Grey slowed near a cluster of trees, his breath steadying as moonlight trickled through the leaves. The silver glow above bathed the forest in a pale haze quiet, dark, and cold.
Suddenly, he stopped.
His hand clenched into a fist, and in an instant, a two-meter-long sword, forged from pure darkness, materialized in his grasp. Its edge shimmered like liquid shadow.
Without turning, Grey spoke in a cold, cutting tone,
"Don't you know that following someone is bad for your health and life?"
A soft chuckle echoed from behind him.
"No, I haven't heard that one, Mr. Grey."
A black dot shot through the air and formed into the figure of a man , his face barely visible, the rest of his body cloaked in seething darkness.
Grey's body tensed. His eyes narrowed. He had never seen such an authority before. It was unlike anything he'd ever encountered.
In a low, grim tone, he asked,
"Who are you?"
The man didn't answer. Instead, he lunged forward with terrifying speed. Before Grey could react, the stranger's face was nearly upon him.
"Time of Darkness!"
Grey activated his authority just in time, his strength and speed surging in the moonlit night. He barely evaded the strike, but the next attack came instantly. Grey raised his blade to block the blow and managed to push the man back five meters.
The stranger smiled faintly... and dissolved into the shadows.
Grey's heart pounded. He didn't let his guard down. Instead, he invoked another authority.
"Weapon of Darkness."
Black mist coiled around him, forming into a full-body armor. Only his glowing eyes remained visible through the slits. During his experiments after the Elizabeth battle, Grey had discovered that he could use this ability to create armor — though heavy, reducing his agility by 20%.
Suddenly, a strike came from behind.
Grey turned in time, parrying the blow with his sword, but the man vanished again swallowed by the darkness once more.
Then the forest itself changed.
From the shadowed earth, a colossal figure began to rise ten meters tall, made of darkness and malice. It roared and charged at him.
Grey ran.
"Shit! What kind of authority is this? Is he a Soldier of Darkness too? No, he can't be .I'm one myself, and I don't have anything close to this kind of power…"
His thoughts raced as fast as his feet.
"Same rank yet such a huge gap? My abilities feel like child's play next to his…"
The shadow giant thundered after him, relentless.
Then came the voice again, calm and almost amused:
"You really are something, Mr. Grey. To survive this long against just a projection... Why don't you consider joining us?"