The Leader Class Corrupted stood at a staggering height.
Taller than Hiro on two legs — by nearly a full meter. Its shadow swallowed the ground beneath it, stretching across the blood-soaked earth like a living thing. Its skin wasn't flesh anymore — it was a thick hide, embedded with dark crystals that pulsed with every heartbeat. Purple, grotesque veins spread across its body like a roadmap of corruption — thick, raised, writhing.
The air around it hummed with wrongness.
Then —
It charged.
No warning. No roar. Just movement — heavy, thunderous, fast. Its fist raised high , crystals screaming with unstable energy — ready to crush the pair into the ground.
But as Hiro observed the leader rushing toward him…
He realized something.
Apart from its sickening aura… His thoughts were calm. Almost bored. …this thing doesn't compare to the spider. Or that lizard.
Feels like a downgrade.
The leader reached him.
Fist swung —
*BANG!! *
Yurei intercepted with Longinus.
The spear met the crystal-covered fist in a shower of sparks. The impact shockwave rippled outward — sending dust and debris flying. The leader's fist recoiled ,pushed back by several meters. Its arm shook.
Hiro didn't let go of the opening.
One of his tails extended — fast as a whip — and swatted the leader away.
Like swatting a fly.
*BANG!!! *
The leader flew.
Meters and meters — tearing through the air with a low whine — before crashing into a small hill in the distance.
*CRASH. *
Dust erupted. Rocks tumbled. The hill cracked down the middle.
Silence.
The other Corrupted stopped.
They stared at the pair — twisted heads tilting, empty eye sockets somehow conveying confusion. Fear. Their bodies trembled. Several took steps back.
"Why aren't they attacking us?" Hiro asked.
"Unlike the Abyssals…" Yurei's voice was calm, analytical. "…the Corrupted have a basic level of intelligence. Which means they have survival instinct."
She paused.
"And I'm guessing that instinct is telling them… you are out of their league."
Hiro's chest puffed — just a little.
But before the pair could relax —
*ROOOOAR!!! *
A huge roar erupted from the hill where the leader had crashed.
It wasn't just sound.
It was a shockwave — rippling through the air, through the ground, through the bones of every Corrupted nearby. Purple energy flared from the hill like a beacon.
And something changed.
All the reluctant Corrupted , the ones who had stepped back, who had trembled — suddenly flared up. Their eyes ignited with purple light. Their bodies tensed. Their fear vanished — replaced by something mechanical. Controlled.
They began charging again.
Straight at Hiro and Yurei.
"Did the leader just —"
"It did." Yurei's grip tightened on Longinus. "All Leader-type Corrupted and Abyssals have this ability. To overrun the control of lesser variants from the same species… and take them under their control."
"Well… this changes nothing"
The group of raging Corrupted Apes barreled toward them — fast, furious, mindless. Their footsteps thundered. Their crystals screamed.
They were about to crash into the pair.
Then —
Hiro had an idea.
"Yurei… can you please let me do something?"
"What is it that you are planning to do?"
"I think it's a potentially new skill."
"Another one already…?" Yurei thought. Then: "…Go on."
"Okay. So… what would happen if I did this?"
---
Hiro began focusing.
Quickly.
Intentionally.
He gathered his Aether — not into his claws, not into his tails, but into his aura. The invisible field around his body. And then —
He added something else.
A bit of bloodlust.
Just a drop.
The feeling was strange. Like mixing oil with water. Like trying to hold smoke. But Hiro continued.
"Come on… just a little bit more…"
He focused.
Not just on instinct this time.
But on intent.
Everything in him began to shift — not just power, but purpose.
Intent.
Dominance.
Pressure.
Then —
It happened.
*Spirit Pressure. *
The air collapsed.
A huge, crashing aura exploded from Hiro's body — not like fire, not like wind, but like gravity. A tidal wave of invisible force aimed directly at every Corrupted.
And something remarkable happened —
Hiro tried to exclude Yurei from its effects.
Barely worked.
She felt it — a squeeze around her chest, a weight on her shoulders, a whisper in the back of her mind telling her to submit. But she held.
Every Corrupted within range dropped.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
They crashed to the ground — as if they were all carrying boulders on their shoulders. Limbs buckled. Faces slammed into the dirt. Crystals cracked under the pressure.
Even the leader still climbing out of the destroyed hill — trembled.
Frozen.
Unable to move.
"Incredible…" Yurei thought.
Every Corrupted lay crushed against the earth. The leader stood frozen — its massive body quivering, trying desperately to fight against the effect of Hiro's new technique.
But any attempt failed.
This was a spiritual attack.
Unless the leader had spirit abilities of its own… it was hopeless.
And for a mere Class 2?
Completely hopeless.
---
Hiro began walking.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
He approached the frozen leader at a leisurely pace — savoring every tremble, every failed attempt to move, every silent scream in its burning purple eyes.
"I didn't know you had an inner sadist," Yurei said her voice light, joking.
"I guess transforming into a beast doesn't only affect my body," Hiro replied.
He loved this.
The way the leader struggled.
The way all the other Corrupted had prostrated themselves before him — without him even asking.
It felt… right.
Pretty soon, he arrived in front of the leader.
It stood there — massive, terrifying, powerful — unable to move a single muscle. Its eyes burned with rage and fear. Its crystals hummed with desperation.
"Are all Class 2 Corrupted this weak?" Hiro said.
His voice was calm. Almost disappointed.
"No…" Yurei responded. "…it's just that you are too strong."
Hiro's lips curled into a grin.
He slowly raised his claw.
Yurei raised her spear.
Together —
"Severing Claw!!!"
"Pierce!!!"
Swish.
The leader didn't even scream.
It turned into four perfectly sliced pieces — with a giant hole in its chest area — then fell to the ground.
THUD.
Purple blood pooled beneath the remains.
"Let's deal with the rest of them," Yurei said — gripping her spear, already turning toward the other Corrupted.
"Yeah…" Hiro looked at the remaining creatures — still frozen, still trembling. "…time to deal with the rest of you."
---
Five seconds later.
Yurei and Hiro departed from the scene.
Behind them — only a large cloud of dust and ash remained. The fading echoes of footsteps.
The battlefield was silent.
But —
Unknown to them…
In the shadows — deep, deep in the darkness where light didn't reach — a pair of purple eyes observed them.
Watching.
Waiting.
"Interesting…"
A voice — low, smooth, ancient — whispered into the void.
Then the eyes faded.
Swallowed by the shadows.