FWOOOOOM—!!!
The shadow rushed at him first — impossibly fast.
Agilan barely twisted aside.
SHHHHRAAANG—!!
The scythe sliced past his face, cutting the air so sharp that space itself distorted.
Agilan skid backward and clenched his fists.
"Adrenaline Surge."
BAM!!
Red aura exploded from his body.
Veins lit up.
Heart roared like an engine.
But the shadow didn't stop.
It came again.
CRACK—!!
Its blade slammed into Agilan's arm, sparks bursting.
Agilan's flesh hardened instantly.
"Vermicular Surge—!"
His skin crawled and shifted, muscles twisting like armored coils.
He grabbed the scythe's blade with his mutated hand—
—but the shadow vanished.
"What—?!"
SLASH—!!
A deep cut opened across Agilan's back.
The shadow was behind him, silent, untraceable.
It tilted its head, mocking.
Agilan gritted his teeth.
"Fine."
He slammed his palm into the floorless void.
HAMMERFIST—!!
A shockwave ripped through the black realm, forcing the shadow back a few steps.
Agilan charged.
---
The Clash of Two Styles
Shadow Agilan moved like a phantom — bending, phasing, slicing.
Its scythe glowing with pure dominion.
Agilan moved like a beast — claws ripping, tendrils slashing, fists detonating.
TENDRILS—!!
Several fleshy whips shot from Agilan's arm.
The shadow deflected all of them with a single spinning sweep of the scythe.
CLAW STRIKE—!!
Agilan slashed forward.
Shadow Agilan mirrored the movement exactly — but with perfect elegance.
Their claws collided.
KRRRK—!!
Sparks, darkness, and flesh collided in a violent dance.
---
Agilan Bleeds
The shadow kicked him across the void.
Agilan spat blood.
It didn't feel like a monster.
It felt like…
A king.
A monarch of shadows.
Agilan forced himself up.
"You're strong… I'll admit that."
He cracked his knuckles.
"But I'm Agilan Shaktivel."
His aura burst outward — red turning black-red.
"BATTLEFIST—!!"
His right arm mutated instantly — turning into a pulsating, armored, brutal dual axe of living flesh.
He charged.
BOOOOM—!!
The fist collided with the shadow's chest — a thunderous impact — bending its body backward.
But the shadow grinned.
Yes.
Grinned.
It recovered instantly and swung the scythe like a reaper.
SHWOOM—!!
Agilan ducked.
Then—
BAM!!
Uppercut.
CRACK!!
The shadow stumbled.
Agilan didn't stop.
He hammered the creature with strike after strike —
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
Each punch shook the void like collapsing mountains.
The shadow lifted its scythe desperately—
"NO!"
Agilan roared, grabbed the scythe mid-swing, and smashed his fist straight through its chest.
THOOOOM—!!
The shadow's body shattered into drifting purple smoke.
Silence.
Victory.
---
The Return
Agilan blinked—
—and suddenly he was back inside the Shadow Castle.
Ananya gasped first.
Raiden let out the longest breath of his life.
"Where the hell did you vanish, kid…?"
Agilan didn't answer.
He looked at his hand.
The Shadow Scythe materialized in his grip — weightless but terrifying.
A weapon shaped like a crescent moon carved from void.
The hunters stared, speechless.
---
Leaving the Gate
They exited the Shadow Gate.
Outside, Seung-Ho was waiting, coat fluttering, eyes sharp.
He scanned the surviving hunters.
Then he looked at Agilan.
"Did you… defeat the dungeon boss?"
Agilan didn't reply with words.
He slowly raised his hand.
The Shadow Scythe materialized — spinning in perfect clockwise rotation without him touching it.
Every S-rank hunter stepped back.
Seung-Ho didn't show fear…
…but his emotions betrayed shock.
Agilan closed his hand and the scythe settled in his grip.
His aura shifted.
Red → Black → Dark Purple
Agilan spoke — voice calm, deep, final:
"I am neither a hunter…"
His right eye opened wide.
The crimson pupil twisted — turning violet-purple, glowing like a monarch's sigil.
"…nor a monster."
He took one step forward.
Wind trembled.
Shadows recoiled.
Agilan finished:
"I am humanity's last flesh."
Darkness curled around him like a cape.
The Shadow Scythe hummed like a living thing.
And everyone — Raiden, Ananya, Seung-Ho, the world — understood:
A new king had been born.