Night had settled over Tokyo like a velvet curtain of neon lights and distant traffic.

  Hidden beneath an abandoned shrine at the edge of the city, a secret training ground breathed quietly in the dark.

  Stone pillars circled an open courtyard. Moss crept along cracked tiles. Old prayer seals fluttered from the ceiling beams.

  Mckell stood in the center, staring at Emaji.

  The blind man leaned casually on his staff.

  “Your first lesson,” , “is simple.”

  “Good. Because my brain is already full.”

  .

  “Don’t die.”

  “Ah! See teaching method!”

  She didn’t laugh.

  She knew Emaji wasn’t joking.

  Emaji tapped the ground with his staff.

  The sound echoed softly through the shrine.

  “Spirit energy exists everywhere,” . “Most humans never notice it. But the moment your mark awakened… you became a magnet for it.”

  Mckell looked down at the faint spiral glowing beneath his shirt.

  “So I just absorb it?”

  “No.”

  “You survive it.”

  The air suddenly grew heavy.

  Spirit pressure flooded the courtyard.

  Mckell staggered.

  It felt like the atmosphere itself had doubled in weight.

  “What—”

  “Focus,” .

  “You used Spiritwalk by instinct before. That was panic.”

  Mckell clenched his fists.

  The mark burned hotter.

  “But if you want control,” , “you must listen to the energy inside you.”

  Mckell closed his eyes.

  At first, he heard nothing.

  Just wind.

  Then—

  A pulse.

  A slow, rhythmic vibration deep inside his chest.

  Boom.

  Boom.

  Boom.

  The same rhythm as the glowing mark.

  His breathing slowed.

  Spirit energy gathered around him like drifting smoke.

  Rin’s eyes widened slightly.

  “He’s doing it already.”

  , “Damn bruh, damn.”

  .

  “Good.”

  But the moment shattered.

  A violent explosion rocked the shrine.

  Stone cracked.

  Dust fell from the ceiling.

  Everyone turned toward the entrance.

  A massive silhouette stepped through the broken gate.

  Seven feet tall.

  Armor forged from black spirit-metal.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  A glowing red Oni mask covering its face.

  The air around it trembled with dark energy.

  Emeka stepped backward.

  “Guys, that's not human.”

  “Target confirmed.”

  “Oni Hunter.”

  The giant stepped forward.

  Each step cracked the floor.

  “I am Raiko of the Black Chain,”

  “My orders are simple.”

  “Bring back the Vessel.”

  “Or?”

  “Bring back what remains.”

  Before anyone could react—

  Raiko moved.

  The giant crossed the courtyard in a blur.

  His blade slammed downward.

  BOOM.

  Stone exploded where Mckell had been standing.

  Mckell barely rolled away in time.

  Rin lunged forward, her thunder-marked blade flashing.

  CLANG.

  Sparks erupted as their weapons collided.

  Raiko didn’t move.

  He simply shoved her back with overwhelming strength.

  Rin slid across the floor.

  Emeka grabbed a fallen staff.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing but we move!”

  Raiko caught the staff with one hand.

  Crushed it instantly.

  “Insignificant.”

  He tossed Emeka aside.

  Mckell stood up slowly.

  Fear churned in his stomach.

  But beneath the fear…

  The pulse returned.

  Boom.

  Boom.

  Boom.

  Emaji’s voice echoed calmly behind him.

  “Remember the rhythm.”

  “Spiritwalk isn’t escape.”

  “It’s movement.”

  Raiko charged again.

  This time, Mckell didn’t run.

  He inhaled deeply.

  And stepped forward.

  The world slowed.

  Spirit energy wrapped around his body like flowing light.

  His form blurred.

  Raiko’s blade sliced through empty air.

  Mckell appeared behind him.

  Controlled Spiritwalk.

  “He did it…”

  Raiko turned, surprised for the first time.

  “Adaptive Vessel.”

  The giant attacked again, faster this time.

  But Mckell moved like a ghost.

  Step.

  Phase.

  Shift.

  Each movement flowing with the rhythm inside him.

  Raiko growled.

  “You learn too quickly.”

  He raised his blade for a final strike—

  But Emaji’s staff struck the ground.

  CLACK.

  The entire shrine erupted with spiritual force.

  Invisible chains of light wrapped around Raiko instantly.

  The Oni Hunter froze mid-attack.

  .

  “Lesson over.”

  The chains tightened.

  Raiko struggled violently.

  “You cannot hold me forever, blind man.”

  “Forever?”

  “No.”

  The chains shattered.

  But Raiko didn’t attack again.

  Instead, he stepped backward into the darkness.

  His glowing mask stared at Mckell.

  “This hunt has begun.”

  Then he vanished into the night.

  Silence returned to the shrine.

  Mckell exhaled slowly.

  His hands trembled.

  “Yo... I almost died.”

  “Yes, almost.”

  “But you also survived your first hunter.”

  “Next time we train… can we remove the giant demon from the curriculum?”

  “That wasn’t a normal Oni.”

  .

  “No.”

  “That was Shinra’s message.”

  “So he’s coming.”

  “Yes.”

  “And next time… he won’t send just one.”

  Final Scene – Oni Syndicate War Chamber

  Deep beneath Tokyo, Warlord Shinra watched the battle recording through spirit projections.

  Raiko knelt before him.

  “The Vessel has begun training.”

  Shinra remained silent.

  “Good.”

  The warlord stood from his throne.

  “Awaken the Crimson Circle.”

  Behind him, twelve massive Oni masks lit up in red.

  “Tokyo will burn until the Vessel kneels.”

  The hunt has begun.

  Mckell survived his first Oni Hunter.

  But the Syndicate has only started sending its monsters.

  Next Episode: “Crimson Circle.”

  Twelve Oni generals.

  One city.

  One Vessel caught in the middle.