The night wind spiraled wildly before the Gates of Sena City.
From afar, black mist rolled forward like a living ocean.
Amid the scent of blood and iron, a man in a blue robe stood firm in the silent battlefield—Sai.
His robe whipped violently, as if the wind itself bowed to his presence.
His gaze was sharp, yet calm—like the surface of water concealing a bottomless abyss.
He lowered his head slightly, staring at his blue blade shimmering faintly beneath the moonlight.
"Looks like I'm going to be exhausted today," he muttered, his voice flat yet heavy with burden.
"Jake… I didn't think I'd have to step in like this…"
Then his eyes lifted forward—toward the thousands of monsters emerging from the mist.
Hundreds of fanged creatures with crimson eyes crawled across the shattered earth.
Their roars shook the air, rattling the hearts of every human who heard them.
A faint smile curved on Sai's lips.
"Well then…"
He slowly raised his sword. A blue aura ignited around his entire body.
"Let's have some fun… monsters."
Suddenly—
BLAAARRR!
His body shot forward like lightning splitting the night.
A streak of blue carved through the darkness, tearing across the screaming horde.
One swing.
A single line of blue light split the world.
Silence.
Then black blood dripped from the sky like slow rain.
Hundreds of monsters froze, their bodies cleanly severed… and then—collapsed.
But before the dust could settle, Sai's expression shifted to horror.
The monsters' bodies—those that should have been dead—trembled… then began to fuse back together.
Severed flesh pulled toward itself, bones regrew, and their eyes burned even brighter red.
Sai stepped back, his breath catching.
"No… impossible…"
He looked at his trembling hand, then at his blue blade still humming from the impact.
"How can they regenerate… after being split in half…?"
Panicked footsteps echoed behind him.
"Run!!" one soldier screamed.
The Indosvara troops scattered, slamming their helmets shut and pulling the massive chains to close the city gates.
"Close the gates! Now!"
Steel chains groaned. The enormous stone gates began to shut slowly, rumbling like the burial of the world itself.
Sai glanced back at his retreating comrades.
But his feet did not move.
His eyes remained fixed forward—on the advancing monsters.
"W-What am I supposed to do…" he whispered.
Cold sweat trickled down his temple.
"If even my full power can't kill them… then how am I supposed to defeat them?"
He forced himself to breathe.
"There has to be a weakness… think, Sai…"
His eyes sharpened, tracking every movement.
Then—one monster stepped forward, its chest glowing red.
A dark crimson organ pulsed within it—like a heart.
"Is that… their life core?" Sai murmured.
"If that's true… then destroying that should kill them completely."
"HEY! Sai! Get inside the city! The gates are almost closed!!"
Sai glanced back briefly—then smiled.
"Hey. Don't underestimate me. You guys hide. I'll handle this."
"He's insane! He's going to sacrifice himself!"
"They're invincible! We can't win!"
Sai laughed softly, his tone cold yet firm.
"If we don't try… we'll never know."
He launched forward again—faster than before.
SRUSHHH!
His blade struck toward the glowing red chest of the first monster—
CLANGG!
Steel-like claws blocked his strike, sparks flying everywhere.
The monster roared and counterattacked. Others leapt from all sides, attempting to tear him apart.
Sai flipped backward, landing atop shattered stone.
From midair, he slashed rapidly, cutting through incoming attacks.
"They're cornering me…"
A monster lunged at his face—
CLANGG!
His blue blade caught its massive fangs.
With a burst of aura, Sai kicked straight into the glowing red point in its chest.
DUAKK!
The monster shrieked. A small explosion erupted from its core—
and its body disintegrated into black dust.
Sai smiled.
"So that's it. The red core is their weakness."
He spun his blade, facing the horde growing more savage by the second.
"Don't shoot randomly!" he shouted to the archers above.
"Aim for the red core on the left side of their chest!"
The commander nodded.
"Follow Sai's orders! Strike their vital point!"
Hundreds of arrows rained down.
But the monsters shielded their chests instinctively.
"They're intelligent…" Sai muttered. "Interesting."
He closed his eyes briefly.
"There's no other choice…"
He drove his sword into the ground and looked skyward.
Lightning struck from the heavens—crashing into his blade in a blinding blue explosion.
The earth trembled.
Blue energy engulfed him entirely, igniting his eyes with electric brilliance.
"Alright…"
His voice echoed—like two voices layered as one.
"Let's end this."
He moved.
The world became streaks of light.
SRASSSHHHH!!!
One slash tore through the air like a storm of thunder.
Monsters screamed as black blood splattered.
Each swing cracked the earth and burned the air.
"If you shield your cores… then I'll crush whatever stands in my way!"
SRASSSHH!!
Colossal bodies fell beneath flashes of blue.
To the soldiers watching, it was like a dream—
Sai danced among monsters, each movement precise, each strike cleaving the darkness.
But—
When the last monster fell, Sai's body trembled.
His energy drained. His aura faded.
He dropped to one knee, using his sword to keep himself upright.
"Hah… damn it… my energy…"
Silence.
The remaining monsters did not attack.
"They're afraid!" a soldier shouted from above.
"They're scared of Sai!"
But Sai's heart pounded uneasily.
Something was wrong.
"Why did they stop…?"
He stared beyond them—into the darkness.
Something… moved.
The commander narrowed his eyes.
"No… they're not afraid."
His eyes widened.
"Look behind them…"
From within the black mist—
BOOOOOM!!!
A violet light pierced the heavens.
Purple lightning tore through the sky, ripping clouds apart, forming a vortex of raw energy.
Sai stared.
"W-What is that…"
"ARGHHHHHHH!!!"
A roar shook the world.
Not just a roar—
It was like the earth itself screaming.
The ground trembled. The sky vibrated.
Even distant Sena City felt its shockwave.
Jake Hill—at the Monster Hunter rally point—looked toward the violet light.
"Sai… what's happening over there?!"
Leon, Evelyn, Asta, and Ryu stared upward.
"What was that…" Evelyn whispered.
Ryu said nothing. His hands trembled.
A second roar thundered—deeper, louder.
"ARGHHHHHHHH!!!"
Sai fell to his knees, covering his ears.
The ground cracked.
A fissure spread from the battlefield toward him.
Violet light seeped from beneath like molten magma.
Then—
Heavy footsteps.
Each step sent shockwaves through the earth.
From the mist emerged a colossal figure.
Towering like a fortress.
Its body was covered in natural black armor.
Its eyes glowed violet—staring at Sai as though he were an insect.
Steel-like fangs ground together. Steam hissed from its frame like the breath of hell.
Sai stepped back, gripping his sword with trembling hands.
"This… this is their boss…"
The creature roared.
The battlefield shook.
Its massive fist slammed into the ground, blasting Sai backward.
"ARGHHH!"
He crashed into a boulder, shattering it.
The gates of Sena trembled violently.
Jake, racing toward the battlefield, shouted—
"Sai!!!"
The monstrous giant straightened, roaring toward the gates.
The violet light in the sky intensified, casting silhouettes of doom across every face that watched.
And that night—
Something truly terrifying had just begun.
ARGHHHHHH—
To be continued…