The command center was alive with the hum of machinery, the constant flashing of monitors displaying live feeds of chaos from the facility's exterior, and the muffled crackle of radio communications. Renji's figure loomed in the doorway, his monstrous form casting a long shadow across the room. His eyes burned with the cold intensity of a predator, and the energy radiating from his mutated body felt suffocating.
The remaining soldiers inside the command center were no rookies. They had seen their fair share of chaos, but they had never faced something like Renji. The sight of him—claws glinting, his skin radiating with dark, dungeon energy—struck them into a moment of paralyzing fear.
"Stop him!" one of the soldiers shouted, his voice cracking as he drew his weapon. It was too late. Renji was already moving.
He surged forward with an inhuman speed, faster than they could react. A soldier aimed his rifle, but Renji was on him in a blur, his claws tearing through the air to cleave through the barrel of the weapon, rendering it useless. With a single swipe, he sent the soldier sprawling across the floor, his chest oozing blood.
Another soldier attempted to charge with a combat knife, but Renji sidestepped the attack with terrifying ease, using the soldier's momentum against him. His claws sank into the man's side, and with a twist of his wrist, he threw the soldier into the nearest wall with enough force to create a crater. The soldier crumpled, unconscious.
The remaining soldiers began to retreat, seeking cover behind consoles and large equipment. They opened fire in sporadic bursts, but Renji was already gone, a streak of motion that dodged the bullets with unsettling ease. The rapid firing of energy-based weapons lit up the room, but Renji moved like liquid, weaving through the hail of fire until he was upon them once more.
"Fight back!" one of them screamed, his voice trembling. But the terror in their eyes told a different story.
Renji wasn't done. He reached the first soldier, his claws grabbing the man by the throat and lifting him off the ground. There was no mercy in Renji's gaze—only the cold, unfeeling need to break through the last line of defense.
With a final, sharp twist of his wrist, Renji crushed the soldier's neck, ending his life with a sickening crack. His body fell limply to the floor.
The last remaining soldiers turned and ran, but they didn't get far. Renji was everywhere at once, his speed overwhelming, his instincts tuned to perfection. His claws tore through their ranks, leaving nothing but mangled bodies behind. Within moments, the command center was littered with the corpses of the elite forces.
But Renji's eyes were not filled with triumph. Instead, they lingered on the only survivor—the officer standing behind a security desk, his trembling hands hovering over a keypad.
Matsuda.
---
Matsuda's face was pale, drenched in sweat, and his hands shook as he frantically pressed buttons, his mind racing for some way to stop Renji. He had heard the stories of the rogue hunter who had turned into something unrecognizable, but seeing the nightmare before him was a different experience entirely.
"Please," Matsuda begged, his voice cracking. "I-I don't know anything. You're too late. It's all in the files. You can't stop it."
Renji walked slowly toward the desk, his eyes never leaving Matsuda. He could sense the fear emanating from the man, and though he didn't care for the life of this soldier, he understood the value of information. The mission wasn't over. Not yet.
"You're going to tell me everything," Renji growled, his voice guttural and cold.
Matsuda's eyes darted to the nearby computer terminal, the command center's main system. He knew that if Renji wanted the information, it was all there—encrypted files, command logs, research data. But the threat of Renji's monstrous form made it clear that the man was in no position to play the hero.
"I don't know what you think you can do," Matsuda said, his voice still shaking. "You're... you're too far gone. Whatever you're looking for, it's already—"
Renji didn't wait for him to finish. His claws shot out and slammed into the desk, shredding it to pieces in an instant. The screech of metal and glass filled the air, and Matsuda's breath caught in his throat as Renji leaned down, his face inches from his own.
"Tell me where the files are, Matsuda," Renji said, his voice dropping to a low, venomous growl. "Or I'll make sure you never speak again."
The officer's lips trembled, his entire body shaking as Renji's claws hovered just above his throat. The sight of Renji's glowing eyes, the unnatural aura surrounding him, sent a wave of panic coursing through Matsuda's veins.
"Th-th-the files are encrypted," Matsuda stammered. "You'll need the admin key... it's... it's in the system backup."
Renji's eyes flickered briefly, and his head tilted to the side. "Where?"
"Central database," Matsuda replied, his voice barely a whisper. "It's all in the backup. You can't get it without—"
"Without what?" Renji interrupted, his patience slipping. "You want me to tear you apart piece by piece until you can't speak anymore? Don't test me, Matsuda."
The officer visibly winced, swallowing hard. His hands trembled as he pointed toward the terminal, now half-destroyed. "Backup... has to be accessed manually... you need access codes. I-I can help you with that."
Renji's claws dug into the desk further, splintering the last remnants of the surface, and his gaze became more intense, more predatory. "Give me the codes. Now."
Matsuda nodded quickly, stammering as he input the necessary commands into the terminal. "There... it's done. The access codes are in the system. You can pull the files now. I'm just... just a technician. Please, just don't—"
Renji stepped back and gestured for Matsuda to finish the process. Despite the deep fear in his voice, Matsuda did as he was told, his fingers moving quickly to navigate the system. The screen flickered for a moment before the encrypted files appeared, a series of warnings flashing on the screen.
Renji glanced over the data, his mind processing the information at a rate too fast for any normal human to follow. It was all there—the experiments, the organizations involved, the full extent of the mutations he had undergone. And more importantly, the truth about the dungeons, and the people who had been behind their creation.
Renji's gaze darkened as he scrolled through the information. The deeper he went, the more he saw the monstrous undertakings of the very organization that had set this nightmare in motion.
"Is this all of it?" Renji growled, his claws tightening. "Is there more?"
Matsuda swallowed, clearly on the brink of breaking down. "Th-th-there's more in the archives. They're... they're still experimenting. It's... it's not just the mutations. They're—"
Renji didn't wait for him to finish. With one swift motion, Renji grabbed Matsuda by the collar and slammed him into the wall. "Tell me. What else?"
The officer gasped, eyes bulging with fear. "They're... they're creating weapons. Soldiers. Hunters like you. Worse. They're breeding... breeding something. Something that could—"
"Could what?" Renji's voice was a dark growl.
"B-be stronger than you," Matsuda finally whispered, his voice breaking.
Renji released him, and Matsuda crumpled to the floor, gasping for air.
Renji looked at the terminal screen again, the weight of the information settling into him. His thoughts were racing, his mind a storm of images and data. These people... they had done it all. And they would pay.
---
The command center was silent now, save for the hum of the machinery and the soft beeping of the computer terminal. Renji's fingers hovered over the keys, his mind reeling with the implications of what he had just learned.
The files had unlocked something dark, something that Renji hadn't expected. The truth about the dungeon experiments, the creation of artificial hunters, and the horrific steps taken to warp human and monster alike—it was all there, waiting for him.
But there was more. Hidden within the encrypted folders were plans, military assets, and the names of individuals who were already working toward the next phase of the plan—the one that would see the world flooded with creatures worse than Renji himself.
He couldn't let this stand. This wasn't just about his survival anymore. This was about stopping the real enemy.
Renji's eyes flickered to Matsuda, who was still slumped on the floor, trembling in terror. Renji's expression remained cold, calculating.
"You've been useful," Renji muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
With a swift motion, he accessed the final set of files, memorizing the codes and key data as his thoughts drifted to what lay ahead. He would need to take this information to the right people—but not yet. First, he had a bigger problem to deal with.
The world had just become far more dangerous than he had imagined.