“What did you say?” Lord Yu's voice thundered across the field.

The boy with gray hair continued walking toward him, his hands still buried casually inside his pockets. “You heard me,” he replied.

Lord Yu's eyes narrowed. The boy tilted his head slightly.

“Or do you have only brawn and no brain?” Silence. The monsters around Lord Yu froze. Then—

“What?” Lord Yu's face twisted with rage.

“How dare you!”

A tremendous wave of negative energy erupted from his body. The pressure spread across the football field like an invisible storm. The remaining monsters were forced to their knees almost immediately.

Their bodies trembled beneath the overwhelming pressure. Some gritted their teeth. Others struggled simply to breathe. Lord Yu's energy was oppressive. Normally, it would have been enough to make any ordinary human collapse in fear. Yet the boy continued walking. One step. Then another. He didn't seem bothered.

The monsters weren't paying much attention to the insult their Lord had received anymore. They were focused on something far more disturbing. They couldn't sense the boy. Nothing. No spiritual presence. No detectable energy.

Nothing that would tell them what he was. It should have been impossible. He was standing right there. Walking toward them. Yet their senses returned nothing. Only a cold sensation remained. A chill that crawled down their spines with every step he took.

“What... what the hell is this?” One of the monsters swallowed. “Why do I feel this way?” Another trembled.

“It's like... death.” The first monster looked toward the approaching figure.

“Is it coming from him?” None of them answered. They didn't need to. They could feel it.

Something about the boy's presence was wrong. The moonlight above them suddenly disappeared behind a passing cloud. The football field became darker. The boy continued walking. His body was swallowed by the darkness.

For a moment, all the monsters could see was a shadow. A human-shaped silhouette approaching them. His hands remained in his pockets. His posture was relaxed. His footsteps were unhurried. Yet every step seemed to increase the pressure they felt in their chests. They couldn't see his face clearly.

They couldn't determine his physique. They couldn't sense his energy. Nothing. He could have been an ordinary human teenager. Perhaps thirteen. Perhaps fifteen.

The monsters could not tell. But if he truly was human, then how could he possess such terrifying power? And why did their instincts tell them to run?

The boy's confidence was perhaps the most disturbing part. He walked as if there were nothing to fear. As though dealing with them would be no more difficult than taking a casual stroll through the city. The thought should have been ridiculous.

There were several monsters standing on that field. They were not ordinary creatures. Their bodies were stronger than those of humans, and their abilities far exceeded what a normal person could comprehend. And standing before them was a teenager. A human teenager.

At least, that was what they believed. Lord Yu was thinking the same thing. He could feel the strange sensation coming from the boy. He could feel the warning his instincts were giving him. But he refused to acknowledge it.

All he could see was arrogance. A human who dared to look down on him. Lord Yu straightened his body.

“It seems you have a sharp tongue.” His voice was low.

“And a bonus of arrogance and overconfidence.” He took a step forward.

“However, let me make something clear.” He pointed toward the boy.

“I don't care about what you did to my so-called party.” The corpses of his fallen comrades remained scattered across the field. Lord Yu didn't even glance at them.

“I have no interest in avenging them.” He smiled.

“I would have killed most of them myself eventually.” He shrugged.

“So, thank you for doing me the favor.” The boy's expression remained unchanged. “But...” Lord Yu's smile disappeared.

“You interrupted my fun.” His negative energy intensified.

“And then you insulted me.” He stepped away from the unconscious girl.

His attention was now completely focused on the boy. “For that, the only fair punishment is death.” His voice grew louder.

“I just hope your strength is what sharpened that tongue of yours.” He clenched his fist.

“Because if it isn't...” His grin returned.

“You'll die from excruciating pain right here.” The boy stopped.

For the first time, he looked directly at Lord Yu. “I guess we'll see then.” The boy continued walking. Lord Yu stared at him. No fear. No hesitation. No concern. Nothing.

The boy wasn't even paying much attention to him. Instead, his gaze shifted toward the girl lying unconscious in the sand. He stopped near her. His eyes narrowed slightly. “She’s alive.” He could sense it. Faintly. Her energy was barely there, but it remained. That was enough. A small smile appeared on his face.

“Good.” At least he could still save her. That made him glad.

The cloud covering the moon began to move. Silver light slowly returned to the field. The boy was no longer a shadow. The monsters finally saw him clearly. Silver-gray hair. Light brown skin. A black-and-red striped hooded top. Black shorts. And a face that looked far too young for the power they had sensed. Lord Yu stared. His expression changed.

“You're...” His eyes widened.

“Just a human?” The boy looked at him.

Lord Yu's disappointment was immediate. This was the person who had made him feel fear? A human child? “A human!”

His anger returned. “A little human brat!” He clenched his fists. “I'll kill you!” Lord Yu's body exploded forward.

The sand beneath his feet scattered as he accelerated. His speed was overwhelming. The distance between them vanished in an instant. The remaining monsters watched.

Lord Yu was moving at a speed they could barely follow. But something was wrong. As he approached the boy, the strange sensation intensified. That chill. That warning. It became stronger. Run. Every instinct inside Lord Yu screamed at him. But he ignored it.

“It's just a brat!” He forced the thought into his mind.

“Nothing more!” His rage pushed him forward. He raised his arm.

Then— A wave of dark flames erupted. The attack appeared without warning. It struck Lord Yu directly. His body was split apart.

The dark flames consumed him before he could even reach the boy. There was no scream. No final attack. No struggle. One moment, Lord Yu was charging forward. The next, he was gone. His burning remains fell to the ground.

The entire event had happened so quickly that the other monsters couldn't understand what they had witnessed.

“What...?” One monster stared.

“What just happened?” Another looked around frantically.

Their eyes had barely been able to follow Lord Yu's movement. They had seen him rush forward. Then they had seen him somehow thrown backward. Now his body lay in pieces, burning. It was over. Just like that. Their Lord was dead. Lord Yu. One of the strongest Lords in the Dark Sector. Killed in an instant.

The boy looked down at the remains. He sighed. “How disappointing.”

He continued walking. “I was really hoping he could put up a fight.” He stepped past the burning remains. “But disappointing as always.”

The remains began turning to ash behind him. The boy glanced over his shoulder. “They talk big, but they don't always deliver.” He shrugged.

“I guess I should wrap things up either way.” The remaining monsters were frozen. None could move.

None could speak. Their Lord was dead. And the person who killed him hadn't even appeared to exert himself. Their fear finally became certainty.

The boy was the source of the attack that had destroyed half their group. The dark spheres. The strange energy. The death they had felt. It had all come from him. One monster trembled.

“He doesn't seem to be a hunter...” Another whispered.

“Then how...?”

“How can he be this strong?” A third monster clenched his fists.

“I don't believe this.” His voice shook.

“I can't accept it.” He looked toward the boy.

“I can't die here.” No one answered him.

They were all thinking the same thing. There was no chance of winning. The difference between them and the boy was too great. It wasn't a gap. It was an abyss.

Somewhere between a droplet and an ocean. One of the monsters looked toward the woods. Escape. That was their only option. But even that seemed impossible.

The boy had already demonstrated that he could attack from a distance. If they ran, he could simply launch another one of those dark spheres.

They would die before reaching the woods. The fat monster among them suddenly clenched his fists. “I don't care what the Demon King's general ordered.” The others looked toward him.

“I'm not dying for his cause.” He held his stomach as energy began gathering within his body.

“I just have to survive!” The boy noticed. He stopped walking.

“Interesting.” His eyes shifted toward the monster.

He could sense the energy gathering inside him. One of the other monsters immediately realized what was happening.

“You idiot!”

“Has fear made you insane?” “You can't attack him!” Another shouted.

“Do you have any idea what you're doing?” The fat monster ignored them.

“I'm not going to let myself die here!”

His body began changing as more energy gathered. “When there are so many things I haven't done yet...” His breathing became heavier.

“It's all that bastard's fault.” His eyes narrowed.

“He and his stupid bloodlust.” The energy around his body intensified. The boy watched curiously. Then the monster shouted.

“Dark Fog—Heavy Fall!” Dark energy exploded from his body.

A thick, pitch-black fog spread across the entire football field. Within seconds, everything disappeared.

The field vanished beneath the darkness. The woods vanished. The monsters vanished. Even the moonlight seemed to disappear. The fog was not ordinary. Gravity intensified inside it. The air itself seemed heavier. Anything caught within the fog would have difficulty moving. The surviving monsters remained unaffected.

They possessed similar levels of power, and their demonic eyes allowed them to see through the darkness. The boy, however, appeared to stop moving. He stood several lengths away from the midfield. Motionless. The monsters watched him. One of them smiled.

“Did it work?” Another stared. “He can't move.”

“He's human after all.” A spark of hope appeared.

Perhaps the boy was incredibly powerful. Perhaps his speed was terrifying. Perhaps his attacks were beyond their understanding. But he was still human. And humans had limits.

The dark fog could blind him. The increased gravity could restrict his movements. If they combined their attacks now... They might have a chance. One monster's eyes widened. “We should attack.” Another nodded.

“If we combine our strength, we might be able to—”

“Wait.” A different monster interrupted. He stared at the boy.

Something about the situation didn't feel right. Their Lord had been stronger than all of them. And the boy had killed him instantly. Could this fog really change that? He didn't think so.

The fat monster, meanwhile, stared at the boy. He had expected the technique to work. And it appeared to have done exactly that. The boy wasn't moving.

For the first time since the fight began, hope returned. But instead of attacking, the fat monster made another decision. He ran. He turned around and sprinted toward the woods. No warning. No explanation. He simply ran. One of the monsters stared after him.

“What the hell?” “Come back!”

“Can't you see this is our only chance to strike?” The fat monster didn't stop.

He ran as though his life depended on it. Because it did. Another monster cursed.

“Leave him!”

“Yelling will only give away our position.” He looked toward the others.

“Let's do it.” The monsters prepared themselves.

“Before he notices us.” They gathered their energy. Their confidence returned.

The dark fog surrounded them. Their demonic eyes allowed them to see through it. Their attacks were ready. The boy stood motionless in the center of the field. Or so they thought. He was not trapped. He was not blinded. He was not struggling beneath the increased gravity. He was simply observing.

The boy looked around inside the fog. He could see perfectly. The darkness did not affect him. His senses were already tracking the energy signatures around him. Every movement. Every shift in energy. Every change in their positions. He could feel them.

The gravity manipulation was barely noticeable. To him, it felt like little more than a gentle breeze. He had experienced far worse gravitational forces before. Much worse. The boy glanced down at the ground.

“So this is their plan?” He sounded almost amused.

He could sense the monsters preparing themselves. The dark fog was clearly meant to be a smokescreen.

Perhaps they intended to attack him while believing he couldn't see. The thought almost made him laugh.

Then he noticed something else. Several energy signatures were moving away from him. Toward the woods.

The boy raised an eyebrow. “So some of them are running.” He wasn't surprised. Facing him was already close to hopeless. And these monsters were weak. Very weak.

Still, he couldn't help finding their behavior amusing. One group was preparing to attack. Another was fleeing. And somewhere nearby, the girl was still unconscious. The boy looked toward her. His expression became slightly more serious. He had no interest in wasting time.

Whatever these creatures wanted from her, and whatever connection they had to the Dark Sector could wait. First, he needed to make sure she survived. Then he could deal with the rest. The monsters hidden within the fog began preparing their attacks. They believed they had finally found an opening.

They believed the battle had changed. They believed the human was trapped. But they had made one critical mistake. They had mistaken his stillness for helplessness. And they were about to learn the difference.