[NO HUNTERS NEARBY]

Eli fucked up.

He fucked up badly.

He was an idiot. A naive, reckless idiot.

He hadn't even considered that he might've misread the system's vague little riddle.

And now? Now an ogre—a hulking, snarling, bone-cracking ogre—was barreling down the street after him like a heat-seeking missile.

And he wasn't alone. Screams pierced the air around him. People were scattering in all directions. A woman tripped over her heels and sobbed as a man pulled her up by the arm.

Someone shoved past Eli in blind panic. Sirens wailed in the distance, blending with the chaos of footsteps and monstrous roars.

'Run. I should run. I should run.'

His breath caught as he staggered back a few steps. His legs felt like jelly—but there was no time to hesitate.

The ogre locked eyes with him.

Its lips peeled back, revealing rows of jagged yellow teeth. It growled. And then it charged.

"SHIT—!"

Eli bolted.

He didn't look back. He couldn't. He just ran.

Every thundering step of the ogre shook the ground beneath him. Pavement cracked. Car alarms screamed. People around him shrieked and sprinted for cover—some diving into alleyways, others ducking behind wrecked vehicles.

'WHY IS IT CHASING ME SPECIFICALLY?!'

Eli's lungs were burning, and his heartbeat was deafening in his ears. He could feel the ogre's presence looming behind him—its bellowing roars, the pounding rhythm of its monstrous gait.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Eli yelled between breaths, weaving through parked cars and jumping over fallen debris. His vision blurred from the wind, his legs pumping as hard as they could.

The system window hovered in front of him, taunting him with its silence.

"Sys—System!" he gasped out, glancing desperately at the glowing interface. "Can you do anything?! Caelen isn't even here! You lied to me—"

The ogre roared again—closer this time. A trash bin flew past him, hurled by the beast. It slammed into a car and exploded in sparks and metal.

No answer.

No response.

Just the system's infuriating glow.

"Come on!" Eli cried. "Say something!"

'If there was even a single S-Class nearby, they would've shown up by now!'

And yet the street was empty of Hunters. No flashy skills lighting the sky. No sword-wielding saviors leaping from rooftops.

Just civilians running for their lives.

Eli's legs screamed in protest. Despite everything—his training, his survival instincts—this body was different. It was faster in some ways, more agile, but weaker too. His endurance was draining fast.

'God. If you're there. Please help me. Someone. Anyone.'

He wasn't supposed to die here. Not again.

"AGHHH—!! I'm not going to die here!!"

He screamed, pushing himself to keep going. He could feel the ogre gaining on him—its hot breath closing in, its shadow swallowing his own—

Then suddenly…

The ground trembled. But the rhythm changed.

The heavy, thunderous stomps of pursuit… stopped.

Eli didn't stop running—but his ears perked up in confusion.

The ogre's shadow was gone.

He dared a glance over his shoulder.

The beast had halted several meters behind him.

Its head was tilted. Its beady red eyes no longer on Eli, but on something else—something behind it.

And then, something cut through the air.

A pressure—violent, sharp, electric.

Eli stumbled to a halt, chest heaving, sweat rolling down his forehead.

"...What the hell?" he muttered, trembling. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

Eli's legs twitched, half-poised to keep running.

'Nope. Not my problem. Not anymore. I'm leaving. I survived—that's all that matters.'

He took a shaky step forward, ready to put all of this behind him. Whatever force had stopped the ogre, he wasn't sticking around to find out. Curiosity was a killer. He was going to live. Survive. Breathe.

But then—

"MAMA!!"

The shrill scream of a child tore through the chaos.

Eli froze.

His heart dropped.

He whipped his head around, eyes wide.

'No… no, fuck, no—'

There, in the ogre's enormous, gnarled hand—was a child.

A little girl, maybe no older than five, squirming and sobbing, her tiny arms flailing as she reached for her mother who was screaming on the ground nearby, crawling toward them in raw desperation.

"No! Please! PLEASE—SOMEONE HELP HER!!"

The mother's voice cracked with helpless agony, but no one moved. Everyone was still running, still saving themselves.

"ANYONE?! PLEASE, HELP MY LITTLE GIRL!"

Eli's breath caught.

'No way... no way this is happening—'

His gaze darted around, frantic. Past the shattered glass and overturned cars, the trembling crowd and bloodied sidewalks.

"System!" he gasped, desperate. "Are there any Hunters nearby?! Anyone?!"

Ding—

...

Nothing.

No message. No list. No map.

Only silence.

'Come on, come on—someone's gotta show up. Any minute now. Someone's gotta help her!'

But there was no one.

And the ogre began to lift its arm.

The girl screamed again, thrashing in its iron grip.

'She's going to die.'

And there wasn't a damn thing Eli could do.

Or so he told himself.

His feet didn't listen.

They moved.

He dashed toward the ogre without thinking—without planning—just acting.

"FUCK! What am I doing?!" he shouted, panic crawling up his throat as he sprinted forward.

'I'm going to die. I'm going to die for real this time. I'm going to die like a goddamn idiot!'

And yet he ran.

He cursed every step, but his legs kept moving. Faster. Closer.

The cries of the mother behind him echoed in his ears. The ogre was still distracted. Still hadn't noticed him.

Not yet.

Eli's eyes snapped to a large chunk of concrete lying near a demolished food stall. He skidded to a halt, bent down, gritted his teeth—and lifted it.

It was heavy. Too heavy. But adrenaline screamed through his veins like rocket fuel.

He staggered upright, took aim, and hurled it with everything he had.

It hit the ogre square on the back.

THUD.

The beast flinched.

Its massive head turned slowly, like a beast disturbed in the middle of its feast.

Eli raised both arms and screamed, "HEY! UGLY!"

The ogre's glowing red eyes locked onto him.

'Ah, fuck.'