[Sector 7 - The Slums]
The air in Sector 7 usually smelled of garbage and sewage. Tonight, it smelled of blood and greed.
"There he is!" screamed a taxi driver, pointing a tire iron at the shadowed alleyway. "That's the Billion Dollars!"
"Back off!" a teenager with a baseball bat yelled, shoving the driver. "I saw him first! The money is mine!"
A mob of over three hundred people had cornered Vincent. It was a chaotic sea of desperate faces—grandmothers clutching kitchen knives, office workers with briefcases, and street gangs with rusty chains. The $1 Billion Bounty had driven the entire city insane. They didn't see a monster; they saw a winning lottery ticket.
In the center of the alley, Vincent was leaning against a dumpster. His trench coat was shredded, and his chest was still caved in from Alex's punch earlier. He was breathing heavily, his eyes darting around like a trapped rat.
"Stay back..." Vincent wheezed, blood dripping from his lips. "You insects... do not push me."
"Get him!" the mob roared.
A brave construction worker lunged forward with a shovel, swinging it at Vincent's head.
CLANG.
Vincent caught the shovel blade with his bare hand. His eyes glowed a sickly purple.
"I gave you a chance," Vincent whispered.
[Plunder System: Mass Drain Initiated.]
"ARGHHH!"
The construction worker shrieked as his skin turned gray and withered instantly. He dropped to the ground, looking like a dried mummy.
But Vincent didn't stop. A pulse of purple energy exploded from his body, washing over the front row of the mob.
"My leg! I can't feel my leg!" "Help! What is happening?!"
Thirty people fell to the ground simultaneously. Their youth, their strength, and their life force were ripped out of them, flowing into Vincent like a river of red mist.
Vincent's chest popped back into place. His wounds stitched themselves shut. His muscles swelled, tearing the remains of his coat.
He laughed. It was a wet, gurgling sound.
"Yes! More! I need MORE!"
Vincent grabbed a teenager by the throat and drained him in two seconds, tossing the husk aside. The mob screamed in terror, trying to run, but the alley was too crowded. It was a slaughterhouse.
BOOM.
Suddenly, the ground shook.
A massive shockwave hit the alley entrance, blowing away the pile of trash blocking the path. The mob fell silent, parting like the Red Sea.
Alex walked in.
He wasn't running. He wasn't sweating. He was walking slowly, adjusting the cuffs of his $200,000 combat suit. Luna walked a step behind him, her face cold.
Alex looked at the dried bodies on the ground. His expression didn't change, but the temperature in the alley seemed to drop ten degrees.
"You look terrible, Vincent," Alex said, his voice cutting through the screams. "Eating garbage in an alley? Is this the 'Higher Predator' you talked about?"
Vincent wiped the blood from his mouth. He looked fully healed, his energy crackling around him.
"You made a mistake, Tycoon," Vincent grinned, his teeth stained red. "You brought me dinner. Thanks to your bounty, I have absorbed the life force of fifty people. My Strength is now over 300."
Vincent flexed his claws.
"I am going to peel the skin off your body," Vincent hissed.
"System," Alex said calmly. "Scan him."
[God's Eye Active] [Target: Vincent] [Status: Corrupted System User] [Strength: 320 (Boosted by Blood Sacrifice)] [Defense: Level 5 Blood Barrier] [Warning: Target is charging a Forbidden Item.]
Alex checked his watch. Patek Philippe. 8:05 PM.
"You have bad breath," Alex said. "And I have a dinner reservation at 9:00."
"DIE!" Vincent roared.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black, pulsating heart. It wasn't human. It looked like it belonged to a demon.
[Item: Heart of the Abyss] [Rank: Forbidden] [Effect: Sacrifice 50% of Lifespan to summon the Avatar of the Demon Lord for 5 minutes.]
"I sacrifice my life!" Vincent screamed, crushing the heart in his hand.
The sky above Sector 7 turned black. Red lightning crackled. A pillar of blood erupted from the ground, swallowing Vincent whole.
"Master!" Luna stepped in front of Alex, her daggers drawn. "High Energy Detected! This is... this is not human!"
From the pillar of blood, a giant hand emerged. It was eight feet tall, covered in black scales and burning runes. Then another hand.
Vincent stepped out. But he wasn't a man anymore. He was a ten-foot-tall monstrosity of shadow and fire.
"ALEX..." The demon-Vincent's voice sounded like grinding stones. "YOUR MONEY CANNOT SAVE YOU NOW."
Alex looked up at the giant monster. He didn't blink.
"Luna," Alex said, pulling out his phone. "Hold my jacket. This might get expensive."