The pounding on the bunker’s metal door grew more violent with each second, each удар heavier and more threatening than the last. The voice on the other side, once distant and indistinct, was now loud and unmistakably clear.

  “ZACK! ARE YOU IN THERE? OPEN THE DOOR! I HAVE A SEVERELY WOUNDED WOMAN WITH ME!”

  The words struck like thunderclaps. Zack’s heart skipped. He shot to his feet, but Kevin and Thomas immediately grabbed him and shoved him back.

  “He has Gina!” Zack shouted, his voice breaking with desperation. “She might still be alive! She can still be saved!”

  “B-ranks are intelligent demons,” Natasha said calmly, her tone sharp with certainty. “Physically, they’re nearly identical to C-ranks, aside from their eye colour. But B-ranks can think. They strategise. They manipulate.” She adjusted her glasses, her gaze locked onto Zack. “This sounds exactly like a B-rank playing with your emotions.”

  Celia knew Natasha was right. She possessed the ability to sense certain demons from a distance by their scent—an ability she had suppressed her entire life. It usually applied only to B- and C-ranks. Right now, she thought she could smell it, but she couldn’t be sure if it wasn’t simply the forest itself. The doubt gnawed at her.

  At the same time, she felt Zack’s pain deeply. Losing Gina wasn’t just losing a friend—it felt like losing the fight itself. The symbol of their mission had been shattered.

  Natasha’s expression hardened. “Thomas,” she said, her voice carrying the weight of a command. “Fire the red smoke flare.”

  Thomas nodded. He knew exactly what to do. Without hesitation, he grabbed a small red cylinder and disappeared toward the back of the cave. A soft thump echoed, and moments later a bright red cloud rose through a ventilation shaft, spilling into the night sky.

  “Hmph,” Kevin muttered. “So the new recruits are finally meeting Tony.”

  Zack looked at him, confused. “Who’s Tony?”

  “Tony is a living legend,” Kevin replied with a cryptic smile.

  “I’ve heard about Tony from the RT,” Celia added, recognition replacing her confusion. “They say there isn’t a single human who has killed more demons than he has.”

  Kevin laughed. “The stories are true.”

  The words sparked a fragile glimmer of hope in Zack. Tony. A living legend. The despair that had been suffocating him slowly gave way to tense anticipation. Who was this man—and what would he do?

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  Then came the waiting. Endless, suffocating waiting. Time inside the bunker seemed to freeze, thick and sluggish like heavy syrup. Hours felt as though they passed in the icy silence of the cave, filled with uncertainty about what was happening outside. Every creak, every distant rustle made their hearts jump. The red smoke flare had long since vanished into the night, leaving only unbearable tension behind.

  Zack could no longer sit still. He stood and paced the small space. “We’ve been waiting forever,” he said hoarsely, exhaustion and fear grinding his voice raw. “Isn’t it morning already?”

  Natasha looked at him intently and murmured, “Unbelievable… you really look just like him.”

  Zack’s ears pricked. “What did you say?”

  “Nothing,” she replied immediately, her voice once again calm and firm. “You’re probably right.” She turned away, her expression unreadable. The casual dismissal was almost as unsettling as the silence itself.

  Kevin and Celia exchanged a glance, sensing the tension thickening. “You two,” Natasha ordered, her voice crisp like a battlefield command. “Check the door.” Her gaze snapped to Thomas. “Thomas, pack our equipment and get everything ready to move!”

  Thomas nodded and began filling the bags.

  Zack took a step toward the door.

  “Zack,” Natasha snapped sharply. “You stay here with me. You’re still too unpredictable and reckless. You don’t leave my side.” The words cut through the room, but beneath them was a concern she tried—and failed—to hide. The fight was far from over, and she knew Zack’s unknown power and impulsive nature made him dangerous in ways even he didn’t understand.

  The pressure inside the bunker was unbearable. The waiting continued, now haunted by a new, ominous question: who was “he,” and what would Tony—the living legend—bring with him?

  Kevin and Celia stood before the door, senses razor-sharp. Kevin whispered, “That demon should be gone by now, right?”

  Celia didn’t answer. She could still smell it—the familiar, sickly stench of demons. She told herself it was just the forest, the pervasive scent of decay and death clinging to everything.

  Kevin nodded and slowly pushed the metal door open, his hand already gripping the hilt of his dagger. A blast of icy wind rushed in, and the door screeched loudly on its hinges. Celia stood ready, sword drawn.

  Kevin peered through the opening—and froze.

  “What… how is this even possible?” he whispered. “Who the hell is this now?”

  Celia pushed the door open further so she could see.

  What lay before them stole her breath.

  The ground outside the cave was littered with the dissolved remains of demons. It was a battlefield.

  “Natasha! Come quick!” Kevin shouted.

  Zack stayed inside with Thomas as Natasha hurried to the entrance.

  There, in the pale light of early morning, lay Gina. Her body was wrapped in bandages, but she was unconscious and gravely injured. Beside her, sitting atop a rock, was a young man with dark brown hair. His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. His gaze was steady, razor-sharp. In his left hand, he held a dagger; in his right, a fistful of throwing knives. His clothes were soaked in blood. It was obvious—he had been fighting all night.

  Natasha stepped outside and stopped a few paces away from him. She felt his eyes cut into her like blades. He tightened his grip on the dagger, slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and then said—in a tone both playful and dangerous:

  “So… can Zack finally come outside now? Just tell him… Eli is here.”

  Zack’s heart thundered in his chest as he stepped out of the bunker. His eyes immediately searched for the man who had spoken his name.

  Then he saw Gina.

  She lay motionless, her body a silent testament to the horrors of the night. Her wounds were bound, but her face was pale and drawn. Tears welled up instantly, grief and relief crashing over Zack all at once. He dropped to his knees beside her, his hands shaking.

  Then his gaze snapped to Eli—the man who had done the impossible.

  Zack jumped to his feet and ran to him, throwing his arms around him in a fierce embrace. “ELI!” he sobbed, his voice breaking.

  Eli hadn’t expected it, but he wrapped an arm around Zack and held him tightly. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if he, too, needed time to steady himself.

  The others looked on in confusion. Who was this man—and what was his connection to Zack? The fact that he had survived a night like this, forced his way through a forest crawling with demons, could only mean one thing.

  They mattered to each other deeply.

  The silence of dawn was broken only by Zack’s quiet sobs. It was a moment of loss and reunion, of grief and fragile hope.

  The long night was finally over.

  And yet, it marked the beginning of something entirely unknown.