From Trash Rank to Untouchable

8

Eric stared blankly at Regan.

His eyes followed the movement of Regan’s hand as the bloodied sword slowly lifted and pointed straight at him. The blade was still slick with monster blood, droplets sliding down and staining the stone between them.

Eric swallowed hard.

His breathing was uneven, shallow, his heart hammering so violently it felt like it might tear out of his chest.

“Why?” he asked hoarsely, forcing himself to meet Regan’s gaze. “I’ve done nothing to you, Regan. Why would you want to kill me?”

Regan let out a low, mocking chuckle. His teeth clenched as pain rippled through him and he reached up with one hand to clutch his ribs, blood seeping between his fingers.

“You really can be a dummy, Eric,” he said, shaking his head. “You handed me a rare opportunity on a silver platter. You walked your dumb E-rank ass straight into my domain and even signed the contract without thinking.”

His eyes narrowed, sharp and cold.

“I guess that just proves how desperate you really are.”

Eric’s vision blurred as tears welled up.

“After everything you and your god-forsaken family did to mine?” he said. “You took everything from us. And now you want to take my life too?”

Regan’s expression snapped.

“Your foolish parents deserved to die!” he shouted, his voice echoing violently through the chamber. “Just like you, they died because they were foolish. How is that my fault? How is that my father’s fault?”

He scoffed harshly.

“They were just a bunch of…”

“Shut the fuck up!”

Eric moved before he could stop himself.

Rage drowned out fear as he surged forward and grabbed Regan’s wrist, fingers locking around the hand holding the sword.

“Never cut me off, you fool!” Regan screamed back.

In the same motion, Regan twisted his wrist downward and steel flashed.

Pain exploded across the side of Eric’s neck as the blade sliced through skin. Blood spilled instantly, hot and terrifying.

Eric staggered back, clutching his neck as choking sounds tore from his throat.

Then Regan drove his foot into Eric’s stomach.

Eric crashed to the ground with a broken groan, air ripped from his lungs as he gasped helplessly, fingers slick with blood.

I’m dying.

The thought hit him with terrifying clarity.

I’m actually dying.

Tears streamed down his face as his body shook uncontrollably.

This is all my fault. If I hadn’t…

His sister’s face filled his mind.

Her smile.

Her voice.

The way she depended on him.

What will happen to her?

She would be alone.

And the thought that Regan and his family could turn their attention to her made terror claw deeper into his chest

Regan advanced toward him, a slow smirk spreading across his face as he closed the distance.

Then he stomped on Eric, not one, not two, but three times, laughing maniacally.

Eric groaned, every strike sending fire through his nerve. The world tilted and swam, his ears ringing so loudly he could barely hear his own heavy breaths.

Then Regan threw a kick to Eric’s side with a force that sent Eric’s body rolling across the stone, scraping skin. Pain tore through every part of his body as he gagged violently, bile and blood spilling from his mouth.

“If there’s one thing about dungeons,” Regan said calmly, almost conversationally, “it’s that when you die inside one, you’re dead. No questions asked. Everyone just assumes the monsters killed you.”

Eric’s vision swam, and his breath came out in weak, broken sounds.

“You… you are the monster, Regan,” he managed to choke out, his words barely audible as darkness crept into the edges of his sight.

His body felt distant now.

Regan laughed softly.

“You made it too easy,” he said. “An E-rank wandering into an A-rank dungeon. I can already hear the excuses. Careless rookie. Wrong place. Wrong time.”

He leaned closer, voice dropping.

“Oh, and don’t worry,” he added casually. “Your sister, Kim. I’ll take good care of her. I promise.”

The smile that followed was twisted, playful, and cruel.

Eric’s consciousness flickered and the world dimmed.

He barely felt it when Regan lifted his sword and the blade plunged down.

Pain flashed for a split second as steel pierced his right eye. His nerves twitched violently, his body jerking once before going still.

“I want to destroy you, Eric,” Regan whispered, staring down at his unconscious, lifeless form.

He raised his sword again, angling it toward Eric’s remaining eye.

Then the massive doors rumbled behind him.

Regan froze.

His jaw clenched as he lowered the sword. He clicked his tongue in annoyance, then quickly wiped the blood from the blade with a towel. He walked toward the Alpha’s corpse and smeared the sword with the beast’s green blood, coating it thoroughly.

By the time the doors finally opened, Regan had already straightened himself.

“Are you alive in here?” the red-haired Hunter called out as they all stepped inside.

His voice trailed off and his gaze landed on Eric’s body.

“What the hell happened here?” someone else asked, eyes darting between the destruction and the corpse on the floor.

Regan let out a tired sigh, rolling his shoulder as if in pain.

“Don’t bother with him,” he said dismissively. “He went way over his head and got himself killed. The monster was too strong.”

The Hunters took in Regan’s battered condition, the blood, the ruined chamber, the dead Alpha.

They nodded.

“That makes sense,” one muttered.

“Since he’s family,” another said hesitantly, “should we bring him out?”

Regan’s face twitched for just a moment.

Then he shook his head.

“We have less than an hour before the gate closes,” he said. “We don’t have time for him. Let him be.”

No one argued.

They nodded one after another.

Regan clapped his hands sharply, the sound echoing through the chamber.

“Alright,” he said. “Let’s get on with it, people.”

As the Hunters moved past Eric’s body, none of them noticed the faint, almost imperceptible twitch of his fingers.