A distant laugh echoed. Not human—feral. Then another. Then dozens.
The first hyena lunged out from behind a rusted truck, bone ridges jutting out of its back, eyes glowing like molten embers. Renji moved before it touched the ground.
[Skill Activated: Dash – E Rank]
His body blurred. Knuckles crashed against its skull— crack—splitting it open like brittle stone. Blood sprayed across the ruined pavement.
Then the howls came.
Dozens. From every direction.
Renji didn't back up. His lips curled into a thin smirk. "Come on, then."
They came in waves. Mutated hyenas with jagged fangs and matted fur, bone plates glistening under the faint violet shimmer of the gate. They didn't move like a pack—no coordination, no tactics. Just raw hunger and killing instinct.
Perfect for slaughter.
Renji spun as one leapt for his throat—his elbow slammed back, shattering its jaw. Another snapped at his leg—he pivoted and drove his heel through its ribcage.
[Serpent Shedding Activated]
His afterimage split as a pair of jaws closed on empty air, and his real form crushed another skull from behind.
It was chaos—teeth, blood, claws—but Renji thrived in it. The Aura Armor absorbed shallow cuts while his instincts screamed at every movement.
He moved like water. Every dodge, every strike flowed sharper, faster. Alpha Aura pulsed around him in faint waves, making the weaker beasts hesitate for a fraction of a second—and that was all he needed.
Ten kills.
Seventeen.
Thirty-one.
The ground was slick with blood, littered with broken bodies. Renji's breath steamed in the cold air, chest rising and falling steadily. His arms burned, his gloves stained crimson.
Forty-six.
Forty-nine.
Fifty.
Still, they kept coming.
A swipe grazed his side—he hissed and slammed a potion against the wound. Cool blue liquid seeped into torn flesh, knitting it closed almost instantly.
"You bastards don't quit, do you?" His voice was calm, almost bored now. "Fine."
He cracked his knuckles, blood dripping down his forearm. "Let's see who breaks first."
He dashed forward, tearing through another cluster like a living storm. Knuckles caved skulls. Jaws snapped but found only air. Hyena laughter twisted into dying whimpers.
When the last one twitched and stilled beneath his boots, Renji finally stopped. His breath came hard now. His arms ached like fire.
Bodies—dozens of them—littered the ruined highway like grotesque trophies.
[Gate Progress: 54 beasts eliminated]
Renji wiped his face with the back of his hand. The faint smirk returned. "Next?"
He popped open his inventory, pulling out a vial glowing faint green—Stamina Recovery. Without hesitation, he downed it in one gulp. A cool rush surged through his veins, washing away the burn in his muscles.
The ground answered.
Thoom.
Dust quivered. A distant howl split the sky—so deep it shook his bones.
From the shattered highway ahead, something massive moved through the fog. Heavy paws crushed metal as easily as paper.
Two glowing eyes burned in the darkness—blood-red, hungering from an abandoned skyscraper.
The mutated hyenas were monsters.
But this one… was a king.
[Gate Boss Detected: Alpha Bonebreaker Hyena (F-Rank Elite)]
Traits: Bone Plating Reinforcement | Enhanced Ferocity | Vibration Sense
Renji's lips curved wider. Slowly.
His eyes began to glow faint blue, an aura spilling out like a storm, coiling around his frame. His heartbeat thundered like war drums as a manic grin stretched across his face—a grin that didn't belong to prey.
No, this was the grin of a predator who lived for the thrill of the hunt.