The city above ground was descending into absolute chaos, but Elias moved through the ruined streets like a ghost.
Sirens wailed in the distance, and thick black smoke plumed into the sky. While others fled blindly, Elias stopped by a shattered convenience store. Using his newly acquired Ring of the Void, he casually stored several cases of bottled water, high-calorie protein bars, and a sharp steel crowbar into his subspace.
Preparation was half the battle.
He soon reached the entrance of the Central Subway Station. The power grid had already failed, leaving the underground tunnels bathed in the eerie, flickering emergency lights.
Elias descended the concrete stairs. The air was thick with the smell of dust, sweat, and pure terror.
At the bottom of the stairs, gathered near the ticket booths, was a group of about twenty shivering survivors. Among them, a man in a torn, expensive designer suit was shouting, trying to assert dominance over the panicked crowd.
"Everyone, listen to me!" the man yelled, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Barricade the stairs with those benches! If you don't listen, we're all going to die! You, kid, go push that heavy trash can!"
Elias stopped in the shadows, his eyes narrowing. He recognized that voice.
Marcus Vance.
In Elias's past life, Marcus Awakened as an A-Rank Tank and founded the 'Aegis Guild'. To the public, Marcus was a heroic figure, the shield of the people. But Elias knew the truth. Marcus was a coward who routinely used lower-ranking Hunters as human shields during dungeon raids to ensure his own survival. He was one of the men who had voted to leave Elias behind with the Dragon of Ruin.
'To think I'd run into you this early,' Elias thought, a cold, predatory smile creeping onto his face.
Before Elias could step forward, a terrifying snarl echoed down the concrete stairwell.
The survivors screamed. A 'Blood Hound'—a mutated, dog-like monster with crimson fur and razor-sharp fangs—bounded down the steps, its nose twitching as it smelled fresh meat. It had strayed from the main Gate above.
"M-Monster!" Marcus shrieked, all his previous bravado vanishing instantly. He backed away furiously, his eyes darting around for an escape.
The Blood Hound locked eyes with Marcus and lunged, jaws snapping open.
In a moment of pure, selfish panic, Marcus grabbed the teenager standing next to him—the same kid he had just ordered around—and shoved him violently forward, directly into the monster's path.
The kid screamed, stumbling toward the beast's gaping maw.
Swish!
A steel crowbar spun through the air like a javelin, striking the Blood Hound square in the ribs with bone-shattering force. The beast whimpered, knocked off its trajectory, and slammed heavily into the tiled wall.
The survivors gasped, turning their heads to see a young man walking calmly out of the shadows.
Elias didn't even look at the saved teenager. He walked straight toward the struggling Blood Hound. The beast growled and tried to stand, but Elias casually lifted his foot and stomped down on its neck with the enhanced physical strength of a Level 6 Hunter.
Crack. The hound went limp.
The station fell dead silent.
Marcus, realizing he was safe, let out a nervous laugh and quickly adjusted his torn suit. "T-Thank God! You must be military, right? Or police? Listen, I am the CEO of Vance Tech. Protect me, get me out of this city, and I'll pay you ten million—no, twenty million dollars!"
Elias didn't answer. He stepped over the dead hound and walked slowly toward Marcus.
"Hey, did you hear me?" Marcus frowned, taking a step back as he noticed the dead, emotionless look in Elias's eyes. "I said I can make you rich. We just need to..."
Elias reached out, his hand wrapping around Marcus's throat like a vice. He lifted the grown man effortlessly off the ground.
"Ghk—!" Marcus choked, his legs kicking wildly in the air. The other survivors backed away in horror, too terrified to intervene.
"Twenty million dollars," Elias whispered, his voice like grinding ice. "In five years, money will be nothing more than toilet paper. The only currency that will matter is mana crystals and human lives."
"P-Please..." Marcus gasped, his face turning purple.
"You don't remember me, Marcus," Elias said softly, leaning in close. "But I remember the thousands of people you will sacrifice to save your own skin. I remember the Aegis Guild. And I remember the Dragon's Lair."
Marcus's eyes widened in sheer confusion and terror. He had no idea what this demon was talking about.
"Consider this an early retirement," Elias said.
With a sickening snap, Elias broke Marcus's neck. He tossed the lifeless body aside like a piece of garbage.
The survivors screamed, huddling together in the corner. They looked at Elias not as a savior, but as a monster far more terrifying than the ones outside.
Elias didn't care. He wasn't here to play the hero. He was here to conquer.
Suddenly, the ambient temperature in the subway station dropped dramatically. The emergency lights shattered. On the subway tracks below the platform, a swirling vortex of energy began to tear through the fabric of reality. But unlike the Gate above ground, this portal wasn't red.
It glowed with an eerie, deep sapphire blue.
[A Hidden Dungeon has spawned.] [Warning: Recommended Level is 15. You are severely under-leveled.]
Elias cracked his knuckles, staring at the blue vortex. He was Level 6, but with his S-rank combat experience, his Hidden Title, and his Elite Shadow, Level 15 was nothing but a minor hurdle.
"Perfect timing," Elias murmured, jumping down onto the tracks and stepping straight into the blue abyss.