Chapter 25 : Hunt

For three days, Dylan moves like a phantom in the night—striking down every last one of the Overseer's strongholds, tearing through hybrids and evolved soldiers without mercy.

Warehouse after warehouse, he raids and destroys. But still, no sign of Tang Su Ah.

Now, standing amidst the burning wreckage of yet another facility, he exhales sharply, his blade dripping with blood. The last body falls at his feet, the warehouse silent except for the crackling flames.

Then—a chill runs down his spine.

A cold presence slithers into the air, suffocating and oppressive.

Dylan knows this feeling.

Slowly, he turns, muscles tensing as a familiar voice echoes through the darkness.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you, halfling."

From the shadows, the Overseer steps forward, his lips curling into a mocking smirk. His piercing eyes gleam with amusement as he surveys the destruction around him.

"I was wondering who the little rat was—scurrying around, destroying my warehouses."

Dylan grips his weapon tighter, his expression unreadable.

Finally.

The hunt is over.

And now, the real fight begins.

----

Dylan's grip tightens on his blade, his eyes cold and unwavering as he faces the Overseer.

"Have you visited your other half?" The Overseer's voice drips with mockery, his smirk widening. "He's still confined in that subspace—imprisoned for eternity."

Dylan remains silent, but his jaw clenches.

The Overseer chuckles darkly. "With only half of your strength, do you truly believe you can win against me?"

Dylan exhales slowly, his stance steady. "Strength?" His lips curve into a small, humorless smirk. "You think strength is the only thing that matters?"

He lifts his sword, the steel gleaming under the dim light. "You talk too much, Overseer." His gaze sharpens. "Let's see if you can back it up."

Without hesitation,he launches forward.

---

Steel clashes against steel, the sharp ring of metal slicing through the air as Dylan and the Overseer exchange blows. Sparks fly as Dylan's blade meets the Overseer's razor-sharp claws, each strike sending shockwaves through the ruined warehouse.

Dylan grits his teeth, his movements precise and relentless. But no matter how fiercely he attacks, the Overseer barely seems fazed—dodging, deflecting, and countering with effortless precision.

Then, the Overseer sighs. "The Dragon King… reduced to this."He smirks, easily parrying another strike before slashing forward, forcing Dylan back.

"How disappointing."

The Overseer straightens, flicking the blood off his claws. "Even with only half your former self, I expected more from you." His crimson eyes gleam with amusement. "You can't even make me take this fight seriously. How boring."

Dylan breathes heavily, his grip tightening around his sword. He wipes the blood from his lip, eyes burning with determination.

"Then maybe it's time I stop holding back."

Lightning crackles around his blade, the air shifting as his aura flares. The real fight begins now.

The Overseer tilts his head, eyes gleaming with cruel amusement as he easily sidesteps Dylan's next strike. His claws dance through the air, countering every slash with effortless grace.

Then, with a low chuckle, he whispers a name—"Kaelen, Kaelen, Kaelen…"

Dylan's blade falters for just a fraction of a second.

The Overseer smirks. "Have you really become this weak? Even with your hybrid power?" His voice is taunting, filled with mockery. "Or should I say… do you even deserve that name anymore?"

Dylan says nothing, but his grip tightens.

The Overseer continues, circling him like a predator. "You call yourself Dylan now. Hiding behind a new identity, pretending you're someone else."His smirk widens. "After you separated from your main body and gained consciousness, you tried so hard to hinder my plans from the shadows."

He stops, his gaze darkening. "But why?" His tone shifts, turning almost mocking. "Why step out now? Why reveal yourself so boldly after all this time?"

Dylan exhales slowly, lifting his sword again. His eyes burn with quiet fury.

"Because I'm done hiding."His voice is firm, unwavering. "And this time, I'm taking everything back."

Before Dylan existed, there was Kaelen.

Kaelen, who nearly met his end in the hand of Overseer, his body battered and broken. As his life force flickered, the Core—a powerful entity known as Milena—manifested physically to save him. But even with its immense energy, Kaelen's body could not be fully restored.

His consciousness faded into a coma, and Milena, in an act of desperation, transported him into a subspace, where he would remain suspended in time.

Then, Milena vanished.

In its place, left behind in the void—was an egg.

A dragon's egg.

The Overseer found the egg and took it into his care, sensing the immense power slumbering within. He placed it in an incubator, nurturing it with his advanced knowledge and twisted ambitions.

Three years passed.What hatched was not a beast, but a boy.

His body bore dragon scales, his blood pulsed with Kaelen's lost essence. But unlike humans, he grew rapidly, reaching full maturity within those short years.

The Overseer saw a weapon in him. A being with dragon blood and the power of a hybrid—a perfect pawn for his plans.

Before the Overseer could mold him into his tool,the Prophetess intervened.

She stole the dragon-born child away in the dead of night, risking her own life to ensure he would never be used for destruction. She raised him, nurtured him, and gave him a new name—Dylan.

Under her care, he learned how to live, how to think beyond instinct. But something always felt incomplete.

Years later, visions began haunting him.

Flashes of memories that are not his—a man working in a lab, a face that looked exactly like his own.

Confused and restless, he turned to the Prophetess for answers.

She gazed at him with sorrowful eyes and finally spoke:

"These memories… belong to your other half. The man you see is Kaelen. You are the piece that was left behind."

Dylan clenched his fists, his mind reeling from the truth.

He is not whole.

He is the fragment that had been severed.

---

Earlier deep beneath the abandoned hospital laboratory, in the cold, sterile depths of a hidden warehouse, Tang Su Ah emerges once more.

But the girl who steps forward is not the same.

The light in her eyes is gone. Her once defiant spirit, shattered. She moves without hesitation, without resistance, like a machine programmed only to obey.

The Overseer watches her with a satisfied smirk. "Look at you now, my dear Su Ah." He steps closer, tilting her chin up with a single finger. "No more fear. No more hesitation. Just perfect, mindless obedience."

She does not flinch. She does not react.

She simply awaits his command.

The brutal torture, the endless cycle of pain and conditioning, has stripped her of everything—her will, her memories, her self.

Now, she is nothing more than a tool in the Overseer's hands.**

"Su Ah," he commands, his voice laced with amusement. "Find your sister, Tang Su Yan... and bring her to me."

For a moment, silence lingers.

Then, with mechanical precision, Su Ah bows.

"Yes, Overseer."

Without hesitation, she turns and walks away, her body moving with eerie efficiency.

The Overseer chuckles darkly. "Let's see how well Su Yan fights when it's her own sister standing in her way."