"AAAGHH!"

A blood-curdling scream tore through the air.

The last remaining Dungeon SSS-tier Crimson Ultimate hero stood frozen, his entire body trembling. His scalp prickled with dread, his breath caught in his throat.

He hadn't expected this.

Not only had they been utterly crushed, but his comrade—his powerful, battle-hardened ally—had just been humiliated, torn apart, his spine ripped out like a toy's stuffing. Reduced to a twitching, broken mess.

And now he was alone.

"This is the best you've got?" Ataneya sneered, her voice dripping with mockery. "Pathetic."

Without wasting another second, she lunged forward.

Seraphina joined her, and together, the two of them descended on the last Dungeon warrior like a storm of blades.

He didn't stand a chance.

In mere moments, despite his desperate resistance, he was overwhelmed—slashed, crushed, and finally obliterated by their combined assault.

His body hit the ground in pieces.

And just like that, two SSS-tier Crimson Ultimate heroes were dead.

Slaughtered.

Ataneya didn't stop there.

She stepped forward, placing a hand over the fallen enemy's chest, and began to absorb the lingering Dark Magic energy from his corpse.

HUMMMM…

A low, resonant hum echoed through the air.

Behind her, the tails of her Shadow Fox form shimmered—and then, with a sudden flicker of light, a fourth tail sprouted into existence.

"What the…?" Seraphina blinked, stunned. "Ataneya, your tail—there's four now? What does that mean?!"

Ataneya turned, a small, proud smile tugging at her lips.

"Oh, that?" she said casually, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's nothing too crazy… just a little something from my bloodline."

She chuckled softly, her tone tinged with pride.

"Our race has a unique trait. We evolve by consuming power—absorbing energy from others. Each evolution is different, depending on what we take in. I didn't even have this ability at first, but a while back… something inside me just clicked. It awakened. And now…"

She gestured to the four tails swaying behind her.

"This is what I've become."

Seraphina's eyes widened. "That's insane… You can evolve just by absorbing power? That means you could just keep—"

But before she could finish, a deep rumble echoed from the depths of the Dungeon.

BOOM… BOOM…

The ground trembled beneath their feet.

Both Ataneya and Seraphina instantly turned toward the sound, their expressions darkening.

Their smiles vanished.

"Again?" Ataneya muttered, her voice cold. "These bastards just don't know when to quit…"

THUD!

From the shadows of the Dungeon's inner sanctum, a monstrous pressure began to seep out—thick, suffocating, and unnatural.

And then, something stepped forward.

A figure emerged slowly from the darkness.

It looked like a child at first glance—small, fragile, almost doll-like. But the closer it came, the more wrong it felt. Its skin was pale and wooden, like a puppet carved from cursed timber. Its joints creaked unnaturally, and its eyes…

Its eyes burned with a savage, chaotic energy—wild, unstable, and deeply violent.

The air around it warped and cracked.

Every step it took caused the space nearby to fracture, as if reality itself was rejecting its presence.

"What the hell is that…?" Seraphina muttered, her voice low. "A puppet? A construct?"

They didn't know.

But they could feel it.

This thing wasn't normal.

Everyone instinctively braced themselves.

The thing hadn't even attacked yet, but the sheer force rolling off it was enough to fracture the space around it. Every step it took left the air warping, the ground groaning under invisible pressure.

Reality itself was starting to collapse in its wake.

"Seraphina," Ataneya said, her voice low and serious, "we need to be careful. This thing… it's not ordinary."

Behind her, her four tails lifted and began to swirl, intertwining in a slow, deliberate dance.

The energy they released was monstrous—dense, volatile, and ready to explode.

RUMMMMMMBLE...

Even with all her power, Ataneya's energy surge was stopped cold the moment it collided with the force radiating from that puppet-like figure.

"…Unbelievable," she muttered under her breath.

She was no lightweight—an SSS-rank Crimson Ultimate Hero, Tier 14. That kind of power could level cities. And yet, her aura couldn't even shake this thing.

Which could only mean one thing—

This guy might be stronger than her.

Even if he hadn't quite reached Tier 15 yet… he had to be damn close.

That made him a serious threat.

"Yeah… I get it now," Seraphina said, nodding grimly. She could feel it too—this wasn't someone they could take lightly.

Then the puppet spoke.

Its voice was a jarring mess of overlapping tones, like a dozen people talking at once through a broken speaker. But beneath the distortion, there was a strange, almost hypnotic energy woven into every word.

"No wonder you had the guts to challenge us," it said with a cold, mocking grin. "I'll admit, your strength is… acceptable. So, how about it? Why not become my subordinates—serve me, the great Puppet Sovereign, Kane?"

"If you do, I promise you—this will be the greatest opportunity of your lives. A once-in-a-lifetime chance to rise above your limits."

The air around them vibrated violently as his voice spread, space itself groaning under the pressure.

Seraphina's reaction was instant.

"In your dreams!" she snapped, her voice sharp with fury. "You think you can tame us? You're delusional. I'd rather die than kneel to you, you freak!"

Kane's expression darkened.

"You dare…"

A violent surge of energy exploded from within him, like a storm ripping through the fabric of reality.

"Arrogant little mutts… Fine then."

"I'll grant your wish."

"Die."

His voice dropped to a chilling whisper as he raised his hand.

VMMM!

In a flash, countless rings of magical particles spun around him. Then, with a mechanical click, a panel on his chest opened—just like a machine—and from within, a small, intricately carved wooden insect emerged.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch…

It looked harmless at first glance, but the moment it appeared, the air twisted unnaturally. The thing shimmered—and in the blink of an eye, it vanished.

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

"Shit!" Ataneya's face went pale. "Move! Now!"

But it was too fast.

The wooden insect was already in front of them, its energy slicing through space like a blade. There was no time to dodge.

Then—

BOOM!

A sudden burst of power crashed down from above, intercepting the insect mid-flight.

A new presence had arrived—radiant, overwhelming.

And at the center of it all stood Elira.

Now fully ascended to Tier 15.

"Abyssal Shackles," she said coldly, raising her hand.

Chains of dark energy erupted from her body, wrapping around the insect and freezing it mid-air, suspended like a fly in amber.

VMMMMM!

"What?!" Kane's eyes widened, his voice faltering for the first time. His gaze locked onto Elira, and his expression twisted into something darker. "Tier 15…?"

"So that's why you were so cocky. You had a monster like her backing you."

Then his tone shifted, sharp and commanding.

"Mordrakar! What are you waiting for? Get out here!"

BOOOOOOM!

The moment he spoke, the air itself cracked.

A massive spatial distortion tore open the sky, and from within it, another presence emerged—one that radiated power on par with Elira's.

...