As soon as the elevator doors slid open, Eli's entire body tensed.
Not the normal kind of nervous tension—this was deeper, heavier.
Like something invisible pressing down on his lungs.
Because the moment the doors parted…
He felt them.
Not saw.
Felt.
Dozens of razor-sharp auras bleeding through the hallway walls like pressure waves.
Dense.
Overwhelming.
Familiar in their intensity yet suffocating in number.
Eli had been stuck inside a dungeon with four S-Class hunters—two of them tied as Rank 1. He thought that alone was already overwhelming.
But this?
This was worse.
Much worse.
It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff while a storm tried to swallow him whole.
Eli swallowed hard, throat tight.
"What's wrong?" Lawrence asked, though his tone suggested he already knew the answer. He stepped out of the elevator with calm, practiced professionalism.
Eli forced one shaky breath. "I just… I can sense a lot."
