The night air was thick with the scent of mold and rusted iron, the dark alley whispering secrets only the Ghosts could understand. Dominic’s boots thudded softly against the cracked stone path, each step echoing in the quiet. His eyes flicked to the shadows cast by the flickering streetlight behind him, tension wrapping tightly around his chest.
He’d had a bad feeling about General Coris from the start — a gnawing instinct that sothing about her didn’t quite fit. From the first mont she stepped into the palace with her cold grace and those sharp, calculating eyes... he had sensed it. But it wasn’t until the Stolks began flooding both the main city and the inner sanctum that he truly began to understand. Not fully, not then — but now the pieces were falling into place, each mory sliding into a jigsaw of betrayal.
Dominic opened his system interface with a thought. His eyes flicked over the floating translucent panels.
[Host Stats.]
Strength: 1670/1000 EXP
Speed: 1900/1000 EXP
Agility: 1150/1000 EXP
Charm: 900/1000 EXP
IQ: 1000/1000 EXP
Available EXP: 15,950 EXP
He whistled lowly.
"Damn... 6,000 EXP just for initiating Lady Fares into the Harem?" he muttered, half-amused. "That’s... generous."
In truth, he hadn’t expected that much from the encounter. But it seed his system rewarded seduction as much as slaughter — a detail he wasn’t entirely unhappy about. Earning EXP through combat was intense, but this? This was exciting, exhilarating, addictive.
Still, EXP ant nothing without skills to match. He flipped to his next tab.
[Skills Tab]
[Ghost Walk (Level 1)]
[Silent Slay (Level 2)]
[Charm Stealing (Level 2)]
[Slay Gun]
[Fla Thrower]
[Assassin Sway]
[Super Sll ]
[Shadow Dance]
[Massacre Domain]
Nine skills — and so of them were devastating in the right hands. A smirk curled his lips. Not bad for soone who just hit Level 3.
But Coris... She was still out there. And she needed to pay.
Her betrayal ran deeper than Lady Fares had believed. Lady Fares had warned him about the possibility of falsehood of his information. Now, he had to prove that his instincts were right — and ensure that General Coris never got another chance to strike them unnoticed.
Dominic took a deep breath and activated Super Sll. A rush of scents overwheld him — the decay of old food, the tallic sting of rust, and beneath it all, sothing... animalistic.
He narrowed his eyes.
Got you.
He moved like a shadow, swift and silent, his boots barely making a sound as he glided forward through the alley. The grass beneath his feet crunched just slightly, but not enough to alert anyone — or anything.
Then a shift. A movent, fast and low to the ground.
Dominic spun, alert.
"What the fuck...?"
He expanded his sensory field, pumping more energy into his Super Sll. And then — his system pinged.
[Personality Detected. Initializing Identity Scan...]
[Three Iron Fisted Monkeys are currently surrounding you.]
[System advises imdiate combat. No quest is attached.]
A sigh escaped his lips. "Iron Fisted Monkeys? In the city again?"
The realization hit him hard and fast.
Coris.
She had set this up. Either to slow him down or eliminate him entirely. Worse — maybe she had sent them before he and Lady Fares even left the building. Which ant...
"She was willing to kill her own best friend," he muttered darkly. "Cold-hearted bitch."
There was no loyalty in Coris — no love, no remorse. Only ambition. If Fares had stood in the way, she would be crushed like anyone else. Dominic clenched his fists. He had no idea how many tis she had betrayed Fares before. But this ti, soone was going to answer for it.
He activated Massacre Domain.
A ripple of darkness radiated from him. Shadows wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso — cloaking him in a shroud of death. His senses heightened. His muscles surged. This power was brutal, destructive, and dangerous. The last ti he used it, against the Lekar, he had lost control — slipping into a rage that nearly cost him his state of being.
But this ti was different. This ti, he needed to master it.
From the left, an Iron Fisted Monkey lunged, fist cocked back with terrifying speed. But Dominic’s form blurred, shadows shifting around him. He was above the strike before the monkey’s knuckles could graze the air.
His fist slamd down with thunderous force.
The creature flew backward, crashing through a tree with a howl of pain.
Dominic touched down lightly, eyes scanning the area. The other two monkeys encircled him — one crouched low, baring its teeth, the other shifting side to side, looking for an opening.
Dominic cracked his neck, then rotated his arm slowly in a wide arc. Dark energy rippled from his fingertips, and the shadows around him pulsed in ti with his heartbeat.
"I needed practice," he said softly. "You’ll do just fine."
He lunged forward.
The monkeys responded, but too slowly.
He twisted mid-air, shadows curling like tendrils around his limbs, and unleashed a spinning backhand that caught the second monkey square in the jaw. Bone cracked. The beast stumbled.
But Dominic wasn’t done.
The third leapt from behind, claws extended — but Dominic was ready. With a snarl, he engaged Shadow Dance, letting the darkness guide his movents. He twisted out of the way, flipped over the beast, and drove his heel down hard onto its back.
CRACK!
It hit the ground with a sickening thud, groaning.
He stood amidst the chaos, breath coming in slow, asured waves. The power was still flowing — not wild, not out of control. This ti, he was the master.
But he knew it wouldn’t last.
He could already feel the strain, the ticking clock of energy consumption counting down.
Still, it was a win — and more than that, it was proof.
Dominic grinned.
"Your move, Coris."
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