The corpse of the Flameborn still smoked behind me. Its blood cooled into glass along the blackened stone. I stood still, dagger in hand, the obsidian edge humming with fresh battle heat.
My grip tightened—and my mind drifted.
Earth. My old world. My dojo was small, hidden between crumbling alleyways and noisy streets, but inside—discipline ruled. I was young when I first tasted the art of war. Not just fists or kicks, but blades, staves, chains, axes.
"Master one weapon," they said. "It's enough."
But I disagreed.
"To understand combat completely," I once told my old mentor, "I must master them all."
So I did. I wielded steel and wood, chain and smoke. Every form, every angle, until it was no longer technique—but instinct. I forged Nero Style not as a fixed school, but as a flowing path—adapting, reshaping, responding.
The flash ended.
Here, in Hellworld, that legacy would evolve again.
I looked at the system HUD and willed it to open a tab labeled: Martial Arsenal. A new subwindow appeared:
[Nero Style: Dagger Form – Basic Unlocked]
Silent Fang – Close-quarters precision stance
Phantom Step – Footwork enhancer (Locked)
Imagination Slot: Available
So it remembered my path. My style. Even here, I wasn't starting from nothing.
The system spoke again:
"New mission available. Optional trial: Summoner's Gate opening nearby."
I smiled.
Time to test Nero Style on something stronger
_____
I sat beside the Flameborn's corpse, the scorched stone warm beneath me. My new body didn't tire like my human one, but the silence helped me think. I called the system back to the front of my vision with a thought.
[The Path of Demon God – Interface Active]
Several tabs lined the transparent crimson HUD:
Status
Inventory
Martial Arsenal
Imagination Forge
Evolution Tree
Gluttony Archive
Mission Board
Each was a window into growth. Power wasn't just granted—it had to be earned, shaped, imagined.
I tapped on Imagination Forge again. A blank slot pulsed faintly. A mental voice followed:
"You may design a basic weapon, artifact, or technique. The cost scales with complexity and clarity of imagination."
Simple enough.
I pictured a throwing dagger—not just any, but a phantom-edged one, curved to glide, phase through armor, and return like a boomerang.
[Design registered: Phantom Fang – Returning Dagger]
Cost: 120 DGP — Insufficient funds.
I smirked. Ambitious, but not yet within reach. Still, the Forge saved it as a draft.
Next, I opened the Evolution Tree. Unlike most demonkin, whose paths were rigid—Firebeast, Stone Giant, Shadow Fiend—mine was open-ended.
[Base Form: Unique Non-Elemental Demonkin]
No fixed branch. Evolution will respond to absorbed traits, battle data, and chosen path. Warning: High variability. High potential. High instability.
Unpredictable. Dangerous.
Perfect.
Lastly, I opened Gluttony Archive, now pulsing faintly.
[Absorbed: Ember Eater – Passive Trait]
Minor fire resistance. Enables energy digestion from flame-based enemies.
It had begun.
My path wasn't forged by birthright or bloodline. It would be carved by will, by imagination—and by Nero Style.
Hellworld had no idea what had just been born.
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