Kaiden, while barreling through one wall after the other, had noticed something in the chaos.

Something that didn't fit.

Traditionally, dungeon breaks were hell made worse. Monsters stepping through a gate weren't the same creatures that awakened would face inside.

They were empowered, swollen with new strength. Taking the undead from the D-rank Hollow of Endless Hunger as an example, inside the dungeon, they were around level 25, but once spilling onto Earth, they would rapidly evolve to maybe even reach level 75. This was why dungeon breaks had to be prevented at any cost.

Yet the kill feed told a different story.

[You've slain Winged Ravager (Level 28).]

[You've gained 1,239 XP.]

No power-ups. No grotesque evolutions. These were baseline dungeon monsters, the same ones that appeared inside, not warped avatars of destruction. It was wrong. Everything humanity knew about dungeon breaks was being contradicted before his very eyes.

But Kaiden didn't get the luxury of pondering mysteries.

The towering monster in front of them, plated in jagged black carapace, radiated menace with its mere existence as it blocked their path forward.

"This big bastard must've come from deeper inside…" Kaiden muttered grimly. "After the initial swarm of the nearest monsters to the gate, the ones lurking further within are starting to spill out. Things are only going to get worse from here on out."

Before Sarah could even take another breath, a new sound cut through the chaos. The thunder of dozens of claws slamming against stone. From behind, the path they had carved was already being reclaimed. Dozens more monsters flooded in, pulled by the scent of concentrated human prey. The survivors pressed tighter together, their terrified cries becoming more and more desperate as shadows filled both ends of the corridor.

There was no time left.

Kaiden's decision was instant. "Forward's the path." He flexed his hand, and the Blood Monarch's gauntlet responded instantly. A heartbeat later, his greatsword materialized in a storm of blood, vibrating with hunger. "Let's go, my Moon and Space babes. Back me up."

He began moving toward the monster with measured steps. His every stride was a promise of carnage. On the way, he caught the trembling Sarah by the shoulder and firmly shoved her behind him, followed by her stunned mother.

Sarah yelped at the touch while stumbling back, but when her eyes rose to his face, her lips parted in awe. The sheer will burning in his crimson eyes stole the breath from her lungs. Her eyes began shining.

"He's already taken." Aria's voice dripped with venomous sweetness as she marched after her man. Her gaze narrowed sharply at Sarah, making the girl freeze under the weight of possessive jealousy.

"Careful, Princeless Princess," Nyx chuckled darkly as her fingers sparked with spatial distortion. "This kitten does a lot more than meow."

"… I know!" Sarah squealed excitedly. She was the target of the yandere princess's seething jealousy! The girl never expected to meet her idols, let alone feel their personas shine so brightly in her presence! She was saved by the Blood Knight and even got to experience Nyx's laidback attitude!

This day was no longer as catastrophic as it seemed.

Not aware of the thoughts of the hopeless woman, the three of them advanced together.

Behind them, Luna and Bastet stood shoulder to shoulder, cutting down the tide of beasts that threatened to overrun the rear. Lightning lanced through the alley while solar fire bathed the walls in molten brilliance.

Ahead, Kaiden, Aria, and Nyx moved forward. Their presence itself was cutting through the suffocating fear in the air. To the huddled civilians, it was a sight carved into legend: crimson wrath, lunar divinity, and spatial dominion walking as one to face a terrifying creature.

The little boy they had saved first clung to his mother's side, but his wide eyes never left Kaiden's back. To him, the bloody warrior was larger than life. Tiny fingers reached out instinctively, as though if he could just touch the man's silhouette, some of that impossible strength might spill into him. His lips parted, but no sound came.

Ahead, Kaiden never slowed. His steps were heavy, deliberate. Aria and Nyx stopped in unison, letting him advance alone.

Aria lifted her staff, which began glowing as lunar radiance pooled at the tip.

The divine power of the moon obeyed her call.

Beside her, Nyx raised both hands. Her expression shifted from playful to deadly.

She pulled every shard of debris Kaiden and the monster had shattered in their rampage earlier, suspending it in a telekinetic dance.

Kaiden's slow, steady stride broke into a sprint.

"[Bloodrush]!"

Bloodrush: Your path is paved in fire and ruin. Each step, each dash, is another heartbeat closer to carnage.

Crimson energy exploded beneath his boots. Every step cracked the stone, every dash accelerated into the next. The distance between him and the towering beast shrank in an instant.

Above and behind, Aria unleashed her lunar barrage. Crescent bolts screamed across the alley, each one carving silvery streaks through the darkness as they hammered into the monster's plated hide.

Nyx's fingers twitched. The debris she had gathered flew out as warped space accelerated them to reach impossible speeds. Shattered wood, broken steel, and splintered stone whistled through the air.

But the beast roared and pressed forward, entering the building with its giant bulk, which served to give Nyx even more ammunition.

Kaiden pointed his greatsword at the giant monster. Crimson Wrath erupted outward in a torrent of fire and chaos as [Infernal Torrent] was cast.

The cone of searing flame engulfed the monster, swallowing it whole. Its flesh blistered while its carapace turned red-hot, glowing from the sheer heat. The ground around it burned and smoked. Every step it took left smoldering ash behind.

Yet the beast did not fall.

It roared defiantly through the flames, from the lunar projectiles, from Nyx's barrage. Its immense armor shielded it from annihilation.

But Kaiden never stopped. His crimson eyes locked onto its burning form. No hesitation.

His path was fire. His path was ruin. His path was Bloodrush.

And he was already upon it.

The crimson flare beneath Kaiden's boots burned brighter, faster, hotter. His charge became a blur, the ground cracking and splitting in his wake. When he lunged, it was like a thunderclap had struck Sarah's ruined home. A shockwave blast outward from the force of his leap.

"[Doomrend]!"

His greatsword came down on the monster like judgment itself. Chaos flared along the edge, fractures spiderwebbing across the monster's carapace. The beast staggered backward, screeching.

But Kaiden wasn't done.

His crimson aura rippled violently, then dimmed. For one heartbeat, silence fell. Then the colors inverted. Red fury turned into deep indigo, a violet luminance that radiated command instead of carnage. Where Wrath burned with destruction, this aura was one with dominance, especially as sigils of light sparked into existence around his frame.

"Stance: Pride."

The very air thickened. The civilians watching sucked in sharp breaths as Kaiden's presence grew overwhelming, in an entirely different manner than before. The weight of superiority pressed down on the room. He was no longer simply a warrior drenched in wrath. He was an emperor of arcane ruin.

The monster recoiled from the sudden shift.

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