One month passed in the blink of an eye. The scandal of the Scarlet Fang Guild had quieted, replaced by new rumors and fresh crises, as the Hunter world always did. For Renji, the days had settled into a rhythm training at the Association's grounds, offering reluctant demonstrations, and brushing off the endless questions about his fighting style. He preferred silence, but it seemed the more he tried to stay in the background, the more eyes were drawn to him.
That morning, Chaewon stopped him at the Association lobby, her arms crossed and a familiar glint in her eyes. "I need a favor," she said. That was how Renji ended up standing in front of four recruits outside the gaping maw of an E-rank dungeon.
The group looked young too young. Their armor still shone, their grips on their weapons too stiff. But there was promise in their eyes, even if they didn't yet understand the weight of what they were stepping into.
Renji's gaze swept over them.
Do-jin, the Tank – a stocky young man with a tower shield nearly as tall as him. His stance screamed inexperience, but there was a solidness in the way he braced himself, as if he wanted to carry the blows for others.
Min-seo, the Swordsman – lean, sharp-eyed, the kind who thought speed would make up for discipline. He was the one most likely to charge ahead without thinking.
Hye-rin, the Mage – quiet, her robes still too clean, clutching her staff like a lifeline. Mana clung to her faintly, like static before a storm, but her confidence hadn't caught up with her talent.
Jae-hee, the Healer – the youngest of the group, nerves written plain across her face. She fidgeted with the charm around her nec but there was a determination in her eyes that reminded Renji of someone he once knew.
"Association guidelines," Renji said flatly, arms crossed, "are simple. You follow the chain of command, you stay with your team, and you don't overestimate your own strength. E-rank doesn't mean safe. Monsters don't care what your license says."
The recruits shifted, some nodding, some avoiding his gaze. Min-seo was the first to break the silence. "Sir if you don't even want to be here, why'd you accept this job?"
For the first time, Renji smirked. He leaned against the hilt of his blade. "Because the Association doesn't let me say no and because someone" he tilted his head back toward the lobby they'd left behind, "decided I was the perfect babysitter. If you're not happy about it, blame Chaewon."
Do-jin chuckled, Hye-rin's lips twitched in a suppressed laugh, and even Jae-hee cracked a nervous smile. Min-seo muttered something under his breath about " Team Leader Chaewon is scary."
Renji let the moment breathe before his voice dropped, sharper. "Joke aside don't assume strength means safety. That assumption kills more hunters than monsters ever do."
Their laughter faded into silence, and their nervousness sharpened into focus. Good.
The dungeon gate pulsed open, spilling pale light across their faces. Renji rested a hand on his sword. "You're lucky today because I don't assume anything."
The dungeon air was thick with dampness and the faint stench of rot. Four recruits stood at the ready, nerves written all over their faces. Renji watched quietly as the shadows moved goblins creeping forward with crude blades in hand.
Do-jin raised his shield but far too late. The goblin's strike screeched against the metal.
"Do-jin," Renji's voice was calm but firm, "lower your stance. Bend your knees, weight forward. Don't just block, push them. You're the wall, make them hate facing you."
Do-jin gritted his teeth, slammed his shield forward, and the goblin staggered back with a hiss.
Min-seo lunged in recklessly, his blade nearly grazing Do-jin's arm.
"Min-seo," Renji barked, "you're not fighting alone. Watch Do-jin open the gaps, you cut through them. Time your blade with his shield."
Min-seo clicked his tongue but adjusted, sliding into Do-jin's opening. His slash landed clean across the goblin's chest.
Behind them, Hye-rin gripped her staff too tightly, hesitation freezing her hands. Sparks of mana flickered weakly.
"Hye-rin," Renji's tone softened slightly, "magic isn't forced, it flows. Don't choke it. Watch how they move and how your team moves. You cover the blondspots for your team. "
Hye-rin's lips moved in a stuttered chant, and frost burst across the stone floor. The goblins' steps faltered, momentum broken.
The last goblin shrieked and lunged for Jae-hee, the healer. Her eyes widened, panic rooting her in place.
"Jae-hee," Renji's voice cut through her fear, steady as steel, "don't look at the ground look at them. You're not just support, you're the lifeline. Anticipate the wound before it bleeds."
Trembling, Jae-hee raised her charm. Light spilled from her palms, weaving around Do-jin just as a goblin's blade nicked his arm. The wound sealed instantly, Do-jin barely flinching.
The four recruits moved differently now. Do-jin bracing lower, shield forcing goblins into position. Min-seo striking in rhythm with him. Hye-rin slowing the enemy's advance with clever bursts of frost. Jae-hee focusing with sharp eyes, timing her heals before panic could settle.
Renji stood unmoving, arms crossed, his presence heavier than the shadows. He hadn't drawn his blade once. When the last goblin fell, he spoke quietly, voice carrying a weight that pressed into their chests.
"Better. Remember this, hunters don't win alone. You win as a team and move as a team. Don't ever forget it and trust in your teammates."
The recruits panted, sweat dripping down their faces, but their eyes gleamed with a spark of pride and respect. The dungeon stretched deeper, its narrow halls lit only by faint blue moss clinging to the stone. The recruits followed Renji's lead, their earlier nervousness slowly turning into rhythm with each battle.
The next wave came quickly three goblins, but one carried a jagged spear.
Renji's eyes sharpened. "Do-jin, don't just stand and take the hit, redirect that spear with your shield's edge. Use its momentum against him."
Do-jin grit his teeth and angled his shield. The spear jabbed forward, scraping off, leaving the goblin open.
"Min-seo, now!"
Min-seo dashed in, blade slashing across the goblin's chest. This time, he didn't rush ahead blindly his movement was calculated, flowing with Do-jin's defense.
Behind them, a goblin archer nocked an arrow.
"Hye-rin!" Renji called without hesitation. "Suppress his hands, don't let him draw."
Hye-rin raised her staff, frost spiraling to life. A shard of ice streaked forward, striking the goblin's hand and freezing the bowstring mid-pull. The arrow snapped, useless. Jae-hee's eyes tracked Min-seo nervously, already raising her charm.
Renji shook his head. "Don't waste mana. He's going to be fine. Wait for a moment where they would be really in danger and heal at the right moment. "
Jae-hee swallowed hard, forcing herself to lower her hands. She watched carefully instead of reacting to every scratch. Battle after battle, Renji's commands cut sharper than steel. His voice wasn't loud, but it carved directly into their instincts:
"Do-jin, keep the line straight."
"Min-seo, use your ears listen for their steps, not just your eyes."
"Hye-rin, pace your mana don't burn out before we fight the boss."
"Jae-hee, breathe between each chant."
The recruits began moving with intent, their separate strengths starting to knit together. Hours passed. The dungeon floor grew slick with blood and ichor, goblin corpses littering the path behind them. Finally, they arrived at a massive set of stone doors etched with claw marks and dark stains the unmistakable threshold of a boss chamber. The faint rumble of something breathing echoed from within. The recruits froze, sweat dripping from their brows.
Renji exhaled slowly, lowering himself onto a nearby rock. "Let's take a rest here."
The recruits sat in a circle just outside the looming boss chamber, the heavy steel doors humming faintly with the energy sealed within. Their breaths were uneven, armor scuffed from the trek through the dungeon.
Do-jin glanced at Renji, hesitation in his eyes before speaking.
"Senior how did you and Team Leader Chaewon clear a whole D-rank dungeon by yourselves? This E-Rank Dungeon is already tiring with just us four."
Renji leaned back against the cold stone wall, closing his eyes for a moment as if weighing how much to share. His hand idly traced the grip of his blade, the gesture more memory than habit.
"It wasn't easy," he said finally. "Surviving in a dungeon isn't about how flashy your attacks are. It's about leaving no openings because even the smallest hesitation can cost someone their life."
The group exchanged glances, their curiosity only growing.
Renji continued, his tone calm but edged with experience.
"I've fought in battles where monsters came in waves, too many to count. I've seen fighters swing their blades until their arms gave out, mages burn through every last drop of mana just to keep the line from breaking. In dungeons you don't fight to win you fight to endure, until the tide finally breaks before you do."
Min-seo swallowed hard, his knuckles white around his sword hilt.
Renji's gaze softened, and for a moment there was a trace of a smile.
"But even in the worst fights, the reason we held our ground wasn't strength. It was trust. Trust that the person next to you wouldn't falter. Trust that your shield would block, your healer would answer, your mage would strike when it counted. Without that, even the strongest warrior gets buried."
Silence hung heavy in the air, the recruits absorbing every word.
Hye-rin, clutching her staff, finally spoke. "So if we fight as one, we'll make it through the boss?"
Renji pushed himself to his feet, drawing his sword in a smooth, unhurried motion. His eyes swept over them, sharp and steady. "If you fight together, you'll win. If you fight alone, you'll die. Simple as that."
The dungeon trembled as a guttural roar echoed from beyond the door, the promise of the battle ahead. Renji rested the blade across his shoulder, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Rest's over. Time to see if you were listening."
The massive doors groaned open, revealing a cavern lit by flickering torches. At the far end, a hulking figure sat slouched on a crude throne of bones and stone the Goblin King. Its bloodshot eyes glared as it rose, clutching a jagged greatclub nearly as long as Do-jin was tall.
The recruits instinctively tensed.
Renji raised his hand, steady and calm.
"Remember your roles. Do-jin, you're the wall. Don't let him near the others. Min-seo, watch his arms a club that size telegraphs every swing. Hye-rin, control his footing with binds with your frost spells. Ji-woo, don't panic. Keep your eyes on everyone and time your heals."
The Goblin King bellowed, the sound rattling the chamber, before charging forward.
Do-jin met the charge with his shield, bracing as the monster's strength slammed against him. The impact forced him back several feet, but he held, sweat pouring down his face.
"Good," Renji said from behind. "Anchor yourself lower feel the ground beneath you."
Min-seo darted in from the side, blade flashing, carving into the Goblin King's thigh. The beast howled, swinging its club wide in retaliation.
"Min-seo!" Renji called. "Don't chase the cut step out after the strike!"
He barely avoided being flattened, rolling away with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, Hye-rin's chants filled the chamber. Ice formed on the floor encasing the Goblin King's legs. The monster roared in frustration, slowed but not stopped.
"Perfect timing," Renji encouraged. "Don't aim to hold him forever. Just long enough for an opening."
The King lifted its club high, aiming for Do-jin. Before the blow could land, a shimmering barrier flared Ji-woo's healing magic reinforcing the shield-bearer just in time.
Do-jin gritted his teeth, raising his shield again. "I can hold him! Hit him now!"
Min-seo let out a shout and charged, Hye-rin throwing ice spears towards the Goblin King's eyes. Together, they focused every strike, whittling down the beast's strength. The Goblin King staggered, its roars turning desperate.
Renji stood back, watching with arms crossed, only stepping in once to deflect a stray goblin minion that tried to interfere. His blade flashed once, and the creature fell unnoticed by the recruits, who were fully locked in their battle.
Finally, Min-seo saw the chance. "Now!" he shouted.
Do-jin bashed the King's chest with his shield, knocking it off balance. Hye-rin's magic rooted it in place for a split second. Min-seo leapt forward, sword raised high, while Ji-woo's magic flared to steady his movements.
The blade plunged into the Goblin King's chest. The monster shrieked one final time before collapsing to the stone floor, the cavern trembling as silence followed.
The recruits panted, stunned by their victory, before erupting into relieved cheers.
Renji finally stepped closer, his voice calm but carrying a rare trace of warmth.
"Well done. That kill's yours."
Do-jin fell to his knees, laughing breathlessly. "I... I thought I was going to die."
Renji smirked faintly. "Then you did it right. A battle worth winning should always feel that way."
The recruits grinned, their eyes alight with newfound confidence.
But their victory was short-lived. A guttural chant echoed through the chamber, low and dripping with malice. The torches dimmed, and a surge of mana pulsed from behind the throne.
From the shadows, a twisted figure emerged hunched, cloaked in filthy rags, its eyes glowing with sickly green light. A Goblin Shaman. Its crooked staff throbbed with energy, bones and fetishes dangling from it as it raised its voice in a shrill incantation.
The air thickened. Dark magic poured into the room, coiling like a storm of serpents. Renji stepped forward without hesitation, placing himself between the recruits and the Shaman. His stance was steady, an unshakable wall they instinctively felt they could trust.
"Stay behind me," he said calmly, though the edge in his voice carried a weight that silenced even their breathing. Then, with deliberate slowness, he raised his left hand.
A ripple of darkness bloomed in his palm first a flicker, then a swirling vortex of shadow that condensed into form. The recruits' eyes widened as a blade of living shadow stretched outward, sleek and lethal, humming with restrained power. Its surface shimmered like liquid obsidian, and yet its edge seemed sharper than steel.
The Goblin Shaman faltered in its chanting, its glowing eyes narrowing in recognition or fear.
Renji's expression remained cold, his gaze locked on the creature. "I'll handle this."
The recruits felt it then not just power, but pressure. The air vibrated around him, heavy with intent, as though the dungeon itself acknowledged the presence of something it could not contain.
Min-seo's grip tightened on his sword, his knuckles white. "H-he just... summoned a weapon..." he muttered, disbelief thick in his voice.
Renji ignored the whispers behind him. His shadow blade hummed, the edge whispering through the air as he shifted it into a ready stance. The Shaman shrieked, slamming its staff into the ground. Cracks of green light spiderwebbed across the stone floor as two massive Goblin Kings clawed their way back from the abyss, their bodies twisted by necrotic magic.
Renji exhaled slowly, rolling his shoulders as if he were simply loosening up. Then he smirked faintly. "Good," he muttered. "It'll make ending this quicker."
"Watch closely," he said, his voice calm. "This is how you end a fight before it begins."
And then he was gone. To the recruits, it felt as if Renji vanished, only for his figure to reappear in flashes weaving, spinning, and twisting through the dungeon chamber with a speed so sharp their eyes struggled to keep up.
His shadow blade carved arcs of midnight light, slicing through the first Goblin King's massive arm before the creature even realized it had been struck. With a fluid pivot, Renji spun under its desperate swing, his footwork precise, almost elegant, as though he were dancing across the battlefield.
Steel in his right hand slashed upward, tearing through the beast's throat, while his shadow blade split its chest open in a perfect cross. The King's roar turned into a gurgle as its massive body collapsed into pieces, scattering across the stone floor.
Min-seo's jaw dropped. "He's... he's not fighting. He's dancing."
Before the second Goblin King could react, Renji was already on it. He flowed past its guard like water, ducking beneath its club and stepping in close. His movements were so fast, the recruits saw only fragments a blur of black, the flicker of a blade, the shimmer of steel.
Then, with a final twist, Renji spun low and drove the shadow blade upward, piercing straight through the Goblin King's chest. The monster froze, its eyes wide, before crashing down in a lifeless heap.
The Shaman shrieked in fury, raising its staff to unleash a torrent of green fire. Mana surged around it, twisting the air with volatile power but Renji was already there.
In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance, shadows rippling at his feet like a living tide. The recruits could track his movement this time just barely enough to feel the chill crawl down their spines as they realized how effortless it was for him. He thrust his shadow blade forward, piercing the Goblin Shaman's heart before the incantation could be completed.
The glow in its eyes flickered, then went dark. Its staff clattered to the floor, useless. Renji pulled the blade free in one smooth motion, the Shaman's body collapsing to the stone with a hollow thud. Silence followed, heavy and absolute.
For a moment, only the sound of Renji's quiet breathing filled the chamber. Then, slowly, he turned back to the recruits. His shadow blade dissolved into smoke, vanishing from his hand as if it had never been.
"You saw what happens when you hesitate," he said, his tone firm but not unkind. "A battle can change in a heartbeat. If you want to survive, you can't just fight hard. You have to fight decisively."
The recruits stared at him wide-eyed, pale, and utterly speechless. Their earlier pride from defeating the Goblin King felt like a child's game compared to what they had just witnessed.
Finally, Jae-hee swallowed hard, her voice breaking the silence."Renji-sunbaenim," she said, her eyes shining with awe. "Please teach us how to move like that."
Renji smirked faintly, shaking his head. "Heh. You'd break your legs trying."
But despite his teasing, there was warmth in his gaze a quiet pride, like a teacher seeing potential in his students. A man hiding the dark watched everything unfold and stared straight at Renji as if trying to remember where he saw him and retreating into another portal.
The war chamber of the Veythar Dominion was cloaked in flickering torchlight, its jagged walls echoing with the low hum of dark power. The King sat upon his obsidian throne, armored fingers tapping against the armrest like a predator waiting to pounce.
A subordinate entered, cloaked in black, bowing low before daring to speak. "My liege there is news from the Earth Realm."
The King's eyes narrowed. "Speak."
The subordinate's voice was hushed, reverent and fearful.
"We have confirmed sightings of the one they call the Shadow Blade. He has resurfaced but not within the Crimson Throne. He walks the Earth Realm now."
For a heartbeat, silence reigned. Then the King leaned forward, a grin cutting across his scarred face. "The Shadow Blade... alive? Hah! And all this time, I thought his bones had long been buried beneath the Origin Realm."
The subordinate swallowed, lowering his head further. "My King his absence from the Crimson Throne leaves them weakened. Their armies lack the edge that once repelled us."
A cruel laugh rolled from the throne, sharp and booming, reverberating through the chamber.
"Then the fates themselves have delivered my victory. Without their shadow-dancer, the Crimson Throne is nothing more than a dying ember waiting to be snuffed out."
He rose, towering, his dark mantle unfurling like wings of shadow. "Summon the warlords. Call forth the legions. Tonight, the Dominion marches. We will crush the Crimson Throne and carve our dominion into the bones of the Origin Realm itself!"
The war drums began to thunder, their rhythm shaking the stone halls. The King spread his arms wide, laughing with savage delight. "At last conquest unchallenged! The Shadow Blade may linger in another world, but when he returns he will find nothing but ruins!"
The chamber erupted in roars of loyalty, the banners of the Dominion unfurling as the armies prepared to march. The continent would burn, and with Renji gone, there was no one left to stop them.