The air inside the F-rank gate(Hard) was thick and musty, like something that had been rotting for years. Renji's boots echoed on the cracked tiles as he descended the staircase into the abandoned underground train station. The flickering overhead lights barely clung to life, buzzing weakly before fading into pitch black ahead.
A single, rusted train car sat on the far track, its windows shattered, graffiti covering its sides. A faint drip-drip-drip echoed from somewhere deep in the tunnels, mingling with the faint scuttle of movement—too fast, too many legs.
Renji's fingers brushed over the vials Mr. Ain had handed him earlier, their glass cool against his palm. "Three healing, one stamina boost," Ain had said. His voice had been calm, but his eyes… his eyes had been sharp, measuring Renji as though weighing his chances of coming back alive.
The hairs on Renji's neck stood up.
The scuttling grew louder, multiplying, until it surrounded him—above, below, all around. He exhaled slowly and closed his eyes.
The darkness welcomed him.
His vision faded, but Echo Sense flared to life. The softest tremors in the ground became ripples in his mind, painting a ghostly picture of the station in black and silver outlines. Every column, every rusted bench, every bit of debris was revealed—not through sight, but through the sound and vibration of the world.
And then he felt them.
Shapes—dozens—skittering along the walls and ceiling. Small ones, each the size of a large dog, their eight legs tapping against the metal like fingers drumming impatiently. Their movements were quick and erratic, circling him without closing in just yet.
The first attacked without warning.
A dog-sized spider dropped from the ceiling in front of him, its mandibles clicking. Renji's knuckles cracked as he drove a straight punch into its head, feeling the crunch of chitin give way beneath his fist. It screeched, legs curling as it twitched on the ground.
The others came all at once.
He moved like a shadow, Echo Sense guiding every step. A side-step to avoid one leaping from the bench, a low sweep to shatter another's legs, a sudden twist to smash another into a wall. His breath was steady, but the swarm was endless. Each one he killed seemed replaced by two more emerging from cracks and holes in the walls.
And then… silence.
They froze, legs twitching nervously, before retreating into the shadows. Renji straightened slowly, frowning. That's when the ground trembled.
From the far tunnel, something massive approached, its weight shaking dust from the ceiling. The outline formed in his Echo Sense—a body thick as a train car, legs like steel beams. The boss.
The giant spider's mandibles scraped the ground as it stepped into the faint light. Its body was armored in overlapping plates, eyes glinting like a dozen cold stars. The air smelled of rot and venom.
The lights in the station flickered once… twice… then died completely.
Perfect.
Renji let the darkness swallow him whole. The spider hissed, feeling his presence vanish. He could hear the faint scrape of its claws on the tiles, feel the vibrations each time it shifted its massive weight. He moved low and silent, each step placed with precision.
The spider struck, mandibles snapping where his head had been a second earlier. He ducked under, driving his knuckles into the joint of one leg. A sharp crack echoed, and the monster screamed.
It reared back, slamming down two legs with the force of falling trees. Renji rolled aside, feeling the tremor pass beneath him, then countered with a crushing blow to its side—once, twice, again—each punch finding the weak points his Echo Sense mapped for him.
The creature was fast despite its size. It lunged, fangs snapping close enough for him to feel the rush of air. Venom hissed onto the ground, sizzling as it ate through tile. He darted in again, hammering his fists into its head until one of its many eyes burst under the force.
The vibrations in the air shifted. It was weakening.
Renji clenched his fists, his breathing ragged but controlled. This was it. He closed the distance in a blur, dodging a final desperate strike, and drove an uppercut straight into the spider's underbelly with all the force he had left.
A wet, sickening crunch filled the air. The spider shuddered once… twice… then collapsed, its legs folding inward.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Renji stood over the body, chest heaving, the metallic tang of blood and venom thick in his nostrils. The darkness still surrounded him, but he didn't need to see to know—this fight was over.