Content Warning:⚠️

This chapter contains scenes of graphic violence, torture, and cruelty, including mutilation and threats. Reader discretion is strongly advised. This content may be disturbing or inappropriate for some audiences.

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In the first floor of the dungeon, Vivian and Charlotte were resting as they took a gulp from a water flux.

The air around them was cold and damp, and the faint smell of blood still lingered after their long fight.

Vivian seemed quite exhausted as he panted softly, his body leaning against the rough stone wall.

Charlotte too looked worn out, her breathing uneven as she sat beside him, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"So where should we go now?" Charlotte asked, glancing at Vivian.

They had already killed all the Grizzles on the first floor, leaving only the middle and boss floors to explore.

Vivian stayed silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on the dark tunnel ahead.

The faint sound of dripping water echoed through the halls.

"We should go to the second floor," he finally said in a calm tone.

"After clearing it, we'll leave the dungeon."

He knew well that there was no need to go to the boss floor anymore.

There weren't any monsters left there other than the boss, and that had already been dealt with before.

Going there now would just waste their time and energy.

Charlotte nodded slowly, her eyes showing a hint of relief.

"Alright then," she said quietly.

"Let's rest for a bit more, then move out."

Vivian gave a short nod.

The two of them sat there in silence, letting their bodies recover.

While they were resting, Charlotte sent a transmission, [Do we need to pretend?]

She didn't look at him, her eyes fixed on the distance as she asked again, [Can't we just go and fight?]

Her tone was calm, but there was a trace of impatience in it.

Her reason was fair, but Vivian thought differently.

[No. If everything stays the same and we appear weak, Kafrik might try to fight me,]

Vivian replied through the transmission.

He didn't glance at her, keeping his expression steady so no one would notice their secret talk.

After a short pause, he sent another message.

[If he fights me thinking I'm weak, it'll work in our favor. He won't be able to interfere when the real battle starts, with the professor.]

It wasn't a baseless thought, no, Vivian knew that bastard Kafrik too well.

That guy's pride wouldn't let things slide.

He would definitely try to fight Vivian just to prove he was better.

And this was the perfect chance to neutralize him quietly, without any trouble in the future.

Charlotte didn't look at him.

She closed her eyes for a moment before sending another transmission, [Are you going to kill him?]

Hearing her words, Vivian's eyes turned cold, and a flicker of anger rose inside him.

[No, I won't kill him, no matter what,] he replied sharply.

He paused for a moment, then added, [I have to repay him for what he did.]

Charlotte said nothing after that.

She simply opened her eyes and stayed silent, her expression unreadable.

Vivian also didn't speak again.

After a while of resting, they stood up and stretched their bodies, shaking off the tiredness that clung to their muscles.

Vivian gave a small smile and said, "Let's go."

"Alright," Charlotte replied with a nod, then turned and began walking toward the path that led to the middle floor of the dungeon.

Their faces showed a trace of nervousness, the kind that anyone would have before stepping into danger again.

But deep down, both of them were calm, steady like still water.

Meanwhile, Kafrik was pacing around impatiently, his boots clicking softly against the cold stone floor.

"A few more minutes… just a few more minutes," he muttered under his breath, his eyes slowly turning red with excitement.

He could feel it, today was the day he would finally fulfill his long-cherished desire.

The thought alone pulled a twisted smile across his face.

It wasn't the smile of joy, but one filled with wicked satisfaction, as if he was savoring every second before the hunt began.

He kept pacing, his heartbeat quickening with each step.

The silence of the dungeon felt heavy, broken only by the sound of his breathing.

Then suddenly, a transmission reached him.

[They are coming.]

It was the professor's voice, calm yet sharp, sent from his hidden position in the shadows.

The moment Kafrik heard it, his expression changed instantly.

His eyes gleamed with ecstasy, and his grin widened as he fixed his gaze on the narrow passage ahead, the place where Vivian and Charlotte would soon appear.

Step! Step! Step!

Not long after, the sound of footsteps echoed through the hall as two figures walked calmly into the middle floor.

The dim light revealed Vivian and Charlotte stepping out of the shadows, their pace steady and unhurried.

The instant Kafrik saw them, his heart skipped a beat.

A rush of excitement surged through him, and he burst into loud, twisted laughter.

"Hahahahaha!" His laughter echoed through the stone walls, sharp and unsettling.

Hearing it, both Vivian and Charlotte stopped.

Their faces showed confusion as they stared at him.

'Just as expected,' Kafrik thought, his eyes narrowing with a dangerous gleam as he focused on Vivian.

"Long time no see, Vivian… Charlotte," he said, dragging out their names with a mocking tone.

But when his gaze fell on Charlotte, his expression shifted.

His eyes burned with a mix of desire and arrogance, an ugly look that made the air around them feel colder.

Vivian noticed it instantly, and though his face stayed calm, something dark flickered behind his eyes.

"Kafrik? What are you doing here?" Vivian asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

Charlotte too looked puzzled, her eyes narrowing slightly as she stared at Kafrik, trying to make sense of the situation.

But Kafrik didn't waste time with small talk.

He sneered and said coldly, "What else? To kill you."

"To kill me?" Vivian repeated, his face showing clear shock.

Charlotte's expression mirrored his, her body tensing as Vivian continued, "Why? Why would you do that?"

"Why?" Kafrik echoed, his tone mocking and filled with venom.

"You humiliated me, Vivian! You looked down on me, mocked me, beat me again and again, and now you ask why?"

His voice grew harsher with each word, his eyes burning with hatred so strong it almost seemed to drip from him.

His killing intent filled the air, thick and suffocating, as his lips twisted into a cruel smile.

Kafrik didn't stop.

He kept ranting, his words spilling out like poison, full of hatred and madness.

His voice echoed through the stone walls, rising and falling without sense or control.

Vivian's face showed a faint trace of annoyance, but he quickly forced it down.

He stayed calm, quietly watching as Kafrik went on, his eyes steady and unreadable.

After a while, Kafrik finally paused, then smirked.

"But… I can give you a chance."

Vivian looked at him, his expression showing a mix of surprise and disbelief.

"You just need to beg for mercy," Kafrik said with a twisted grin, "and rub your face on my shoes."

Vivian didn't answer.

He stood still, to Kafrik his silence showed fear.

But Kafrik wasn't done.

His grin turned uglier as he pointed toward Charlotte.

"And this bitch, she'll be my slave for the rest of her life."

His tone dripped with lust every time his eyes moved to Charlotte.

Vivian saw it clearly, and something inside him started to shift.

The calm that had always surrounded him began to crack, piece by piece, replaced by a cold, rising fury that burned in his chest.

"To start off, undress—"

The words had barely left Kafrik's mouth when Vivian vanished from his sight.

"Huh?... What—" Kafrik didn't even finish the thought before a cold sensation pressed against his throat.

In the next instant, his feet were no longer touching the ground.

He was lifted effortlessly into the air, choking and struggling as his hands clawed at the grip around his neck.

Drool slipped from the corner of his mouth as the pressure tightened, cutting off his breath.

His eyes widened in panic, darting around until they locked onto a pair of cold, blue eyes staring straight into his soul.

Those eyes didn't hold anger or pity, only a calm, merciless stillness, the kind that made the air itself feel heavy.

Just as Kafrik's eyes began to roll back, the grip on his throat loosened slightly, enough for him to gasp a shaky breath, but not enough to escape.

Then a cold, calm voice cut through the silence.

"You've got a lot of guts, don't you? Staring at my woman with those filthy eyes…"

The tone carried no anger, only a deadly certainty that made Kafrik's body tremble.

As the voice spoke, a strange change began to take place.

A pair of dark, curved horns slowly pushed out from Vivian's forehead, gleaming faintly in the dim light.

His ears sharpened, becoming long and pointed, while his hair began to grow rapidly, sliding down his back until it reached his waist.

With every inch it grew, it gave off a faint metallic sound, like the hum of steel brushing against steel.

The air around him thickened, charged with a heavy pressure that made it hard to breathe, and his once calm eyes now glowed with a cold, otherworldly light that froze Kafrik where he hung.

Seeing Vivian's transformation, Kafrik's already wide eyes stretched even further, as if they might burst from his skull.

His throat worked, struggling to form words.

"W-What… are… you?" he stammered, his voice trembling with disbelief and raw fear.

Vivian's expression didn't change.

His voice came out smooth and chilling, like a bucket of ice water poured over Kafrik's head.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll tell you in detail, while I torture you."

Those words froze Kafrik's blood.

The irony of it struck him too late, the very humiliation he had planned for Vivian was now being returned to him, and far worse.

Panic clawed through his mind as he remembered something.

He quickly sent a transmission, [Hey, you idiot! Where are you? Save me!]

But there was no reply.

Nothing.

Only silence.

Fear turned to despair as he tried to send another message, but before he could, Vivian's calm voice cut through the air again, low and deadly.

"To start off… you dared to look at my woman with those eyes?"

The words alone made Kafrik's body shake.

He watched, helpless, as Vivian reached to his side and slowly pulled out a dagger from his waist.

The blade shimmered faintly in the dungeon's dim light, and its cold glint reflected perfectly in Vivian's eyes.

Kafrik's voice broke with fear as he tried to speak, desperate to buy himself a few seconds.

"N-No, Vivian… you're from the Zenithara house, right? You are a kind person, right…?..I—I know I shouldn't have done that… please, have mercy!"

His words came out shaky, tripping over each other, his face as pale as paper.

He truly believed his eyes would be gouged out any second.

Vivian looked at him, expression unreadable.

His tone was cold and steady as ice.

"Oh, I'll grant you mercy," he said quietly. "But before that…"

He shifted the dagger in his left hand, the blade catching the faint light.

Kafrik's body froze.

His mind screamed as he squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the dagger to dig into his face.

Chik—

A sharp sound of slicing metal cut through the silence.

For a moment, Kafrik didn't feel anything, then Vivian's grip released from his throat, and he crashed to the ground.

The next instant, an explosion of pain erupted through his lower body.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

His breath caught, and a strangled scream tore from his throat.

He looked down, horror dawning in his eyes as he realized what had been cut.

Vivian stood over him, his expression still calm, as if what he had done was nothing more than a small correction to a broken thing.

"Nice. That'll stop you from staring at other people's women with those filthy eyes,"

Vivian said as he leaned closer.

A wicked grin spread across his face as he ran his tongue over his lips.

To Kafrik, it felt as if a death-god who savored torment had stepped into the mortal world.

Those cold blue eyes reflected nothing, and that grin, paired with his black horns and wild hair, gave him the bearing of a demon god reveling in another creature's suffering.

He stepped closer, his expression twisting into something even more wicked, almost demonic.

His voice dropped to a slow, icy whisper.

"Now that I think about it… you can't even look at any woman with those eyes anymore, can you?"

He let the words sink in, savoring them.

"Say goodbye. You'll live, sure… but you won't see anyone except me."

"Hehehe"

A low, delighted chuckle escaped him as the cold glint in his eyes sharpened to something feral.

"Once I'm done here, I'll make sure your family pays. Old or newborn… it won't matter."

Kafrik's cry tore through the hall.

He begged and spat and cursed, but his voice was weak and broken now.

Tears mixed with despair as he tried to crawl away, but he could not escape the pain.

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