A ghoul…
"The dungeon is opening!!"
Sebastian rushes back into the tent, grabbing his daggers with urgency.
"Everyone! Wake up now!!" he roars, his voice full of haste and panic.
Sapphire springs up in shock. "Huh, wha—?"
Her eyes widen in sheer horror the moment she sees the shadow looming beyond the house, near the dungeon.
"Get ready. Keep the villagers safe. Elijah and I will handle this!" Sebastian orders, bolting out to wake Elijah.
The ghoul charges with inhuman speed, its lifeless grey skin stretched over bony limbs, a pair of glowing red eyes burning with fury.
At first sight, they seem weak. Helpless. Skinny.
But that's what they want you to think.
Their strength equals that of an elephant.
And ghouls don't appear in low-rank dungeons.
The very sight of one confirms this is, at the very least... a B-rank dungeon.
The creature lunges forward, its lifeless hands slicing through the air—aiming to kill.
Sebastian unsheathes his daggers. With one clean, swift strike—he cleaves both arms in half.
"AAAAAAAARARARARARARA!!!"
A fierce scream echoes through the village, waking every soul in terror.
Elijah snaps awake. With no hesitation, he bursts through the door.
Fire Goblins.
They're here… wreaking havoc—burning everything they touch, leaving behind trails of fire and screams.
"Elijah!! We need to stop them from reaching the village!" Sebastian yells, slashing down two goblins with a spin of his blades.
"Hold them off! Keep them within a radius of 50 meters!" Elijah shouts back, standing at the doorway.
He closes his eyes.
Focusing mana.
And begins to float… rising into the air above the village.
[A-Rank Skill – Mana Wall: 100%]
His eyes snap open, glowing with pure blue mana as it surges from his core.
From his feet, a translucent wall begins to spread—encasing the area in a glowing 50-meter radius barrier.
Just as the monsters attempt to escape, they crash into the wall, repelled with force. Again and again, they try—but the wall holds.
Elijah smirks from above, looking down on the desperate creatures thrashing against their prison as they are locked in with sebastian.
Meanwhile…
Sirius stands guard outside, protecting the outer barriers.
Sapphire, Klaus, and Sukiro work together, guiding villagers to safety.
Among the chaos, a young girl—barely five years old—stands still, her eyes fixed on Elijah glowing above in the sky.
"I'll be just like him one day. I'll protect everyone," she whispers, her eyes gleaming with innocent admiration.
Elijah's red cape billows in the wind, his arms folded as he surveys the battlefield.
He spots her… and smiles.
But that smile vanishes instantly.
His face twists into horror.
Behind her—a ghoul.
The girl turns slowly, eyes wide—too terrified to scream.
She closes her eyes, expecting pain.
But instead… she feels warm.
She's being hugged.
Sukiro.
He holds her tightly, shielding her with his body.
But his back—ripped open.
The ghoul's claws had pierced deep, tearing through flesh, muscle—exposing his very spine.
The ghoul roars again and charges—
But slams into a wall.
Elijah's wall.
The creature snarls and looks up—
Only to see Elijah, flying above like a vengeful beast.
Then—boom!
A hand slams into the ghoul's face, crushing it into the earth.
The ground shatters from the force, the ghoul's final moments spent staring into the berserked eyes of Elijah—eyes burning with primal fury.
Sukiro, bloodied and smiling weakly, looks down at the girl.
"Y-You ar-e ok… ri-ght?" he asks, his voice trembling.
The girl stares at him in horror. "I'm fine, mister! But… are you?"
"I-I a-m fi-ne," he lies with a fading smile.
Blood trickles from his mouth as his grip loosens.
He collapses.
The girl cries out.
Elijah rushes forward, scooping Sukiro up like a hero rescuing his beloved.
"Damn it, you idiot!" he hisses, running through the burning town, desperately searching for Sapphire.
"Why would he do this?!"
"Where is she?!"
His breathing grows erratic, his vision dizzy. He glances down at Sukiro's broken body—and something inside him cracks.
A memory surfaces—an old wound reopened.
He stumbles.
Sukiro slips from his arms, hitting the ground.
Elijah stares at his blood-covered hands, at the burning villagers, their screams echoing in his ears.
His mind spirals.
A voice.
A slap.
"Get to the others! I'll handle Sukiro!" Sapphire yells, her eyes fierce.
"You—You have to save him, Sapphire! You can't let him die!!" Elijah shouts, his voice cracking with pain.
She softens. Grabs his trembling hand.
"I will save him. But you need to save the others. When he wakes up—he won't forgive you if you don't."
She smiles. "Please…"
With that, she picks Sukiro up and races toward the tents.
Elijah watches, stunned. His chest heaves.
Then, slowly—he centers himself.
"I can't break down. Not again. I have to be strong."
His eyes sharpen once more. The weakness gone.
He rises. And runs.
Sapphire places Sukiro down on a bench, panic rising as she sees the blood.
"He's lost so much blood. How did this even happen…?"
"No time to think," she tells herself, focusing her mana.
She places her hands over him, green light enveloping his wounds.
Slowly, they begin to close.
Sukiro wakes up—
But not here.
Not in this world.
Darkness.
Endless.
Unending.
An abyss.
No sound.
No warmth.
No light.
He stands up, confused.
"Where am I? Did I die..?
He walks, step by step, but the darkness remains the same in all directions.
"Why is everything the same?"
Then—
He feels it.
A presence. Something so powerful it shatters his very soul.
His body freezes. Even blinking becomes impossible. His heart stops.
He slowly turns, to look at what haunts him
Blackeyes
Pitch black.
He doesn't move
Suddenly!
He collapses to his knees, the weight of the entity suffocating.
He looks up, he feels something else something sinister..
Red eyes..
Red.
Deeper than Blood-red. Deeper than any crimson known.
Pure evil.
Yet again he feels a presence but he falls down to the dark ground just like the surroundings
His bones begin to break, one by one.
Yet—he cannot scream. His body refuses.
He looks up one last time—
Eyes of something not human. Not forgivable. Not sane.
Black eyes, crawling with purple worms swimming inside.
His bones snap. His heart ruptures.
His skull crushes his brain.
Still—no sound.
Then—
He jolts awake.
Gasping. Trembling. Eyes wide.
Sapphire is by his side.
"Sukiro… are you ok…?" she whispers, voice fragile.
He doesn't answer, trembling he can't talk.
She stares, deeply concerned.
"Sukiro?"
No response.
Without another word, she wraps her arms around him, holding him close.
She doesn't speak—just hugs him tight.
Letting him know:
He's not alone.
His breathing slows.
His heart eases.
Sleep takes him again, this time… gently.
Meanwhile…
Elijah's eyes blaze with fury.
With vengeance.
He floats high above—at the source of the barrier—and carves an opening.
Descending.
Sebastian leaps beside him at the edge of the barrier.
"Do what you must, Elijah. I've had my fun."
He grins—and leaps down.
Elijah's hands start to move—mana gathering.
He mutters, voice ice-cold:
"You picked the wrong place to come…"
"And now… you'll meet your creators."
[A-Rank Skill – Inferno of Doom]
His palm faces the ground.
A fire—unholy and wild—bursts from his hand, spinning violently.
One monster leaps toward him—its eyes burned out just by witnessing the flame.
Before the fire even touches it—its body ignites, incinerated mid-air.
The Inferno rains down.
Not just flame—lava.
The burning torrent crashes within the barrier.
Monsters scream, shriek, burn—reduced to ash and regret.
And above it all—
Elijah floats, eyes reflecting flame and death.
And on his face—
A smile.
Not of a hero.
But of something more terrifying.
The smile…
of a villain.