Scavratt sat slouched in his oversized chair, one claw digging into the armrest, still seething.
His eyes flicked toward the flickering monitor on the wall.
No updates, no reports. No sign of the girl. No sign of the Heavenly Demon.
He grunted low. "Damn that bastard…"
Then—knock knock knock.
The door burst open.
Two underlings stumbled in, panting, eyes wide with panic.
Scavratt sat up, claws twitching. "You better have something."
They hesitated.
Scavratt's voice deepened, filled with threat.
"What happened? Did you find him?!"
The one in front shook his head quickly.
"N-no, boss… we didn't find the guy. But—"
"But what?"
Scavratt snapped, standing to his full height.
"Spit it out."
The second one jumped in, speaking fast.
"There's something going on near the west sector. CB-2 alley blocks—our patrols are going dark. One by one."
"What?"
Scavratt narrowed his eyes.
"You mean they're dying?"
"Worse," the first thug said, wiping sweat off his face.
"They're mutating."
"Mutating?"
Scavratt growled. "What the hell does that mean?"
"They're changing, boss," the second said.
"Like… foaming at the mouth, tearing shit apart. Then their heads just explode. Bodies vanish into smoke."
Scavratt blinked. "...What?"
"They're turning into monsters—C-Rank level berserkers, I swear it!"
"And then something's killing them right after," the other added, voice trembling.
"Clean shots. Sniper shots. Like—planned."
Scavratt's claws clenched into fists.
He stepped forward slowly, muscles rippling beneath his coat.
His rat face twitching with barely-contained rage.
"Heavenly Demon…"
The two underlings froze as the name left his mouth.
"I don't know how you did it…"
Scavratt growled, his voice deep.
"But you've managed to piss me off more than before."
He turned, glaring down at the two.
"Mutating my men? Blowing their heads off? Turning my district into a freak show?"
His lips curled, baring sharp teeth.
"You really think you can play God in my territory?"
Neither thug dared to answer.
Scavratt pointed a claw toward the door. "Show me the way. Now."
They both snapped into motion instantly.
"Y-yes, boss! This way—west blocks!"
"H-he's somewhere near the old power station alley!"
Scavratt snarled, following them out with a heavy stomp.
"You better not be lying."
The second thug gulped.
"N-no, sir! We wouldn't! It's real—he's up there, sniping and mutating the others!"
Scavratt's voice dropped as he walked.
"Good. Because if this Heavenly Demon wants a monster…"
He cracked his neck.
"I'll show him what a real one looks like."
---
Zain pulled the trigger one last time.
BOOM!
The final thug's mutated head burst mid-roar, splattering red across the cracked brick wall.
His corpse also dissolved into nothingness.
Zain leaned back from the scope, grinning.
"Wow," he muttered, stretching his arms with satisfaction.
"I'm really amazing."
He tapped the side of the rifle.
"To think I cooked that many… and racked up this much."
He opened his system with a thought.
---
[Hack Points: 6,780]
---
Zain smirked. "Almost ten thousand…"
He snapped the chamber open, loading another round. "Let's keep hunting."
But before he could move, something caught his eye, fading his grin.
Zain narrowed his eyes.
"…Shit."
Through the scope, he saw it.
Scavratt.
Stalking into the alley like a tank, flanked by a few survivors.
The air warped around him—rage pouring off his mutated body like heat.
Zain stepped back from the edge.
"How the hell is he here already?"
He tightened his grip on the rifle. "No way he tracked me this fast."
He exhaled sharply.
"Guess the boss rat came out to play after all."
He cracked his neck once, then looked at the second sniper still resting nearby.
"Fine."
He lifted the rifle with one hand and smirked again.
"Time for the main course."
---
Scavratt stomped into the alley.
His eyes scanned the destruction—walls scorched, bloodstains trailing into nothing.
He growled. "Is this the place?"
The two thugs behind him nodded quickly.
"Y-yeah, boss. This is where it happened. All of it."
Scavratt's eyes narrowed. "Then where are the corpses?"
One of the thugs shook his head.
"We don't know. I swear—they were just gone. Right after the heads exploded, their bodies vanished into the air."
Scavratt growled low. "The hell…?"
He crouched down, claws grazing over a pool of dried blood.
"What did that damn demon do?"
But before he could stand—plop—something bounced off the ground beside him.
Scavratt snapped his head to the side.
A red orb.
Small. Round. Oozing with faint steam.
"What the hell is—?"
CRACK!
A sniper shot struck the orb mid-roll—Zain's Blast Breath igniting the sphere on impact.
BOOM!
The blood grenade exploded, a burst of crimson energy laced with volatile heat.
Scavratt stumbled back, covering his face as the air around him shook.
But the true damage landed behind him.
Shards of the blood grenade.
Sharpened glass-like fragments infused with Zain's tainted blood.
The shards injured and entered the bodies of the nearby thugs.
The thugs screamed, staggered and collapsed.
Then twitched.
Then howled.
One by one, their flesh distorted.
Eyes reddened.
Their limbs cracked and stretched as the Blood Rage Mutation took over.
Three thugs. Now berserker monsters.
Snarling. Frothing.
Turning on everything around them—including Scavratt.
On the rooftop, Zain loaded another shot, his eyes glowing.
He whispered with a smirk, "Here's my gift to you, Scavratt."
The berserkers lunged.
Scavratt looked up, eyes wide with fury.
"You freak!" he bellowed, his voice shaking the walls.
His claws flexed, and his tail slammed into the ground, cracking stone beneath his feet.
He pointed toward the rooftop.
"Did you really think this would stop me?!"
Zain stood on the ledge above, calm as ever.
Both sniper rifles still slung over his shoulders.
"No," he replied with a smirk.
"I know they won't stop you."
He tilted his head slightly as the three berserkers screamed and lunged toward Scavratt, blind with rage.
"But they'll hold you back. Long enough."
Scavratt's eyes snapped to the berserkers rushing at him.
His own men, now twisted into monsters.
Zain continued, voice sharper now.
"So now... good luck killing your own men."
He raised two fingers in a mock salute, then stepped backward right into a mirror shard embedded in the rooftop.
SHRRK.
He vanished.
Scavratt's roar split the air. "DEEEEEEMOOOOON!!!!"
The berserkers lunged.
Scavratt snarled, claws raised.
"I'LL RIP THROUGH EVERY ONE OF YOU AND HUNT HIM DOWN MYSELF!"