[CONDITIONING]

"Oh my god."

Eli stood frozen.

Completely, utterly shook.

His breath hitched in his throat as Kairo launched forward, a sharp snap echoing through the air as the blood threads in his hands hardened into sleek, crimson blades.

One spun mid-air like a whip, another formed into a jagged dagger that slashed upward in a sweeping arc.

The first ogre charged—club raised high—and Kairo met it head-on.

Steel collided with blood-blade, a loud clang cracking through the street as sparks burst on impact. Kairo's movements were sharp, efficient—his blades moving like extensions of himself. He slashed one ogre across the chest, then turned and kicked another back before ducking beneath a third's wild swing.

But they were relentless.

All three surrounded him in unison, their clubs rising and falling in a chaotic but somehow coordinated rhythm.

Every hit was heavy—every stomp shaking the broken street. Kairo was fast, but even he couldn't land clean strikes while constantly dodging three monsters swinging weapons the size of small cars.

'They're syncing their attacks... they're not just wild anymore.'

Were monsters always this smart?

Eli's hands clenched into fists at his sides.

Kairo was dodging and countering beautifully—but not perfectly. Blood dripped from his side now. Not from his ability—real blood.

Even he was having trouble.

The ogres weren't giving him room to breathe.

And the fourth one—the giant—still hadn't moved.

It stood at the back, silent and watchful, like a general overseeing its troops. Its bloodshot gaze lingered on Kairo, but occasionally flicked toward the downed ogre nearby—the one Kairo had injured earlier.

It was still alive.

Barely.

'Why does he keep looking at that one specific ogre?'

The monster lay twitching on the ground, its missing foot still bleeding into the cracked concrete. It let out soft, gurgling growls between raspy breaths—too weak to fight, but still conscious.

Eli watched it for a moment, heart pounding.

Then his eyes snapped back to Kairo—just in time to see one of the ogres nearly land a hit from behind. Kairo dodged just in time, pivoting sharply and slicing through the ogre's arm—but another club came swinging from the opposite direction.

THWACK!

The blow grazed his side, and Kairo hissed, skidding back.

"Shit," Eli whispered, panicking. "He's getting boxed in."

Kairo tapped his watch with a blood-slick finger, side-stepping another blow.

"This is Kairo," he said, voice still calm—too calm. "Where the hell are you two?"

"Almost there," Mio's voice buzzed faintly through the speaker. "But there are monsters here as well—Zaira's also on her way but apparently there are monsters that appeared at where she was."

"Just give us a sec, Kai!" Mel's voice called in the background.

'It's not just here... There are monsters in other parts of the city too?' So this wasn't just one breach.

No wonder it took long before any hunters showed up. 

Kairo didn't respond. He flicked his wrist, sending a spear of blood spinning into one ogre's shoulder. It howled but didn't fall. The others pressed harder, clubs crashing down like thunder.

Eli's eyes darted everywhere—tracking the ogres' weight shifts, body language, attack cues.

His danger sense was lighting up his mind like fireworks.

He knew where they were aiming. He could feel every shift in aggression, every movement before it happened.

And more importantly—he knew how they fought due to the ability he had.

Eli's breath came in sharp, shallow bursts. His eyes tracked every twitch of the ogres' bodies, every shift in their weight, every flex of muscle and raise of a club.

His danger sense ability wasn't just reacting anymore—it was syncing with him, whispering in his bones, painting attack lines in his mind like a battle map.

'Left one's shoulder tenses first. He always leads the swing. Middle one delays by half a second. Right one—he feints with his left before using the full swing with his right… every time.'

They were following a specific pattern. 

Predictable.

Well, for him.

'If Kairo just—he needs to take the right one's knee out, it'll buckle. That'll throw the others off rhythm. He can—he can bleed them faster. He just needs blood. That's the key.'

Kairo dodged a crushing blow from the middle ogre, but it was clear he was being pushed to the edge. His movements were efficient but tight.

Defensive. Strategic—but cautious.

'No, no—he's holding back. He's buying time until the others arrive since he can't let his guard down. But if he keeps this up... he's going to bleed too much before he gets the field advantage.'

Eli clenched his jaw. 'He should've used Coil Piercer by now. It's faster than Red Bloom and it pierces straight through dense muscle. He could've dropped the left ogre in one strike and turned the whole field.'

He could feel it now—how his mind was working faster than his body.

He knew Kairo's fighting style like the back of his hand.

Every attack, every strategy, every ability.

'Come on. One clean hit from Coil Piercer, then two arterial slashes, and he'll have enough blood from them all. Once the blood hits the ground, he'll dominate the field. Kairo becomes a monster when he's surrounded by blood.'

Eli's danger sense pulsed—hard.

His eyes flicked to the right.

The ogre twisted its hulking body low, swinging its club in a sharp, brutal arc aimed at Kairo's legs.

Eli's danger sense exploded.

His instincts fired faster than his thoughts.

"Duck right!" he shouted, voice cracking from urgency.

Kairo moved immediately—pivoting hard. The club whooshed past, missing his head by inches as it slammed into the concrete behind him with a thunderous crack.

The S-Class hunter narrowed his eyes, glancing back—not annoyed, but briefly… surprised.

Without a word, Kairo jumped back several steps, creating distance between him and the trio of ogres closing in.

Eli's heart was hammering, his senses still flaring. Then it clicked.

His eyes widened. 'That's it... That's what they're doing!'

"Sir—Kai!" Eli called, stepping forward. "They're conditioning you!"

Kairo didn't respond, but his gaze flicked to him—sharp, attentive.

"They're attacking in consistent patterns on purpose. You're adapting too fast—they want you to get used to them. Once you're locked into reading those movements, they'll change their rhythm and catch you off guard."

Kairo's expression darkened slightly. "Monsters shouldn't be that clever."

There was doubt in his voice—but not dismissal. He didn't ignore Eli.

"They shouldn't be," Eli agreed, breathless, "but these aren't normal ogres."

He took a shaky breath, forcing confidence into his voice.

"I've been tracking every movement since they showed up. I know how they're syncing. Please—just trust me. Let me call it out. I can read their attacks before they land. I can help you."