MY DEVOURER SYSTEM

002. Taste of the Abyss

The transition from prey to predator happened in a single heartbeat.

The Abyssal Stalker’s bladed leg was still pinned through Ren’s shoulder, but the creature couldn't pull it out. Ren’s left hand, now wrapped in pulsing black veins, clamped down on the monster's limb like a hydraulic vice.

Crack.

The Stalker screeched—a high-pitched, painful sound that rattled the loose rocks on the floor.

[Emergency Quest: First Feed — 00:42 remaining.]

[Warning: Molecular dissolution imminent if hunger is not satisfied.]

The hunger wasn't just a feeling; it was a roaring, empty vacuum inside Ren's stomach, demanding to be filled. Driven by pure survival instinct, Ren pulled himself right up the length of the blade poking through his shoulder, closing the distance between himself and the monster's face.

Before the Stalker could snap its teeth, Ren lunged forward and bit straight into the creature's unarmored neck.

A thick, toxic black fluid flooded his mouth. To any other human, it would be a lethal acid. To Ren, it tasted like pure adrenaline.

[Devour skill activated automatically.]

[Extracting Abyssal Stalker DNA... Integrating...]

[Strength +3]

[Agility +4]

[Passive Skill Acquired: Chitinous Perception (Tier 1)]

The Stalker thrashed around violently, its massive body collapsing as its life force was rapidly siphoned directly into Ren’s body. The black veins on Ren's face throbbed. His broken shoulder knitted back together under a layer of dark, hardened cells. He was literally rewriting his flawed genetics on the fly.

Suddenly, a loud mechanical grinding sound cut through the monster's dying shriek.

SKRRRRT.

The three-ton titanium blast door—the one Dean Halvern had sealed to doom him—was violently jerked upward. It didn't lift smoothly; it was being sheared open by sheer, brutal telekinetic force.

"Secure the perimeter! Check for survivors!"

A commanding, smooth voice echoed into the cavern.

Ren’s gold, predatory eyes snapped toward the opening. Through the smoke and dust strode Isolde Revenhall.

She was the golden daughter of House Revenhall, a Tier-5 Gravity Manipulator, and basically the most powerful cadet at Vanguard Academy. Unlike Dean, who wore his uniform for prestige, Isolde’s silver armor bore deep scratches from real frontline combat. Her silver hair was tied back, her violet eyes scanning the darkness with absolute authority.

Behind her stood a squad of armored military recovery soldiers, their rifles raised.

Isolde expected to find a bloodbath. She expected to find the mangled remains of a Zero left behind by Dean Halvern's cowardice.

Instead, the beam of her tactical flashlight cut through the dark, illuminating a scene that made the soldiers behind her freeze in their tracks.

The apex-level Abyssal Stalker was dead, its massive, dried-out corpse shrivelling into ash. Standing over it was Ren Kestrel.

His uniform was shredded, covered in black blood, and his bare shoulder showed a horrific wound that was visibly closing itself. For a fraction of a second, before Ren forced his eyes to fade back to their normal dark brown, Isolde caught the unmistakable, terrifying glow of an Abyssal entity.

"What... what is this?" one of the recovery soldiers whispered, lowering his rifle in sheer disbelief. "An F-rank Zero killed a Stalker? Alone?"

Isolde didn't speak immediately. She stepped forward, her gravity aura flaring slightly, putting pressure on the room. Her intense violet eyes locked onto Ren, analyzing his posture, the lack of fear in his stance, and the unnatural speed at which his flesh was healing.

She knew what Dean Halvern had done. She had dragged Dean back to the door by his collar to force it open. But she never expected this.

"Cadet Kestrel," Isolde said, her voice dropping to a low whisper that only he could hear over the hum of the machinery. "What did you just do in the dark?"

Ren stood his ground, his mind racing as the System panel hovered just beneath his line of sight, warning him:

[Alert: High-energy human entity detecting anomalous biometrics. Maintain cover. If identity is exposed, survival probability drops to 4%.]

Ren wiped the black blood from his chin, forcing his voice to shake slightly to play the victim. "It... it mutated, Lady Isolde. It fought another beast. I just hid in the dead body... and got lucky."

Isolde looked from the ash of the Stalker back to Ren’s face. She didn't buy a single word of it. But instead of calling the guards, a sharp, unreadable smile touched her lips.

"Is that so?" she murmured. "Then you are the luckiest Zero in the history of the Vanguard."