"A Halcyon realm?" Kaia blinked at Kyros, her head tilted like a curious cat.
Kyros grinned, eyes glinting with a mix of excitement and caution. "That's the kind of mess the Halcyon unit handles. But don't worry about the details. Just know this—getting into a Halcyon realm isn't a walk in the park. We've got a shot here. Let's kill the Halcyon of this domain while we can."
He gestured toward the monster in the distance—a massive, black abyssal dragon, its eyes glowing a fiery red. It roared, sending out a deep, echoing breath of dark mist.
Kaia squinted. "Is that... the Halcyon you're talking about?"
"No," Kyros said, shaking his head. "That's an S-level monster in dragon form. Halcyons are... something else."
"Uh huh." Kaia raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.
"Kyros..." Thalia's voice was weak, and Kyros turned just in time to catch her slumping against him. Her face was pale, and she looked like she might collapse at any moment.
"Thalia!" He steadied her with a frown. "Dammit, the contamination mana... This place is messing with your system."
Thalia gritted her teeth. "What is this place? I feel like my insides are trying to escape."
Kiaan was leaning heavily on his sword, his knees buckling. He glared at the mist swirling around them. "This place is disgusting." He shot Kyros a weak look. "It makes me sick. This is why I picked the crime unit, man. No more of this weird realm crap."
Kyros raised an eyebrow. "You've never been in a Halcyon realm before?"
Kiaan barely managed a nod. "And I'm regretting this whole thing."
"Hmm. Interesting," Kyros muttered. "Well, I guess I'm flying solo then." He nudged Thalia into a sitting position among the flowers. "Stay here. Don't die on me." He looked over at Yona, expecting her to be ready for action. "Yona, you good?"
He turned around to find Yona sprawled out on the ground, her back to him, clutching her stomach.
"Yona?" Kyros blinked. "What the hell happened to you?"
"I... I'm just not feeling... great..." Yona's voice was strained, like she was holding back. I can't let him know about my condition. Better just to act like Kiaan.
Kyros's mouth twitched in frustration. "Seriously? Fine. I'll take care of it myself." He cracked his knuckles and took a few steps toward the dragon, his gaze flicking over his shoulder toward Thalia. "Guess it's time to impress the ladies."
Thalia was still catching her breath, watching the dragon's enormous tail swipe through the air. Then, her eyes widened in horror as an eye-monster—the same one from earlier—charged at her again.
"Not this thing again..." she groaned, already planning her next move.
Swoop.
Kiaan reacted in an instant, channeling the remaining strength in his left arm. His sword sliced the air with a force that sent a shockwave crashing through the space, hitting the eye-monster in a matter of seconds.
"Annoying," he muttered, still panting.
But then, his sharp eyes caught movement in the distance. More silhouettes, appearing closer... way too close.
"This is bad," Kiaan grumbled, struggling to stay upright. "I don't think we've seen the worst of it."
Kyros charged forward, the blocks he had manipulated forming a path beneath him. A slab shot up, launching him toward the dragon, his eyes narrowing in anticipation. The beast reared its head, flames beginning to swirl in its mouth.
Kyros shot a glare at it. "Nope."
With a single swipe of his hand, blocks shot out and covered the dragon's face, sealing its maw shut. The fire inside exploded with a deafening roar, but instead of scorching the blocks, the flames were contained, the entire head of the dragon disintegrating in an instant.
The blocks retracted, leaving not a single scratch on them. But the dragon wasn't done. It began regenerating, and with a beat of its wings, it shot into the sky, mouth wide, aiming to crush Kyros beneath its maw.
Kyros scoffed. "Useless."
With a snap of his fingers, a massive wall of blocks shot up, big enough to dwarf the dragon. It crashed into the wall, but Kyros was already moving. A gigantic sword of blocks formed beside him, and before the dragon could pull away, it sliced through the creature's body in a single fluid motion. A shockwave rippled out from the strike, sending debris flying.
Kyros wasn't slowing down. He repeated his attacks, every strike landing before the dragon had a chance to regenerate. The creature's desperate roars were cut off one by one as Kyros kept pressing, faster, deadlier.
"He's insane," Kaia muttered, eyes wide as she watched him manipulate the blocks with such ease.
Yona, casually lounging on the ground like she was watching a lazy afternoon show, let out a sigh. "Cosmic Hollow should've noticed him by now. What's taking them so long?"
"Didn't Kyros ask Cosmic Hollow about that?" Kaia shot her a look.
"Well..." Yona stretched lazily, "Cosmic Hollow doesn't exactly hand out answers for free. Surprised he actually answered you."
Kaia frowned. "He said I was stubborn, which is why I kept asking. But, honestly, I think that Zero guy is way worse."
"Oh, you mean the Chameleon?" Yona smirked. "That guy is a trip. He literally threatened to burn down the Hollow and no one took him seriously. Next thing we know, he's rolling around on the floor, begging for answers like a kid."
"Yona—" Thalia started, her voice suddenly tight.
Before anyone could react, the eye-monster was on Yona, its massive pupil darting toward her head, ready to bite.
Fwoop.
Kaia didn't even blink. She kicked the eye-monster with such force it was sent sprawling across the ground, rolling away like a ragdoll.
Thalia blinked, stunned. "How... how did you—?"
Kaia was already walking toward the now-dazed eye, sitting down with a casual grace, as though it was a normal afternoon.
"You really need to stop provoking me," she said, her voice easygoing but with an edge that made the air around them feel a little heavier.
The eye-monster let out a weak growl, struggling to lift itself. "You... you can see me?"
"I couldn't before," Kaia said, her grin widening to something dangerously sweet. "But I can now. So, tell me, how much time did you spend stalking my sis?"
The eye-monster trembled, its body quaking with fear.
Thalia, still standing at a distance, raised an eyebrow. "Is that... good? Bad?"
"Don't worry." Kiaan spat out blood, slowly pushing himself up with the help of his sword. Thalia rushed to his side, helping him stand. "She can take care of herself."
Kiaan laughed weakly but then caught sight of Yona, who hadn't moved an inch. "Okay, maybe I'm not the only one who's useless around here."
"Don't get close to her!" a high-pitched voice screamed from behind.
Both Kiaan and Thalia froze, their heads snapping toward Kyros, who was casually descending on his slab.
"That... didn't sound like your voice," Kiaan said, raising an eyebrow.
Kyros smirked, his voice returning to its usual cool tone. "What voice? This place is messing with your head, dude."
"Well, I could've sworn it came from you..." Kiaan trailed off, confusion written on his face.
Then, it hit them. Both Kiaan and Thalia froze.
"What the hell is that?" Kyros asked, eyes widening as he turned around.
Behind him, the dark abyssal monster, grinning wickedly, loomed far too close, its massive mouth dripping with venomous saliva. It wasn't the only one. Several more terrifying creatures stood still, their gazes locked on Kyros like hungry predators.
Kyros froze for a moment, his face betraying a rare flicker of shock. "Eeeek!" He immediately leaped behind Thalia, his heart pounding in his chest. He quickly regained his composure, coughing into his hand. "I wasn't scared. Nope. Not even a little."
Kiaan side-eyed him. "Why is he like this?"