The Boy Who Hunts in the Dark

Yuka quietly closed the article displayed on his computer screen.

For a brief moment, the dim light from the monitor reflected in his emotionless eyes before the screen faded to black.
Without saying a word, he stood up from his chair.
Dinner.
A shower.
Normal routines.
To anyone watching, he looked like an ordinary high school student ending another ordinary day.
But Yuka wasn’t preparing to sleep.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the city to fall silent.
12:00 AM.
Midnight darkness covered the sleeping city.
Then—That sound returned.
A distorted noise echoed through the silence.Sharp.
Creeping.Almost inhuman.
Yuka immediately opened his eyes.
“...Found you.”
He walked toward his closet and slowly opened it.
Inside were clothes completely different from his school uniform.
Black combat wear.
Dark boots.
A black mask.
A handgun.
And a sword.
Within seconds, he equipped everything with practiced movements.
Then—
He opened the window and jumped.
Cold wind exploded around him as he landed perfectly on a nearby rooftop.
Without hesitation, he sprinted forward.
Jumping across buildings.
Crossing rooftops at terrifying speed.
The strange sound grew louder the closer he got.
Sharper.
More unstable.
Then he finally saw it.
A man desperately running for his life through an empty street.
Behind him, an entity chased him with unnatural movements.
Its body was pitch black, like living shadow.
Yuka narrowed his eyes slightly.
“So you’re the target tonight...”
The terrified man never noticed him.
He was too busy running.
Too terrified to even look back.
Yuka leaped down from the rooftop.
His blade flashed through the darkness as he attacked from above—
—but the entity instantly dodged.
Yuka landed smoothly on the ground and carefully observed the creature.
Blue aura leaked from its body.
Its glowing eyes locked directly onto him.
“He’s faster than the others...”
Suddenly—
Another entity appeared from his left side and launched a kick toward his head.
Yuka reacted instantly.
He performed a quick backward flip, barely avoiding the attack before landing several meters away.
Now there were two of them.
Both entities rushed toward him repeatedly with monstrous speed.
But Yuka remained calm.
He dodged while carefully analyzing their movements.
Their coordination.
Their attack patterns.
The environment around him.
Find the opening.
The two entities attacked together once again.
At that exact moment—
Yuka suddenly drew his handgun.
Bang!
The bullet struck the corner of a nearby iron pillar.
The shot ricocheted perfectly.
The bullet curved through the air and pierced directly through one entity’s head.
The creature collapsed instantly.
The second entity let out a distorted scream and charged toward him in rage.
Yuka calmly pulled out his sword.
One step forward.
One opening.
One strike.
Slash—
The entity’s body split cleanly in half.
Silence returned to the street.
Yuka stared at the defeated creatures for a moment.
Then a dark portal opened beside him.
Without emotion, he grabbed both entities and threw them inside.
“...Two souls completed.”
He placed an earbud near his ear.
“Targets sent. Moving to locate the crack.”
A calm voice answered from the other side.
“Any issues?”
“Negative.”
The call disconnected.
Yuka looked up toward the moonlit sky.
“So... they’ve finally started making their move.”
His faint crimson eyes reflected in the darkness.
“Then I’ll need to prepare as well... before it’s too late.”
Instead of following the direction where the frightened man escaped, Yuka headed the opposite way.
Eventually, he arrived at a deserted street.
And there—
A strange crack spread across part of a wall.
It looked as though reality itself had shattered.
The edges glowed deep red.
The centre was pitch black like an endless void.
“A dimensional crack...”
Yuka placed his hand against it.
Suddenly—
His eyes glowed crimson.
Red energy spread across his arms as power flowed from his body into the crack.
The distorted space slowly began repairing itself.
Moments later, the crack disappeared completely.
The glow in Yuka’s eyes faded.
Once again, he looked like an ordinary teenager.
A portal opened behind him.
Yuka stepped through it.
The scenery instantly changed.
A massive hidden spaceship floated silently in outer space, completely invisible to the people of Earth.
Inside, enormous monitors displayed countless reports and online articles.
Sightings.
Disappearances.
Unknown creatures.
The number of incidents was increasing rapidly.
Yuka silently stared at the screens.
The invasion had already begun.
Morning arrived.
As usual, Yuka attended school as though nothing had happened.
He sat quietly at his desk while scrolling through news on his phone.
Around him, students discussed the article about the office worker incident.
“It’s obviously fake.”
“Probably someone trying to get famous.”
“Still... what if it’s real?”
The classroom buzzed with excitement and mockery.
Then suddenly—
A girl entered the room.“
Good morning.”
Her name was Erika.
Seventeen years old.
Beautiful.
Smart.
Athletic.
A member of the student council.
Someone admired by almost everyone at school.
The atmosphere in the classroom immediately changed.
Several students quickly asked for her opinion about the article.
Erika thought quietly for a moment before answering.
“I don’t think we should judge someone so quickly.
It could be true.
Or maybe not.
But we can’t decide everything just from online comments.”
For a brief moment, the classroom fell silent.
Then—
Ringggg—
The bell interrupted the conversation.
Classes began.
After the final lesson ended, the teacher stopped before leaving the room.
“Oh right,” he said casually.
“Our class trip has officially been approved.”
The entire classroom exploded with excitement.
Everyone immediately started discussing plans for the trip.
Everyone except Yuka.
Unlike the others, he had no interest in relaxing or having fun.
But he still planned to go.
Because for him...
The trip had another purpose entirely.Yuka quietly closed the article displayed on his computer screen.

For a brief moment, the dim light from the monitor reflected in his emotionless eyes before the screen faded to black.
Without saying a word, he stood up from his chair.
Dinner.
A shower.
Normal routines.
To anyone watching, he looked like an ordinary high school student ending another ordinary day.
But Yuka wasn’t preparing to sleep.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the city to fall silent.
12:00 AM.
Midnight darkness covered the sleeping city.
Then—That sound returned.
A distorted noise echoed through the silence.Sharp.
Creeping.Almost inhuman.
Yuka immediately opened his eyes.
“...Found you.”
He walked toward his closet and slowly opened it.
Inside were clothes completely different from his school uniform.
Black combat wear.
Dark boots.
A black mask.
A handgun.
And a sword.
Within seconds, he equipped everything with practiced movements.
Then—
He opened the window and jumped.
Cold wind exploded around him as he landed perfectly on a nearby rooftop.
Without hesitation, he sprinted forward.
Jumping across buildings.
Crossing rooftops at terrifying speed.
The strange sound grew louder the closer he got.
Sharper.
More unstable.
Then he finally saw it.
A man desperately running for his life through an empty street.
Behind him, an entity chased him with unnatural movements.
Its body was pitch black, like living shadow.
Yuka narrowed his eyes slightly.
“So you’re the target tonight...”
The terrified man never noticed him.
He was too busy running.
Too terrified to even look back.
Yuka leaped down from the rooftop.
His blade flashed through the darkness as he attacked from above—
—but the entity instantly dodged.
Yuka landed smoothly on the ground and carefully observed the creature.
Blue aura leaked from its body.
Its glowing eyes locked directly onto him.
“He’s faster than the others...”
Suddenly—
Another entity appeared from his left side and launched a kick toward his head.
Yuka reacted instantly.
He performed a quick backward flip, barely avoiding the attack before landing several meters away.
Now there were two of them.
Both entities rushed toward him repeatedly with monstrous speed.
But Yuka remained calm.
He dodged while carefully analyzing their movements.
Their coordination.
Their attack patterns.
The environment around him.
Find the opening.
The two entities attacked together once again.
At that exact moment—
Yuka suddenly drew his handgun.
Bang!
The bullet struck the corner of a nearby iron pillar.
The shot ricocheted perfectly.
The bullet curved through the air and pierced directly through one entity’s head.
The creature collapsed instantly.
The second entity let out a distorted scream and charged toward him in rage.
Yuka calmly pulled out his sword.
One step forward.
One opening.
One strike.
Slash—
The entity’s body split cleanly in half.
Silence returned to the street.
Yuka stared at the defeated creatures for a moment.
Then a dark portal opened beside him.
Without emotion, he grabbed both entities and threw them inside.
“...Two souls completed.”
He placed an earbud near his ear.
“Targets sent. Moving to locate the crack.”
A calm voice answered from the other side.
“Any issues?”
“Negative.”
The call disconnected.
Yuka looked up toward the moonlit sky.
“So... they’ve finally started making their move.”
His faint crimson eyes reflected in the darkness.
“Then I’ll need to prepare as well... before it’s too late.”
Instead of following the direction where the frightened man escaped, Yuka headed the opposite way.
Eventually, he arrived at a deserted street.
And there—
A strange crack spread across part of a wall.
It looked as though reality itself had shattered.
The edges glowed deep red.
The centre was pitch black like an endless void.
“A dimensional crack...”
Yuka placed his hand against it.
Suddenly—
His eyes glowed crimson.
Red energy spread across his arms as power flowed from his body into the crack.
The distorted space slowly began repairing itself.
Moments later, the crack disappeared completely.
The glow in Yuka’s eyes faded.
Once again, he looked like an ordinary teenager.
A portal opened behind him.
Yuka stepped through it.
The scenery instantly changed.
A massive hidden spaceship floated silently in outer space, completely invisible to the people of Earth.
Inside, enormous monitors displayed countless reports and online articles.
Sightings.
Disappearances.
Unknown creatures.
The number of incidents was increasing rapidly.
Yuka silently stared at the screens.
The invasion had already begun.
Morning arrived.
As usual, Yuka attended school as though nothing had happened.
He sat quietly at his desk while scrolling through news on his phone.
Around him, students discussed the article about the office worker incident.
“It’s obviously fake.”
“Probably someone trying to get famous.”
“Still... what if it’s real?”
The classroom buzzed with excitement and mockery.
Then suddenly—
A girl entered the room.“
Good morning.”
Her name was Erika.
Seventeen years old.
Beautiful.
Smart.
Athletic.
A member of the student council.
Someone admired by almost everyone at school.
The atmosphere in the classroom immediately changed.
Several students quickly asked for her opinion about the article.
Erika thought quietly for a moment before answering.
“I don’t think we should judge someone so quickly.
It could be true.
Or maybe not.
But we can’t decide everything just from online comments.”
For a brief moment, the classroom fell silent.
Then—
Ringggg—
The bell interrupted the conversation.
Classes began.
After the final lesson ended, the teacher stopped before leaving the room.
“Oh right,” he said casually.
“Our class trip has officially been approved.”
The entire classroom exploded with excitement.
Everyone immediately started discussing plans for the trip.
Everyone except Yuka.
Unlike the others, he had no interest in relaxing or having fun.
But he still planned to go.
Because for him...
The trip had another purpose entirely.