Kaji darted around rapidly, attacking from different angles, but even that had no effect. Shin often didn’t even bother to look in the direction Kaji was flying, yet he stopped each attack with ease.

The children watched in awe, their excitement palpable. Lucian, however, asked nervously,

"Why isn’t Shin attacking? What if he loses?"

The twins responded confidently, "He won’t lose. He’s not even struggling!"

"That’s right, Lucian. There’s nothing to worry about," Marcus added calmly.

"How can you be so sure?" Lucian asked, still worried.

Marcus smirked slightly.

"Because he’s a genius. I’ve seen him win fights far tougher than this one."

Evelyn turned to Marcus, surprised.

"What? You mean Shin has fought others with special abilities before?"

"Yes, he has. But this isn’t the time or place for that story. Maybe I’ll tell you later," Marcus said, brushing off her curiosity.

"But you will tell us, won’t you?" the twins asked eagerly.

"Hmm… maybe."

"This isn’t the time to be joking around, Marcus!" Serena scolded him.

"Alright, alright. I’ll tell you. But for now, let’s focus on the fight," Marcus conceded.

Kaji’s attacks were becoming increasingly aggressive. He was using almost all of his energy, yet he hadn’t managed to make Shin move even an inch.

"Are you just going to stand there like a coward? Won’t you fight back?!" Kaji yelled in frustration.

Despite the taunts, Shin’s expression remained unchanged, and he stayed silent. His lack of a response only fueled Kaji’s anger further. Landing hard on the ground, Kaji directed a massive stream of flames at Shin. But once again, Shin effortlessly neutralized the attack with his shadows, extinguishing the flames completely.

Kaji’s frustration was written all over his face. Enraged, he launched two simultaneous fireballs—one aimed at Shin and the other at the kids. Marcus quickly prepared to use his ice powers to block the second attack, but Shin acted faster, stopping both fireballs at the same time without breaking a sweat.

Grinding his teeth in fury, Kaji refused to back down. He was determined to win, but his energy was nearly depleted, and exhaustion was setting in. To create more fire, he needed to rest for a few moments to recharge his energy.

As Kaji tried to think of a plan, Shin finally spoke.

"Looks like you’re running out of energy, huh?"

Kaji glared at him, his anger boiling over.

"Don’t think you’ve won! My spiritual energy only takes a few seconds to recover!"

"That’s a lie," Shin said, his voice calm and unwavering. "I know your limits. Someone at your level can’t recover their energy in less than three minutes. And if your energy were completely drained, it would take you ten minutes, wouldn’t it?"

Kaji froze for a moment. Shin was right. His energy wasn’t fully depleted yet, so he needed three minutes to recharge. But how had Shin figured that out?

Before Kaji could process his thoughts, Shin began walking toward him. Panic set in, and Kaji desperately tried to conjure more fire, but his energy was too low.

"Why are you working with these people?"

Shin asked calmly. Kaji was not expecting the question.

"What?"

"I said, why are you working with these people?" Shin repeated in the same composed tone.

"That’s none of your business!" Kaji snapped.

"I’ll let you go," Shin stated nonchalantly, "but only if you promise never to go back to them again."

Kaji’s veins bulged with anger.

"Who do you think you are?! How dare you—!"

Though Kaji’s energy wasn’t fully recharged yet, it was enough for him to attack. Fueled by rage, he charged at Shin with a fiery assault, flying straight toward him. Summoning all his power, Kaji unleashed a massive explosion upon impact.

"Shin?!" the kids cried out, fear etched on their faces.

Marcus immediately ran toward the site of the explosion but froze when the smoke cleared. Shin stood there, completely unscathed—not a single burn on him. Kaji, however, lay unconscious on the ground.

"Huh? How? ...Whatever," Marcus muttered. He called out, "Shin, are you alright?"

Shin nodded calmly.

"We couldn’t even see what happened! Even though Kaji attacked, how did he end up being the one defeated?"

"He was the aggressor, but he was careless. He left too many openings," Shin replied.

The others joined them, Serena looking between Shin and Kaji.

"So... what do we do now?" she asked hesitantly.

"Nothing. We’re just going home," Shin answered.

"What? We’re just going to leave them here? Kaji might come after us again," Serena protested.

"We’ll do as we discussed," Marcus interjected. "We’ll move to a new place. Then they won’t be able to find us anymore."

Shin cut in, his tone firm.

"That won’t be necessary. We’re going back to our home."

Everyone stared at Shin in disbelief.

"But they already know where we live," Serena pointed out. "We packed our things and planned to leave after rescuing Lucian."

"As I said, there’s no need for that," Shin reiterated. "Running won’t solve anything."

"But—" Serena began.

"Don’t worry. I won’t be leaving anymore. I’ll stay with you," Shin declared.

The group was stunned into silence. The twins, however, broke into joyous cheers.

"Yay!!!"

Marcus and Serena exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Alright then. If that’s how you want it, so be it," Marcus said.

The group left the abandoned building and headed toward their car. Even the guards outside were unconscious. Before stepping outside, Shin opened a shadowy portal. From within, Peter, the man who had introduced himself as the leader of the group, was dragged into the portal by dark tendrils. Shin didn’t follow him in, however, and instead joined Marcus in the car.

By the time they arrived home, the twins, Lucian, and Evelyn had all fallen asleep in the car. Shin used his shadows to gently carry them to their beds.

"I don’t know what you’re planning," Marcus said in a suspicious tone, "but for now, I’ll go along with it."

Serena sighed.

"So, you’re really not going anywhere this time?"

"That’s right. I’ll stay until this matter is resolved. Don’t worry about it anymore—just go get some rest. It’s been a hard day for all of you."

"I still need to unpack our things," Serena said with a hint of concern.

Marcus let out a sigh.

"We’ll handle it tomorrow. We’re all exhausted. Let’s go. Shin, I assume you still remember where your room is?"

"...Yes, I remember," Shin replied quietly.

After Marcus and Serena headed to their rooms, Shin went to his own. Closing the door behind him, he opened another portal and stepped through to where Peter was being held.

Peter, now awake, was bound by shadows restraining his arms and legs. He lifted his head, only to find Shin standing before him. Peter trembled as he stared into Shin’s blood-red eyes.