---
Meanwhile…
A city gleamed like a bride dressed in colors, welcoming the new year with open arms.
Lights danced above rooftops, music rose from every corner, and the scent of food drifted through the air like an invitation to happiness.
Children dashed across sidewalks, couples laughed with unrestrained joy, and even the nobles abandoned their pride to dance with the common folk as one.
No one expected…
That this celebration would be the last time half the city would ever laugh again.
Because hidden between this joy were silent watchers—
shadows blended into the crowd, studying faces, tracking the guards, counting awakened fighters, ensuring every detail was perfect.
A few were exposed—after refusing food or drink—but most melted seamlessly into the festival.
Six hours of waiting.
The sun dipped behind the buildings, and the sunset painted the streets the color of blood… long before any real blood was shed.
Then… the moment arrived.
---
One Abyss operative stood in a narrow alley, preparing to move, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.
He turned sharply, fingers closing around the hilt of his dagger—
but the voice that greeted him wasn't threatening… it was the softest voice he had ever heard.
"Here you go, mister… it's apple juice. My mom made it today."
A little girl.
Seven, maybe eight years old.
Tiny hands offering him the cup with a wide, innocent smile—
the only pure thing in the entire place.
The Abyss operative stared at her in silence.
Then a smile formed on his face—
a smile that dimmed the warmth in the air…
a smile that made safety crumble for anyone who saw it.
He placed a hand on her head, gently ruffling her hair, and whispered:
"Thank you, little one… I'm not thirsty.
But I won't let you walk back disappointed."
She opened her mouth to answer—
But something cold touched her neck.
Her body went limp, crumpling slowly… as if someone had gently pulled her consciousness away.
Like sleep had claimed her with no pain.
(Author's note: I softened this scene as much as possible.)
The cup remained upright for a moment… before he crushed it beneath his boot with boredom.
"Who drinks this filth at a time like this?"
And with that… the city began to fall.
---
Screams.
Running.
Ground shaking.
People collapsing without understanding what was happening.
Children calling for their parents.
Blood painting the stone as if it had been waiting for its cue.
The laughter of the Abyss echoed across the streets.
Not the laughter of beasts—
but of things that do not understand mercy…
do not comprehend pain…
do not recognize humanity.
In the western district, a mother ran with twin infants clutched to her chest.
Her husband had fallen seconds earlier—blocking a strike that would have killed her.
His final word to her was:
"Run."
She ran blindly, tears streaking her face, her babies wailing—
But death was faster.
She tripped—one infant slipped from her arms.
Before she could reach him, something black opened beneath her… a maw like a swirling void—
It swallowed the child.
Then swallowed her.
Gone.
---
Near the city center, awakened fighters battled desperately, but the chaos grew with every heartbeat.
A noble staggered, shouting:
"Where are the special forces?! Where is the continental guard?! They're all Lord rank—why hasn't anyone arrived?!"
Another noble—fat and trembling—appeared beside him:
"Get me out of here, no—"
His head flew off before he finished the sentence.
It spun seven meters through the air.
His body fell like a felled tree.
Behind him stood
an elf boy.
Black hair.
Violet eyes split by a vertical white line.
A face devoid of emotion.
The guards tried to draw their weapons—
But black chains shot through their chests, the sound of tearing flesh louder than their screams.
A dark object darted into an evacuation carriage and detonated—
black spikes erupted outward, skewering everyone inside.
Only faint groans remained…
groans that faded into silence.
---
Amid the rising sea of blood stood a woman.
Half demon. Half vampire.
A single horn curved from the side of her forehead.
White hair streaked with crimson strands.
Blood-red eyes that saw nothing but pleasure in the corpses around her.
She raised her hand.
Every drop of blood on the street lifted into the air.
Rotated slowly… then faster… then fused—
forming a throbbing sphere of blood nearly 22.89 meters wide.
And it wasn't done growing.
---
On the outskirts of the city, Abyss operatives began chanting in an unknown language.
Then…
Their bodies all exploded.
From the remains, black threads rose into the sky, twisting together to form a suffocating dome over the entire city.
Anyone trying to escape froze in terror.
The way out was sealed.
And with the exit blocked… new creatures appeared for the first time.
Crimson-Dark class monstrosities.
Humanoid…
but with red faces, blood-marked foreheads, and hollow white eyes.
They were experimental results—
hybrids of Abyss beasts and vampires.
(Author's note: Future spoilers. This model is an early prototype.)
People collapsed to their knees.
Some screamed for loved ones.
No one ran—
there was nowhere to run to.
A man lifted his gun, hand trembling, desperate to end his life before the monsters reached him—
A creature jumped at him with a shriek that shredded his ears—
But before it could touch him—
Someone appeared.
A single man.
---
Zhang Yuan.
A hero of the Tsukinori Continent.
His strength alone was enough to decimate an entire squad of high-rank awakened fighters.
The moment he arrived, the creature in front of him burst—
crushed like meat ground between two gigantic stones.
Its remains flew outward, killing three more of its kind before they even understood what had happened.
Beside him stood his companion—
Duke Alistar Fiendrigh, one of the strongest awakened in Loraice.
They had been tasked with escorting the prince and princess to the capital for their academy entrance—
but upon hearing of the attack, they came immediately.
Their rank?
Dormant King—
power that lies still until summoned, yet approaches the realm of true kings.
Zhang Yuan raised his hand and drew characters in the air.
A golden portal opened behind him, pulling civilians inside to safety.
Then he glanced at Alistar, voice boiling with fury:
"If we don't wipe out every last one of them tonight… I'll tear this city apart myself."
Alistar spat in disgust:
"I'd like that… I owe these worms more than a few debts."
Then they moved—
"Sword Art — Sixth Form."
"Falling Dragon."
A black dragon and a golden dragon erupted forth, slamming into the black dome and shattering it with a sound like a giant's breaking ribs.
Behind the dome…
the real massacre revealed itself.
Twisted bodies.
Torn limbs.
Monsters devouring the living.
And that enormous blood sphere pulsing like a heartbeat.
Rage exploded within the two heroes—
their attacks turning into a storm of destruction.
Creatures died before their bodies touched air.
---
And as they carved their path through hell—
another elven boy appeared.
Cold eyes.
Calm steps.
A presence out of place in the chaos.
But before he approached further—
His body split in half.
A flying sword—visible only as a flicker—had passed clean through him.
Both halves fell silently.
And then…
A third pressure descended upon the battlefield.
A woman…
---