Outside, in the bustling and hustling dungeon market, the air was far calmer than what it was near the gate, at least at the moment.

A blonde woman wandered from stall to stall, chewing lazily on a corndog. She wore short pants that had ketchup marks all over it, an oversized shirt that hung loose around her frame, and mismatched slippers.

In her other hand? A can of beer, already halfway gone.

"Luxy! You killed that boulderback herd in two hours, right? Unreal!" a passing worker waved, grinning.

"Luxy! Join our group, we can make lot of money and a name for ourselves." a younger hunter called, clutching her badge.

"Yo, Luxy! Heard you almost solo'd a miniboss—true?"

Luxy lifted her beer in lazy salute, grinning with grease on her cheek. "Heh. Maybe. Maybe not. As long as I get my food, who cares?"

The crowd laughed.

She was the new sensation—an indie dungeon hunter who had somehow clawed her way to the top without the backing of a big guild. Hunters admired her, merchants adored her, and locals gossiped about her constantly. But one thing nobody knew about her was where she came from—after all, one day she had simply appeared out of nowhere.

And Luxy? She was happiest with a corndog in her mouth and a beer in hand. Though deep down, she knew she'd be even happier if she could just sit on her sofa and play games all day."

But then—

Her hand froze. The corndog slipped from her lips. The beer can slipped from her fingers, spilling across the dirt.

Her grin faded. Sweat rolled down her temple.

"…Tch."

The market's usual chatter was shattered by a blaring siren. The sound echoed across the stalls, sharp and urgent.

Hunters froze mid-step. Merchants dropped crates. Children started crying.

Everyone knew what that siren meant—Evacuate. Dungeon breach.

"Move! Get out of the district!" officers shouted, herding panicked crowds toward the gates.

Shops slammed shutters. Stalls tipped over in the rush. Boots thundered against stone as the district transformed into chaos.

Luxy, however, stood perfectly still amid the fleeing crowd. Her eyes narrowed, golden hair swaying as she clenched her fists.

"This is gonna be annoying," she muttered.

The sirens wailed louder. Smoke rose near the dungeon gates where Kyouka and Selene had been thrown moments earlier. Soldiers scrambled. Hunters shouted.

Luxy cracked her neck, muttering to herself in a quiet tone.

"…Ren needs to know about this. As quickly as possible!"

***

Amanda's car slowed to a stop in front of the famillar two-story house. She didn't even bother putting it in park before turning to Ren. Her glasses slid a little down her nose, exposing her sharp eyes.

"Go inside, Ren." she muttered. "Tell Misa everything went fine. And don't say a word about Lan Xinyue."

Ren raised an eyebrow, already unbuckling his seatbelt. "I know."

Amanda leaned a little closer, voice low and warning. "If you tell her, she won't send you with me again. Understand?"

Ren scowled, pushing the car door open. "I know. Stop treating me like a child, Amanda."

"Yeah, yeah," Amanda said, dismissing him with a flick of her wrist. "Go on. I'm already late for my duty calls."

Her phone buzzed right on cue. She answered with a clipped, "Amanda speaking," then sped off the moment Ren's feet hit the pavement, her taillights vanishing around the corner.

Ren stood there for a moment, staring at the empty street. "Sheesh…" He shoved his hands into his pockets, walking up the path to his door. "Should I go for this woman? But it feels like she is the only woman in this world I didn't feel any lust toward. She is a beautiful woman so I wonder why?"

The house was quiet—eerily so. Hiyori had gone out earlier, and Misa wasn't home yet either. Ren locked the door behind him, an automatic motion born of habit.

He tossed his shoes aside and stepped into the living room.

"…Alone," he murmured, glancing around. It was rare for the house to feel this empty.

And dangerous.

The image of the Faceless Woman flickered across his mind. That thing… that nightmare.

He clenched his fists in anger. "How dare she treat me like I am some kind of a toy...next time I am going to make her regret everything,"

It was all the more reason to be alone. He wasn't scared—not anymore. He was motivated. The next time she appeared, he'd kill her.

Ren exhaled slowly, letting the tension bleed out. He dropped onto the sofa with a groan, staring at the ceiling.

"Bath later," he muttered. "Some TV first."

The remote sat just out of reach on the coffee table. Ren stretched his arm lazily toward it—then stopped.

A thin golden thread shot out from his fingertips, coiling around the remote like a snake. It zipped back into his hand.

Click.

Ren blinked at the remote now resting in his palm. His mouth went dry. "…What?"

He stared at his hand, then at the remote, then back at his hand again. "Wait… I didn't… I didn't do that on purpose…"

His heart started to hammer. Up until now, he'd barely been able to draw a pebble with his Imperial Qi, and that had taken effort. This—this was instinctual.

"Okay…" he whispered. "Okay, try something else…"

His eyes darted to the wall switch by the fan. He pointed a trembling finger. A thread flickered again—just a flicker—and the switch flipped.

Whirrrrr.

The fan blades spun to life above him.

Ren's breath caught. "Oh…"

His hands shook as he pulled up his status screen. The familiar blue panel flickered to life in front of him, but this time…

Name: Ren Arakawa

Level: [4]

Blessing: Yandere Believer

Sex: Male

[Attributes]

STR (Strength): 2

AGI (Agility): 2

VIT (Vitality): 6

INT (Intelligence): 4

CHAR (Charm): 10

[Skills]

Heartsteal – [Level 1]

Imperial Qi – [Level 2] – A noble, domineering aura inherited from the Lan family bloodline. Greatly enhances physical presence and recovery during intimacy or battle and the Imperial Qi strands can be manifested.

[Affection Tracker]

??? – 100%+ (MAXED OUT — RUN.)

Lan Meiling – 80% (You're mine, my beloved!)

Tachibana Kyouka – 50% (Deep connection)

Tachibana Hiyori – 30% (Growing attachment)

Tachibana Misa – 50% (50/50 gamble on love… Still not decided)

Annaliese Morgenstern (Anna) – 50% (Dangerous zone… approaching!)

Ren stared. The numbers stared back.

"Level… two?" His voice cracked. "It leveled up? But how? I didn't…"

Then it hit him. A cold, crawling realization slithered down his spine.

Lan Meiling's affection had jumped. By twenty percent. Without him doing a thing.

Ren's stomach turned. "That dream… wasn't a dream, was it? This proves it because that's the only inetraction I had that justify this increase."

Images flashed behind his eyes, Meiling's smile, the hospital-like room, the golden thread, the shifting scenery of several women who looked like him or like Meiling standing around him—while Meiling went absolutely hog wild on his pelvis, even to the point of breaking it.

He slammed the status screen closed with a hiss. "Shit…"

He scrubbed a hand down his face. Think. Who could help? Who could possibly understand what's going on here?

One name surfaced, as clear as a voice in his ear.

Luxy.

Ren sat up. "Right. Luxy will know something. She has to."

He was already standing, halfway to the door, when a sound from upstairs froze him mid-step.

Thump.

His head snapped toward the staircase. Another sound, a muffled grunt.

"…What the hell?"

The house was supposed to be empty.

Ren's pulse spiked. He darted to the kitchen, yanking open a drawer and pulling out a knife. The blade gleamed under the dim light.

He moved quietly, step by step, up the stairs. The air felt heavier up here, the kind of oppressive quiet that made his ears ring.

He reached his bedroom door, knife poised, and pushed it open.

The sight that greeted him almost made him drop the blade.

A woman lay sprawled on his floor, butt in the air like she'd just fallen from the ceiling. Blonde hair spilled everywhere. An oversized shirt and short pants.

A familiar scent, grease and beer.

"…Luxy?" Ren blurted.

The woman's head shot up. Her eyes were wide, her face pale. "Ren… Ren… Ren…" She scrambled onto her knees, muttering his name like a mantra.

"Luxy, what the hell are you doing here?" He lowered the knife slightly, but his grip stayed tight. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Luxy's hands trembled as she brushed hair from her face. "Things are getting complicated…" she muttered, half to herself.

Ren stepped closer. "Complicated how? And why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"

Luxy's gaze darted to the window, then back at him. She crawled closer, grabbing his sleeve with surprising strength. Her voice dropped to a frantic whisper.

"An angel is here."

Ren blinked. "…What?"

Luxy shook her head, golden hair swaying. "You don't get it. The sirens at the market? Dungeon breach. I was there hunting and making my name, but…" She swallowed hard. "This isn't a normal breach as they claim it is. This is something else. Something that connects to us."

Ren crouched down, still holding the knife. "An angel. You're serious?"

Her nails dug into his arm. "Dead serious. Wings, light, everything. Not like the stories—not like the blessings we get. This thing… it's hunting."

Ren felt the blood drain from his face. "Hunting what?"

Luxy's eyes bored into his. "Well obviously you.."

Silence.

Ren almost laughed. Almost. But the look in Luxy's eyes killed the sound in his throat. She wasn't joking.

"I… me?" His voice cracked again. "Why would an angel hunt me? Don't tell me that goddess of yours wants to kill me now."

"I don't know… but she's here. What do we do?" Luxy asked. Ren stared back at her, as if she expected him to have the answer, when he was just as lost as she was.