Riku moved with silent purpose, his aura dimmed to avoid drawing attention. His knight followed closely, silent as a shadow. Beast corpses lined the ground like scattered offerings—evidence of his path through the battlefield.
Then, a familiar pressure closed in from the west.
Toru Kurotaki dropped from above, landing with a quake. "You felt that too, didn't you?"
"Hard not to."Riku nodded once.
From the east, Yumi Aoyama emerged with four other warriors—S-Rank elites. They all carried different styles, different Essences, but one thing tied them together: they'd survived so far.
They were known as Unit Zero—the Vanguard Protocol Team, formed just for this mission. The six of them were assigned together as a contingency strike team if anything above EX-Rank showed up. The only two EX-Ranks among them were Riku and Toru. The rest were the best of the best S-Ranks.
Kaien Uzora – S-Rank Wind Pierce Essence. Dual-blade speedster.
Rei Murasaki – S-Rank Crystal Shell Essence. Defensive tank.
Arden Vox – S-Rank Sound Flux Essence. Controls sound to manipulate enemy perception.
Selene Kuroba – S-Rank Frost Coil Essence. Precision-based ice and freeze manipulation.
Yumi nodded at Riku. "Glad you're still breathing."
"Same," he replied, gaze distant. "But we've got company."
A shadow fell across the ruined landscape.
The Queen.
Tall. Inhumanly graceful. Her body shimmered with obsidian scales laced with burning silver veins. Her eyes were pale violet, expression unreadable. Each step she took cracked the earth beneath.
Without warning, she vanished—
Kaien barely turned in time—
A claw of voidsilver sliced toward his heart.
But before it could hit—
CLANG.
Riku's sword intercepted it, one hand still in his pocket. The shockwave from the clash flattened trees and cracked the ground in a 50-meter radius.
A moment passed.
Then the Queen tilted her head, voice eerily melodic.
"This one… is different. None have ever blocked a strike from me."
Up above, the air distorted.
The King descended.
Wider. Bulkier. His body looked like living stone embedded with glowing magma. Twin horns curled from his head like a crown. Every step he took carried the weight of mountains.
He said nothing.
He just charged.
Faster than anyone expected.
BOOM.
Riku was launched backward through two trees, slamming into a rock wall with enough force to crater it.
Toru moved instantly—but the King was already in the center of the squad.
A single shockwave strike from his molten fist knocked all four S-Rank comrades unconscious in an instant—Kaien, Rei, Arden, and Selene—slammed into the ground like discarded dolls.
Even Yumi, who moved to counter, was blasted back by a sweeping tail, gasping as she hit the dirt.
Toru's eyes widened. "They didn't even stand a chance…"
Riku stood slowly from the crater, dust and blood on his coat.
He looked up at the King, eyes calm again, expression unreadable.
"...Not bad."
He cracked his neck once, brushing off rubble like it was lint.
"But if that was your warm-up—"
His aura began to rise.
"Then you'll want to brace yourself for round two."