Point Of No Return

The underground parking lot reeked of blood, death, and something worse—betrayal.

Grido clenched his fists, forcing himself to remain composed. "What was the reason for this Akira?"For a moment, Akira said nothing. Then, without looking up, he answered.

"A demonic human."

Grido's eyes narrowed. "What?"

Akira exhaled slowly, the weight of his words pressing down on him. "There was a traitor among the team. One of your own guild members. A demonic human… hiding in plain sight."A sharp, cold silence followed.

Grido's breath hitched. The guild members around him flinched.

"That's not possible," Grido muttered, but even as he said it, he knew—Akira wouldn't lie about something like this.

Shock flashed across Grido's face. His hands clenched into fists.

"That's not possible," he muttered. "All Eighth Stars present here have been part of the guild for years"

"Then tell me, Grido where is the Eighth person right now? - Akira said

"Olian" - Grido muttered.

Grido's stomach twisted , only seven people were present in the underground parking exluding Akira. He looked at Sylara's still body, his jaw tightening. "She sacrificed herself," Akira continued, voice devoid of emotion. "To protect me."

Grido gritted his teeth. His body shook with barely controlled fury. "We should've been here sooner."

Grido closed his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to focus. "Monsters got on our way.We had to fight our way through just to get here."Grido clenched his jaw. "The bastard is still in there?"

Akira nodded.

A long silence stretched between them. The weight of it, suffocating.Silence fell over the guild members.Their failure pressed down on them.

Grido turned to Akira. "You fought him?"

Akira's grip on his side tightened. "I did."

"And?"

Akira let out a slow breath. "I wasn't strong enough."

Those words, simple yet laced with so much venom, sent a shiver down Grido's spine.A sudden wave of emotions crashed over the guild members—anger, grief, guilt.

They had failed. They had lost their guildmaster. And worse—They had let a monster fester among them without even realizing it.The stars stood tall. Wiping their tears. Clenching their fists. Burying their pain.

Then Grido took command once more, his voice steady, but his eyes burning with vengeance. "Two of you—take Guildmaster Sylara's body somewhere safe. The rest of us… We still have a dungeon to clear."

"If we don't finish this, countless people will die."

His words struck deep. The Stars who had been paralyzed by grief now tightened their grips on their weapons.

They would not let her sacrifice be in vain.

Grido turned to Guan, the healer.

"Heal Akira. Now."

Guan's guilt was still fresh—his hands shook as he stepped forward.

"Y-Yes, sir."

He placed his hands on Akira's blood-soaked back, pouring all his mana into healing magic. A soft green glow wrapped around Akira's body, knitting the flesh together, sealing torn veins.

The blood loss stopped.

But the wound did not close still—he did not move.

Guan's expression tightened.

"The bleeding has stopped… but his wound won't close."

Akira had pushed himself too far. From the raid in the morning and the assault at the lake, to the monsters from the dungeon outbreak, and now this—he had not stopped.

Grido's gaze hardened.

His mind? A mess of pain, loss, and fury.

Could he really tell him to go inside the dungeon like this?

No. It would be madness.

They now had two problems.

One: The dungeon was still active. And with the level of hunters he had left, going inside now was suicide.

Two: The bastard who killed Sylara was still in there.

And Grido didn't give a damn if it cost him everything—

That thing was going to die.

Backups were coming. They just had to hold out until then.

But Akira…

Grido stepped forward, his voice steady but firm.

"Take a rest today, Akira."

Akira stood there, his black hooded coat torn, slashed, barely clinging to his form. His Pantho Sword—his weapon—lay shattered on the cracked concrete, the once-proud blade now just another piece of broken steel.

Yet, none of that mattered.

His void-dark eyes locked onto Sylara's lifeless body.The two guild members struggled to lift her with care, their hands trembling.And then—Akira spoke.

"Thank you."

A single word.

The guild members froze.

"Thank you for saving me."

His voice wasn't loud. It wasn't filled with anger or sorrow. It was bare—a whisper that carried more weight than a scream ever could.

"Thank you for keeping my secret."

His fingers twitched. His arms, once numb, clenched into shaking fists.

"Thank you for the hope you gave me."

His words hit like daggers to every single guild member present.Some turned away, unable to look at him.Some bit their lips so hard they bled.And some simply wept, silently.

"Thank you for everything, Guildmaster Sylara." The name, spoken with such sincerity, shattered whatever composure the guild had left. Even Grido, the ever-steady, ever-unshakable, clenched his jaw so tightly his teeth might break.

Then—He lifted his head.

And what he said next—froze the blood in everyone's veins.

"But…" His voice dropped, low and unreadable.Something shifted—a whisper of something dark, something unstoppable.

"I will make all of them pay."

"The air around him twisted, as if the world itself recoiled from his fury."

"Starting right now…" His eyes burned with something inhuman.And then, finally—Akira's dark eyes turned to the dungeon entrance.

"…With the one who went inside."

Every guild member stood frozen. "What…?" Grido's voice barely escaped his lips, his mind struggling to process Akira's words.

Akira's body swayed slightly, the wound in his chest still raw, the torn remnants of his black hooded coat barely clinging to his frame. Blood stained his hands, his boots, the very ground beneath him. And yet—he took a step forward.

Toward the dungeon.

Grido's words came out sharp, his hand trembling slightly as he stepped forward, desperate to stop Akira. "Are you serious? You're barely standing, and you're trying to enter that dungeon?" His stance shifted slightly—prepared for what, even he didn't know.

"Don't make me laugh," Grido continued, his voice rough, pained. "You couldn't win with Guildmaster Sylara by your side. What the hell do you think you'll do now?"

Anna, standing beside him, took a step forward, her face twisted in sorrow and urgency. "Akira, please. Rest. We will handle this somehow. We've reported everything to the other guilds, and Terra is already moving. Don't throw yourself into a fight when it's not the time."

Her words were pleading, sincere.

But the boy did not care.

He moved forward, another step toward the dungeon.

Grido's patience snapped. "I know you're stronger than me now. But you're in no condition to fight, and I outnumber you. If you try to enter that dungeon—"

His tone darkened, his intent clear. "—I will stop you."

A warning.

The STARS stood behind Grido, their eyes wavering, their bodies tense.

Akira stood still for a moment. A moment that stretched into eternity.Then, he spoke.

And the world held its breath.

The boy stood there, silent. For a moment, it looked as if he was considering Grido's words. Then, he finally spoke, his voice low and steady., "I know, Grido. I know my actions right now must seem childish… ridiculous even."

A pause.

Grido exhaled, relieved. "At least you know—so back down."

But Akira's next words struck like a dagger to the chest. "But I am a child."

Silence.

Everyone's breath caught in their throats.

"A damn useless child."

The rawness in his voice, the naked self-hatred—it hit them harder than any blow could.

"You know something, Grido?" His dark, void-like eyes lifted to meet Grido's. "I've lost people before. I've watched them die right in front of me."

"But I've never lost them like this. I've never had someone sacrifice themselves for me. Never had someone die in my arms—just so I could live."

A sharp inhale rippled through the gathered STARS. No one could look away. No one interrupted.

Anna covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.

Guan, the healer, dropped his gaze, unable to bear looking at him.

Grido swallowed hard. He clenched his fists so tight his nails dug into his palms, but he didn't say a word.

"I blamed myself before because I was weak. I didn't have the strength to stop those who harmed my family before my very eyes."

Grido's breath hitched.

He wasn't just talking about Sylara anymore. He was talking about his past.His father. His mother. Everything that had been ripped away from him.

Akira's voice wavered, but only for a moment. Then, his fingers curled into a fist so tight his nails dug into his palms, blood trickling down his wrist.

"But now I have strength. I have it. I finally have it. I fought, I clawed my way up, and still… someone died to protect me."

Then, Akira's voice changed.

From sorrow.

To fury.

His voice rose—"Do you get it?"

A heavy silence.

"Do you get it!?"

His rage was an inferno, his grief a tsunami, crashing down on everyone in the room.

"ALL OF THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE I TRIED TO KEEP A COOL HEAD!"

The walls trembled. The lights flickered.

"I HELD BACK MY RAGE, MY FURY—JUST THIS ONCE! I THOUGHT I COULD BE CALM, I THOUGHT I COULD THINK CLEARLY INSTEAD OF BLINDLY RUSHING FORWARD LIKE ALWAYS! AND LOOK WHERE IT BROUGHT ME!"

His breath was ragged, his chest rising and falling rapidly as if the sheer weight of his emotions threatened to crush him.

"If I had just given in to my rage—if I had unleashed everything—I could have ended him before he even laid eyes on Sylara. Or maybe… maybe he would have killed me first and spared her instead. Who knows?"

His body swayed slightly. His breaths grew heavier, his fingers trembling. Then, in a hoarse whisper, he spoke the truth that had been devouring him from the inside out.

"If I hadn't taken the bait—if I hadn't hesitated using this damn skill—Sylara might still be alive."

Silence.

Not a single person in that room could speak. Because they all felt it. The depth of his pain. The unbearable weight of his guilt.

Grido could only stare, his lips parting slightly, but no words came out.

Then Akira straightened his back, his gaze colder than ever before.A new resolve settled within him.

He had changed.

Once again.

Just like that day—the day his family was taken from him—something within him had shattered beyond repair. The boy who once smiled so brightly, the boy who shone like the sun, had long since died.

And yet, even after all this time, even after all the rage, all the hate, he had still been too kind.

Too kind for his own good.

Too kind to let himself truly become the monster he needed to be.

Everything he had done—it was to avenge them. Every life he had taken, every ounce of blood spilled, every battle fought—It was never to satisfy his own rage. It was never just for revenge.

It was because they had been taken from him.

And now… Sylara had been taken too.

Now Sylara had died purely because of him.

Because of his actions.

The mistake would not be made again.

"Letting my rage subside was a mistake. A mistake I will never allow again."

The boy, since he started this dark journey, had put a line he never would cross: hurting innocent people in the process. But if he truly needed to become a monster purely fueled by fury and rage, such a line shouldn't exist anymore. And today, he erased such line.

The very air thickened.

Mana pulsed. The lights above flickered once more before dimming, as if the very presence of his anger was swallowing all.

Then—Akira turned his head slightly, looking at Grido from the corner of his dark, lifeless eyes.

"So shut up—"

The room seemed to shrink, a suffocating force pressing down on every STAR present.

"If you don't want to die."

It wasn't a threat.

It was a fact.

And at that moment—Grido understood.

Akira was no longer the boy he thought he was.He had stepped beyond the point of no return.

And just like that day—the day he lost everything—the boy changed once more.