The Price of Vengeance

He sneers his fingers clamp down.

"I know I've seen you before."

"Does the name…Eri sounds familiar?"

The mention of her name sets something off in Akira, an anger so immense he feels something primordial and combustible courses through his veins.

His face twists, and his mask of calm shatters into something lethal, something menacing.

Akira in a hushed, dangerous tone

"Here I was making a fool of myself, willing to let you live…for the future"

He wastes not a single moment and actives his Soul Infusion.

The air around him crackles and vibrates as a wave of power courses through his body.

His eyes flash pure brilliant white, unsympathetic, and the next thing he knows, lightning courses along his arms in a fierce, blindingly white energy from his fingertips in jagged arcs.

The agents stumble backward, shields of arrogance falling to pure terror as the unrestrained power envelops Akira.

First Agent screams stumbling backward, his face twisted in panic.

"Retreat!"

But it's late...too late

Akira charges at the agents in his rage, blinded.

A white arc of lightning lances from his hand into the second agent amidst the crackling of energy. The agent's body seizes up as his mouth opens in a silent scream, and Akira's Panthoblade follows through to cut his throat in one swift, merciless motion.

Blood sprays and the agent drops to the ground, lifeless.

The first agent stands frozen his face pale as he realizes he is alone with this walking storm of wrath.

He stumbles backward, his voice shaking.

First Agent:

"How… how are you still alive?!"

"They told us they were sure you died!"

Akira stepped closer, his white lightning crackling fiercely, casting sharp shadows across his face. The air around him grew heavy with an undeniable aura of vengeance.

His gaze pierced through the agent, locking him in place like prey caught in the jaws of a predator.

A wicked smirk played on Akira's lips as he tilted his head, the terrifying glint in his eyes intensifying.

Akira:

"If they killed me, would I still be standing here?"

He chuckled darkly, the sound low and sharp.

"Looks like their 'certainty' was nothing but wishful thinking."

He took another step closer, his voice dropping to a cold, venomous tone.

The lightning surged around him as his eyes narrowed further.

"Dead men don't hold grudges. Lucky for me, I'm very much alive."

In a single, swift movement, Akira raises his hand pure white lightning crackles upon his fingers.

The agent's eyes go wide as Akira closes the distance between them, his last words hanging in the air like a death sentence.

Akira - "You brought this to yourselves."

In the next instant, the lightning surges from Akira's fingertips, engulfing the agent's body.

His agonized scream is swallowed by the crackling energy as his body convulses, and with a flash, he collapses breathless.

Akira stood there, his breath shallow, fists clenched as the faint hum of residual electricity danced around him. The air was thick with the metallic scent of scorched flesh and burnt ozone. He stared down at the lifeless agents, their stillness a grim reminder of the fury he had unleashed.

The moment stretched on, heavy and suffocating. For the first time, the weight of taking a human life pressed against him. A flicker of something foreign stirred deep within—a sickening mix of satisfaction and disbelief. His chest tightened as his mind fought to process what he had just done.

He was no stranger to death.

He had seen it, touched it, been shaped by it. But this was different. This was his hand. His will.

Then, the ghostly flicker of the status window materialized before his eyes, casting an eerie glow in the dim light:

His status window flickers before him in ghostly text, almost to mock him:

[The user took his first step towards revenge.]

[Congratulations]

[+5 Stat Points awarded.]

[Perfected Symmetry in effect. Allocating stat points equally across all attributes.]

Akira balled his fist as he read it.

Akira - "Even the system… wants me to go down this path."

"But still now i feel like shit" - He mutters, his voice dark.

The bodies caught his gaze, and the weight settled in his chest.

He had killed monsters, slain creatures in dungeons, but it was different this time.

It was personal.

A line had been crossed, and there was no going back.

He steeled himself, the weight of his actions settling deep in his chest. The path he had chosen—carved by vengeance and stained with the blood of his enemies—had become his destiny. There was no turning back now.

Akira whispered to himself, his voice steady, resolute

"This was your route of choice, Akira."

His eyes burned with a mix of anger and determination as he stared at the lifeless forms before him.

"No regrets."

He exhaled sharply, the words anchoring him, forcing the storm within to settle.

"If I can't bring those two down now, I'll never bring down the rest."

Then, after a pause, he added, his tone heavier, almost a plea to himself:

"I didn't survive just to hesitate. If I falter now, everything they took from me will remain theirs."

His fists clenched tighter, nails digging into his palms as he thought of the faces of those he had lost—his family, his dreams, his life.

"This is more than revenge."

"It's for them. And if the price is my soul, so be it."

He clenched his fists, bucking himself up silently as he stared to the horizon, envisioning every person who had betrayed him and harmed his family.

They would all meet the same fate-and worse.

Those who set it up would suffer, far more than these agents had.

He feels a cold trickle down his spine as he shakes himself loose from the binding moment.

He looks at the bodies-the sight itself made him have an urge to eradicate all signs of this act.

"How should i deal with the bodies?!"

"I can bury them but that would leave traces which one way or another may be found can't take that risk"

A dangerous thought strikes him.

"Then i have no other choice"

He sighs loudly and lifts his hand, focusing his new ability.

White lightning crackles to life around him, casting an unforgiving glow across the clearing as it builds, swirling with lethal intent.

"White Lightning… Engage."

He extends his arm, allowing the white lightnings to shoot into their bodies.

"BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!! BAM!!"

Flashing strokes of electricity fell, charring the bodies with a merciless ferocity the flames scorched everything-flesh and bone-and scorched until everything began to dissolve under the merciless attack.

The scorched ground blackened as the lightnings arced through, leaving nothing but scattered ashes that blew in the wind.

Still, he watched silently until even a speck was no longer visible.

"That will do it," 

He mutters, but a feeling of disquiet remains in his chest.

This won't be the last time he has to do this.

He gave one last look at the smoldering earth as he turned and walked away his feet were in a regular, lulling rhythm, carrying him toward his secret house, his mind already honing, ready for the battles ahead.

The first step had been taken.

And there was no turning back now.

Akira stumbles through the door of his small, concealed home, feeling depleted and exhausted.

The weight of the day's events weighs heavily upon him, like some heavy blanket, the reverberations of his rage and new will swirl in his mind.

Collapsing onto the bed, he stares up at the ceiling as his breathing gradually stabilizes.

"I just… need to sleep."

"Forget about all of it, even if just for tonight."

Exhaustion sets heavier in his bones his eyes grow heavy.

Closing them, he lets the rare comfort of sleep take him, hoping his mind will not bother him for a few hours.

When he woke, the dawn light filters softly through the window.

He sits up and feels strange renewal wash over the memory of everything he has done. He goes out silently, with a determination etched in his face.

Day after day, he plunges into dungeons who are near Seoul and are possible to reserve in StarNet-again and again, deeper with each foray, harder with each fight.

The days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into months, as he whets himself against every monster coming his way, keeping his presence concealed from the world.