District 7 was a war zone.
The sky above the Golden Dawn skyscraper had been torn open, revealing a pulsating, violet rift that bled "Void-Stalkers"—monsters that looked like obsidian panthers with six legs and eyes made of liquid moonlight.
Standard firearms were useless. Even the police-grade mana-rifles barely chipped the creatures' hides. The only things holding the line were the lower-tier guilds and the remaining B-rankers of the Golden Dawn who hadn't been part of the botched Abyssal Gate raid.
Han Jue walked through the panicked crowd moving in the opposite direction. He was a dark rock in a river of white-faced civilians.
[Warning: Ambient Chaos levels high.] [Debt Sense detected 400+ 'Minor Debtors' and 12 'Significant Debtors' in the vicinity.] [Potential Soul Harvest: 150,000 - 200,000 Points.]
"Get out of the way, kid!" a Hunter screamed, pushing past him. It was the Archer from Kael's team—the one Han Jue had robbed of his mana-arrows. His arm was bandaged, and he looked terrified. "The Rift is collapsing! It's not an S-Rank Break yet, but if the Queen comes through, we're all dead!"
Han Jue caught the Archer by the wrist. The man tried to pull away, but Han Jue's grip—now fueled by 25 points of base Strength plus the Dread Sovereign multiplier—was like a vice.
"Where is the 'Queen'?" Han Jue asked.
"In the center... the lobby of the HQ! But you're crazy! Even a B-Rank team couldn't—"
Han Jue let go, his eyes flashing red. "Go hide, Archer. You've already paid your deposit. I'm here for the principal."
The lobby of the Golden Dawn headquarters was a tomb. The marble floors were slick with blood, and the high-end enchantments that usually protected the building were flickering and dying.
In the center of the room stood the Void-Widow Queen. She was a Tier-C Elite, nearing Tier-B. She was currently pinning a female Hunter to the wall with a web of shadow.
The Hunter was the Priest from Kael's team. She was out of mana, her staff snapped in half. She looked up, sobbing, as the Queen's mandibles opened to deliver a paralyzing sting.
"Help..." she whispered.
THWACK.
A jagged shard of obsidian—scavenged from the street outside—embedded itself in the Queen's secondary eye. The monster shrieked, spinning around.
Han Jue stepped into the light. He wasn't wearing a hero's armor. He looked like a nightmare that had crawled out of a deeper hole than the monsters.
[Target: Void-Widow Queen] [Soul Value: 45,000 Points]
"You," the Priest gasped, recognizing the ragged scavenger. "You're... alive? How?"
Han Jue didn't look at her. He looked at the Queen. "I can save you," he said to the Priest, his voice cold. "But it isn't free. On Inkstone, they say life is priceless. In my world, everything has a number."
"I'll pay anything!" the Priest screamed as the Queen lunged again.
[Contract Established: 'Life-Debt'.] [The Priest has signed over 50% of her future Mana-earnings to the Dread Sovereign.]
"Deal," Han Jue said.
[Skill Activated: Tribute of the Fallen.] [Target: The Priest's Fear.] [Buff Received: Agility +15 | Mana +30]
Han Jue moved. To the Priest, he was a blur of black cloth. He didn't use a sword; he used the Heart-Seeker Dagger.
He slid under the Queen's massive abdomen, his Executioner's Mark lighting up her central nerve cluster like a neon target.
STAB. TWIST. EXTRACT.
[Extraction Initiated...] [4,000 Soul Points...] [8,000 Soul Points...]
The Queen tried to crush him, her legs stabbing into the marble like spears. But with his boosted Agility, Han Jue was always a second ahead. He wasn't just fighting; he was harvesting. He was stripping the monster of its life-force while it was still alive.
The Queen's screeching grew weaker. Her obsidian hide began to grey and flake away.
[Critical Finish!] [You have harvested the Void-Widow Queen.] [Collected: 45,000 Soul Points.] [New Balance: -648,750 Soul Points.]
The Priest fell from the wall, the webs dissolving. She looked at Han Jue with a mixture of awe and absolute terror. He had just soloed a Tier-C Elite in under sixty seconds.
"Who... who are you?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Han Jue walked over to the Queen's carcass and reached into the chest, pulling out a dark, pulsing core. He turned his head slightly, his red eyes catching the light of the dying mana-lamps.
"I'm the guy who collects the debt," he said.
Suddenly, the floor vibrated. A much larger shadow loomed over the building. The sky didn't just tear this time; it shattered.
[Warning! Warning!] [The 'True' S-Rank Threat has arrived.] [The Debt Collector has been noticed by: 'The King of the Void'.]
Han Jue looked up. This was it. The high-risk, high-reward moment he needed. If he could take down an S-Rank shard, his debt wouldn't just be reduced—it would be decimated.
"Priest," Han Jue said, not looking back. "Run. Tell the Association to clear the district. I'm closing the account today."