Ch 35 : Devouring The Abyss

The dungeon shook.

Renji stood before the colossal black maw, its writhing mass of tendrils and shifting faces an abomination of existence itself. Eyes formed and disappeared across its body, mouths whispering in voices that should not exist in this world.

Shirogane cursed beside him. "This thing… isn't normal."

Renji didn't reply.

He could feel it.

This was not just a dungeon monster. This thing was connected to something far older, something that pulsed with a power beyond his understanding.

And it was hungry.

The creature's many mouths opened.

Then it screamed.

A wave of pure abyssal force blasted outward, shattering the cavern walls. The force slammed into Renji, his body twisting through the air. His muscles burned, his bones strained—the sheer pressure trying to crush him into nothingness.

But he endured.

Because he was hungry too.

---

Renji's new abilities, absorbed from the Devourer's Spawn, pulsed within him. The shadows at his feet writhed, responding to his will.

Let's test this out.

The creature lunged.

Renji's shadow surged—tendrils of darkness snapping upward like spears, piercing the air before the monster even moved.

The creature shrieked as the shadow spears impaled its form, its flesh writhing as it tried to regenerate.

Renji grinned. "So I was right. My power isn't just physical anymore."

The creature recoiled, its mass shifting rapidly—adapting, changing. Its core instincts were reacting to him.

Shirogane's voice cut through the chaos. "What the hell are you waiting for?! Kill it before it mutates again!"

Renji's eyes glowed with golden-black light. "Gladly."

The monster lunged again.

Renji met it head-on.

His claws flashed, slashing into the abyssal flesh. His body moved faster than ever before, his shadow tendrils striking like a second set of limbs.

For every wound he inflicted, the creature twisted, splitting apart and reforming, but Renji kept up.

He was no longer just fighting with his physical body—he was becoming the darkness itself.

The entity within him whispered.

"You are learning. Good. But you must go further."

Renji's vision blurred.

For a moment, he saw something beyond reality—a glimpse of what lay at the heart of this dungeon.

And he knew.

This thing wasn't just a beast.

It was a gatekeeper.

A seal.

A lock meant to keep something far worse from escaping.

But he didn't care.

Right now, it was just prey.

And he was done playing.

---

Renji rushed forward, dodging a wave of abyssal tendrils. The air crackled as his shadow-infused claws sliced through the monster's body, carving deep wounds that bled pure darkness.

The creature let out a soundless scream.

But Renji did not stop.

The ancient entity inside him whispered, "You are ready."

Renji's veins burned.

His body shifted, adapting to the hunger inside him.

Then—he bit down.

His fangs sank into the creature's core, and the absorption began.

A tidal wave of knowledge hit him.

He saw visions—memories of the abyss, fragments of something older than dungeons themselves.

A war. A prison. A darkness that even the gods feared.

Renji's mind strained, but he forced himself to consume more.

Power flooded his veins.

The creature thrashed, its entire form collapsing into Renji's shadow—its essence merging into him, becoming part of his evolution.

And then—silence.

---

Renji exhaled.

His body felt different.

The abyssal energy still burned within him, but it was no longer foreign.

It was his now.

Shirogane watched from a distance, his blade still raised. "…Did you just absorb that entire thing?"

Renji didn't answer immediately. He flexed his fingers, and his shadow flickered unnaturally—tendrils shifting, forming new shapes before returning to normal.

Then he grinned. "Looks like I did."

Shirogane exhaled. "You're a monster."

Renji chuckled. "Not yet. But I'm getting there."

But deep inside, he knew.

This wasn't just a new ability.

This was a new stage of evolution.

And he wasn't sure if he could turn back anymore.

---

As Renji turned away from the battlefield, the dungeon shifted.

The walls shuddered, the abyssal energy reacting to him.

Then—a whisper.

Not from the ancient entity within him.

This was different.

This was the dungeon itself.

"He has awakened."

Renji froze.

Shirogane glanced at him. "What? What's wrong?"

Renji didn't respond.

Because deep in his core, he knew—

He wasn't alone anymore.

Something else had just noticed his existence.

And it was watching.

---

The underground city was not the same when Renji and Shirogane emerged.

The air was charged, as if something massive had just shifted in the world.

Jinno was waiting for them, his expression unreadable.

"What did you do?" he asked, voice dangerously low.

Renji exhaled. "I evolved."

Jinno's eyes narrowed. "No. This is more than that. Something in the balance just changed."

Renji didn't deny it.

Because he could feel it too.

The world was reacting to his presence now.

And the Organization?

They would come for him.

Because he was no longer just an infected survivor.

He was something else entirely.

And they wouldn't stop until they erased him.

Renji smirked. "Let them come."

Because he was ready.

Ready to hunt.

---

The moment Renji and Shirogane stepped out of the underground dungeon, the air felt different.

The neon lights of the ruined city flickered in uneven pulses, the buildings casting long, unnatural shadows. The energy in the atmosphere was charged, unstable—as if the world itself was shifting in response to what had just happened below.

Jinno's eyes narrowed as he approached them.

"Tell me exactly what you did down there," he demanded.

Renji exhaled, still feeling the lingering presence of the abyssal energy coursing through his veins. "I absorbed it."

Jinno's expression darkened. "You absorbed an abyssal creature? That wasn't just some dungeon spawn, was it?"

Shirogane scoffed. "Of course not. That thing wasn't a normal monster. It was part of something much bigger. And Renji just swallowed it whole."

Jinno didn't seem impressed. His jaw tightened. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Renji met his glare, unfazed. "I survived."

Jinno didn't break eye contact. "You did more than that. Something just shifted in the dungeon system. We all felt it. The balance was disrupted."

Renji knew what he meant.

Even now, the whispering presence in his mind—the dungeon itself—felt more aware of him than before.

It had noticed him.

And now?

So would everything else.

---

Miles away, in the heart of the Organization's main headquarters, a siren blared.

Dr. Yura Kaede stood in front of a massive holographic display, watching as energy readings from the underground city spiked to unprecedented levels.

"What the hell is this?" a technician muttered, his hands trembling over the console.

Commander Seijuro Hoshinomiya stepped forward, his sharp eyes locking onto the data stream. "Something has awakened."

Yura's lips curled into a grin. "Correction—someone has evolved."

She tapped the display, isolating the energy signature. It was unmistakable.

Renji Kuroya.

Seijuro's expression remained unreadable. "He's becoming a bigger problem."

Yura chuckled. "Oh, he's much more than a problem now."

She turned, excitement gleaming in her eyes.

"He's the perfect specimen."

Seijuro ignored her enthusiasm. His focus was elsewhere.

"Mobilize the Valkyrie Squad."

The room fell silent.

The Valkyries. The Organization's elite task force, sent only when absolute elimination was required.

One of the operatives, a woman with jet-black hair and piercing golden eyes, stepped forward.

"Objective?" she asked coldly.

Seijuro's voice was like ice.

"Hunt down Renji Kuroya. Dead or alive."

---

Renji didn't need to be told that something was wrong.

He felt it.

The moment they stepped into the open streets, his instincts flared like wildfire. The air shifted—the kind of unnatural stillness that only meant one thing.

Predators were nearby.

"We're being watched," he muttered.

Jinno's grip on his weapon tightened. "Organization?"

"Who else?"

Before they could move, a voice echoed from the rooftops.

"Renji Kuroya."

They all turned sharply.

A figure stood atop a collapsed skyscraper, illuminated by the flickering city lights.

A woman dressed in pure black armor, her golden eyes glowing in the dark.

She stepped forward, her presence radiating sheer dominance. "You're coming with us."

Renji exhaled. "Not interested."

The woman sighed. "Then you die here."

In an instant—she moved.

Faster than Renji had ever seen.

A black blur, cutting through the night.

But Renji was ready.

---

The woman's blade sliced through the air, aimed straight for Renji's neck.

But the moment it made contact—

A wall of shadows erupted between them.

The force sent both of them skidding backward.

Renji's eyes burned golden-black, his newfound abyssal power reacting instinctively.

The woman landed gracefully, barely fazed. She studied him, her golden eyes analyzing every movement.

"You've evolved further than expected."

Renji cracked his neck. "And you still think you can take me?"

She smiled faintly. "I don't think. I know."

Then she attacked again.

This time, Renji didn't hold back.

Their clash shook the streets, sending shockwaves through the ruined cityscape.

She was fast—faster than any enemy he'd faced before. Her blade moved like a whisper of death, every strike aiming to sever something vital.

But Renji wasn't the same as before.

He didn't just react.

He adapted.

His shadow-infused claws met her blade head-on, deflecting her attacks with newfound precision. His movements blurred, his instincts pushing him to new heights.

For the first time in a while—

Renji was enjoying himself.

---

The battle raged on, but something felt wrong.

Even as he fought the woman, Renji could sense something else nearby.

A presence.

Something hidden.

Then—his instincts screamed.

He barely dodged as a second attacker struck from the darkness.

A massive figure, cloaked in energy, wielding a warhammer the size of a car.

The ground shattered where Renji had been standing.

"Tch. More of you?"

Jinno and Shirogane moved in instantly, engaging the new enemy.

The woman didn't give Renji time to breathe. She pressed the attack, her movements becoming even sharper, more lethal.

Renji grinned. "Alright then. Let's make this fun."

Renji's shadow tendrils lashed out, forming jagged weapons in mid-air. He met the woman's blade with his own abyssal constructs, the two forces clashing in a whirlwind of destruction.

He could feel it—

His power was still evolving.

Each second of combat, each exchange—his body learned.

Adapted.

He was becoming something more.

And the more he fought, the more he realized—

He didn't just want to survive.

He wanted to win.

The abyss whispered in his mind.

"Devour them."

And for the first time—

Renji considered listening.

---

The woman lunged.

Renji met her mid-air.

For a split second—time slowed.

Their eyes met.

Then—

A blast of abyssal energy erupted between them.

The sheer force sent shockwaves through the city, buildings collapsing under the pressure.

When the dust settled—

Renji stood tall.

His body unscathed.

The woman staggered, blood dripping from her lips.

She stared at him in shock. "What… are you?"

Renji flexed his claws, abyssal energy coiling around him like living shadows.

His grin was sharper than ever. "Something you can't kill."

The battle wasn't over.

But the tides had turned.

And now—

Renji was the one hunting them.