Hoyoshil Guild HQ
Inside the room on the top floor of the skyrise, a boy was crying to his father. Looking at the boy closely, one could recognize him as Richard Hoyoshil, the son of the Hoyoshil Guildmaster.
Behind a big office desk, a man sat on his chair watching Richard cry. Although he is showing no emotion on his face, his eyes tell a different story.
"Father, you must get revenge for me!" Richard cried. His eyes were red from crying, as well as from embarrassment from what happened earlier in the day.
The man turned his gaze toward a paper on his desk and read it again. "You are saying you lost to someone who is half your age? ARE YOU FUCKING RETARDED!?" The man slammed his palm on the desk, leaving a palm print on it.
Richard recoils back. "I don't know what happened father! One moment, I was about to move and the next, I felt as if my body was no longer within my patrol."
"I don't want to hear excuses!" Dickus shouted. "IS THIS ALL YOU CAN DO WITH ALL THE RESOURCES AT YOUR DISPOSAL?!"
Richard lowered his head, unable to respond. He knew whatever reasons he gave, his failure would not be overlooked.
"As of today, you are no longer the heir to the guild! Your brother is more capable than you. At least he doesn't lose to a kid and come whining to me." Dickus looked at his son. "Until you show that you are capable of being the guild master, you will never be reinstated as an heir."
Richard looked at his father with wide eyes. He never thought he would lose his position because of this one event.
Richard's mind raced, his heart pounding in his chest as he processed his father's words. The weight pressed down on him, suffocating his pride and sense of self. "No... Father... please..." he whispered, barely finding his voice.
Dickus leaned back in his chair, his eyes cold and piercing. He folded his arms across his chest, staring at his son with a gaze that held no warmth, no sympathy. "I don't care what you say. What I want is a result. As for the humiliations…" Dickus doesn't finish as a dangerous glint flash within his eyes.
Just as Dickus was about to make some calls to arrange some things, he felt a heavy and dangerous aura pressing down on him. He immediately got up from his seat, mana flaring from his body to defend against any attacks.
"WHO THERE?! Come out!" Dickus screams, his voice tumbling from the pressure of the aura. He waited for a few moments but no one reveal themselve.
"I sa.." Dickus could finish as the pressure intensified, slamming him face first to the floor. He flared his mana to the maximum, only being able to lift his head doing so. He saw his son, Richard on the ground, pass out. In front of Richard was a letter. He doesn't know how it got there but he was certain that letter has something to do with the aura that suppressed him.
The pressure disappeared the moment he saw the letter. Moving his weary body, he cautiously made his way toward Richard and the letter. He scans his surroundings using his mana but gets nothing.
When he got to Richard, he saw that Richard's chest was rising and falling. Without waiting a beat, he picks up the letter and immediately goes to a defensive position.
Waiting for a few moments and not feeling any attacks, he carefully raises the letter to read it while still paying attention to his surroundings.
"I would not get involved with the kids if I was you. I know how mentally challenging you Hoyoshil are, but know your limit. If you go after Kuro, the one responsible for your weakling of a son's humiliation today, know that The Harbinger will find you before you can even blink."
Reading through the first few lines, Dickus scuffs at it. Even if the person that left the note and pressure him was way stronger than him, he has many means to get rid of them. However, when he read the last line, he started sweating and trembling.
"Ha-har-harbinger?! Wasn't it confirmed that he died when the rank S dungeon appeared?!" Dickus' voice cracked. "No, it might not be The Harbinger. But I still can't risk it. If it really is The Harbinger, then he destroys this whole guild in a matter of seconds. I can't risk my life over some little kid."
Dickus burns the letter afterward. Knowing that The Harbinger was still alive is a big news that he could use to his benefit.
"Urgg.." After a while, Richard regains consciousness. He looked around in confusion and saw his dad back in his chair. "D-dad, about dealing with Kuro.."
"I nor the guild will not get involved." Dickus cut him off. "If you want revenge, do it yourself. Maybe you can become the heir again depending on the result."
Richard looked at his father with confusion. He doesn't know what happened but he knows that his father would be the first to retaliate against anyone that criticizes him and his guild. The more he looked, the more convinced he was that something happened. Something that prevents his father from retaliating against Kuro.
"Fine," Richard muttered, turning toward the door. "I'll do it. I'll show you I'm capable." Richard walked out of the room.
Unknown to Richard and Dickus, their whole interaction was being watched by the Shadow Bird who was still 'residing' within Richard's shadow.
The Shadow Bird, in extension, Kuro saw and heard their whole conversation.
***
Kuro was atop his bed in meditation. However, he was not meditating but was listening in on the Hoyoshil pairs conversation. He almost cursed when he saw Dickus was about to pull some underhanded scheme against him.
Luckily, he doesn't feel the full pressure of the aura that pushes Dickus to the floor and causes Richard to black out. He only felt a small portion of it through his Shadow Bird.
Kuro wiped his forehead thanking the god. He knew he would have been in the same situation as Richard if he also felt the pressure fully. Just a small residue he felt through the Shadow Bird causes him to sweat in fear. Even the Third Hokage didn't cause him this much fear.
"This pressure, if I have to guess, might be as strong as Madara and Hashirama. Hell, maybe it is stronger than both of them combined."
The mere thought of them was enough to make Kuro's skin crawl. Madara and Hashirama were legends in their own right, titans of unimaginable strength and influence. But what he had just felt... could someone really be stronger than both of them combined? The idea was terrifying.
"Who the hell is this person? And why did they protect me from those Hoyoshil rats?" Kuro muttered to himself.
"I need to get stronger and fast. I can't rely on random people and luck to protect me. Don't I come to the Tower just for that reason?" Kuro walks up to the window as he looks out to see the moon. "I will ask Brian tomorrow how to get into the dungeon. Niji informed me that he couldn't get into the dungeon since his instinct told him he would immediately be discovered if he stepped one foot near the dungeon. It seems I have to first get into the dungeon before letting him roam free."
Kuro stood by the window, staring at the moon as it cast a silver glow over the academy. His thoughts raced, but one truth stood clear in his mind: He could no longer afford to be passive. The forces at play, from the Hoyoshil Guild to The Harbinger, were beyond anything he had imagined.
The pressure he had felt earlier was a sobering reminder that his strength—however powerful he may have thought he was—wasn't enough. The thought of someone stronger than Madara and Hashirama combined sent a shiver down his spine. He had no idea who The Harbinger was, but the aura of fear that surrounded that name was enough to make anyone reconsider their position in the world.
He turned his back to the window, walking towards his desk. His mind was already shifting towards the next day. Brian was the key to entering the dungeon, and Kuro couldn't afford to waste time.
He grabbed a nearby dungeon map he bought from a student, pulling it over to his desk as he started making plans for the dungeon.
"Starting tomorrow, I will let the world learn the terror of the Shadow Army. Just like Jin-woo did in Solo Leveling."