Ch 36 : Unleashing The Abyss

The ruined city stood in eerie silence, broken only by the crackling of dying streetlights and the distant rumble of collapsing buildings. The Valkyrie Squad had come prepared for an execution. What they got instead was a war.

Renji stood tall in the center of the destruction, abyssal energy writhing around him like a living storm. His golden-black eyes burned with an unnatural glow, his instincts honed to the razor's edge. Across from him, the black-armored Valkyrie—codename Astra—wiped the blood from her lips. Her golden eyes flickered with something close to excitement.

"You're something else," Astra admitted. "No wonder they sent us after you."

Renji flexed his fingers, feeling the abyss pulsing beneath his skin. The ancient presence within him whispered in his mind, urging him to continue, to consume. He pushed it back—barely.

"Last chance," Renji said. "Walk away, and I won't have to break you."

Astra smirked. "I'd say the same to you."

Then she vanished.

Fast.

Renji's body moved before his mind caught up. He dodged just as Astra reappeared beside him, her blade slicing through the air like a streak of lightning. He barely avoided a clean decapitation, shadows erupting from his body to counter her movements.

She spun mid-air, kicking off the remnants of a collapsed building. Before she landed, the second Valkyrie—Odin—charged forward, his massive warhammer crackling with kinetic energy.

Renji's instincts flared.

He twisted to the side, avoiding the hammer's devastating impact, but the shockwave sent him skidding backward. The ground where he had just stood was now a crater.

Jinno and Shirogane weren't idle.

Jinno met Odin's next swing with his reinforced katana, the sheer force sending sparks flying. Meanwhile, Shirogane unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp wind slashes at Astra, forcing her to keep her distance.

This wasn't a battle.

This was a hunt.

And Renji was done playing the prey.

---

Renji inhaled deeply.

He had held back long enough.

The abyss surged, responding to his call. Shadows bled from his form, expanding outward like living tendrils. His muscles tightened, his body growing more refined, more monstrous.

Astra's gaze sharpened. "There it is."

She launched forward again, her speed doubling.

But this time—

Renji was faster.

He moved with terrifying precision, closing the distance in an instant. Astra barely had time to register his approach before his fist crashed into her midsection.

Boom!

She was sent flying, crashing through a series of ruined structures before finally stopping in a heap of rubble.

Odin roared, swinging his warhammer in a downward arc. Renji didn't even flinch. Shadows coiled around his arm, hardening into a jagged black blade that met Odin's hammer head-on.

The impact shattered the ground beneath them.

Odin's eyes widened.

Renji grinned. "Not so tough, huh?"

Odin attempted to pull back, but Renji wouldn't allow it. His shadows lashed out, wrapping around Odin's weapon and yanking him forward.

Renji's knee met Odin's ribs with enough force to crack the thick armor. The larger man staggered, coughing violently.

Jinno seized the opportunity, his blade flashing in a streak of light.

Blood sprayed as a deep gash opened across Odin's shoulder.

Renji didn't stop.

Astra reappeared behind him, aiming for a finishing blow—

But Renji felt her before she even moved.

His abyssal instincts screamed.

Before Astra could land her strike, Renji twisted, grabbing her wrist mid-swing.

She gasped.

Then Renji crushed it.

The sickening snap of bone echoed through the battlefield.

Astra gritted her teeth but didn't scream. Instead, she smiled.

"Now this," she muttered, "is getting fun."

Renji barely had time to react before Astra twisted her broken wrist unnaturally, her free hand slamming into his chest.

A burst of golden energy exploded from her palm, sending Renji flying backward.

He crashed through a derelict building, his body embedding into the concrete wall.

He exhaled.

That hurt.

Renji's fingers twitched.

The abyss stirred.

It wants to be fed.

He could feel its hunger gnawing at his mind, urging him to devour Astra, Odin, all of them.

For a moment—he considered it.

But then—he shook his head.

No.

Not yet.

He forced the abyss back under his control. He wasn't going to lose himself. Not here.

Not now.

He stepped forward, rolling his shoulders.

Astra was already recovering, her broken wrist slowly realigning. Regeneration.

Odin was stabilizing, his warhammer glowing with renewed energy.

Renji grinned. "Alright. You want round two?"

Astra smirked, readying her blade. "You read my mind."

Then—

Something shifted.

The air crackled.

The ground rumbled.

A deep, guttural roar shook the ruined cityscape.

Everyone froze.

Even Astra and Odin.

Jinno's eyes widened. "What the hell was that?"

Shirogane tensed. "That wasn't from them."

Renji's abyssal instincts flared with warning.

Then—he felt it.

A presence.

Something massive.

Something ancient.

Something wrong.

The shadows around Renji shivered.

Whatever was coming—

It wasn't human.

---

The battlefield trembled.

Then—

A building in the distance exploded.

A hulking monstrosity emerged from the rubble, its body composed of shifting, chaotic flesh and stone.

Its glowing red eyes locked onto them.

The air grew thick with killing intent.

Astra cursed. "Shit."

Odin exhaled slowly. "This is bad."

Jinno clenched his jaw. "That's not just a dungeon beast."

Renji agreed.

This thing wasn't a normal monster.

It was something older.

Something from the abyss itself.

The entity let out another roar, its body twisting unnaturally as it charged forward, the ground shattering beneath its massive form.

Odin was the first to move. He swung his warhammer with all his might—

But the creature caught it mid-swing.

Odin's eyes widened. "Impossible—"

The monster's massive fist slammed into Odin's torso.

Boom!

Odin was sent flying like a ragdoll, crashing through three buildings before disappearing from sight.

Astra clicked her tongue. "We need to regroup."

Renji ignored her.

His eyes were locked onto the beast.

Something inside him recognized it.

The abyss whispered.

"Devour it."

Renji's grin returned.

"Looks like I've got a new meal."

Then, without hesitation—

He charged.

---

The monster swiped its massive claws, aiming to cleave Renji in two.

Renji dodged, his movements fluid, almost unnatural.

He leapt, abyssal energy condensing into a blade of pure void.

With a single swing—

He carved a deep gash into the monster's side.

The creature howled, stumbling backward.

Renji landed, already preparing his next move.

Astra watched him, eyes narrowing.

"He's… adapting."

Jinno was stunned. "No. He's evolving."

Shirogane chuckled. "Now this? This is interesting."

Renji didn't care what they thought.

He could feel it.

The abyss wanted him to kill.

To consume.

And for the first time—

He wasn't sure if he wanted to resist.

The creature roared again, lunging forward—

Renji grinned.

"Come on, then."

The real battle was just beginning.

---

The ruined city trembled beneath the weight of the two monstrosities poised to battle. One, an ancient, towering abomination—a chaotic fusion of stone, flesh, and abyssal energy. The other, a man no longer human, his body pulsating with the power of the abyss, golden-black eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.

Renji felt the abyss within him stir. It recognized this creature.

"One of the first."

The whisper slithered through his mind, colder than ever.

The monster roared, the sound a guttural mixture of rage and agony, shaking the air itself. It lunged, each step carving deep craters into the earth. Its massive claws, blackened and pulsing with dark energy, slashed forward in a devastating arc.

Renji didn't dodge.

Instead, he countered.

Abyssal energy erupted around his arm, condensing into a jagged obsidian blade. With a single swing, he met the beast's attack head-on.

BOOM!

The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the battlefield, dust and debris scattering like shattered glass. The sheer force should have thrown Renji back—but he stood his ground. His muscles strained, the abyss reinforcing his body, his bones no longer merely human.

This thing is powerful… but not invincible.

He pushed forward.

The shadows at his feet lengthened, stretching unnaturally, coiling like living serpents. Then they struck.

Black tendrils shot out, wrapping around the monster's limbs, tightening like iron chains. The creature bellowed in fury, struggling, its immense strength threatening to tear through the bindings—

But Renji wasn't done.

He surged forward, using his enhanced speed to slip beneath the monster's defenses. His blade sank deep into its side, piercing the unnatural fusion of flesh and stone.

A shriek.

A tremor.

And then—

The abyss screamed back.

A pulse of dark energy erupted from the wound, violently repelling Renji, sending him hurtling backward through the air.

He twisted mid-flight, slamming his foot into a crumbling building to stop himself, before landing in a crouch. His fingers twitched.

That energy…

It wasn't just abyssal.

It was corrupted.

---

"That's no ordinary dungeon spawn," Jinno muttered.

Shirogane, watching from a nearby rooftop, let out a slow whistle. "Yeah… that thing is beyond anything I've seen."

Astra clenched her jaw, assessing the monster. Even Odin, battered and kneeling in the rubble, looked disturbed.

Renji exhaled, his breath misting despite the heat in the air. His abyssal instincts churned, warning him.

This thing wasn't just a powerful monster.

It was an experiment.

A fusion of abyssal essence and something older—something primal.

Renji could see it now, faint seals engraved across the beast's flesh, glowing faintly as they flickered in and out of existence.

Seals meant to keep it contained.

But they were failing.

And he had just accelerated the process.

The creature let out a distorted roar, and its body began to change.

The stone plating along its back cracked open, revealing twisting tendrils of abyssal flesh. Its arms elongated, mutating, the claws sharpening into blades of black crystal.

Renji felt his abyss pulse in recognition.

It was evolving.

Then I'll evolve faster.

Renji's shadows flared, his own body responding to the threat. His muscles hardened, his senses sharpening beyond their limits. The abyss within him coiled tighter, whispering, urging—

Take more. Become more.

He surged forward.

The monster lunged at the same time, its blade-claws slashing through the air.

Renji dodged—barely.

A streak of black cut through his side, burning like acid. He ignored it. He twisted mid-air, abyssal energy condensing into another weapon—a massive, jagged lance.

He drove it straight into the monster's chest.

Abyss met abyss.

BOOOOM!

The explosion of dark energy was deafening.

The beast staggered, its body writhing as abyssal energy fought itself, unstable and volatile.

Renji didn't give it a chance to recover.

He ripped his weapon free, then plunged his hand directly into the wound.

The abyss inside him reacted instantly.

His vision swam—

And then he saw it.

----

A flood of memories—not his own.

Visions of a time long forgotten.

A labyrinthine prison, its walls stretching into eternity. Sealed creatures wailing in agony, their forms writhing, broken but unable to die.

The abyssal entity—the one within Renji—had created them.

Not as allies.

As failures.

This monster before him had once been a living being—long before the dungeons, long before humans. It had been corrupted, twisted beyond recognition, trapped in endless suffering.

It wasn't just a beast.

It was a remnant of something lost.

And now, after all this time, it wanted only one thing—

To end its torment.

Renji's breath hitched.

The abyss within him whispered, dark and cold.

"Take it. Absorb it. Make it yours."

He hesitated.

For the first time—he hesitated.

Because now he knew.

Absorbing this thing's essence wouldn't just make him stronger.

It would make him something else entirely.

---

The monster lashed out in agony, its body twisting violently. Renji barely avoided a wild strike, rolling backward onto his feet.

Astra, still battle-ready, noticed his pause.

"Renji!" she shouted. "What are you waiting for?"

Jinno, sword in hand, tensed. "Something's wrong."

Shirogane smirked. "He's deciding whether or not to go full monster."

Renji ignored them.

He looked at the writhing beast before him.

At the abyss surging within his own body.

His fingers clenched.

He had a choice.

He could consume this thing. Gain its knowledge, its power—but risk losing another piece of himself in the process.

Or he could end it. Without taking its essence.

One path led to greater strength.

The other… kept him human.

Which did he want more?

The monster let out one last, agonized roar—

And Renji decided.

---

He moved instantly.

But not to absorb.

Not to consume.

Instead—he destroyed.

His abyssal energy surged, not to claim the beast, but to eradicate its existence. His shadows coiled, blacker than night itself, condensing into a singular, devastating spear of oblivion.

Then, with a final step—

He drove it straight through the monster's core.

Abyssal Obliteration.

The creature's red eyes widened—

And then, for the first time, there was silence.

No roar.

No rage.

Just quiet.

The abyss swallowed the beast whole—erasing it completely.

No remains. No essence left to claim.

It was simply gone.

Renji exhaled, his abyss quiet for the first time in what felt like forever.

And for now—

He was still himself.

---

Astra lowered her weapon, studying Renji. "...You didn't absorb it."

Jinno sheathed his blade. "He could have."

Shirogane grinned. "But he didn't. Interesting."

Renji turned to them. His golden-black eyes glowed with a chilling finality.

"This battle is over," he said. "But next time, if you get in my way—"

His abyssal energy flared, sending an undeniable message.

He wouldn't hold back.

Astra smirked.

"Noted."