Chapter 11 The Beginning of the Void Faction

"Are you ready?"

Killian's cold question cut through the suffocating silence of the bunker. The man did not even turn around, yet the dense aura of dominance surrounding him seemed capable of sensing even the slightest movement from Bianca's direction.

Bianca rose to her feet and tried moving her legs. The pain was still there, but she could walk. She straightened her robe and tied her dull red hair into a ponytail. Her face, once covered in dust, now looked cleaner, revealing sharp features filled with determination.

"I've already mapped a route out of this bunker without passing through the district's heat sensors," Bianca said as she walked to a table and retrieved a small tablet she had hidden beneath a floorboard. "There's an old drainage tunnel that connects directly to the warehouse area you mentioned."

Killian turned around, a faint smirk appearing on his face.

"That's why I saved you, Bianca. Efficiency."

They left the bunker through a narrow underground passage. Bianca led the way with her tablet, using the remnants of her illegal satellite access to monitor enemy patrols. Killian followed behind her, his golden eyes continuously scanning the flow of energy around them.

Killian stopped in front of a massive warehouse with a rusted iron door. He touched the door, and through his Evolution Eyes, he could see the damaged internal structure of the magnetic lock.

"Open it," Killian ordered.

Giz leaped toward the lock panel, releasing a burst of purple sparks. With a loud boom, the iron door swung open, revealing a vast room filled with dust and the carcasses of old machines.

"This place is... filthy," Bianca commented, covering her nose.

"This isn't a warehouse, Bianca." Killian stepped into the center of the room. "This is the womb of our faction. Here, we will create creatures that will make the System Masters tremble."

Killian turned to face Bianca. He extended his hand, not for a handshake, but in a formal gesture that, in the ancient world of Tamers, symbolized the binding of destinies.

"Under the banner of the Void, I promise you the power to destroy your enemies," Killian said in an unusually serious tone. "In return, you will give your loyalty and your intellect to our glory."

Bianca stared at Killian's hand.

She knew that once she accepted it, there would be no turning back. She would no longer be part of the old world order. She would become an architect of a new chaos.

"For our glory."

Bianca took Killian's hand and gripped it firmly.

Instantly, a transparent notification appeared before Killian's eyes. This time, however, Bianca could see it as well, a phenomenon that could only occur through an exceptionally deep synchronization of souls.

[Faction Detected: Unnamed]

[Core Members: Killian Moretti (Leader), Bianca Valenti (Strategist)]

[Status: Operational]

[Message from the Evolution Eyes: The foundation has been laid. Collective evolution has begun.]

But the moment was interrupted by the slow sound of applause coming from the darkness at the back of the warehouse.

"Now that's a touching sight."

A voice echoed through the room.

From behind a stack of cargo containers, a dozen men in battered armor emerged. They carried crude firearms and iron chains. At their center stood a muscular man with a skull tattoo on his neck.

"I don't know how you got in here, but this warehouse belongs to the Rust-Eaters Gang." The man spat onto the floor. "And anyone who enters without permission pays with their life... or with that pretty woman."

The men laughed, their voices dripping with lust and cruelty.

Bianca immediately stepped back, her hand reaching for the dagger at her waist.

"Killian, they're a local gang. There are too many of them to confront head-on in a confined space."

Killian did not move.

He did not even look at the men.

Instead, he turned his questioning gaze toward Bianca.

"Strategy, Bianca. What's our first move?" Killian asked calmly.

Bianca froze for a moment, her mind instantly operating at full speed.

"They're standing near a leaking gas pipe on the left side. If you can trigger a small explosion there, it'll create a smoke screen. We can use the darkness to take down their leader. Once he falls, the rest will run."

Killian smiled.

"Perfect."

He glanced at Giz.

"You heard her, Giz. Smoke screen."

Giz vanished in a flash of purple light.

A second later, a powerful explosion erupted on the left side of the warehouse, spewing thick white gas that blinded the Rust-Eaters gang members.

"What happened?! Shoot! Shoot everywhere!" the leader shouted in panic.

Amid the cloud of gas and the sounds of wild gunfire, Killian walked forward with complete calm.

He did not run.

He moved like a shadow merged with the darkness itself.

Srrrip!

The sound of flesh tearing echoed through the warehouse, followed by screams of agony.

One by one, the gang members fell without ever knowing what had attacked them. Giz moved at the speed of light, severing their arteries before they could even glimpse its form.

"Monster! There's a monster in here!" one man screamed before his voice abruptly cut off.

In less than a minute, silence returned.

The gas began to thin, revealing Killian standing directly before the Rust-Eaters leader.

The tattooed man was now kneeling on the floor, trembling violently while Giz perched atop his head, its tiny purple fangs pressed against his temple.

"Please... spare me..." the man whimpered, tears streaming down his tattoo-covered face.

Killian turned toward Bianca, who was still standing near the entrance.

"Should I kill him, Bianca? Or does he have another use in your strategy?"

Bianca stepped forward, walking past the scattered corpses. The fear had vanished from her expression.

She looked down at the gang leader with cold eyes.

"We need labor to clean this place and build the initial infrastructure," Bianca said. "He knows this territory better than anyone. We'll use him as our tracking hound."

Killian nodded.

He gripped the man's shoulder, allowing a trace of Void energy to seep into his body.

"You heard her. You work for the Void Faction now. If you try to run or betray us, the energy I just planted in your heart will explode and turn you into dust."

"Y-Yes, Master! I'll do anything!" The man repeatedly bowed his head to the floor.

Killian turned back to Bianca. His eyes gleamed gold in the dim warehouse.

"Welcome to the first day of our empire, Bianca. Let's make this world regret ever casting us aside."

Bianca looked around the warehouse, now filled with the smell of blood. Yet in her eyes, it no longer appeared rundown. She saw the future. A future built upon courage, blood, and limitless evolution. But amid that sense of satisfaction, the sensors on Bianca's tablet suddenly emitted a shrill warning tone.

"Killian!"

Bianca shouted, her face turning pale again.

"The illegal satellites have detected a massive force moving toward our coordinates! Not the police... it's the Grand Titan aerial fleet. They're using the Eye of Heaven to lock onto our location!"

Killian looked up through the holes in the warehouse roof, watching blue points of light begin to appear across the sky.

"The Grand Titan?"

Killian clenched his fist. A dense purple aura erupted from his body with an intensity far greater and more terrifying than before, shaking everything inside the warehouse. His golden eyes blazed with fury as he stared into the heavens.

"It seems they can't wait to become the first nutrients for our Void Faction."