Previously...
Ren had defeated his enemies one after another, but just when the battle seemed to be over, seven commanders appeared and attempted to kill him.
Before they could succeed, Ren's Seven Guardians appeared and defeated them. However, the commanders awakened their hidden abilities and summoned the Divine Hand.
Now, Ren was facing a dangerous situation. Even he was struggling to counter their attack.
Present Time
"What's wrong, Ren?" one of the commanders mocked. "Have you finally reached your limit?"
Ren said nothing.
Suddenly, the Seven Guardians surrounded him and formed a formation to protect him from the incoming attack.
The commanders became distracted for a moment.
That was all the Guardians needed.
SHING!
In an instant, they attacked the commanders and cut down six of them.
But one commander survived.
He stared at the Guardians in disbelief.
Then, someone appeared behind him.
A mysterious man stood silently on the battlefield. His face was completely covered with bandages, and he wore a black coat with formal trousers.
Everyone turned toward him.
Ekai tried to sense the man's spiritual energy, but he couldn't detect anything.
"What?! Why can't I sense his spiritual energy?" Ekai exclaimed.
The mysterious man calmly reached inside his coat and pulled out a katana.
The surviving commander turned toward him.
Before he could react—
SHING!
The man cut him down with a single swing.
At first, everyone thought it was an ordinary attack.
Then they noticed the mountains behind him.
Their expressions changed instantly.
The mountains had been sliced into two enormous sections.
Everyone fell silent.
The mysterious man pointed his katana toward Ren and the others.
Before anyone could move, he disappeared.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
In just a few seconds, Ren's body was cut apart by a series of lightning-fast strikes.
But Ren wasn't defeated so easily.
His shadow moved, and the Seven Guardians immediately used their powers to help him recover.
Ren managed to regenerate, but the effort left both him and his Guardians severely weakened.
Ekai and the others realized they had no chance of winning a direct fight.
They needed to escape.
"Everyone, move!" Ekai shouted.
Sikoro looked toward the distance.
"Don't worry! We're thirty kilometers away from the nearest safe area. He'll need time to catch up!"
But the mysterious man suddenly jumped forward and began running toward them.
While running, he reached inside his coat and pulled out a spear.
Akaio stared at him.
"Where does he keep getting those weapons?!"
The answer was beyond their imagination.
The mysterious man possessed no magic.
Instead, he had supernatural physical strength that made him terrifying even without magical abilities.
His black coat also possessed a special power: he could retrieve any weapon from any dimension.
But that wasn't the only reason he was dangerous.
His speed was unbelievable.
Before anyone could react, the man was already standing directly in front of them.
Everyone froze.
"How is he that fast?!" Ekai shouted.
Akaio immediately raised his massive hammer.
"GET AWAY FROM MY FRIENDS!"
He swung the hammer with all his strength.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive cloud of smoke covered the battlefield.
For a moment, everyone thought Akaio had landed a direct hit.
But when the smoke disappeared, their expressions changed.
The mysterious man had blocked the enormous hammer with just one hand.
He didn't even move.
Then he grabbed the hammer and threw it away.
The weapon travelled through the air at the speed of sound before disappearing into the distance.
Ekai stared at the stranger.
"Bro, we can't even touch this guy! We have to run!"
Everyone immediately tried to escape.
But the mysterious man raised his hand.
A strange force spread throughout the surroundings.
Suddenly, an enormous barrier appeared, trapping the entire world within its boundaries.
They tried to escape, but nothing worked.
No one could go anywhere.
Ekai clenched his fists.
"Sorry, everyone. We don't have any other option. We have to stay here and face him."
Ren stepped forward.
He wasn't going to surrender.
He rushed toward the mysterious man and launched a series of attacks.
But the stranger dodged every single one effortlessly.
Then, in an instant, he grabbed Hasikat.
The man looked at Ren and began laughing.
"Welcome to the death game!"
One of his eyes became visible beneath the bandages.
It was completely blood-red.
He stared at Ren.
"You can't defeat me."
Then he raised his katana.
"In this world, there are two types of people: Limiters and Non-Limiters."
Everyone listened carefully.
"Limiters are those who cannot surpass their limits. No matter how hard they try, they eventually reach a point where their strength stops growing."
His red eye gleamed.
"But Non-Limiters are different. They can surpass their limits as much as they want."
He spread his arms.
"And I am a Non-Limiter."
Everyone was shocked.
Ekai stepped forward.
"But we will defeat you!"
The mysterious man shook his head.
"Motivation alone cannot give you strength. You're weak, and you need to accept that."
In an instant, he appeared directly in front of Ekai and delivered a powerful kick.
BOOM!
The ground beneath Ekai collapsed, creating a deep crater.
The force was so tremendous that it changed the direction of the surrounding wind.
The mysterious man looked down at him.
"I have no magic."
He clenched his fist.
"Only pure strength."
Then he rushed toward Sikoro.
Before Sikoro could react, the man grabbed him by the hair and threw him into the air.
He jumped after him and kicked him back toward the ground.
KRAAAASH!
The impact shook the battlefield.
The stranger turned toward Ren.
"You don't deserve to wield Hasikat."
He rushed forward and punched Ren, sending him flying across the battlefield.
Before Ren could recover, the man followed him and delivered another powerful kick.
Then he picked up Hasikat.
Without hesitation, he drove the katana into Ren's chest.
"REN!" Akaio screamed.
Akaio rushed toward the mysterious man, determined to save his friend.
But the stranger calmly pulled out a shield from his coat and blocked Akaio's attack.
Then he threw Hasikat toward Akaio.
The katana struck Akaio in the stomach area.
Blood appeared on the mysterious man's hand.
He slowly looked at it.
Then he tasted the blood.
A disturbing smile spread across his face.
"Nice blood."
He looked at the exhausted warriors surrounding him.
"You weaklings..."
Suddenly, he began laughing.
"I'm the god!"
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
"I was born to kill everyone!"
He spread his arms.
"YES! I'M THE STRONGEST! I'M THE STRONGEST!"
His laughter grew louder.
Then, suddenly, he stopped.
He lowered his head and looked toward the fallen warriors.
"I'm hungry now."
His blood-red eye gleamed beneath the bandages.
"I want more blood."
TO BE CONTINUED...