The mission from the guild was clear: exterminate the beasts causing havoc in the outer zones. It felt like a typical request, the kind Kazuki and his party could handle in their sleep. Yet for Kazuki, nothing had felt normal since his return.

  The group—Kazuki, Garron, Elara, Drake, and Rinara—stood at the edge of a clearing. They had already taken down several monsters, and the ground was littered with fading remnants of magic and blood. Rinara and Elara unleashed a barrage of magical projectiles, fire and lightning spiraling into the trees. Garron and Drake slashed through beasts that lunged from the shadows. Kazuki, his movements faster and more refined than ever before, calmly dispatched enemies with minimal effort.

  But even as he fought, his mind drifted. The seal… the one that had trapped him for what felt like an eternity. He still remembered its structure, its layered glyphs, and most of all—its familiarity.

  Dimensional Forecast.

  That was his own spell. A sealing-type incantation meant to trap enemies in a personalized dimension. But the seal that imprisoned him… it was far more advanced. Complex. Refined in a way even he couldn’t fully understand. He hadn't wanted to admit it, but the conclusion was slowly forming in his mind.

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  Someone out there was stronger than him.

  And that realization haunted him.

  Back in the clearing, the last beast roared before being cleaved by Kazuki’s enhanced dark blade. He stood silently over its corpse, still deep in thought. Elara came to his side, wiping her brow. “You alright?”

  He nodded, giving her a small smile, but his mind remained far away.

  ---

  Elsewhere, in a dark alleyway far from civilization, Kairyuuha walked calmly through the shadows. A group of bandits, drunk on arrogance, surrounded the boy. They snickered, mocking his childlike form. One tried to grab him.

  He didn’t even move.

  Kairyuuha’s eyes flashed violet. In an instant, all of the men collapsed, unconscious—struck down by the sheer pressure of his glare. “Useless,” he muttered, stepping on one of them as he made his way forward.

  The bandits’ camp was chaotic and messy. He ignored the scattered supplies and searched with purpose. After some time, he reached a makeshift treasury. There, buried beneath stolen goods, it waited.

  A black gem, etched with ancient runes.

  He picked it up slowly. “Found one,” he whispered.

  Crushing the gem in his palm, a dark shadow slithered out, condensing into a monstrous demon with glowing red eyes and horns. The moment it saw Kairyuuha, it fell to its knees.

  “Lord… you’ve returned.”

  Kairyuuha smiled coldly. “We’re not done yet. Not until they all fall.”

  His eyes glowed as his plan continued to unfold.