ASURA

The sun stood high at 3:00 PM as Kuro perched atop a weathered pillar, eyes fixed on the tattered note Mei-san had given him.

"So, this is the place," he murmured, shading his eyes with one hand as he scanned the surroundings. "If I’m right, the portal should be..."

His gaze locked onto a shimmering red portal pulsating nearby. Around a dozen shadow hunters had already gathered there.

"Got it," Kuro said quietly. "But it seems like some parties are already here."

The man stood on a wooden stage took a deep breath and raised his voice.

"Everyone, it’s my honor to have you join today’s expedition. As a Class B Rank 79—and the most experienced among us—I will lead this mission. I expect your cooperation."

Cheers erupted as the group chanted in unison, "Denji! Denji! Denji!"

Kuro smiled inwardly but remained observant.

"A B class, huh?" he mused, eyes narrowing at the crowd. "But what does rank even mean?" He noticed most were Class C, with two Class D's sprinkled in.

Curious, Kuro pulled out his phone and quickly searched online.

"Oh, so rank measures strength within each class," he said, pocketing his phone. "And It’s different for each guild... but honestly? It feels pretty useless."

After waiting for a few more moments, the hunters stepped into the portal and vanished.

"Now this is my chance!" Kuro thought, leaping down from his perch directly in front of the portal.

Just then a voice called out behind him.

"Excuse me!"

He turned to see a girl, panting heavily. She had short brown hair tied with a red ribbon and wore a school uniform—a brown sweater over a white shirt.

"I’m sorry I’m late," she said anxiously. "I missed the bus. Is the expedition still going on?"

Kuro shook his head calmly. "If you’re asking that, then you barely missed them. Sorry, but it’s too late now."

He turns and started to walk

"Wait!" she grabbed his hand collar.

"If that’s the case, then why are you going in? It’s illegal to enter a portal without permission from if you want to enter in alone or it requires a proper team," she insisted, her eyes wide with hope. "Or... did you also miss the team too?"

He glanced at her puppy eyes and sighed.

"I did, but I can’t take you in. That red portal is dangerous for a middle schooler."

"Huh? How do you know I’m in middle school? But don’t worry, I’m a Shadow Hunter." She hastily showed him a card.

Kuro leaned closer and read:

Name: Sakurako Ayami

School: Kirisawa Junior High School

Class: 1st Year Middle School

Age: 14

"What? How do you know all that?" she asked, embarrassed as she realized she’d shown her school ID instead of her Hunter ID.

Kuro muttered to himself, "So she’s from the same school as Akari... I should avoid getting too close."

He was about to tell her to turn back when he noticed tears welling in her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" he asked softly.

"If I don’t get anything from this expedition, I won’t be able to pay for my mom’s treatment..." she sobbed.

Scratching the back of his neck, Kuro said, "Alright, I trust you. Stay close and don’t leave my side, okay?"

Her face brightened and she nodded eagerly.

Together, they stepped into the red portal.

----

The portal opened into crumbling, ancient ruins. Immediately, Kuro spotted the body of a fallen Class D hunter, torn apart.

Sakurako recoiled in horror, eyes wide as she vomited.

"Are you alright?" Kuro asked, placing a water bottle near her.

"This is... disgusting," she whispered.

Kuro nodded. "First time seeing a body like this, huh? It’s awful at first, but you’ll get used to it."

He approached the corpse, crouching to observe its wounds and smell the air.

"It looks like they faced a B Class Brown Bear Shadow right after entering," Kuro said gravely. "And to think they were near the portal’s entrance."

He stood up.

"We should move quickly. If we don’t hurry, the shadow boss will be defeated and the portal will close," he warned.

Sakurako nodded, and they ventured deeper into the ruins.

---

As they walked, Kuro decided to break the ice.

"So, Sakurako-san?"

"You can call me Ayami," she replied quietly.

"Alright, Ayami-chan. What class are you?"

"My class...? It’s embarrassing, but I’m Class E," she chuckled nervously.

Kuro shook his head. "There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Being a Shadow Hunter is already rare—but if you’re Class E,"

Then why is your mana output close to a B Class? Maybe you haven’t awakened your potential yet huh ... He thought to himself

Suddenly, Ayami waved her hand in front of Kuro’s face.

"Ni-san... Ni-san!"

He blinked and nodded.

"Sorry, but what’s your class?"

Kuro laughed awkwardly. He couldn’t tell her the truth—that he wasn’t even registered yet. So he lied.

"D Class? Yeah, I’m D Class," he said with a chuckle.

"Really? That good" she exclaimed

---

Further inside, they faced C Class monsters: Shadow Beasts, Shadow Lizards, and more.

Kuro fought most battles, while novice Ayami gathered crystals dropped by the fallen enemies.

Finally, Kuro stood on the ground as his daggers vanished.

Ayami ran up to him, eyes sparkling.

"Ni-san, that was amazing! How did you twist in mid-air? And that punch—you landed it right on beast's Face!"

Kuro patted her head to calm her excitement.

Blushing, she brushed off his hand.

"Sorry, you just feel like a little sister to me, so I can’t help it."

She shook her head, bashful.

"No, No need to feel sorry about It was just sudden..."

Ayami finished collecting the last crystals.

"Huh? The bag’s full already... but no boss? Maybe they defeated it and left."

Kuro frowned.

As he noticed a large amount of mana marching toward their location at a decent speed.

Turned to Ayami he said.

"I guess you should head back. It is already late and the bag is full and wait for me as I’m going to check if they really won."

She looked reluctant.

"Don’t worry. I trust you. And I’ll be back soon."

With that, she activated a device that cloaked her presence for thirty minutes and disappeared through the portal.

---

Kuro straches his body and loosen it as he dashed deeper into the ruins.

Wind burst around him as he left sonic cracks in the shattered stone beneath him and shattered all surrounding Area.

Soon, he sensed a surge of Mana ahead.

There, a massive shadow monster with sharp teeth—the Asura—was devouring shadow hunters.

Kuro stopped and called out.

"So,you are the reason for such release of Mana huh. you ate them all, if I don't mistaken you are Asura, right? This was your banquet—but it will soon...."

Before he could finish, a massive punch hurled him miles away, smashing through walls and rubble before he finally stopped against a stone wall covered in dust.

As the dust settled, Kuro dusted himself off, clothes torn.

"At least let me finish my line...well I was saying it will soon be end"

The monster glared at his arm that had struck Kuro, noticing it was brust from the impact then a sensation building in its hands as they regenerated—bursting out in a grotesque display.

"WOW! That's way cool but...." Kuro takes race stance and charged like a sonic boom.

The monster swung his hand, but Kuro dodged, spinning round with dagger strikes from head to toe.

As he jumped in the sky lending beautifully passes Asura then,

He snapped his fingers and blood erupted in violent rains, bursting from the monster’s body.

Kuro was drenched in gore as Asura dissolved into particles, leaving behind a glowing gold crystal.

"Great... now I need another bath," Kuro muttered, as he takes a steps he vanished in air

---