Chapter 111: The Deadly Shinobi Guarding The Underground Chamber

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As the Yakuza desperately tried to buy more time, Riven extended his hand with sudden speed, catching the man tightly by the neck and gripping it with crushing force. The monster screamed in pure agonizing pain, wildly slashing at Riven’s face and body with its claws, yet it was completely unable to even pierce his hardened skin.

"Where are they?" Riven asked in a cold, steady voice. "Where are the girls?!"

"Y-You...! Know about... them...?!" the Yakuza coughed out while struggling for air. "I’m not telling...! What guarantees my safety?!"

"I’ll spare you," Riven said, his eyes filled with unwavering determination. "Tell me the truth, and I’ll let you go."

"!!!"

The Yakuza, with no other hope left to grasp, chose to believe the promise.

"T-They’re kept underground two more floors under...! B-Be careful, we keep... lots of monsters underground... we’re selling them to... eccentric... fucks...!"

"I see."

"N-Now...! Let me go! I’ll run away and never look back!"

Riven smiled faintly, nodded once, and dropped the man onto the cold floor.

The Yakuza gasped desperately for air and slowly began to walk away, only for a sleek black wolf to suddenly stand in his path, blocking the stairs completely.

"Grrr..."

"H-Hey... is this dog yours?" the man asked in a trembling voice.

"Yeah."

"T-Then... tell him to go away!"

"Nah."

Riven simply walked away without looking back as the panicked screams of the Yakuza echoed behind him. Little Noir tore the man apart with ruthless efficiency and mercilessly began to eat him.

Label sighed quietly, already beginning to get used to the smell of blood as she carefully carried her potions.

"I have some potions here," she muttered. "Um, we’re going underground?"

"They’re hiding down there," said Riven. "It doesn’t seem like they’ve prepared any real escape route though. They probably never thought something like this would ever happen to these bastards."

Label looked toward a rough hole in the ground that led even deeper. A few cracked pillars barely kept the surrounding structure from collapsing.

As they carefully descended the sloping path, they found several large boxes filled with high-quality materials, glowing mana crystals, and valuable monster parts. Riven began looting everything useful along the way without slowing his pace.

The Mana Dampeners installed in this area were particularly strong, so the amount of Mana he could freely exert outside of his body was noticeably limited.

"..."

As they walked across the second floor — a series of long, paved corridors lined with rooms sealed by heavy metal doors — Riven suddenly stopped walking. He had sensed something was wrong.

"They’re here."

"?!"

Label panicked instantly as she suddenly heard rapid footsteps approaching from every angle at once.

Invisible figures reached her position in a mere second.

They carried no scent and almost no detectable presence.

CLASH!

Riven raised his armored arm and caught the incoming attack with perfect timing, firmly blocking the shadowy figure that had attempted to assassinate Label from behind.

An invisible veil faded away, revealing a person covered head to toe in tight black cloth, with only a pair of sharp eyes visible.

"Ninja, huh? Amazing."

"TERYAAAA!"

The Ninja roared and swung his cursed sword at Riven with blinding speed, unleashing a dozen rapid attacks in a single breath.

Riven easily endured every single hit against his bare body before swinging his open hand forward.

SLAAAP!

A massive slap crushed the Ninja’s head completely. The skull exploded into pieces and the rest of the body collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.

"W-Woah...!"

Label trembled and took an instinctive step backward.

"W-What was that?!"

"A Ninja. A Shinobi," Riven explained calmly. "It’s easy to tell they’ve kept several of them down here as their personal security force. People with this Class are incredibly stealthy and specialized in assassination and covert missions," he continued, already sensing three more presences rapidly approaching. "They’re operating under the Demonic King of Shadows Authority..."

He struck the ground hard with his foot before the new attackers could reach him. A wave of sharp ice spread outward in every direction, freezing the floor and walls while leaving Label completely untouched in the center.

At the same time, Riven released a thick cloud of poison from his hands, spreading a dense purple fog through the corridor.

The Ninjas were clearly shocked. They instantly leaped away from the spreading danger and stared at him from a safer distance.

Their Stealth Skills were completely deactivated by the fog, forcing their true figures to be revealed.

"Huhuhu, indeed. It appears that we’ve been targeted by quite a knowledgeable young man."

A calm voice echoed from behind the three remaining ninjas.

A tall, muscular yet lean ninja with sharp blue eyes stepped forward. He wore black robes marked with a red dragon emblem at the center and carried a long spear in one hand. Light shinobi armor protected the vital points of his body.

Below his open robes, Riven could clearly see short blue hair tied neatly into a ponytail.

"Looks like against someone this strong, there’s no longer any point in hiding, my shinobi," the man said while holding his spear and surrounding it with thick waves of spiritual energy.

Riven immediately recognized this man. He was among the few who had managed to escape when the Yakuza organization was finally thrown into prison thanks to Riven’s earlier actions.

"Kagehisa Hattori," Riven stated clearly, shocking the young genius. "The young genius of the Hattori Clan of Ninjas. Arrogant and prideful, from what I’ve heard. Master of the Demonic Spear Arts."

The young man slowly took off his mask, revealing handsome and sharp features. "Hah! Who would have thought a foreigner had me so thoroughly cornered! Who are you to know so much about us?! Tell me your name before this glorious battle begins! You’ve gotten me all pumped up now!!!"

Riven smiled as his aura surged outward and clashed violently against Kagehisa’s spiritual energy. For a brief moment Label saw the faint outlines of two enormous demons gazing at one another across the corridor.

Their power levels... were almost completely the same!

Just how strong was this Ninja?

"Riven. Riven Claymore."

In the end he still spoke his full name as he calmly cracked his knuckles and stretched his neck.

"Claymore... huh? So it’s that family..."

"I have cut all ties with my family. I have come here for personal reasons... I won’t let you bastards continue making innocents suffer, not as long as I still have the strength to stop you."

"Hah! Bold words for a dead man."

"?!"

Riven noticed that Hattori was already moving his hands in precise patterns, and the three remaining ninjas were doing the same.

In a single moment their combined hand signs unleashed a powerful spell.

"Ninjutsu – Bunshin: Iga no Arashi!"

POOF! POOF! POOF!

In less than a second, thick ash and smoke accumulated everywhere, forging dozens of perfect clones in Hattori’s image, each one holding an identical demonic spear.

And they all attacked at once. A forest of demonic spears pointed at every inch of Riven’s body, aiming to impale him from every possible angle.

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