The explosion from the training grounds echoed across the entire academy.
Students rushed out of buildings while instructors shouted orders.
Panic spread quickly.
"A demon inside the academy!"
"That's impossible."
The academy walls had been reinforced after the previous attack. No demon should have been able to enter unnoticed.
But something had already appeared.
At the center of the training grounds, the stone floor had cracked open.
Dark shadows leaked from the broken ground like smoke.
And from within that darkness, a massive creature slowly emerged.
The demon was unlike any other monster the hunters had seen before.
Its body was made of twisting black shadows instead of flesh. Long clawed arms dragged across the ground, and its glowing white eyes looked empty and cold.
Students standing nearby froze in fear.
One whispered quietly.
"What is that thing?"
The creature moved suddenly.
Its arm swung across the training field.
BOOM.
Several stone pillars shattered instantly.
Students scattered in every direction.
"Run!"
"Instructors, we need help!"
Inside the academy tower, Ren felt something strange in his chest.
The shadow energy within him had begun reacting violently.
Kael noticed it.
"You feel it too, don't you?"
Ren nodded slowly.
"That thing…"
Lyra frowned.
"It came from a shadow."
Ren was already moving toward the door.
"I'm going."
Kael followed immediately.
"We'll handle it together."
Moments later, they arrived at the training grounds.
Several instructors were already trying to hold the creature back.
Instructor Varis slashed his blade through the air, releasing a wave of energy toward the demon.
The attack passed directly through its body.
The creature barely reacted.
Varis stepped back.
"That didn't work."
Another hunter launched a fire technique.
The flames engulfed the demon completely.
But when the fire disappeared, the creature remained unharmed.
The demon's body simply reformed from shadows.
Lyra stared in shock.
"It's regenerating."
The creature suddenly turned its head.
Its empty white eyes locked onto Ren.
Then it began moving toward him.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The instructors immediately stepped in front of Ren.
Varis raised his sword.
"Don't let it reach him."
The demon's arm shot forward.
Faster than anyone expected.
CRASH.
Two instructors were thrown aside instantly.
The creature continued walking forward.
Kael stepped forward with his sword drawn.
"Stay back."
Ren shook his head.
"It's not interested in anyone else."
The demon stopped a few meters away from him.
The shadows around its body twisted violently.
Then something strange happened.
The creature bowed its head slightly.
Everyone around them froze.
Lyra whispered.
"Did it just… bow?"
The shadow beast slowly lifted its head again.
Its glowing eyes never left Ren.
Inside Ren's body, the shadow energy surged uncontrollably.
Images flashed through his mind.
Ancient battlefields.
Endless armies of demons.
A lone warrior standing in darkness.
Ren clenched his fist.
"What are you?"
The creature responded with a deep, echoing voice.
"Master…"
The word spread across the training grounds.
Every person present heard it clearly.
Silence fell instantly.
Kael's eyes widened.
"Did it just call you…"
Ren felt the shadow energy around him expand.
The darkness beneath his feet began spreading across the ground.
The creature knelt fully this time.
"Master…"
Varis stared in disbelief.
"A demon… obeying a human?"
The shadow beast spoke again.
"We have waited."
Ren's voice remained calm.
"For what?"
The creature answered.
"For the return of the Shadow King."
The words sent a chill through everyone present.
Inside the academy tower, Headmaster Aldren felt the surge of power and rushed to the balcony.
When he saw the scene below, his expression changed completely.
"That can't be…"
Back on the training grounds, the shadow beast slowly raised its head.
"Our enemies are awakening."
Ren looked down at it.
"What enemies?"
The creature's voice became darker.
"The true rulers of the demon world."
Far away in the mountains—
Inside the massive demon fortress—
The Demon King sat upon his throne.
A dark aura surrounded his enormous form.
Suddenly, his eyes opened again.
He looked toward the direction of the academy.
His voice echoed through the throne hall.
"The Shadow King…"
He slowly stood up.
"So the prophecy was real."
The Demon King began walking toward the exit of the fortress.
Across the land, the balance between demons and hunters was beginning to change.
And Ren Akatsuki had just become the center of it.