Chapter 13 — Part 1: Clash at the Ruin City
The Warlord's Kingdom
In the northern corner of the Shadow Realm lay Veyros' Wartier.
No sunlight reached here — not because of weather or season, but because the land itself refused it. The soil looked as though it had been the ground of a thousand wars, yet not a single battle had ever actually been fought here. This was simply how the earth had formed: scarred without cause, heavy without history. On one side stretched a vast, dense forest. On the other, endless barren plains that went on until they became the horizon itself. The second largest territory in all of the Shadow Realm, and home to nothing except shadow entities, ninjas, and the particular silence of a place that has never known peace.
Through the middle of this realm, a lone figure walked.
His katana dragged along the ground behind him, carving a continuous line in the earth with every step. His footsteps were slow — but each one landed with weight, as if the ground itself registered the pressure. This was Veyros. The Warlord.
Something was troubling him today.
Five shadow entities materialized from the dark and approached — Corval, Malrik, Jorath, Galven, and Tavrel. Veyros sensed them before they arrived. He turned, said nothing. Tavrel stepped forward.
"Sir — you called for us?"
Veyros slowly sheathed his katana. "Yes."
Silence again. He turned his gaze north, toward a sky that held nothing visible. His shadow entities stood and waited. Several minutes passed without a word.
Jorath broke it carefully: "Sir. It would be better if you told us why."
"Of course." Veyros turned to face them. "Have you noticed anything strange? Since yesterday evening, an unnatural wind has been blowing from the north."
"What could that mean?" Malrik asked.
"I don't know. But I feel something coming toward us. A battle is approaching very soon."
"Who would dare challenge you, sir?!" Corval said. "No one in the entire Shadow Realm has the power to—"
"Shut up, fool. This has nothing to do with the Shadow Realm. This is coming from outside."
Galven was quiet for a moment. "Could it be Volcano? Another Eternal?"
"I don't know. But whoever it is — I will end them." A pause. "I only hope they can give me a worthy fight."
"But sir, how can you be so certain something is coming?"
"Do you doubt my senses?" Veyros said — with the faintest edge of a smile.
"No, sir!" Jorath said immediately.
"Then listen." Veyros looked across all five of them. "Corval, Malrik, Jorath — you three go to the other bosses' territories and gather information. Bring the ninjas with you. Galven and Tavrel — head toward the northern gate and check if anyone has entered."
"Will no one stay with you, sir?" Corval asked.
"No."
"Is it really necessary to bring the ninjas?"
"Of course." Something sharpened in Veyros' voice. "I created them to build a powerful army. But as shadow energy users, they are far too weak — no chance of meeting my expectations. They have no strategy, no skill. I won't keep useless weight in my realm. Bring them, or I will kill them myself."
No one asked anything further. His shadow warriors departed in silence. Veyros remained standing alone in the middle of his realm, watching the northern sky with the absolute stillness of someone who has already decided the outcome and is simply waiting for the present to catch up.
Meanwhile, four figures moved through Veyros' forest.
Kai, Aya, Rai, and Shinsei had entered Veyros' Wartier only a short while ago — delayed because Rai had left his bag on the ship, and because Kai needed time to practice control over the shadow energy flooding through him since the Iceland battle.
Despite fighting a massive battle and staying awake through the entire night, none of them showed exhaustion. Unlocking the Ultimate Shadow Form had changed something fundamental — the flow of shadow blood through their bodies had increased dramatically, and controlling that surge was now more urgent than rest.
The environment felt wrong in a way that was hard to name. A faint, constant grey light lingered regardless of the hour, never brightening, never darkening. The air sat cold over everything, but occasional gusts of hot wind cut through it without warning, raising the hair on the neck. The forest seemed to have no edge. They had watched their surroundings carefully at first. Now it all looked the same.
"How do the shadow entities even live here?" Rai said. "This place is so dark and boring."
"When we fight the ones who do, you can ask them yourself," Kai said.
"I'll try. By the way — did you know Shinsei was watching us during the Iceland battle?"
"Really? How?" Aya asked.
"He didn't tell me. But the main point is — he watched us get badly beaten, and still waited until the very last moment before ordering us to use the Ultimate Form."
Shinsei had been walking behind them, deep in thought. At those words, he couldn't stay quiet.
"I didn't allow the Ultimate Form earlier because I believed you could win without it," he said. "You should have been more careful."
"What was the reason for waiting?" Kai asked. "Please. Tell us."
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes!" — all three of them, at once.
"Then listen." Shinsei continued walking as he spoke. "Both we and the shadow entities possess shadow energy. But ours grows much faster. The soul plays a crucial role in controlling it. Shadow entities have only one soul — made entirely of shadow energy. We have two: a shadow soul and a human soul. To unlock the Ultimate Form, shadow energy must fuse with the soul. Because we have two souls, our Ultimate Form has three stages. You are currently in Stage 1."
"So what's the problem with that?" Aya asked.
"Two problems. First — if you fully exhaust the Ultimate Form and reach Stage 3, your future growth will no longer be rapid. It will slow to the rate of ordinary shadow entities. Second — if you had used it too early, the gap between your current power and what it could have been would be enormous."
"I don't quite understand the second part," Rai said.
"Simply: suppose at the beginning your power was 1%. Through battles, you raised it to 5%. The Ultimate Form multiplies your power five times. If you had used it at 1%, you would reach only 5%. By waiting until you reached 5% first, your total becomes 25%. The later you use it, the more you gain from it."
"Oh," Rai said. A pause. "…I still don't get it."
"It seems impossible to explain to you," Shinsei said — with a sigh that contained genuine resignation. "One more thing: you can never return to your previous form. This improvement is permanent."
"I think the shadow entities have something similar," Kai said. "When I was entering Ultimate Form in front of Eryth and Loryx, I heard them talking about something called Prime Mode. From what they said, it sounded like the same concept."
"It's possible," Shinsei said.
"That would be a serious problem," Aya said.
"We can't even defeat them in normal form," Rai said. "If they activate Prime Mode on top of that, we'd have no chance."
"Then we defeat them before they can activate it," Aya said.
"By the way," Rai said, "'Prime Mode' sounds much better than 'Ultimate Form.' Shinsei is genuinely terrible at naming things. We'll figure out something ourselves."
"The name doesn't matter," Shinsei said. "And I see no problem with it. Now stop talking and walk faster. We need to arrive quickly."
They fell back into silence.
Ahead in the same forest, Galven and Tavrel were moving toward the northern gate. Galven was visibly irritated.
"I'm furious with Veyros. What does he even want?!"
"Why? What happened?" Tavrel asked.
"What didn't happen! First he ordered us to create and train the ninjas. We worked hard — turned them into the strongest ninja force in the entire Shadow Realm. And now he's ordering us to hand them over. It's disgusting."
"You shouldn't speak like that. Whatever order he gives—"
Tavrel stopped. He tilted his head, listening. Someone approaching through the trees. Galven heard it too.
"Quickly," Tavrel said, his voice dropping. "Our enemies are right ahead. Let's show them what it costs to invade Veyros' Wartier."
They moved forward with care. Four figures emerged from between the trees — Kai, Aya, Rai, and Shinsei. Both groups spotted each other at the same moment. Both stopped.
"Shadow entities from the next boss," Kai said quietly. "Get ready."
Everyone summoned their weapons.
Galven and Tavrel held their ground.
"A chaotic fight, or a controlled one?" Tavrel asked.
"Controlled," Galven said. "It's been too long since we faced real enemies. I want to enjoy this properly."
"As you wish."
Tavrel turned and began walking backward into the forest.
Aya watched him go. "Why is he retreating? Is this a trap?"
"It might be," Shinsei said. "Someone should follow him."
"We'll go," Kai and Rai said together.
"Go."
Kai and Rai leaped into the trees and moved branch to branch, chasing Tavrel as he disappeared deeper into the dark.
Galven summoned shadow energy and formed a Bisento in one fluid motion — a bladed weapon like a naginata, heavy and wide. He launched himself at Aya and Shinsei with a single leap. Aya caught the strike on her Plasma Rifle and Tonfa together and pushed back, then opened with rapid laser fire. Galven used Shadow Step to cut through it.
In the gap his movement created, Shinsei landed a Penumo Fist directly into Galven's stomach.
The shockwave tore up the roots of twenty trees simultaneously. Galven was thrown through all of them — crashing through each trunk like they were made of paper — and stopped, blood running from his mouth.
He got up.
Aya teleported behind him before he could fully stand and swung her Tonfa into the left side of his head. Galven was launched again. As she teleported in to press, Galven grabbed her mid-approach. Her strike missed entirely. He drove his Bisento into her stomach and kicked her free of the weapon, then leaped forward with everything he had — Aya teleported and his Bisento buried itself in the earth.
While he strained to pull it free, Shinsei hit him again. Another crash. Another long impact.
When Galven stood this time, Shinsei was already walking toward him — red aura dense around both fists, the heat of it visible as a shimmer in the dark air. Aya was healing at a distance. Galven began healing too.
Shinsei leaped — both hands pulled back, Fist of Harm fully loaded. Galven backflipped to dodge. The punch hit the earth. The ground cracked and rose in a wave from the impact point. As Galven landed, he tried to counter. Shinsei blocked every strike with Penumo Fist — sparks of fire bursting at each contact. Each exchange brought Galven's Bisento closer to breaking.
Galven understood. He had to end this or lose the weapon. He dodged one of Shinsei's punches, kicked him back, and used Shadow Step to gain distance.
The environment darkened further. Galven rose into the air. His Bisento flew upward and multiplied — hundreds of them materializing around him, shadow energy gathering on each one and igniting into bright flame.
"Your fight ends here, old man. Inferno Arsenal!"
Every flaming blade launched simultaneously.
Aya teleported in front of Shinsei and unleashed sustained laser fire from her Plasma Tonfa. The Bisento detonated mid-air — chain explosions that set the surrounding forest alight and filled everything with smoke so dense the sky disappeared.
Galven peered into the smoke wall.
Shinsei walked out of it.
The red aura on his fist had turned blue.
Galven raised his Bisento. It shattered on contact. Shinsei's fist hit his face.
The sound moved through the entire forest like a struck bell.
Galven hit the ground and kept going — the earth giving way, opening into a crater around where he landed. His face had been destroyed. He healed desperately, pulling his features back. The moment his eyes opened, he saw hundreds of punches descending.
There was no way out.
Galven was defeated.
In the deeper forest, Kai and Rai had chased Tavrel until they lost him in the trees. They kept searching. Then Kai saw it — Tavrel on a high branch, perfectly still, watching them with a gaze that felt like something being aimed.
He dropped.
Shadow energy ignited in both hands as he fell, hardening into a Glaive with chains connected to both ends.
"Two against one," Rai said. "That's unfair to you."
A slow smile. "Who said I'm alone?"
He drove the sharp end of the Glaive into the earth. A portal tore open — and five massive soldiers stepped through, each one wrong in the way something dead but still moving is wrong. Armor and weapons covering bodies that shouldn't have been standing.
"You can summon soldiers too," Rai said, genuinely appreciative. "Nice. But you'll still lose."
"Time will tell." Tavrel looked at his soldiers. "Go. Destroy them."
They charged.
"Can you handle them?" Kai asked.
"With pleasure."
"Then Tavrel is mine."
Kai went airborne and used Shadow Step before landing — the Composite Sword came down on Tavrel in a single arc. Tavrel was launched through the trees and recovered. Kai used Shadow Step again. Tavrel leaned back on one hand, balancing on the ground — the strike passed directly over him. In the same motion, he grabbed Kai's throat with his free hand and hurled him sideways. A portal opened. Tavrel was already beside Kai before he hit the ground, Glaive swinging.
Kai crashed. Tavrel advanced slowly, without urgency.
Kai stood. Blood ran from his shoulder — shadow energy sealed over it and the wound vanished in seconds.
"I already warned you," Tavrel said. "Surrender now, or the consequences will be—"
Strange shadow energy appeared around Kai's feet.
"Shadow Abyss Chain!"
Massive chains erupted from the earth and wrapped around Tavrel before he could react. He strained against them.
"Shadow Cutting Flash!"
Lightning speed. The strike drove through Tavrel at full force. The chains shattered. Tavrel was launched through the forest, breaking trees, his body burning. He stood. He looked at the trees around him and used Shadow Clap — every nearby tree became ash in the blast. The clearing it created rang with the silence after an explosion.
Kai drove his sword into the ground. A fountain of purple fire erupted from the earth and wrapped around him like armor.
"Now it's fine," Tavrel said.
Kai pulled the Composite Sword free and charged. Tavrel's Glaive split from the center — two large blades connected by spinning chains — which he rotated to intercept every incoming strike. Their exchange distorted the air between them. Each collision sent shockwaves outward.
At one point, Kai swung from behind. Tavrel brought both blades forward to block. In that same instant, Kai released the sword entirely, used Shadow Step, and drove a punch into Tavrel's face. Tavrel hit the ground. Kai extended the full range of the Composite Sword and hurled it at him. Tavrel dodged and rose.
"Shadow Internal Blue Strings Rain!"
The Glaive blades recombined. Blue fiery arrows formed from the weapon in a dense cluster — the heat from them warped the air visibly, the surrounding temperature spiking in seconds.
A purple orb appeared in Kai's palm.
"Shadow Absorb Mirror!"
A screen of blue shadow energy materialized in front of him. The arrows struck it — every one absorbed, force pouring into the orb. It pulsed and strained, the accumulated energy trying to burst free. Kai held it with everything he had.
When the last arrow was absorbed, he aimed and released.
Tavrel threw up both hands. The orb struck him. The explosion destroyed one quarter of the entire forest in a single moment — trees gone, ground melted to liquid, the sky above the area turned white from the heat. When the smoke cleared, Tavrel was half-submerged in molten earth, sunk to the chest.
Tavrel was defeated.
The explosion had thrown Kai as well. He lay on the ground as a sudden savage headache tore through him — shadow energy surging without control. He gritted his teeth. Then it stopped. He stood, brushed the dust from his armor, and fully locked into Ultimate Form Stage 1 again.
Something tapped his shoulder.
He spun — Rai.
"You took quite a long time with him," Rai said.
"A bit longer than expected. Did you finish the soldiers?"
"They were weak, but healed in seconds. Fun and annoying. Then your explosion happened and they all disappeared. I figured that was you."
"Hmm."
"I still don't understand how your power is this destructive," Rai said. "Someday you'll blow us up along with the enemy."
"You don't need to worry about that. Let's go."
"Hey — at least wait for me!"
They found Aya and Shinsei sitting on a fallen tree, waiting. Together, all four moved on.
The forest ended gradually — its last trees thinning, then gone — and they stepped into a vast, empty field. Nothing grew here. Hard soil, heavy air, unchanging darkness. They walked for several hours.
Then they saw him.
A figure sitting in the open field, head lowered, katana across his lap. A smaller katana at his waist. His kabuto beside him on the ground. Long hair, tied with a simple string, moving in the wind. No throne. No fortress. No display. Just a man sitting alone in the dark, waiting.
Veyros. The Warlord.
He sensed them before they were close. Slowly he raised his head, picked up his kabuto, and stood. He looked at Kai's group. His expression held nothing — no smile, no fear, no anger, no overconfidence. Only calm certainty. The kind that comes from never having needed anything else.
Kai's team stopped. The weight of that gaze pressed.
"So you are the ones whose presence I have been sensing since yesterday evening," Veyros said. "If my guess is correct — you entered through the northern gate."
Kai felt unease but answered steadily. "Yes."
"Then you have defeated Eryth."
"What does it matter to you?" Rai said — then, changing tone: "Well. Yes, we did. And every boss who stood in our way has been badly defeated. Now it's your turn."
"Interesting."
He drove his katana into the ground.
The world changed.
The ground expanded — ten kilometers in every direction, pushed outward like a breath being drawn. The landscape that replaced it was covered in weapons, armor, shattered skulls, and flames burning without fuel. The sky turned the color of dried blood. Red lightning split it repeatedly. The distance between Kai's team and Veyros had doubled in the expansion.
Black clouds gathered overhead. A portal tore open in the sky.
Thousands of soldiers fell through it in continuous waves — descending to the expanded ground like rain. They were wrong to look at. Their bodies moved but their faces held nothing. Armor and weapons on figures that existed somewhere between dead and not.
Kai's team formed up.
"This fight is going to be hard," Kai said.
"Yes," Shinsei said. "Kai — straight through these warriors to Veyros. Don't stop. Aya and I form a blockade so the soldiers cannot interfere with your fight. Rai — into the middle of the army. Destroy as many as fast as you can." He looked across all three of them. "Everyone ready?"
"Yes!"
The red aura around Shinsei's fist brightened.
"Then let's go."
They drove forward into the sea of soldiers like four points of a storm meeting at once.
To be continued in Part 2…