The Boy Who Walks Beyond The End-Chapter 82: Operation: Blackmarket (Rescue Arc)

Chapter 75: Shadows in the Blackmarket

The scent of rot, rusted chains, and sorrow clung to the air like a curse. Zen walked behind Kael through the narrow alleys of Gallows Hollow, the infamous black market district hidden beneath the southern cliffs of Grandovale. No academy uniforms here. Only cloaks, hoods, and silence.

Kael's expression was cold. He hadn't spoken much since revealing the truth.

Diliya—a Demi-Human girl with silver eyes and ears like fallen moonlight—was captured months ago. Beaten. Mana core shattered. Stripped of her freedom and locked behind glass like merchandise.

Today, they were going to break that glass.

---

[System: Advisory – the scent of blood is thick here. Aura traces detected. Approximately 43 hostiles nearby. Average combat level: 32. One elite magic signature detected—recommend stealth and minimal sass.]

Zen exhaled slowly, one hand resting near his blade. "System. Keep scanning. Focus on cells. If Diliya's here, I'll find her."

[System: Affirmative. Initiating 'Creepy X-Ray Vision But Legal' mode.]

---

Phase 1: The Plan – Operation: Rescue

Kael whispered under his breath as they huddled in a ruin near the auction house:

"There are three floors. Diliya is on the second, in Cell 8C. We'll split. I create the distraction. You go underground. If we fail—"

"You go back," Zen cut in. His voice was calm, but his eyes burned like stars ready to collapse. "But I won't fail."

Kael hesitated. "...You've grown, kid."

Zen offered a small smirk. "You too. Old man."

---

Phase 2: Cover and Cut

Kael's side of the plan was... loud. A sword slash to a mana conduit, followed by an explosion of shattered lights and screaming slave dealers, worked just fine.

Zen, in the meantime, ghosted through the underground halls, sword drawn. No footsteps. No aura. Only presence.

He found her.

Diliya.

---

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Cell 8C: The Broken Light

She was curled in the corner. Her silver hair was tangled. Her skin marked by scars old and new. A faint red tattoo pulsed on her collarbone—a slave binding rune.

Her eyes opened when she felt him.

"...Who—?"

"Shh," Zen whispered, kneeling beside her. He placed a warm hand over the rune.

She flinched.

"Your name's Diliya, right? Kael sent me."

"...Kael?"

Suddenly, the walls cracked.

BOOM.

A surge of power shattered the far entrance.

Zen stood, drawing his sword as a cloaked man floated into view. His body hovered slightly, dark energy swarming around him like hungry insects.

"Now, now," the mage said with a chuckle. "Stealing merchandise? That's illegal."

---

Phase 3: Ember Ignition

Zen knew one thing: he couldn't win. Not as he was.

"System."

[System: Yes, Zen?]

"Unlock it."

[System: Ember of Wrath form 1 (Demi-Human) Unlocked]

"Zen transforming"

---

Dark marks slithered down Zen's neck like veins of shadow. An oppressive aura exploded from him—thick, suffocating. The very air trembled. Dark fog bled from his body, rippling with eerie motion, like it had eyes watching from within. The ground cracked beneath his feet. Darkness coiled around him like a living thing, and every breath he took warped the space around him.

DILIYA GASPED.

Her eyes widened, reflecting Zen's glowing crimson irises.

"...You're... one of us???..."

---

• The Fight

The mage's staff lit up with spiraling blue sigils.

"Demon kin. You'll fetch more coin—!"

He didn't finish.

Zen moved.

Abyssonox pulsed in his hand. The blade split the space in front of it like silk soaked in ink.

"Zero Break."

A void slash ripped through the mage's barrier.

He retaliated.

Lightning.

Zen again used .

Abyssonox Style - Midnight Sever:Zero Break

Slash. Step. Sever.

---

The mage's head dropped before his mouth could form another curse.

Zen stood over the corpse, breathing slowly. Diliya still stared—frozen in awe. Or fear.

Zen turned, slowly deactivating his transformation. The black veins withdrew.

He knelt down and placed a hand on the corpse.

[System Notification – Skill Unlocked (BoneBound pact) Slot - 3]

[System: Congratulations! You have officially become That Guy Who Raises Skeletons in Dark Alleys. Proud of you.]

[System: Target eligible for resurrection. Slot 1 – Skeleton Mage available. Bind?]

Zen blinked.

> "Bonebound Pact," Zen repeated, voice dry. "Of course it is."

A pause.

"Yes."

[System: Skeleton Mage successfully bound to Slot 1.]

Bones twisted. Darkness slithered. A skeletal figure rose behind Zen, dressed in blackened robes, its jaw clicking as if amused.

---

Aftermath

Diliya clutched the tattered cloth of her dress, eyes never leaving Zen's.

"...You're not HUMAN."

"I'm not a monster either," Zen whispered. "But don't tell anyone what you saw. Please."

She nodded.

"...I won't. You... saved me."

He offered his hand. She took it.

"Let's go."