Chapter 53
Ronan froze at the city gates.
The towering banner of Stella City fluttered above him—soaked in blood. Fresh, dripping blood.
His breath caught in his throat. Step by step, he entered the city, each footstep heavier than the last. The streets were quiet… too quiet. Then he saw them.
Bodies.
Men, women, children. Old and young. Everywhere.
All dead.
Ronan stumbled back, pale as chalk. The scenes mirrored what he had seen in the forest—the same vicious mutilations. Torn throats. Missing hearts. Severed heads.
He's here… Ronan thought. The Exterminator…
Fear gripped his spine. Then realization hit.
My family.
He bolted.
Weaving through blood-slick streets, he raced past the dead, ignoring the stench of death and the echoes of silence. His heart pounded in his ears as he approached the mansion, praying—begging—that it had been spared.
It hadn't.
The gates were shattered. Warriors of the Steele family lay dead in pools of blood, dismembered and unrecognizable. Inside the grand hall, it was worse—elders, cousins, nephews, maids, servants… all gone.
His world collapsed.
Ronan's knees gave out in front of a headless body wearing a silk dress with an arrow still in her hands. He didn't need to guess.
Jane.
His sister.
A cry tore from his throat, raw and heart-wrenching. He clutched the blood-stained floor, teeth clenched, soul breaking.
I failed… I failed them all…
Then—a sound.
Fighting.
Someone was still alive.
"Please… someone… anyone," Ronan whispered as he dashed toward the noise.
Before he could open the door, it exploded open—bam!
His mother flew through it, lifeless, a gaping hole in her stomach. Her eyes stared blankly into the void.
Time stopped.
No...No...No, Ronan screamed internally.
"Ro… nan…" a weak voice called.
He turned slowly.
His father was suspended in the air by a shadowed figure, the man's twisted smile glowing in the darkness like death itself.
"Run," his father croaked.
Ronan hesitated. What do I do? What can I—?
"RUN!"
The command snapped his legs into motion.
He ran. And ran. And ran.
The only thing in his head—his father's final word, echoing like a curse: Run.
Han and the other watch the entire thing, their faces pale with horror. They had seen an horrifying nightmare.
Little did they know, the real nightmare was only just beginning.
---
Later…
Ronan wandered the forest like a ghost.
Pale. Starving. Empty.
The twisted smile of the monster haunted his mind. The silence of the dead city echoed in his soul.
Then a growl pulled him back to the present.
He looked up—and regretted it instantly.
A boar stood before him, but not an ordinary one. Its back was lined with flames, burning from head to tail like a moving furnace.
"A… Beast…" Ronan muttered.
His hands trembled. He hadn't eaten in days. He barely had the strength to lift his arm, much less fight.
The flaming boar snarled and charged.
Ronan raised his pistol with shaking hands.
Bang! Bang!
The bullets hit, but not the heart. The Beast staggered—angrier now.
It lunged.
Ronan rolled aside, heart pounding, dodging by sheer instinct. The Beast chased, smashing through trees, relentless.
He tripped.
The boar was on him in seconds. Its fiery claw gripped his leg. He clawed at the dirt, desperate, but too weak to move.
Then—steel flashed.
Summoning the last ounce of strength he had,he drove a knife into its chest—right at the heart.
The beast shuddered. Then dropped, lifeless.
Ronan gasped, body trembling. I'm alive… I survived…
Then he looked ahead.
And froze.
More flaming boars. Bigger. Older. Stronger.
Realization dawn on him he had only fought the baby.
His heart sank. He couldn't fight again. He could barely stand.
The first adult Beast charged.
Ronan's eyes widened—until the boar dropped mid-charge, a gaping wound across its chest.
Behind it stood a figure, calm and blood-splattered, holding a glowing Beast core in her palm.
"Hmm. Just D-rank? Boring," she muttered.
She turned to Ronan.
"You've got steel resolve, kid. Keep it up, and you might live."
She faced the remaining Beasts—seven, maybe ten.
"This'll be quick," she said, unsheathing twin blades that glowed blue.
She crossed them into an X.
"Let's roll." She muttered then vanished.
She dashed forward with blinding speed. The first fire boar lunged, aiming for her head with a flaming claw. She ducked with flawless precision, flipped upward, and crossed her twin blades into an X.
"Vibrant Slash," she called out.
A blue arc of blurs split through the air, severing the beast's limbs in one swift motion. The other beasts charged, but she danced between their strikes like wind flowing through chaos. Each counter she delivered was brutal—cutting deep, snapping bones, and leaving trails of blue light.
Ronan, still slumped on the ground, could only watch in stunned awe. She wasn't just strong—she was a storm, a swordmaster beyond anything he had ever seen. Better than even his father.
Within minutes, the last of the beasts collapsed in a heap of scorched fur and steam. She calmly carved out their cores with practiced hands, then turned to Ronan.
"You alright, kid?" she asked.
Ronan didn't answer. His eyes were empty, his face pale—he looked like a corpse still breathing.
She sighed, pity flickering in her gaze. She began to turn away.
But then—"Tell me… can I ever be as strong as you?" Ronan's voice came, soft but unwavering.
She paused. "Why..... Why do you want to be strong?"
Ronan looked up, and for the first time, the fire in his heart showed. "Because… I need to kill a man. A monster… with a smile that doesn't belong on a human face."
She studied him for a long time. Then nodded and took him in.
Over time, Ronan grew more comfortable around her. Despite her strength and wealth from selling beast cores, she lived simply—deep in a modernized cave hidden in the forest. She talked about the word going through chaos which was said to be the Sendok Calamity, a never-ending tide of beasts and monsters.
After learning Ronan's story, she made a decision: she would train him.
At first, Ronan believed she was torturing him. The training was relentless, cruel even—but necessary. Eventually, he adapted. He became faster, stronger, and more skilled with a blade. Within a year, he was no longer a boy swinging a stick—he was a swordsman. But even then, he knew: if he stood before that monster now, he'd die.
He needed more. And he told her that.
Their bond over the year had evolved. She wasn't just a teacher anymore. She was family—like a mother. She cheered him up on dark days, sang soft melodies to chase away his nightmares, and held him close when grief threatened to drown him. Once, he had asked if she had children of her own. She always dodged the question.
But one day, he learned the truth.
She had been a victim of the Sendok Calamity. Half her people wiped out by beasts. The rest… betrayed.
"Do you remember that man you told me about?" she said one night. "The one with the twisted smile?"
Ronan nodded, heart heavy.
"He's the reason I'm here. The one who destroyed the rest of my people… who murdered my husband… and my son."
Ronan felt a weight in his chest. He wasn't alone in his pain. That monster had stolen everything from her, too.
Days passed—full of training, traveling, laughter, and even awkward moments. Once, Ronan had burst into the bath, not realizing she was inside. When he accidentally slapped her back, she rose with a monstrous glare and cracked her knuckles.
"Oh no… I'm screwed," Ronan muttered—right before receiving the thrashing of a lifetime.
But through it all, Ronan rediscovered his humanity. He was laughing again. Living again.
At a distance, Han and the others watched with teary eyes. Their friend still had someone to care for.
But fate was cruel.
The scene shifted—Ronan, now older, around twelve, sprinted through a building at blinding speed. He flung open a door.
And time froze.
His master—Selena—was held off the ground by her throat, her body bloodied and limp. The twisted-smiling man stood behind her like a demon returned from hell.
Ronan's sword shook in his hand. He had received word that she was in danger, rushed here after killing the betrayers, but he was too late.
Selena saw him and smiled weakly, blood trailing from her lips.
"Ronan… run. Run, Ronan. Run…" she whispered.
But Ronan didn't move. Not this time.
Selena's eyes softened. "Don't forget our motto, Ronan: Get stronger and survive… and find yourself some friends. Be safe."
With trembling hands, she pulled out a black sphere and turned to face the grinning monster.
"Let's roll… to hell."
She activated the dark orb.
BOOOOOOM!
A thunderous shockwave tore through the air, hurling Ronan through the corridor. The walls collapsed. His vision blurred.
Then—darkness.
To be continued...