Hunter Of The Six Realms

He pulled back, his palm throbbing as it started healing. It felt cold and hot at the same time, like acid wrapped in ice.

But the shadow still slithered back into the armor… and the knight got back up again.

Kaizen staggered back, breathing hard.

"They're not soldiers," he muttered. "They're shells."

It was then that he finally realized what was going on.

"They're being controlled."

The system had told me to find the master of this place, which meant...

His eyes slowly moved around the room. Past the scattered knights. Past the broken pillars. And finally, they landed on something far off, at the end of the hall.

It was a massive statue.

It wasn't like the others. It held a greatsword, point down, both hands resting on the hilt. Its helmet design was different from the others.

Kaizen's eyes narrowed.

"…You."

That has to be it. The master of the dungeon. So shadow elements can also be used for puppet control.

But right now, he had a more immediate problem.

Five more knights started surrounding him, forming a tight circle. They weren't wasting time anymore.

Kaizen cracked his neck, then his knuckles.

He lowered his stance and spun the shadow dagger once in his grip.

"If you're not going to stay down…"

His lips curved into a slight smirk.

"…then I'll just cut you down again. And again until I get to your master."

The knights charged all at once.

Kaizen moved. He ducked the first sword, twisted to avoid the second, then slammed his elbow into one of their helmets before spinning around and stabbing another straight through the chest. The blade pierced cleanly and the knight fell.

Another came from behind, Kaizen turned sharply and slashed its leg, bringing it down. He drove his dagger into the gap between its shoulder plates.

The black mist started leaking out again. Slowly. Crawling back like it was alive.

He already expected that to happen so he didn't waste more energy there. Instead, he turned and dashed toward the stairway leading to the statue. If that thing really was the master of this place, then killing it was probably the only way to stop the rest of them.

But the knights weren't going to make it easy.

More of them broke away from the walls and blocked the path ahead. Four… six… seven of them. All armed, ready, and soulless. Kaizen skidded to a stop.

"Tch—seriously?"

They weren't acting randomly anymore. They were actually trying to guard the path. Protecting the statue.

So yeah. That confirmed it. That thing wasn't just for show.

Kaizen spun the dagger in his grip again and took a breath. "Fine. You want to play defense?"

He pushed forward, fast. He went low and dodged a spear thrust aimed at his chest, then slammed the blunt end of the dagger's hilt into the knight's chin. The second one came swinging a wide axe. Kaizen grabbed its arm, twisted it, and flipped the knight over his shoulder, slamming it into another behind him.

Even with the armour, they were lighter than he expected.

Hollow, just like puppets.

He slashed at a gap between another knight's thigh plates, then ducked a mace swing and kicked the wielder in the chest with enough force to throw it back a few feet.

One of the knights came at him from the side, Kaizen raised his arm just in time, but the blade still tore through his bicep, blood spraying out.

He winced and stumbled back.

Shit.

His arm healed almost immediately, but the sting was still there. It was starting to pile up. And they just kept coming.

Two more tried to flank him. Kaizen jumped backward and held out his hand. A second dagger made of shadow materialized in it.

One wasn't going to cut it anymore.

He exhaled and rushed them again, this time dual wielding. He spun, flipped, and sliced through the gaps in their armour with quick, sharp movements. Not wasting energy on fancy tricks, just fast, efficient strikes.

He cut down three more knights.

They all fell.

The shadow leaked.

And just like the others… the mist crawled back into their broken bodies.

Kaizen backed up again, breath uneven now. His eyes didn't leave the stairway.

I'm wasting time. If I keep fighting these guys, I'm going to be stuck in here all day. I have to get to that statue.

But right then, the atmosphere shifted.

The hall suddenly fell silent.

Kaizen's body tensed as he turned slowly toward the statue. Its fingers twitched.

Kaizen's eyes narrowed.

The statue's head began to move. Just slightly. But enough to make his gut drop.

The shadows around its feet started rising, swirling, pulling together. The greatsword it held began to glow with faint dark light, and a deep humming sound started filling the room.

Kaizen took a slow step back.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

The system window blinked.

[WARNING: DUNGEON MASTER INITIATING WAKE PROTOCOL] [YOU HAVE 10 SECONDS TO RETREAT OR PREPARE FOR COMBAT]

[EMERGENCY EVACUATION NEEDS TO BE ACTIVATED MANUALLY]

The knights suddenly backed off. Every single one of them.

Kaizen didn't retreat. He needed to pass this this level to actually advance to the next. He couldn't advance with fire, but this...he needed to complete this level.

The timer counted down in front of his face.

10… 9… 8…

The statue began to rise.

Not all at once. Piece by piece. Like the weight of its own body resisted movement. The grinding of stone and shadow echoed through the massive hall.

7… 6… 5…

Kaizen's breathing slowed. His body shifted into a proper stance. Both daggers in hand now. Eyes locked on the figure ahead.

He didn't blink.

4… 3… 2…

The last second hit.

And the entire hall trembled.

The statue stepped down from the platform. Each step left cracks in the ground.

It was massive. Nearly twice Kaizen's height, and twice as wide. Its armour didn't shine like regular metal, it was matte black, almost like it was absorbing the light around it. The greatsword it carried was dragging on the floor, cutting through it like butter.

Kaizen blinked up at it.

"…Well damn."

Then it moved, fast.

The ground shattered under its feet as it lunged toward him, swinging the greatsword with one hand like it weighed nothing.

Kaizen jumped back, barely avoiding the strike.

The sword crushed the ground where he'd just been standing. Dust and stone exploded into the air.

That would've split me in two…

He didn't wait, he ran forward and slashed with both daggers at its side, aiming for the joints in its armour. But the blade bounced off like he'd struck solid rock.

Kaizen's eyes widened.

No reaction. No damage.

"…Seriously?"

The statue turned its head toward him slowly, as if acknowledging him for the first time.

Then it grabbed its sword properly with both hands.

Kaizen didn't get time to react.

The next swing was already coming.