“Damnation!” he cursed silently. From a distance, he could see the great gates of the Tanjung Rejo Ducal Palace standing wide open—too wide, as if they had been thrown open by force. Hundreds of Prince Dananjaya’s soldiers swarmed into the palace grounds, their weapons drawn and glinting in the silver moonlight, moving like a tide of shadow and steel.A handful of palace guards had tried to hold the line, to keep the enemy from pushing deeper into the heart of the palace. But they were no match for the sudden assault. One by one, they fell, their cries of agony cutting through the stillness of the night like a knife through silk. And yet—strangely, terrifyingly—there was no sign of the rest of the palace garrison. They lay motionless in their barracks, as if struck by a spell that had lulled them into a deep, unbreakable sleep.Aji had no time to wonder why. If the enemy was allowed to roam free within the palace walls, it would not be long before Tanjung Rejo fell into Dananjaya’s ha

With a fluid motion, Daniswara settled back into his stance, his dark sword beginning a slow, deliberate spin. As it turned, a low, howling wind began to rise around him — a gale that grew stronger with every revolution, its roar echoing through the palace courtyards.“You will learn the true might of my Demon Sword, wretch. Prepare yourself… I will erase you from this earth!”The handsome man — Aji — did not flinch at the threat. To him, every curse hurled his way was like a drug, fueling his strength, pushing his limits ever higher. He stood firm, his eyes locked on Daniswara’s spinning blade, his own aura beginning to hum with quiet power.As the sword’s spin quickened, a tidal wave of energy surged forth from its black steel. It was raw, untamed — a force that seemed to drink the light from the air around it. Aji poured his own energy into his core, bracing himself against the wind that now slammed into him with the force of a tidal wave. He knew, then, that his foe’s power had re

Their eyes met, and in a single, silent nod, they understood each other. The very next instant, both men launched themselves forward, spinning with such blinding speed that they seemed to orbit Aji’s body like twin comets. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, their movements blurred into a whirling tempest—so swift that all Aji could see was the raging spiral of a miniature tornado, coiling tight around him.“Does all this spinning not make you dizzy?” Aji called out, his voice steady despite the chaos swirling just inches from his skin. He watched the vortex with keen, unblinking eyes, his senses sharpened to catch every subtle shift in their formation.No sooner had the words left his lips than a thick, inky black mist seeped into the spiral, weaving itself into a perfect circle that enclosed him completely. Aji felt the air change at once—heavy, suffocating, and charged with a power he had never encountered before. He realized, with a jolt of recognition, that this was no ordin

Suryorojo paid no mind to Aji’s scathing taunts—taunts that cut as sharp as any blade. Instead, he turned his focus inward, drawing from the deep well of inner power that had sustained him through decades of battle, and channeled it into Kuntala and Daniswara. Waves of warm, healing energy flowed from his palms into their bodies, mending their wounds just enough to let them stand firm once more. He knew he could not face this mysterious warrior alone; this foe whose name they had never even heard of held a power that made Suryorojo’s skin prickle with unease. He needed his old friends by his side, if only to tip the scales in their favor.As Prince Dananjaya’s teacher, Suryorojo had faced countless warriors, but never had he felt a presence so overwhelming as Aji’s. He had felt it the moment he pulled Kuntala and Daniswara back from death’s door—the raw, untamed strength that pulsed from the handsome man before him, like a storm waiting to break. If he fought alone, he knew in his hea

The shock of Daniswara’s death still clung to Suryorojo like a cold mist when his eyes caught Kuntala lunging forward, his body moving on instinct alone. It was as if the loss of his dearest friend and fellow disciple had shattered the very threads of reason in his mind—for Daniswara had been the one who stood beside him through every trial, every battle, in the brutal, unforgiving world of martial arts.Without a moment’s hesitation, Suryorojo shot across the clearing to stand with Kuntala against the handsome warrior before them. He would not let this young man throw his life away in a fit of grief, chasing after Daniswara into the shadowed realm of the dead.“If you too wish to join your friend in hell, I shall grant that wish with all the speed of a falling star!” Aji hissed, his blade slicing through the air in a silver arc aimed directly at Kuntala’s throat.Daniswara’s disciple froze, his eyes wide with disbelief at the velocity of the strike. He had darted to the side to dodge