In the midst of the bustling Nomad base camp, a soldier on logistics duty let out a weary sigh. The dark night sky, devoid of stars, mirrored an unusual silence. Carrying several boxes of ammunition, he paused for a moment, attempting to shake off the fatigue. However, something in the sky caught his attention.
"Huh?" he murmured, furrowing his brow. In the distance, a glowing red object streaked swiftly across the sky like a shooting star. Oddly enough, it appeared to be growing larger. He squinted, trying to get a clearer look.
"What is that...?" his lips trembled slightly as a sense of dread began to creep in. The object moved at an incredible speed and seemed… to be heading directly toward them!
In an instant, the object transformed from a small light into what looked like a massive red fireball. The soldier now understood—this was no ordinary shooting star. "Shit! Isn't it getting closer!?" he shouted, panic rising within him. He hurriedly dropped his cargo and ran toward the command center to report the incident. However, before he could take another step—
"BOOOOM!!"
The ground shook violently. A tremendous explosion rocked the entire base as the red object struck the earth with immense force, creating a large crater right in the middle of the Nomad camp. A hot wind swept through everything nearby, knocking the soldier to the ground. Thick dust billowed high into the air, obscuring his vision.
As the dust began to settle, the soldier raised his head, trembling. His breath came in ragged gasps, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. "What the hell…?" he whispered, his body rigid with fear.
In the center of the crater stood a figure he could hardly believe. A human—or something resembling one—with an aura of anger so strong that the air around it seemed to vibrate. Its eyes, burning red, resembled an unquenchable flame, and its body radiated destructive energy ready to explode at any moment.
"Knight?" the soldier murmured, his voice trembling as he gazed at the figure emerging from the crater. His entire body felt frozen in fear, yet he couldn't tear his gaze away from the extraordinary sight before him. He had just witnessed a monumental destruction, but behind the explosion—behind the blazing red flash that ripped through the ground—stood a person.
As the dust settled, a large shadow with a silhouette of armor emerged. The armor glimmered faintly in the moonlight, presenting a terrifying yet graceful image. Towering tall, with a straight back and a longsword hanging at its waist, the figure appeared to be a legendary knight rising from the depths of hell.
However, as the soldier looked closer, there was something horrifying lurking behind the beauty of the armor. The dark aura enveloping the knight sent chills down his spine. This was no ordinary knight—there was something much deeper, darker, hidden within. The energy radiating from the armor made the ground around it tremble, signaling that the destructive power it had just unleashed was far from gone.
"Eeeip!"
Inside the majestic armor that typically exuded authority, this time there was only one emotion filling Kaoru's entire being: a blazing rage.
Kaoru, the knight, said nothing. His red eyes coldly surveyed the Nomad base camp, filled with unwavering determination and uncontrollable hatred. Every step he took crushed the ground beneath him, and every breath he exhaled carried an aura of death. The soldier knew one thing—Kaoru did not come to negotiate.
Kaoru unsheathed Clarent with a smooth yet lethal motion. As the cursed sword was raised, a burning red light began to envelop him, and the atmosphere around the Nomad base camp shifted drastically. The ground trembled, and the air became heavy with the echo of vengeance emanating from the legendary sword.
The enemies of Nomad, supernatural creatures of various races and species, began to swarm Kaoru. Vampires with incredible speed, terrifying demons, and soldiers enhanced by dark magic all charged at him with full force, but Kaoru stood firm. One against a thousand.
"They will never understand," Kaoru murmured under his breath before stepping forward.
With a single swing of Clarent, Kaoru obliterated the first line of enemies. The air split apart, and the cursed red energy spread around, unleashing a wave of destruction that instantly wiped out dozens of foes. Every strike of Clarent not only cut through flesh but also tore at their souls. The echoes of their agonizing screams faded as their souls vanished along with their disintegrated bodies.
The second wave of enemies came in more ferociously. A massive vampire wielding dual swords attacked from behind, swinging his weapon with immense power. However, Kaoru merely turned slightly, and with a swift motion, he parried the attack with Clarent. A deafening clash rang out as their swords collided, but there was only one result—the vampire was sent flying backward, his chest opened wide from a counterattack quicker than the blink of an eye.
"You think you can defeat me with numbers?" Kaoru addressed them, his voice flat and cold, while the Nomad soldiers continued to swarm him. Yet every attack they launched failed. Clarent moved as swiftly as lightning, slicing, cutting, and destroying anything that dared to come near. Each time the sword swung, the ground cracked beneath it, and the atmosphere around felt increasingly oppressive.
A giant demon, towering like a tower and with skin as hard as steel, swung its massive hammer toward Kaoru. The hammer struck the ground with enough force to create a large crater, but Kaoru had already vanished from his position. In an instant, he leaped high into the air, Clarent raised above his head. With incredible speed, Kaoru dove down, thrusting Clarent into the giant demon's head, and in one swift motion, the colossal creature was cleaved in two, crashing to the ground with a thud.
The Nomad enemies continued to flood in, wave after wave, but Kaoru remained unstoppable. Clarent not only slashed through foes physically; the sword had the ability to tear at souls, making any enemy struck by it feel as if they were burning from within. The pain was so excruciating that even the strongest demons could not endure it. Each cut, even a minor scratch, spread unimaginable agony.
Their attacks became increasingly desperate. A high-ranking demon soldier unleashed a massive fire spell, trying to incinerate Kaoru alive. However, with a single flick of Clarent, the flames were split and vanished as if they had never existed.
Kaoru moved like a storm on the battlefield, the only light in the darkness being the red flashes from Clarent that swept away every enemy in his path. The cursed aura of his sword spread, causing the remaining Nomad enemies to tremble in fear.
Within minutes, the once unstoppable army was now in ruins. Kaoru stood alone in the midst of the battlefield, surrounded by dismembered and charred corpses, remnants of his foes laid waste. Nothing remained—no one could challenge his power.
"Edwin Black… where are you?" Kaoru murmured, his gaze fixed on the Nomad stronghold in the distance.