The tunnels stretched endlessly before Damien, their winding paths carved deep into the cavern walls.

The tunnel’s air carried a faint, metallic scent that clung to his senses. Each step he took was careful, his eyes scanning the dimly lit corridor while his essence remained tightly controlled.

Damien had already encountered too many surprises in this place, and he wasn’t about to let his guard down now.

As he pressed forward, another door came into view. Unlike the ones before, this one felt different—too deliberate in its placement, as if someone had specifically set it up as a barrier. Damien narrowed his eyes, instincts flaring as he came to a stop a few feet away.

He didn’t approach immediately. Instead, he activated his essence sensory abilities, sending out the faintest ripple of detection through the air.

The moment his senses brushed against the door, he picked up on it—an unnatural fluctuation, subtle but unmistakable. Damien smirked.

“A trap, huh?”

His perception honed in on the source of the disturbance, and there it was—an Essence Paper Bomb, placed on the other side of the door.

Essence Paper Bombs were exactly what their name suggested—paper-thin explosives infused with stored magic essence, set to detonate under specific conditions.

Whoever had placed this one had configured it to trigger upon detecting an unfamiliar essence signature. If Damien had walked in carelessly, his essence would have been enough to activate it, causing a concentrated explosion that, while small in range, would have been devastatingly intense.

“Clever. But not clever enough.”

Damien exhaled slowly, withdrawing every trace of his essence. He pulled it deep into himself, hiding his presence entirely.

The shift left him feeling oddly weightless, like he was floating in an empty void, but it was a necessary precaution.

Only when he was certain that no hint of his essence remained did he move forward. His hand pressed lightly against the door, and with a careful push, it creaked open.

The Essence Paper Bomb remained dormant, its deadly energy lying in wait for a presence that never came.

“Work smarter, not harder.”Damien chuckled softly under his breath, stepping inside and shutting the door gently behind him. Whoever had set the trap was expecting intruders—but not someone like him.

The corridor beyond was barely lit, torches embedded in the walls flickering with faint, unstable flames.

Damien walked silently, his footsteps barely making a sound against the uneven ground. His instincts told him he wasn’t alone.

It didn’t take long before he found what he was looking for—the reason he had ventured this far in the first place.

Humans.

Not prisoners, nor lost travelers, but people belonging to them. The very organization he now detested.

Damien’s eyes darkened as he took in the scene. They weren’t many, perhaps a handful scattered throughout the chamber.

Some sat at a makeshift table, speaking in hushed voices, while others stood near the walls, checking weapons and supplies. They had no idea he was there, yet.

A surge of frustration welled up inside him, fueled by everything he had uncovered earlier—the chains, the weapons, the captives who had suffered because of the twisted actions of those who stood before him now. He clenched his fists.

“Time to relieve some stress.”

The moment Damien moved, it was over for them. Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire

He struck first, closing the distance in an instant. His fist met the first man’s gut, driving the air from his lungs before he even realized what was happening.

Damien didn’t let him recover—his elbow cracked against the man’s temple, sending him crashing into the table with a dull thud.

The others reacted, but too slowly. Damien’s leg shot out, kicking the closest one’s knee inward at an unnatural angle.

“Yeeeeee!!” A scream tore through the chamber, but it was quickly silenced as Damien grabbed the man’s collar and slammed him into the wall hard enough to leave a dent.

The third tried to fight back, swinging a blade toward Damien’s side. He caught the wrist mid-swing and twisted.

Plop!

A sickening sound echoed as the man howled in agony. Damien wrenched the weapon from his hand and drove the hilt into his ribs, breaking at least two.

By the time the last two even thought to run, it was far too late.

Damien sent one sprawling with a brutal kick to the chest, his foot connecting with enough force to lift the man off his feet. The final one barely had time to turn before Damien’s fist drove into his jaw, shattering bone on impact.

He collapsed instantly, blood trickling from his mouth as his consciousness faded.

Damien stood amidst the aftermath, breathing slow and steady. He didn’t kill them. That had never been the plan. But they wouldn’t be walking properly for a long while, and some might never wield a weapon again.

His eyes swept over the scene, ensuring they were all unconscious before stepping back.

“That should be enough.”

They weren’t the last of them, not by a long shot. But this was a good start.

Shaking off the tension in his muscles, Damien turned toward the deeper chambers. “A purge is what you all need.”

~~~~~

On another continent entirely, the sun hung lazily in the sky, its rays shining down on the land.

It did little to increase or drcrease the temperature around Damon and his group stood.

The First Layer of Hell, was dry and empty with the occasional movements of distant demons, providing a bland backdrop to what was supposed to be their “day off.”

Miss Leana had stated earlier that they would be taking the entire day off from hunting demons.

Damon stretched, rolling his shoulders with a content sigh. “Finally, a break,” he muttered, hands behind his head.

“A break that won’t be a break,” Anaya said, arms crossed, her eyes scanning their surroundings.

Daveon smirked. “We all know Miss Leana. She doesn’t do ‘days off.’ She probably has something cooked up already.”

As if on cue, Miss Leana—ex-general, their guardian, and relentless trainer—stepped forward, her ever-calm yet imposing presence casting a silent command over them.

She wore her usual dark combat gear, the leather reinforced with runic etchings, her twin blades strapped to her back.

“You’re not wrong,” she said, her voice smooth but firm. “You’re all growing stronger, and I intend to make sure you keep growing. You’re Gold Ranked Dunters now, capable of handling Grade Five demons alone. But demons aren’t your only enemies. I want to see how well you fare against a human opponent.”

The three of them tensed. Fighting demons was one thing—they were predictable in their ferocity. But humans? Humans were calculated. Cunning. Ruthless.

Damon exchanged a glance with his teammates. “So what’s the catch?”

Miss Leana allowed a small smirk. “Whoever lands a hit on me gets a Grade Four Essence Core.”

That got their attention. Essence Cores were precious—especially at Grade Four. They could amplify strength, boost magical abilities, and even enhance endurance.

Daveon whistled. “Now that’s a prize.”

Anaya adjusted the wrappings around her wrists. “And the downside?”

“You’ll find out,” Miss Leana said, stepping back and drawing her twin blades.

The air around them shifted instantly. Gone was the guardian they laughed and trained with daily.

In her place stood a warrior who had commanded armies, who had seen more battles than they could count despite her seemingly young looks.

Damon swallowed hard. “Oh, this is so going to hurt.”

They spread out, years of training kicking in as they instinctively fell into a triangle formation.

Damon took the lead, his fingers and sword crackling with raw energy. Anaya stood prepared, ready to chant instant incantations and launch attacks, while Daveon’s hands hovered over the hilts of his twin daggers, ready to strike.

Damon attacked first. He dashed forward with a burst of speed, essence coiling around his sword as he aimed a strike at her side. Miss Leana sidestepped smoothly, her movement so fluid it was as if she had predicted his attack before he even launched it.

Boooom!!

The ground exploded as the sword tore through it.

Daveon was next. He swung one of his daggers in a feint, while the other arced toward her exposed flank.

Miss Leana twisted at the last second, catching Daveon’s blade between her own and flicking her wrist, sending his weapon flying.

Bang!

The blow that landed on Daveon’s chest sent him crashing a few metres away.

Anaya came from behind, her lightning conjured daggers slicing through the air with a scary voltage within them.

Miss Leana turned, blocking Anaya’s assault with the flat of her essence coated sword, before planting a well-placed kick into Anaya’s stomach.

“Ugh.” Anaya grunted as she stumbled back but recovered quickly. Her defensive items had acted at the last moment, blocking the attack from harming her.

“Faster,” Miss Leana instructed, her voice steady, unbothered. “Smarter.”

Damon gritted his teeth. They weren’t even scratching her defenses.

They needed to work together.

He signaled to Anaya and Daveon with a quick glance. Anaya nodded, adjusting her grip on her lightning daggers. Daveon flexed his fingers.

Damon feinted to the right before launching a burst of energy at her feet, aiming to disrupt her balance. At the same time, Daveon came from the left, slashing low. Anaya dashed in, aiming for a precise strike at her blind spot.

Miss Leana reacted instantly. She leapt into the air, avoiding Damon’s blast, twisted mid-air to deflect Daveon’s sword, and then—

Bang!

Pain exploded in her face.

A fist. Damon’s fist.

For the first time in the fight, Miss Leana staggered back a step.

There was a moment of stunned silence. Damon blinked at his hand, then at Miss Leana, who was touching the spot where his punch had landed.

Then he grinned. “I hit you.”

Daveon gaped. “No way.”

Anaya smirked. “Looks like we get that core, huh?”

Damon threw his fists in the air. “I actually—”

Miss Leana’s expression darkened.

Damon barely had time to react before she moved.

In an instant, the pressure in the air intensified. Before he could process what was happening, she struck.

A palm to his chest sent him flying backward.

A sweep of her leg took Anaya down before she could dodge.

Daveon barely lifted his weapon before he was met with a bone-crunching kick that sent him tumbling into a rocky formation.

Miss Leana moved like a storm, relentless and unstoppable. She chased after them, attacking before they were balanced and dealing even more damage to them.

Bang!

Boom!

Crack!

Boom!!

Damon was slammed into the ground violently.

“Arghh…” He groaned in pain but Miss Leana paid no attention to his pain.

“Never hit a woman’s face.” She uttered before slamming him into the ground again.

Booom!!

Within moments, all three of them were on the ground, bruised, breathless, and unable to so much as lift their hands.

Damon groaned. “Oww… What happened to the prize though?”

Miss Leana sighed, placing her hands on her hips. “You got too cocky.”

Damon coughed. “I mean, I did land a hit. Even though it also taught me to never hit A woman’s face.”

Anaya forced herself to smile. “Yeah, Damon. Never hit a lady’s face or better still, never hit one at all.”

“You did well,” Miss Leana admitted. “Which is why you’ll get the Essence Core.”

Damon grinned weakly, even as pain throbbed through his body.

Daveon groaned. “Worth it?”

Damon gave a thumbs-up. “Totally worth it.”

Miss Leana shook her head, but a small smile played at the corner of her lips. “Rest up. Tomorrow, we train again. No days off.”

“Training in this condition? No way.” The three groaned in unison.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep