Date: 16 November 2025
Location: Sector 4, Central Mumbai (Abandoned Rooftop)
Target: A-Rank Hell Anomaly
The air in Sector 4 carried a strange toxicity and a suffocating pressure today. Hidden in the darkness of an abandoned high-rise rooftop, Rudra sat in absolute silence.
Right behind him, the shadow cast on the floor did not belong to a normal human. Merged within that shadow was the 24-foot long, 800-kilogram 'Gabbar' (Void Ursa), completely still and breathless.
Rudra's eyes were locked on the disaster floating in the air exactly three blocks away.
A massive, 50-foot tall A-Rank Hell Gate.
Its structure was nothing like an ordinary door. Its borders were black, jagged, and forged from glowing Solidified Essence Crystals. At the center of the gate was an abyss-like void, holding a heavy, dark liquid vortex of purple and red.
A bone-chilling hum and intense pressure constantly radiated from it, completely numbing the nervous systems of ordinary citizens in the area. The N.D.A.I. had entirely evacuated the sector.
There was still time before the Garud Vajra raid commenced. Rudra pulled his Magitech Tablet from his jacket. The fundamental rule of survival was knowing the exact caliber of your prey and the predators stepping into your territory.
He decrypted the dark web and N.D.A.I.'s global servers to open a highly classified file: 'The Global Sovereign Registry.' It was the official roster of the 40 awakened monsters the world referred to as 'S-Rankers.'
Rudra scrolled down to the absolute bottom of the list first.
[Rank #40: Valentina Silva (Argentina) — 48.9 Million MP]
Rudra's mathematical mind processed the number. His own power stood at 99.8K MP. Even the 'weakest' S-Ranker in the world possessed roughly 500 times more raw mana than him.
"What is wrong? Cannot comprehend the math?" Ruin Soul's icy, mocking voice echoed in his mind. "Did you actually think consuming one Boss Core and taming a bear made you an apex predator? Your entire existence does not even amount to the dust on the shoes of the person at the bottom of this list."
Rudra showed zero reaction to the insult. His mind remained entirely cold. He scrolled further up the list, looking directly at the data from the world's greatest superpower, the USA.
[USA Roster: Total 10 S-Rankers] * Arthur Vance (Association Chairman): 235.6 Million MP
Maya Lin (Tactical Head): 195 Million MP
Rudra noticed that out of America's 10 S-Rankers, only 2 belonged to the government Association. He checked the affiliation of the remaining 8.
The moment the data flashed on the screen, Rudra's cold mind wavered for a fraction of a second. Pure madness and mathematical impossibility stared back at him.
The remaining 8 S-Rankers (Victor Stellar, Jaxson Reed, Sierra Fox, Dr. Cross, Klaus, Genevieve, Alistair, Ivan)—all eight of them belonged to a single private guild: The Apex Syndicate.
This was not just a guild. It was an invincible superpower disguised as an organization. An entire nation's military combined could not stop a single S-Ranker, and here was a private entity that held 8 of these monsters.
Rudra's hand trembled slightly as he clicked on the absolute top of the list. The Guild Master of the Apex Syndicate. The world's only SS-Ranker.
[Rank #1: Mason Steele (USA) — The One-Man Calamity] [Mana Points: 20 Billion MP] 20 Billion.
Rudra's breathing stopped for a full second. 99.8K versus 20 Billion. This was not a mere power gap; it was the distance between two entirely different galaxies.
"Look closely, boy," Ruin Soul was now completely reducing his ego to ashes. "Open your eyes and look. 20 Billion MP! This single human possesses the sheer force to swallow the other 39 S-Rankers alive. He has an entire army of 10,000 A-Rankers under his boot. And you? You killed a B-Rank boss in a pile of garbage and thought you were a king."
Rudra kept staring at the screen. In the face of Mason Steele, his existence was no more than an insect's.
But Rudra was not an ordinary human who would break under this despair. Bypassing his limits, his mind reset back to absolute cold logic.
"20 Billion MP..." Rudra whispered to himself in a dead tone. "He has the raw power. But I have 'Gluttony' and the 'Soul Sanctuary.' My scaling is infinite. To reach their level, there is only one logical path... I must hunt them down and consume them."
Beep... Beep...
Suddenly, the proximity sensors on his tablet began to blink. Rudra turned off the screen and looked down at the streets.
A heavy, pitch-black armored convoy of SUVs was silently entering the deserted roads of Sector 4. They bore the glowing emblem of 'Garud Vajra.'
The convoy stopped exactly 100 meters before the target gate. The door of the main armored SUV opened, and Adiraj (Rank S) stepped out.
He looked around 23 years old, but his face carried the undeniable gravity of a mature leader. The vibrant cyan-blue highlights in his short, messy black-blue hair created a sharp contrast.
Multiple layered silver necklaces and silver rings on his hands defined his calm persona. He wore customized S-Rank lightning pendant earrings. Dressed in a tailored black jacket, his piercing blue eyes delivered an unblinking, intense gaze.
The moment Adiraj's foot touched the ground, a terrifying manifestation erupted from his body. His 255 Million MP intense, swirling Blue Lightning Energy aura blasted into the air, crackling violently.
The lightning wove itself into a dynamic spiral around his body and his silver rings. Dynamic sparks of blue energy spread throughout the atmosphere of Sector 4, generating a massive static current.
The suffocating aura of the A-Rank gate that had terrified the entire city was physically suppressed in the face of Adiraj's overwhelming blue lightning manifestation.
Sitting on the rooftop 20 stories high, Rudra felt that immense static pressure on his skin. For the first time in reality, he finally understood what a "Sovereign" truly was.
Chapter Summary
The Power Scaling: Rudra realizes the astronomical gap between his 99.8K MP and the world's S-Rankers (Lowest: 48.9 Million MP).
The Apex Syndicate: Disclosure of Rank #1 Mason Steele (USA) with a staggering 20 Billion MP.
The Shift: Rudra crushes his ego and adopts a predator's mindset—to eventually hunt and consume these "Gods."
Adiraj's Arrival: India's Rank #1 Adiraj arrives at the A-Rank Gate, manifesting a 255 Million MP Blue Lightning aura that physically suppresses the dungeon's pressure.
Current Status: Rudra is positioned as a scavenger, ready to profit from the S-Rank chaos.