The old innkeeper, like always, was doing his job. Alex had asked him to never question anything he does, and he would let him live, so he would do that… usually.

Today, however, after an hour of agonizing howls originating from Alex’s room, when the innkeeper heard the gate of Alex’s room open, he involuntarily flinched.

‘Please don’t look at me! Please don’t look at me! Please don’t look at me!’ He kept repeating those words in his head as he stared at the counter, not daring to look up as he heard Alex coming down the stairs.

For some reason, Alex’s steps sounded quite heavy today. But he still didn’t look up.

Besides him was another man—tall and grunt—cleaning glasses used to serve drinks, but just like the innkeeper, his eyes were lowered and his body trembling.

They prayed to any god who would listen to them, wishing for Alex to go away without saying anything.

Step.

But as if no god were willing to hear their prayers, Alex stopped right in front of them.

“Hey,” he said, causing both of them to tense up.

Alex, however, said nothing else after that. He just stood in silence. But the silence weighed more on the innkeeper, so although hesitant, with his wrinkled hands gripping the worn-out counter, he turned to look up at Alex.

“Y-Yes, sir…?” He shuttered, trying to force the best smile he could, but the moment he saw Alex’s expression—cold and detached—a chill ran down his smile, his stick-like body quivering.

“Clean the room before I come back.” That was all he said, his gaze lingering on the other guy before he turned to the door, leaving the inn.

It was only after Alex’s retreating figure disappeared into the darkness did both the innkeeper and the man let go of the breath they had been holding in.

Something was chilling about Alex’s expression today. Although it was hard to tell what time it was as it was always dark here, it was early morning, probably six.

Yet, Alex was already making such moves.

The man beside the innkeeper stopped trembling after Alex was gone and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

“We should do what he asked us to, and I also want to see who he had in his room,” the man finally muttered, his voice laced with an unspoken dread.

He was one of Barbara’s people sent to keep an eye on Alex, but even he seemed disturbed by the atmosphere before.

Staring at the inn’s entrance, imagining Alex coming back with a sword dyed in blood, the innkeeper swallowed hard and nodded.

He didn’t want to fail to do the first task Alex gave him.

Together, they walked towards Alex’s room, their footsteps echoing in the dimly lit hallway. As they neared the door, the old man hesitated, turning to Barbara’s subordinate with a pale face. “Um… why don’t you open it?”

The man’s face darkened, but he said nothing. He reached for the door handle and slowly pushed it open.

The moment the door creaked, a thick, metallic stench assaulted their nostrils, forcing both men to recoil. Their eyes widened, their breaths caught in their throats as they took in the horrifying sight before them.

Everything was drenched in crimson—the walls, the bed, the very floor of the room, and even the cracks within.

Blood had seeped into the wooden crevices, staining the room in a grotesque masterpiece of carnage. Gore and charred remains littered the space, and the stench of burnt flesh clung to the air like an unholy perfume.

At the center of the room, amidst the grotesque remains, a single object kept blinking.

They didn’t know what it was since they had never seen it before, but it was a lie-detection artifact. It was glowing green, but with the blood splattered across its surface, it seemed red. It pulsed rhythmically, like a dying heart in a room of death.

The one who knew what it was would be able to tell that the last words it had judged were the truth.

Thud.

“W-Wha…” The innkeeper fell to his knees, his frail body trembling as he clutched his chest.

The people in the ruined city didn’t live a peaceful life. It was far from it. But this was still not a sight he had seen in his long life.

The other man wasn’t any better. Despite his experience in dealing with death, he staggered backward, his face pale. “What… what the hell happened here?”

That question hung in the air, but the answer never came.

………………

Meanwhile, the only person who knew the answer, Alex, moved deeper into the ruined city, his steps soundless against the cracked pavement.

[You need to calm down, Alex.] Sophie’s voice echoed in his head, causing him to halt.

He didn’t reply and closed his eyes, relaxing his body. He took a deep breath. ‘I am calm,’ he said.

He had left the inn behind, along with the horrors he had created, and now his mind was already focused on his next challenge. He knew he wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything with his head clouded—especially against the opponent he would face.

Although Sophie, sitting on the bed in the dream space, knew that Alex was now calm, she still couldn’t suppress her worry.

The situation had turned into something they never expected—so much so that Alex had decided to move immediately.

Alex was going to the part of the city where the main event takes place in the plot. This part of the city was untouched by Barbara’s group—unexplored, ominous, and shrouded in mystery.

Crumbling buildings stood like skeletal remains of a forgotten civilization, their shattered windows reflecting the eerie moonlight. Vines, twisted and unnatural, crawled over the structures, some pulsating as if alive. The deeper he walked, the colder the air became, and a strange pressure filled the atmosphere, making the silence even more deafening.

Alex’s blue eyes narrowed, but he kept moving. He knew where he had to go, and he knew when he had to stop.

The deepest part of the city, which no one knew about, was a testing zone—the place of trial where Keryu was supposed to help Lilia in the plot.

But then Alex paused, his hand fingers clenching around his sword.

[It’s here,] Sophie warned, and Alex nodded his head. ‘I know.’

Barbara had spoken of a creature—one that was either invisible or far too fast to be seen.

It was that creature. And as Barbara had said, he couldn’t see it.

But Alex wasn’t relying on sight. His ability, ‘Emperor of the Beasts,’ which stemmed from his Destruction Dragon bloodline, allowed him to sense and command creatures, to subdue them through sheer bloodline dominance.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy this time. He wouldn’t be able to just control the beast and ask it to make way for him.

This beast wasn’t normal.

It was corrupted. Mutated.

And it was watching him.

Alex’s muscles tensed as his senses flared. He could feel the creature’s presence, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see it.

Only the faintest disturbance in the air, the energy shifting around him, told him it was there.

Then—

Woosh!

A gust of wind blew everything away as something massive rushed toward him.

And just like that, the hunt had begun.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep