Following the blood trail, they reached a dark, quiet sewer network beneath the school. The damp air was thick with the scent of mold and something metallic—blood. The trail led them to a jagged breach in the wall, where the darkness beyond seemed to swallow the light.
ang hesitated, his instincts screaming a warning. "This seems like an obvious trap," he said. His fingers twitched slightly, his body tense. "But I don't want to go back to the school either."
Ronan protested. "But what about Sara? We can't just leave her!"
Fang exhaled sharply, forcing himself to think. "We need to report this to Grand Master Chen."
Suddenly, pain ripped through his body. His wound flared with an eerie red glow, as if something had reignited it from within. He staggered, then collapsed to one knee, clutching his side.
"What's happening?" Ronan panicked, reaching for him.
Kira's eyes widened. "Fang, hang in there!"
The air shifted.
From the breach in the wall, a figure stirred.
A shadow moved.
Then, without warning, Kai exploded out of the darkness.
His demonic claws gleamed in the dim light as he lunged straight for Ronan's throat.
Time slowed.
Kira's vision sharpened, his senses expanding. He could see it all—every detail, every fraction of a second stretching into eternity. The deadly arc of Kai's strike. The widening of Ronan's eyes, frozen in shock. The way his body had already begun to react—too slow. Too late.
Kira moved.
With a desperate yank, he tore Ronan out of the way just as Kai's claws sliced through empty air, missing by a hair's breadth.
The force of the attack shattered the stone wall behind them. The explosion sent a shockwave through the tunnel, and choking dust filled the air. Pieces of rubble rained down, making it hard to see. Kira coughed, his heart pounding.
But Kai had already twisted mid-motion, seizing the opportunity.
A sharp gasp escaped Fang as clawed fingers clamped onto his collar. The moment stretched into a heartbeat—Fang's body jerking, his feet dragging against the ground—before Kai wrenched him backward.
Then, like a ghost, he vanished into the darkness of the breach.
Fang's pained cry echoed through the tunnels—then silence.
Ronan's breathing was ragged, his hands shaking. He looked to Kira, desperate. "What do we do now?"
Kira didn't hesitate. His voice was sharp, commanding. "No time to think. Don't go to Master Wang—go straight to Grand Master Chen and tell him everything!"
Without waiting for a response, Kira leaped into the breach.
The world twisted around him as he tumbled down a winding tunnel, the walls slick and uneven. Air rushed past him, a roaring gust that made his stomach lurch. Then, with a sudden drop, he was spat out into a vast underground hall.
The ground beneath him was unexpectedly smooth and warm, like polished stone. Strange glowing fungi clung to the walls, pulsing faintly, casting eerie, shifting shadows that seemed to crawl with a life of their own. The air was damp, thick with a musty scent of decay and something… unnatural.
Kira advanced cautiously, his pulse pounding in his ears. A faint, unsettling laugh echoed through the underground chamber, distorted and hollow, sending a chill down his spine.
Following the sound, he stepped into a dimly lit room. In the center, Fang lay motionless on a stone table, his face pale, his breathing shallow.
Kira's instincts screamed at him, but he rushed forward anyway.
A shadow shifted above.
With an unnatural grace, Kai dropped from the ceiling, landing soundlessly between Kira and Fang. His crimson eyes glowed in the dim light, his claws flexing with anticipation.
Then, with eerie synchronization, Sara and two other students fell from the ceiling as well, their movements disturbingly fluid. Their eyes burned with the same unnatural glow, their forms twisted with demonic energy.
They landed around Kira, blocking his only escape.
The laughter returned, but this time, it came from all of them.
Low. Hollow. Inhuman.
Kira stood in the large underground hall, the eerie glow of the fungi casting unsettling shadows around him. The air was thick with unnatural energy, a suffocating presence that sent shivers down the spine of anyone unprepared. But Kira was beyond fear now. His eyes were locked onto Kai, who moved with a twisted, unnatural grace—his every motion disturbingly fluid, as if his body were no longer his own.
Beside him, Sara stood eerily still, her body twitching in sharp, unnatural jerks before she shifted into smooth, ghostly movements. She was no longer Sara—none of them were. The Abyssal Kin had twisted them into something else entirely. Above, the two other possessed students hung from the ceiling like marionettes on invisible strings, their limbs dangling lifelessly until sudden spasms sent them jerking into readiness.
Kira's heart pounded in his chest, but it wasn't fear that drove it—it was the thrill of the challenge, the test of his newfound power. He could feel his spiritual energy coursing through him, stronger than ever before, and for the first time, he allowed himself to fully embrace it
Without warning, Kai lunged at Kira, his body blurring as he disappeared and reappeared in front of him. Kira's instincts took over; he sidestepped the attack with incredible speed, his movements almost too fast to follow. Kai's fist struck the ground where Kira had stood, the impact sending cracks spiderwebbing across the stone floor.
Sara was next, flashing in from the side with a spinning kick aimed at Kira's head. Kira ducked, feeling the air ripple above him as her foot passed mere inches from his head. In the same fluid motion, he countered with an upward strike to Sara's midsection. But she vanished before his blow could land, reappearing behind him with a sinister smile
Kira felt the other two students drop from the ceiling, their bodies twisting unnaturally as they joined the fray. They attacked in tandem, their fists and feet a blur of motion, each strike imbued with the dark energy of the Abyssal Kin. But Kira was ready. He had learned from Gara the importance of timing, of knowing when to block, when to dodge, and when to strike.
As the four possessed fighters converged on him, Kira's body moved like a shadow. He weaved between their attacks, his senses heightened by the flow of spiritual energy. Kai's fist came at him again, but Kira parried it with ease, twisting Kai's arm and sending him stumbling backward. The possessed student on his left launched a rapid flurry of punches, but Kira countered with a series of precise blocks, his arms moving in perfect sync with his opponent's rhythm.
Sara reappeared in front of him, her eyes glowing with malevolent energy. She lashed out with a powerful roundhouse kick, but Kira anticipated it. He ducked low, sweeping her leg out from under her with a spinning kick of his own. She hit the ground hard, but before she could react, Kira was already on the move, a blur of motion as he dodged another attack from the second possessed student.
The fight became a dance, a deadly ballet where every movement was calculated, every strike anticipated. Kira's control over his spiritual energy grew with each passing second, his power and speed increasing as he tapped deeper into the well of energy within him. His body glowed with a radiant light, far brighter than fang's ever had, and with it came an overwhelming sense of confidence.
Kai and Sara tried to overwhelm him with their speed, disappearing and reappearing around him in rapid succession. But Kira's reflexes were faster. He dodged a punch from Kai, twisted to avoid a kick from Sara, and countered with a devastating uppercut that sent the second possessed student flying across the room. The third student tried to catch Kira off guard from behind, but Kira spun around, his fist connecting with the student's chest with enough force to knock him out cold.
Kira's heart raced, not from exhaustion, but from the exhilaration of the fight. He was winning, and not just winning—he was dominating. He felt the strength of Gara's teachings in every move, the wisdom of knowing when to strike and when to hold back. He was in complete control, and it was exhilarating.
Kai, now desperate, unleashed a barrage of strikes with blinding speed. But Kira was faster. He blocked each one, his arms a blur of motion, and with a powerful surge of spiritual energy, he delivered a devastating counterpunch that sent Kai crashing to the ground.
Sara, the last to stand, attacked with a fierce determination, her movements almost feral. But Kira was ready. He sidestepped her wild swing, grabbed her arm, and with a swift, powerful twist, sent her crashing into the floor beside Kai.
The hall fell silent as Kira stood over the fallen fighters, his body still glowing with spiritual energy. He could hardly believe what he had just accomplished. Not a single blow had landed on him. He had outmaneuvered, outpaced, and outclassed four level five fighters—fighters who, possessed by the Abyssal Kin, had been faster and stronger than ever before.
Kira's chest swelled with pride and amazement. He had never felt such power, such control. Gara's teachings had proven invaluable, and Kira couldn't help but smile as he thought of the legendary warrior. He was getting stronger, faster, more skilled with every fight. And as he looked down at the defeated fighters, he knew one thing for sure: when he faced Gara again, he would be ready.
Kira's pulse was still pounding from the battle, but the moment he turned and saw Fang, a new kind of urgency seized him. His friend lay on the cold stone floor, his body trembling violently, his breaths coming in short, ragged gasps.
A deep, sinister glow pulsed from the wound on Fang's side, veins of corruption spreading outward like cracks in shattered glass. The infection moved unnaturally fast, dark tendrils slithering beneath his skin, creeping toward his heart. Fang groaned, his fingers digging into the stone as his muscles convulsed uncontrollably.
Kira's mind raced. If this infection takes hold, he won't be Fang anymore.
Without hesitation, he started channling his healing powers, pressing his hands over the wound. A surge of energy flared from his palms, raw and intense. He could feel it—the Abyssal Kin's poison, writhing inside Fang like a living entity, fighting to consume him.
Not a chance.
Kira pushed back with everything he had, channeling his power deep into the wound. The blood, once running wild, suddenly halted. The infection, sensing the intrusion, fought back, its dark essence resisting with a violent pulse. But Kira didn't waver.
His power surged, crashing into the corruption like an unrelenting tide. Slowly, the sickly red glow began to shrink, the darkness retreating as if being burned away. Fang's body jerked as the infected blood reversed course, flowing back toward the wound before being violently expelled, splattering onto the ground in a steaming, inky pool.
The wound itself sealed shut, the last traces of corruption vanishing as if they had never existed. Fang's ragged breathing slowed. His muscles relaxed. The convulsions stopped.
Silence.
Kira exhaled sharply, his body tense, his eyes locked onto Fang's now-healed form. He did it.
Just as Kira let out a breath of relief, his body loosened for the first time since the battle began. But in that fleeting moment of ease, a cold shiver ran down his spine—a warning too late.
One of the possessed students, thought to be defeated, surged up from the bloodstained ground like a puppet yanked by invisible strings. His twisted body snapped unnaturally into position, eyes burning with abyssal energy. With terrifying speed, he lunged at Kira, fingers clawing for his throat.
Kira turned, but the attack was already upon him.
A blur of silver tore through the hall like a phantom of vengeance. The air itself rippled as a massive silver wolf erupted from the darkness, its arrival accompanied by a gust of wind so forceful that dust and debris scattered across the stone floor.
The wolf struck with merciless precision. Its powerful jaws clamped down on the possessed fighter mid-air, fangs sinking deep into flesh and bone. A sickening crunch echoed through the chamber as the student's body spasmed violently. The wolf whipped its head, tearing through muscle, snapping tendons like brittle threads. The fighter's garbled screech barely had time to escape before his body was reduced to nothing more than mangled remains, his lifeblood splattering in gruesome arcs across the ground.
Kira didn't flinch. He stood still, eyes locked onto the beast that had saved him. The silver wolf turned its gaze toward him, piercing blue eyes shining with primal intensity. For a moment, no words were exchanged—only understanding.
Kira raised his hand, fingers making the slightest motion. That was all it took. The wolf, recognizing its master's command, bowed its head in silent obedience. Then, as swiftly as it had appeared, it vanished back into the unseen depths of the forest core, leaving behind nothing but the torn remnants of its prey.
Kira exhaled slowly, his heart steady once more.
With the immediate danger gone, Kira turned back to Fang, ensuring the infection was completely purged. His fingers hovered over the now-healed wound, sensing no lingering traces of corruption. A breath of relief barely escaped him before a voice slithered through the hall—cold, venomous, and brimming with rage.
"Who are you, exactly?"
The words carried an unnatural weight, reverberating through the air like a curse.
Kira's gaze snapped toward the source. Emerging from the depths of the shadows, the Abyssal Kin creature finally revealed itself. Its form was a void of darkness, an entity blacker than night itself. Pulsing, crimson veins slithered beneath its shifting skin, writhing like living parasites. Shadowy robes draped over its inhuman frame, yet they did not hang still—they breathed, shifting and twisting as though alive, as though watching.
And in its grasp, dangling helplessly, was Ronan.
The creature held him aloft by the hair, its long, razor-sharp claws pressing against his throat. Ronan gritted his teeth, struggling to find his footing, but the Abyssal Kin's grip was merciless. A slow, deliberate press of the claw drew a thin line of blood against his skin—a silent promise of execution.