"Oh, big brother, you actually came! I honestly didn't think I would see you again,"
Hikari cried out, her relief so immense that she launched herself into Renji's arms, holding him in a tight, desperate embrace.
"Why would I ever leave you? Come on, let's go," Renji said gently, returning the hug before taking her hand. His voice was soft, but his gaze was distant, his focus already fixed on his next move.
"I have something really important I need to protect now."
I lost my mother, and I absolutely cannot lose my father too, Renji thought, his free hand clenching into a tight, white-knuckled fist at his side.
Tsushima Island: The Portal Siege
Slash!
Whoop!
Specialized Hunters were already entrenched on Tsushima Island, fighting desperately to close the massive dimensional Portal.
However, the monstrous beasts kept pouring through relentlessly. It was chaos. Every creature had a ranking, yet thankfully, the Hunters had not yet encountered anything above C-Rank. The anticipated B-Rank and lethal SS-Rank beasts were still absent.
"Mr. Fireborn is definitely on his way here, so let's just keep slaughtering these damned beasts until he arrives!" one Hunter yelled over the noise of the fighting.
"That's easy to say, but the more we kill, the Portal itself remains stable. How are we supposed to permanently destroy the Gate while managing this endless horde?" asked Kenjiro, a lithe Hunter who wielded dual blades.
"Leave it to me."
A voice, solid and unwavering, cut through the din. They turned to see a formidable figure standing behind them: Kaelith Fireborn.
"Wow, he's actually here," someone breathed in awe.
Kaelith Fireborn didn't hesitate. He launched himself through the dimensional rift, plunging into the hostile landscape where the Portal originated. The moment he stepped onto the alien soil, he saw dozens of monstrous beasts and smaller entities stampeding toward the Gate. Yet, the higher-ranked, more supreme entities held back, watching.
Kaelith quickly scanned the entire region for the source. He located it immediately: a lone figure, a Mage, meditating while actively keeping the dimensional tear open.
"So, he is the source. Then I must eliminate him before he causes more damage."
Kaelith flew straight toward the Mage, summoning his flaming sword, a weapon forged of pure heat and destructive energy.
Just as the distance between them closed, four monstrous entities materialized in his path, all of them confirmed B-Rank.
"Why are you here? You disturb our work,"
challenged one of the figures, a tall, chitinous creature known as the Iron Carapace, whose body was encased in black, metallic armor.
"What do you want with Earth?" Kaelith boldly demanded, facing them without flinching.
"Hahaha. So, you are the Human Monarch?" another rasped. This one, the Whispering Shade, was a slender, shadow-like entity with long, coiling tendrils that seemed to drink the light.
"No, I am not," Kaelith replied, standing his ground. "But I am the father of the Monarch Lord."
Flashback: The Fated Meeting
Pause. How could he know that?
The truth lay in a previous encounter: Kaelith had sought out a supreme Mage renowned for piercing the veil of destiny.
"Um, I just want to know where my son is, father." The Mage, known as Aelion, was Kaelith's own father.
Aelion stood weakly, supporting himself with his gnarled staff. He looked deeply into his son's eyes, revealing visions of the present and the terrifying future.
"Do not worry about your son. He is becoming the strongest of all mankind, and not only mankind, but the King and Lord of the entire universe. He is the Human Monarch and he will surely come and save you one day."
Kaelith stood speechless, the prophecy echoing in his mind.
Back to the Present
The Whispering Shade hissed, breaking the silence.
"Hehehe, you are the father of the Monarch Lord. Then we will make absolutely certain you never leave this place alive."
Kaelith smiled thinly. He clenched his fist, the heat radiating off his body increasing immediately, fully prepared to face the four formidable entities.
"Leave him alone!"
A new voice, unexpected and commanding, cut in from behind them.
They all wheeled around violently to see where the voice originated. Suddenly, a figure erupted from the open Portal with such blinding speed and overwhelming aura that the four B-Rank entities were genuinely stunned by the sheer power they sensed.
Kaelith froze. He saw his son, not the skinny, small boy he remembered, but a grown boy standing before him, radiating lethal power.
"Dad?" Renji's voice was filled with disbelief, a desperate question after the trauma he'd just endured.
"Kerry?" Kaelith responded, the old name instinctively escaping him, not quite processing the immense transformation in his son.
"Yeah, Dad. It's me."
Kaelith immediately flew forward and wrapped his son in a fierce hug, a relieved and loving smile stretching across his face.
"I'm so sorry, son," he exhaled, the regret heavy in his voice. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you this entire life."
The four invading entities burst into harsh, grating laughter. They clearly hadn't imagined the prophesied Monarch Lord would be a subject of such mundane, intense human emotion.
"Wow, what an awesomely emotional time this is," the Whispering Shade chuckled, but its expression immediately snapped into cold, predatory seriousness. "I take it you are the Monarch Lord?"
Renji gently pulled his father aside, positioning himself between Kaelith and the invaders, and flew forward to face them. His aura exploded upward, a pillar of high-intensity, blazing green light. He clenched his fist, fueled by adrenaline and residual anger.
He extended his hand in a chilling, deliberate gesture and commanded:
"From ash and bone, answer my call—Venerated Knight, Gashadokuro, awaken!"
The ground beneath him fractured.
First, the Venerated Knight of Ashes surged from the shadow beneath Renji's feet, clad in soot-black plate, its claymore dragging a sparking trail as it rose to its full height.
Next, the Shadow Gashadokuro materialized. It didn't crawl or stand; the colossal skeleton erupted from the earth, its bone-white form wreathed in dark, roiling shadow mana, completely dwarfing the other summons.
Renji's eyes blazed with intense green energy. Beside him, Kaelith, who was an S-Rank expert in the Draconic Soul System, also flared. A deep, magnificent purple aura erupted around the father, who now stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his son.
The confrontation was set: four against four.
The Iron Carapace sneered, shaking its massive head with blatant underestimation.
"You are all ants, and we are claiming Earth as our domain. No one is stopping us, not even you, the Monarch Lord."
"We'll see about that," Renji coolly remarked, his frown settling into a dangerous mask of determination.
"Annihilate them," Renji commanded, the words ringing with cold, absolute authority.
The battle erupted instantly. The Iron Carapace charged the Venerated Knight, their weapons clashing in a deafening, metallic screech. The Shadow Gashadokuro, wielding a colossal, shadowy axe, engaged the Whispering Shade, its sheer size dominating the battlefield.
Kaelith, the S-Rank Draconic Soul Master, met the remaining two B-Rank entities—a grotesque, fleshy demon called the Flesh Shaper and a lightning-fast warrior known as the Zephyr Striker. Kaelith's purple aura coalesced into a fiery, semi-transparent Dragon Scale Armor.
'He's grown so strong... A-Rank already. I can't let my son think I've been idle.' Kaelith met the Flesh Shaper's charge. He didn't use a flashy sword technique; he met the creature's claw with a pure, concentrated purple fist.
BOOM!
The impact sent a shockwave that cracked the alien stone. The Flesh Shaper was thrown back, shrieking as its arm was instantly vaporized by Kaelith's sheer force.
Meanwhile, Renji faced his primary opponent, the Zephyr Striker, a master of speed that was slightly faster than even his new AGI 52 stat. The warrior aimed a blinding slash at Renji's neck with a curved scimitar.
Renji reacted instinctively. Instead of dodging, he lifted his hand, not his arm, but only his index and middle fingers, and closed them around the blade just before it touched his skin.
KRRRAAACK!
The Zephyr Striker's powerful scimitar shattered into a dozen pieces under the terrifying pressure of Renji's grip.
' This is the power I earned. This is the Blood-Forged Monarch. I won't rely on luck again.' Renji thought.
The Zephyr Striker gasped, frozen in shock by the impossible destruction of its B-Rank weapon. Renji didn't waste the opening. He vanished, using his incredible Shadow Cloak to move faster than light itself.
He reappeared behind the enemy, delivering a crushing punch to the Zephyr Striker's spine. The entity collapsed immediately.
But as Renji turned to rejoin the main fight, the Whispering Shade, having managed to slip past the towering Gashadokuro, struck. It was a vicious, calculated attack. A dark, spiritual whip of shadow energy lashed out, wrapping around Renji's torso and tightening.
"You were too distracted by your pet!" the Shade cackled, dragging Renji off his feet.
Renji felt an agonizing, deep compression that bypassed his Vitality.
He roared, his green aura pulsing wildly. Using the immense strength of his new STR 52, he ripped his body free, tearing the spiritual whip apart.
He was momentarily airborne and vulnerable. The Iron Carapace, having briefly knocked back the Venerated Knight, saw its chance. It launched a piece of its metallic armor—a razor-sharp projectile—straight at Renji's head.
CLANG!
Kaelith intercepted the projectile with a precise, purple energy shield, but the force still jarred him. "Kerry, watch your flanks! We fight as one!"
Renji nodded, his eyes locked on the Whispering Shade. He was strong, powerful enough to break B-Rank weapons with his fingers, but the fight was fierce and unforgiving. They needed synchronization.
He met his father's gaze. For the first time, they were fighting together, not as father and son, but as Monarch and S-Rank protector.