*****The wall suddenly shifted, and instantly… a hidden passage opened up.Hunter nearly jumped out of his skin at this sight.“This…!” His eyes widened violently. ‘A secret passage?!’His heart immediately pounded harder, and just like that, his expectations exploded upward once again.‘Finally!’ he exclaimed internally. ‘Now things were beginning to resemble the terrifying hidden world I had imagined earlier.’Hunter hurriedly composed himself before quickly following behind the two of them into the passageway.The deeper they walked, the stranger the atmosphere became.Before long, the air grew colder, the surroundings darkened, and the silence became increasingly oppressive until, eventually… they arrived.And the moment Hunter saw the room ahead, every ounce of calm he had painstakingly maintained shattered instantly.His eyes widened, his breathing paused, and goosebumps erupted across his entire body uncontrollably.The chamber he was currently inside resembled something strai

*****“Are you interested in joining my Nightshadow Guild?”Mistress Ayra suddenly uttered, her voice neither loud nor aggressive.Yet the instant those words entered Hunter’s ears, his entire body trembled violently, his expression changing so drastically that it looked as though someone had poured a bucket of icy water directly down his spine.‘So terrifying,’ he thought instinctively, his heartbeat thundering wildly inside his chest as he stared at Mistress Ayra.The change around her was simply too overwhelming.Just moments ago, this same woman had been shamelessly circling Xavier like an obsessive fangirl who had finally reunited with her idol after years apart, her eyes sparkling so brightly that Hunter had genuinely wondered if she was one step away from barking.But now?It felt as though that harmless, flirtatious beauty had vanished completely, and in her place sat a cold, terrifying existence whose mere gaze seemed capable of freezing blood.The pressure radiating from her

*****Back then, Lucius had greatly looked down on Xavier, seeing him as nothing more than a lazy, arrogant man who avoided effort like it carried a contagious disease.Although he had been loyal to Lucius at the time, Hunter especially despised how powerless Xavier seemed when it came to protecting Grace from someone like him.At that time, Hunter had believed that if Xavier had cared enough to build strength, influence, or even a shred of dignity for himself, Grace’s family would never have reached the point of practically offering her to Lucius like a sacrificial pawn.And Lucius…That disgusting madman would never have dared to push Grace to such an extent.Thinking back now, Hunter suddenly felt like slapping his past self repeatedly across the face.Just then, one particular memory surfaced sharply in his mind. The day he was sent to eliminate Xavier.(Reference: Chapter 294)Back then, he hadn’t hidden his contempt even in the slightest bit.He had practically shoved it into Xa

*****Hunter’s knees nearly gave out, his entire body trembling hysterically as though several sticks of TNT had exploded inside him simultaneously.Then very slowly, he turned his head toward Xavier.And there sat the terrifying existence in question… yawning and looking sleepy enough to collapse into a nap at any second.The sight alone nearly made Hunter vomit blood.There was no domineering aura around him, no terrifying posture, overwhelming dignity, or anything.Just a lazy man reclining on a throne like someone’s unemployed uncle who accidentally wandered into a secret underground cult meeting.The contrast was so absurd that Hunter felt physical pain.Unable to stop himself, he shakily raised a finger toward Xavier.The finger trembled so violently that it genuinely looked like he was suffering from a severe medical emergency.“You…” Hunter stammered frantically. “But… but a week ago… when I attacked you… You released an E-rank aura!”Xavier, “_”He stared at Hunter blankly, l

*****Mistress Ayra stared at Hunter without the slightest ripple in her expression, her cold eyes quietly studying the blazing hunger buried deep within his gaze.It was the kind of look she had seen countless times before… the look of someone who had finally been cornered by reality so badly that they were willing to crawl through hell itself just to gain power.For a few seconds, silence filled the dim chamber.The flickering candlelight danced across the stone walls, causing the surrounding shadows to sway eerily like silent specters watching from the darkness.The atmosphere alone was enough to suffocate ordinary people.But then, unexpectedly…A faint, warm smile… belonging to someone who had just discovered a blade worth sharpening, curved Mistress Ayra’s lips.“Welcome to the Nightshadow Guild,” she said at last, her tone calm, elegant, and carrying an authority that seemed to seep into the very air itself. “I’ll arrange for someone to guide you shortly. They’ll explain the gu