“What… what the hell just happened?!”

  More and more people cautiously leaned out to look.

  Down the street, two severed raven heads lay in the open—still bleeding.

  “That’s the pair that was circling overhead…”

  They snapped their eyes up.

  The sky was still dark and storm-heavy, but the ravens were gone.

  “Dead… both of them?!”

  “Holy shit—was that the 749 guy? He just wiped two Rank-Two demons like it was nothing!”

  “No way—seriously?!”

  “But if he’s that strong, why is he in the shallow layer with us? His Ladder Points can’t be over 1000!”

  “Unless…” someone swallowed. “Unless it’s his first time in the Reverse World.”

  That landed like a punch.

  Lola Keane’s face lit up with pure admiration. “So Parker didn’t team up with us because he went hunting solo… That’s so 749. He’s insane.”

  A guy muttered, “Kid, I’ve seen 749 investigators before. Trust me—most of them aren’t that scary.”

  “Then he’s a genius-tier inside 749,” someone else said, voice tight.

  The room’s anxiety loosened.

  If a monster like that was nearby, this run suddenly felt a whole lot safer.

  …

  Elsewhere, Ethan kept moving.

  After carving through a string of demons, his Blood Strength finally pushed past 40%, triggering another Divine Gift.

  Same three-card pick.

  Blood regeneration speed +5%

  Immediately restore a small amount of spiritual energy

  Immediately fill 10 spiritual apertures

  Ethan barely paused.

  He picked 1.

  Sure, he couldn’t die from blood loss—but blood was still his combat fuel. His “mana bar.” Faster regen meant longer fights, more shots, more blades, more control.

  Not long ago he’d been lv77.

  Now he was lv90.

  Reverse World energy was dense, and kills gave energy too—his leveling pace was disgusting.

  He kept hunting until he ended up in an underground parking garage.

  No lights. No glow. The kind of dark where you can’t see your own hand.

  “Aimee,” Ethan said. “Light.”

  His watch-terminal blasted white light.

  He walked deeper, scanning. No movement. No demons.

  He turned to leave—then a faint red glow in the darkness caught his eye.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  “…Something’s back there.”

  He pushed farther in.

  A twisted space-vortex shimmered ahead—oozing eerie red light. But it was wrapped in thick black chains, sealed like a caged storm.

  Ethan’s interest sharpened instantly.

  “A nest?” he murmured. “Something strong?”

  He reached out and touched the chains.

  A prompt snapped into view:

  [Hidden Objective Triggered: Break the seal, enter the nest, and kill the demon inside.]

  [Once inside, you cannot leave voluntarily until one side dies.]

  Ethan’s blood formed into a blade.

  He swung.

  CLANG—!!

  Metal screamed.

  The chain didn’t break.

  Instead, the impact snapped pain through Ethan’s grip—his palm split, the blood-blade warped.

  “…The hell? That’s hard.”

  He tried a few more times. Same result.

  Ethan clicked his tongue.

  “At this strength, I’m not breaking it.”

  He stared at the sealed vortex, annoyed but not discouraged.

  “Fine. I’ll break through first.”

  Then I come back and crack you open.

  Ethan left the garage and continued his sweep.

  …

  Four hours passed.

  And Ethan realized something—killing demons felt too good.

  Leveling fast was one thing.

  But Blood Strength going up with every kill—that sensation of real, measurable power stacking—was addictive.

  In the real world, hunting demons meant taking missions, chasing leads, wasting time.

  Here?

  Here was a demon playground.

  And it was Ethan’s personal hunting ground.

  By the time he finished, the district was almost empty—no living demons in sight.

  His body felt stuffed with energy. Every meridian pulsed hot. Power circulated through his chest like a furnace.

  lv100.

  Channeling Realm — complete.

  Time to break through.

  Ethan decided to regroup with the others.

  Even if he’d “cleared” the area, there was always a chance something slipped through. And breaking through a realm was a vulnerable process—he wanted someone watching his back.

  When he returned, the remaining nine had relaxed a lot. The earlier terror had faded into cautious excitement.

  “Parker’s back!”

  “Dude—you’re insane! Did you just kill everything in this zone?”

  “You turned a survival mission into a farm run!”

  “I’ve never had a mission this easy—holy shit.”

  Lola squeezed forward, trying to get close. “Um—so… I really want to join Unit 749 someday. I’ve always wanted to be part of an organization like that.”

  She was basically trying to get a “referral.”

  What she didn’t know was Ethan was still new himself.

  Ethan remembered her, though—she’d been the most cooperative when he’d done the “blood test” bluff earlier.

  He nodded. “If you’re serious, sure. I’ll give you a probationary task right now.”

  Lola’s eyes went huge. “Yes! What is it? I’ll do my best!”

  “Come with me.”

  Ethan led her into a building off the street. On the way, they exchanged names properly.

  Lola whispered, “So… what are we doing here?”

  “I’m breaking through,” Ethan said quietly. “I need a few minutes with no distractions. You stand at the entrance. No one comes in.”

  Lola snapped to attention like a soldier. “Got it! I’ll guard the door. Nobody’s interrupting you.”

  Ethan handed her the gray-white sphere Tessa had given him.

  “If anything shows up, press the button and throw it.”

  Lola nodded hard. “Yes!”

  Ethan headed upstairs to the second floor and settled in.

  Breaking through a major realm was… weird. Part talent, part comprehension, part mindset. Sometimes people fought a life-or-death battle and snapped into enlightenment overnight.

  But in the lower realms, it was more straightforward: fill your apertures, circulate energy, refine the body—and the breakthrough follows.

  Ethan slowed his breathing and pulled spiritual energy from all his filled apertures, compressing it, refining it, then releasing it back through his limbs.

  That refinement tempered the body. That’s why the next realm was called Mountain-Shift—the body and raw strength jumped dramatically.

  …

  Outside, down an alley, two guys had ducked off to piss against a wall.

  One of them snorted. “Man, we should’ve stuck closer to Parker. Could’ve soaked up some of that kill-energy.”

  The other shrugged. “He doesn’t want to babysit. To him we’re just background NPCs.”

  “Still,” the first guy said, “he was pretty nice to that little girl.”

  The second guy laughed under his breath. “Yeah, because she’s sweet and cute. Guys always get softer around that type. Doesn’t mean he gives a damn about us.”

  They were talking a little too comfortably, not paying attention to the shadows.

  In the darkest corner of the alley, something like a rotting chunk of meat quietly crawled forward.

  By the time the first guy noticed it, it was already right in front of his face.

  “What the—”

  The meat-thing sprang upward and slapped onto his face like a living mask.

  “Mmph—mmph—!!”

  His mouth and nose sealed shut. He couldn’t even scream.

  Then it started to push inside—through nostrils, mouth, even the ear canal—worming into him.

  A parasitic demon.

  In seconds, his brain was eaten through and replaced.

  His body went still.

  Then it stood again—occupied.

  The second guy turned, confused. “Bro? What’s wrong with you? What are you—”

  “…Uh—!!”