[DID IT COUNT?]

"What are you talking about?" Kairo asked, immediately stepping closer, his eyes narrowing at Eli's expression.

But Eli didn't look at him—he was staring past Kairo, eyes wide and locked onto the shadows shifting in the smoke.

"They're coming," he said, breathless. "Two from the left… two from the right."

His voice was steady, but his whole body trembled. The overwhelming weight of his danger sense pounded through his skull like alarms. 

Kairo followed his gaze, eyes scanning the horizon with sharp precision. He seemed momentarily confused since he couldn't see anything.

"This is your ability?" he asked.

Eli gave a quick nod, his fingers twitching slightly.

"They're all S-Class… I think," he said, eyes flicking back and forth as he tracked the approaching figures. "One of them feels… stronger. Stronger than that one—"

He pointed toward the crippled ogre still writhing nearby, missing one foot but very much alive.

Before he could finish—

"RAAAUUUUGHHHRRRRRHHHHHRRR!!!"

The injured ogre bellowed again, the roar cutting through the air like a blade. Both Eli and Kairo winced, instinctively covering their ears as the monstrous cry echoed through the ruined street.

Kairo clicked his tongue, annoyed. "Tsk. If more are coming," he muttered, "then stay back. I don't need any more casualties."

With that, he gently—yet firmly—pushed Eli aside and stepped forward.

Eli blinked, caught off-guard by the casual dismissal. But he wasn't surprised.

'Right. Of course. Whether it's a dungeon raid or just day-to-day, Kairo's always the same—cold, detached, and straight to the point. He gets the job done fast, then disappears like it's just another task to cross off.'

Or maybe, just maybe, he was one of those people who didn't know how to deal with others. Socially awkward but dangerous enough that no one questioned it.

Either way, Eli didn't argue. He took a step back.

He could already hear it—the thundering footsteps. The ground trembled beneath them. The remaining ogres were close.

'Kairo's about to go full S-Class. Holy shit… I'm gonna see it up close.'

Eli's heart pounded—not just from fear this time, but from anticipation.

And in that brief lull, while Kairo braced himself, Eli glanced down at the glowing system window still hovering beside him.

[TASK NAME: Damsel in Distress]

But instead… he'd been saved by Kairo.

Eli stared at the screen, frowning.

'Okay… but the spirit of the mission counts, right? I was in distress. And I was saved. Just not by Caelen.'

He bit his lip, eyes flicking back to Kairo's silhouette.

'Do I still get affection points for this?'

Eli was just about to whisper, "System, does this count?" when the ground lurched beneath him—harder, heavier, like something massive had slammed into the Aerth far too close.

He gasped, stumbling as cracks spiderwebbed beneath his feet.

The warning inside him wasn't a whisper now. It was a full-blown siren, tearing through every nerve.

'They're running. No—charging. Shit. Shit, they're almost here.'

His limbs tingled violently. His skin crawled. The pressure in the air thickened—like the sky itself was about to crash down on them.

Then, without a word, Kairo moved.

Smooth. Unflinching.

In one sharp, practiced motion, he drew a dagger from his belt and slashed it clean across his palm.

Eli flinched hard. "T-That's got to hurt…"

Warm, crimson blood trickled from Kairo's hand. Thick, slow… almost intentional.

Eli winced, his own palm aching in sympathy, as if he had been the one cut.

'I know he's S-Class, but that definitely still hurts, right?'

But Kairo didn't even blink. His expression remained calm. Focused.

Maybe… he was just used to it.

After all—this was Sanguivolt.

Kairo's infamous ability.

Blood manipulation.

Eli's mind flooded with everything he'd memorized: forums, battle reports, fandom theory threads, classified footage leaks. Kairo, the Crimson Shadow, one of the most dangerous S-Class Hunters alive.

A man who could turn his blood into blades, shape it into spears, lashes, shields—hell, even living creatures.

And the more blood spilled around him… the stronger he got.

His blood now shimmered unnaturally as it pooled on the pavement—glossy, rich, and somehow alive, like it was humming with intent.

'I'm about to see it. No screen. No stupid dumb ads! Just Kairo… fighting for real.'

Eli swallowed hard.

Terror still gripped him. But underneath it—twisting around his ribs like a rising tide—was something else:

Awe.

He'd always admired Caelen a tad more because of his creative use of his abilities.

Sure.

But there was something otherworldly about seeing Kairo like this. Watching the deadly calm in his eyes, the way he prepared himself without hesitation, without emotion…

It made Eli's skin crawl—in the worst and best ways.

A deep, thunderous growl echoed through the ruined street.

Then came the stomps.

Heavy. Rhythmic. Getting louder.

From the smoke, they emerged.

Four massive ogres.

They broke through the haze one by one—muscles rippling, skin scarred and blotched with blackened veins, fury burning in their glowing eyes.

Their thick arms gripped weapons—stone clubs, sharp metal grafted into their edges, dragging behind them with a hiss and spark.

Eli's breath hitched.

"Are those… clubs?" he whispered, stunned.

Each weapon looked crude but lethal—covered in bloodstains, likely looted from past carnage. One even had a shard of rebar twisted into its center.

'I don't remember them using weapons earlier? Where did they get those? Did they—'

They weren't just charging in.

They were angry.

Organized.

Vengeful.

The injured ogre's scream hadn't been a call for help—it had been a rallying cry.

And then, like a shadow behind a storm, the last one stepped into view.

A hulking beast of an ogre, nearly two stories tall, emerged from the smoke. Its skin was a darker shade of crimson-gray, like dried blood and stone.

Jagged iron plates were strapped across its torso—makeshift armor, dented and rusted but sturdy.

It carried a monstrous weapon: a felled tree trunk, reinforced with metal spikes, dragging behind it like it weighed nothing.

And unlike the others—it wasn't roaring.

It was watching.

Its gaze locked onto Kairo with cold, calculating fury.

Then, for a brief second—its bloodshot eyes shifted to Eli.

That single look sent ice down his spine.

His knees nearly gave out as a chill ran through his body like a warning from the system itself.

'It looks... so angry.'

Was it because it heard this one ogre's cries?

Kairo took one step forward, the blood from his hand now dancing in the air—forming threads, thin blades, floating constructs.

"You're still here?" he asked Eli flatly, but didn't prolong the conversation as he sighed. "Stay behind me."

Eli didn't argue.

In no way was he ever getting involved in this.