The cavern was loud—goblins screeching, fireballs exploding against the walls—but inside the circle of shadows, it felt terrifyingly quiet.
Jack scrambled backward, his boots scraping against the stone. Blood trailed from his shattered knee.
"Kai..." Jack stammered, his face pale as a sheet. "Listen to me. We... we can work this out. I have money! My bank account—I'll give you the password! It's over $50,000!"
Kai took a step forward.
The Shadow Scout (Ren) mirrored him, stepping out of the wall with twin blades raised.
The Shadow Mage floated to the left, black flames dancing on its fingertips.
"You don't get it, do you?" Kai said, his voice flat. He tilted his head, looking at Jack like one would look at a broken tool. "I don't need your money. I can just take it off your corpse."
"The Guild will hunt you down!" Jack screamed, switching from bribery to threats. "My brother is a C-Rank officer! If I die, they'll check the logs! They'll know it was you!"
"Let them come," Kai said. "I need more soldiers anyway."
He flicked his wrist.
"Hold him."
The shadows moved instantly.
The Shadow Scout lunged, pinning Jack's left arm to the ground.
The Shadow Mage extended a hand of darkness, clamping down on Jack's right arm.
"Get off me! Get off!" Jack thrashed wildly, but the grip of the dead was iron-clad. He looked up into the void-like face of the Shadow Scout—the man he had bullied just an hour ago.
"Ren? Is that you? Stop! I'm your Captain!"
"He doesn't hear you," Kai said, kneeling beside Jack. "He only hears me."
Kai reached into his belt and pulled out a weapon.
It wasn't the rusted iron dagger he had used to kill Ren and the Mage.
It was the Enchanted Dagger—the one Jack had dropped in the sewer when he ran away. The blade glowed with a faint green wind enchantment.
Jack's eyes widened in recognition. The irony hit him like a physical blow.
"My dagger..." Jack choked out. "You... you thief."
"I'm just returning it," Kai whispered, leaning in close. "You left it behind when you traded my life for yours. Remember?"
"Kai, please—"
"Shh."
Kai placed the cold steel against Jack's throat.
"In your next life," Kai said, his eyes glowing with a faint blue light, "try not to piss off a Necromancer."
SLASH.
It was a clean, deep cut.
Blood sprayed out in a hot crimson arc, splashing onto Kai's face and the Shadow Scout's chest.
Jack gurgled, his body convulsing. His hands clawed at the air, trying to grab something, anything. But there was nothing there.
The light in his eyes flickered and died. The thrashing stopped.
Jack, the D-Rank bully, the Captain of the Viper Guild rookie squad, was dead.
[You have killed a Human (D-Rank).]
[Experience Gained: 800]
[Level Up!]
[Current Level: 6]
Kai stood up, wiping the blood from his cheek with his thumb.
He didn't feel sick. He didn't feel guilty.
He felt... complete.
Behind him, the Goblin Shaman shrieked in rage. It had been watching this internal conflict with confusion, but now that the human infighting was over, it prepared to launch a massive fireball.
"Krak-ta!!" The Shaman waved its skull totem.
Kai didn't even turn around.
He looked down at Jack's cooling corpse. The mana was still fresh. A powerful soul was lingering there, filled with resentment and anger. Perfect fuel.
"Get up, Jack," Kai commanded, his voice echoing with authority. "You have work to do."
"Arise."
BOOM.
A pillar of black energy exploded from Jack's body, far larger and more violent than the others.
A hand clad in black shadowy armor punched through the air.
[Extraction Success.]
[Shadow Assassin: Jack (Grade D) obtained.]
The Shadow Jack pulled himself out of the corpse. He stood taller than he had in life, wreathed in blue smoke. He turned to face the Goblin Shaman, letting out a silent, terrifying roar.
Kai pointed over his shoulder at the Shaman.
"Kill it."
（"Enjoying the massacre? Drop a Power Stone to feed the Clone Army!"）