Ryusei swiped her bloodied thumb across the air, pulling up the glowing system screen once more. The familiar translucent blue interface blinked into view before her eyes.
———————————————————
Hidden Quest: "Kill the Lizards"
[Objective: Eliminate the Traitorous Party Members]
[Progress: 1/6]
[Reward: ???]
———————————————————
She stared at it for a second, then let out a quiet exhale, almost a smirk tugging at her lips.
"One down... five to go," she muttered, her voice low and cold.
Behind her, Rika loomed like a shadow of death, still hunched and growling, ready to strike again at her command.
The rest of Hayato's group took a collective step back. Suddenly, this didn't feel like an ambush anymore... it felt like a death sentence.
Ryusei stepped forward, her pale blue eyes glowing with cold intensity. "Todo, Kenta stay back. I'll handle this."
Todo clenched his fists, wanting to argue, but something in her voice told him not to. Kenta, still pale, didn't dare move.
Across from her, Hayato drew his sword and raised his shield, his expression dark. "So you truly are a false Ranker..." he muttered, steel sliding with a hiss. "Doesn't matter. It's still five against two."
But before he could blink, Ryusei vanished.
SWISH.
She reappeared behind one of Hayato's men-the brute with the giant axe, her Kasaka's Venom Fang already dripping with blood. The man stood frozen for a heartbeat... and then his head slowly slipped from his shoulders, thudding to the ground with a dull thump. His body followed.
"Four," Ryusei whispered.
A monstrous roar split the air as Rika materialized behind the group, seizing the archer in one massive claw. The poor man didn't even get a scream out before Rika slammed him into the ground once, twice, a third time before tearing him in half and devouring him whole.
"Three."
Before fear could even set in, Ryusei moved again, her form a blur of cursed energy. She zipped past the third man, her blade dragging a glowing arc through the air and a second later, a line split open across his torso. Blood sprayed as he stumbled, gurgled, and collapsed.
"Two."
Hayato's eyes widened in disbelief. His "five against two" had just become two against two in the blink of an eye. And Ryusei hadn't even broken a sweat.
Now, only two remained: Hayato, still gripping his sword and shield tightly, and Koji, the C-rank mage whose face was rapidly draining of color.
Ryusei twirled her Kasaka's Venom Fang lazily in her hand, her pale blue eyes fixed on them with eerie calm.
"Now there's two versus two," she said, voice light and mocking. "I wonder how this'll turn out."
Koji panicked. "Screw this!" he shouted, and with a desperate swing of his staff, launched a chaotic barrage of fireballs at Ryusei, the flames roaring through the air in a brilliant wave.
But Ryusei didn't flinch.
Even as the fire came toward her, she blurred out of sight, vanishing just before the flames could reach her.
Koji and Hayato didn't wait to see if she survived. They turned and bolted down the tunnel, boots slamming against stone, fear pumping through their veins.
"Split up!" Hayato barked. "We can't beat her like this-just run!"
Behind them, the sound of footsteps... stopped.
Then came a voice.
"You can run."
They froze.
"But you won't get far."
Koji and Hayato sprinted through the twisting dungeon tunnels, their breath ragged, the echo of their footsteps bouncing off the stone walls.
"She's not human-she's a monster!" Koji gasped, glancing behind in panic. "We have to get out of here!"
But just as they rounded a corner, a sharp, high-pitched hum rang through the air.
Ryusei appeared at the other end of the tunnel.
With a flick of her wrist, glowing pink light spears materialized around her, humming with cursed energy. They floated for a brief second-then, with a snap of her fingers, shot forward like guided missiles.
Koji barely turned in time.
SHUNK!
The spears shot forward, blindingly fast-one grazed Hayato's leg, making him stumble, while the other two slammed directly into Koji's back, bursting in a shower of sparks and energy.
"AAAGHH!!" Koji screamed, collapsing to the ground, and rolling in pain as smoke rose from his scorched cloak and flesh. His tomb clattered to the stone beside him.
"Koji!!" Hayato turned back, only to freeze as Ryusei stepped into view, walking calmly through the smoke, her dagger still spinning lazily.
"One." she said coldly, eyes locked on him.
Rika surged forward from the shadows, now standing just behind Ryusei.
Hayato stumbled back, his breath ragged, sword trembling in his hands as Ryusei stalked closer calm, composed, deadly. The pink glow of her cursed energy pulsed around her like a heartbeat in the dark, painting the stone walls with a haunting light.
Behind her, Rika had already seized Koji, dragging his screaming form into the blackened corridor. His cries were short-lived. What followed was the sickening sound of bones crunching, flesh tearing, and something being devoured alive. Then, silence-broken only by the wet, grotesque sound of chewing.
Hayato's face twisted in panic. "W-wait! You can't kill me!" he stammered, raising a shaky hand. "My little brother-he's an S-rank! He'll find you. He'll kill you for this-!"
Ryusei stopped, her eyes locking with his-blue, glowing eerily in the darkness.
She tilted her head slightly, like a wolf sizing up a wounded animal.
"You think I give a shit?"
Hayato dropped to his knees with a loud thud, his sword clattering to the floor beside him as he crawled forward, hands clasped in desperation, sweat and grime streaking his face.
"Please! Mercy! I'll give you anything you want!" he cried, voice cracking. "Money, women! whatever you want, just ask for it! Just... have mercy!!"
Ryusei stopped just in front of him, looking down with unreadable eyes. The pink glow of her cursed energy flickered across her pale face, casting sharp shadows that made her look even more ghostly, more inhuman.
"Mercy?" she echoed softly.
Hayato's eyes widened in hope for a split second until her next words hit him like a hammer.
"How many times have you done this?" she asked coldly. "Inviting lower-rank hunters to join you... just to kill them after?"
"I-w-wha-" Hayato stammered, caught off guard, his words catching in his throat.
"HOW MANY!?" Ryusei snapped, her voice suddenly sharp like shattered glass.
Hayato flinched, visibly shaking now, mouth hanging open as he tried to speak-but nothing came out. Just fear. Just guilt.
Behind her, the wet crunch of Koji's final moments echoed faintly in the dark. Rika growled lowly, the sound like the rattle of a demon at the gates of hell.
Ryusei didn't blink.
"I'm waiting,"
Hayato's hands scraped against the stone floor as he bowed lower, his forehead nearly touching the ground. Tears mixed with dirt on his cheeks, his voice trembling and broken.
"Please, please, I was wrong! I-I didn't know-! I was just following the plan! I didn't mean to-! I didn't want to die-!"
His words spilled out in a panicked mess, desperation leaking from every syllable.
Ryusei stared down at him, silent, unmoved.
Then, with a tired sigh, she tilted her head to the side, her expression flattening into pure disdain.
"Ugh, still pleading for your own life?" she said, voice laced with disgust. "You weren't acting like this when your entire group was being slaughtered."
Her blade hung lazily at her side, but the weight of her presence was suffocating. "You had no problem watching them die... letting them bleed out just so you could crawl away and save your own ass."
Hayato's pleas turned into stammered whimpers.
Ryusei took one slow step forward.
"And now you want mercy?" she scoffed. "You don't even deserve a quick death."
Ryusei raised her hand, and a dark, ominous glow began to swirl around her palm dense, pulsing, and unnatural. The air around her shimmered as the pressure suddenly intensified.
[Satan's Gravity]
Hayato let out a startled gasp as his body was yanked upward violently, like a puppet cut from strings and reattached in midair. He floated above the ground, completely helpless, limbs flailing until Ryusei rotated her hand sharply.
Snap.
He twisted upside down, suspended in the air like a hung animal, his face pale, blood rushing to his head, eyes wide with terror.
Below him, Rika emerged from the shadows, her monstrous form dripping with blood, face splitting into a wicked grin as she stared up at him hungrily.
Ryusei stepped beneath the floating man, staring up with cold eyes.
"If your brother really is an S-rank," she said. "and he decides to come after me..."
She slowly tilted her head, her tone chilling to the bone.
"...I'll make sure to send him straight to hell."
She turned her palm downward, fingers tightening slightly.
"Right next to you."
And then, she dropped him.
{Outside of the Dungeon-Evening}
The scene cut to the three teenagers-Ryusei, Kenta, and Todo-stepping out of the now-cleared dungeon. The sun was beginning to set, casting a warm golden hue across the clearing as the C-rank gate shimmered once... then collapsed inward, disappearing with a soft pulse of light.
Kenta looked pale, his armor scuffed and face still slightly stained with blood. Todo had his hands behind his head, looking unbothered. Ryusei, as always, calm-though the faint pink glow of cursed energy still lingered faintly around her.
She glanced at the two and spoke in a dry, casual tone.
"Yo, you two."
They looked at her.
"What happens in a dungeon... stays in a dungeon. Got it?"
Todo gave a sharp nod, a grin tugging at his lips. "Damn right. Ain't nobody gonna believe it anyway."
Kenta blinked, still pale. "Y-yeah… yeah. Dungeon stays in the dungeon. Got it."
Ryusei smirked faintly and looked ahead.
"Good."
Just as Ryusei turned to walk off, hands stuffed in her jacket pockets, Todo suddenly jogged up beside her, still grinning like they hadn't just survived a life-or-death bloodbath.
"Oi, Ryusei!" he called out. "Before you vanish into the shadows or whatever—how about we exchange numbers?"
Ryusei blinked and turned slightly, raising an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"C'mon," Todo said, pulling out his phone. "We fought together, survived betrayal, got traumatized—y'know, the usual. Might as well be Besto Friendos officially."
Ryusei side-eyed him, unamused. "You just want an excuse to text me dumb memes at 2 AM."
"…You're not wrong," he said proudly.
Kenta finally caught up, still looking shaken but trying to smile. "I-I wouldn't mind exchanging numbers too… You guys are the coolest people I've ever met."
Todo slung an arm around Kenta's shoulders. "And to make it official let's go get something to eat. My treat. I'm starving."
Ryusei stared at the two of them for a moment… then let out a small sigh.
"…Fine. But I'm picking where we eat."
Todo pumped his fist. "Let's gooo!"
After finishing their meal—some cheap ramen from a small spot Todo swore was "life-changing"—the three sat outside under the glow of a street lamp, quietly digesting their food after a long day.
Phones were pulled out, numbers exchanged.
"Alright," Todo said, saving Ryusei and Kenta's contacts. "Now if either of you gets dragged into another death dungeon, you better call me."
Kenta laughed nervously. "Let's… not make a habit of that."
Ryusei simply nodded, slipping her phone back into her hoodie pocket. "Yeah. See you guys around."
With a lazy wave, she turned and started walking off down the dim street.
Todo clapped Kenta on the back. "Later, buddy!" Then he took off in the opposite direction, hands behind his head, humming some victory tune to himself.
Kenta stood there for a second, then smiled faintly and headed his own way.
The newly formed trio now going their separate ways.