Episode 10: The King of Curses
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Kirin Guild Base – Underground War Room
Shiro sat in the dimly lit conference room, staring at the holographic display in front of him.
Ren stood beside him, arms crossed, watching his reaction carefully.
The name on the screen made his entire body tense.
"The King of Curses – The One Who Devours Shadows."
A chill ran down Shiro's spine.
The leader of the Ogre Tribe wasn't just a Demon King—he was something far worse.
Ren's voice cut through the silence. "You recognize the name, don't you?"
Shiro swallowed hard. "No… but something inside me does."
The moment he read that name, something deep inside his soul trembled.
And then—
"Impossible…"
A voice echoed inside his mind.
The voice of the Demon King's soul—the one trapped within him.
For the first time since Shiro absorbed him, the Demon King's voice wasn't mocking or arrogant.
It was afraid.
"He… still lives?"
The voice was barely a whisper.
Shiro clenched his fists beneath the table. "Who is he?"
The Demon King's voice remained silent for a moment, then whispered:
"The one who reigned before me… The first-born of the Abyss…"
Shiro felt his heartbeat accelerate.
"That thing isn't just a monster, boy. He is the nightmare that even demons fear…"
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Ren's Revelation
Ren watched Shiro carefully.
"You felt it, didn't you?"
Shiro met her gaze. "What exactly is he?"
Ren took a deep breath.
"A being that existed before the concept of Hunters, before the first Gates ever appeared."
She tapped the screen. The image zoomed in on a dark, twisted silhouette—a figure wreathed in shadows, its eyes burning with an unnatural crimson light.
"He isn't just a King. He is the origin of all curses. The first entity to wield the power of Void Shadows. The one who devours the darkness itself."
Shiro could still hear the Demon King's ragged whisper in his head.
"If he has awakened… then this world is already doomed."
Ren continued. "The Ogre Tribe serves him like a god. And now that they know about you… they will stop at nothing to bring you to him."
Shiro exhaled slowly. "Let them come."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "That confident?"
Shiro stood up, cracking his knuckles. "No. Just ready."
Even if the enemy was something beyond his understanding—
He wouldn't run.
Not now.
Not ever
Kirin Guild Base – Restricted Archives
Ren led Shiro deep into the hidden chambers of Kirin Guild's base. The deeper they went, the more he could feel the thickness of mana in the air.
At the end of the long corridor stood an ancient door, covered in glowing sigils and Void Shadow markings.
Ren placed her palm against it.
A pulse of black energy spread from her hand, and the door creaked open, revealing a dark chamber lined with ancient scrolls, artifacts, and forbidden texts.
"Welcome to the Restricted Archives," Ren said. "Only SS-ranked Hunters and guild masters have access to this place."
Shiro raised an eyebrow. "So why am I here?"
Ren glanced at him. "Because you need to know the truth."
She walked toward a massive stone tablet at the center of the room.
The markings on it were written in a lost language, older than human civilization.
But when Shiro's eyes landed on it—
His Void Shadow flared to life.
The shadows on his arms twisted and shifted, reacting to something ancient.
And then, the Demon King's voice whispered in his mind once more.
"I warned you, boy. Some truths should remain buried."
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The Origin of the Void Shadow
Ren pointed to the carvings.
"Void Shadows didn't come from Hunters. They were never meant for humans."
Shiro's fingers twitched. "Then where did they come from?"
Ren exhaled slowly. "From the first war between light and darkness. Before humans, before monsters, before the Gates ever appeared."
She touched the center of the tablet, where an engraving of a colossal shadowy figure was surrounded by kneeling creatures.
"This is the First Shadow—also known as the Primordial Abyss."
Shiro's eyes widened. "The King of Curses?"
Ren nodded. "He was the first being to wield the Void, but he wasn't alone. There were others—twelve in total. They were called the Forsaken Lords."
Shiro's breath caught. Twelve?
Ren continued. "Each one controlled an aspect of the Void—Fire, Ice, Lightning, Spatial, and so on. They were gods of destruction."
She tapped a section of the tablet where the twelve figures were shown waging war.
"But something changed."
She pointed to another carving.
A betrayal.
One of the twelve lords was shown standing against the others.
Ren's expression darkened.
"One of them turned against the King of Curses. He led the war that sealed away the Primordial Abyss."
Shiro felt a chill run down his spine.
His Void Shadow pulsed.
And then—
The Demon King's voice spoke, not in fear—but in realization.
"So that's why…"
Shiro's heartbeat thundered in his chest.
"Boy… you aren't just a Hunter with Void Shadow."
"You are the successor of the one who betrayed the Primordial Abyss."
Kirin Guild – Restricted Archives
Shiro's head pounded as the weight of the truth settled over him.
"I'm… the successor of a traitor?"
Ren's golden eyes studied him carefully. "That's what it looks like."
She pointed back to the stone tablet.
"The Forsaken Lords were once rulers of the Abyss, each wielding a different aspect of the Void. But one of them turned against the Primordial Abyss, leading a rebellion."
She traced a finger over the ancient carvings.
Shiro's gaze locked onto an engraving of a shadowed figure, standing alone against the other eleven.
His Void Shadow twisted violently, as if something within him was reacting to the image.
"You were never meant to wield my power."
The Demon King's voice was laced with something Shiro had never heard before.
Not arrogance.
Not mockery.
But realization.
Shiro clenched his fists. "Who was he?"
Ren hesitated before answering.
"His name has been erased from history… but he was called the Forsaken Monarch."
Shiro felt his breath catch.
Ren continued. "The Forsaken Monarch turned against the Primordial Abyss, sealing away the King of Curses along with the other Forsaken Lords. He disappeared afterward, and no one knows what happened to him."
Her gaze shifted toward Shiro's Void Shadow, which pulsed with raw power.
"But if your Void Shadow is reacting to this… then it means you're connected to him."
Shiro's mind spun.
Everything he thought he knew—his awakening, his Void Shadow—none of it was normal.
But before he could process everything, alarms suddenly blared throughout the entire guild.
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Emergency Broadcast – A Red Gate Appears
A holographic screen flickered to life.
A voice from the Hunter Association rang through the room.
"A Red Gate has appeared in Central Tokyo. All available high-ranking Hunters are to mobilize immediately!"
Shiro's breath caught.
Ren's face darkened. "A Red Gate… that's bad."
Shiro had heard of them before.
Unlike normal Gates, Red Gates didn't allow anyone to escape once they entered.
Either you cleared it—
Or you died.
Ren turned to him. "You wanted to know the truth, right?"
Shiro slowly nodded.
"Then suit up, Hunter Shiro. We're heading into that Gate."
The Demon King's voice chuckled darkly.
"It seems fate isn't done with you yet, boy."