Part 1

The world were once separated by country...now began...the region of the one world government, earth had been unified as one government known as the O.W.G. Their flag was black with the three letter acronym....

Though there were separate cities, the earth itself was known as one government therefore one country...

Kin Yamazaki was a young 16-year-old high-school student that went to Okazaki high in the city of Toimogu in the upper-west of the world. Kin had black hair that went across his right purple eye covering it, giving him an emo vibe. The students were forced to wear black vests with white long-sleeve shirts and black pants, their school's emblem on their right torso which was a red "R" inside a silver sun.

CHAPTER 1 The beginning Of A Long Journey

The young student sat at his desk drawing fantasy characters as he always did, he was drawing a sword with magical powers when the teacher came up swiping it out of his hand. The teacher was a heavier old man with black hair and glasses. "How dare you draw in my class! I will have you suspended for such disrespect!"

He and the other students watched as the teacher tossed the notebook in the metal trash bin before tossing a match inside. A cold weight grew within Kin as he watched the bin set ablaze with flames within the white classroom. Clinching his fists, tears poured from his eyes as he got up walking over to the bin looking at the flames before it slowly died down.

The teacher crossed his arms ordering the student to sit back down. That's when Kin sent a fierce strike across the teacher's face, shattering the man's glasses as they flew from the man's face hitting the floor in pieces, blood running from the man's face. "WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT! I'LL HAVE YOU ARRESTED FOR THIS!" The young teen quickly ran to the back of the classroom, opening one of the large windows before jumping from the 3rd floor, managing to catch a tree branch stopping his fall before landing in the grass behind the schoolyard.

Taking off full-speed, Kin didn't look back as he dashed over to the large school wall, managing to scale it before escaping into the forest that spread miles behind the school. "I'm done with school...done with this place, I will travel the world until I find a place where I can be happy and feel as though I belong. My notebook is gone as is a part of me...I spent years creating an entire world within those pages, only for them to turn to ashes in mere moments"

Sitting down he rested against a large cherry blossom tree that seem to have sprouted in the middle of the forest while the other trees surrounding it were mere oak trees. He took of his vest as cherry blossoms danced withing the air around him as if in slow motion. He could feel a soft breeze brush across his face as he relaxed wiping his dried tears.

"A quote from someone once said: "When one's world has been destroyed, stand up and create one that surpasses the last" Whoever spoke those words is right, I won't let the loss of my creations break me...I shall rise up to the task of creating a world that is even greater than before!" Leaving his vest in the forest, he walked through the peaceful forest letting out a calming breath knowing he wasn't trapped in a place that had no respect for him any longer. He was free to do what he thought was right...

After a few hours of walking, he spotted something shiny lying across a large rock, the sunlight reflecting off it's surface. Making his way over to the item, he realized it was a sword. It was a two-handed silver sword with a golden grip and cross-guard. "T-this sword...it looks just like the one from my notebook! It can't be though" Slowly Kin reached down picking the blade up with one hand. The grip was slightly warm from the sun's heat but didn't burn him.

He inspected the blade looking it over before slowly raising it to the sky with a smile on his face. That's when he heard a voice within his head: (Hello Kin, thank you for finding me, I've been stuck in these woods for so long, I thought I'd never be found) This caught the teen off-guard as he spun around gripping the blade tightly looking for the source of the young male voice.

(Oh, I'm sorry if I frightened you...I am Osukai, I was once human like you before being reincarnated as this sword. I am able to communicate to those who wield me by connecting our minds together. I thought some knight would find me but to my surprise it was a mere boy. Though, you seem to be able to wield me with little issue, how strange, I'm an S+ rank weapon so I doubt many can handle my power, yet you seem fine. Try attacking with me)

Kin gripped the sword with both hands, focusing his sights on an old oak tree as he swung with all his might as a slash of blue energy pierced through the tree as it broke from it's roots hitting the ground. (Incredible, you're not only able to hold me like a mere blade, but can attack with me as well! You must have great potential within you. Many others before you attempted to merely hold me yet either passed out or couldn't lift me from wherever I laid)

"You look just like the sword I drew in class hours ago before my notebook was burned to ash by my heartless teacher"

(Really? How strange, but at least you managed to escape. With your talent and my power, we could achieve greatness! Let us search this world for ways to grow stronger and become a legend!) With a nod Kin walked further through the forest gripping the blade tightly in his hand when they spotted a dark figure moving through the forest, it looked like a figure made of dark energy as it moved at a fast rate. That's when Kin realized it was headed towards them.

"O-Osukai...what is that thing!?"

(I'm not sure, I can sense a demonic aura emanating from it so I assume it's a type of demon. Though I can't see, I can sense everything around me such as magic and life energy) The shadow demon made it's way towards them, it's lifeless eyes focused on them as it reached out towards them. Kin stood frozen in fear when the sword shouted for him to attack.

Gripping it with both hands, Kin closed his eyes in fear, swinging the blade with all his strength. Once again, a wave of magical energy sliced through the creature as it froze in place before splitting in half as it faded away. The young teen fell to one knee out of breath from the rush of fear. "W-what's going on...my life seemed normal until I enter this forest! I must be going insane...this is just my mind crumbling apart!"

(You're not going insane, there's thousands of things hidden from most humans, but seems it was just a coincidence that you happen to come across me. As for the demon, I'm unsure of it's origin. However, now that you are my master...I'm afraid you'll have to say goodbye to your normal life. Once we've linked together, it cannot be undone)

"Sigh, well it's not like I had anything in my normal life. No friends...no family worth staying for. So, I'll just live it all behind and start a new life" With a deep breath, Kin ventured through the forest far away from Toimogu as the sun began to go down, giving off a beautiful pale-red color. That's when the young boy spotted a cave at the bottom of a large mountain, it was pitch-black as he approached it's entrance.

"Osukai, can you use your magic to illuminate our way inside?" The sword abruptly lit up in a blue aura lighting a small path before him allowing the teen to walk inside. The cave was cold with only the sound of water dripping onto the floor. As he reached the back of the ominous cave. That's when he spotted a figure sitting up against the cold stone walls.

As it came into view, the figure came into view as a zombie sat before him fast asleep. It had black hair wearing brown cloth rags for clothing. As the monster awoke before him, a scream caught in Kin's throat aiming his sword toward the zombie who rose to his feet before the frightened teen.

"Don't be afraid human, I don't want to hurt you. Unlike most undead, I can think rationally as if I were human. My name is Kento Sukada, my I know your name young swordsmen?"

"K-Kin Yamazaki. I'm new to this whole fantasy world thing. I assumed my life would be boring and average until I found this sword. It goes by Osukai. He communicates through telepathy and told me he was once a human now Reincarnated As An S-Rank sword"

"Well Kin Yamazaki, the sun's going down soon, it's best you stay here to make sure no monsters can attack you. In the morning I'll help you with the basics of being an adventurer" With that Kento sat back down against the wall before falling asleep. Meanwhile Kin was a little nervous about staying near a zombie but felt as though his new friend was genuinely a good person. Laying on the cold stone floor he soon fell asleep as well...

As morning came, sunlight poured through the cave entrance waking the young boy. He stretched before standing up where he found Kento standing outside the cave looking out into the forest letting the forest's soft breeze brush across his undead body. "Though I'm undead, I can kind of feel the wind on my face" The zombie turned to see Kin stepping outside holding his blade tightly in his hand looking around cautiously as if expecting to be attacked by something.

"Don't worry, not many creatures in this forest is even strong enough to match up to me. So as long as you stay close nothing should be able to harm you. Now then, show me your skills as a swordsmen. You say you're new to adventuring, so let's help you practice with that legendary weapon"

Kento put his hands up in a fighting stance watching his opponent closely with his undead eyes, unlike most eyes, his eyes were black with blue irises. Kin gripped his weapon with both hands charging straight for the undead. Swinging his blade at full strength, the young warrior missed by mere inches, sending a magical slash past him cutting a large tree in half as it split down the middle before hitting the grass.

"Hmm, seems your weapon certainly does possess immense magical power. Though without actual swordsman skills, you won't be much of a threat but could accidentally hurt someone with that attack If you're not careful. Let's try some target practice, this will help improve your accuracy so you don't accidentally hit something or someone"

Standing in front of them, Kento held his open palm out as he manifested a fireball that levitated within his grasp. This caught Kin off guard at the sight of a zombie using magic. "First a zombie that acts like an average human, now you can use magic as well!?"

"For now I'm only capable of using fire magic. Though it also gives me a fire nullification which is a good advantage since fire is one of the magic types most undead are weak against. Now then...think fast!" With a sudden movement Kento shot his small fireball right for the young human who hesitated in fear of being burned, putting his guard up as the flaming projectile struck the edge of the blade with wisps of flames shooting out in all directions before the attack was sent soaring into the sky as burst in burst of flames.

Kin stood shaking from the adrenaline rushing through his body as he took deep breaths trying to calm down. Kento Clapped with a smile on his face forming another ball of flames. "I'm impressed you managed to deflect the 1st one, maybe you really do have potential. However, you let your fear take over. In a life or death situation, such a weakness will spell doom for you. If you wish to become a real warrior...you must focus on your survival. Overthinking will only grow your fear until you're frozen and wide open to an attack"

Kin tighten his grip once more as Kento raised his hand above him, making his sphere of flames twice as big as before. "Fear will only weaken you...stay calm and focus" Without another word, the undead mage sent the magical projectile head-on for the young swordsmen.

(F-fear will only weaken me...) Letting out a deep breath, he stood his ground with a determined look in his eyes. "I won't let my fears hold me back!" Just as he came face to face with the blazing attack, Kin swung his blade with all his might, making direct contact with the sphere as he could feel himself slowly getting forced back as his feet scraped across the dirt. Kin's hair blew from the force of power the attack emitted when the young warrior stomped his foot firmly to the ground, sending the stronger attack right back at the zombie who was caught off guard. In a burst of immense flames, Kento was set ablaze by his own attack until the flames died out with only his clothes scored.

"Great work Kin, you managed to overcome your fear and push yourself further. Though there'll be plenty more obstacles in your path, this test just shows you have the potential to grow as a warrior. Make sure you train and keep improving with your sword until it becomes 2nd nature to you. I think that's enough training for now. It's time to see how you fare on a quest against a real monster"

As they made their way through the forest, Kin held his sword up speaking to it telepathically: (You ok Osukai? You were quiet during the training session)

(I'm fine master, I don't talk much during a battle unless it's to alert you of damage) Lowering his blade he followed his ally down the forest path where a village came into view. It was a large medieval village with many wooden houses and merchants with their stores set up between every other house. As they made their way towards a large tavern in the middle of village, Kin noticed an old man wearing a dark-purple wizard hat and robe with many different items spread out on a table similar to a pawn shop without glass protecting it.

"Welcome young traveler, I see you've taken a liking to my shop. Allow me to show you my wares. I have this" He grabbed a dark-red katana holding it up before the young teen. "This blade is said to contain immense spiritual energy. I'm willing to sell it to you for...2,000 gold. What say you to such a bargain?"

"I'm sorry sir, but I already have the sword for me" Kin showed his blade to the wizard he hung his head before responding: "I see...well, what about this?" Once more the old mage pulled out a small black box before carefully opening it to revel A card with the picture of a dark knight in black armor with red glowing eyes, the name below it read: "Death knight"

The young warrior grew interested in the card as he reached out closely inspecting it. "So, what's so special about this item?" The mage smiled. "Ah yes! That card contains a magical seal that contains a powerful monster within it. If you wish to summon it, you just call out it's name and it shall appear before you. Definitely a useful summoning item when in danger or wanting to turn the tables against an opponent"

Kin pondered for a moment before asking: "So. What's the worth of such an item?" The merchant stroked his beard thinking for a moment before answering: "Normally such an item would be worth 1,00 to roughly 1.200 gold, but for you I'll bring the price down to 900"

"Hmmm, seems reasonable, I shall be back once I have enough to buy the item. Please hold it for me till I return" The wizard gave him a nod before Kin walked down the dirt road up to the tavern where Kento was looking at the quest billboard with many different quests pinned on the board.

Turning his head, the undead warrior saw his friend walking through the twin doors stepping inside the large tavern. It had a wooden floor with many tables and chairs with the bar at the other side of the room with stairs leading up on the left side of the bar. Surprisingly there weren't many people within the tavern aside one group of mercenaries sitting in the corner of the room drinking mugs of beer.

"What took so long? I was about to come look for you, was beginning to suspect you had gotten lost or got in a fight" Kin laughed responding: "No, just stopped by a shop that had some cool items. He offered me a sword but I informed him that I already had the sword I want, so then he showed me some kind of card that had a monster sealed within it. He said it was really useful in battle and even offered to bring the price from 1,200 gold down to 900 gold"

"Hmm, well doing quests will surely help you gain gold for anything you might need, though most places don't like my kind hanging around, seems this village welcomes all races. The 1st village I found hated undead, one man even attempted to kill or at least slice me to pieces, luckily, I seem to have enhanced strength. Anyway, let's see what quests we can do"

Looking through the quests, Kento pulled off one of the quests. "Here we go, this is a C-rank quest, should be simple enough even though you're a mere D-rank. Says they're north from this Village and have been terrorizing villagers as well as stealing food and materials. Seems like a good starting point. Let's head over there"

"Right" With a nod Kin followed his friend out of the village, heading north down a long dirt path before reaching a wooden sign that read: "Danger Monster area" in big red bold letters. Kento smirked walking past it, disregarding the warning. "Seems we're on the right path. The goblins shouldn't be too far from this point"

As the pair ventured further down the dirt path, that's when Kento heard rustling nearby. Kento stopped the young warrior behind him. "Wait, there's something in front of us" While the zombie stood still listening, Kin pulled out Osukai closing his eyes using the reincarnated blade to sense the area around them...feeling the life force of a small creature in the bushes before them. (Got it!) Gripping his blade firmly Kin ascended into the air, bringing his blade down with a mighty slash as he sent a powerful slash right through the bush blowing the leaves away revealing a green goblin laying in a pool of dark-green blood with a piercing slash down it's head.

"Looks like that's one down" The swordsmen commented lowering his blade but still on guard. The two stood beside one another when an arrow came flying from a nearby tree right for the undead when Kento abruptly caught it with one hand, the sharpened stone tip mere inches from his pale skull as he ignited the arrow with flames before throwing it right back in the direction it came from. The fast-moving projectile struck a tree as it was engulfed in flames causing another goblin to fall from the tree landing before them.

"Ha! Found you!" Aiming his palm towards the creature, Kento sent a fierce fireball in the direction of their target, engulfing them in a fierce burst of flames leaving a large scorch mark in the grass as the monster laid motionless on the ground. "That makes two. With two in the same area, that can only mean their camp isn't too far from here. Let's hurry on ahead Kin"

The pair ran through the forest with Kento ahead while Kin was slightly slowed down from his sword. As they dashed through the green forest, the wind blew across their face as they spotted a campfire just up ahead. Crowed down just a few meters away, the zombie inspected the camp noticing dozens of goblins as they stood by the fire letting out loud screeches with four large trolls sitting around them. "Hmmm, to think trolls would be allies with goblins. Either way our quest said to rid the area of the monsters stealing and causing chaos"

Setting his sights on the campfire, he used his fire manipulation ability to cause the flames within the camp to grow out of control as the small fire now ragged 10 feet high burning several goblins as they let out screeches of pain falling back. With the monsters in a panic, Kento sprung out from the bushes, lunging right for a large blue troll sending a fierce blow to it's face as the large brute staggered back gripping it's nose in pain before lowering it's hands letting out a deep bellow in anger.

Before any of the monsters could flee, the undead pyromancer threw his hand up as a wall of flames surrounded the camp trapping all that was inside by the fierce blazing flames. "There, now you can't get away" Just then one of the other trolls grabbed Kento from behind, slamming him to the ground in a shockwave of force. Kin watched a few feet away as his partner laid on the ground in a small crater. "Kento!"

The large troll began stomping on the zombie's abdomen with colossal force. The young warrior clinched his teeth in anger as he prepared to help his ally, only for the third troll to charge past the stomping brute right for the human. Closing his eyes, the swordsmen used Osukai's sensing ability to find the troll's weak point before sliding beneath it's feet, piercing the troll's left heel as purple blood gushed from it's wound.

Kin watched as one of the four monsters fell to one knee shaking in pain while the horde of goblins huddled in the corner too afraid to fight back. Meanwhile the troll crushing the undead man rose it's foot attempting to crush him once more, that's when the adventurer caught the brute's foot with one hand causing them to fall back with a loud boom.

"Are you done yet? Surely you knew I was an undead and therefore can't feel pain. Not to mention I can regenerate in a short amount of time" He stood up brushing himself off as his injuries slowly healed. "Now then, if you expect to beat us, you all will have to actually work together to stand any chance against us" The 1st troll charged towards Kento from behind lunging for him, that's when the man grabbed ahold of his assailant's hand without looking, throwing them over his shoulder as they slammed onto the ground creating large crakes in the ground.

"Sigh, either I'm stronger than I thought, or you all are just weak. Kin, it's time for you to show me what you got. I think I've had my fun toying with them" The young teen nodded taking a deep breath gripping his sword firmly before closing his eyes. When linked to Osukai's sense, the world appeared as black and white as he sensed everything within the flaming barrier.

Jumping into the air, Kin unleashed a barrage of slashes in the direction of the two trolls standing beside one another as rays of light rushed past them like lasers before the two brutes hit the ground in a pool of blood. (Two left) Osukai commented within the boy's head. Slowly raising his blade up, Kin focused the magical power of his blade before unleashing a single strike as a massive wave of energy pierce through both injured trolls leaving them cut in half in a brutal pool of blood.

His friend clapped with a smirk on his face. "Well done, you seem to be improving with that sword and the fact it's a legendary, your normal level of strength doesn't limit the amount of damage you do" Huffing out of breath Kin fell to one knee using the sword as a cane to keep him from collapsing. "T-thanks, but it does take a lot of stamina to use the magical power of the sword, especially that kind of attack where I concentrate a greater amount of power into one condensed attack rather than a barrage of normal strikes"

"Hmm, could be your lack of magical energy, your body probably isn't used to using a magical item so it multiplies the amount of stamina required to use magic. Anyway...let's make our way back and inform the quest master we've finished the quest" Helping his friend up, the pair headed back as the ring of flames engulfed the horse of goblins with ease before going out like a mere candle...

CHAPTER 2 Kento's Weakness

Making their way back to the tavern they spoke with the bartender who was also the quest master who was the one to go to once a quest had been completed. Placing the quest form onto the bar Kento informed them the quest had been completed. The bartender was a young woman with long blue hair and purple eyes wearing a black uniform standing behind the bar wiping the bar down before looking up at them. "Welcome adventurers, how can I assist you today? My name is Masuna Katsuya the quest master of this tavern inn"

"Hello, we just finished this quest and would like the reward" Kento commented sliding the paper over to her. She read over it before asking: "How do I know you actually defeated all those monsters?" The undead warrior pulled out a troll's leg showing her the decapitated limb.

"Is this proof enough for you? Or shall I take you to their scorched corpses?" This caught Masuna a little off guard but she nodded handing them a sack of gold. "We appreciate your help and do please let me know when you finish anymore quests" Kento nodded taking the reward while Kin couldn't help but notice the look of unease in the woman's eyes.

"Are you ok Masuna? You seem disturbed. Do you not like the sight of blood or something?"

"I-it's not that, I just didn't expect him to go into such detail. I know he's an undead, but it's a little scary knowing he can exterminate the monsters with ease and not feel anything about it. But I could just be judgmental, there's plenty of adventurers that are willing to kill monsters both to protect this village but also for the sake of the mere thrill. But anyway, sorry for worrying you, I'm fine don't worry about me"

As they made their way outside, they split the 2,000 gold pieces as Kento went to find new clothes to wear while Kin went back to the old wizard he had spoken with before. "I'm back sir, I'd like to buy that death knight card from you if it's still here" With a happy nod the wizard once more took out the small black box pulling out the card. Taking the small summoning card, he handed the merchant the agreed 900 gold coins before walking towards his friend who was now wearing a black mercenary uniform instead of his old rags.

"Wow, nice clothes Kento" His friend smiled admiring his new clothing before looking at Kin who was inspecting the card he had bought from the wizard. The card's frame was dark-purple with the back of the card with a blood-red "S" inside a silver flame. It read:

TIER 5

Death Knight

Dark Type

The tier was just above the picture of the monster with the name in the bottom center and the color of the frame symbolized it's type. "This summoning card will be very useful in our next fight, I'm excited to see what it can do" As the sun began to go down, they sat in the tavern using their leftover gold to buy a small meal. They sat at a large wooden table as they ate their food.

Kin had ordered some chicken drum sticks with slices of bread while Kento ate a small steak. The young adventurer looked as his undead friend before asking him: "Are you even able to taste in your undead form?" Kento stopped eating letting out a sig, sadly I can't really taste anything, but steak can sometimes have traces of blood in it which is what I need to keep up my strength. It's definitely better than hurting innocent people"

Just then a sudden force struck Kento as his eyes lit up purple. His partner watched as the zombie stood up with an emotionless expression, walking outside with Kin following a few feet behind to see where he was going. (Kin, I can sense something strange within Sukuda, I feel he's under some kind of mind control!) As they made their way outside the village's entrance towards the southern forest, Kin quickly hid behind a large bolder where he saw a legion of skeletons surrounding a man in a red robe wearing a purple crystal necklace that glimmered in the night.

"Welcome my loyal servants, you have all laid dormant for far too long...it is time we took over this worthless village and then the world! But first...it seems we have an intruder in our midst. Go and bring them to me!" Kin could feel his heart began to pound in his chest thinking they were referring to him. Just as he pulled out his sword to charge in, he spotted a woman fly through the air towards the legion of undead. She had long black hair with blue eyes wearing light black armor with a red hooded-cape wrapped around her neck like a scarf.

"Duplication!" A clone of the female warrior manifested beside her in a flash of blue light as she threw a barrage of shuriken down toward the undead army, piercing through their skeletal bodies while her clone touched down in the grass surrounded by the undead as they let out groans charging towards her. As the female warrior landed in a tree above them, the doppelganger fought the legion head on in hand-to-hand combat.

As each undead attempted to grab her, she swiftly roundhouse-kicked their heads off their shoulders as they frantically ran around unable to see where they were going. Meanwhile the original took a deep breath preparing to use her special technique to end it before any civilians got hurt.

"YOU FOOLS! SHE'S JUST A MERE WOMAN, HURY AND KILL HER NOW!" Suddenly a ray of bright light similar to the sun illuminated the forest as the unknown warrior leapt into the air throwing both hands down toward the undead. "Flame dragon dance!" The blinding light manifested into flames taking the shape of a dragon as it let out a deafening roar before descending down right for the old mage in the center.

Kento still under his control, shielded the mage as an explosion of immense flames wiped out the entire legion of undead leaving a massive scorch mark all around them. She landed beside Kin as her duplicate vanished in a wisp of blue light. "Damn, that last undead must be immune to fire damage, otherwise he should've turned to ash like the rest of them!"

"Wait! That zombie is actually my friend, he's under some kind of mind control! Please help me free him!"

"What!? How can a zombie be your friend!?" Kin begged her to trust him and find a way to free him. With a sigh she agreed as the pair stepped out from the bolder standing before the hypnotized undead.

"CURSE! ALL OF MY UNDEAD, DEFEATED SO EASILY, AND BY A GIRL NO LESS! Fine...seems I'll have to rely on this mere zombie to kill the both of you. There shall be no witnesses to the slaughter of this village. With the power of my undead crystal, I can multiply this zombie's capabilities. Normally it's limited when I'm controlling so many undead at once, but with him being the only one...image how much stronger he'll be!"

Aiming his old wrinkled palm towards his only servant, the crystal lit up brighter as a purple aura surged from Kento's body. "RRRAAAGGHH!" Kento clinched his fist as his power was multiplied 10 times it's normal limit as his body grew bigger and more built as he transformed into a large buff zombie as the purple aura continued to swarm around his body.

The girl stood in shock before crying out: "What the hell!? H-he transformed! But...zombies can't transform!" Kin shook in complete fear. "H-he didn't just transform...he evolved!" The pair were frozen in fear by the new form of Sukada who glared at them with cold soulless eyes. Without warning, the brute struck the ground with colossal force, sending a shockwave in all directions as the entire forest shook as if it were an earthquake.

Kin put his guard up as the wave of force sent the young adventurer staggering back as he impacted the large wooden gates of the village, hitting the ground face down. The armored woman imbued her shuriken with light magic as they glistened with golden light. "Since fire is ineffective against you, holy or light magic is the next best thing!"

With an abrupt throw, a barrage of shuriken went straight for the controlled brute, piercing his pale skin piercing his arms as purple blood dripped from his wounds. This seemed to only infuriate the zombie more as Kento unleashed a devastating roar that seem to shake the entire forest by it's immense power.

As the young knight covered her ears from the fierce noise, Kento advanced forward, sending a devastating blow to her abdomen as if a cannonball had struck her. The fierce punch sent the poor girl impacting the gates of the village as she smashed through it, landing in the south part of the forest out-cold...

Meanwhile Kin gripped his blade, using it to force himself to his feet as the large undead brute once more turned his attention towards him with a cold look in his eyes. That's when Kin had an idea. (Osukai, you're capable of giving me magical energy, right?)

"Yes why? Do you plan to use an all-out attack against such a strong opponent? Your body might not hold up against such strain)

(No...you're able to give energy, that must mean you're also capable of siphoning it as well. When he attacks, I want you to try and take as much magical power from him as you can) The swordsmen stepped forward, feeling weak from his earlier attack from his ally as he fell to one knee still gripping his sword tightly.

The old dark mage grinned, his ragged face still hidden beneath his hood with only his pale wrinkled smile visible. "Hehehe, seems this is the end for you boy, even if that girl regains consciousness, it won't change the outcome of this fight! Now my servant, kill the brat then finish off the girl!"

As the zombie's eyes lit up in a sudden flash, he lunged toward Kin preparing to give the final blow, that's when a slight smile grew across the young swordsmen's face. "Prepare...spiritual syphoning barrier!" A sphere of white light manifested around Kin just as his friend came within mere feet of him. As Kento reached for him, his large hand entered the barrier. The moment he made contact, all of his magical energy began to be absorbed from his body and transferred into the warrior's blade until not an ounce of magic remained.

The moment Kento ran out of mana, his eyes widened before collapsing to the ground reverting back into his smaller zombie form. "There, with all of his magic gone, he was too weak to continue fighting...I also have siphoned enough of your crystal's magic to multiply my own capabilities! Now then, it's time for you to pay for both hurting innocent people and controlling my friend. He may be an undead, but he would never hurt someone that didn't deserve it. For this, I won't show you any mercy. I shall kill you with one strike of my sword"

With a deep breath, Kin set his sights on the old mage who slowly stepped back as he shook in fear. "N-no please, I don't want to die! I just wanted to finally be more than some old wizard no one cared about! Place spare me!" Without a word Kin was outlined in the dark-purple aura of the crystal as he moved past the assailant at super-sonic speed. The old man froze in place before blood gushed from his throat as his decapitated corpse hit the ground in a pool of blood as the pink crystal hit the ground beside it.

Walking over, Kin picked up the necklace deciding what to do with it. "If I wore this, I could control the dead...but at the same time, the dead should rest. As much as I need power, using this isn't the way to go" With one final gaze at the crystal, he crushed it in his grasp as the flawless relic shattered to pieces before hitting the dirt, the light fading from it.

Moments later Kento awoke from the hypnosis as well as his mana exhaustion. "D-damn it...what happened? The last thing I remember is feeling a sudden force hit the back of my head before blacking out" He looked around, seeing the sheer amount of damage from the fight, large cracks all across the ground, along with a hole in the large wooden gate of the village.

"Kin!? What happened!?" He rushed over to his friend who stood over a headless body out of breath with blood dripping from his blade. (Ewww, can we please wash the blood off me at some point!?) Osukai cried out within the boy's head as Kin turned to see the free zombie running up to him.

"Kento, it's glad to see you've finally come to your senses, I was worried this was going to be a fight to the death until I had the idea to drain the energy that was controlling you from your body. Though, I seemed to have taken more than needed causing you to lose consciousness during the battle. Luckily the old mage here is dead as well as the crystal he used to control an entire legion of undead.

"So, he was not only capable of controlling an entire legion, but me as well? Sigh...to think I could be controlled so easily. Makes me feel weak knowing I let myself not only be controlled, but also cause such pointless destruction. I'm sorry Kin, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah don't worry, I'm just bruised, in a few days I should be fine. However, we should check on the girl in the village, during our fight she showed up and put up a great fight until you punched her through the gate knocking her out" Kento clinched his fist in regret and anger at the thought of hurting someone who didn't do anything to deserve it.

Making their way through the southern gate, they found the young girl lying on the ground still out-cold, blood running down her bottom lip as she laid motionless as if asleep. The thought of hurting not only an innocent person but also someone as beautiful as her frustrated the zombie. As he carefully lifted her up, he couldn't help but admire how beautiful she was as they walked over to the town's healer who stayed in a small white stone home near the tavern.

The healer was a tall thin old man with a large white beard and white hair wearing a white robe and glasses. The pair made their way into the house as they walked through wooden door into a large room with a wooden floor along with benches in the middle of the room for waiting patients.

The doctor came out from the door on the opposite end of the room as he stepped to the left motioning for them to carry the poor girl in. The undead warrior placed her onto the cushioned platform in the middle of the small room as the healer shut the blinds of the large window beside them as he aimed his palm towards her. "Holy magic: Advanced heal" The woman's body illuminated in a green light as her body began to heal at a rapid rate.

As the light faded, she slowly opened her eyes finding herself lying in the bed-like platform before spotting Kento in front of her looking at her. Catching her off guard, the knight quickly pulled out a kunai throwing it right for his forehead, only for Kento to lean his head to the side as the projectile struck the front door.

"Calm down! This is Kento, he was under the old mage's control but I managed to free him while you were unconscious!" She looked at the undead man with a glare before letting out a sigh standing up. "Fine, you seem like you're under control now, but be warned...I won't hesitate to take you down if you go on a rampage again"

Kento blushed a little attracted to the girl's threat as she marched path him retrieving her kunai. "Wait, who are you? I never got your name" Kin asked as the knight stopped in front of the door.

"My name is Rin. I have things to do but we'll probably see each other again" With that she walked out. Kin paid the healer 20 gold pieces, double the price before thanking him and making his way back to the tavern.

They sat at the bar drinking from glass mugs while Kento looked down in frustration while his friend just looked around in boredom before turning to him. "Are you ok Kento? You still seem hard on yourself about hurting Rin. Don't worry about it, I know you wouldn't harm a person without a good reason, you shouldn't stress over things beyond your control. If we spent all our time worrying about the things we can't control, then what kind of life would that be? You'd just be living a life of despair. Life will always have it's hardships, but the best you can do is pick yourself up and come back stronger"

Kento sighed but nodded. "You're right...there's no point in crying over something I couldn't control. Plus, she seems fine now so I guess I can just try and forget it happened. No use beating myself up over it" Finishing their drinks they paid Masuna a few gold pieces to stay in a room on the 2nd floor. Kento just sat against the wall by the window as moon light shined through the large wooden room, the bed in the right corner. Kin laid down before soon falling asleep...

The next day...

The pair made their way downstairs towards the quest board before spotting an S rank quest pinned in the center. Unlike like the rest on normal tan paper, this one was on a red piece of paper symbolizing it's urgency. The young warrior pulled the paper off from the board reading it:

"A hostile group has been seen in the far north of the forest near mt.Yoizumo. Hostiles are said to be incredibly strong that can equal an S-rank adventurer. Caution is advised"

"Hmm, this is interesting, I'm wondering just what kind of people could warrant such an urgent quest request" He showed it to Kento who also grew interested in the challenge. "This seems like a good chance to see what an S-rank threat looks like. Let's go"

The two were about to head outside the gate when Rin stopped them waiting just outside the gate, her arms crossed as she glared at them. "Where do you think you two are going?"

Kin informed her about the urgent quest and they were curious to see how powerful the threat was. She grew more frustrated. "So, you're saying you're going to go check out a threat that could possibly kill you...just because their an S-rank threat?"

"Basically" Kento replied. Rin groaned lashing back: "Well I refuse for you both to go" This made kento burst out laughing. "You refuse!? Haha! You can't tell me what to do, I don't work for you"

"Well, I'm the commanding knight who watches over the people of this village, that includes guests and as such, I demand you stay here for your own protection" Just then Kento had an idea, with a smirk he held his open palm out manifesting a fireball before it erupted in his hand creating a gust of smoke hiding the pair just long enough to run past her.

As the smoke cleared, Rin realized the two had ran off into the northern part of the forest. "Tsk! Those damn fools! I know I have to guard Hagowara village from any threats, but I can't let those idiots get themselves killed either!" With a big groan she took off after them, moving through the trees like a swift ninja as she caught up to them in a short time.

Rin decided to tail them to make sure they didn't do something stupid if the S-rank threat appeared...

After a few minutes of following them, she noticed something up ahead. Kento and Kin came to a stop when they noticed a horde of zombies moving around the forest. "Hmmm, first undead now zombies. Sigh, what's next, vampires?" Kento prepared to sent a fireball in the horde's direction when they noticed them and jumped towards him.

"Heh, I saw this coming. Flaming impact!" Imbuing both hands in flame, Kento clapped them together as he sent a fierce wave of flames in all directions. Kin managed to evade the blazing fire attack as the charging undead in front of him were scorched to the point their bodies were black. "Heh, I thought so, unlike me these zombies don't have a resistance to fire"

That's when Kin remembered the death night summoning card he had bought but forgot he had. "Wait Kento! I think it's time to see what my death knight is capable of" Throwing his hand up holding the card he cried out: "Come Death Knight!" The dark-purple card lit up with golden light as a magical sigil formed on the back of it and the ground in front of him.

Rin watched from a tree as a large undead knight in black armor wielding a large sword and shield rose from the magic sigil in front of it's master. "Hmm, if I'm correct, I just need to give you an order, right?" Pointing towards the horde of incoming zombies he commanded: "Death knight, attack the undead!"

As the summoned monster let out a deafening bellow, it charged towards the horde, swinging it's massive sword toward the coming foes as each zombie attempted to cling onto it. One slash pierced through multiple undead splitting them in half. While the large death knight continued to slaughter them, Rin jumped down walking over to them.

"What is that thing and how did you manage to summon it!?" Kin was surprised to see the young knight come out of nowhere before telling her how he bought a summoning card that had the monster sealed within it by an old wizard back in Hagowara.

She glared at him before looking up at the death knight. "Hmm, a card with magic powerful enough to seal something like that within it. Something like that could prove useful in case the village is of need of more battle power. I'll have to speak with that merchant you bought that card from to see if he knows how those cards are made. Something so useful can't be easy to make. Summoning magic is an advanced level of magic as well as sealing a powerful entity in something so minor"

Not long after, the summoned creature had managed to kill every last zombie in the area, dozens of corpses laid all around the death knight before making it's way back to it's master. It kneeled down before Kin waiting for it's next command. The young teen thought carefully about his next order than commanded the monster to scout ahead for any high-level threats nearby and inform him by letting out another loud roar.

Given it's orders, the large knight took off running down the forest with loud stomps before disappearing behind the trees. "Hopefully death knight can hold his own if we come across this S-rank squad the request mentioned" As the trio walked down the forest path, Kin soon heard his summon call out to him by roaring loudly.

"Oh no, that's what he was supposed to do if he ran into a strong threat!" Instead of retreating, Kin took off in the direction of his minion with his allies close behind. "He's just an undead monster! Don't risk your life for something that has no free will of it's own!" Rin cried out.

Kin just ignored her, he didn't want something he summoned to die, emotions or not, the death knight was his ally and he didn't want something bad to happen to it. As the trio dashed through the forest, they came out of the trees, finding themselves in front of a large white mansion where the death knight was fighting a girl with long black hair, red eyes dressed in black mercenary armor with a katana t her side.

"Strange, why would someone live so far out in the forest like this? I understand if they were poor of a magical race like forest elves, but seeing the size of this house, clearly, they're wealthy" Kin watched as the assailant moved at immense speed, vanishing in a flash of blue light before reappearing behind the death knight, sending a fierce kick to it's back.

"Die you undead monster! Lord Xanthus has no time to deal with the likes of you!" Jumping off the monster's shoulder into the air, she pulled out her katana, sending a barrage of slashes in the knight's direction. Waves of blue energy pierced through the creature's torso before she vanished, standing behind the monster sliding the blade back in it's sheath.

All watched as the death knight fell to pieces before bursting into pure purple energy, returning to the summoning card in Kin's pocket. With a sigh he commented: "At least we know he returns to my card if he's defeated" That's when Kento stepped forward, making his way over to the strong ninja.

The woman turned and glared at him with gleaming red eyes. "Huh, first an undead knight now a zombie. Though...you seem different then the usually zombies we have to deal with...could you be a mutated level zombie? Either way, I shall claim your head in the name of lord Xanthus"

Kento grew excited as a smirk grew across his face. "Heh, you really think you're capable of killing me so easily? Then show me, I'll teach you that I'm not one to be taken lightly" She glared at him pulling her blade out before moving at a speed Kin couldn't keep tract of her. That's when a fierce shockwave sent massive Debree in all directions as the others saw Kento gripping the side of the blade with his barehand as blood dripped from his grasp.

(H-he caught it!? If anything, I thought he'd try and dodge it! Either this undead is overconfident or insane!) The shinobi tried to pull her sword away from her target's grasp, only for Kento to pull her right to him, head-butting her with a devasting blow to the skull as she was sent impacting the mansion, smashing through the wall landing in the hallway of the third floor.

"Tsssk! That little shit!" rising to her feet in the white hallway, she held her hand to her head as blood ran down her face onto the red carpet. "Damn it! I ruined the royal carpet with my blood! That undead shall pay for this!"

Meanwhile Kento waited outside for his opponent when Rin called out: "Don't be a fool! Rember the request warned about them being an S-rank threat!" Kento smirked. "If that was an S-rank threat, then we have nothing to worry about"

Suddenly Kin's blade began to shake. (Kin, a high-level threat is approaching, it's best we retreat before it's too late) With a nod Kin prepared to call out to his party member when the large red doors of the mansion opened before them. Kin shook in fear wondering what the high-level threat was when he saw a young man with black hair, hazel eyes wearing a black coat with a gray fur collar as well as matching black pants and shoes.

The new target set his gaze on Kin with a calm an emotionless expression before turning to Kento. "Hmmm, guessing by the wound on your hand, I assume you're the one who fought Nebula and damaged my house. I assure you...such disrespect towards me or my followers shall not go unpunished"

"Heh, well to be fair, your follower attacked our party member 1st as well as threatened me so I consider it self-defense in this case" The stranger frowned. "I am Shiro, better known as lord Xanthus. If you wish to die...please step forward zombie. I've defeated many far stronger than you"

His interested peaked, Kento grinned advancing right for the weak-looking opponent, throwing a blow right for the young man's face, only for him to jumped to the side, evading the coming strike as the undead warrior missed, staggering a few feet before catching himself. "Heh, you're faster than I give you credit for. How about we ramp things up Shiro!" Outlining his body in immense burning flames, Kento went on the offensive, sending a barrage of strikes towards his opponent in quick succession.

Still Shiro dodged every attack that came his way, showing no sign of actually trying. "Tsk! Are you actually going to try!? You may be fast, but you can't win if all you ever do is dodge me!" The man smirked vanishing from sight leaving the zombie confused.

"You think you can actually damage me? Go ahead and test your skills against the ultimate power of Xanthus!" They all looked to see him standing a few meters behind Kento with his hands tucked in his coat pockets. Growing infuriated, Kento clinched his fists focusing all of his power as a shockwave of power burst from his body, sending a fierce wind in all directions shacking the trees around them. "C-come...on...!"

All watched as Kento's eyes glowed purple as his once human body began to grow as he transformed into his zombie brute form just as he had when he had been controlled by the evil mage. "Hehe, I did it! You're in trouble now!" The buff undead exclaimed flexing his build muscles before advancing right for his combatant, sending a barrage of blows at super-sonic speed.

Each blow sent a fierce wave of force across the forest as the others could feel themselves struggling to stay in place, feeling the strong breeze pushing them back. Kento gave everything he had, striking Shiro's abdomen as fast as a machinegun, only to see the target not even stagger from each blow. Without warning, Shiro aimed his hand toward the undead's torso. "Force of gravity"

A colossal impact of sheer force sent Kento soaring back as he smashed through several trees before landing half a mile away leaving a trail of destruction. Blood fell from his lip as he laid in the crater unable to move. "W-what happened? That's when he spotted Shiro walking up to him still casually walking, not even winded by the attack he had used.

"Are you finished yet? I'll give you props for remaining conscious after that, but that was still only one of the few skills I've acquired from my followers. Do you submit? Or shall I finish you off with my favorite finishing attack?"

Forcing himself up, Kent grunted. "I-I won't back down from a fight, my regenerative abilities will bring me back to full strength soon and I'll be ready for round two!" Slowly ascending into the air, Shir raised his hand to the sky manifesting a sphere of flames that reassembled a miniature sun. "Is that so? Wel you should realize, regeneration is pointless if no trace of you remains"

Kento's eyes widened with a growing fear as the small fire ball began to expand to the size of a blimp, spiraling above him, giving off a blinding light with the entire area shaking rapidly. "Obliteration" Throwing his hand down, the massive sphere of pure destruction drifted down towards the wounded Zombie who was still weak but knew he had to do something.

Clinching his fist, he focused all his remaining power into his fist as a purple aura swarmed around his arm like purple flames. "Tsssk! Fist of destruction!" Impacting the sphere of fire with all his power, the conflicting forces caused dozens of trees to break from their roots flying off along with every window of Shiro's mansion to shatter. Sukada could feel his arm disintegrating by the fierce power of the magical sphere.

"Kento!" Without thinking, Kin pulled out his sword charging in. Shiro watched from above as the young swordsmen stabbed his blade into the blazing sphere as he begun to absorb as much magical energy as he and Osukai could handle. The sphere began to shrink while Kin's body erupted in an aura of orange flames. (Kin, I can't store any more magical energy!)

Pulling the blade out he dropped it to the ground before standing beside the struggling zombie throwing both hands out in front of him. "Haaaaggghh!" Focusing all his siphoned magical energy into one concentrated blast of force, the young adventure pushed the sphere right back at their attacker.

"What!?" Shiro put his arms up blocking as the fire ball erupted in a massive explosion of blinding light. As the light cleared, they all watched as Shiro fell from the sky impacting the grass covered in bruises out-cold.

"Did...did we beat him?" Kento questioned. Kin breathed heavily falling to his knees with orange electricity swarming around him before his incredible power fully disappeared from his body. While the pair were too weak to move, Rin carefully made her way up to the figure lying in the grass. She gasped seeing Shiro lying there fully conscious before standing up.

"Impressive work, the both of you. Originally, I had planned to kill you Kento, but then I decided to test to see just how strong you were and I have to say...you really are strong. You even managed to hold back my finishing attack while your arm was being disintegrated in the process. Which by the way, I see you're too weak to regenerate your destroyed arm, allow me to help" Shiro aimed his hand towards the zombie. "Divine heal" In a flash of green light the undead man was restored to full strength as his limb fully grew back within seconds.

That's when Rin marched over to them. "Wait! We were informed you and her were S-rank threats and the cause of high-ranking adventurers going missing! Why would you help us!?" That's when Shiro began to laugh. "Haha! I didn't kill any adventurers, in fact...I was just toying with you all to think I was some serious overlord. But about that quest you all saw in your guild, it could only be referring to someone else. Though me and my followers certainly are S-rank threat in the eyes of the one world government, I doubt they're referring to us"

CHAPTER 3 The Real threat

Shiro insisted they stayed in his mansion until they figure out who the real threat is. "Sorry, but I have a village to protect, I should've even left the village in the 1st place. After seeing Shiro's power, I'm sure I don't need to babysit the both of you any longer" With that the knight took off through the trees heading back to Hagowara.

Meanwhile The pair followed Shiro through the large doors of his mansion where Kin was shown to his room which was a large royal bedroom with a king-sized bed, red quilt, black pillows and a red carpeted floor as well as a large window in the right side of the room. "This shall be your room Kin, feel free to shower while we wait downstairs"

Shiro and Kento made their way down the hallway leading to the stairs where they made their way down to the 1st floor and went into the throne room where Nebula and a young blonde woman stood waiting on both sides of his throne. The room was a large black marble room with red carpet. As their lord sat upon his throne, he introduced the blonde woman beside him. "This here is Luna, she is another one of my loyal followers, which I order the rest of them back to introduce you to them, but for now I'll leave it be"

Kento looked at Luna who stood to the right of the throne, she wore silver battle armor with a friendly smile on her face unlike Nebula who seem to always have a serious expression on her face. "So, what's our next step, surely you have a plan since you seem so calm about this situation"

The man placed his leg over the other as he sat in his throne, his cheek resting upon his fist with a smirk. "Fret not, I wouldn't be this confident if I didn't already have a plan in mind. I know of a tomb hidden within these woods that most normal folk fail to find, however...I assume that is where both the missing adventurers are as well as your so-called S-rank targets. As much as I'd rather stay here and wait for the results, I rarely get a reason to fight seriously. So, I along with a select few of my followers shall be accompanying you to this tomb and find out what's hidden within it's ruins"

Sukada frowned stepping closer. "How can you be so sure that you and your servants can handle what's inside? Do you have a plan for a bad outcome? Don't let your power cloud your judgment of negative outcomes"

"How dare you speak to lord Xanthus with such disrespect! Our lord is far stronger than anything this world may throat at him!" Nebula griped her sheathed katana staring down the undead warrior as they glared at one another. That's when a small shockwave was released from Shiro.

"Enough both of you, now isn't the time for fighting each other, though I don't care what happened to those adventurers...I do care about what happens to my allies. Kin has potential to grow into a powerful warrior and I will make sure he lives to reach that potential. He'll never have my god-like durability, but I'm sure he'll be an equal threat when the day comes. By the way Luna, where is Aleon? I haven't seen him around the mansion in some time"

"I'm sorry my lord, Aleon Vondrak has been gone for a few days now and I haven't heard word since" As luna lowered her head. Shiro clinched his chair as the room shook. "This isn't like Aleon to up and live without informing me. Has someone dared to kidnap one of my very own!? Tsssk! If they hurt him...THEY SHALL PAY DEARLY!" Jumping to his feet in a fit of rage, Shiro unleashed a fierce amount of power as the entire mansion shook.

Kento watched as he struggled to keep his balance while the pair beside their lord stood still as if unaffected by the menacing force. Kin came running inside just as Shiro calmed down. "What's going on!? The entire place started shaking just as I was putting on my clothes!"

"Don't worry about it. What matters is we're heading to the tomb sooner than expected. I originally wanted to wait for all of my followers to return before venturing off, but it seems if Aleon is missing, I have no time to waste. We must leave immediately. I should be able to call one of my followers back since they're a mage with teleport magic. Follow me outside so I can try and get his attention"

The party followed Shiro as he made his way back outside where it began to get dark with only the moon faintly illuminating the yard. Ascending into the air, the man clinched his fist unleashing his immense power. Once more Kin and Kento struggled to stay on the ground as their ally sent a fierce wave of power in all directions by jut the force of his energy.

Moments later, an undead skeleton manifested in a beam of purple light. The undead wore a black hooded robe with purple flames in the center of his empty eye sockets like irises. "I felt your power from miles away my lord, is there something you needed me for?"

"Yes Minomi, we have a situation at hand, Aleon along with other adventurers have reportedly gone missing and we assume they were kidnapped and brough to the tomb we recently found. We must head there immediately and find out if my guess is correct"

"As you wish my lord" Pulling out a black staff with a purple crystal ball on the tip, he prepared to cast another teleportation spell as a large blue sigil formed beneath his feet. All rushed over grabbing onto his shoulder as they vanished in a pillar of blue light...

They moved through a tunnel of blue light still holding on to the mage as they moved at immense speed before reappearing before a mountain in the middle of the forest. They saw a large square opening in the ground connected to the mountain with stairs leading down inside.

"After you my lord" Minomi commented stepping aside. Shiro let out a deep breath making his way down the steps as torches lit up on both sides of the narrow stairwell. The others followed close behind as they made their way to the bottom inside a large gray hallway with barley any light. The torches could only help illuminate a few feet ahead of them while leaving the path ahead in complete darkness.

"Allow me my lord. Soul lantern" Raising his skeletal hand upward, a small but bright orb of blue light manifested above him illuminating the entire hallway as they continued forward. With the others walking behind him, Shiro kept a close eye out for any sign of life or movement as he walked down the straight gray path.

Not long after, zombies began to appear from behind the corners of each turn. They let out loud shrieks charging right for them, only for their lord to back hand each one, completely destroying their head by the sheer force of his strikes as the targets collapsed behind them. He casually kept walking, one-shooting each undead he crossed his path with a calm expression on his face.

"It's kind of scary how easily he's defeating these things and he's not even trying!" Kento told Kin with the teen nodded in agreement. That's when they spotted another flight of stairs that lead upward, but this time a large buff mutated zombie blocked their path. It had long white hair with a torn black shirt and white pants, it's body tall and built.

"Ah, another mutated-level zombie. You remind me of the 1st one I fought awhile back. If you're just as mindless as he was, then you have no chance in winning" With a slight grin Shiro aimed his fingers in the direction of the brute making a flicking motion with his hand sending a focused wave of force right for the monster as the impact struck his target square in the head, knocking it onto it's back.

"Heh, just as I though, you managed to survive my simple attack. Now let's see what you got big guy" The others backed away watching the buff zombie rise to it's feet letting out a fierce roar shaking the hall before charging towards him, each step shaking the tunnel.

"Rrraaggh!" The mutated threw a punch straight for Shiro, only for the man to catch it with his bare hand. The amount of power of the monster's strike sent a shockwave throughout the tunnel causing the hall to crack and begin to collapse. "All of you go on ahead, I'll finish this brute off!" Minomi formed a protective barrier around the party as they made their way to the stairs while their ally grabbed hold of his target's arm, sending him soaring in the opposite direction, smashing into the wall as the tunnel collapsed on itself with Shiro making it just in time.

With the way back blocked, they continued forward through the 2nd level of the tomb. The 2nd level was a large lit hall that was a straight path to a large steel door. "Hopefully what we're looking for is in there" Kin commented. The group raced down the hall with Shiro striking the old-steel door with his open palm, sending it breaking from it's restraints flying into the next room.

As they made their way inside, they found themselves within a massive room filled with sand on the floor and a large steel cell in the corner filled with men and women in high-tier equipment. "That must be the missing adventurers!" Kin pointed. That's when they spotted a figure hanging above a steel platform, their arms bound by steel restraints. That's when Shiro realized it was his butler Aleon.

"Aleon!" He rushed over breaking the restraints by crushing them as his follower fell into his arms out cold, his formal suit torn and stained with blood. Kin looked at Aleon, he had long black hair with pale skin resembling a demon or vampire.

"Don't worry Aleon, whoever did this is going to pay! Minomi, I need you to try and heal Vondrak and keep him protected at all costs"

"Yes, my lord" The undead mage formed a protected barrier around him and Aleon as he began using divine heal on the wounded demon. Meanwhile Kento and Kin raced over to the steel cage filled with adventurers.

"Don't worry. We're here to get you out!" Kento gripped the steel bars using his enhanced strength to break open the cell freeing the prisoners. "Thank you so much, we're in your debit!" The party watched as the prisoners ran over to the stairs leading upward out of the tomb.

"So then, now that that's done with, who or what did all this? Not just anyone can capture Aleon with such ease" Shiro questioned looking around. That's when a purple rift opened behind them as a pale child-like person stepped out with their hands behind their back. They had white hair, red eyes wearing a black cloak.

"Hmph, more foolish mortals come to ruin my fun. Sigh, fine...looks like capturing is no longer an option. I suppose killing you all is the only way I can continue to siphon dark energy from that man over there" They noticed the figure was referring to Aleon who was still out-cold.

"He was a fun warm-up, but still no match to a demon lord such as myself. You may call me Osamaru....one of the six demon lords of the demon realm" Without warning Kento attacked the demon from behind throwing a full-force blow right for him, only for the dark figure to catch it without even flinching or looking in his direction. "You should know when you're out-matched zombie"

With a cold tone in his voice, Osamaru faced Kento, ripping his arm off with mere ease before kicking the wounded undead warrior in the abdomen, sending him impacting the stone wall with colossal force leaving a large crack before hitting the ground. "You can have this back mortal" The demon lord tossed the limb over to Kento with disinterest before turning his attention on the others. "I can sense immense power from one of you. Which of you is it?"

Nebula unsheathed her blade charging head-on into the fight as she jumped into the air manifesting a duplicate of herself. The doppelganger descended right for the target, manifesting a shuriken made of purple mana as it shredded across his face, only for it to have no effect. Osamaru unleashed a fierce wave of power shattering the spiraling projectile before grabbing the double by the face, slamming her to the ground with god-like strength.

"Pathetic mortals as usual" That's when Shiro ordered everyone to stay back. "Enough of this! I won't let you hurt my friends any longer! I will show you the power of a god!" The demon lord slightly laughed commenting: "What is a god to a demon lord?"

Stepping closer Shiro clinched his fist preparing to fight. "I guess we'll just have to find out" With Kento injured in the right corner of the room and the rest grouped in the far left, they all watched as the pair started one another down.

After a slight moment of silence, Shiro abruptly made a striking motion in the direction of Osamaru. Send a blast of force right to his torso, only for it to have no effect. (Nothing? Could this guy really have as much power as me? Tsk! I'll just have to try harder!) Moving at super-sonic speed, Shiro advanced to his opponent, throwing a punch at half strength right for Osamaru's face.

This caught the demon lord off guard as he was sent staggering back a few feet before catching himself. The one emotionless expression on his pale face grew to a slight smirk as blood ran down his lip. "Hehe, fascinating and here I thought there wouldn't be a force in this world strong enough to make blood escape my lip. You really are a unique mortal. But that doesn't mean you have any chance of beating one as powerful as me"

Aiming his fingers towards the young man, Osamaru called out: "Death shards" Sharp projectiles made of dark-purple demonic energy shot out of his fingers as they fired right for their target. Shiro clapped his hands together causing a fierce shockwave throughout the room as the projectiles were impacted with enough force to send them flying off in random directions.

All watched as each shard hit a random part of the room igniting in a fierce explosion. "I've enough of this, I'm going all out so I can end this quickly Shiro announced taking off his cloak wearing a black sleeveless undershirt. "It's time to see how I compare to a demon lord!"

Not holding back his god-like power, Shiro's body is outlined in a purple flame-like aura as his eyes glowed red with red electricity whipping around his body. "Time to finish this!" Moving at light speed, Shiro unleashed a barrage of blows to his target's torso before upper-cutting him into the air as he smashed through the ceiling out into the open.

"Y-you bastard, I am a demon lord! A mere mortal is inferior to one of my level!" That's when he saw Shiro flaying right at him like a shooting star. "Tsssk! GO AWAY!" Osamaru threw both hands out unleashing a devastating burst of purple flames from his body, wiping out miles of the forest.

Shiro felt himself hit a transparent barrier keeping him from reaching his assailant as the demon continued to release his demonic power. Shiro's clothes began to be burned away leaving him in nothing but black underwear reveling his muscular body.

"Demon lord or not...I have the power of Xantus...and as long as I have it...I WILL NEVER BACK DOWN!" Sending a full-power blow to the barrier, all of the clouds in the sky blew away as Osamaru's barrier shattered apart.

"This is blasphemous! You're a mortal aren't you!?" With the last of his strength, Shiro soared straight for his foe, punching straight through the demon's chest as blood gushed from the hole. The warrior pulled his arm out as Osamaru coughed up blood falling towards the decimated forest below.

With a serious look in his eye, Shiro raised his bloody hand into the air manifesting his finishing technique. "You're too weak to heal from this attack...tell your fellow demons: If they ever come near me or my friends...I'll do the same to them. Obliteration" Throwing his sphere of destruction down, it hit the weakened demon lord in the back impacting the forest before bursting in a pillar of flames that shot up into the sky before slowly fading.

All that remained was a bottomless abyss. All of his power used up, Shiro fell towards the ground, landing right beside the abyss...