The digital clock on the nightstand read 02:00 AM.
Seraphina was fast asleep. Her breathing was deep and rhythmic, her face buried in Kael's pillow. The room was cool, but not freezing—thanks to the several hours of contact recycling Kael had performed before drifting off.
Kael opened his eyes. He hadn't really slept. He had been watching the System Map.
The cluster of red dots in the Industrial District hadn't moved. They were waiting.
Slowly, painfully slowly, Kael untangled himself from Seraphina's limbs. He replaced his body with a large body pillow he had swiped from the lounge chair. Seraphina grumbled something unintelligible, hugged the pillow tight, and settled back into dreams.
Kael stood up and walked to the balcony, the cold night air hitting his face.
He didn't put on his suit. Tonight wasn't for business.
He equipped his "Cleaner" gear: tight black tactical pants, a hooded reinforced shirt, and his new gauntlet.
"System," he whispered. "Calibrate Shadow Step for long-distance travel."
[Shadow Step: Ready.]
[Stamina: 100%]
[Venomous Shadow-Weave: Loaded.]
Kael climbed onto the railing. He looked back one last time at the sleeping Empress.
"I'll be back before breakfast," he promised.
He stepped off the ledge.
He didn't fall. He dissolved into the shadow of the balcony and reappeared on the garden wall. Then to a streetlight. Then to a rooftop.
He moved across the city like a ghost, a blur of darkness heading toward the smoke and grime of the Industrial District.
Sector 4: Abandoned Steel Mill
The warehouse was massive, a skeletal corpse of the old industrial era. Rust covered the walls, and the windows were shattered teeth.
To the naked eye, it was empty.
To Kael's [Mana Sense], it was a beacon of filth.
The air around the factory tasted like copper and sulfur. Corrupt mana.
Kael crouched on a rusted catwalk high above the factory floor. He looked down.
There were about twenty men in robes standing in a circle. They weren't powerful mages—mostly D-Ranks or C-Ranks. But in the center of the circle, there was a makeshift altar made of bones and black candles.
And on the altar, tied down and gagged, was a girl. A civilian.
"Pure mana..." a cultist chanted, holding a jagged knife. "Offer the vessel to the Sovereign."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
Human sacrifice.
He checked his gauntlet. The poison was ready.
"System," Kael thought. "Mark targets."
[Hostiles Detected: 22.]
[Target Priority: The Executioner (Rank C).]
Kael didn't announce his presence. He didn't give a heroic speech.
He simply dropped from the ceiling.
Whoosh.
He landed silently behind the executioner just as the knife was raised.
CLICK.
The Chain-Blade shot out.
It pierced the executioner's neck from behind. Kael didn't pull back. He injected the venom.
[Basilisk's Kiss: Applied.]
The cultist froze mid-swing. His muscles locked up instantly. He couldn't scream. He couldn't breathe. He just toppled over like a statue, crashing onto the concrete floor with a heavy thud.
The knife clattered away.
The other cultists stopped chanting. They stared at the body of their leader, then at the figure standing in the shadows of the altar.
Kael stepped into the light. The violet aura of his gauntlet pulsed menacingly.
"Sorry to interrupt the party," Kael said, his voice distorted by his mask. "But this facility is closed for cleaning."
"Intruder!" one cultist screamed. "Kill him!"
Five of them rushed forward, summoning fireballs and wind blades.
Kael grinned.
"Trash."
[Shadow Step]
He vanished.
The spells hit the altar, missing him completely.
Kael reappeared in the middle of the group. He spun around, the chain extending five meters in a deadly arc.
SLASH.
The poisoned blade grazed three men across their chests and arms. It wasn't a deep cut—barely a scratch.
"Ha! You missed!" one cultist laughed, raising his axe.
Then, he stopped.
His face turned purple. Foam began to bubble from his mouth.
"W-What..."
THUD. THUD. THUD.
All three men collapsed, convulsing as the neurotoxin shut down their nervous systems.
Panic erupted.
"Poison! He uses poison!"
"Don't let him touch you!"
Kael didn't stop. He was a whirlwind of death. He teleported from shadow to shadow, striking from blind spots. He didn't need to kill them instantly; he just needed to scratch them. One touch, and the Basilisk did the rest.
Within two minutes, eighteen men were on the floor, paralyzed and dying.
Only four were left. They backed away, terrified.
"Who are you?!" the last C-Rank mage screamed, holding a shield spell with trembling hands. "Are you with the Guild?"
Kael retracted his chain, walking slowly over the bodies of the fallen.
"No. Guilds have rules. Guilds take prisoners."
Kael stepped through the mage's shield as if it were paper (his [Mana Skin] negating the weak magic) and grabbed the man by the throat.
"I'm just the garbage man."
He slammed the mage into the wall, knocking him unconscious.
Kael looked around. The room was silent.
He walked to the altar and cut the ropes binding the girl. She was sobbing, terrified.
"Run," Kael said softly. "Go to the police station. Don't look back."
The girl scrambled away, running out the main door.
Kael stayed. He wasn't done.
He looked at the altar. There was a tunnel behind it, hidden by a illusion spell. His [Mana Sense] could see the dark energy leaking from it. The boss wasn't here. This was just the foyer.
He walked toward the tunnel.
[Warning: High-Level Corruption Detected.]
[Source: "Abyssal Eye Implant".]
Kael descended into the darkness.
The tunnel led to a basement room. Inside, it looked like a surgical theater.
And standing there, shirtless, with fresh bandages wrapped around his chest, was a familiar face.
Gareth.
But he looked different. His skin was gray. His veins bulged with black liquid. And in the center of his chest, where his heart should be, a red crystal was embedded into his flesh, pulsing like a second heartbeat.
Gareth turned around. He saw Kael.
He didn't look surprised. He smiled, revealing teeth that had been filed into sharp points.
"I knew you would come, Cleaner," Gareth's voice was deeper, vibrating with inhuman power. "I could smell the Empress on you."
"You look terrible, Gareth," Kael said, leaning against the doorframe. "That crystal doesn't match your complexion."
"It is power!" Gareth roared. The red crystal flared, and a wave of force cracked the concrete floor. "The Master gave me what Seraphina denied me! With this, I will crush her! I will strip her of her rank, her dignity, and her life!"
He pointed a clawed hand at Kael.
"But first... I will eat her pet."
[Enemy Analysis:]
[Target: Gareth (Mutated)]
[Rank: A+ (Unstable)]
[Threat Level: HIGH.]
Kael checked his gauntlet. He had half a vial of poison left.
"You know," Kael said, deploying his blade. "I was wondering where I would find enough high-grade trash to level up my Shop."
Kael's eyes glowed violet.
"Thanks for volunteering."
[Quest Generated: "The First Hunt"]
[Objective: Defeat or Kill the Mutated Traitor.]
[Reward: Rank Up (E-Rank).]
Kael vanished into the shadows.
Gareth unleashed a torrent of black fire.
The real fight had begun.