The major Hidden Clans bound the Gods, used them, and made sure the blessings went only to those who served their interests.

That meant someone like Selene or Ellyn—sub-vampires, half-bloods, or "impure" in their eyes—would never be allowed near divine energy.

Even if they somehow were, they'd refuse.

Because divine purification would erase the contamination, and with it, their vampiric powers.

As expected, Ellyn crossed her arms and said calmly, "No need for that. I can tell you're from one of the big Families, Calliope. I appreciate the offer, really. But we don't need help from your God."

Selene nodded quietly beside her.

Ellyn continued, "If things ever get bad, we'll ask one of our True Vampire seniors to help us Ascend. That'll erase the contamination just fine."

Calliope frowned for the first time since we returned.

Ascend.

That meant taking in more of the Blood Moon's power.

It would remove contamination of Cursed Spirit Area 51, but it would also make them full vampires.

Calliope didn't seem comfortable with that.

Her eyes flickered with unease, but she didn't say anything.

She didn't want to start an argument.

I turned toward Lars.

"What about you? How are you going to deal with contamination?" I asked him quietly in Danish.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"I'm not sure. But I'll ask my family when I go home."

The way he said my family made everyone exchange looks.

No one asked what he meant.

It was clear he didn't want to say more, and we respected that.

I stood up. "Alright, since we're done here, I'll be taking my leave."

"Wait!" Mira said quickly. "Let's exchange contacts first."

I paused, then nodded.

It made sense.

Without that, we'd probably never meet again.

They were all capable people.

Experienced in domain exploration and surprisingly good at working together.

It would be foolish not to keep in touch.

Especially because I — Alan Veritus — was going to be involved with other Exorcists deeply.

We exchanged contact info using our communicators.

After that, I activated a warp point and returned home.

The city lights disappeared, replaced by the dim glow of my room.

My mood was good.

We had exorcised the First Disaster perfectly.

There were no deaths.

Some were contaminated, yes, but stable contamination like theirs was manageable.

Still, I couldn't relax completely.

Chameleon was out there.

Watching Alan Veritus. Planning to capture him.

She'd made it clear that she was after me, and if I dropped my guard now, I'd regret it.

I needed to prepare countermeasures.

I needed to grow stronger.

And I still had to find Carlotta's brother.

I had promised her I would do that.

I exhaled, letting go of the [Shadow Assimilation] state.

My body reappeared slowly from the surrounding darkness, and I felt the fatigue hit instantly.

My current body, physically only three years old, was drained.

I sat down on my bed, sinking into the soft mattress.

Then, a series of notifications appeared in front of my eyes.

[Shadow Eater]: Level 4 → Level 5

[Shadow Gaze]: Level 3 → Level 4

[Shadow Assimilation]: Level 3 → Level 4

A small smile appeared on my face.

[Shadow Eater] at Level 5 meant I could now share fifty percent of my summon's stats instead of forty.

That was a big deal.

My strength, speed, and reflexes had all gone up.

[Shadow Gaze] increasing meant better range and precision.

I could now track shadow essences from almost twice as far.

And [Shadow Assimilation]... that one was the best.

I could stay merged longer and travel between shadows up to forty meters apart instead of thirty.

That gave me better maneuverability for both offense and escape.

"At this rate, my stats should reach the Rank 1 limit soon. Then I can access the Title Shop," I muttered to myself.

Titles were special.

They weren't just decorations.

They gave powerful boosts and esoteric abilities.

But to buy Rank 1 Titles, you had to stay within the Rank 1 stat cap and max it out.

"Until I can get access to Title Shop, I have to make sure none of my Classes reach Rank 2."

If a Class reached Rank 2, my stat limit would be removed, pushing me beyond the Rank 1 threshold.

And once that happened, the system would lock me out of the Rank 1 Titles permanently.

Some would say advancing Classes faster was better, but they were wrong.

Foundation mattered more than speed.

I had learned that the hard way in my last life.

There was always someone stronger. Someone with better gear. Someone with more resources.

No matter how much you trained, there would always be someone a step ahead.

So how do you defeat these guys who are better than you in each aspect?

Getting stronger?

Yes, that was a given, but getting stronger would not always help.

After all, a stronger enemy would have a more solid foundation, so even if you reached the same level as them, your weak foundation would make you unable to fight them.

That was why foundation was important.

If your foundation was stable, you could keep growing, and keep adapting.

You could face someone who was "better" and win.

That's why Titles mattered.

They strengthened the foundation.

And that base determined how far you could go.

I glanced at the dim lights of my room and stretched my hands.

"Until I buy those Titles, I'll focus on raising stats through [Shadow Eater]."

That didn't mean I would stop improving my Classes.

In fact, I planned to get more Classes soon.

The goal wasn't just to evolve one Class but to merge several into something better.

I already knew how to get a Runesmith-type Mechanic Class that was a Rare Evolved type.

But Hidden Evolved Classes... those were a different story.

The ones I knew of needed rare resources.

Ones not easily found in this world.

I decided to ask Yuna.

"Yuna," I said, leaning back on the bed, "do you know how to get a Runesmith-type Mechanic Class that's a Hidden Evolved Class?"

"Does any Hidden Evolved Class work, Lord of Shadows?"

I blinked. The way she said it so casually surprised me. "What do you mean?"

"Should I show you the strongest Runesmith-type Mechanic Class or a weaker one that's easier to get?" she asked, her tone calm and matter-of-fact.

I froze.

For a few seconds, I didn't even know how to respond.

Was this what people called cultural shock?

I had seen people kill their own families just for a chance to obtain one — any — Hidden Evolved Class.

Any Hidden Evolved Class could change your life forever.

And she was asking if I wanted a weaker one or a stronger one?

It was my first time hearing that there were stronger and weaker Hidden Evolved Classes.

It made me curious. Just who was this Fallen Angel really?

She clearly wasn't a normal system guide.

"Show me the strongest one you know of," I said finally.

"Okay," she replied softly.

A new window appeared before my eyes.

[Fallen Angel 'Yunael Seraphine Veyra' has requested to share a Class Path progression.]

[System has granted permission.]

I raised an eyebrow. "So the system allows you to share Class paths directly?"

"Yes. I was assigned as your guide. That gives me permission," she answered.

The glowing screen expanded, showing the Class and a long list of requirements.

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