---
[ Crimson Rebirth]
The ground trembled as Ren and Jae-min sprinted toward the glowing horizon. The River of Crimson shimmered ahead like molten blood — salvation and danger in one.
But something was wrong.
Jae-min's breath hitched.
His steps faltered.
His vision blurred.
> [SYSTEM WARNING⚠️: G.E (Ghost Essence) at 12%… 9%… 6%…]
"Not now…" he muttered, but his legs felt heavier with every step.
Ren glanced back — eyes widening.
"Hey! Phantom— you good?!"
Jae-min tried to speak, but only a rough breath came out. His energy was collapsing. His body slowing.
Ren clenched his jaw and grabbed Jae-min's wrist, pulling him forward.
"I've got you — don't stop!"
But the demons behind them didn't care.
They had closed the distance.
And the biggest of them— with flaming horns and molten eyes— roared and formed a massive sphere of hellfire above its head.
The entire Havoc Realm shook.
"Ren…" Jae-min whispered weakly, "that's… bad."
"No kidding!"
The demon hurled the flaming sun straight at them — a death sentence falling from the sky.
A firestorm large enough to evaporate a small town.
Ren inhaled sharply.
His pupils shattered like glass— reshaping into spiraling blue sigils.
Infinite Possibilities.
Hundreds of visions flashed through Ren's mind in less than a second:
— Getting burned alive
— Getting vaporized
— Getting blasted off the cliff
— Jumping into the river
— Missing the river by two inches
— Getting hit mid-air
— Timing a dodge
— Failing it
— Succeeding but slipping
— Surviving
— Dying
— Living
— Falling
— Rising
Possibility after possibility.
273 possibilities.
272 ended in death.
Only one ended in survival:
Jump into the Crimson River.
Ren didn't hesitate.
"Hold on!"
He wrapped an arm around Jae-min, gathered every last shred of strength—
And launched them both straight into the river.
The fireball hit behind them.
BOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
Heat ripped across the world.
Even submerged, they felt the burn.
Their lungs screamed.
Their skins tingled like they were dissolving.
> [SYSTEM WARNING⚠️: Oxygen dropping… Heart rate critical… Physical body failing…]
Ren couldn't move.
Jae-min couldn't think.
Everything was fading.
The river was killing them.
The explosion was suffocating them.
Their bodies were shutting down.
Then—
Something awakened.
---
— Crimson Awakening — Ren Asura —
A vicious surge of demonic energy tore through Ren's veins.
The pain was indescribable.
A burning, ripping, expanding sensation that nearly shattered his mind.
And then—
BOOM!
Ren erupted out of the water, roaring, wrapped in swirling red-black flames.
His entire body was glowing.
His aura felt like a newborn volcano.
He looked almost… elemental.
A fire spirit made flesh.
The Crimson River had chosen him.
Ren didn't waste a second.
He dashed forward — leaving fiery footprints in the air — and reached the demons before they could blink.
The first demon swung.
Ren grabbed its arm and snapped it with pure force, then blasted its chest with a spiral of crimson flame. The creature disintegrated into ash.
The second demon lunged.
Ren's aura flared, forming a blade of fire along his arm.
He cut clean through the demon's torso.
Two demons dead. Ten more shaken.
Ren's eyes burned like dying stars.
"WHO'S NEXT?!"
His voice echoed across the Havoc Realm like a war god descending.
The demons hesitated.
But the real storm…
Was still underwater.
---
— Jae-min's Rebirth — Demon's Rise —
Jae-min drifted deeper into the crimson depths.
His consciousness slipping.
His heart slowing.
His mind flickering.
But in that dying darkness…
His memories rose.
Quinn laughing.
Quinn crying.
Quinn waking from her coma.
Quinn depending on him.
Park Ji-hoon trusting him.
The exorcists respecting him.
The world calling him a phantom—
His story.
His struggles.
His pain.
His triumphs.
His promises.
His purpose.
He clenched his fists underwater.
"No…"
His eyes snapped open.
"I'm not meant to die here."
The river trembled.
"I'm NOT dying…"
The river buckled.
"…NOT TODAY!"
BOOOOOOM—!!!!
The Crimson River split apart like a divine miracle.
And Jae-min walked out of the water — piece by piece — like a god of wrath reborn.
His Phantom attire had changed.
New glowing stripes streaked across the suit, pulsing like living runes.
Dark flame tracings coiled around his arms.
His hood cast a deeper shadow than before.
In each hand he held a weapon he had never possessed:
Twin Mystic Guns, etched with demonic sigils, glowing in the same color as his eyes.
His aura?
A storm.
A hurricane.
A calamity.
Dark flames spiraled around him endlessly, forming a pillar that pierced the sky.
The demons froze.
Even Ren stopped mid-strike, staring with wide eyes.
The Havoc Realm itself paused.
> [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
New Ability Unlocked: DEMONS RISE
Source: D.E (Demon Essence)
Effects: Massive boost to all physical and spiritual stats.
Enhancement to Dark Flames.
New weapon manifestation unlocked.
Form duration: Unknown.
Note: Host is no longer purely human or ghost-attuned. Be cautious.
Jae-min lifted his head.
His eyes glowed with a terrifying brilliance.
A demon stared at him— trembling.
Jae-min whispered one word:
"Run."
And the battlefield obeyed.
---
🔥
Here we go.
The world in front of Jae-min and Ren Asura cracked.
The Havoc Realm trembled—blood-red skies rippling like torn canvas, rivers of molten ember roaring beneath floating chunks of black stone. The air was thick, bending with demonic pressure so strong it made the bones of reality creak.
And then… it arrived.
RANGĀH.
A towering demon stepped out from behind the burning horizon, each footfall shaking the land so violently that fractured waves exploded in the crimson river behind them. His body was layered with charred plates—armor grown from demonic flesh. Lava-like veins pulsed across his body. His horns were long and jagged, carved like ancient blades stained with ruin.
But what was most terrifying was—
His eyes.
Two slits of molten gold, burning with ancient authority.
The system's voice rang simultaneously in Jae-min and Ren's heads.
> ⚠️ WARNING
HAVOC REALM ENTITY IDENTIFIED:
RANGĀH — DEMON COMMANDER OF THE BLOOD OATH LEGION
RANK: ★★★★★ LEGENDARY
POWER LEVEL: CLASSIFICATION UNSUITABLE FOR HUMAN SCALE
Jae-min swallowed hard.
Ren whistled in disbelief.
"…So this is what 'impossible difficulty' looks like."
Rangāh exhaled, and black flames poured out like steam from a volcanic titan.
"Humans," Rangāh thundered. "Uninvited. Unworthy. Yet daring to wield the Crimson River's gift."
His voice cracked the ground beneath them.
Ren flicked the crimson aura on his body. "Jae-min… you ready?"
Jae-min slowly spun his twin mystic guns, his newly awakened Demon's Rise Form humming with raging dark flames.
"Let's make history," he whispered.
---
THE BATTLE BEGINS
Rangāh vanished.
A gust of shockwave slammed through the realm—then a massive claw appeared behind them.
"MOVE!!" Jae-min shouted.
Ren activated Infinite Possibilities.
His eyes flashed bright blue—hundreds of shimmering pathways appeared in his vision. 479 futures. 233 deaths. 1 narrow survival route.
He grabbed Jae-min's collar—
And shoved them sideways just as Rangāh's claw pierced reality itself.
The world cracked.
Time bent.
A chunk of the Havoc Realm's sky shattered like glass, raining glowing shards.
Ren skid across the charcoal ground, Jae-min spinning beside him.
"That thing is faster than space itself," Ren growled.
Jae-min pointed a loaded mystic gun at Rangāh. "Then we speed up."
He activated Time Zone.
A circular ripple spread beneath him—gold, black and violet—time inside the zone slowed drastically.
But Rangāh's body barely reacted.
The demon smirked.
"Time is beneath me."
He stepped into the zone—
And kept moving.
Jae-min's eyes widened. He can move partially through my time domain?
Ren cursed. "Jae-min, this guy's a walking cheat code!"
Rangāh lifted his arm—
The flame around him warped into a dense sphere.
"Oh crap—" Ren muttered.
DEMONIC FLAME IMPACT.
A meteor-sized fireball launched at them.
Ren dragged Jae-min sideways, calculating five possibilities at once. "We go LEFT!"
"No," Jae-min replied.
His irises ignited with demonic fire.
"We go THROUGH."
He summoned Chain Control—dark chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around the fireball—
And imploded it into condensed embers.
BOOOOOMM!!
The explosion blasted them away, scorching half the valley and sending shockwaves erupting into the sky.
---
RANGĀH UNLEASHES HIS TRUE POWER
The demon cracked his neck.
"Impressive… humans with tricks."
He slammed his palm into the ground.
The entire Havoc Realm shivered.
> ⚠️ DEMONIC AUTHORITY: BLOOD PACT FIELD ACTIVATED
A red wave spread across the land. The air thickened. Rocks hovered. Blood rivers boiled.
Jae-min's system chimed:
> Debuff Applied: Demon Territory — all human abilities weakened by 40%.
Ren clicked his tongue. "This guy plays dirty."
Jae-min wiped blood from his lip. His shoulder still stung where he had been stabbed earlier.
"Ren," he said quietly, "if we fight normally… we die."
Ren's crimson aura burned fiercely.
"Then we don't fight normally."
---
THE FURY OF REN ASURA
Ren charged first.
His entire body burst into an inferno of black-red flames. He kicked off the ground so hard the stone liquefied.
Rangāh swung his colossal arm.
Ren ducked—
Fwoosh—!
He reappeared behind the demon.
Crimson Burst!
Ren slammed both fists into Rangāh's spine. A shockwave tremored out—Rangāh actually staggered.
Ren spun mid-air and unleashed a torrent of hellfire.
The flames tore into Rangāh's armor.
The demon roared, stumbling backward—
"YES! Keep hitting him!" Jae-min shouted.
But Rangāh abruptly turned, golden veins glowing like exploding suns.
"Child…"
He grasped Ren by the head.
"…you burn bright."
Then he slammed Ren into the ground, creating a crater that swallowed a mountain.
"REN!!" Jae-min yelled.
Rangāh tossed Ren aside like a broken weapon.
---
THE PHANTOM RISES
The demon turned to Jae-min.
"You… are different. Mixed. Human yet tainted. Worthy of devouring."
Jae-min slowly holstered his guns.
His phantom attire tightened, glowing with demonic lines. His dark flames surged, wrapping around his arms.
"Too bad," he said softly.
"I'm not on the menu."
He activated Spirit Enhancement—his speed spiked.
He dashed forward, teleporting through Rift Step—
SWISH!
He reappeared at Rangāh's side, firing both mystic guns point-blank.
DOOM-DOOM-DOOM-DOOM—!!!
The blasts tore into the demon's armor, scorching holes.
Rangāh growled—
But Jae-min had already appeared above him.
Dark flames danced around his boots.
Phantom Descent Kick!
He crashed into Rangāh's head.
The demon staggered.
Then growled, claws glowing blood-red.
"You test my patience—!"
Rangāh slashed—
He nearly split Jae-min in two.
Jae-min backflipped but a horn caught his shoulder and—
STABBED.
Jae-min gasped as blood sprayed out.
The system blared warnings.
He hit the ground violently, skidding through broken stone.
---
JAEMIN IS DOWN
Ren dragged himself out of rubble, coughing flames.
He saw the wound—Jae-min's clothes torn, blood pouring heavily.
"JAEMIN!!"
Jae-min tried to stand.
His healing skill flickered—tissue repairing, but only up to 75%.
The pain was overwhelming. His vision blurred.
The demon approached.
"Die now. Your essence will serve the legion."
Jae-min looked up weakly—
And remembered Quinn smiling with those chip bags, pretending to "protect his chips."
He remembered her waking from the coma.
He remembered every struggle.
Every humiliation.
Every lonely hunt.
Every dream.
And something inside him snapped.
---
THE LIMIT BREAK
Dark flames erupted around him—wild, chaotic, violent.
The demon paused.
Ren whispered, "…oh, hell yes."
Jae-min rose slowly, eyes burning like twin obsidian stars.
His demonic essence spiraled into a tornado behind him. His phantom attire glowed brighter, stripes shifting into an intricate demonic pattern.
Rangāh inhaled.
"…you evolve mid-battle?"
Jae-min clenched his fists.
"Let's finish this."
---
THE FINAL COMBO — PHANTOM X INFINIX
Ren flew to his side.
"Jae-min… I've got an idea."
Jae-min smirked. "At this point, I'll take anything."
Ren placed a hand on Jae-min's back.
"Infinite Possibilities—Synchronize."
Blue sparks danced around them, merging with Jae-min's crimson-black aura.
Hundreds of possible attacks flashed before Ren's eyes.
"A thousand futures. Only one wins."
He whispered the path into Jae-min's ear.
Jae-min nodded.
Rangāh sensed danger. "ENOUGH—!"
The demon charged.
Too late.
Jae-min activated Time Zone: Overclock — 200% speed boost inside the time domain.
Ren amplified it with his possibilities.
Both moved at speeds beyond sight.
Jae-min's chains wrapped around the demon's wrists.
Ren's flames locked onto his legs.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!!!
Jae-min and Ren launched upward, dragging Rangāh into the air.
Jae-min's guns spun, charging with all his demonic essence.
Ren's aura wrapped around him like a phoenix.
Together—
They unleashed it.
> DEMONIC OBLITERATION: CRIMSON PHANTOM NOVA
A beam of blistering black-red energy exploded from Jae-min's guns.
Ren added his own flame burst.
The attack swallowed Rangāh whole.
The Havoc Realm shook. The sky split. The river parted.
And the Legendary Demon Commander screamed—
Before his body cracked…
Shattered…
And exploded into ashes.
---
THE AFTERMATH
Ren collapsed, breathing hard.
Jae-min fell to his knees, exhausted, vision fading.
The system chimed.
> RANGĀH'S DEMONIC SOUL HAS BEEN OBTAINED.
ELIGIBLE FOR GHOST REPRESENTATIVE CONTRACT.
Jae-min smiled weakly.
"My first… Ghost Representative…"
Ren laughed breathlessly. "Bro… we have to stop meeting like this."
The Havoc Realm began dissolving.
20 seconds left.
Jae-min and Ren sat side by side, exhausted, burnt, almost dead… yet smiling.
"Ren," Jae-min said softly, "we'll meet again."
Ren nodded. "Yeah. Count on it."
10 seconds.
Their forms flickered.
Ren pointed at him. "Don't die before then, Phantom."
Jae-min smirked. "Same to you… Infinix boy."
3 seconds.
The light swallowed them.
---
BACK IN JAEMIN'S WORLD
Jae-min's body shot upward—
He gasped awake, breathing hard.
He was in his bed.
Bandaged. Cleaned. Clothes repaired.
His entire body healed.
He exhaled shakily, staring at the ceiling.
"…I'm alive."
Then he smiled faintly.
"…Rangāh… my first ghost representative."
His eyes closed briefly—exhausted but satisfied.
And outside his door…
Quinn was happily eating chips, completely unaware of the cosmic battle her brother just fought.
---