Ethan had planned this long before Rina realised it.

From the moment she kept her distance and relied on that range as if it were absolute safety, he had seen an opening.

He had been experimenting more with his skills, pushing beyond the obvious applications, testing the limits of what he could and couldn’t do. And one of the biggest things he realised was that where he summoned his beasts mattered.

It wasn’t just about calling upon them, but also positioning, timing, and intent.

If he could place them exactly where he needed, at the exact moment he needed them, then even a weaker opponent could land a decisive blow.

And that was all this required.

One moment, one opening, one mistake.

All he needed to do was let her believe she was in control, and that part was easy with the sadistic C Rank Titled.

From across the cavern, with her arrows tearing into him again and again, leaving shallow cuts across his body and a gaping hole in his shoulder, Rina couldn’t help herself.

She relaxed slightly.

If he truly couldn’t summon his beasts and was too far away to use that flaming attack she had seen earlier, then he was harmless.

Nothing more than a wounded E Rank.

As unusual as his abilities were, Ethan was now completely at her mercy, or so she thought. Rina took her time, enjoying herself as she toyed with him and broke him down, but that was a fatal mistake.

’She should’ve killed me when she had the chance.’

Rina had given Ethan the opportunity he needed, and he was going to capitalise on it fully.

’Humans are so much easier to deal with than beasts. As dumb as beasts can be, at least you can’t trick them with words, and they never drop their guard.’

A faint smile tugged at his lips, a cold and dangerous look in his eyes.

’Now it’s my turn.’

-

The moment Wolfy tore Rina’s arm off, everything shifted.

Her scream echoed violently through the cavern as blood sprayed across the stone floor, her composure shattering instantly. And just as he expected, she vanished, turning invisible and retreating.

But this time, it didn’t matter.

Ethan exhaled slowly, straightening despite his injuries, his eyes scanning the space in front of him.

"Can’t shoot any arrows now, can you?" he called out, his voice carrying a mocking edge.

"Having your arm ripped off sucks, right? But the worst part isn’t the pain, but the fact that you can still feel the limb, but it isn’t there."

Rina’s eyes flicked to him for a moment, confused since he still had both arms yet spoke as if he had experienced the same.

’Maybe he recovered the arm just like how he healed earlier,’ she considered.

But that wasn’t important.

She maintained her concealment and remained silent as she moved, but Ethan knew she was there.

"You think I can’t see you?" he continued, his tone almost amused now. "You’re crawling around, trying to hide, leaving a trail of blood behind you."

Ethan called over Wolfy, petting the giant Ulfen who had done a good job.

"And my beast can definitely smell you."

Unlike earlier, he was not bluffing: Wolfy’s sense of smell was incredible, and he could also see her. It was only faint, but enough to know where she was.

"Your ability is pathetic," Ethan went on, his voice sharpening. "Might’ve worked on those ant beasts, but you’re just a loser."

His gaze locked onto a specific spot, right where a faint shimmer distorted the air.

"A pathetic hyena waiting to steal someone else’s prey."

Even without a response, he continued.

"And to think you’d kill your own teammates," he added coldly. "The same people who put their lives on the line so you could get out of here alive."

That struck something.

He could tell from a subtle shift and hesitation in her movements.

But from her perspective, there was no way he could actually see her, or the beast could smell her.

Her skill wasn’t simply invisibility but control.

She manipulated the air around her body, bending light itself, refracting it perfectly so that her presence disappeared entirely. It wasn’t something crude or incomplete.

It was precise and refined, even masking her scent.

Until now, aside from the A Rank, no one had ever seen through it.

But then she looked up and locked eyes with Ethan.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Gone were his blue eyes, replaced by sharp, predatory orange eyes, just like those of a hawk. They had been like that since earlier while he attempted to evade her arrows, but she hadn’t paid much attention to it.

’He really can see me.’

That realisation hit her hard.

Ethan tilted his head slightly, a faint smirk forming.

"I already faced something like this on Floor One of the tower. What were those things called again..."

He paused, bringing a hand to his chin.

"Ah, that’s it. Those Dunestride Reavers on the Rocky Plains were easy to deal with once you saw through their camouflaging ability."

Rina was confused, wondering if he was crazy, but he didn’t bother explaining. Nor did it matter if he revealed all of his secrets, since he had resolved himself to kill her.

"What does that even mean?" she snapped, her voice betraying just a hint of unease as she dropped her invisibility completely.

There was no point wasting energy anymore if he could see her; that would just put her in an even more disadvantaged position.

Now she needed a different approach.

Ethan’s abilities were unclear and unpredictable, making them extremely dangerous. She had also given up on the thought of fighting, as he said she could fire a bow with one hand.

Rina was also weakening from blood loss by the second, so she adapted quickly.

Her expression softened slightly as she took a cautious step forward, subtly angling her body toward the exit gate behind her.

"You’re quite skilled, aren’t you?" she said, her tone shifting entirely. "And... I’m sorry." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

A pause.

"I didn’t actually intend to kill you. It was just a test."

Ethan said nothing, but he watched her closely: every step, every breath, every tiny shift in weight.

"Let’s do what you said earlier," she continued smoothly. "But we should split the rewards fifty-fifty."

Another step closer to the gate.

"We can even partner up for future gates. With our abilities together, we would be unstoppable and could make so much money."

She spoke as if she adored him, but she inched closer and closer, her eyes flicking toward the spatial rift.

Ethan obviously saw through her act.

People didn’t suddenly change, not without ulterior motives, and she was doing what he had done earlier: talking while trying to find a solution. The only difference was that his solution was to kill her, and hers was to escape from the gate.

But he let her continue and regain hope, nodding along as if he believed the bullshit she was spewing.

Ethan’s eyes returned to their usual piercing blue, no longer needing Talon’s vision because she had undone her invisibility. He had her exactly where he wanted her, as she continued with her glib tongue while taking step after step towards the gate.

When she was metres away from it, that’s when he dropped the act.

"Who’s kissing whose ass now?"

In that moment, her muscles tensed as she prepared to burst forward and dive into the gate, away from Ethan. She had a relieved expression on her face; he was too far to catch her, and even his wolf-like beast was beside him.

Unless they could teleport like the A Rank seemed able to, she was...

’What about the bird beast he...?’

Swoosh!

Before she could even finish the thought, a sudden gust of wind tore through the cavern. It was rapid, sharp, and unavoidable as Talon descended from above in a deadly arc.

Gale Rend.

Its wings cut through the air as it dove at blinding speed, a blade of compressed wind slicing cleanly through both her heels.

Rina’s achilles tendons were severed instantly.

"AAAHHH!!"

Her body collapsed forward violently, crashing into the ground just meters from the gate.

She was so painfully close, yet so far at the same time.

Her fingers clawed at the stone, dragging herself forward desperately, her movements frantic and broken.

’I never thought I could be this sadistic...’

Ethan watched her coldly.

’But this bitch deserves everything she’s getting.’

He began walking toward her slowly, each step deliberate as she crawled toward the gate, leaving a smear of blood behind her. Hope, desperation, fear - she felt all of it as she reached her hand out, almost touching the edge of the rift.

But that’s when Ethan grabbed her hair and yanked her head back, forcing her to look at him. Her face twisted in pain, tears mixing with dirt and blood as panic set in completely.

She locked eyes with the blue-eyed E Rank, and what she saw shook her to her core. He was a man who had killed and even died, and now she was the one in his sights...