"Gotta run! Gotta run! Gotta ruunnn!!"

Speedy's voice carried over the battlefield, bright and full of reckless energy, yet beneath it lay steel—a sharpened determination.

This wasn't their first time facing a horde—far from it. But this time, it wasn't just a fight. It was a hunt, and the target was Key.

And Speedy wasn't having that shit.

"I won't let you hurt him!"

A sonic boom cracked through the battlefield as she shattered the sound barrier, her body a streak of blinding white light. She had only met Key today, but something about him clicked. He matched her energy in a way no one else had.

And these Abyssal shitheads?

They needed a reminder of their place.

"And I'll gladly deliver it!"

Her dark grin widened as she barreled straight into the horde.

"Sonic… BOOM!!"

The impact was cataclysmic.

A shockwave tore through the battlefield. Abyssal creatures flew, their bodies ripped apart by the sheer force of her velocity. The very air fractured, leaving a devastating trail of destruction.

"Damn Speedy! Good shit!" Key called from behind, even though he couldn't actually see her in action.

He didn't need to.

Speed was her domain, and she moved like a legend—like the Flash himself had entered the battlefield.

But Key had bigger problems.

His eyes locked onto the approaching wave of monsters.

[Abyssal Werewolves LV.4] (x50)

[Abyssal Reapers LV.6] (x20)

[Void Runners LV.5] (x30)

[Blackheads LV.3] (x15)

The Reapers hovered in midair, their scythes gleaming with dark energy. The Void Runners screeched as they lunged forward, their twisted, humanoid forms radiating an unnatural hunger. The Blackheads, their grotesque tendrils writhing, pulsed with ominous purple orbs, ready to release a devastating blast.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Key smirked.

There was only one skill for this situation.

"Increase Aura. Activate Blackhole."

The air shifted as his power surged.

[Overwhelming Aura LV.1 has increased!]

[Blackhole LV.1 has been activated!]

A chilling void-like aura erupted from his body, dark purple waves pulsing outward like the abyss itself had come alive.

The Abyssal creatures froze.

Some hesitated.

Some trembled.

Some fled in terror.

But they wouldn't escape.

The Blackhole expanded, warping reality, the battlefield darkening as the spiraling force devoured everything in its path.

Key raised his hand, ready to finish them off—

Until.

"Key, stop."

A voice.

Eerie.

Chilling.

Wrong.

It whispered into his ear like a breath of death itself.

Key's entire body froze.

His eyes snapped toward the battlefield, searching—and then he saw it.

[Abyssal Wraith LV. ??]

A phantom. A mirage. A shifting, unstable shadow that flickered in and out of existence.

"As unconvincing as it may seem, we are not here to harm you or those you are with. We merely want to meet our cr—"

"And how the fuck do I know you're telling the truth?" Key cut in, his voice sharp with disbelief.

This had trap written all over it.

Yet the Wraith remained unmoved, its presence unshaken.

"Let us show you then, Key… who you truly are."

Pain.

Raw, unbearable pain exploded inside his head.

His vision blurred. His body weakened.

The Blackhole flickered, its devastating pull collapsing inward.

Darkness swallowed him.

"Rest now. We'll see you soon… Master."

Key's body slumped, falling toward the battlefield—

Until a Void Runner caught him.

"Let's leave. We're done here."

"PLATINUM PRISON!"

Sketch's voice cut through the air, sharp and unyielding.

A silver Abyssal force materialized, crushing the Void Runner and forming an impenetrable cage around Key's unconscious body.

"Now, Gamble!"

Gamble cracked his neck.

His face was unreadable, but his aura screamed violence.

"Expand."

Dark, writhing Abyssal energy exploded from his body, his muscles bulging as he towered at 10 feet tall.

With a deafening roar, Gamble leaped into the sky.

And then, he slammed his hand down.

The ground fractured. A gaping fissure swallowed dozens of Abyssal creatures whole, the battlefield shattering beneath his wrath.

"Spam!"

"On it!"

A scarlet orb flickered to life in Spam's palm, dark energy swirling with deadly intent.

She didn't know what the hell had just happened—one second, Key was dominating, and the next, he was gone.

But that didn't matter now.

"Erasure Ball, GO!"

The orb hurtled forward, erasing anything in its path.

But she wasn't done.

"GO! GO! GO!!"

She fired again. And again. And again.

Thousands of Abyssal creatures vanished in an instant.

The sky screamed as the battlefield erupted.

"Upgrade Erasure Balls."

A cold, controlled voice.

Nythra.

Her eyes were dark, her aura dangerous.

For a moment, hesitation flickered in her expression.

'I don't want to hurt them… I can't—'

But the thought vanished.

"This will do."

The Erasure Balls grew, now meteors of annihilation, ripping through the Abyssal horde with sonic booms that echoed across the battlefield.

"Is Key okay?!"

Speedy appeared beside Sketch and Gamble, eyes wide with worry.

Sketch inhaled.

"He should be."

He raised a finger, Abyssal energy coating his hand as he drew a door on the Platinum Prison.

The cell opened—

Empty.

"He's… gone."

Sketch's voice barely registered the words.

Speedy's face fell, her playful energy crumbling into pure horror.

Gamble's expression darkened, a heavy shadow settling over him. He had seen too much in the Abyss to not understand.

If someone was taken into the Abyss…

They might as well be dead.

Key was gone.

"Guys!" Spam's voice was bright, excited. "We're done killing the beasts! How's dear Key? Why are you all looking so—"

Her words died as she caught their expressions.

Sketch looked away.

"He's dead."

Silence.

Then—

"No…"

A whisper. Trembling.

Nythra.

Her wide eyes shook, her breath ragged.

"No… NO!!"

Her scream ripped through the battlefield.

Power erupted. The very Abyss trembled.

And the ground beneath her shattered.