The portal glowed behind him for a final second before dissipating with an ethereal hiss. Seth walked with firm steps along the cracked concrete road, the dust from the dungeon still clinging to his boots. His golden eyes were partially covered by his messy fringe, and Vaali — now hidden, sealed — rested as a secret in its particular dimension.
Ahead, a black luxury car waited, the engine running, the design understated enough not to draw attention... but with enough armor to withstand an attack from a Rank-A.
Kaguya, wearing sunglasses, leaned back in the driver's seat, tapping her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel.
When Seth opened the passenger door and got in, she didn't look directly at him. She simply asked, her voice calm and elegant: "How was it?"
Seth pulled on the seatbelt and leaned back in the leather seat as if he had just gone to the market. "Pathetically easy."
Kaguya sighed. As always. "The classification system is going to freak out when it finds out about this." She started the car, and it glided silently through the quiet streets of the restricted zone, the tires barely whispering against the asphalt. "I almost feel bad for the idiots who were with you. Their reports will look like science fiction."
Seth didn't answer right away. He just looked out the window, his eyes lost in the abandoned buildings as the dark city passed in flashes.
After a few seconds, Kaguya let out a quiet laugh, as if remembering something. "Connie would have loved to be there. She'd probably tease you for not making it last longer."
The name made Seth's eyes narrow slightly.
"Connie, huh... I'm already missing her," he murmured.
"She'll be back soon," Kaguya continued, now more serious. "It seems like the portal she was summoned to is Rank-S. I think eight other Rank-S went with her, so she should be home soon."
Seth let out a brief nasal sound, half a laugh, half exhaustion. "She'll complain about the coffee, as always."
Kaguya smiled. The car kept gliding down the semi-abandoned avenue in the eastern part of the city — an isolated area, close to the portal containment lines. The streets were empty, as always, except for a few flickering streetlights and buildings covered in wild vegetation and cracked concrete.
It was then that Seth furrowed his brow.
"Stop the car," he said as he felt something coming in his direction.
"What?" Kaguya asked, confused.
"Just. Stop. Now."
Kaguya quickly glanced at him, surprised by his sudden tone, but obeyed. The car braked smoothly, the tires squealing lightly on the asphalt. She looked around, confused.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
Seth didn't answer right away. He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something.
It was at that moment that the side of the car exploded.
BOOOOOM!
A brutal impact struck the vehicle on the left side, as if a concrete battering ram had been hurled at them. The armored car flew several meters from the force of the attack, spinning through the air like a crushed soda can before landing on its side and rolling twice with a deafening crash.
Glass shattered. The structure twisted. The world flipped upside down.
Inside the car, the airbags deployed, but the shock was still brutal. Seth, despite the impact, seemed more irritated than injured. Kaguya, coughing with blood running from her forehead, let out a grunt as she struggled to unbuckle her seatbelt.
"Shit... what was that?!" she murmured nervously as she tried to get out of the car.
The car was now flipped over, and smoke was billowing from the engine like suffocating mist. Outside, something heavy scraped against the asphalt with claws — a massive creature was walking toward the car, its distorted form glowing with an unstable purple aura, as if it were a monster violently ripped from within a faulty portal.
Seth kicked the wrecked door and stepped out of the vehicle, his eyes already glowing with fury. His body was intact, muscles tensed, his composure unshaken.
The creature let out a roar, its empty eyes locking directly onto him.
Kaguya tried to crawl out through the driver's side door, groaning.
"Seth... be careful! This isn't normal! This... this isn't from any registered portal! It must be a Dungeon Break!" she shouted, but... Seth's eyes were already completely lost.
The smoke was pushed away by a sudden gust of wind.
The creature took a step forward — and its deformed silhouette began to contort. Bones cracked like dry branches. Flesh glowed purple. In a matter of seconds, what was once a shapeless mass reorganized with deadly precision. The sound of muscles rearranging filled the air like a macabre chant.
And then, with a guttural roar, it took its true form.
A colossal wolf.
Over four meters tall at the shoulder, with dense, gray fur laced with purple veins that pulsed like living circuits. Its fangs dripped black saliva that corroded the asphalt where it fell. Its eyes — six, three on each side of its head — glowed with a deep, oppressive purple hue.
Kaguya's eyes widened as she saw the full transformation. "Stay back... it's Rank-A…"
Seth took a step forward, Vaali materializing in his hand in an instant with a golden spark straight from the [Inventory]. The air around him wavered, as if it were about to tear. He didn't respond to Kaguya. He didn't need to.
His eyes were fixed on the monster. And for a moment... the wolf paused. As if it recognized Seth.
As if it had come for him.
The wolf growled low, then vanished.
It didn't run. It didn't leap. It disappeared. As if it had dissolved into the air.
Seth spun instantly, pure instinct. Vaali glowed as it intercepted the attack coming from behind. The wolf's claws collided with the golden blade, creating a shockwave that shattered windows a hundred meters away. The ground sank beneath Seth's feet with the impact.
The creature appeared again, and this time, it was laughing. A distorted sound, like the growl of an animal... but with intent.
"You feel it too, don't you?" a voice whispered inside Seth's head, coming from nowhere. "The connection. The same power that inhabits you... now inhabits me. Give me that power!"
[You have encountered a "Being of the End" that seeks your darkness. Defeat it.]