"I, the Emissary of the Darkness, have descended!"
'Emissary of what?' the young lady blinked in disbelief, staring at the strange man who parried the entire storm of iron bars with nothing but a stick.
"Fear not, young lady. I'll handle this from here," he said with calm confidence.
As the deflected iron bars clattered to the ground around them, the dust began to clear, slowly revealing the face of the man who had stepped in.
It was Shin.
The young lady could immediately sense that the man before her possessed no awakened powers. He was merely a normal human being. It was through sheer physical strength and masterful swordsmanship that he had deflected the fierce onslaught.
The four mercenaries, caught off guard by the unexpected intruder, hesitated to make a move.
Sensing their hesitation, Shin turned his head slightly and whispered.
"Young lady, do you happen to have a real sword, one forged from iron? While I can manage for now with this wooden sword, it won't hold out much longer. If it breaks, the outcome of this battle may turn uncertain."
After a brief moment of hesitation, the young lady retrieved an iron sword from her inventory and handed it to him.
"This is the only sword I possess. As you can tell, I'm a magician. If this sword breaks, that'll be the end of it. So please, handle it carefully."
Shin accepted the weapon with unwavering confidence.
"Rest assured, young lady. Even if it breaks, I'll make sure to win this fight."
The mercenaries launched another wave of attacks, this time a flurry of high-speed daggers.
With insane reflexes, Shin deflected every single one. Then, in a flash, he surged forward.
Reacting swiftly, the mercenaries encased him with towering iron walls, each ten feet high.
Unfazed, Shin leapt high, planted a foot atop the wall, and vaulted forward again.
Amazed by his athleticism, the four men quickly reinforced themselves with full iron armor. Each summoned a weapon: one brandished a longsword, another held a shield, the third wielded a heavy iron mace, and the last prepared himself with dual blades.
Shin halted, noticing that instead of casting spells, they had switched to melee weapons..
The Dual sword wielder gave a sinister smile.
"Ho ho, you have good instincts."
"As you've guessed, we're close-combat specialists. Until now, there was no need for us to get serious. It was just an easy job. But after witnessing your inhuman strength and swordsmanship, we've decided to fight at full strength."
Without warning, the man with the iron mace charged in and swung with immense force. Shin raised his blade to block, but at that moment, the dual-wielder came in from the flank with a rapid slash.
Shin sprang back, narrowly avoiding it, only to sense a longsword descending fast from behind.
Instinctively, he twisted and raised his sword overhead just in time to deflect the blow. But the other two were already closing in fast, weapons raised.
Shin knocked the sword away and leapt high into the air to avoid the incoming attacks.
For a fleeting moment, he thought he had gained distance, but then WHAM! A massive iron bar struck him in the back, sending him flying through the air.
It wasn't a physical strike, it was a magic spell. The shield bearer, who had been staying back, had launched the attack.
Shin rolled to his feet almost instantly, eyes locking onto the distant shielder. In a flash, he dashed forward, but the remaining three mercenaries quickly intercepted him, launching another synchronized assault.
Shin weaved between their strikes and burst forward at blinding speed, closing the gap in an instant.
He raised his sword and brought it down in a powerful overhead slash against the shielder's massive shield.
CLANG!
The sound of metal striking metal rang through the air. His sword shattered on impact. The broken blade spun upward, catching the sunlight as Shin watched it slowly fall—his expression twisted in disbelief.
The shield didn't even have a single scratch.
He immediately leapt back, retreating toward the young lady.
Her expression darkened the moment she saw the shattered sword—and the radiant glow reflecting off the enemy's shield.
Shin turned to her, confusion written all over his face.
She spoke with disbelief.
"No… No, no! That shield… It's made of titanium. One of the strongest metals in the world, just beneath Mythril and other legendary alloys. I should've recognized it earlier and warned you."
"The sword never stood a chance."
Shin stared at her, stunned. If he had known the shield was made of titanium, he never would've targeted the shielder first.
The four men charged at the duo, confident now that they knew there were no remaining variables that could stop them.
As before, the man with the mace led the assault, swinging hard.
This time, Shin dodged swiftly, anticipating the follow-up strike from the dual sword wielder.
But the dual wielder was now aiming directly for the young woman, as she was closer now.
Shin caught the shift and threw himself in the way, intercepting the blow with his broken sword.
The dual wielder blinked in shock, surprised Shin could still block with a broken sword.
Meanwhile, the longsword wielder slipped past them both, rushing straight for the seemingly vulnerable young woman.
But she was ready. With a flash of light, she equipped another defensive artifact from her inventory, deflecting the incoming strike with ease.
"Hey, weirdo, stop worrying about me," she called out. "I've got plenty of defensive gear in my inventory. As long as I have a second to equip them, I'm good. Just focus on your fight!"
Shin let out a breath of relief. Without hesitation, he delivered a powerful strike that sent the dual wielder stumbling backward
He threw away the broken sword and reached over his shoulder, unsheathing the wooden sword strapped to his back.
Everyone, including the young lady, froze, bewildered by his action.
In that moment, everyone's mind uniformly thought of one thing
'What the actual Fuuuuuu****'
Shin smirked and said
"Nemesis (The wooden sword), I have nothing to rely on besides you. Let's show them what we're made of."
The young woman stared at him, utterly exhausted.
'Is he serious? He just tossed aside an iron sword, and now he's trusting a piece of wood? What kind of logic is that?'
And who could blame her? Even in its broken state, iron was far more reliable than a wooden stick, something Shin himself had proven by fending off the dual wielder's attacks earlier.
She snapped, "Hey, weirdo! You're the one who said that stick wouldn't last if you kept using it to block attacks! What's your plan now?"
Shin responded with confidence.
"You're right. But don't worry. If I unleash the sealed power within me and awaken right here, right now_"
He tightened his grip on Nemesis.
"_then even that titanium shield won't stand a chance against this blade."
The young woman blinked in sheer disbelief. "Wait, what? You're thinking of awakening in the middle of a fight?! Are you insane?!"
"Surely you know that awakening is purely based on family lineage and innate talent."
"If you haven't awakened by the start of middle school, then you clearly lack any innate talent. We've already graduated and are about to enter high school. The fact that you haven't awakened yet proves you were never meant to."
"Even I, with blessed family lineage, barely managed to awaken my powers by the final year of middle school."
"By the looks of it, there's no trace of an inherited lineage in your veins."
"And awakening in the middle of a fight? That's unheard of. It usually happens during deep sleep, when the body has time to adapt to the surge of power slowly."
"Even if, by some miracle, you awakened just now, you'd have no control over your new powers. Taking on four experienced awakeners without any mastery is nothing short of suicide."
As the yapping of the young lady continues, the four men didn't rush in like before. They were visibly thrown off by Shin's action. They didn't want to take chances. This young man might be trying to bait them, luring them into dropping their guard before striking with concealed weapons. Given his raw physical strength, he couldn't be underestimated. They weren't buying the whole 'mid-battle awakening' story. To them, it sounded like a cheap bluff.
Shin listened in silence, his expression was unreadable. Then, as she finished, he simply smirked and shouted in confidence.
"What are you talking about? Innate Talent? Family Lineage? I couldn't care less."
"To me, awakening is simple: the moment I truly believe my body is ready to wield the power of darkness… then with a single thought, I will awaken."
The young lady was already nearing the end of her patience.
"Hoh? Is that so?" She scoffed, "Then do it, right now."
Shin replied with confidence.
"Prepare to witness the rise of the catastrophe that will reshape reality."
"I, Shin, the Emisaary of Darkness, am ready to inherit the Power of Darkness sealed within me."
"First Gate of the Abyss… open for me!"
A tense silence followed. Seconds passed. Nothing.
Then—
"Caw… caw… caw…"
A crow cried in the distance.
The young woman slowly dragged a hand across her face, equal parts frustration and secondhand embarrassment. The four men stared in stunned silence before failing to hold back their laughter.
They'd expected a bluff, but this? This was performance art.
Still chuckling, they began chanting in unison, weaving the components of a high-tier spell. They decided to keep their distance, after what they'd just witnessed, charging in for close combat seemed impossible without bursting into laughter mid-attack. Better to end it from afar. If their combined spell was powerful enough, there'd be nothing Shin could do to stop it… especially not with a mere wooden sword.
"What are you going to do now, Mr. Emissary of Darkness? The Blame is on me, I shouldn't have believed in a wierdo like you. It's over for us."
The lady's voice was heavy with despair. Her shoulders slumped as the last of her hope drained away, ready to accept whatever fate awaited them after the battle's end.
But Shin hadn't given up. Not yet.
He focused, pushing past the hopelessness. He was trying to recollect the past when he met his Idol, the original Dark Magic Swordsman, the one who saved his life long ago.
Meanwhile, the four enemies finished chanting their incantation. Their spell materialized a colossal iron hand.
The massive fist rocketed toward Shin and the woman.
Desperate, the young woman pulled out her most prized possession from her inventory — a rare defensive artifact. Instantly, multiple layers of magical barriers shimmered into existence before them.
The iron hand collided with the barriers.
One by one, the layers shattered like fragile glass. Though they couldn't stop the attack entirely, they did slow it down, buying them precious seconds.
The young lady shouted towards Shin
"Hey, weirdo!" she yelled. "Those barriers won't last! We need to move, or we're going to be toast!"
But Shin wasn't listening. His mind was elsewhere, deep in that memory.
Then it hit him. A single phrase resurfaced like lightning in the darkness:
"The one who inherits the Power of Darkness will inherit the 'Kuro No' name along with it."
'Shit how could I forget?'
With newfound determination, Shin chanted:
"I, Kuro No Shin, the Emisaary of Darkness, am ready to inherit the Power of Darkness sealed within me."
The young lady stared at Shin with disbelief as the final barrier shattered and the iron hand loomed above them. It was about to hit them.
Then Shin finishes his sentence
"First Gate of the Abyss… open for me!"
The air trembled, as if reality itself sensed the shift.
Darkness erupted around Shin, swirling violently. His wooden sword began to glow with a deep, obsidian aura before transforming into a Dark Mythril Sword.
He raised it high.
With a single, elegant motion, Shin performed a downward slash.
The lady's eyes widened in awe as Shin's blade descended with a beauty and elegance that seemed almost unreal.
The slash gently cut through the iron hand like it was tofu.
The massive halves slammed into the ground on either side of them with a deafening crash.
"Holy... moly…" The young lady muttered those words without even realising it.
The four enemies stood frozen in disbelief.
Now holding the blade to his side, Shin began channeling dark energy into the sword. The dark energy started to swirl around the sword.
Realizing the danger, the enemies reacted. All of them charged forward with haste. Even the warrior with the titanium shield stepped up, bracing himself to absorb the blow.
Shin smirked.
"Too late."
"Void Slash!"
In the eyes of the four men, it looked like a single black line had appeared from the trajectory of the sword, as if the gods themselves had drawn it across the air with black ink. It looked out of this world.
The shield-bearer braced.
But the Titanium shield was sliced clean through.
After passing through the shield, the slash landed on the four men.
The impact sent all four men flying. They fell unconscious. No blood, no slashes — just bruises where the energy had struck, like the blow of a blunt weapon.
The young lady could hardly trust her eyes. In one fluid motion, Shin had brought down four veteran Awakeners.
A wave of relief crashed over her, and her knees gave out. She fell backwards, landing on the ground with a soft thud, staring at the sky in silence.
Shin slowly turned to the young lady and walked towards her.
The dark energy swirling around him slowly subsided, and the Dark Myhtil Sword was changed back to the normal wooden sword.
He went close to the young lady and held out his hand.
She looked up, surprised. Assuming he was offering to help her up, she reached for it.
Just when she tried to grab Shin's hand, he spoke:
"That'll be 1000 Magic crystals."
"Huh?" the lady muttered with confusion.
"That'll be 1000 Magic crystals for saving you."
"So, how are you going to pay? Real money or digital credits? I accept both."
'What the actual Fuuuuuuuuu*********?'