The Gathering Storm

As the last hunter kneeled, an eerie silence blanketed the battlefield. The air was thick with tension, the scent of fear lingering like a ghost. Katsumi stood at the center, his violet eyes surveying the broken warriors before him. They had resisted, fought with all they had—and yet, they had learned the truth. He was beyond them.

The city's towering skyline loomed in the distance, yet it felt smaller now. Everything did. Katsumi had spent years dreaming of proving himself to those who had abandoned him, but now? Their recognition meant nothing. His destiny stretched far beyond these streets. Something greater awaited.

A sudden pulse in the air made Katsumi's eyes narrow. He turned his head slightly, sensing it—an ominous energy lingering at the city's edge. Someone was watching. No, not just someone. Something. A force that felt… familiar, yet foreign. A true threat.

"We have company," he muttered. His shadow knights, who had remained still until now, raised their heads in unison. Their glowing violet eyes flickered as they prepared for orders. They sensed it, too. A battle was coming.

Then, from the depths of the city, a piercing roar shattered the sky. The ground trembled beneath them as a dark figure emerged from the mist, towering above the buildings. Its eyes burned with malice, its body wrapped in an aura of swirling destruction. It wasn't a mere beast. It was a Nightmare-Class Entity—one of the calamities Katsumi had once read about but never thought he'd face.

Gasps erupted from the remaining hunters. Even the guild leaders, who had once stood defiant against Katsumi, turned pale. A monster of this scale shouldn't exist here. And yet, it did. Someone had sent it. A challenge. A message.

Katsumi let out a slow breath, his expression unreadable. Then, a smirk crept onto his lips. "Finally, something worth my time." The abyss around him pulsed in response, eager for battle. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his katana as he took a single step forward. The entity roared again, shaking the very fabric of reality.

Without hesitation, Katsumi vanished in a blur of shadows, reappearing midair in front of the creature's massive face. He locked eyes with it, unshaken. "Kneel." His voice, laced with abyssal authority, sent waves of pressure through the beast's body.

The monster flinched but resisted, its will strong. Katsumi sighed. "Fine." In an instant, he raised his blade, and the shadows around him erupted. The city's sky turned black as his power surged forth, wrapping around his body like living armor. The moment his sword came down, reality itself seemed to split apart.

The battle had begun, and for the first time since returning, Katsumi felt excitement. He had spent too long suppressing his strength. Now, the world would see what it truly meant to challenge the Shadow Sovereign.