The first days on the road were quiet—too quiet.

  Tii led Alyndra, Grav, and Renis along the winding forest trails, training them relentlessly inside the Bond Realm. Time flowed differently there—one day outside felt like weeks within. Their bodies strengthened. Their techniques sharpened. Their senses heightened.

  But then—

  On the fifth day…

  Rai’ten froze mid-flight.

  Nyx stopped mid-step, ears flattening, hackles rising.

  Both beasts turned sharply toward the north.

  Rai’ten’s voice cut into Tii’s mind:

  “Danger.”

  Nyx added, voice deeper, colder:

  “Another one, Tii…

  Another necromancer.”

  Tii smirked—then his smirk faded into a flat, unreadable expression.

  Alyndra noticed immediately.

  “…Tii? What’s wrong?”

  He turned to them—serious for the first time since they’d met.

  “Stick together.

  Watch each other’s backs.

  Nyx and Rai’ten will support you.

  This fight is the real test.”

  Renis swallowed.

  Grav clenched his jaw.

  Alyndra’s hands trembled slightly.

  Tii never looked like this unless someone dangerous was nearby.

  Inside the Bond Realm, he trained them for six more days without rest—bloody drills, brutal conditioning, aura sharpening, blindfold combat, and pressure battling against Nyx’s illusions and Rai’ten’s thunderclaps.

  Finally—

  On the morning of the seventh day, Rai’ten returned with grim news.

  “One day away.

  He is strong.”

  Nyx added plainly:

  “Six orcs.

  Four elven archers.

  Two human assassins.

  A demon necromancer leading them.”

  Tii’s grin sharpened.

  “Perfect. I needed a warm-up.”

  “Tii’s First Lesson: Make Your Environment Kill For You”**

  Tii gathered the three students.

  “Today, we build hell.”

  They looked confused at first.

  Then Tii, Nyx, and Rai’ten split them into two separate groups.

  ? Tii + Alyndra

  ? Nyx + Renis

  ? Rai’ten + Grav

  Across forests, ravines, swamps, and brush—

  They set traps.

  Thousands.

  Everything from:

  ? bone-crushing pit traps

  ? stake-lined trenches

  ? smoke snares

  ? essence-triggered ruptures

  ? paralyzing sigil mines

  ? animal-baited ambush pits

  ? razorwire vine constrictions

  By the time dawn approached…

  They had created a minefield of agony.

  The scouts arrived first.

  Then the orcs.

  Then the assassins.

  Finally—

  The necromancer himself.

  Bejolf the Soul Eater.

  A tall, lanky demon with bone-colored skin, ribs visible through flesh, spine protruding, eyes sunken black, hair hanging like wet ropes. His fingernails curled like talons, stained with dried blood.

  He smelled like rot… and children’s graves.

  When he spoke, his voice rasped like a thousand dead throats whispering at once:

  “Ahhh…

  You must be the one who killed Bone Collector.”

  Tii cracked his neck.

  “Yup. He screamed like a little bitch.”

  Bejolf grinned.

  His jaw stretched too wide, bones cracking, skin splitting.

  “Good… good. I enjoyed the taste of his wife.

  Now I’ll enjoy your students.”

  Every muscle in Tii’s body went rigid.

  Alyndra felt her stomach drop.

  Renis swallowed bile.

  Grav’s skin crawled.

  That comment awakened something primal in Tii.

  He whispered to himself in Ancient Mu:

  “…today you die screaming.”

  Tii signaled with two fingers.

  The three students ran, performing “running screens,” luring Bejolf’s group into trap routes.

  The first line of traps wiped out—

  Two elves — skewered through the lungs.

  One assassin — neck snapped by a whip-vine noose.

  One orc — blown in half by a compression sigil.

  The remaining orcs grouped up—

  And bulldozed a straight corridor through the traps with sheer brute force, using the corpses of their own comrades as shields.

  They survived.

  And emerged into the clearing.

  There stood Tii.

  Calm.

  Centered.

  Unmoving.

  Behind him were Nyx and Rai’ten, guarding Alyndra, Renis, and Grav.

  Bejolf stepped into view and spread his arms wide.

  “I am Bejolf the Soul Eater.

  I raise the dead of every creature I kill…

  and I’ve killed so many.”

  His aura pulsed.

  The air thickened with blood.

  He raised his hands—

  And six corpse-mangled magic beasts rose from the dirt:

  ? a giant panther missing half its skull

  ? a two-headed wolf stitched down the torso

  ? a swamp boar with metal rods hammered through its legs

  ? a giant raven with no wings

  ? a serpent with human arms

  ? a bear with a screaming woman’s face stretched across its chest

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Then—

  Twenty-five dead women rose behind him.

  All prostitutes he had murdered.

  All nude.

  All grotesquely rotting.

  All puppeted by his essence.

  Alyndra nearly vomited.

  Renis froze in cold disgust.

  Grav shivered.

  Tii cracked his knuckles.

  “…you’re a dead man.”

  The three remaining orcs charged first, roaring and swinging massive cleavers.

  Tii shifted Falcon Staff—

  SNAP—TK-TK-TK—

  It split into two metal nunchaku, heavy, forged with Mu essence.

  The first orc raised his axe—

  CRRK—CRUSH—

  Tii’s nunchaku came down like meteor hammers.

  The orc’s skull caved inward, eyes bursting from pressure.

  Second orc swung wide—

  Tii sidestepped.

  CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACK—!

  Twenty-four rapid nunchaku strikes caved in ribs, shattered collarbone, tore jaw off, and snapped the spine.

  The orc collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.

  The last orc grabbed Tii from behind—

  Tii flipped one nunchaku backward.

  CRRSH—SPLAT—

  It smashed through the orc’s nose, jaw, teeth, and front of the skull in one spine-chilling blow.

  His head burst like an overripe melon.

  The three students watched in horrified awe.

  Nyx growled at them:

  “Do not interfere.

  Watch.

  Learn.”

  Two human assassins used the chaos to appear from Tii’s blind spot.

  Fast.

  Silent.

  Deadly.

  Tii parried the first dagger.

  Barely dodged the second.

  Then—

  He inhaled.

  Held his breath.

  And dropped a sphere.

  FWOOOOSH—!

  A massive cloud of deep purple smoke exploded around him.

  Paralysis venom.

  Sigil-laced.

  Toxic.

  The assassins choked mid-step.

  Their limbs froze.

  Their pupils dilated.

  Tii stepped through the smoke calmly.

  WHACK—WHACK.

  Two clean head-crushing strikes.

  Both assassins collapsed with caved skulls.

  The corpses lurched and twitched in the dirt.

  Tii didn’t blink.

  Now only Bejolf remained, surrounded by his undead abominations.

  Nyx and Rai’ten stepped behind Tii, forming a three-point stance.

  The three students watched—

  shaking, breathless, terrified…

  And utterly inspired.

  Tii cracked his neck, blood splattered across his cheeks.

  His eyes burned with pure, cold hatred.

  “Bejolf.”

  The necromancer smiled.

  “Yes, Mu boy?”

  Tii lowered his stance.

  “Let’s kill each other.”

  THE SOUL EATER’S LAST LAUGH”** ?

  The air turned cold—

  A crawling, suffocating chill.

  Bejolf raised both arms.

  His bones cracked like snapping twigs.

  And then—

  One hundred more corpses

  —women, twisted, mutilated, hollow-eyed—

  erupted from the earth like rotting roots.

  A total of one hundred twenty-five dead women now stood in a semicircle around Alyndra, Renis, and Grav.

  Alyndra gasped so hard her throat burned.

  Renis staggered backward, eyes wide.

  Grav nearly vomited.

  Tii exhaled slowly.

  “They need this.”

  Nyx snarled.

  “They are not ready.”

  “They will be,” Tii said. “Protect them—only defensively.

  Let them fight.”

  Nyx growled but obeyed.

  Rai’ten circled overhead, screeching thunder.

  The three young warriors braced themselves as the corpses charged.

  Bejolf’s grin widened unnaturally, splitting the corners of his cheeks.

  “Your students will scream beautifully.”

  Tii cracked his knuckles.

  “Last chance to shut up.”

  The demon bent backward—

  so far his head touched his own heels—

  then snapped forward with boneless speed.

  He was on Tii instantly.

  CRACK—THWIP—SWISH—WHUMP—!

  His legs blurred.

  Side kicks.

  Hook kicks.

  Piston knees.

  A hundred strikes per second.

  His arms stayed behind his head—

  lounging, mocking—

  as his legs did all the killing.

  Tii blocked the first flurry.

  Barely.

  Then the second—

  Struggling.

  Then the third—

  Blood sprayed as kicks slipped through his guard:

  ? A heel smashed his cheek.

  ? A shin cracked his ribs.

  ? A knee split his eyebrow.

  ? A hook kick rang his skull like a bell.

  Bejolf giggled, the sound like rust scraping bone:

  “HeeheeheeHEE—ohhh Mu boy, you’re SLOW.”

  Tii gritted his teeth.

  Even with Rai’ten striking from above, Bejolf bobbed and weaved like a worm made of lightning.

  Tii’s guard… collapsed.

  He was now only avoiding maybe 40% of strikes.

  Then 20%.

  Then—

  Almost none.

  Each kick was a whip cracking flesh.

  Each knee was a hammer breaking bone.

  Tii staggered.

  Dropped to a knee.

  His vision blurred.

  Bejolf leaned in, whispering in his ear:

  “If you die here, I’ll raise you too.”

  Tii’s eyes sharpened.

  A calm, murderous smile crawled onto his face.

  “…no.”

  Rai’ten dove—

  a bolt of thunder—

  and slashed Bejolf’s back with streaking talons.

  For the first time, the necromancer misstepped.

  Tii didn’t waste it.

  He slipped the next kick—

  grabbed Bejolf’s ankle—

  and whispered with a grin:

  “My turn.”

  Then hell began.

  Tii whipped Bejolf sideways.

  CRACK—!

  Into one tree.

  Then swung him the other direction—

  CRUNCH—!

  Another tree.

  Side to side.

  Side to side.

  TEN TIMES he smashed the demon like a ragdoll.

  Each impact ruptured organs, split skin, shattered bones.

  Bejolf coughed blood—but kept laughing, his voice gargling:

  “H-hehee… ha… hahAHAHA—!”

  Tii’s eye twitched.

  “Shut up.”

  He hurled the demon skyward.

  Jumped.

  Met him midair.

  And began punching.

  A barrage of fists—

  56 strikes in less than two seconds—

  Ribs snapped.

  Spine bent.

  Limbs broke backward.

  Flesh tore in strips.

  Bejolf’s body hung in the air, shaking from the force.

  Still fucking laughing.

  Until—

  Tii twisted midair and kicked him upward again.

  The Execution of Bejolf the Soul Eater

  Tii leapt after him, soaring higher.

  Falcon Staff shifted—

  metal groaning—

  until it became a black, obsidian sledgehammer longer than Tii was tall.

  Wind howled around him.

  Lightning crawled across the hammer’s face.

  His muscles tensed, veins glowing silver.

  He descended like a meteor.

  Bejolf looked up with cracked teeth and blood-smeared grin—

  “This is fun—”

  BOOOOOOOM—!!!

  The hammer landed.

  Bejolf exploded.

  Not figuratively.

  Literally.

  His skull shattered into mist.

  His torso imploded.

  His legs spiraled away.

  His spine liquefied.

  A crater blew open beneath them as wet gore splashed in a 40-meter circle.

  The laughter finally stopped.

  With their master dead, the undead women collapsed mid-attack—

  falling apart into piles of mutilated bone and rotted flesh.

  Renis stood shaking, covered in gore but breathing hard.

  Alyndra’s hands dripped with corpse blood, eyes wide but steady.

  Grav was panting, fists bruised and bleeding, but alive.

  They had survived nightmares.

  Tii limped toward them.

  Face swollen.

  Ribs fractured.

  Lip split.

  Arm trembling.

  He smiled weakly.

  “So…

  what did you learn?”

  Alyndra spoke first, quietly:

  “…that monsters come in many forms.”

  Grav added:

  “…and fear won’t save you. Only skill.”

  Renis finished:

  “…and… you’re terrifying, Tii.”

  Tii laughed—then collapsed face-first in the dirt.

  Nyx carried him.

  Rai’ten opened a shadowgate.

  The four students entered the Bond Realm.

  Tii slept on the stone platform, body wrapped in healing essence.

  The students sat nearby…

  Trying to understand the tiny ghost bird circling them.

  Miko screeched like:

  “BWAAAH—KREEH—GAAAH—”

  (sounding like a duck-chicken dying in reverse)

  Renis frowned.

  Grav squinted.

  Alyndra covered her ears.

  Rai’ten muttered:

  “I think he said… ‘hello’?”

  Nyx sighed.

  “No.

  He said: ‘I pooped in your shoe.’”

  The three froze.

  Tii snored loudly.

  After the slaughter of Bejolf the Soul Eater, Tii gave his new students no rest.

  The next morning—

  still limping, still bruised, still coughing up dried blood—

  he slapped Renis, Grav, and Alyndra awake.

  “Time to learn something important,” he muttered.

  “What—more fighting?” Grav groaned.

  “Nope,” Tii said. “Something more important.”

  Nyx translated dryly:

  “He means: poisons, toxins, paralysis mixtures, antidotes, clotting salves, bone-knitting paste, burn-treatment slime, Mu-style ration bars, and sleep-smoke.”

  Renis blinked.

  Alyndra gagged at the smell of the ingredients.

  Grav whispered, “Why does everything he make bubble like it’s alive…?”

  For the next week:

  ? They learned to grind powdered spinal moss into fast-acting paralytic smoke.

  ? They learned to refine jungle herbs into Mu healing paste that burns like molten acid but heals twice as fast.

  ? They learned corpse-vine resin can strengthen traps or melt metal depending on how it’s cooked.

  ? They learned Mu antidotes were based on pain tolerance, not comfort—Tii slapped their chests with stinging salves every morning.

  ? They tasted absolutely awful “Mu nutritional cubes,” which Grav swore tasted like “tree bark and murder.”

  By sunrise of the sixth day, all three finally understood:

  Mu training isn’t just combat—

  it’s surviving the world trying to kill you.

  A week later, the group reached a familiar landmark.

  Tii recognized the crooked tree.

  The shattered wagon wheel.

  The dusty path leading downward toward a rusted grate.

  He smiled slightly.

  “Alright, follow me. And don’t breathe too deep.

  Renis, especially you—your nose’s too fancy.”

  Renis scoffed.

  Two minutes later he gagged harder than anyone.

  The sewer stench hit them like a physical slap.

  “Why… would anyone live here…?” Alyndra choked.

  Tii shrugged, unfazed.

  “It’s home.”

  He leapt down the tunnel and vanished into the shadows.

  Renis, Grav, and Alyndra moved forward cautiously.

  Darkness swallowed them.

  Dripping water.

  Echoing pipes.

  The heavy scent of rust, rot, and old fear.

  Then—

  shff—shff—shff—shff

  Shadows darted.

  Four small shapes zipped around them.

  Then—

  THWIP—CLANK—BOOM—FSSSSSSHH—!

  Renis’s ankle tangled in a tripwire, sending him tumbling.

  A smoke bomb puffed under Grav’s feet, disorienting him.

  A toxin-less flash bomb blinded Alyndra for two seconds.

  And then—

  Three small figures jumped them at once.

  ? A staff cracked against Grav’s shin.

  ? A rope-line snagged Renis’s arm.

  ? A Nunchaku nearly clipped Alyndra’s ear.

  ? And ghost-quiet footsteps circled them with Mu-style precision.

  Renis gasped.

  “Wh—kids!?”

  A voice echoed in the dark:

  “Rule number one… no killing.”

  A second voice giggled.

  A third said: “Told you we could beat ‘em.”

  A fourth:

  “They’re strong but they ain’t Mu.”

  Renis, Grav, and Alyndra were overwhelmed.

  Thrown.

  Tripped.

  Pinned.

  Disarmed.

  All without lethal force—

  exactly Tii’s rule.

  Alyndra almost threw a fire spell before Grav yelled:

  “They’re children! Actual children!”

  Then—

  CLAP—CLAP—CLAP—CLAP

  Footsteps.

  Torchlight.

  Tii stood there smirking, arms crossed.

  “Man… you guys lost fast.”

  Nyx snorted with laughter beside him.

  Rai’ten perched on a pipe overhead, judging everyone.

  Four small silhouettes rushed Tii.

  Gadget, Gu’ork, Mira, and Ly’sia.

  They hugged him—

  Mira nearly knocking him over doing a running tackle hug.

  Renis, Grav, and Alyndra stared.

  “These are… YOUR first students?” Renis whispered.

  “Yup,” Tii said proudly. “The original disasters.”

  Ly’sia flicked her hair smugly.

  Gadget held up a scrapyard-made laptop.

  Gu’ork flexed his rope skills.

  Mira grinned with her nunchaku spinning.

  Alyndra blinked.

  “They’re… incredible.”

  Tii nodded.

  “Yeah. And annoyingly fast learners.”

  The kids eagerly updated him:

  They had trained other runaways, orphans, and abandoned kids.

  Formed a hidden Mu-style sewer ninja clan.

  Their missions?

  ? Rob corrupt churches blind.

  ? Sabotage human trafficking routes.

  ? Expose officials during broadcasts.

  ? Free slaves and orphans.

  ? Destroy necromancer caches.

  ? Spread anonymous messages about corruption.

  Tii raised an eyebrow.

  “You made a ninja orphan army?”

  Gadget shrugged innocently.

  Ly’sia answered:

  “We documented everything and left clues that make them blame YOU instead of us.”

  Mira beamed.

  Gu’ork nodded proudly.

  Tii—

  burst into laughter.

  “That’s my kids. But keep the Mu signatures light—

  don’t get caught. Ever.”

  They nodded fiercely.

  A small goodbye, a group hug, and a barrage of “come back alive.”

  Tii ruffled their hair.

  Then turned serious.

  “Be proud of yourselves. But stay small, stay smart, stay unseen.”

  They saluted him Mu-style.

  Tii walked away with a soft, proud smile.

  The moment they left the sewer corridors…

  Silence.

  The real Poverty Town was worse than Renis ever imagined.

  Starved faces.

  Soulless eyes.

  Children selling themselves.

  Parents doing unspeakable things for crumbs.

  Drug dens swallowing human lives.

  And the “church workers” pretending to “help”—

  while ensuring the poverty never ended.

  Grav clenched his fists.

  Alyndra covered her mouth, trembling.

  Renis whispered:

  “...how did we never know…?”

  Tii’s voice was quiet.

  Unusually quiet.

  “I came here once.

  Saved who I could.

  Killed who deserved it.

  But you can’t fix a system by punching it.”

  No jokes.

  No sarcasm.

  Just truth.

  They left the town in silence.

  No one spoke until the trees swallowed the buildings.

  The forest grew dense, humid, full of memories.

  Tii stepped lightly, recognizing vines and broken branches.

  Nyx walked beside him in the real world for once—

  hackles raised, watching the kids.

  Renis exhaled.

  “So this is where you nearly died nine times…?”

  “Yup,” Tii nodded. “Good times.”

  “No it wasn’t,” Nyx grumbled. “You were screaming.”

  “I was mostly screaming in excitement,” Tii protested.

  Rai’ten rolled his eyes.

  Alyndra, Grav, and Renis exchanged nervous looks.

  Soon—

  They reached a clearing.

  And there it was.

  Tii’s sea vessel sat in the hidden cove.

  Massive.

  Beautiful.

  Built with:

  ? Beastman hull plating

  ? Dwarven structural reinforcement

  ? Elven wind channels

  ? Mu enchantments

  ? Self-sustaining water condenser

  ? A mini forge

  ? Alchemy and crafting tables

  ? Shadow anchors

  Grav stared in awe.

  Renis whispered, “This isn’t a boat… this is a miracle.”

  Alyndra stepped inside and gasped.

  Tii smirked.

  “Welcome aboard.

  Next stop—Lumin?us, continent of the Light Demon Faction.”

  Nyx curled into Tii’s shadow.

  Rai’ten perched on the railing.

  The three students grabbed rope, sails, anchors.

  Tii stood at the helm.

  Wind gathered.

  Essence responded.

  And the vessel began to move.