[Devour Activated… You've gained a new skill: Fireball (E)]

Draven stared at the notification in front of him emotionlessly before darting his gaze toward another gangster who tried to crawl away after witnessing the death of his colleague.

An animalistic bloodlust glinted in his eyes, now bright red. Without a shred of remorse, he pounced on his new target, killing him in the same manner he had dealt with his previous victims.

Blood drained, hearts consumed, and the gangster's futile struggle ceased as his body slumped to the ground.

[Devour Activated… You've obtained 3 Agility points]

Draven felt the ethereal sensation spread through his system. It was thrilling and invigorating, unlike anything he had ever felt. He was already addicted.

Although he had witnessed much death in the Deadlight District, including the death of his own parents, he had never actually taken a life. Even as a sociopath, he had never truly considered killing.

Until he met Zareth… a Lunaris.

A being he should have feared, one that should have killed him.

But the result of their encounter was different.

Zareth had not only offered him his greatest wish but had also given him another reason to live… something that made him feel alive.

After consuming the awakening crystal, his dormant system revealed itself, and he awakened a talent no one had ever heard of—Devour.

He could eat anything.

Food… poison… beasts… humans… everything that exists.

One minor effect was that he could not be harmed by what he consumed. He was not only unaffected by poisonous substances but even gained increased resistance to them.

But the greatest benefit came from consuming humans, especially hunters like himself. Since he received and understood this power, he ensured he used it to the fullest.

Doing something he had always wanted.

Removing his focus from the fading notification, his eyes scanned the area around him.

More than sixty men lay on the ground, half of them dead with their hearts missing, and the others crippled to prevent them from running away.

The ones still alive, scared shitless, began to plead and cry for their lives.

"Is this about the incident with your parents ten years ago?" one of them asked, his tattooed face twisted, now filled with tears and snorts.

"I am a new recruit. If I was there on that day, I would've prevented everything from happening."

"I'm sorry! I should've never joined this gang!"

Their voices echoed across the lonely streets.

But Draven simply stared without responding or moving.

He recalled the day they spoke about.

His father was one of the seven founders of the Leon brothers.

The initial purpose of the brotherhood was to protect the weak from violent gangs and provide for the hungry by stealing from others that lived outside the Deadlight District.

With his hard work and honesty, the gang was soon known and loved amongst the abandoned areas. People respected them, and under their gentle rulership, peace reigned.

But just like every other brotherhood ever created, the other members became greedy. They preferred to be feared rather than respected, and they wanted to engage in the black market, which his father opposed.

Because of his refusal to allow such changes in the gang, he was ambushed and killed by the other six founders, known as the big Leons.

On that day, he watched it all take place. He heard everything.

The event brought about a dark change in his life and perspective of the world around him.

Ever since he grew up to understand what had actually transpired, getting revenge became one of his priorities.

Hence, immediately after obtaining his powers, he challenged the gang.

As the scene of his mother pleading for her life replayed in his mind, his gaze grew fierce, and he stomped toward his next target.

Minutes passed, and almost all the men on the ground were dead, except one who was missing a leg.

The middle-aged gangster, like the others, wanted nothing but to escape and hide from this devil in front of him for the rest of his life.

"Where are the big Leons?" Draven asked coldly.

The gangster shivered at the icy tone.

"I-I am just a low-rank member in the gang. You've to believe me!"

He shifted backward as he answered.

But Draven's expression remained the same, making the man's heart crumble with dread even further.

Without him even asking again, the gangster began to plead for his life.

Draven listened for a short while. Seeing that he was just as useless as the others, he killed him and consumed his heart.

He quickly opened his system to check his stats and skills.

━━━〔 STATS 〕━━━

Strength: 35 | Agility: 47

Vitality: 14 | Intelligence: 31

━━━〔 SKILLS 〕━━━

Unique: Devour (SSS) | Regeneration (S)

Passive: Lion's Strength (F) | Tracking (D) | Fire Resistance (E) | Earth Resistance (E)

Active: Fireball (E) | Flame Boots (E) | Earth Wall (D)…

He had over ten skills. They could've been more. Nonetheless, each time he obtained the same skill, it would merge with the former, increasing in rank and effect. Example: Tracking, originally F-rank, rose to C-rank after acquiring it from dozens of gangsters.

Another unique part of the system he had awakened was that he did not gain experience points and level up like others.

According to Zareth, it was the uniqueness of the awakening crystal he had consumed.

While Draven scanned the details with emotionless eyes, Zareth materialized out of the shadow of a nearby demolished building, an evil spark in his eyes as he observed the corpses on the ground.

"A human who despised other humans just like me…" he thought. "I knew I picked the perfect candidate."

As if sensing his presence through his newly obtained Tracking skill, Draven tilted his head toward Zareth.

The bloodlust in his eyes had already calmed, replaced by a reverent expression as he gazed at the Lunaris, who began walking closer.

"How do you feel, Draven?" Zareth asked with a smile.

"Stronger…" Draven responded, his voice remaining emotionless.

Zareth's smile brightened. He had expected such a response. He had purposely given him the awakening crystals for this sole reason.

"Have you thought about my words yet?" he asked after a small pause.

Draven did not respond immediately, seeming to contemplate his answer.

Zareth spoke further to make his offer more irresistible.

"Remember, with your sister possessing similar power as you, no harm would come to her, and she would be unaffected by the disease that drifts through the stinky air in this place," he said.

Draven listened but continued to contemplate. He wanted his sister to be safe and healthy at all times. The awakening crystal could fulfill that if she consumed it.

Nevertheless—

She would become like him.

I am strong… stronger than I have ever been, but I have to kill to evolve… he pondered inwardly.

He could not allow his sister to become like him.

He could not allow her to follow the same path he was following.

There was power, but it came at a psychological cost, one that ate away at one's humanity gradually till they became the monsters they once feared.

He had long since regarded himself as inhuman. He rarely felt human feelings. He could witness the deaths of thousands without flinching. Unlike kids his age, he had grown used to gore at an unnatural level.

Draven thought harder.

The risk of the awakening crystal far outweighed the benefits.

There it was… his response.

Concluding in his mind, he turned to meet Zareth's expectant gaze. "I can protect my sister."

What a shame.

Zareth sighed inwardly, expecting to turn the two siblings into his first puppets.

Regardless, he was still glad he had found a trump card like Draven.

"What do you plan to do next?" he asked.

"Eradicate the entire Leon brotherhood," Draven replied plainly.

"But you realized you'd have to get stronger than your current self to defeat the leaders of the gang, right?" Zareth asked.

While he could definitely take on the entire Leon gang by himself, he had decided to leave it all to Draven. This way, he would not only grow stronger but also lose even more of the humanity still lingering in his blood.

"It is a simple and methodical plan."

"I know," Draven responded.

The six big Leons were rumored to possess powers comparable to C-rank hunters. With his current strength, he posed no threat to them.

Zareth knew that as well. "What do you plan to do about it?" he asked.

Draven thought about it.

Since most of his growth came from consuming stronger opponents, he decided it would be best to venture into the feared danger zones to test his ability on monsters.

The Deadlight District did not lack danger zones. In fact, it had the highest ratio of danger zones per area compared to the five great nations, mostly because the people here rarely bothered to step into them.

Even the gangs did not concern themselves with such matters.

Thus, almost once every week, breaks occurred and people were killed.

The gangs would only step up once the breaks occurred, using the predicament as an opportunity to extort more money from the people.

So he decided…

He would clear all of them, grow stronger, exalt his revenge on the Leon brotherhood.

And only then would he join the Lunaris to conquer Arden.

....

A/N

I don't usually dive this deeply into side characters, but Draven is becoming a crucial one, so this chapter focuses on him.

I'd love to hear your honest thoughts on it.

Thanks for reading!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.