"In times of darkness, we often forget the light that once guided us, lost in the shadows of despair."
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(POV: Ren Killes)
I was sitting at the edge of the bed in my hotel room, scrolling through my phone, trying to find something interesting.
The rays of the afternoon sun were creeping in through the slightly opened curtains, lighting the room in a pretty orange.
It was a nice day... if we ignore the fact that hundreds of people were dying to demons as I sat here, unbothered.
I put my phone to my side, sighing as I looked out into the sky, the bright light causing me to squint my eyes.
I didn't particularly like the fact that I wasn't doing anything to save those people... the hundreds of children watching their parents killed and eaten... somewhere, parents are hiding under a table, watching their hundreds of children being eaten...
It was all bothering me so–wait... I messed that up, didn't I?
I sighed again, pushing myself back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.
I knew this wasn't the time to act impulsively... the Hunter Association must be planning something.
Just as I was thinking of this, a beep resonated from my phone.
I extended my hand, slowly picking it up and seeing the message.
"You have been assigned to a team on the frontlines of humanity's fight with demons. The S+ Class, Rank 5 Hunter, Eleanor, will lead your team, please come to the location below as soon as possible."
I raised an eyebrow... Eleanor, quite a well-known name.
As far as I've heard, she's chill, I'm fine with her being the leader... but following someone's commands still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
I scrolled down, seeing the location of the place.
I sighed once more... the place was quite far.. Who knew that coming this far to take a break would result in this?
I pushed myself off the bed, groaning as I stretched my body, picking up the little things I had and leaving the room.
As I walked down the stairs, I covered my mouth, yawning.
I walked out of the hotel, the sunlight falling onto my skin, making me feel hot.
Looking around, I could see people walking... but they weren't normal... they were scared... scared that they will be attacked next.
Their footsteps were hurried, rushing to get to the safety of their homes.
However, none of that mattered to me now, there is no use trying to jump into others' thoughts.
"I hope to GOD I get good teammates this time," I muttered, memories of an earlier mission coming to mind.
My lips twitched as I thought of that quadruple chin bitc–
I clapped my hands, not wanting to remember about THAT woman.
I sighed once more... I was sighing a lot today, wasn't I?
Well, no use in thinking about all this now... I should just go there, I suppose.
As I slowly walked across the street, trying to find a taxi, a metallic smell of blood hit my nose... mixed with the smell of rotting flesh, it seemed even worse.
My eyes caught sight of something... something which would instill fear even in the bravest of hearts.
In a dark alleyway, a woman was sitting, supported by the wall... dead.
But, what was horrific was the trail of blood on the sidewalk, as if she had been dragged to that place.
Her clothes were ripped open, her stomach pulled out with bare hands.
Parts of her intestines lay on the floor, the others seemingly chewed down by the attacker.
Her limbs were missing, torn out by an overwhelmingly powerful force.
As she lay there, motionless, the dry marks of tears still stained her skin... it was undeniable that she had suffered a lot before she died.
A mother walked past the alleyway, her gaze catching the sight of the dead woman for a single moment.
The child holding her hand, hardly six years old, followed her gaze.
The woman immediately went to put her hands over the boy's eyes to shield him from the sight, but it was too late... he had seen everything.
The boy's expression turned into one of horror as his mother quickly pulled him away, accidentally stepping on the blood on the sidewalk.
I closed by eyes for a moment, praying that the dead woman rests in peace.
I knew that this was not my place to be... this city was someone else's mission, I was positioned in a different city.
I took one final glance at the body of the woman, flies circling her like she was discarded garbage, before continuing to walk.
I looked around, spotting a taxi. I extended a hand, and it stopped in front of me.
"City 29," I said, getting in.
The driver simply nodded, and started driving at a pace too fast for my comfort.
.
This driver yaps too much. I threw him a little money, some extra just to make him go away faster as I got out of the car at my destination.
As he drove away, I turned to the building I was supposed to go into... an abandoned building straight out of a murder mystery.
I was 25% sure that this was a scheme to kill me, but there aren't many who are capable of doing so.
I simply went into the building... and surprisingly, it didn't smell too bad.
I walked up the stairs, my footsteps silent.
I could hear a few voices from up above... so they were either my teammates or people sent to kill me.
But, suddenly, I felt something... no, someone behind me, walking up the stairs around a floor lower.
It's as if someone was there, but not there at the same time... I've felt this for the first time.
I didn't turn around, but kept walking, slightly increasing my pace.
The chances of this being a murder scheme just went up by a lot.
Almost in no time, I reached the 8th floor, the person now two floors below.
There, I saw three figures... two I had never seen before, and one, Eleanor.
Our eyes met, and I slightly smiled at her. She still had those sharp eyes, that I saw for the first time before she became S+ Class.
She simply nodded, going back to doing her pose with her arms crossed.
I didn't find the other two too interesting... sure, they looked fun... but not something I would focus on more than... this guy.
I heard footsteps behind me, almost as if hey were made on purpose to get my attention.
I slowly turned around, my gaze meeting a pair of eyes with intensity I had never experienced before.
I knew this person... the deep black hair... the characteristic tattoos.
Ryomen Sukuna.
Quite a famous person, I must say... the massacre, the rumors... the power.
Some say his power even rivals mine... I simply say to that... bullshit.
As I looked at him, my eyes burned with amusement like never before.
Sure, maybe he had committed that massacre... killing so many is fully wrong, but I don't care too much, I'm not one to mingle into another's business.
But... this means that I'll have to be wary. If he has the mind to kill a whole town... what's a few more?
However, my mind was somewhere completely else as a memory popped up.
My lips curled into a small smirk... this situation was just so absurd.
I still remember the time my father almost had a breakdown... he drank like... 5 bottles that day.
"That Sukuna... he humiliated me in front of everyone... I'll kill him... I'll kill him!"
He humiliated you? That's fine, but hatred to the point of killing... I don't know about that.
I put on the friendliest smile I could, slowly walking to him, the air around us seemingly crackling with energy.
"I don't care... get someone... get [Unnamed Character]... I don't care how... he has to be killed!"
I extended my hand, as I looked at him, his face seemingly copying my friendly expression.
"Nice to meet you, Sukuna." My hand hovered in the air, waiting for his next action.
It was almost funny how Fate had gotten us two so close... two people supposed to be enemies.
I could feel something from him... he was strong. Not as much as me, obviously.
His smile seemed to widen as he, too, extended his hand, grabbing mine in a firm handshake.
"Nice to meet you too, Ren."
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(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)
My gaze travelled all over the room, my eyes briefly meeting with every person's there as I held Ren's hand in a handshake.
Eleanor, the leader, merely nodded, going back to her pose as if nothing had changed.
The two... Nyra and Lucian, if I'm right, looked at me with varying emotions from the corner of the room.
Nyra seemed to be observing me, her smile from before replaced by a blank expression.
Lucian was much more expressive, his hands slightly trembling as his gaze darted around.
"Nice to meet you too, Ren," I said with a friendly smile, squeezing his hand a little.
I was here only for two things... to get stronger, and for entertainment... and it seems that the latter will be more than abundant.
We both stared into each other's eyes, as if trying to see through one another.
The air around us seemed to be crackling with tension as our grips tightened, our hands slightly trembling by the force.
The smiles on our face didn't waver, our expressions unchanging.
We slowly loosened our grip, our eyes locked in mutual respect.
We broke the handshake as I walked past him, going to our teammates. He silently followed me.
"Sukuna," I said simply, introducing myself with a smile. "I look forward to working with you."
Lucian shifted uncomfortably, his gaze fixed on the ground.
Nyra looked up, her eyes meeting mine, her gaze enigmatic as she nodded.
Ren chuckled behind me. "Light up a little," he said, walking to a position beside me. "He's not that bad."
Nyra raised an eyebrow, trying to stop her lips from curling up. "Well it's not everyday we meet someone with a reputation like his."
Her eyes came back to me, our gazes locked on to each other.
I laughed a little, trying to ease the tension. "I'll try not to live up to the rumors, and I'm not here to cause trouble... we have some bigger things to worry about." I glanced outside, looking at the destruction far away, near the horizon.
Their gazes followed mine as they nodded, Lucian was still hesitant, but he tried his best to stay calm.
He eventually spoke up, his voice almost a whisper. "Right... right. We'll... we'll do what we need to. Just... need to stay focused."
He was trying to convince himself rather than talking to us.
Ren slightly clapped his hands, his gaze fixed on Eleanor. "So, Eleanor, got any grand plan, or are we winging it like usual?"
Eleanor's expression didn't change as she uncrossed her arms, slowly walking towards us. "We'll stick to the basics." Her voice was firm, commanding. "Lucian scouts the areas with his shadows, Nyra confuses the demons with her illusions, Ren fights in the frontlines."
She slowly turned to me, her expression unreadable. "And you... stay on guard, assist all of them in what they need."
I raised an eyebrow, my instructions were vague, but I suppose it only gave me more freedom.
I simply nodded in response.
Eleanor turned to the door, walking with a quick pace. "We start immediately, there is no time to waste."
As the team prepared to head out, I noticed Lucian and Nyra relaxing already.
Nyra even gave me a little smirk, maybe she was realizing that I wasn't the psychopathic monster like the rumors say.
Lucian remained cautious, still walking a little far away, but he had stopped trembling.
Ren, however, was treating me like an old friend, talking and joking like we had known each other for years.
His slight arrogance was amusing too, he never forgot to praise himself in his words, even though they were done playfully.
However, under that arrogance, I could see something else... detachment, maybe?
I haven't figured that out right now... I'll need to spend more time with him.
Before I knew it, we had already walked to the frontlines, soldiers trying to shoot the demons with guns, which proved to be effective, but not efficient.
The ammunition required to kill a single demon was too much.
Eleanor led the group, walking a few feet in front of us.
"Her ass is bouncing." Ren's voice reached my eyes, making me raise an eyebrow.
I turned to him, my eyes meeting his... but there were no weird thoughts in his mind... I could tell.
It was as if he was simply stating a fact... it was quite uncanny.
I glanced forward, before nodding in agreement, making him chuckle a little.
She suddenly stopped as we reached the marked place where our mission would begin... killing demons and saving civilians.
"You all do as I've told, I'll go have some fun on my own," she shouted, shooting off to a completely different direction.
Ren simply smiled. "Bouncy."
Again, it was that stare, the gaze that made sure he had no inappropriate thoughts.
I couldn't understand why he would make these jokes, but it was clear that he was trying to do something.
A small smirk formed on my face as I felt a demon turn to us, slowly walking in our direction.
I will get along well with you, Ren.
====================
Ren has finally come... and he is part of the family that tried to assassinate Sukuna?
How do you find Ren up to now.
also, gimme POWER STONES :3