REBORN IN THE CITY OF GODS

CHAPTER 5 — HUNTING IN THE DARK ALLEY

The metropolitan night air crept down, carrying a bone-chilling cold. Neon lights from commercial buildings in the distance cast a dreary glow upon the wet asphalt freshly soaked by a light drizzle.

Among the towering concrete labyrinth lay a narrow alley in the suburban district—a dead-end alley rarely touched by people, where night shadows concealed the darkest side of this city.

Adrian walked casually down the alleyway. His footsteps sounded faint, blending with the gentle hum of the night wind blowing between moss-covered red brick walls.

In his grip, no weapons of any kind were visible. Yet, his consciousness remained at the highest level of alertness. He knew the Vance clan's operational methods all too well; they never let anyone who had humiliated the great family breathe for longer than twenty-four hours.

Suddenly, Adrian's steps halted.

The sound of synchronized military combat boots echoing neatly from the front and back of the alley simultaneously. Escape routes were completely cut off.

From behind the curtain of night's darkness, five sturdy figures wearing all-black uniforms and balaclava masks appeared soundlessly. In their hands, short-barreled assault rifles with suppressors were aimed perfectly, ready to pierce human flesh without drawing the attention of local residents.

The elite hunting squad leader stepped forward two steps. His eyes, peeking from behind the mask, stared at Adrian with a mocking gaze, as if looking at a sewer rat cornered at the end of a narrow alley.

"You've got extraordinary courage, former bodyguard," the leader's voice sounded cold, trembling lowly beneath his face-covering fabric. "Leaving the badge, striking Young Master Julian, and strolling casually through the city streets. Did you think your death would be quick? Young Master ordered us to bring you back alive, or at least leave a head to be displayed in the lobby."

The other four bodyguards chuckled softly, spreading an aura of military intimidation specifically designed to shatter an ordinary person's mental state.

In their eyes, Adrian was merely a low-class mortal who happened to have a bit of nerve in the morning.

Adrian did not answer. He didn't even show the slightest sign of panic. Instead, the corner of his lips lifted into a faint smile barely visible under the dim street lamps. His gaze swept coldly over the five armed men, assessing every angle of weakness in their combat postures.

"You were sent to capture me?" Adrian's voice chimed calmly, breaking the silence of the narrow alley. "Too bad, tonight you chose the wrong prey."

The squad leader snorted angrily, hearing Adrian's tone that showed no trace of intimidation. "Finish his legs right now! Don't make a big scene!" he commanded absolutely.

The two frontmost bodyguards lunged forward at full speed, swinging their weapon stocks toward Adrian's knees with the intent to shatter his joints. Their movements were well-trained, matching the standard of corporate-tier mercenary assassins lethal to ordinary humans.

However, to Adrian—who had now been forged by the system bug anomaly—those movements felt agonizingly slow, resembling a video recording played in slow motion.

Before the weapon tip touched its target, Adrian's body suddenly faded from view. There was no sound of rushing wind, no flash of light; he simply melted straight into the pitch-black night thanks to the instant activation of the Shadow Veil skill.

The two charging bodyguards were startled in shock. Their rifles struck only empty air.

"Where is he?!" shouted one of the bodyguards in a panicked tone, spinning his body to search for the target's whereabouts.

"Right behind you."

That cold baritone voice whispered right beside the black-masked leader's ear. Before the black-masked man could turn around, a sturdy hand with terrifying strength had lunged like a lightning strike.

The impact of Adrian's palm landed squarely on the squad leader's chest.

That massive, unstoppable thrust destroyed the lightweight steel ballistic vest he wore in a single second.

The leader's body recoiled backward for five meters, slamming hard into the brick wall with a solid impact before collapsing unconscious onto a puddle.

The four remaining bodyguards widened their eyes behind their masks. Extraordinary shock crept into their chests. Which mortal human could eliminate a veteran assassin with just a single bare-handed shove?

"Attack together! He's using illusion tricks!" the second-in-command commanded with a trembling voice.

The four bodyguards raised their rifles, blanketing the alley area with bursts of invisible bullets muffled by silencers.

The whistle of hot lead split the air, striking brick walls and splashing stone shards in all directions. Yet, every bullet missed its target by a wide margin. Adrian's shadow moved through the narrow alley like a night ghost dancing upon the wind.

Within seconds, the darkness inside the alley turned into a one-sided slaughterhouse.

Adrian appeared before the first bodyguard. Before the man could aim his rifle barrel, an elbow strike amplified by max-level Strength statistics launched squarely into the enemy's jaw.

The impact sent the bodyguard's body hurtling into the air before crashing onto the asphalt with a heavy thud.

The second bodyguard tried to stab with a dagger from the side. Adrian didn't even bother dodging. He let the knife blade strike his shoulder, but what sounded instead was a sharp screech of metal—Adrian's skin and muscles had become far harder than pure steel thanks to the system's overflow of error loops.

Expressionlessly, Adrian grabbed the enemy's wrist then twisted it until a sickening bone-cracking sound echoed. The bodyguard knelt weakly while clutching his completely fractured arm.

The last two bodyguards, seeing their comrades fall in under ten seconds, were gripped by pure terror. Their survival instincts screamed loudly, telling them to run as far away as possible from the human-shaped monster standing before them now.

They turned around, intending to leap over the iron fence at the end of the alley.

However, the shadows beneath their feet suddenly came alive, lengthening and tightly wrapping around both bodyguards' ankles in the blink of an eye. The effect of Shadow Veil bound them mercilessly to the ground. Both stumbled hard, kissing the wet asphalt.

Adrian stepped closer casually. Not a single drop of sweat clung to his temples; his breathing was steady, calm, and cold.

He squatted before the trembling second-in-command stuttering in fear on the ground, then grabbed the man's black uniform collar and lifted him until their faces were aligned.

"You work for Julian Vance," Adrian spoke in a low voice that sliced through consciousness. "Tell me what specific orders he gave tonight besides hunting me down."

The squad leader's second shook his head weakly, his eyes reflecting absolute terror toward the figure before him. "Y-Young Master... he didn't just send us for you..." his voice stammered through the pain. "Tonight... the entire special operations division was deployed for a cleanup operation..."

Adrian's eyebrows knitted sharply. "What cleanup are you talking about?"

"NPC cleanup..." the bodyguard answered with ragged breaths. "Mass kidnapping... mortal citizens in the suburban district... they're being used as human sacrifices to recharge the Vance family's system points in the underground tower... And... and one of the primary targets for tonight's sweep is the residential sector in the east... the home of your adoptive family..."

Hearing those words, all the blood in Adrian's body suddenly froze, replaced by a surging wave of explosive fury that burned the crown of his head.

The eastern sector. The place where his adoptive younger sister, Maya, lived alone in their small rented house.

The image of his cheerful and innocent sister's face flashed through his mind, clashing with the cruel reality that the bastards from the Vance family were hunting the girl down to use her as a sacrifice for their system-point ritual.

Adrian's hand grip on the bodyguard's collar tightened until the fabric tore. His gray gaze transformed into a sea of murderous fire far more terrifying than the night of his past death.

Without saying another word, Adrian tossed the bodyguard's body to the floor, rendering him unconscious instantly.

He stood tall, turned around, and in the blink of an eye, his figure vanished swallowed by the deep night, darting toward the eastern sector at a speed surpassing ordinary human limits.