The demon's head hit the obsidian floor with a wet thud, its body dissolving into black mist. Kevin didn't even bother watching it disappear – his blade was already singing through the air, cleaving through three more demon lords as if they were made of paper. Blood sprayed in elegant arcs, but not a single drop touched him. He moved like water through the battlefield, each step precise, each strike lethal.
"Brother," Marcus's voice whispered in his mind, warm and familiar, "you're showing off again."
Kevin's lips curved into a slight smile as he danced between two massive demon knights, their ghostfire blades passing harmlessly through the space he'd occupied a heartbeat before. "Can't help it. You know how I get when—"
A demon's claws raked toward his throat. Kevin didn't even turn his head, simply shifted his weight slightly. The attack missed by millimeters. "—when I'm in the zone."
The battlefield of Floor 98 stretched out around him like a painting done in red and black. Broken bodies of demon lords littered the ground, their ancient blood seeping into stones that had witnessed countless battles before this one. The air was thick with the metallic stench of blood and the acrid smoke of spent mana, but Kevin moved through it all untouched, unbothered, unstoppable.
Behind him, his party fought their own battles. Elira's daggers flickered in the dim light as she danced through the shadows, each strike finding vital points with surgical precision. Jin's lightning turned demons to ash, the air crackling with ozone and power. Maya's barriers shimmered, protecting them all while her healing magic knit flesh and restored stamina.
They were strong. Some of the strongest hunters the Tower had ever seen. But compared to Kevin, they might as well have been children playing at war.
"Your left," Marcus warned unnecessarily. Kevin had already sensed the demon lord trying to flank him, had already begun moving to counter. His blade – Nightfall's Edge – hummed with anticipation.
The demon lord was fast, one of the strongest they'd encountered on this floor. Its six arms wielded six different weapons, each one crackling with corrupt energy. It moved like lightning, its strikes blurring through the air in patterns designed to overwhelm any defense.
Kevin parried all six weapons with a single stroke.
The demon's eyes widened in shock. "Impossible—"
Nightfall's Edge sang once more, and the demon lord joined its brethren in death.
"Show-off," Marcus chuckled in his mind, but there was pride in his voice. They'd come so far together, grown so strong. From that first day on Floor 1, when Kevin had been nothing but a scared kid with a mysterious system in his head, to now – standing undefeated on Floor 98, feared by demons and revered by hunters alike.
"Kevin!" Elira's voice cut through the chaos. She'd finished her own fights, her black cloak still writhing with shadows. "The altar's active!"
The altar. Kevin's eyes moved to the ancient structure at the far end of the floor. Every hundredth floor of the Tower offered a wish to those who cleared it, but Floor 98 was different. Special. The altar here was said to grant power beyond measure – for a price.
As the last demon fell, silence descended on the battlefield. Kevin sheathed Nightfall's Edge, the blade sliding home with a satisfying click. His party gathered around him, their breathing heavy from exertion. He didn't even need to catch his breath.
"You barely broke a sweat," Jin observed, his scholarly tone masking something else. Something Kevin couldn't quite identify. "As expected of our fearless leader."
Maya's healing magic washed over them all, but Kevin felt no difference. He hadn't taken a single scratch. "The demons here were weak," he said with a shrug. "Not worth using any real skills on."
"Weak?" Elira's laugh had an edge to it. "We were fighting for our lives while you treated it like a morning workout."
Kevin started to respond, but Marcus's voice cut through his thoughts, urgent and concerned. *Brother, something's wrong. Their mana signatures... they're fluctuating strangely. And there's something else, something approaching—*
The air grew heavy, charged with an unnatural tension. The altar's glow intensified, bathing them all in crimson light. Ancient script carved into its base began to pulse: "The cost of power is paid in blood."
"Kevin," Elira stepped closer to the altar, her fingers trailing along its surface. Her voice was different now – colder, harder. "We need to talk about the wish."
The change in atmosphere was instant. Jin and Maya moved to flank Elira, their expressions unreadable. The formation was familiar – they'd used it countless times in battle. But this time, Kevin wasn't at the center. This time, he was on the outside.
"The wish doesn't interest me," Kevin said carefully, though his hand unconsciously moved closer to his sword's hilt. Two years of fighting together, of trusting each other with their lives, told him he was being paranoid. But something in their eyes... "My system is all the power I need. Whatever the altar offers, it's yours if you want it."
Elira's laugh was nothing like her usual warm chuckle. "That's exactly the problem, Kevin. Your system. Your power. Your shadow that we've all been living in." Her daggers appeared in her hands, but not with their usual fluid grace. This time, they came with killing intent. "Do you know what it's like? To fight and bleed and struggle, only to watch you casually stroll through the same battles without a scratch?"
"We've followed you for two years," Jin's voice was tight with suppressed emotion, lightning crackling between his fingers. "Watched you grow stronger and stronger while we desperately tried to keep up. Do you even remember the last time you needed our help? The last time you were anything but annoyed by our presence?"
"I trusted you," Kevin's voice was soft, but it carried through the chamber. "We fought together, bled together—"
"Bled together?" Maya's gentle healer's voice had turned to ice. "When was the last time you bled, Kevin? When was the last time you needed my healing? We're not your companions – we're your audience. Your cheerleaders. And we're tired of it."
The air split with a thunderous crack as a massive portal opened behind them. Through it stepped a figure that radiated malevolent power – the Demon King himself, his presence so overwhelming that the very air seemed to freeze.
"The deal," the Demon King's voice was smooth, amused, "has been struck. Their loyalty for your power, little hunter. Your system for their ascension." His eyes gleamed with dark satisfaction. "Did you think you were the first to reach this floor? The first to face this choice? Every strong hunter must learn – power breeds isolation, and isolation breeds betrayal."
The world seemed to tilt on its axis. The betrayal hit harder than any blow Kevin had ever taken, stealing the breath from his lungs. But worse was the feeling that followed – his connection to the system, the power he'd relied on for so long, beginning to drain away.
*Kevin!* Marcus's voice was frantic now, growing fainter by the second. *The Regression Core – it's our only chance. They don't know about it. Quickly, before the system completely—*
Memories flashed through Kevin's mind. Elira, laughing as she tried to pick his pockets on Floor 20, then joining his party instead. Jin, eyes bright with curiosity as they discussed the nature of systems on Floor 35. Maya, tears of gratitude streaming down her face as he cleared Floor 42 to save her village.
Had it all been a lie? Had they been planning this from the start?
His hand moved to his inventory, fingers closing around a small golden crystal he'd never thought he'd need to use. As his former companions approached, their weapons drawn and crackling with corrupt demon energy, he made his choice.
"Marcus," he whispered, crushing the crystal in his hand, "find me again. Make it right."
The world shattered like glass, reality itself breaking apart around them. In the void between moments, as time itself began to rewind, Marcus gathered the fragments of their broken system. The Regression Core pulsed with golden light, ready to turn back the clock.
But this time would be different.
This time, the system itself would return with all its memories intact. Every betrayal, every weakness, every possibility – they would know it all.
This time, Marcus wouldn't just be a voice in Kevin's head.
This time, the system itself would ensure their survival.
The story of the Tower's strongest hunter was about to begin again.
But this time, the real protagonist would be the system itself.
[End of Chapter 0]