Travel

Night

Ren fluttered his eyes open and immediately became conscious. He slowly raised his body, letting out a small yawn before stretching out his body — an old habit he still did even though, with his current physique, it was no longer necessary.

Rubbing his eyes, he stood up from the bed, walked to the window, and peeked outside. Before him was a dark yet beautiful night sky, adorned by a perfect full moon and stars twinkling brightly.

"It's beautiful... I never seen this view before back in the world," he sighed in amazement. The sky in the world of Frieren was truly clear, completely free from pollution, allowing the full beauty of space to be seen at night.

After being satisfied with gazing at the sky, Ren decided to leave his room. He made a sudden change in his plan — traveling now instead of waiting for tomorrow.

I'm extremely strong, so who could possibly endanger me now, even at night?

That thought crossed his mind. It might sound arrogant to others, but for Ren, who now possessed overwhelming power, it was a truth that couldn't be denied.

Who could kill someone with SCP-628's adaptive power? Not even the Demon King nor Serie could do it!

As Ren walked through the town, his eyes observed his surroundings. The streets were completely silent, with only the sound of crickets echoing everywhere. There were no buildings, shops, or establishments still open at this hour. It was a stark contrast to the cities back on Earth.

"So quiet and dark… very different from Earth's cities that are always alive and bustling at any time," Ren commented while glancing around.

"Perhaps this is the great impact of electric lights in the modern world. Their invention made the night come alive there," he added, now realizing how great of an impact technology had on humanity.

Soon, he arrived outside the town. Trees filled his view, and as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but forest ahead.

Without fear, he calmly walked into the forest, wandering through the dense woods filled with various trees and plants at a leisurely pace.

He kept walking, and time passed by—five hours went by, yet during all that time, there were no threats or attacks directed at him. It was as if the forest was completely safe, free from monsters or demons.

Suddenly, Ren paused. His sharp instincts and keen senses picked up a distant killing intent. Realizing that a monster or perhaps a demon was preparing to attack him made an eager smile appear on his face.

"Come on… come on, attack me now… Are you starving for my flesh?" Ren softly muttered as he kept walking forward, pretending to be oblivious to the danger lurking in the distance.

Ren kept waiting, and finally, his attacker grew impatient and decided to strike.

Suddenly, a black shadow flashed swiftly past him. Its speed was impressive, but still far too slow to overwhelm Ren's reflexes. Calmly, Ren ducked and dodged the sudden attack with ease.

"Impatient, huh? But too bad, your sneak attack just now failed to kill me~," Ren said with amusement, turning to face the entity that had just tried to ambush him.

But to his surprise, his eyes widened at the sight before him. Pitch black from head to toe, the creature moved on four legs like a beast. Its limbs were sharp and blade-like, and it had no head whatsoever—a truly terrifying monster, one of the most disturbing sights Ren had ever seen in person.

The bizarre monster remained completely silent, making no sounds or movements beyond what was necessary. Perhaps if it had attacked any ordinary person, they would've died instantly from its surprise assault. Of course, that didn't apply to experienced warriors or mages who could easily detect killing intent.

"You're interesting. A pitch-black body… Are you a real entity or some kind of shadow being?" Ren casually speculated. To his surprise, this provoked an even more intense assault from the creature.

Seeing the monster's reaction, the corner of Ren's mouth lifted into a grin. While dodging, he said, "Looks like my guess was correct. But I didn't expect a monster like you to be intelligent enough to understand human language." He was genuinely surprised that the first monster he encountered was unlike any typical beast.

But it didn't matter. Whether monster or demon, unique or not, everything would ultimately perish before his power.

"Is that all you've got? I'm already bored, you know!" Ren said with clear annoyance, which only enraged the monster further, causing its attacks to become even faster and more vicious.

Yet, as always, it was all in vain. Attack after attack was effortlessly dodged by Ren. In fact, he deliberately allowed the monster's strikes to almost graze him before dodging at the last moment, making it believe it was close to landing a hit.

Growing tired of the game, Ren spoke seriously, "If that's all you have, then I'll end this boring little game now." At that moment, the monster began trembling, feeling the overwhelming pressure that suddenly radiated from Ren.

The creature was utterly confused and bewildered—how could this seemingly ordinary human suddenly turn into a terrifying predator capable of easily killing it?

It didn't understand, but it knew one thing: it had to flee!

"Running away? Sorry, but I can't let a monster like you escape and roam freely in this forest. The poor humans who pass through here would become your next victims," Ren said coldly.

He continued, "Besides, you already attacked and tried to kill me. Why would I ever spare you?" With a wicked grin, he raised his index finger and pointed toward the fleeing monster.

Ren opened his mouth. "Die."

A purple laser filled with destructive energy shot from his fingertip at the speed of light. In less than a second, the beam struck the creature and erased it from existence.

"Phew," Ren blew lightly on his finger like it was the barrel of a pistol. He then calmly resumed his journey, unaware that his brief battle had been witnessed by other monsters in the forest, causing them all to retreat and abandon any thoughts of attacking him.