Sam Li gripped the Vortex Vanquisher tightly as he stepped toward the Butcher of the Dead End.
At the same time...
In another part of the Hollows of the Dead End, on a street thousands of meters away from Sam Li, a wolf-like human dressed in a gentleman's suit and fully armed walked in the lead.
Behind him followed a young girl in a maid outfit, carrying a massive chainsaw. Her body was covered in nails, chains, and shackles. She looked fragile and timid, constantly scanning her surroundings with caution.
Suddenly, the door of a nearby building was kicked open, and a giant pair of scissors appeared in the doorway.
Moments later, a girl wearing a standard maid uniform—with a maid bonnet on her head and black stockings on her legs—slowly emerged from the abandoned building. The nearly person-sized scissors were clearly her weapon.
What stood out most was that this girl was a rare shark-human. The large shark tail swaying behind her was particularly eye-catching.
Seeing how casually the shark girl carried herself, Lycaon immediately frowned.
"Ellen, keep it down. Don't attract the Butcher of the Dead End."
Ellen sucked on a lollipop and replied carelessly, "Got it, boss. That big guy's not here. Even if he shows up, we'll just take him out."
To her, taking down the Butcher of the Dead End seemed like no big deal.
Hearing Ellen's remark, the girl with the chainsaw grew even more anxious.
"Take out... the Butcher of the Dead End? Can Corin really handle that?"
Ellen responded naturally, "It's not like you're going to fight him alone. Don't worry, Corin—we've got your back."
However, Lycaon had gone through a lot of trouble to lure the Butcher away, and he wasn't about to risk undoing that.
He immediately cut off their conversation.
"Ellen, don't underestimate the Butcher of the Dead End. Most people only know its initial form. Its true form is the [Meal Stance]. We don't have any high-power weapons right now, so we can't take it head-on."
That's why Lycaon had spent days planning and scheming, just to lure the Butcher out of its territory and create an opening.
Now, they had a rare chance to infiltrate its lair and complete their mission.
So far, everything had gone according to plan. If they could find the required item, it would be a complete success.
Just then, another figure in a maid outfit floated down from a rooftop.
She drifted through the air like a weightless ghost, her movements effortless and fluid.
"Lord Lycaon, I didn't find the item mentioned in the commission," she said, "but... I did find something interesting."
Lycaon turned. "Rina, what did you find?"
Rina descended from the roof, still hovering slightly above the ground.
"I saw the Butcher of the Dead End. Looks like it's locked onto some unlucky Hollow Raider. We don't need to worry about it coming back for now."
Lycaon let out a sigh of relief.
That meant they had more time to complete their task.
"Keep searching, everyone. Try to find the item listed in the commission within the next twenty minutes."
With that, Lycaon pulled a bangboo from his coat, glanced at the map around them, and headed toward the building ahead.
But—
Before anyone could enter...
Suddenly—
Lycaon shouted, "Corin, move—!"
The moment the words left his mouth, he spun around instantly. Using the momentum of the turn, he lifted his leg and kicked backward.
With a loud crash, he shattered a massive concrete slab.
Ellen quipped, "Did that slab grow wings?"
Startled, Corin asked, "Lord Lycaon, are you alright? Did we run into an enemy?"
Lycaon stared toward the direction the slab had come from. "Rina, stay alert—"
No need for the warning.
Rina was already floating in the air, hovering like a kite caught in the wind.
She narrowed her eyes and stared into the distance...
Rina's expression suddenly shifted.
"Lord Lycaon, we've got a problem. The Butcher of the Dead End is charging toward us at full speed. Estimated time of arrival: thirty seconds. No—its speed just increased... twenty seconds..."
At her words, the faces of Ellen, Lycaon, and Corin all changed.
It happened too suddenly.
According to their original plan, they had already lured the Butcher of the Dead End away. They were supposed to have at least twenty minutes to complete the mission.
No one expected it to come back so soon.
Ellen, already irritated, now looked even more impatient as she raised the giant scissors in one hand.
"Boss, the monster's coming. Want me to fight it?"
Corin clutched her chainsaw tightly.
"Can Corin even win?"
Lycaon shook his head and made a decisive call.
"Abandon the commission for now—evacuate immediately."
As much as he hated to do it, there was no other choice.
The next moment, just as the group started moving, a deafening crash erupted behind them.
Lycaon glanced back. The moment he saw the Butcher of the Dead End, he immediately frowned.
It was faster than he'd imagined.
Barely ten seconds had passed, and yet the Butcher had already appeared less than a hundred meters away. Its massive body slammed into a building, half of it wedged inside, nearly knocking the whole structure down.
Seeing the Butcher's enraged state and the faint glow emanating from its body, Lycaon repeated his order, this time with even more urgency.
"Don't waste time. Mission's canceled. Move!"
This wasn't just a precaution—it was critical. Judging from the Butcher's current condition, it was nearing the threshold of distortion.
If they didn't evacuate in time and ended up being targeted by a fully distorted Butcher, even they might not make it out alive.
As Lycaon, Ellen, Rina, and Corin began to retreat...
The Butcher, still lodged in the building, spotted them.
A flash of red lit up its eyes. It let out a furious roar—directed behind itself—then tore free from the concrete and steel.
It charged in Lycaon and Ellen's direction.
Or rather, it fled past them.
Because right behind it, a man wielding a spear was relentlessly chasing it down.
That man was Sam Li.
From the moment he decided to take out the Butcher of the Dead End, he had been on the offensive—relentlessly attacking. But after only a few hits, the Butcher had unexpectedly stopped resisting and opted to run.
"It can sense the threat of Geo energy... and it has the awareness to escape. Looks like it does have some level of intelligence."
That made the fight far more interesting.
Better than just pummeling a sandbag that doesn't move.
However, with the Butcher now fleeing, it would take Sam Li a little longer to finish the job. Still, it was a good opportunity to study more about Ethereal combat behavior—both a challenge and a benefit.
The next second, Sam Li decided to pick up the pace.
As soon as his feet hit the ground...
Geo energy burst from his body, channeling through his legs. The earth beneath him flashed with brilliant golden light.
In an instant—
Boom!
Sam Li shot into the air like a cannonball, leaving a deep crack in the ground where he stood.
...