Location: Ten kilometers Away from the
Sacred Temple
The city sounded alive.
Vehicles glided through the air, their engines humming softly as they passed. Every so often, a horn echoed between buildings. In the distance, police sirens wailed faintly. Above, birds chirped and flapped their wings across the sky.
Yet atop two separate buildings…
Invisible waves spread outward.
Two overwhelming energy fields clashed silently against one another.
On one rooftop stood a sniper.
On the other, a massive mallet marked with the symbol of scales at its center.
Neither moved.
Both understood the same rule:
The one who moved first would become the first attacker…
and the first to expend energy.
The air grew heavier.
A bird unknowingly flew through the invisible pressure zone.
Its mind instantly collapsed under the energy distortion.
Its wings froze mid-flight.
Feathers scattered as the bird fell lifelessly toward the ground.
The moment it struck the pavement-
Both warriors moved.
At the exact same instant.
Revenant: Quick Draw.
Marcus: Judgment Strike.
The battle began.
Revenant's sniper rifle roared.
Energy bullets burst forth with terrifying speed projectiles capable of crossing five thousand meters in a single second. Seven shots fired consecutively, streaking toward Marcus like beams of destruction.
Marcus's mallet expanded instantly, growing larger than his own body as he swung it forward.
The bullets collided with Judgment Strike.
Normally, the attack should have crushed them effortlessly-
Instead, the mallet recoiled violently.
Marcus was blasted backward, launched through the air.
Even Revenant couldn't hide his admiration.
Revenant: Wow… the power of an Ancient Relic really is something else. I'll call you Amy… that was supposed to be my child's name…
Marcus had been pushed nearly one hundred meters back before crashing into a building.
Yet the structure remained completely undamaged.
The entire city was protected by massive defensive barriers creations forged over 102 years by the legendary architect Zeron Tensei.
Marcus tightened his grip on the mallet.
Energy surged again.
This time, he didn't only empower the weapon.
He coated his entire body in energy.
Marcus (Thoughts): An Ancient Relic… incredibly powerful weapons.
But they all share one flaw…
Their energy consumption is absurd.
He crouched slightly
and launched himself forward with explosive force.
He rushed toward Revenant.
Suddenly, glowing points filled the air before him.
Energy bullets.
Revenant now held a revolver.
Revenant: Homing Bullet.
Marcus clicked his tongue.
Marcus: I hate fighters who rely on long-range attacks.
While gliding forward, dozens of homing rounds curved toward him.
Marcus shifted the mallet behind his back and poured energy into it, preparing a devastating strike.
Revenant analyzed instantly.
Revenant (Thoughts): He's going to throw the mallet, redirect my bullets toward himself as cover, then rush me immediately.
And he was right.
Marcus hurled the mallet.
It traveled faster than the bullets themselves.
Revenant dodged sideways, rolling across the rooftop before landing smoothly on both feet.
The mallet slammed into the barrier, causing it to tremble slightly before falling toward Revenant's former position.
But he had already escaped.
Revenant: Goodbye… King of Justice.
The homing bullets closed in on Marcus.
Only one meter remained.
Was this truly his limit?
Suddenly-
Marcus shouted.
Marcus: Switch!
His body vanished midair.
Energy exploded at the location he disappeared from.
What emerged instead-
was the mallet.
The bullets struck it directly.
They shattered the weapon completely, reducing it to something resembling crushed wood. Each bullet generated a gravitational pull upon impact, dragging nearby matter inward. Had those shots pierced a human body, the victim would have been crushed from within.
Marcus and his weapon had switched positions.
Revenant's prediction had failed.
His eyes widened slightly.
Revenant: What-
Marcus: You guessed correctly. That was my original plan. But I realized at the last moment… if I followed through, I would've lost this fight. You weren't wrong I simply changed tactics.
Energy gathered again in Marcus's hand, reforming into a new mallet.
He enlarged it fivefold.
Power flooded into the weapon.
Then he swung.
The massive strike descended toward Revenant.
Revenant didn't move.
He didn't defend.
Revenant (Thoughts): So… this is as far as I go. I thought the curses I carry would make me stronger… but this is the end…
He had accepted defeat.
Then-
A woman's voice echoed inside his mind.
- - - : Revenant! Help me!
His fading eyes snapped open.
Revenant (Thoughts): Annabel!
His will reignited.
He grabbed the sniper rifle from his back and raised it like a shield, pouring energy into it.
It wasn't enough.
The weapon could only protect a portion of his body-
The rest would be destroyed.
But then-
The sniper rifle began to glow.
Crimson light erupted from the relic.
A violent wave of red energy exploded outward, forcing both the mallet and Marcus backward.
Marcus dragged his weapon across the ground to stop his recoil.
Revenant stood within a cloud of faint red smoke.
Revenant: Sorry… I wasn't fighting seriously earlier. I just wanted to test my new weapon… I almost lost because of it.
A metallic scraping sound echoed.
Something heavy was moving.
Revenant: I understand now… To unlock this weapon's true potential, a contract is required. When I poured everything into it… I truly desired victory.
The truth became clear.
At the moment he faced defeat, Revenant released massive energy fueled by a single thought:
I must win.
The weapon responded.
The contract activated instantly.
Its condition was simple:
The more energy offered, the closer the user approaches its full potential. And as the smoke slowly dispersed, a weapon became visible it was literally a scythe, a black scythe that looked as if it were drenched in blood.
Now, empowered by that agreement, Revenant's body transformed something beyond human.
The relic had only one purpose.
Victory.
Revenant raised his weapon slowly.
Revenant: No matter what happens… I have to win.
And at that moment-
The real battle finally began.