Viv’s playful smile vanished. These weren’t normal bullets. The air cracked differently when they passed, leaving trails of ozone, hitting with enough force to punch holes clean through the brickwork she used as cover. Faster. Heavier. Designed to kill things like her.She dodged, weaving, the dance becoming desperate. Closing the distance was impossible now; the sheer volume of fire pinned her down, heavy slugs chewing up the crumbling wall she hid behind.Then, small black orbs arced through the air, landing near her feet. They pulsed once, emitting a low hum before detonating silently, releasing waves of disruptive energy. Her mana pathways flared painfully, sputtering like faulty wires. Her movements grew sluggish, her enhanced speed faltering.They saw the opening. Both suits stopped firing the heavy pistols for a split second, switching back to their original sidearms with practiced speed. Then they unleashed hell.A storm of bullets slammed into her cover, shredding brick and m

The adrenaline was fading, leaving Natalie shaky and leaning heavily against Kyle. The throbbing in her face had subsided to a dull, insistent ache after his weird green light trick, but she still felt fragile, battered. Her nose definitely felt... wrong."My phone," she mumbled, remembering it flying from her grasp earlier. "Did you see...?"He nodded curtly, retrieving it from a pocket where he must have scooped it up. The screen was cracked, but miraculously, it still lit up when he pressed the power button. Notifications flooded the screen. News alerts, missed calls from worried Guild contacts (probably Katherine), and then... the big one.Blazing across the screen from multiple sources.ASSOCIATION ALERT – PRIORITY OMEGA – Hunter Kyle Anders – Rogue – Extreme Threat – Lethal Force Authorized...He went utterly still, the swirling darkness in his eyes freezing over, becoming chips of obsidian ice. His thumb scrolled rapidly, absorbing the key points. Murderer. Thief. Catastrophic

Viv flopped back onto the surprisingly comfortable bed. The room Arachne had shown her to was... functional. Clean lines, muted colors, no frills.A far cry from the opulent chambers she’d sometimes glimpsed in Castlery Rock, but infinitely better than the sterile holding cells or rough field camps she was more accustomed to.Honestly, after getting shot full of holes, a soft bed and four solid walls felt like absolute luxury.She stared up at the ceiling, which seemed to be made of the same smooth, dark stone as the throne room. This whole place was weird.Kyle's personal dimension? ’How does a kid stumble into owning something like this?’ He was strong, sure.That display back there, that power, the sheer pressure... S-rank? Definitely. Probably low-to-mid tier, if she had to guess. The way he healed her, that green energy felt different, not like the raw destructive power of the Mana Cell she sensed before.’He’s got layers,’ she mused, rubbing her side where the worst wound had be

The Commander’s shadowy form pulsed with amusement, the oppressive mana in the clearing shifting like a living thing. "Surrender," the cold voice echoed again. "Your King is newly chosen. His domain is weak. Under my King’s wing, you might yet survive."Viv’s grip on her daggers tightened, her knuckles white. Every instinct screamed at her to run. This thing? It wasn’t just strong—it was on another level entirely. The werewolves had been tough, but this? This was like standing in front of a hurricane and pretending you could weather it.Arachne, though? She didn’t budge. Her knees shook, her breath came fast, but she stood her ground. "Let me counter your offer," she said, voice steady despite the fear tightening her throat. "Leave immediately. Maybe my Lord will spare you."The Commander’s laughter wasn’t a sound—it was a vibration, something that rattled bones. "Oh? Where is he now?" The shadows twisted, mocking. "Hiding in his castle like a coward while the girls do the heavy lifti

Deep within his fortress, King Barack lounged on a throne carved from petrified bone, smoke curling around him like lazy serpents. Scantily clad figures draped themselves over the armrests, attending to his whims, their eyes vacant. The air hung thick with the cloying scent of exotic incense and spilled wine. A warrior, clad in battered steel, stumbled into the chamber, panting, dropping to one knee. "My King! Forgive the intrusion, but Commander Zeke—he has initiated the domain raid! Without awaiting your final command!" Barack waved a dismissive hand, taking a slow drag from a jewel-encrusted pipe. A woman giggled softly beside him. "Oh? Is that all?" His voice was a bored drawl, muffled by smoke. "Let him have his fun. Zeke is invincible. He has never known defeat." A cruel smile touched his lips. "Save by my hand, of course. The raid will succeed precisely because he leads it. Now, leave us." The warrior hesitated, then bowed low and scrambled from the room, leaving the Ki