Raven Shaw's mouth twitched.
"This one doesn't count," she said stiffly. "Their bodies are… weird."
She nodded toward the dead Moon-Mirrored Blacktail Cats.
"Look at their tails. That pale glow isn't decoration—it's like it reforged the entire structure. Hardness, density… it's already beyond normal weapons."
Adrian Vale waved it off like swatting a fly.
"Say less. Just admit you couldn't break them cleanly."
"I knew it ages ago. You don't need to keep pretending."
"You—!"
Raven stomped, finger jabbing at him, face flushing red… and still she couldn't find a clean comeback.
The livestream immediately devolved into chaos.
"Adrian Vale, you emotional brick! With that mouth, how long before you win her heart?!"
"Bro, Boss Raven's probably been into him for ages."
"Shut up, you two! Eat-Stream Adrian Vale is mine—get lost!"
But beneath the jokes, the audience noticed something sharper—something real.
"Has anyone else realized Adrian Vale is getting stronger?"
"Yeah. Same Holy Sword Kagune state, same level of enemy… but he's faster, cleaner, more brutal."
"Who cares? As long as Dragon Nation wins."
In the clearing, the last of the SS-rank bodies lay scattered like a carpet of black steel and torn shadow. For a moment, it looked like the danger had finally been cut down.
Then—
a black blur snapped in from the edge of the battlefield.
It wasn't a charge.
It was an execution line.
Straight at Raven Shaw's head.
The livestream turned to panic.
"DODGE! RAVEN SHAW, DODGE!"
"What the hell is that?! Where did it come from?!"
"Someone's hiding in the dark—this is a setup!"
"Cowards! Can't win head-on so they go for assassination!"
The blur closed in—fast enough that viewers felt helpless, like screaming through glass.
Foreign chatrooms lit up with glee.
"Finally. Dragon Nation dies here."
"They didn't even see it coming."
"This is the best thing I've watched all morning."
"Miracle Nation stays above everyone. Dragon Nation should know its place."
But—
a razor line of light snapped across the screen.
Raven Shaw lowered her combat saber calmly, like she'd just brushed dust off her sleeve.
The attacker hit the ground in two halves.
Silence.
She nudged the corpse with her boot, frowning slightly.
"What… is this?"
Adrian Vale glanced down.
It was a Moon-Mirrored Blacktail Cat, but shrunken—at least twenty times smaller than the others, twisted into a compact assassin form.
"A runt," Adrian said. "An odd one. It traded size for stealth… but didn't gain enough speed to matter."
Raven nodded, expression flat.
"Still tried to assassinate. Idiotic."
She was right: if the pack couldn't stop them head-on, a lone dagger in the dark wasn't going to rewrite the outcome.
Adrian's gaze slid back to the Divine Tree—cold, displeased.
"Twice now," he said quietly. "Still no reward. What is this?"
Then, without even looking at her—
"And you're still too slow. Next time, don't let them set the tempo."
Raven gave him a tired, crooked look.
"Kid… it hasn't even been that long and you're already sick of me?"
"You're really trying to break my heart here."
Truth was, she wasn't weak.
Compared to the world's competitors, she was top-tier.
She only looked small because she stood beside a monster.
Adrian didn't answer. He just turned and started walking.
The chat finally exhaled.
"I thought Boss Raven was finished—she didn't even flinch!"
"When did she get this strong?!"
"Damn, I thought Adrian would have to save her again."
"Maybe Eat-Stream Adrian Vale's vibe is rubbing off… even Boss Raven's been moving faster lately."
"So the secret to power is becoming a foodie?"
"Shh—don't let other nations hear that!"
In the studio, Bingbing visibly relaxed.
"Thank goodness. If that had gone wrong… I don't even know how we'd face that."
Professor Luo nodded.
"Dragon Nation competitors are powerful—and more importantly, their alertness is terrifying. The worst-case outcome was never likely."
Captain Ryan Cole added, voice firm:
"That was intense—but you can tell they were expecting something like this. They weren't caught off-guard. We were."
Bingbing brightened.
"And Raven Shaw really has grown. The Dreamlike Forest is forging her."
Captain Ryan Cole agreed.
"She's exceptional—honestly beyond most people. With a combat saber in hand, her combat level jumps several tiers."
Professor Luo's eyes shone.
"And Adrian Vale… is the truly special variable."
From "ordinary kid" to a global nightmare—his kagune, his mask, his abnormal combat biology—everything about him was now a question the entire world wanted answered.
"When he returns," Professor Luo said excitedly, "every research institute in Dragon Nation will erupt. If we crack even a piece of that mechanism…"
Back in the forest, Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw started to move—
and then both froze.
A soft, wet sound rose from the corpse pile.
Rustling.
Scraping.
Adrian's left eye flared crimson.
He snapped his head toward the dead bodies.
Green mist began to seep from the remains—thin at first, then thickening like breath from a poisoned lung.
Raven's brow tightened.
"Don't tell me… it's not dead?"
Adrian's voice dropped.
"Good thing I didn't 'sample' it."
He watched the green mist intensify, reading the body the way a predator reads a wound.
"That thing's life force is surging. Give it time and it stands back up."
Raven and Adrian stared—not frightened—
interested.
Like hunters waiting to see what kind of beast crawls out of its own grave.
The chat went uneasy.
"Why do they look so… excited?"
"I've read tomb-raiding novels—villains who 'like' corpses make that exact face."
"Careful. Adrian's menu warning."
In the studio, Bingbing blinked.
"Is it… reviving? But even if it revives, it's still not their opponent."
Captain Ryan Cole chuckled.
"Now that's stubborn. Dead and still causing trouble."
Professor Luo smiled.
"Looks like a post-death trigger. But Dragon Nation competitors already noticed—so they can safely camp the drop."
Then—
the green fog suddenly swelled.
The corpse bloated—
and exploded.
A wet, violent burst that scattered fragments outward like shrapnel…
and whatever came next was no longer just an ambush.
It was a message.
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