The morning after the dungeon's collapse, a new energy hummed around Toki. He stood before Nero, Eri, and Sugeto's family, the legendary bow, Light, materializing in his hand with a soft, divine radiance.
"Brother Nero, you're so strong," Toki said, his voice filled with awe. "I thought maybe you could wield it."
Nero let out a good-natured laugh. "Nah, I'm good. Besides, do you know what this bow's favorite pastime is? Hunting Gate Users. You trying to get me killed?"
Toki's eyes widened in panic. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean that!"
The group shared a light moment, but later, Nero sat alone, a deep frown etching his features. Eri approached and sat beside him, her presence a quiet comfort.
"I can feel your heart," she said softly. "You're worried. Aren't you happy for Toki?"
Nero sighed, his gaze distant. "It's not that, Eri. I just keep remembering the battle in Aryavarta. The sheer dominance of them... how easily they trapped me in an endless illusion. Gate Users have weaknesses, yes. But I'm not sure it's enough." He turned to her, his expression grim. "Even if we push to our absolute limits, you and I might only reach the Second Gate. But the enemies they'll send... they won't be fresh Gate 1 users. They'll send monsters from the Fourth or even the Fifth Gate. It's like being a low-level character forced to fight an end-game boss. And this time... Obsidian isn't here to bail us out."
Eri placed a hand on his arm. "Nero, don't stress. I believe in you. You'll find a way. You always do."
After a long silence, a familiar, determined smile finally touched Nero's lips. He pulled Eri close. "You're right. We have to win. We have to survive. That's all that matters. The future can worry about itself."
Nearby, Toki overheard them, his resolve hardening. 'Brother Nero is strong, not just in power, but in spirit. I have to train harder. I have to keep up.'
///
The next day, Toki was up before dawn, his body aching but his spirit fired up. He went to find Nero, expecting to see him deep in training.
Instead, he found Nero completely submerged in sleep, looking as peaceful as a man at the bottom of a calm sea. The peace was shattered when Eri delivered a swift kick to his backside.
"Hey! Can't you see I'm focusing?" Nero grumbled, not even opening his eyes.
Toki blinked. "Oh... he's actually focusing? Brilliant."
Eri shouted at him while Toki tried to defend Nero's "meditation," which resulted in both boys being unceremoniously thrown out of the house.
"So... you were actually sleeping," Toki stated flatly.
Nero rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I accidentally went too deep into my meditation."
Deciding to take a rare day off, Toki offered to show Nero some of the world's simpler pleasures. Their first stop: a bustling game center.
"Game center?" Nero asked, intrigued.
"Yep! I always wanted to play my favorite PVP game, but my old life... I never could," Toki explained, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Now, things are different."
They dove in. Nero, a conqueror of calamities, approached the video game with the same terrifying intensity. The result was chaos. He couldn't differentiate between allies and enemies, systematically wiping out his entire team round after round.
"WHO IS THIS 'SOLO HUNTER'?!" a teammate screamed over the voice chat. "Where is that rat?!" He pointed at Nero. "It's you, right? What's wrong with you? We're your teammates, you idiot!"
Nero looked genuinely confused. "Sorry, it's my first time. I thought I had to kill everyone."
The team, after a collective deep breath, decided to give him another chance. "Okay, buddy. Since you're new, we'll let it go. Just... play well next time."
The next round, the enemy team remained unscathed while Nero's teammates were decimated once more.
"I think he really can't tell the difference!" one raged.
"Solo Hunter! Kill the one with the red clothes!" the team leader commanded, trying to direct him.
In the blink of an eye, Nero took down the enemy's deadliest sniper. The team was ecstatic.
"Boss! We can use this idiot to destroy international teams! His work, our glory!" a member cheered.
Their celebration was short-lived. They had forgotten their own team's in-game uniforms were red. The next instant, Nero turned his wrath upon them, deleting his entire team and handing the victory to the enemy.
Toki stretched. "Well, my game session was amazing. What about you, Ne—" He stopped, his eyes widening. Nero's former teammates were now standing behind them, wooden bats in hand.
Nero puffed out his chest. "Why are you looking at me like that? Of course, I'm amazing, both in real life and in games!"
Toki pointed frantically behind him. Nero slowly turned his head. A second later, both of them were running at god-like speed from the cafe, a furious mob hot on their heels.
///
After a thrilling chase, they lost their pursuers.
"So, what's next?" Nero asked, not even winded.
"Next?!" Toki exclaimed.
"Of course! We've got plenty of time. Why not?"
"W-well then, how about the Engineers' Festival? It's nearby."
"Engineers' Festival?"
"In our world, the people who create technology and weapons to fight monsters are called Engineers."
The festival was a marvel of modern technology, showcasing everything from common gear to exclusive, government-issued weapons for S-Rank hunters. Amidst the glittering displays, a single, dilapidated shop stood out, cluttered with wires, monster cores, and strange mechanical parts.
The shop owner, a boy no older than seventeen, greeted them cheerfully. "Greetings, customers! What would you like to buy?"
Nero looked at the messy shop and the boy's earnest face. "Your nickname should be Nerd, not Nerf. Go touch some grass, kid."
The boy, Seino, remained undeterred. "You don't know the value of what I have! Believe me, I have all the valuable materials a hunter needs!"
Nero's teasing smile faded as he noticed a strange, intricate tattoo on Seino's arm and the genuine lack of customers. "Then why is no one here?"
Seino's confidence wavered. "I... intentionally opened this shop for hunters who can't afford expensive gear."
"But they're all buying from the luxury shops on EMI," Nero countered gently. He saw the truth—this wasn't about business, it was about a struggle to survive. He learned that Seino was an orphan, living with and caring for his elderly grandmother. The maturity in the boy's eyes, even after being mocked, spoke volumes.
"Brother, no need to insist," Nero said, his tone softening. "I know how the world works. People go for what looks shiny." He then began picking up various items—potions, gadgets. "I'll take these."
As Nero was about to leave, a poster caught his eye: "Sponsor This Shop."
Seino's face lit up. "If someone is impressed by a shop owner's masterpiece, they can sponsor them! Would you like to see mine?"
He led them to the back, revealing a bizarre device he called the Nerf Simulator.
"This device can 'nerf' any monster, weakening it so much a normal human could defeat it," Seino explained proudly.
Nero's eyes widened. "Holy fuck. Can it nerf hunters?"
"I'm not sure, it's still in development. And I didn't build it alone," Seino said, pointing to a sleeping, sorrowful-looking man in the corner. "He helped a lot."
Nero decided to test the device. They went to a secluded beach, and at Nero's instruction, he channeled a tiny wisp of his cosmic energy into the machine.
As they waited for it to analyze the energy sample, a voice, cold and laced with malice, cut through the air.
"Don't worry. I won't let you get bored, Leo's Son."
Nero's blood ran cold. He could feel it—the oppressive, otherworldly aura of a Gate User.
"EVERYONE, RUN!" he shouted.
But it was too late. The killer, a man named Orsec, smirked and waved a hand. The world twisted around them, the colors bleeding away into a gray, endless expanse.
The Plane of Infinity.
Back at Sugeto's home, Eri's projected body suddenly collapsed, flickering. Sugeto's wife screamed. Sugeto understood instantly—Nero was in mortal danger.
///
In the featureless void, Orsec laughed. "Now I can confirm it. You are truly Leo's son. Your father was a real pain in my ass."
Nero's eyes narrowed. "How do you know my father?"
"We're old friends," Orsec sneered. "How should I put it? I'm the one who killed him."
A cold fury settled over Nero. "Hehe. I never met my father, but my heart tells me he would never have lost to a puny bitch like you."
The taunt hit its mark. In a blur of motion, Orsec was upon Nero, smashing him into the ground with contemptuous ease.
"BROTHER NERO!" Toki screamed.
The battle was a brutal, one-sided slaughter. Nero fought with everything he had, but his attacks were like insects buzzing against a god. Orsec toyed with him, breaking his bones, popping his head from his shoulders only to restore him moments later, savoring the agony.
"Killing you instantly is no fun," Orsec chuckled.
"Wait!" Nero gasped, blood trickling from his lips. "I have a last wish."
"Speak."
"I'm just wondering... why are you alone? There are many Fatebreakers who want me dead. Is there no backup coming?"
"For a weakling like you, I am enough. Were those your last words? A waste of time."
"Yeah," Nero grinned, a bloody, defiant smirk. "That's true. I have been wasting your time until now!" He shouted, "SEINO! HOW MANY MORE SECONDS?!"
Orsec's eyes widened as he sensed the danger. He lunged for the kill.
But Seino, trembling yet determined, slammed his hand on the now-active device. "NO ONE WALKS AWAY!"
A powerful wave of energy erupted from the Nerf Simulator. It washed over Orsec, and his god-like aura flickered and dimmed. The suppression field, calibrated by Nero's own energy, was actively nullifying Gate powers.
The tables had turned.
Nero was on his feet in an instant, his smile predatory. He moved with blinding speed, no longer the prey but the hunter. He pummeled Orsec, a whirlwind of vengeful fury, breaking his limbs with precise, brutal strikes.
"TOKI, NOW!" Nero yelled.
Toki didn't hesitate. "Primordial Consecutive Shots!" He fired a single arrow. It struck Orsec, and a moment later, a chain reaction of force detonated inside the Gate User's body.
The killer was on his knees, broken.
"You can't kill me! I am a divine being!" Orsec spat.
"How about I prove you wrong?" Nero said, his voice deathly calm.
"If you kill me, you'll never know who was behind your sister's death!"
The words were meant to paralyze him. Instead, they sealed Orsec's fate. Nero's eyes turned utterly cold. One of his hands transformed, taking on a demonic, violet-pink hue. With a motion too fast to see, he plunged it into Orsec's chest and ripped out his still-beating heart. The demonic hand then consumed it.
"YOU... BASTARD! How do you know that hidden Dark Art?!" Orsec gurgled, his life fading. "Even the Soul Library has no record... How...?"
"See you in the depths of hell," Nero whispered.
Orsec dissolved into motes of fading light.
///
Back at Sugeto's home, a portal spat them out. Nero's main body was wreathed in blue flames, a self-healing process for his catastrophic injuries. After explaining everything to a horrified Sugeto, Nero turned to Seino.
"Seino, please. We need you. Your knowledge, this device... it's a game-changer. Please, help us."
Seino, pale and trembling, shook his head. "Sorry... I'm leaving. I can't help you."
Toki grabbed him by the collar. "What the fuck are you saying? He just saved your life!"
"Or he's the reason we were in that trouble to begin with!" Seino shot back, tears in his eyes. "I lost my parents when I was young. My grandmother is all I have left! I don't want to lose her too! Please... don't approach me again."
Toki was livid. "When the calamity hits, do you think you and your grandma will be safe? Do you?!"
"We'll... we'll think about it then," Seino muttered, pulling away.
Nero placed a hand on Toki's shoulder, stopping him. "It's okay, Toki." He looked at Seino, his expression full of understanding. "I'm sorry, buddy. I understand your pain. I know what it's like to lose someone close. It's a burden no one should carry."
Seino was taken aback by Nero's empathy. Without another word, he turned and fled.
After he was gone, Toki fumed. "Brother, what does that brat think of himself? He's so selfish!"
Nero looked towards the horizon, his gaze unwavering. "Chill, Toki. Believe me... we are not going to lose this endgame. Even without his help."
The battle had been won, but the war had just become infinitely more personal.