"Annoying."
With a slight flick of his fingers, Cyr sliced the crawling man and the radio in his hand into countless fragments.
The ground was covered in blood and shattered human remains.
Without sparing the carnage a second glance, Cyr's figure vanished from the spot.
---
"There's definitely an intruder. Stay alert," Fan, the squad leader, said in a grave tone, warning his team.
"But where are they?" one of the team members asked, his voice trembling.
The enemy, cloaked in darkness, brought death and fear.
One way to use Nen was through En, a technique to sense enemies within a certain radius.
Yet no matter how thoroughly the team scanned, not a trace of the intruder could be found.
Then, a scream tore through the silence.
"Ahh—!" The sound of liquid splashing and a heavy object hitting the ground followed.
Warm blood sprayed onto the nearby team members, making their breaths hitch.
They turned their flashlights toward the sound, illuminating the corner of the room.
The light revealed a gruesome sight: their comrade's body, torn to pieces.
The head was still intact but separated from the body. The face was frozen in a grotesque expression of fear, mouth agape, eyes wide, resembling a lifeless fish.
"Where are you?! Show yourself!" Fan shouted, his flashlight darting around.
But there was only emptiness. The darkness seemed to stretch endlessly, accompanied solely by the sound of his labored breathing.
Cold sweat drenched their clothes, sticking to their skin.
"Stay on guard. We're leaving," Fan whispered, signaling the others to move cautiously toward the exit.
"Ahh—help… help me…"
Another scream pierced the tense air.
Their flashlights whipped toward the source, revealing a teammate clutching his throat. Blood poured from between his fingers.
"Thud—"
"Thump, thump—"
Before everyone's horrified eyes, the man's head rolled off, stopping at Fan's feet.
The body, still standing as if unaware of its loss, crumpled to the ground.
Even with Nen reinforcing their bodies, they were powerless against the invisible attacks of this unseen enemy.
Panic consumed the group.
"Help—!"
"I don't want to die—!"
"Please don't kill me!"
Some broke into a frantic run, others fired their guns wildly, while a few unleashed wide-range Nen abilities, hoping to hit their elusive foe.
Screams, gunfire, and the sound of blood splattering filled the air. Limbs were severed and scattered across the floor.
Abandoned flashlights flickered weakly, forgotten amidst the chaos.
The frenzy of attacks was so intense that it breached the building's roof, allowing a weak beam of light to seep through the cracks, illuminating the grim scene.
At some point, the chaos subsided, leaving only a suffocating silence.
"Is… anyone still alive?" Fan asked, holding his breath.
But after a long pause, the only sounds were his pounding heart and heavy breathing.
The stench of blood, carried by a faint breeze, filled the air.
It confirmed one thing: everyone else was dead.
Only he remained.
Would the invisible enemy spare him?
The answer was obvious—no.
Left him for last… How would it kill him? Something worse than his comrades, something slow and agonizing?
Fan's body trembled uncontrollably.
He heard unhurried footsteps echoing from the hallway ahead. The sound drew closer, and his fear intensified. Any courage to flee evaporated. He could only raise his head in a daze, staring toward the approaching figure.
The shadow in the darkness crept forward, step by step. Only when the figure reached the thin sliver of light from a crack in the wall would Fan see his enemy's face.
Closer. Closer.
A sharp pain shot through him. The world spun. His vision blurred. His final sight: a body sliced into pieces.
He recognized the clothing.
It was his body.
"Hmm, an improvement."
In his last moments, Fan heard a calm, almost pleased, youthful voice.
And then… he saw them.
Those deep blue eyes, glowing in the faintest light, impossibly clear and pure.
"All right, the trash is taken care of." Cyr inspected his hands, his tone light with satisfaction.
Over the past few days, his cursed energy had grown significantly. His control and mastery of his abilities had improved as well.
Where once his Dismantle couldn't kill Nen users, now it sliced through them as if they were ordinary people.
There was no greater joy than the feeling of getting stronger.
"Time to find the last one and ask a few questions." With a glance down a darkened hallway, his figure vanished.
---
In the surveillance room, a short, trembling man clutched his head.
"Too terrifying…"
"Too terrifying… no…" he muttered, his mind on the verge of collapse.
His advanced perception filled him with an unprecedented fear, as if his life could end any moment.
The surveillance room was equipped to monitor every radio channel in the facility. Not long ago, he'd heard one scream after another. No one answered his frantic calls.
The silence from all the radios told him everything he needed to know.
"I need to find Lord Arl…" he whispered, crawling out of the surveillance room. He groped through the dark corridors until he reached the grandest office.
The door, usually shut tight, was open a crack. A chilling premonition crept over him.
"Lord Arl? Are you in there?" He pushed the door open, crawling inside. His hand met something wet on the floor.
"What… is this?" He raised his hand to his nose.
The metallic scent of blood filled his nostrils.
"Lord… Arl?" His hands wandered over soft, spongy flesh and hard fragments.
He peered closer and saw—piles of bloody, shredded flesh and scattered bones.
"Ahhhhh!"
Screaming, he stumbled backward, collapsing into a corner.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
"Help! Somebody help!"
He scrambled around in panic until his eyes landed on the office's corner—a half-height safe.
With trembling hands, he opened it, threw out its contents—cash, gold, jewels—and climbed inside, locking the door behind him.
"They can't find me… I'm already dead…"
Curled in the cramped space, he whispered, his whole body shaking violently.
---
Time passed. Minutes? Hours?
A knock on the safe's door broke the silence.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
"Anyone in there?" a voice asked.
He held his breath, praying even his heartbeat wouldn't betray him.
"Looks like no one's home. Guess I'll be going." The voice outside sounded disappointed.
He waited, straining to hear. Nothing. The man finally sighed in relief.
Cyr, sitting cross-legged atop the safe, casually typed on his phone.
[Come quickly. —Cyr DeVille]
Pampas would track him via the device's signal.
Cyr glanced down at the scattered papers he'd retrieved earlier. After skimming a few pages, he dismissed them with a yawn.
Documents like these? Perfect for Pampas to handle.
---
[Side Quest Completed: Investigate Missing Children.]
Enemies Eliminated: 231
Instilled Fear: Successful
Completion: 100%
Reward: 100,000 Jenny
Cyr's eyes flicked between the system's measly reward and the piles of gold, jewels, and wads of cash strewn about.
His eyelids drooped.
"Ugh, stingy system."