"Serika," he murmured, his voice tinged with pain, "I couldn't save Miyuki and the others. But now, with my mother awake, I have a chance to protect someone I love. Anyone who threatens her... I will destroy them. I don't care who they are."
Serika approached, her expression a mix of concern and determination. "I understand," she said softly. "You're not alone in this. I'll help you, Ryu. We'll keep your mother safe, and together, we'll face whatever comes."
Ryu nodded, gratitude flickering in his eyes. "Thank you, Serika. Your support means more than you know."
His nickname among the guilds was the Undying Ghost.
But he refused to join any guild.
He never smiled in interviews. Never attended banquets. Never talked about his past. He hunted monsters not for money—but for information. For power. For vengeance.
Because his stepfather had vanished.
Somewhere in the chaos of collapsing cities and dungeon outbreaks, the man had disappeared—swallowed by the cracks in the world. Some said he died. Others claimed he'd joined a criminal guild, using the chaos to hunt and sell awakened children to underground arenas.
Ryu believed the latter.
One day, after clearing a high-tier dungeon alone, Ryu returned to his hideout—a ruined chapel at the edge of a fallen city.
A letter waited for him. No name. Just blood on the corner and a scent he hadn't forgotten in years: cheap whisky and cologne.
Inside:
"My sweet Ryu, I watched you survive. I'm proud, truly. You're stronger now. Like I raised you to be. But you've still got your mother's weakness. If you want her to live, come find me. I'm waiting at the place where you broke. Let's see if you're finally a man. – DA"D
The ruins trembled beneath a rotting sky as Ryu stepped into the forgotten cathedral—his childhood prison, now twisted by dungeon corruption and reborn as his father's throne.
It was here where he had first bled.
Where his mother had screamed for him.
Where he had broken.
Now he returned not as a child but as an S-Class Hunter. And today, he came for war.
"Welcome home, son."
The voice echoed like a curse. His father stood atop cracked stone steps, half-man, half-core-beast, the dungeon's malice fused with his flesh. His eyes glowed with abyssal fire, and black, glistening chains coiled around his limbs like living serpents.
"You're no father of mine," Ryu growled. "You're a monster I should've buried long ago."
"You sound like your mother." His father's lips twisted into a sneer. "Weak. Always hiding behind love. You think pain makes you righteous? You're just a beast pretending to be human."
Chains snapped toward him like vipers.
Ryu dodged, sliding beneath the strike. He activated Blood-Forged Arsenal. Bone tore from his arms, morphing into jagged claws. Blood sprayed the ground—but regeneration kicked in instantly.
"Let's see if you bleed like I did!"
He dashed forward, claws clashing against darkened metal. Sparks and blood flew. His father laughed, swinging a chain-blade, nearly cleaving Ryu's side.
"You still hesitate! That's why she died!"
Ryu roared, pain flashing through his eyes. "Don't say her name!"
He activated Razor Spikes, launching sharpened bone projectiles from his ribs. The spikes tore into his father's chest, knocking him back. But the monster only laughed louder, eyes wild with pleasure.
"This is what I made you for! This rage—it's my legacy!"
Ryu charged again. Bone Sabre drawn from his forearm, glowing crimson with rage.
"Then die with your legacy!"
They clashed.
Blades screamed. Chains shattered. Blood and bone painted the altar.
His father grinned, slamming Ryu into a broken pillar. "You were always meant to be my weapon."
"No. I was meant to end you."
A new skill surged to life—Marrow Bloom.
Marrow Bloom (Active | Forbidden): Explodes regenerative bone growth outward in all directions, forming a razor field around Ryu. Deals massive AOE damage but causes internal haemorrhaging.
He activated it.
The cathedral bloomed with death.
Spines, lances, and barbs erupted from his body, slicing through stone, chain, and flesh. His father howled, limbs shredded, one eye torn from his socket.
"You're finally beautiful," his father wheezed, bleeding. "Covered in pain… like me."
Ryu coughed blood but stood tall. He used Claw Morph, transforming both hands into jagged reaper talons. He launched forward, carving into his father's chest with a savage combo.
Then—a surprise. His father grinned through the wounds and activated his own corrupted skill: Soul Chains.
The chains around him surged with spectral energy, stabbing into Ryu's soul.
Memories flooded his mind.
Miyuki is dying.
His guild is screaming.
His mother was begging.
His child self, bleeding, alone.
He screamed and staggered, clutching his chest.
"What's the matter, Ryu? Feel that? It's every pain you buried. I AM your pain!"
"No... You're my curse!"
He roared and used Gore Lance, pulling a massive spike from his spine and launching it like a missile.
It tore through his father's abdomen, pinning him to the cathedral wall.
Still, he didn't stop laughing.
Ryu stepped forward. Blood soaked the floor. The torment gauge ticked red.
"One more time. Come on, Ryu. Break. Break like you did that night!"
The final verdict ignited.
Chains of divine fire erupted from the sky.
But this time, Ryu didn't stop there.
He layered it with Carnage Bloom, an evolved version of Marrow Bloom that sent a continuous eruption of bone lances spiralling upward like a hellish storm.
The cathedral groaned, its foundation breaking. His father screamed—not in rage—but in agony. Pure, cleansing agony.
"YOU TOOK EVERYTHING!" Ryu cried, his voice cracked, his eyes burning. "AND I'LL TAKE YOU!"
He charged into the blaze.
They met one last time—blade versus claw, hatred versus sorrow.
Chains wrapped Ryu's throat. He grabbed them with burning hands and tore them apart with brute force.
He punched into his father's chest—once, twice, then a dozen more. Bones cracked. Hearts shattered.
Blood-Forged Arsenal: Overload Mode activated.
He sacrificed 70% of his HP to generate a colossal bone weapon—a greatsword forged from his entire ribcage, laced with his marrow and grief.
His hands bled as he lifted it.
"Goodbye, Dad."
He swung.
The blade cleaved through his father, through the chains, through the dungeon.
The entire cathedral was obliterated in the final strike.
Ash fell like snow.
Ryu stood in the wreckage, knees buckling. Regeneration sputtered. He was almost empty.
"Mom… I did it."
The system chimed.
Skill Evolution Complete: Blood-Forged Arsenal (Awakened Form)
New Title Earned: Godkiller of Chains
But Ryu didn't care.
He collapsed.
Victory was his.
But it cost everything.
And as his vision dimmed, he whispered, "No more monsters… No more sons like me…"
Then—black.
Only silence.
And peace.
—for now.