Birth of the Dark Army

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Ryo looked at Rias and her nobles with emotionless eyes, his face frozen and completely cold. Suddenly, Rias rushed towards him, hugging him tightly as she sobbed bitterly.

"I'm so glad you woke up... You can't imagine how scared I was when I found you in that abandoned factory. I thought you might die, and everything that happened to you was because of me... I'm so, so sorry, Ryo."

But Ryo didn't move, nor did he respond. He only glanced at her from the corner of his eye as if her words didn't reach his heart.

Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and Issei approached.

Akeno said with a trembling smile, "It's good that you're alright, Ryo-kun."

Kiba added, "Yeah, it's great you're awake, Ryo-san."

Even Koneko, usually cold and emotionless, smiled slightly and said, "I'm glad you're okay."

Then it was Issei's turn, who looked worried: "Ryo-san, do you know how terrified Rias-senpai was? The doctor said she feared you'd stay in a coma forever."

Internally, Ryo was boiling. A voice in his head screamed: "Kill them! They're the reason for everything that happened to you!"

Ryo grabbed his head, the pain throbbing in his mind, and suddenly, he collapsed onto the ground.

Rias screamed in panic: "Ryo! Are you okay?! Wake up! Kiba, go get the doctor, quickly!"

Kiba rushed out, while Akeno, Koneko, and Issei held Ryo, who had passed out. Minutes later, Kiba returned with the doctor and a nurse. The doctor approached Ryo and began examining him.

"Please, everyone, step outside," the doctor said calmly.

They all left the room and gathered in the hallway outside, where Rias started crying again.

"This is all my fault... I didn't give Ryo the attention he deserved. I was so selfish. Everything that's happening to him is because of my mistakes."

Akeno tried to comfort her, while Kiba, full of anger, punched the wall with his fist.

"Damn it! If I were stronger... if I had gone to look for him myself, none of this would've happened!"

After an hour, the doctor and nurse came out. Everyone gathered around them eagerly.

"Is he alright?" Rias asked with a trembling voice.

"Yes, he's fine. The fainting was a result of the physical and psychological trauma he endured. But his condition is stable now."

Everyone sighed in relief upon hearing that.

Then the doctor added, "However... Ryo is suffering from deep psychological trauma, and it may take some time for him to return to how he was. But there's good news, his physical strength has increased significantly, and he seems to have gained the ability to heal rapidly."

Rias, full of determination, said: "That's alright, we'll stand by him and work together to help him recover, right everyone?"

"Yes!" they all replied in unison.

Then Rias asked: "Can we go in to see him?"

The doctor answered, "Sorry, but he needs rest now."

Inside the room, Ryo sat on the bed, lost in thoughts about what had happened to him. "Who are you?" he wondered, hearing a mysterious inner voice. "He said he's my dark side, but he mentioned the car accident that killed my father..."

The voice echoed in his head, its words still resonating deep within his mind. As he recalled the last battle against the three stray devils, he felt sick remembering how he had turned into a monster after surrendering to the darkness. He remembered the horrifying moment when he ate parts of those devils.

But amidst all those nightmares, Ryo noticed something different about his body. His strength had significantly increased, as had the demonic energy surging inside him, and his senses had become sharper than before. He looked at his hand and remembered the moment his nails had turned into sharp claws.

His veins bulged, and his nails quickly grew into black, sharp claws, each five centimeters long. "It seems I've gotten stronger... maybe now I can compare myself to a mid-ranked demon, but I still need combat experience."

At that moment, he noticed three transparent orbs floating in front of him. "What is this?" Ryo wondered. He grabbed one and examined it closely, his eyes widening in surprise. These were the souls of the stray devils he had defeated. Quickly, he grabbed the remaining two orbs and confirmed they were also souls of those devils.

Ryo, confused, asked himself aloud: "What does this mean?" He tried searching his memory, recalling the demon that had spoken to him, but couldn't find an explanation. Suddenly, he remembered something he had read as a child, a story about a necromancer. "Can I turn these souls into summoned creatures?"

Ryo stood quickly, closed the door and windows to make sure no one saw him, then placed the souls in the center of the room. "But how do I summon them? I remember there should be a summoning circle." He stood in the middle of the room, deep in thought, before it dawned on him: "Can I send my demonic energy?"

He raised his hand and began channeling his demonic energy into the orbs, which slowly turned into a dark black color. "Rise!" Ryo spoke the word instinctively, but it came out cold, commanding, and undeniable.

A thick, dark aura burst from the three orbs, and they began to reform. Beams of dark, powerful light faded as three knights clad in shiny black armor appeared before him. Their eyes blazed with dark purple flames, and they held majestic, long swords. The three knights knelt before Ryo, who was panting from the drain on his demonic energy.

Despite the exhaustion, Ryo couldn't hide a small smile.

Ryo took a deep breath and stood, looking at the three knights he had summoned. He smiled with enthusiasm as a crazy idea struck him: to build an army of the undead. He smiled so wide his teeth looked like those of a beast, and a dark aura erupted from him with power.

Ryo gathered his mad thoughts and remembered that summoning souls might cause problems for him—not because he could be killed, but because if the supernatural world felt he posed a threat, they might unite to suppress him. Or the Gremory clan and the Demon King might intervene to kill him if they sensed Rias no longer had control over him. He could possibly escape, but he would become a stray demon and wouldn't be able to grow. Every supernatural entity would hunt him. He might be able to kill lower or mid-ranked beings, but what about the higher-ranked ones and the extremes?

Ryo: "The best thing now is not to show any hostility towards Rias until I have power comparable to a high rank. I must also hide the fact that I can summon the dead."

Ryo turned his gaze to the three knights and began studying them.

After an hour, Ryo discovered their abilities. They were all of the dark element, incredibly tough, and considered immortal as long as Ryo was alive and had demonic energy. Even if they were killed, they would return to life. They wielded the dark element, but one of the knights possessed black flames, and they retained some demonic traits. They were bound to Ryo and had absolute loyalty to him, remembering nothing from their previous lives. All they knew was that Ryo was their absolute master, and his commands were not to be questioned.

Ryo: "Hide in my shadow and conceal your energy. Do not move unless I command it."

The knights turned to shadows and entered Ryo's shadow.

Ryo: "When I grow stronger, I'll break free from the Pawn piece's restraints and show this world the Army of Darkness."

Ryo's red eyes gleamed like a red sun.

At the same time, in the temple of Asgard, deep within a dark part of the temple, an image appeared on a wall slab. It was of a grand throne on a mountain of corpses, with a figure clad in black armor seated on it. Below the throne, there was an army.

Everyone in the temple felt a tremendous power emanating from its depths, and the high priests rushed toward the source of the terrifying aura. When they arrived, all the priests knelt under an overwhelming pressure, unable to raise their heads.

"What is this terrifying pressure?" one of them said.

"I don't know, but the appearance of a prophecy on this wall, in such a deep place, must mean the one in the prophecy is immensely powerful."

As the priests spoke, footsteps echoed.

"If this pressure is merely a prophecy, it means the world is about to change."

The voice belonged to an old man with an eye patch. This was one of the most powerful rulers, Odin.

Odin advanced and released his pressure to counter the force emanating from the wall. The priests lifted their heads but remained kneeling before Odin.

Odin approached the wall and began examining the prophecy.

Odin: "This throne... where have I seen it before?"

Odin used his eye to recall where he had seen this throne.

Odin: "Impossible, this is the Throne of the Dark Lord, one of the ancient rulers."

Everyone was shocked upon hearing the name "Ancient Rulers." How could they not be? The Ancient Rulers were the first rulers, but they had vanished long ago, and from their power, the new rulers were formed.

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