—— Elixir's Dawn, Shadows Stir ——
In the chairman's office of HelixPharm, Lyra's face glowed with unrestrained excitement as she addressed Darius:
"Incredible! The formula from our Power Ranger ally—it's a miracle!"
Lyra's eyes gleamed. "With production starting today, HelixPharm's value won't just recover—it'll triple. The launch is in three days, Leader Darius. Could you ask your Overlord to grace us with his presence?"
A flush of excitement colored Lyra's fair, delicate cheeks.
Just then, her phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, Lyra's expression shifted instantly. She answered immediately.
"Is it done? Is Eren dead?"
There was a silence of nearly ten seconds before a hoarse voice replied:
"...No. There are... experts inside the prison. We..."
"What?!" Lyra's voice rose sharply. "Failed again? Are you truly the feared assassins of the dark web, or have I hired a bunch of impostors?"
"Do not misunderstand—we are no impostors. It's just... the target's strength far exceeds our estimates. We've already lost two skilled operatives..."
Lyra cut him off impatiently: "I don't want excuses! Tell me directly—when can you eliminate Eren?"
After two seconds of silence, the voice lowered: "This... will require additional payment."
"More money?" Lyra nearly laughed in disbelief.
"You fail the mission, yet your hands are quick to ask for payment.
"Fine. Another fifty million. Bring me his corpse. This is your last chance—fail again, and you'll refund me double."
"Deal."
Beside her, Darius stood in stunned silence.
He had never imagined that the seemingly delicate Lyra possessed such a ruthless, decisive side.
---
—— Night Fiends, Crimson Carnage ——
Night had fallen over the prison. Eren was deep in meditation when his spiritual sense detected several unfamiliar auras intruding.
The blare of alarms shattered the silence. Guards scrambled into position.
Zip! Zip! Zip!
Three precise shots cracked through the air—three guards dropped dead.
"Sniper! Take cover!" someone yelled as guards scrambled behind whatever protection they could find.
From the shadows, two figures emerged—a man and a woman.
The woman moved with seductive grace, dressed provocatively, her peach-blossom eyes enchanting and dangerous.
Wrapped around her pale neck was a multi-colored serpent, hissing softly.
The man was a hunched, unremarkable elder, but his eyes gleamed with sharp intensity. In his hand, he held a fishing rod;
on his back, a basket filled not with fish—but with human skulls.
"Serpent Siren! Hooked Reaper!"
Someone gasped in terror, recognizing the two infamous assassins ranked ninth and tenth on the underworld leaderboard.
"Heh, you know of us?" The hunched elder chuckled darkly.
With a flick of his wrist, the fishing hook shot out like a blade, wrapping around the neck of the one who had spoken—decapitating him instantly!
The gruesome sight sent chills down every witness's spine.
"Officer~ come here, I have a question for you," Serpent Siren cooed, crooking her finger toward a guard.
His body trembled, his eyes glazed over, a foolish smile spreading across his face as he walked toward her like a puppet.
"Tell me, which cell is Eren in?" she whispered, her arm wrapping around his neck, her body pressing close, her pupils glowing with an eerie light.
"C-Cell 927..." he stammered, completely entranced.
"So honest~ I've decided to reward you... by drinking you dry. How does that sound?" She extended her crimson, forked tongue, licking his neck.
In the next instant, the serpent around her neck struck, fangs sinking deep.
The guard screamed, his face rapidly paling as his blood was drained. The surviving guards trembled in horror.
Serpent Siren licked her lips, smiling bewitchingly. "You all saw—he was willing."
The Hooked Reaper shot her a wary glance. "Enough. Stop flirting and kill Eren. Let's finish this."
"Such a boring old man," she pouted.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
The guards finally opened fire. But the two assassins moved like phantoms—every bullet missed.
Each cast of the Hooked Reaper's rod claimed a guard's head.
Serpent Siren's snake struck like lightning, biting down on several others.
A hidden sniper picked off survivors with deadly accuracy.
In under a minute, more than thirty guards lay dead.
"Reinforcements will arrive soon. Serpent Siren, kill Eren. I'll release the prisoners and cause chaos." The Hooked Reaper stepped over the corpses without even a glance and moved deeper into the prison, his hook reaping any guard in his path.
---
—— Charm's Fall, Serpent's End ——
Serpent Siren appeared outside Cell 927 just as Eren stepped out to investigate the noise.
"Oh? You're Eren, aren't you?" She shivered slightly, recognizing her target.
She pressed close, her voice dripping with allure:
"Such a handsome man, and such a fine physique~ I like you already. Won't you do as I say?"
As she spoke, she leaned in, her forked tongue darting toward his neck.
Disgusted, Eren backhanded her across the face.
Thud!
She flew backward like a broken doll, smashing into the wall and coughing blood.
"H-How are you immune to my charm? Impossible!" Her mind reeled. Her enchanted charisma, enhanced by rare perfumes, had never failed—not even against grandmasters.
"Disgusting creature," Eren said coldly, lunging forward with a fist aimed at her.
"Think you can kill me? You're still green!"
Poof!
A cloud of pink smoke erupted, and she vanished.
"Interesting," Eren murmured.
"Die—!" Her voice came from another direction. She flung the serpent from her neck. It shot toward Eren's throat like a bullet, jaws wide enough to swallow a goose egg, fangs glinting coldly in the moonlight.
Eren didn't evade. He simply raised his palm, and a ball of blazing flame materialized. The serpent couldn't stop—it plunged into the fire and was incinerated instantly.
"You burned my precious! I'll flay you alive!" Enraged, she charged madly at Eren.
"Die."
Eren's palm struck like lightning. A surge of mana twisted her head ten times around her neck. Blood streamed from her eyes and mouth as she collapsed, dead.
---
—— Sniper's Trap, Thread of Death ——
Zip! Zip! Zip!
Three sniper rounds targeted Eren's head, heart, and spine simultaneously. The hidden marksman had timed it perfectly, leaving no room to dodge.
"Eren, you are strong—both Paper Killer and Serpent Siren fell to you. But in the end, I will be the one to finish this!" The sniper laughed triumphantly.
But the next moment, his smile froze. The bullets passed straight through Eren's body and embedded themselves in the wall behind.
"An afterimage?!" The sniper shuddered, cold dread gripping him.
"Looking for me?" A teasing voice sounded right behind him.
The sniper's hair stood on end—he felt as if a primal beast were breathing down his neck. He tried to flee, but a searing pain tore through his chest.
He spat blood, screamed once, then went still.
---
Elsewhere, the Hooked Reaper found Serpent Siren's corpse. Seeing her gruesome fate, his heart pounded, a chill running down his spine.
"D-Did Eren do this?" he stammered.
"Yes, I killed her." A cold voice came from behind.
Without thinking, the Hooked Reaper flung his hook backward.
"A fishing line?" Eren caught the gleaming thread, slightly amused. "An unusual weapon."
The Hooked Reaper smirked inwardly. His line was woven from Sky-Silk and meteoric iron—when infused with inner energy, it could slice through metal. Grabbing it bare-handed was suicide.
He jerked the rod sharply, expecting to sever Eren's hand.
But no blood was spilled. Eren's grip held firm—his skin wasn't even scratched.
With another flick, the Reaper sent the thread coiling around Eren's neck.
"Now die, brat!"
But again, disbelief—no matter how much energy he channeled, the line couldn't cut into Eren's neck. It was like trying to slice through diamond.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Realizing he was utterly outmatched, the Reaper released his rod and fled.
"Trying to run?" Eren smirked. A pulse of mana traveled down the line, which shot forward like a living thing, wrapping around the Reaper's own neck.
A slight twist of Eren's wrist.
Crack!
The Hooked Reaper's head rolled to the ground. He died by his own signature technique.
---
—— Riot's Rise, Ghost Returns ——
Alarms wailed. Firelight dyed the sky crimson. Hundreds of inmates surged toward the exit like frenzied beasts, only to halt abruptly at the iron gate.
Eren stood calmly amid the bloodshed, his gaze sharp as a blade. Even chaos seemed to bow to his presence—the very air grew heavy and still.
Silence.
Then, a roar tore through the quiet—
"Goddamn it, it's you?!"
A muzzle flashed, aimed straight at Eren's chest.
In the next instant, gunfire and killing intent erupted as one.