Ren was still leaning against the rubble, his chest heaving, when the sound of heavy boots echoed through the hollow street. It wasn't the rhythmic march of Shadow Soldiers. It was the arrogant stride of humans.
"Well, well... look at this mess," a gravelly voice sneered.
Out of the dust emerged a group of five hunters. Their gear was high-end, embossed with the insignia of the Scavenger Guild. Leading them was Hwang Dong-Su's younger cousin, Hwang Chul, a Rank-A hunter known for his brutality.
"We saw the mana explosion from five miles away," Chul said, his eyes scanning the dissolved remains of the Sentinel. "An S-Rank core was supposed to be here. Where is it?"
Jin-Woo stood up slowly, his eyes narrowing into cold slits. "The boss is dead. The raid is over. Leave."
Hwang Chul laughed, a dry, mocking sound. He looked at Ren, who was still pale and covered in purple-stained blood. "And who's this trash? He looks like he's one foot in the grave. Did you let a civilian into an S-Rank gate, Seong Jin-Woo? That's a heavy violation of the Hunter's Code."
Ren wiped the blood from his chin, struggling to stand. The Void was still humming painfully under his skin. "I'm the one who killed it, you vulture. If you want a core, go dig through the trash."
Chul's face twisted in rage. He took a step forward, his mana flaring up in a disgusting, yellowish aura. "A dying brat with a big mouth. In this dungeon, there are no cameras. No witnesses. Just 'accidents'."
He drew a heavy combat knife, the blade vibrating with mana. "Hand over the Drake's heart you took earlier, or I'll carve it out of your chest myself."
Jin-Woo's shadow began to spread across the ground like an ink stain. "You're making a mistake, Hwang Chul."
"No, Jin-Woo," Ren interrupted, placing a hand on Jin-Woo's shoulder. He was shaking, but his eyes were terrifyingly calm. "This one is mine. He thinks I'm weak because I'm bleeding."
Ren took a step forward, his shadow flickering unnaturally. He didn't use a massive singularity this time. He focused the Void into a thin, invisible thread.
"You want to see what happens when you touch a glitch?" Ren whispered, his voice sounding like two stones grinding together.
As Chul lunged forward with a roar, Ren didn't dodge. He simply reached out and caught the knife's blade with his bare fingers. The metal didn't cut him—it started to dissolve.
"What the—?!" Chul gasped, but it was too late.
Ren's hand moved like a blur, gripping Chul's throat. A faint purple mist began to seep into the villain's skin. Chul's scream died in his throat as he felt his very mana being eaten away.
"You're not a hunter," Ren hissed into his ear, his face inches from the terrified man's. "You're just a mosquito. And I'm the void that swallows the world. Remember this feeling... the feeling of becoming nothing."
Ren shoved him back. Chul collapsed, his Rank-A mana completely drained, his body shriveled as if he had aged twenty years in seconds. His teammates stood frozen, too terrified to even draw their weapons.
Jin-Woo looked at Ren, then at the defeated hunters. "They'll go running to Thomas Andre after this."
Ren spat on the ground, his eyes finally returning to normal. "Let them. If the Scavengers want to play, I'll show them what happens when you try to scavenge a black hole."