Lazry was looking at the chopper in front of him, the dull thumping of the rotor blades felt like his skull was being slammed every time it rotated.
The noise made it hard to think, yet his thoughts refused to quiet down. The wind whipped around the open door as Butler Winston leaned forward slightly, his voice raised over the roar.
"Young master, please come with us. I'll take you to a better apartment. The one you're staying in isn't safe anymore."
Lazry's eyes flicked toward the cityscape spreading beneath them.
The gray outlines of buildings stretched endlessly, their lights flickering like stars trapped in glass. He turned his gaze to the small apartment complex far away—the one he had stayed in since leaving the Clan. It was small, old, and unimpressive. Yet he had chosen it because it was away from everything that reminded him of them.
He was quiet for a long moment before answering. "I'll go. But I'll take the car."
Winston frowned. "The car, young master? The helicopter is faster."
"I don't care," Lazry replied, his voice calm but firm. "I'm not used to flying. It makes my stomach feel weird. Let the chopper fly slow and I'll follow behind."
Winston hesitated. "Then allow me to ride with you. We can—"
"No." Lazry's tone sharpened. "Don't come with me. I don't want to be disturbed."
Winston froze, then bowed slightly, his face unreadable. "As you wish, young master."
The blades roared louder as the helicopter lifted higher into the air.
Lazry stepped back, watching it ascend until its shadow rippled across the ground. Then he turned to the waiting black car parked beside the airstrip. The driver, the same driver earlier with short hair and nervous hands, opened the door immediately.
Once inside, Lazry sank into the leather seat and shut his eyes for a moment.
The faint hum of the engine soothed him. He looked through the window, the helicopter's shape gliding above like a mechanical bird. The headlights stretched over the wet road ahead as the driver began to follow.
For the first time that day, Lazry could finally breathe.
He exhaled slowly and pulled up his system screen. The faint blue light shimmered before him.
[Profile —
[ Name: Lazry Lycannis
[ Age: 17
[ Status: Healthy
[ Occupation: Curse Beast Conjurer
[ Curse Beast: Unnamed Legendary Devouring Creature
[ Shared Ability: Endless Void
[ Abilities: Basic Lycannis Fighting Style
[ Curse User Level: 4th Infusion Initial Stage Curse Beast Conjurer. ]
Lazry could feel his heart pounding with excitement. Everything was the same but the two new lines—the curse beast and the shared ability—were what made him sit straighter.
"So it's real," he whispered. "It really acknowledged me."
As he spoke, another soft chime sounded in his mind.
Ding!
Please name your legendary curse beast.
Lazry rubbed his chin, eyes narrowing. "Name it, huh? That's hard…"
He stared at the glowing screen for a while, then turned to the driver. "Hey, what's a good name for a dog?"
The driver's hands tightened on the wheel. "Uh… a dog, sir?"
"Yes, a dog," Lazry said seriously. "It's black. It has six eyes. Looks cute, but it can destroy an entire cave. What do you think?"
The driver's expression twisted in confusion. "I… maybe… Shadow? Or… Fang?"
Lazry frowned. "Shadow? That's too common. And Fang? No. Too plain." He crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling. "What about Abyss? Or… Voidfang? No, that sounds like a name for some teenage guild."
He kept muttering, tapping his chin, eyes narrowed in deep thought. "Blackie? No. Too normal. Devourer? Too aggressive. Maybe I should go poetic—Eclipse? Obsidian? Ugh, too dramatic. Hades? No, that's embarrassing."
The driver glanced at him nervously through the mirror. "You could call it… um… Lucky?"
Lazry shot him a look. "Does it look like a 'Lucky' to you? That dog almost erased the whole tunnel's existence itself with its destructive bark."
The driver flinched. "Sorry, sir."
"Forget it." Lazry slumped back into the seat and sighed. "I'll name it later. Maybe when I see what kind of personality it has."
The screen flickered once, accepting his indecision, before fading away. But his attention caught on the shared ability listed below. Endless Void.
He opened the description, and a faint hum filled his mind.
Shared Ability: Endless Void.
Effect:As long as the host and the curse beast possess cursed mana, all incoming physical, spiritual, or mental attacks will be absorbed by the Endless Void.
Lazry's eyes widened. "Absorbed? Like a black hole?"
He saw it in his mind—a swirling sphere of darkness, silent and endless, devouring everything that came near it. Not even light escaped it. Energy, matter, curses, thoughts—it all vanished inside.
A grin spread across his face. "This… this is insane."
He could barely contain himself. His fingers trembled slightly as he whispered, "As long as I have mana, I can't be hurt. No one can touch me."
His heart pounded. All the humiliation, all the fear, all the pain from what the Clan had done—taking his nine-tailed demon fox, shattering his reputation—suddenly felt small. Meaningless.
Now he had something stronger. Something that could swallow everything.
He clenched his fists. "Perfect. This is perfect."
The driver glanced back. "Sir?"
"Nothing." Lazry smiled faintly, leaning his head against the window. "Just… drive faster. I want to reach the city before dawn."
"Yes, young master."
Outside, the car followed the glowing helicopter through the misty clouds, their lights cutting through the darkness.
…
Meanwhile, inside the helicopter, Butler Winston sat near the window, eyes fixed on the distant road where Lazry's car followed. His brows were furrowed, his hands clasped tightly together.
Something was wrong.
He could still remember the pressure in that cave. That crushing presence. It was nothing like he had ever felt before. Even now, just thinking about it made his heartbeat unsteady.
Across from him sat the servants—Jaro, Ren, Tomas, and Pip. The helicopter's cabin was quiet except for the hum of the blades.
Jaro, a man in his mid-thirties with rough, scarred hands, let out a deep sigh. "I thought we were gonna die down there," he said, half-laughing. "Turns out we just had to kill a few weak creatures."
Ren, who always looked more like a street peddler than a servant, chuckled softly. "Easy money, huh? I thought the young master's missions were dangerous."
Tomas, the oldest, with a white beard and shaking hands, smiled faintly. "Don't speak too soon, boys. We still don't know what happened with that dog."
Pip, barely older than sixteen, looked down at his hands. "That… thing wasn't normal," he said quietly. "It looked small but… I couldn't breathe when it appeared."
The laughter faded. A quiet unease spread among them.
Then, slowly, a faint shimmer of black began to curl around Winston's fingers. It spread up his wrists, barely visible at first. But soon, it glowed faintly like smoke rising from his skin.
Ren's eyes widened. He nudged Jaro. "Hey… hey, look at that."
Jaro turned, his jaw tightening. "What the hell—"
They all froze, watching as the butler's body began to shine dark with a leaking curse aura. It poured out slowly, spiraling in dark wisps.
None of them dared speak. The servants couldn't talk to them without permission.
But Winston noticed their faces—wide-eyed, pale, fixed on him. He frowned. "What is it? Why are you all staring at me like that?"
No one answered.
"I said speak." His tone sharpened, his voice cutting through the roar of the blades. "I'm giving you permission. Go on."
Tomas swallowed hard. His old voice trembled. "Sir… your curse aura… it's leaking."
The moment the words left his mouth, Winston's breathing paused. He looked down at his hands, then his shoulder. Black mist was crawling out from beneath his sleeves, coiling around him like smoke from an invisible fire.
His eyes widened. For a second, he couldn't even breathe.
"What… is this…" he whispered, staring in horror as the aura pulsed stronger.
The servants exchanged terrified glances as the black mist thickened, swirling faster, alive with something they couldn't understand.
And Winston—realizing what it meant—slowly raised his trembling hand, his face pale as death.
"No… this can't be happening."