Chapter 4 First Blood: Reversal of Fate

"Get down here faster, Jax. I don't want to lose that spider crystal if this piece of trash actually managed to kill it through blind luck."

Vax's voice echoed from the opening above, bouncing off the damp concrete walls of the corridor. Killian Moretti stood silently beneath the crimson glow of the setting sun streaming through the hole, allowing the cosmic dust from Giz's shattered cocoon to settle over his boots. Perched on his shoulder, Giz, the Void Devourer Grunt, released a high-frequency hiss that made the air around them vibrate.

"Captain, look. Moretti's still alive!" Jax shouted.

He slid down on a rope and landed with a heavy thud about fifteen feet in front of Killian. His eyes immediately locked onto the mangled remains of the Calamity Spider.

"Damn... what happened here. You blew this whole place apart, Moretti."

Killian didn't answer. His dim golden eyes rested calmly on Jax. Back then, I would've trembled under Jax's stare, he thought. But now, he looks so... slow. So fragile.

"Hey. I'm talking to you, trash." Jax stepped forward, his hand reaching for the hilt of his energy dagger.

"And what's that on your shoulder. A black bug. Don't tell me you picked up another piece of garbage after your caterpillar died."

Vax landed behind Jax, dust swirling from his cloak. He narrowed his eyes and studied Killian suspiciously.

"Something's different about you, Moretti. This aura... where did you get it?"

Before Killian could answer, a roar powerful enough to shake the corridor's foundation thundered from the opening above. Cracks spread through the already damaged structure, and chunks of concrete began to fall.

"GRAAAAAAA!"

A gigantic figure covered in dark fur, with gleaming metallic claws, leaped down through the opening. An Iron-Claw Bear. The level ten monster that had been chasing Killian earlier hadn't gone far. It had caught the scent of blood coming from the tunnel and decided to pursue its prey.

"Damn it. That monster followed us." Jax panicked, retreating as he summoned his Pet, a sharp-fanged Shadow Wolf.

"Captain, we need to get out of here."

Vax growled and raised his shield.

"Quiet. We'll kill it here. The narrow corridor works in our favor."

The massive bear landed with a violent impact, completely ignoring Vax and Jax. Its crimson eyes immediately locked onto Killian. To the beast, the young man who had fled in terror earlier was the easiest target. It raised one of its razor-sharp metal claws, ready to split Killian in half.

Killian didn't move. Within his vision, a golden interface flickered.

[Target: Iron-Claw Bear (Rank: Bronze - Mid)]

[Level: 10]

[Weakness: Base of the neck (Primary artery)]

[Victory Probability: 99.8% with Void Coordination]

"Giz," Killian whispered. "Dinner time."

A violet flash ignited within Giz's eyes. The little creature didn't leap like an ordinary animal. In an instant, its body seemed to dissolve into purple mist and vanish from Killian's shoulder.

"Huh? Where'd the bug go?"

Jax froze, frantically searching in every direction. Spatial Warp, Killian thought. Through their soul bond, he could feel every movement Giz made. The bear swung its claw toward Killian's head. Its speed should have been enough to kill an ordinary human in the blink of an eye. Vax had already prepared himself to watch Killian die, intending to use that moment to strike the monster's flank.

"Now, Giz." Void Severance.

Just before the claw reached Killian's hair, a thin violet crack appeared in the air directly in front of the bear's face. Giz emerged from the fracture, its tiny claws radiating a distorted spatial aura.

Sreeeet!

There was no explosion. Only a sound like paper being torn with impossible precision.

Vax's eyes widened. The bear's metallic claw, which should have been capable of withstanding cannon fire, had been cleanly severed. The massive limb crashed onto the floor with a thunderous impact, spraying fresh blood everywhere.

"W-What... what just happened?" Jax stumbled backward, his voice trembling.

"That bug... it cut through an Iron-Claw's claw with a single strike."

The bear roared in agony. Killian gave it no chance to recover. He stepped forward, each footfall heavy and commanding.

"Giz, relocate to rear coordinates. Use Gravity Anchor."

Giz vanished again and reappeared directly above the giant bear's back. An overwhelming gravitational force suddenly slammed down on the monster, driving it to its knees. The beast struggled desperately, but Giz's spatial pressure left it powerless.

"Vax, Jax... you said I was trash who deserved to die." Killian spoke without looking at them, his eyes fixed entirely on his prey.

"You said my death would be a contribution to humanity."

He raised his right hand and pointed toward the bear's neck.

"Now watch what a real contribution looks like."

"Finish it, Giz. Leave nothing behind."

Giz opened its tiny mouth. A sphere of pitch-black energy formed within it. Void Pulse. The light throughout the corridor seemed to be sucked into the orb, creating an oppressive darkness.

Whoooooosh!

A black beam erupted forward. It pierced the bear's neck and continued onward, blasting through the corridor wall behind it. The bear's head dropped limply. The glow in its crimson eyes vanished instantly. Its colossal body collapsed, sending a cloud of dust rolling across the corridor and enveloping Killian.

Silence.

Vax and Jax stood frozen like statues. Neither of them could comprehend what they had just witnessed. A level ten monster that normally required an elite team to defeat had been slaughtered within seconds by a creature that didn't even exist in the System's records.

"Moretti..." Vax finally spoke, his throat dry. "What the hell is that thing? That's not an Iron-rank Pet. Spatial power... that's... that's something only Legendary-rank Pets possess."

Killian slowly turned around. As the dust settled, his figure emerged, somehow appearing taller and far more intimidating than before. Giz returned to his shoulder, casually licking its clean claws as if it had just completed a trivial chore.

"The rankings created by your System don't apply to us, Captain," Killian said flatly.

"You're so busy worshiping numbers that you've forgotten evolution has no limits."

"You... you stole something from these ruins, didn't you?" Jax suddenly shouted, his anger masking his fear.

"Trash like you couldn't possibly gain power like that naturally. Hand over that creature and everything you found here. It belongs to the team." Killian stared at him coldly.

"Still arrogant, even after seeing all this. Humans never learn."

"It belongs to the team?" Killian chuckled.

"The team that threw me into the Red Zone as bait. The team that kicked me while I begged for help." His voice turned into a growl.

"You've got a lot of nerve using the word 'team' in front of me, Jax." Jax drew his energy dagger, his face burning with humiliation and rage.

"Stop acting tough, Moretti. Your bug might be strong, but you're still weak." He pointed forward.

"Shadow Wolf, attack!" The shadow wolf lunged forward. But Vax suddenly shouted,

"Jax, stop!"

Too late.

Killian didn't even need to give Giz a verbal command. Through their mental connection, Giz already knew exactly what its master wanted. Before the wolf could reach him, the space around its legs froze. In a movement so fast that human eyes couldn't follow, Giz appeared directly in front of the beast's muzzle. One casual slap infused with violet energy sent the Silver-rank Pet flying into the wall. The impact shattered several of its ribs.

"Well then." Killian grinned. "Now let's see who's the trash."