THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 352: Darker than black (1)

What separates life from death?

What distinguishes a human from a beast?

In truth, the differences are clear and well known.

But when it comes to a cursed land ruled by the law of the jungle—where a chosen few are favored while the rest are left to rot in hell—none of that matters.

Here in the continent of the Ultras, the law of the jungle reigns supreme.

Brutal battles to the death are the norm...

And only the strong survive.

...

...

...

”Don’t stop! We don’t have time to fight!”

”Let me rip them apart, damn it!”

Surrounded by a large group of enemies...

Two men charged forward, breaking through anything in their path as the chase grew more intense.

Danzo led the way, clad in his full-body silver armor, punching through building walls one after another with sheer force, followed closely by Ragna, wielding a massive spear nearly his own size.

On the other end, the Ultras had been relentlessly attacking them for days.

”Come at me, you bastards!”

Winds surged violently around Ragna’s spear as he unleashed slash after slash, slicing through the pursuers and painting the ground with their filthy blood.

Though he had cut down many, more and more kept coming ever since he and Danzo fell into the trap set in this desolate Ultras city.

Ragna insisted on fighting, but Danzo dragged him along by force, refusing to let him stop.

”I told you not to stop running, you idiot!”

”Let’s finish them off!”

”That’s exactly what they want fool!”

As the siege closed in, Danzo unleashed his aura, swelling his muscles to the limit. Explosive power surged through his silver dragon armor.

”Light Maneuver: Sky-Shattering Fist!”

He struck the solid ground of the city with devastating force, enhanced by his dragon armor, causing a massive explosion.

The impact triggered a quake felt throughout the city, leveling houses and burying the Ultras who had surrounded them.

Using the smoke and dust as cover, Danzo and Ragna vanished, leaving the Ultras circling a giant empty crater.

It didn’t take long before they started screaming in rage, realizing their prey had escaped.

A chaotic uproar broke out—some even began attacking each other.

”Find them!!”

”Search everywhere!!”

The Ultras scattered like rabid dogs, desperate to reclaim their fleeing prey.

But the prey hadn’t gone far...

In fact, Danzo had immediately dashed into one of the buildings, hiding inside with Ragna, right beneath the noses of their pursuers.

Now safely tucked inside the basement of the old structure, the moment the danger passed...

Danzo punched Ragna straight into a wall, fury blazing in his eyes.

”What the hell is wrong with you?! Fight? Wipe them out? Who the hell do you think you are ?!”

Grabbing Ragna by the collar and lifting him, Danzo seethed at the first companion he’d found since the chaotic teleportation.

Ragna was equally furious.

”You want to run? Then run by yourself!”

He broke free from Danzo’s grip, yelling recklessly despite the risk of being discovered.

”Didn’t you hear what those bastards said?! Are you pretending to be deaf now?! Tell me, Danzo!!”

”...”

Danzo stayed silent as Ragna continued.

”It was Lawrence, Danzo... That bastard Lawrence is their leader! That’s the name of the man who killed my father!”

Danzo instantly remembered the imperial raid on the Ultras—the day Isaac Cloud, Ragna’s father, was killed.

Later, they had been told it was a monster named Lawrence behind it all... A name he now heard again from their pursuers’ mouths.

Since that moment, Ragna had gone completely insane. But unlike him, Danzo remained rational.

”So? What are you planning to do?”

”Kill the son of a bitch, of course!!”

”And how exactly will you do that?” Danzo asked coldly.

In response, Ragna stabbed his massive spear deep into the ground, sending out a raging windstorm that shook the room.

”I have my father’s spear... Wynnyd, the Spear of Storms. I’ll kill that damn bastard with it!”

One of the five legendary spears—Wynnyd, ranked S+—left to him by his father.

Ragna was consumed by vengeance, but Danzo grabbed him by the back of the head and forced him to face him eye-to-eye.

”Listen to me!”

Suppressing his raging friend with force, Danzo spoke impatiently.

”Who do you think fought that Lawrence bastard on the day of the raid?”

”...”

”My father! And your father! My dad, wearing this cursed silver dragon armor—and your dad, wielding that damned Storm Spear you keep bragging about!”

”Two fully armed S+ rank warriors couldn’t take him down! What do you hope to achieve with your pathetic strength?!”

Danzo couldn’t stop himself from punching Ragna as he shouted:

”Revenge is fine—hell, it’s the best! But what you’re planning isn’t revenge... it’s suicide, you damned bastard!”

Panting heavily, Danzo tried to stop Ragna from making a reckless move.

He understood. If his own father had died that day instead of Ragna’s, perhaps he wouldn’t have been able to hold himself together either.

But still... he had to stop him.

”Get a grip, man. Is this what your father would’ve wanted? For you to die foolishly after him?”

”And what the hell would you know?!!”

BOOM!

Danzo punched Ragna again, grabbing him tightly.

”What I know is that you’ll die if you go. And since I’m here, I won’t let that happen—even if I have to beat you senseless and drag your unconscious body with me. So either you stop this madness... or I’ll bury you here and now!”

In response to Danzo’s threat...

Ragna clenched the Storm Spear, Wynnyd, his jaw tight, glaring furiously at Danzo, who stared back with a dead serious expression.

But the clash never happened.

Ragna loosened his grip.

Danzo let go of him.

Defeated and frustrated, Ragna sank to the ground, lowering his head.

”What am I supposed to do, Danzo? My father’s killer... he’s so close. Closer than ever before. I might never get this chance again.”

All of this—every twist and turn—had been an accident. If not for that trap, their feet would never have stepped on this cursed continent.

But the world has a way of becoming small. And now, Ragna stood within reach of the man who stole his father away.

”What am I supposed to do now?”

He kept asking.

Until Danzo answered.

”Live, Ragna. Live.”

Removing the Silver Dragon Armor, Danzo sat down in front of his friend.

”I’m sure that’s what your father would’ve wanted. Live, grow stronger, and then seek your revenge again—on your own terms.”

...

That was the last exchange between them.

They fell into silence, lost in their thoughts.

Both stayed hidden, waiting for the danger to pass before they moved again.

...

...

...

Ten days into the Continent of Ultras...

It hadn’t been long, but it was enough time for a lot to happen.

Especially when the elite class’s supplies had run out at a terrifying pace. They weren’t all monsters with strange bodies that didn’t hunger or tire.

Humans had their limits—and some were already breaking.

But those two were definite exceptions.

”Hey, found anything?”

Daemon Valerion asked as he searched one of the Ultras’ administrative buildings he’d stumbled upon.

”Stop asking and focus.”

”I really need to do something about that tone of yours.”

Ghost was also searching, scanning the entire place while ignoring the piles of corpses around them.

After reuniting, the two had formed an unlikely team, breaking into this place in hopes of finding something—anything—that could help them return home.

But the results were disappointing.

”Nothing useful. It’s all about cursed blood transfusions and experiments I don’t understand.”

Daemon cursed, kicking a metal cabinet and sending it flying.

”We’ll have to move.”

Ghost had found nothing either.

”You mean look for the others?”

Ghost nodded.

”Right.”

”Honestly, most of those idiots are dead weight that’ll only slow me down... Ghost Umbra, are you really sure you want to go looking for them?”

Daemon walked calmly toward Ghost, studying him.

”Aren’t you an assassin? I thought assassins worked alone.”

He didn’t mind having Ghost on his team—he was strong, useful, reliable.

But the same couldn’t be said for the rest.

If it were up to Daemon, he’d form a squad with only those he deemed worthy—and leave the trash behind.

But even he wasn’t crazy enough to do something like that openly.

Hoping Ghost shared the same mindset, he was caught off guard when the silent killer suddenly raised his arm, revealing a glowing tattoo—the same one the witch Selina had marked him with.

”One of our comrades is nearby. Let’s go find them.”

Ignoring Daemon’s words entirely, Ghost focused on his priority, giving no regard to anything else.

Especially now that Selina’s mark was glowing again...

The very same mark she used on them during the teleportation.

Once they were warped, the mark acted like a radar—glowing brighter as elite class members drew closer to one another.

That was how Ragna met Danzo before, and now how Ghost had met Daemon.

The latter sighed in defeat, having long given up trying to change Ghost’s mind.

”Whatever you want...”