The corrupted mass reacted the moment Glen made his decision.

The hunter core pulsed deep within the creature’s chest, and the entire body shifted. The countless limbs surrounding the exposed heart cage withdrew inward, wrapping around the core in layers of flesh, bone, and stolen armor. It was not retreating. It was protecting itself.

Glen tightened his grip on his sword.

"So you do know what fear feels like."

The creature answered with a scream that shook the entire junction. Dust rained from the ceiling. Fresh cracks spread across the concrete overhead, and somewhere deeper within Sector Seven, another roar echoed through the darkness.

Caleb heard it immediately.

"We’re running out of time."

Glen nodded once.

The suppressors behind them pulsed weakly. One had already lost most of its outer casing, while the second was barely functioning. The pressure they had been exerting over the battlefield was fading with every passing second, and the mass was taking full advantage of it. Flesh crawled over damaged sections of its body. Wounds that should have remained open were already beginning to close.

"It is recovering," Isla said, frost gathering around her boots.

"Then we finish this now."

The floor exploded beneath them.

Black bone spears erupted from the cracked concrete without warning. Assassin Reflexes screamed through Glen’s body. He threw himself sideways as jagged spikes tore through the spot where he had been standing moments earlier.

"Move!"

Isla reacted instantly. Frostbreaker slammed into the ground, and a wave of ice surged outward, freezing several of the emerging spikes before they could fully form. Caleb used gravity to hurl himself backward, narrowly avoiding a spear that shot through the floor beneath him.

The mass had adapted again.

Without its roots, it had begun using the battlefield itself as a weapon.

The entire junction descended into chaos. Bone spikes burst through the rails, shattered pillars, and tore through the remains of old train cars. Concrete exploded around them as the creature reshaped the terrain with every pulse of the hunter core.

Glen cut through one spike and Shadow Stepped past another, but the third caught him across the ribs and sent him crashing through a support pillar. Concrete collapsed around him.

Pain exploded through his chest.

He pushed himself back to his feet through falling debris.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. The black armor covering his body had fractured in several places, and every breath sent pain through his ribs.

Good.

Pain meant he was still alive.

The mass struck again.

This time, Glen met it head-on.

Abyssal Juggernaut Armor surged across his body, thicker than before. Jagged black plates locked into place over his chest, shoulders, and arms while crimson lightning danced across the seams. Blood Rage flooded his body, sharpening everything.

Thunder exploded beneath his feet.

Glen appeared beneath the creature’s chest.

His sword carved upward.

Savage Strike tore through ash flesh and shattered bone, opening a deep wound beneath the heart cage. The creature screamed as Glen drove his armored fist into the opening.

Something cracked.

The system appeared.

[Predation Target Detected]

[Skill Detected]

[Would you like to initiate Predation?]

For the first time since the battle began, Glen accepted.

[Predation Initiated]

The world vanished.

Black ash poured from the wound and rushed into Glen’s arm.

Instantly, he understood why the system had reacted differently.

This was not normal mana.

Human skills had always carried traces of experience, instinct, and identity. Dungeon monsters were different, but their abilities still possessed structure. This was something else entirely.

The memories hit him like a tidal wave.

A hunter screaming as black flames consumed his body.

A collapsing dungeon.

Monsters devouring one another in endless darkness.

Ash.

Hunger.

An endless sea of corpses.

And standing far away beneath a burning sky—

a lone figure wrapped in darkness.

Then golden light erupted through Glen’s consciousness.

The system.

The corruption slammed into it.

For a moment, the two forces collided.

Glen dropped to one knee.

Pain tore through his entire body. It felt as though molten metal had been poured directly into his veins.

The mass realized what was happening.

Every remaining limb converged on him.

"GLEN!"

Isla moved first.

Frostbreaker unleashed a storm of ice that rose between Glen and the descending limbs. The barrier shattered almost immediately, but it bought precious seconds.

Caleb stepped forward.

Blood streamed freely from his nose as he raised both hands.

Gravity crashed down across the battlefield.

The descending limbs slowed.

Only slightly.

But slightly was enough.

The system continued.

[Corruption Detected]

[Purifying Foreign Influence...]

[Purification Successful]

[Skill Acquired]

[Ash Resonance (Rare)]

[Allows the user to perceive, influence, and destabilize corrupted ash energy.]

[Warning: Prolonged use may increase mental burden.]

The notifications disappeared.

Glen opened his eyes.

Everything had changed.

For the first time, he could truly see the battlefield.

He saw the ash flowing through the creature’s body like rivers. He saw damaged pathways, weakened channels, and every remaining core feeding the hunter core at the center. The monster was no longer a gigantic mass of flesh.

It was a network.

And Glen could see every weakness.

The creature recoiled.

It had realized the same thing.

Fear.

Real fear.

Glen slowly rose to his feet.

The ash drifting through the ruined junction responded to him.

Only slightly.

Barely enough to notice.

But it responded.

Caleb stared.

Isla narrowed her eyes.

Neither asked questions.

Neither needed to.

Glen raised his sword.

"The fight’s over."

The creature roared and charged.

Glen moved.

[Ash Resonance Activated]

The ash feeding the creature’s damaged left side abruptly stopped flowing.

The effect was immediate.

The mass stumbled.

Entire sections of its body spasmed as disrupted ash pathways collapsed.

Glen was already moving.

Thunder Phantom Step carried him to the first remaining defensive core.

One slash.

The core shattered.

Shadow Step.

A second core exploded.

Another step.

A third died.

The creature screamed as entire portions of its body failed simultaneously.

It lashed out wildly, but Glen no longer fought blindly.

He could see.

Every attack.

Every movement.

Every weakness.

The hunter core panicked.

The chest cage began closing.

Too late.

"Caleb!"

The gravity mage understood immediately.

Ignoring the blood pouring from his nose, Caleb unleashed everything he had left. Gravity seized the creature and held it in place.

"Isla!"

Frostbreaker flashed.

Ice raced across the exposed chest, freezing the closing cage halfway shut.

Glen smiled.

Perfect.

Thunder exploded.

He appeared directly before the hunter core.

For a moment, he stared into the cracked red crystal.

Inside, he saw the remains of the original hunter whose core had become the center of this nightmare. Hollow eyes stared back at him from behind layers of corruption.

Glen raised his sword.

"I’m taking this."

The blade fell.

The hunter core shattered.

The effect was immediate.

The gigantic mass convulsed violently. Every remaining limb spasmed as the network holding the creature together collapsed. Smaller cores detonated one after another beneath layers of flesh and bone, and the enormous body crashed into the ruined junction hard enough to shake the entire Sector Seven access line.

Dust and ash filled the chamber.

When the smoke finally began to settle, Glen was still standing.

Barely.

The Abyssal Armor faded from his body, and pain returned all at once. His legs almost gave out beneath him.

Almost.

Isla reached him first.

"You look terrible."

Glen wiped blood from his mouth.

"So I’ve been told."

Before Isla could respond, a familiar voice drifted through the ruined junction.

"No. Buchanan said you looked terrible."

All three of them turned.

Seraphine Vance stood near the entrance to the junction, leaning casually against a fractured pillar as though she had simply arrived for a conversation rather than a battlefield. Her dark coat hung loosely around her shoulders, and there was an amused glint in her golden eyes as she looked over the devastation.

Her gaze eventually settled on Glen.

"You somehow managed to look worse."

Glen frowned.

"What are you doing here?"

Seraphine pushed herself away from the pillar.

"Waiting."

The amusement disappeared from her expression.

A deep roar echoed from somewhere far below.

The entire junction trembled.

This time, nobody spoke.

Seraphine looked toward the darkness deeper within Sector Seven.

"The real problem," she said quietly, "just woke up."