Ethan snapped his head up.
For a split second, his breathing caught.
From those vortices, figures poured out in steady streams—orderly, oppressive. This wasn't some messy mob. It was an elite force with discipline in its bones, their auras unnervingly uniform.
And at the very front—
Stood something inhuman.
A gigantic cockroach-man.
Tall and warped, his carapace reflecting a dull, dark sheen. Every step he took made the air around him sag, like space itself couldn't quite hold its shape.
Worst of all—
A pitch-black gemstone was set into his head.
It didn't shine.
It didn't glow.
It just felt like it swallowed everything.
Ethan's gaze locked.
A pressure rolled off the thing that couldn't be ignored. It wasn't just "strong." It was a crushing difference in rank—like being stared down by something that existed on a higher floor of reality.
Especially the energy waves pulsing from his chest—
Clear. Steady.
Tier 34.
Ethan's heart sank.
