The moon hung high in the night sky, casting a pale, ghostly light over the pit filled with restless, hungry zombies. Shinon stood at the pit’s edge, his eyes locked on the hundreds of undead inside the hole, waiting to be buried along with Aric.

As for Aric, the former ruler of a nearby city, was now bound and helpless, awaiting his gruesome fate.

"Any last wishes, Aric?" Shinon’s voice cut through the chilly air.

Despite the man’s countless sins, he had decided to give Aric this small courtesy. But he quickly realised that someone like Aric didn’t deserve it.

Aric, his face battered and bruised from his earlier encounter with Shinon, grinned wickedly.

"Oh, you know what I’d love, Shinon? A night alone with those lovely girls from your precious settlement." Aric chuckled, his face contorted into a lecherous grin.

Shinon’s expression hardened. He had expected nothing less from the man who revelled in cruelty and exploitation. Without another word, he turned away from Aric and extended his hand, summoning a massive shadow tentacle.

Shinon proceeded to lift Aric off his feet. The former ruler struggled against his bonds, but it was futile. With a grim determination, Shinon moved to drop him into the pit, where the waiting zombies would tear him apart.

As the tentacle snaked its way down into the pit, Aric’s laughter turned into frantic shouts. But it was too late for the man.

"Rest in pieces, I guess," Shinon mumbled, and as he was about to turn away from the macabre scene, his retinal map picked up something unusual.

But before he could do anything, a series of smoke bombs detonated around them. Thick, billowing clouds of smoke engulfed the area, obscuring vision and making it difficult to breathe. Shinon’s eyes widened as he sensed the presence of intruders.

The system immediately issued him a mission to chase away the intruders, and Shinon acted while Kira and a few others rushed the public to safety.

"What the hell is going on?" Selena muttered her senses on high alert. "Don’t tell me there were people who wanted to save this fool!"

The Phoenixes joined in as well, ready to fight it out. But they had no idea who could be bold enough to attack them without worrying about consequences.

During the chaos, a group of shadowy figures emerged from the smoke. They moved with uncanny precision, their faces hidden beneath masks. Each of them was armed and ready for combat.

Surprisingly, they were in a much better gear than Shinon had crafted since transmigrating to the zombie-filled earth. But the real shock came later when Shinon recognised their armour and weapon branding.

"Dad’s mark? But how is this possible?" Shinon said and blanked out.

The signature of his father, who had been missing for years, was on the gear of the assailants. But how could it be possible? Could it be that his father was transported into the same world when he had gone missing?

Hundreds of questions ran rampant inside Shinon’s head as he struggled to grasp the discovery. Thankfully, he had a way to get answers for himself... by capturing the assailants.

But before Shinon could react, the intruders had closed in on Aric. For a moment, Shinon thought they were trying to rescue the ruler. Until one of the attackers swiftly snapped the former ruler’s neck. Aric’s body went limp, his life extinguished in an instant.

But even then, the assailants didn’t leave Aric alone, and a hulking monster of a man threw Aric’s corpse over his shoulder and began retreating.

"No!" Shinon cried out, but it was too late to save Aric. The intruders had come with a single purpose, and they had executed it swiftly.

One of the intruders saw Shinon rushing towards them and grabbed Selena, who happened to be closest to them.

As Shinon tried to pursue the fleeing intruders, the man struck with lightning speed, knocking Selena off her feet and into the pit. Time seemed to slow as Shinon watched in horror as Selena tumbled into the writhing mass of zombies.

In that fraction of a second, Shinon had to make a choice. Either to give the assailants a chase and hopefully capture one of them or save Selena, as there was no one around who could have saved her.

Regretfully, Shinon decided to do the latter as there was no guarantee that he would be able to capture one of the assailants when they had better equipment than him.

"Selena!" Shinon’s heart raced as he rushed to the edge of the pit, his mind racing with fear for her safety.

The zombies below clawed and reached for Selena, their hungry moans growing louder. Without hesitation, Shinon summoned his shadow powers, creating a sturdy platform beneath Selena’s falling form. She landed safely on the shadowy surface just inches above the grasping hands of the undead.

Selena gasped for breath, her eyes wide with terror but unharmed. Shinon reached out a hand to help her up, relief flooding through him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

"I’m... I’m okay, Shinon," Selena nodded, her breaths shaky but steady. "Thank you."

As they climbed out of the pit, the intruders vanished into the night, leaving only questions and chaos behind. Selena could sense something was off because she had never seen Shinon like that before, panicked and angry at the same time.

"Who were they?" Lova asked, her voice trembling. She had seen the masked figures, too, and Aric’s sudden, brutal demise.

"I don’t know," Shinon shook his head after taking a deep breath. "But one thing’s for sure – this isn’t over. Not by a long shot... and I think I need some time to think things through... if you don’t mind."

Together, they stood on the pit’s edge, the moonlight casting eerie shadows around them. The night had taken a dark and unexpected turn. One thing was clear: if his father was alive somewhere, he would have to postpone his plans of leaving the place for good and start looking for him.