"No! I won't lose him! Please, you have to try and save my father!" Renji screamed, his voice cracking with desperation as the hospital staff swiftly pushed Kaelith's gurney toward the emergency surgery suite.
He followed closely, but a nurse blocked his path to the swinging double doors. He was not permitted to enter. Renji stood frozen, tears streaming slowly down his face, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned bone-white as he fought to contain the crushing grief and helpless rage.
"I can't lose you too, Dad. Please," he whispered, the sound a ragged plea.
Kamishichiken Street.
Far away, in Renji's house on a quiet side street in the old Kamishichiken district of Kyoto, Hikari was alone. She had strictly followed Renji's instructions, locking every door and window in the house.
She lay on the floor in the main hall, trying to focus on her homework. Suddenly, she saw three distinct shadows cast across the window pane. Hikari's heart seized. She instantly went still, holding her breath, her eyes wide as the shadows moved slowly toward the main entrance.
Panic set in. Sweat instantly broke out on her brow, and her eyes shook with fear.
The intruders began to pound on the door, testing if anyone was home. Hikari remained perfectly silent. She knew Renji's words were the only thing that mattered: 'If I'm not around, lock all the doors, and if you hear any knocks, don't go near. Run to the underground path beneath the center table.'
Quickly and silently, Hikari slipped into the hidden access hole. She stayed there, huddled and silent, staring through the narrow gap as she heard the terrifying sound of the front door being forced open, followed by the shattering of wood.
Tears began to fall silently down her cheeks.
"What should I do?" she whispered, glancing through the tiny hole beneath the coffee table.
She saw her phone lying innocently on the sofa. I have to call Renji.
Gathering every ounce of courage, she slipped out of the hidden space and snatched the phone. The moment she pressed Renji's contact to initiate the call, the hall door finally exploded inward. Three massive men, all with cruel, predatory expressions, stood in the doorway.
"Is this the kid that bastard takes care of?" the leader asked, scanning the room before fixing a calm, chilling gaze on Hikari.
[Call ongoing.]
Hikari quickly hid the phone behind her back as Renji answered on the other end. She began to back away slowly, her eyes wide with terror.
"Hey! Where in hell do you think you're going?" one of the men roared, sprinting toward her.
In her haste, Hikari slipped and fell to the ground, dropping the phone.
"Hello?" Renji's voice came faintly through the speaker, which was now face-up on the floor.
Before she could reach it, the three men had her. One lifted her roughly, his hands gripping her tightly. "Let me go! What do you want?" She struggled violently, but their strength was overwhelming.
Renji overheard the struggle on the phone, the frantic sounds causing him to flinch violently at the hospital entrance. "Hikari!" he screamed into the receiver.
The brute holding her swore when Hikari bit his hand hard. He responded with a slap across her face. Blood instantly appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she went instantly weak from the pain and shock.
"You look pretty," the leader said, kneeling down, his voice slick and disgusting. He held a short, sharp knife, slowly rubbing the flat of the blade against Hikari's thigh. "Mind if I... get to enter into you?"
In a sudden, desperate surge of adrenaline, Hikari shook her hands free and slapped the man hard across the face.
The three men went ballistic. They snatched her up and threw her roughly onto the nearby sofa.
"How will it feel when all three of us enter you?" one of them sneered, advancing.
Hikari could only sob, too weak and paralyzed by fear to struggle anymore.
Renji screamed her name again through the phone. Then, the line disconnected.
The lead assailant laughed, then pounced on her, pinning her to the sofa. Hikari managed a weak, almost inaudible plea:
"Get off."
He pressed the cold knife against her cheek, his face close. "We need that bastard, Renji Kurozawa. He destroyed our plans and killed our only big brother, so we were ordered to kill you. It's vengeance for our senior Ryo Hoshino."
He roughly tore her clothing.
"But first," he hissed, pulling down his trousers, "we won't let this beautiful and gorgeous skin go to the grave without using it."
"Brother, help," Hikari barely managed to whisper, her voice dying in her throat.
Before the attacker could move, a violent, unnatural gust of wind tore through the shattered entrance hall.
There, standing amidst the wreckage, was Renji Kurozawa, his eyes blazing with an absolutely cold, lethal fury that promised only death.
Renji did not hesitate. The transition from A-Rank Hunter to furious protector was instant and absolute. With a barely perceptible movement—a simple, slight pull of his Obsidian Greatsword from its sheath, the air around him shimmered.
In the next moment, all three men were separated from their bodies. Their heads slid cleanly from their necks, and blood erupted in grotesque plumes before their bodies, headless, stood for a stunned moment before collapsing heavily onto the floor.
Renji ignored the spraying gore and the dying sounds. He walked, his rage a palpable heat toward Hikari who lay weakly on the sofa.
"Hikari!" Renji dropped to his knees, his hands trembling as he gently shook her. He couldn't bring himself to look at the damage they had inflicted, his shame already a burning acid in his stomach. "This is all my fault."
Her eyes fluttered open, still blurry, but she recognized the figure looming over her.
"Renji—"
He lowered his head, guilt overwhelming his recent victories. "I am so sorry."
Carefully, he lifted her and carried her to her bed. He returned quickly with a clean towel and warm water. Working with painstaking gentleness, he cleaned and dressed the pains on her body, avoiding the areas where the worst violation had occurred.
When he finished, he left the room silently, allowing her the necessary time to rest, breathe and recover.
Alone in the ruined living room, surrounded by the blood-soaked corpses of the invaders, Renji felt the weight of the last twenty-four hours crash down on him: the loss of his mother, his father in critical condition, and the near-violation of the only person he had.
"I can't let them take Hikari from me," he said, his voice a low, dangerous growl. He clenched his fist until the bones cracked.
The need for strength, once a driving goal, was now a matter of absolute survival.
---------
The Void Realm: A Demonic Council
A silent, warm footstep echoed through the cavernous throne room of Gehenna's Scar, a dimension formed entirely of crystallized, solidified dread. The air here was oppressive, thick with the stench of decay and raw, dark mana, capable of draining the life from any organic entity not born within its suffocating gloom. This was the home of the Demon Kings.
A figure, cloaked entirely in long, black cloth with his head hidden deep within the hood, moved with deliberate, unhurried steps. He settled onto a massive throne carved from obsidian and bone, where scores of terrifying creatures, Demons and corrupted Sages were gathered.
"We honor you, Lord Oni-Shin, The King of All Shadows," the assembled demons intoned, their voices a chorus of guttural obedience.
The King calmly crossed his legs, settling comfortably onto the throne.
"My Lord, this dimensional life core is draining rapidly," an elder demon remarked, its voice laced with urgency. "We must find a new source of sustenance, a new home and Earth is the only world that can sustain our forces. But those strongest of the human race continue to obstruct our path."
"Oh, is that so?" Lord Oni-Shin asked, his voice deceptively light. "I heard reports of a Human King. A being stronger and more powerful than any known entity in their history."
"Yes, My Lord. He is the Monarch," a wise, gaunt Sage confirmed, bowing low. "And if the prophecies hold, he will soon fully awaken the soul of the Abyss Lord and claim its power as his own."
"Interesting," the King replied, a chilling amusement in his tone. "I would very much enjoy fighting this Human King."
"My Lord," the elder demon pressed again, its urgency bordering on fear. "If we do not conquer Earth now, before the Human King awakens the Abyss Lord, we will not be able to take it at all."
Lord Oni-Shin nodded calmly. A deep, silent, terrible laugh shook his hooded form.
"We are going to claim Earth as our land!"