Yuto clung to the ceiling, completely still, his many eyes trained on the group of adventurers far below.
There were four of them.
Kaito Shiba stood at the front—tall, cocky, in polished dungeon-grade armor. The same smirk. The same damn voice.
Behind him were two others: a blonde girl with a bow, and a heavyset boy holding a magic lantern.
The fourth… a quiet, hooded figure that never spoke. Their aura felt off.
[Targets identified.]
- Kaito Shiba | LV14 | Warrior Class
- Eri Kano | LV12 | Archer Class
- Masaru Tonaka | LV11 | Light Mage
- ??? | LV?? | ??? Class – Caution: Undetectable]
Yuto's instincts screamed at him. The fourth was dangerous.
But his rage was louder.
He whispered to Nyx:
"Battle plan?"
[Proposal: Isolate and eliminate Masaru first. Disrupt their light source. Create fear. Activate Hollow Hunger. Do not engage Kaito directly until weakened.]
"Understood," Yuto hissed. "Let's hunt."
The shadows obeyed him now.
He crept across the cavern ceiling until he was directly above the mage. Masaru was fidgeting, holding the lantern with both hands.
One flick of his legs.
One Warp Skitter.
And Yuto dropped—
silent. precise. lethal.
The boy never had time to scream.
Fangs pierced flesh. Venom flooded his lungs.
He spasmed. Twitched. Collapsed.
The lantern shattered.
Darkness fell.
"Masaru?!" Eri shouted, arrow nocked. The glow from her bow lit a small radius—but not enough.
Kaito drew his blade, eyes narrowing.
"Stay sharp! Something's here!"
Yuto circled like a wraith, venom glands hissing.
[Passive: Hollow Hunger – Fear detected. Gaining Strength Buff +10%]
He felt it—like drinking in warm blood.
Their fear. His power.
He lunged again—slicing Eri's ankle with a venomous fang.
She screamed, fired blindly—
The arrow missed.
Kaito charged. "SHOW YOURSELF!"
Then—
it appeared.
From the deeper shadows behind the group, something massive stirred.
At first, Yuto thought it was part of the wall.
Then it moved.
A towering, centipede-like beast with a skull for a head, dozens of arms twitching along its sides, and a voice like breaking glass.
[Abyssal Alpha: "Skullborne Harvester"]
[Level: 18]
[Status: Apex Predator]
[Behavior: Territory Defense. Target: All.]
It screeched.
The humans turned in horror.
Kaito swung at Yuto—but the bug had already vanished back into the shadows.
Chaos exploded.
The Harvester barreled into the group. Arrows flew. Magic flared.
Yuto watched from above.
He wasn't strong enough to fight the Harvester. Not yet.
But it was the perfect distraction.
He skittered back toward Masaru's body and devoured the remains.
[Skill Absorbed: Flash Orb (LV1)]
[Partial EXP Absorbed: +72]
[Progress to Level 4: 82%]
"Good," he growled. "One down."
He turned his eyes to Eri next—already wounded. Already bleeding.
But the hooded figure… still hadn't moved.
Yuto paused.
Then the figure turned slowly—no face under the hood. Just darkness.
And somehow, it looked directly at him.
A whisper filled the cavern:
"I see you, little Sovereign."
Yuto froze.
This wasn't a human.
It was something wearing human skin.
[ERROR: Entity analysis failed.]
[System Warning: Abort contact.]
But it was too late.
The hooded figure raised one pale hand—and the shadows around Yuto twitched.