[You have entered a dungeon.]

  Adam shifted his gaze away from the system’s notification and stared down the passage littered with shattered pottery and dried bones. Flaming torches illuminated the brick walls, and a faint acrid stench clung to the air.

  He scowled. His eyes lingered on mangled corpses and the bloody trail leading deeper into the dungeon.

  These are ghouls…

  Adam crouched beside one of the bodies.

  It had died from a sharp blow to the side of its head, half its skull shattered inward. Others had met similar brutal ends, while a few had been reduced to nothing more than chunks of flesh and bone floating in congealed pools of blood.

  “Adam, why are you wasting time staring at a— huh? Why are you in a dungeon? What happened to the item? I can’t sense it anymore.”

  Adam’s brows shot up. “What happened to you? I couldn’t communicate with you in the desert or the frozen wasteland.”

  “What are you talking about? What desert? Didn’t we arrive here from the swamp?”

  Adam knitted his brows. “So you don’t know about the Suppressor either.”

  “Tell me what you mean by this Suppressor?” the voice demanded, impatience leaking into its tone. “What happened to the item?”

  “Let’s talk about that later,” Adam said, rising to his feet. “I need to get out of this dungeon first.”

  He glanced again at the mangled remains.

  The dwellers here are undead… I need to leave before my passive ability lures them in. And there’s also the matter of this dungeon’s rank.

  Adam followed the bloody trail deeper inside.

  If my guess is correct, the Widow caused this mess. Hopefully she hasn’t gone too far. I’d like to see what item the Suppressor gave her.

  He broke into a sprint.

  The number of corpses increased the farther he went, and the stench thickened until it coated the back of his throat. Scratch marks and soot stained sections of the brick walls. Several extinguished torches lay scattered along the ground.

  Adam halted at the end of the passage where three openings awaited him.

  Hmm… which one?

  There were no distinguishing features. The bloody trail stopped right before the split.

  “It doesn’t matter,” the demonic voice said. “Let’s slaughter everything in this dungeon. A perfect opportunity for you to trample these lesser beings.”

  Adam ignored it and studied the paths in silence.

  The only undead dungeon in Targarth is in Gido—the Scarlet Catacombs. But that’s an A-rank dungeon… bordering S-rank.

  A chorus of growls, grunts, and distorted cries echoed from afar. The ground began to rumble.

  They’ve noticed my presence!

  His expression darkened.

  He couldn’t estimate how many undead were charging toward him.

  The tremors are stronger in the first and third passages… That means the middle one is likely closer to the exit.

  “Don’t you dare flee like a coward, Adam,” the voice growled. “Stand your ground—hey! Get back here!”

  Adam dashed down the middle path at full speed.

  An A-rank dungeon bordering S-rank would house creatures across multiple tiers—Awakened just as powerful as he was would also be raiding the dungeon. If the dungeon dwellers cornered him, it would turn into a massacre.

  I need to prepare for the worst.

  He covered dozens of miles within minutes, yet the passage stretched endlessly before him. The tremors intensified. Screams and occasional explosions reverberated through the tunnel.

  After another ten minutes, he finally spotted the end.

  Adam accelerated.

  A massive hall devoid of furniture came into view. Dozens of broken statues—each over fifteen feet tall—lined the brick walls. Every statue held a massive bronze claymore, the only intact objects in the chamber.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Adam emerged through the mouth of one statue.

  Then he froze. He looked down.

  So that’s where she is…

  A woman in a skin-tight battle suit stood below, her face partially concealed by a thin, translucent purple veil.

  She wasn’t alone.

  She wielded a glowing silver mace while fending off two men clad in the unmistakable armor of the Knights of Bordon.

  My luck is decent… but how do I take the item the Suppressor gave her?

  The tremors intensified. Cracks spread across the statues as dust cascaded from above.

  Elliana and the two knights turned toward the source of the disturbance.

  Their eyes landed on Adam.

  “Please help me!” Elliana cried. “These men are trying to molest me!”

  “Nonsense!” one knight barked. “Young man, stay away from her if you value your life. She’s a dangerous vixen—a known murderer wanted across all four regions.”

  “Lies!” Elliana protested, retreating. “Please, help me!”

  Adam’s gaze shifted between the Widow and the knights.

  “Okay,” he said calmly. “I don’t mind.”

  “Thank you!” Elliana said quickly. “I’m so grateful—”

  “Young man!” the knight roared. “This woman is the notorious—”

  “I know who she is,” Adam interrupted, locking eyes with Elliana.

  A faint crease formed on her forehead.

  “Give me the item the Suppressor gave you,” Adam said evenly, “and I’ll help you against the Knights. If not, I’ll assist them in suppressing you.”

  Surprise flickered across her face—gone as quickly as it came, replaced by a cold, piercing stare.

  She moved closer to the statue’s base, still playing her part.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What’s a—?”

  “My patience is limited,” Adam cut in. “If you won’t hand it over peacefully… I’ll take it.”

  Cataclysm materialized in his grip. Nokum and Salma appeared at his sides.

  He pointed his blade toward her. “I have other methods.”

  Elliana clicked her tongue and turned to the knights.

  “You two—let’s work together and eliminate him!”

  “We would never ally with someone like—”

  “Drop your pride and assess the situation,” she snapped. “Do you think he’ll spare you once he’s done with me? We kill him first. Then we settle our score.”

  Both knights exchanged a look before turning back to Adam.

  There were no guarantees he would spare them after settling things with the Widow.

  “Hurry up, you fanatics! Now isn’t the time to freeze!” Elliana urged, retreating another step.

  She suddenly inhaled sharply.

  Her brows knitted. Her gaze locked onto Adam.

  Adam noticed the shift immediately.

  She remembers my scent… just like she promised.

  The knights shared a silent nod before facing him fully.

  One of them spoke. “Young man… what are your intentions?”

  “I have no business with either of you,” Adam replied flatly. “That changes if you interfere.”

  His eyes returned to Elliana.

  “So? Are you handing it over, or—”

  Before he finished, Adam, Nokum, and Salma leapt from the statue’s mouth.

  They crashed into the ground below, stone fracturing beneath their weight.

  Elliana stepped back again. “Look at him! You think he’ll let you walk away?”

  Silence answered her.

  The knights cautiously widened the distance between themselves and Adam — and the Omen beings at his side.

  Fury flickered in Elliana’s eyes when the two men made their stance clear.

  “These lily-livered zealots…”

  Her grip tightened around the silver mace. Her focus centered entirely on Adam.

  “Let’s end this,” Adam muttered.

  [Potential Sources of Danger Detected!]

  Adam instinctively looked toward the statue’s mouth.

  There’s no way they caught up that fast. So, where’s the—?

  A sharp crack echoed through the hall.

  Then another. Before anyone could react, black portals burst open inside the mouths of every statue. All except the statue Adam had exited.

  What the hell is this?

  [Your presence has strengthened the bridge between dungeons!]

  [The Omen is intrigued by your existence!]

  [Your connection to The Omen has strengthened!]

  The bridge between dungeons?

  Adam’s expression darkened.

  “I’ll sever your heads if you dare step closer to my Lord.”

  Adam turned sharply at Nokum’s declaration.

  What are they doing?

  Golden radiance began gathering around the knights, who had unsheathed their blades once more.

  An ominous—familiar—chuckle echoed in his mind.

  “There’s no running now,” the demonic voice crooned. “That light… the progenitor of their Blessing has issued a command.”

  Its laughter grew louder.

  Adam frowned. “A command?”

  “You’ve finally caught their attention. How glorious.”

  Adam did not share the amusement.

  Since ancient times, Awakened fell into two primary paths: those empowered by the Omen, and those granted Blessings.

  Just as the Omen bestowed its Lords access to an infinite abyssal source, the Blessings originated from the Progenitors—beings who granted power based on the purity of one’s soul.

  Adam didn’t know what message the knights had received. But the fear in their eyes had vanished.

  In its place? Greed. Fervent and hungry.

  Adam’s gaze shifted briefly to Elliana. Shock lingered behind her veil.

  She had heard Nokum. And she understood. In the hierarchy of Omen Awakened, Lord was not a title lightly spoken.

  Elliana retreated another step, eyes darting between Adam and the knights.

  “Adam… I can get you out of here, but…” the demon whispered, barely containing itself.

  A giggle followed. “I want to see blood. I want carnage.”

  Adam ignored it.

  His attention tracked the Widow’s retreat, and the knights’ growing fervor.

  Then, footsteps.

  Heavy footsteps.

  A voice followed from one of the portals.

  “Where the hell is this? Why did a portal open here?”

  A colossal man stepped through.

  Over twelve feet tall. He wore white overalls soaked in dried blood and carried an enormous butcher’s knife in one hand.

  White overalls… butcher’s blade…

  Adam’s jaw tightened.

  Disciples of Eben.

  More figures emerged from the remaining portals.

  One after another.

  Within seconds, more than twenty additional Awakened stood within the hall.

  “All of you—come out,” Adam ordered coldly.

  The Familiars manifested behind Nokum and Salma. The atmosphere shifted instantly.

  The number of knights had swelled from two to fifteen.

  Several Disciples of Eben now stood behind the giant man.

  Each faction observed the others warily. No one moved. No one spoke.

  Did they arrive from other dungeons through the bridge the Omen mentioned? Adam mused.

  The silence lingered.

  This stalemate won’t last. I need to leave before it gets worse.

  The thought had barely formed when a deafening crack followed.

  A sharp, brittle sound echoed overhead. Every Awakened’s gaze snapped toward Adam.

  No. Not at him. Above him.

  An illusory wolf’s head materialized briefly in the air—translucent, vast, and ancient.

  Then it dissolved like smoke in the wind.

  Slowly, every pair of eyes lowered. And settled on Adam.

  He felt it. The shift. Collective hostility. Unified intent.

  Adam tightened his grip around Cataclysm. There’s no escaping this. I’ll have to carve my way out