkers Defeated: 2/3
> Remaining: 1
Two kills done—thanks mostly to Renji's arrows and Haruka's spells. But the mission wasn't complete. Mori still needed one more to rank up.
And without that, he was doomed.
Mori sat clutching his bandaged arm, the sting of his earlier wound sharp with every heartbeat. His pipe lay across his knees, battered and nearly useless. He hated how everyone else looked composed, capable—while he looked like he was barely holding together.
Ren spoke quietly, glancing toward the darkness. "The last Stalker should be near the ruins east of here. But…" He hesitated.
Haruka looked up. "But?"
Ren's eyes hardened. "There are rumors. Survivors who went east never came back. Some say a stronger creature prowls there—a variant."
Mori's stomach tightened. "Variant?"
Renji adjusted his bowstring, voice calm but edged. "Shadow Beasts aren't fixed. Sometimes… one mutates. Stronger. Smarter."
Kenta cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Good. Then we get to punch something bigger."
"Don't be stupid," Haruka snapped. "If it's a variant, one mistake could kill us all."
Takuro, leaning lazily against a stone pillar, finally spoke. "Then perhaps it's the perfect test. After all… if Mori can't even help against one variant, how can he expect to survive here?"
Mori glared at him. "Why do you always—"
But Ren cut in. "Enough. Fighting each other won't help. If we go east, we go prepared. No mistakes."
Silence fell. The decision was made.
---
The ruins stretched before them—towers half-swallowed by mist, archways broken and jagged like teeth. The silence was wrong here. Too heavy.
Mori walked in the middle of the group, heart hammering. Every shadow looked like it could spring to life.
Then he heard it.
A low growl. But deeper. More deliberate.
From behind a crumbled wall, it emerged.
The creature was massive—twice the size of a Stalker, its body armored in jagged plates of obsidian. Its face was stretched into a nightmarish grin, rows of fangs dripping with black saliva. Unlike the others, its eyes glowed a deep violet. Intelligent. Hunting.
Renji swore under his breath. "That's no ordinary Stalker. That's a Shadowfang."
Haruka's grip on her staff tightened. "We can't fight that!"
Takuro smiled faintly. "Oh, but we can. And we will."
---
The Shadowfang lunged.
"Scatter!" Ren shouted.
The group split, Mori stumbling back as the beast's claws tore through the ground where he had stood. Dust and debris flew into the air.
Renji's arrow flew, striking its side, but the creature barely flinched. It turned, snapping its jaws, forcing him to roll away.
Kenta charged with a roar, fist glowing as he struck its armored leg. The impact echoed, sending cracks through the ground—but the beast barely staggered. It whipped its tail, slamming Kenta into a wall.
"Kenta!" Mori cried.
Haruka raised her staff, chanting rapidly. A burst of light shot toward the Shadowfang, searing its hide and forcing it back. Smoke rose from the wound, but it only seemed angrier.
Ren shouted, "Mori! Circle left! We need to flank it!"
Mori's hands shook. His legs wanted to freeze. But he forced himself to move, gripping his pipe so tight his knuckles whitened.
---
The Shadowfang lunged at Ren, claws slashing. Ren blocked with his blade, the force driving him to his knees.
Renji's arrows peppered its back, but the thick armor absorbed most of the blows.
Kenta staggered back into the fight, blood on his lip, and swung with both fists, each blow glowing brighter. "Come on, you bastard!"
The beast roared, snapping its jaws at him. Haruka unleashed another burst of light, stunning it for a heartbeat.
"Now!" Ren shouted.
Mori froze. This was it. The opening. The chance to land the blow.
His legs felt heavy, but he pushed forward, pipe raised. He swung with all his strength—
—and the pipe shattered against the beast's hide.
The Shadowfang turned, eyes locking on him.
Mori's breath caught. He stumbled back, tripping over rubble. "N-no…!"
The creature's jaws opened wide, descending on him—
—and suddenly, something stirred.
The world slowed. His vision blurred, a strange heat rushing through his veins. For an instant, he saw lines across the beast's body—points of weakness, glowing faintly. His heart pounded, his ears filled with a strange whisper.
*Strike. Now.*
Mori's body moved on instinct. He grabbed a broken shard of metal from the ground, surging upward. With a desperate scream, he drove it into one of the glowing points—the gap between its armored plates.
The Shadowfang screeched, thrashing violently. Black ichor poured from the wound.
Ren seized the moment, slashing across its neck. Kenta roared, smashing its chest with a final blow. Haruka unleashed a searing flash of light.
The beast collapsed, dissolving into shadowy smoke.
---
Silence. Heavy, suffocating silence.
Mori fell to his knees, chest heaving. The shard slipped from his trembling hands.
Ren rushed to him, gripping his shoulder. "Mori… that was—what was that?"
"I… I don't know," Mori whispered, still shaking. "I just… saw it. Where to strike."
Haruka frowned, her eyes narrowing. "That's not normal. Not for F-Rank."
Renji's gaze was sharp, calculating. "Hidden potential?"
Takuro finally stepped forward, clapping slowly, his smirk deep and unsettling. "Well, well, Mori. Looks like you're not completely worthless after all."
Mori shot him a look, but Takuro only tilted his head. "Careful, though. Power like that… it tends to change people."
Ren helped Mori to his feet. "Don't listen to him. You did it. You landed the blow. The mission's complete."
Mori blinked as the panel appeared again:
> **Mission Complete**
> Rank Advancement: F → E
> Reward: 20 Shards
He stared at it, his heart racing. He had survived.
But the whispers in his mind lingered, faint and unsettling.
*Strike. Now.*
---
That night, as the group rested, Mori lay awake, staring into the mist. His body ached, his mind whirled. The image of those glowing lines haunted him.
What was that?
Why had it felt like something inside him—something not entirely his own—had guided his hand?
And why, even now, did he feel as though the shadows were watching him more closely?
---