RISE OF THE HOLY DEMONIC GOD

Moonlight stretched across the rooftops as a lone figure darted from one to the next, moving with inhuman grace.

The cloak masked his identity, but everyone in the city already knew the name whispered behind that silhouette.

Raven Blade, aka Rey.

His eyes gleamed as he cut across the night, his gaze piercing the darkness half a kilometer ahead with ease.

The old factory loomed near the city's walls, a forgotten husk hiding a secret he intended to erase.

A passage dug by beasts ran beneath it. Tonight, Rey would bury it for good.

He landed lightly before the building, his breath steady, his face set. One last look at the crumbling walls told him he wouldn't see them again after tonight.

The factory was untouched since his last visit. Dust lay undisturbed. Silence clung to the air.

Without hesitation, he slipped inside, retracing his old path until he found the heavy door that led underground.

The air grew colder as he descended. At the center of the vast empty chamber, the gaping hole yawned open like the maw of some slumbering beast. Rey leapt without fear.

The freefall ended in a cavern he knew well—the place of his first true battle.

Tentacles burst forth from his body, dark and grotesque, spreading a presence across a radius of one hundred and fifty meters.

Their presence twisted the air, amplifying his senses. If anything remained alive down here, it wouldn't last.

But there was nothing—only the stale echo of battles long past.

Rey pressed deeper, following the same path until he reached the second cavern. The scars of combat lingered—claw marks etched into stone, faint stains darkening the ground—but time had already begun to bury the evidence.

In another fortnight, no one would know a battle had ever raged here.

He slipped through the central tunnel, his footsteps soundless, until the cavern opened into his destination.

Rey prepared to leave, but a familiar voice cut through the stillness.

"Stop, kid. What are you doing? This wasn't part of the plan."

Aiden's small, semi-transparent figure hovered before him, palm-sized and sharp-eyed, his face etched with confusion.

Rey's lips curled faintly. "Why the surprise? I'm going outside to test my new strength. Isn't it obvious?"

Aiden's expression hardened. His tiny form radiated authority despite its size. "On whose command? Did I—or Victor—tell you to waste time fighting weak beasts? Discipline, Rey. That's the only path forward. Break it, and you break your future."

Rey narrowed his eyes, his voice edged with irritation. "Why are you overreacting? It's just a few beasts. I've killed before. A little extra EXP won't hurt."

"You're missing the point." Aiden's tone cut like steel. "You're still unfinished. Your training isn't complete. Seal the cave. Now."

Rey's jaw tightened. He clenched his fists, the frustration simmering beneath his calm mask. "They're only Stage 1s. Even Stage 2 isn't a threat. And Stage 3s don't wander this close to cities. So why stop me?"

The spirit's voice dropped, colder than the air in the cavern. "You want the reason? Fine. Listen well."

Rey froze as Aiden's words tore into him.

"You took five days to learn twenty skills. Trash effort. Your mana circulation is abysmal. Your control is worse. I've seen countless mortals—weak, ordinary mortals—who at least held some spark of talent. You? You're nothing but a lump of carbon pretending to live. Worthless."

The weight of the words pressed down, but Aiden wasn't finished. His eyes glowed with an ancient fury.

"I've lived longer than this universe. I've watched timelines collapse. And you—by all logic—you should never have touched this power. Yet here it sits, wasted in your muddy hands. If you don't rise faster, you'll rot in the Third Tier forever. You'll die in some gutter fight, or in bed of old age, forgotten."

A flicker of doubt crossed Rey's face.

"Maybe Victor was right," Aiden continued, voice low and bitter. "Perhaps I should have chosen another host. Someone worthy. Not you."

The spirit's glow dimmed. His tiny figure dissolved back into Rey's chest, leaving only silence.

Rey stood alone in the cavern, staring at the massive boulder that sealed the path forward. His fists hung at his sides, trembling ever so slightly.

The darkness before him didn't answer.

...

Inside the White Room

Aiden strolled across the pristine space as if nothing had happened, heading for the sofa. But Victor stepped into his path, his eyes sharp.

"Wait. Why did you do that?" His voice carried the weight of accusation.

Aiden arched a brow. "Why? You already know. Weren't you the one pushing for this? For me to say those things? Shouldn't you be smiling right now?"

Victor's gaze didn't waver. "That was before. Now it's different. I don't believe changing hosts is the answer. We can shape him together. With time, he could become someone remembered in history—not discarded halfway through."

Aiden waved a lazy hand, sinking into the cushions as though the conversation bored him. "You're giving him too much credit. He'll scrape past Tier Three at best. Isn't that your prophecy? What's the point of a Tier Three legend forgotten in a few universes?"

Victor clenched his jaw. "Don't play games with me. You were the one who told me we could turn an insect into a predator. You pushed me to cultivate him into a Supreme. Now you're backing off after one misstep? He was just itching for a fight. That's no reason to break him down."

Aiden chuckled, the sound sharp and mocking. "And you were the one slacking. Acting like he's only my contractor, not yours. I pushed because I wanted you to feel it—the frustration I've been carrying. Do you see it now?"

Victor blinked, caught off guard, before exhaling slowly. His fingers pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hah… fine. You got me. I was careless. It won't happen again. But if this was just a lesson for me, then you're forgetting Rey. He might take those words to heart and lose his drive."

"Don't worry about him." Aiden leaned back, smirking faintly. "He was flying too high after learning those skills. He needs to be crushed once a month—hell, once a week. Otherwise, he'll lose sight of reality. You think he'll break from a few cruel words? If he can't handle that, then he isn't worth our time. I would've left him long ago."

Victor's gaze shifted to the image flickering before them—Rey standing frozen in silence. His lips pressed into a thin line.

Outside, in the waking world...

Rey stood before the boulder, motionless. A hollow weight settled in his chest, but it wasn't new. He had grown used to the sting of his spirits' cruelty.

He exhaled softly. Aiden would forgive him later. He always did.

For now, it was better not to push further.

Stretching both arms, Rey pressed his palms against the cavern wall. Mana coursed down his arms as his fingers tapped the stone floor.

The ground trembled.

Earth bent to his will, twisting like wet clay under his command. With Elemental Kinesis—specifically Geokinesis—he pulled at the massive boulder, fusing it into the surrounding rock.

Layer by layer, the stone sealed itself shut, erasing the tunnel's existence.

Soon, the cavern resembled nothing more than a natural dead end. No intruder would ever suspect a passage had been here.

Rey stepped back, sweat dampening his brow. The boulder was huge—three times his size—but the wall held firm. That was enough.

He turned without a word and retraced his path.

At the entrance chamber, he glanced once more at the cavern. Shadows stretched across broken stone, hiding the echoes of battles past. Then he crouched and launched upward.

The ground cracked beneath his foot as he shot toward the hole.

Fingers scraped the slimy, mucus-coated wall—and slipped. He dropped a few meters before his tentacles lashed out, anchoring him in place.

A faint smirk tugged at his lips. This tunnel was carved for beasts, not humans. But he was no longer bound by such limits.

With each pull, his body rose higher until he finally hauled himself onto the surface. He landed in silence, crouched low, eyes scanning the empty factory.

Nothing stirred.

Rey stepped out into the night, the cold air brushing against his face.

Rey stopped before one of the factory's main walls. The night was silent, broken only by the faint rustle of wind cutting through the ruins.

His palm brushed over the rough surface, fingers tracing the stone as if testing its resolve. His jaw tightened, eyes narrowing. Then his stance shifted, feet digging into the dirt like anchors.

A breath. A clenched fist.

He drove his knuckles forward.

The wall shuddered with a thunderous crack, tremors rippling across the factory grounds. Splinters of stone split open, spreading jagged lines across the surface.

Strong—but not enough.

Rey lowered his hand without a hint of frustration. His face remained carved in stone, unreadable.

He raised his fist again, this time weaving a thread of skill into his strike. Energy condensed, crawling over his arm, reinforcing flesh and bone.

The second punch landed softer, the sound strangely dull compared to before.

The wall accepted his fist as if it were paper. No resistance. No echo.

It looked almost meaningless.

Rey pulled back, gaze steady, and simply turned away. No muttering. No anger. Just quiet steps fading into the night.

If anyone had been there, they might have wondered if he had finally lost his mind. Punch a wall, then leave? What was the point?

But before his figure disappeared from the lot, the wall began to tremble.

A low groan built beneath the stone.

Then—collapse.

The wall crumbled like sand, setting off a chain reaction through the entire structure. One by one, beams snapped and foundations caved, until the infamous Haunted Factory—the city's whispered nightmare—folded into dust.

The blast of destruction echoed for miles.

The ground quivered, jolting houses half a mile away. Windows rattled, and people stumbled awake in panic. Smoke and dust billowed skyward, blotting out the silhouette of the factory.

"Look!" a man shouted from the street, pointing into the distance. His voice carried across the crowd of uneasy neighbours. "The factory—it's gone! There's nothing left but dust!"

Faces turned pale. Murmurs spread like wildfire.

"Should we check it out?" the man asked, eyes darting nervously between the others. "Something… something happened over there."

A frail elder raised a shaking hand, voice heavy with warning. "No. Don't go near. What if it's the ghost's doing? Better to wait for morning."

The words weighed down the group. One by one, hesitant nods followed.

A young woman pulled her shawl tighter, whispering as if afraid the night itself might hear her. "He's right. No one goes near until dawn."

Reluctantly, the crowd retreated indoors, doors slamming shut while unease lingered in the air.

Meanwhile, the culprit moved through the shadows.

Rey's figure slipped between alleys, boots tapping lightly across rooftops before dropping into narrow lanes. His movements carried a strange rhythm, reminding him faintly of a story he once read—an assassin dancing through the city at night.

But his face remained flat. No spark of joy, no thrill. Just cold silence.

Perhaps it was the sting of Aiden's words earlier. Or maybe the curse gnawing at him again. Whatever it was, the light he once carried had dimmed.

His thoughts dulled until he overshot his own home, leaping past it by two houses. He stopped, blinked at the unfamiliar rooftop, then cursed under his breath and turned back.

Landing quietly at his window, Rey slipped into his room and shut the window behind him.

The space was untouched. The same as when he had left.

He peeled off his clothes, changed swiftly, and sank onto his bed. The exhaustion hit him all at once, dragging him under before he could think twice.

Tonight, for the first time in a week, there would be no training. No harsh voice snapping at his heels. No endless drills under Aiden's eyes.

The Haunted Factory lay in ruins. The city stirred in fear. And Rey closed his eyes, letting the darkness finally take him.

But somewhere in the silence of the night, the dust still hung in the air—marking the beginning of whispers that would spread by morning.

...

[29th May]

The morning arrived quietly, sunlight spilling through Rey's window after a long, dreamless night.

For once, he had no training waiting, no errands beyond his own chores. He swept, cleaned, and arranged his things in silence, his movements steady but aimless.

The walls of the house felt like a cage, His mother's words still forbidding him from leaving.

By afternoon, with nothing else left to distract him, Rey sank onto the living room sofa. He picked up the remote, flicked through channels, and finally stopped at the news.

The screen lit up with an image he recognised instantly.

The factory ruins.

Dust and rubble stretched across the ground where the Haunted Factory once stood. Reporters stood at the site, microphones trembling as they described the collapse.

Police barriers surrounded the area, and martial officers patrolled with stern faces.

Rey's grip on the sofa's arm tightened.

'Tch… did they find something on me?'

The thought dug into his chest. For a moment, a shadow of panic crossed his face.

But the reporter's voice eased the storm.

"According to witnesses, strange sounds and tremors had drawn attention during the night. Suspecting the 'ghost stories' might be true, authorities dispatched martial officers to investigate. The public was warned to stay away."

Rey exhaled slowly. His pulse steadied.

Then the words shifted.

"Investigators have discovered claw marks across the ruins… evidence pointing to the presence of a beast."

Rey froze. His eyes narrowed at the television. He knew those marks. They were from the Beast, evidence he found for the first time, leading him into the cavern.

The feed cut to a cavern entrance beneath the rubble. Floodlights lit the yawning hole, cameras trembling as reporters explained that a vast cave system had been uncovered.

Rey's lips pressed into a thin line.

'So the cavern didn't collapse after all… figures.'

Still, he leaned back, convincing himself with quiet confidence. 'It doesn't matter. They won't trace it back to me. The beast corpses are gone. The other passage is sealed. I covered my tracks.'

He almost believed it.

But the discovery didn't fade from the news. Over the next two days, updates poured in across the Kingdom.

Martial artists were dispatched to explore the labyrinth beneath the city. The entire cave was mapped, revealing eerie silence where signs of beasts should have been. Empty claw grooves. Faint traces of blood. But no living monsters.

And then came the breaking report that shook the nation. Find the newest release on novel·fiɾe·net

The Mother Beast's nest had been found.

Cameras broadcast the scene live: a vast chamber littered with shattered stone, massive craters, and gouges carved deep into the walls. The remnants of a battle lingered like scars, impossible to erase.

Experts pointed at collapsed pillars where enormous tentacles had struck. They traced claw marks gouged meters deep. They spoke in hushed tones of a fight no ordinary man could have survived.

And then came the most damning discovery.

A massive, straight horizontal scar through solid rock—clean, sharp, unmistakable.

The mark of a sword.

Reporters fell silent, their voices shaking as they repeated the conclusion. Someone had fought here. A human. Against a monster beyond their imagination.

The Kingdom buzzed with theories. Who could possess such strength? Was it a hidden protector, or a lurking threat? Fear and awe spread through the populace.

Rey watched it all from his sofa, his emotions swinging between unease and grim satisfaction. His secret remained intact… but the echoes of his battle now belonged to the world.

By the time the investigation concluded, the Kingdom was in uproar. People whispered of hidden powers, unknown warriors, and the monsters that had once slept beneath their feet.

For Rey, two days passed like a storm. Moments of tension gnawed at him, only to be followed by relief that he hadn't been exposed. But deep down, a weight pressed against his chest.

Because time wasn't stopping.

The date finally arrived—May 31st.

Tomorrow, he would leave for the Capital.

The city, the cavern, the factory—all of it would be left behind. But the shadows he carried would only grow darker from here.

And in the silence of his room, as the clock ticked toward midnight, Rey wondered—

Would the Capital bring answers to his words… or chains he could never escape?

--> To be Continued…

Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Be sure to add it to your library, as important information will be explained and revealed in later chapters. What is to come will be shared at a later time.