CHAPTER 544: FUEL

Mina’s hands stayed clenched around the dagger even after the monster lay still and dead. Her shoulders trembled and tears fell freely, but she didn’t make a sound now. Just shallow and uneven breaths

The system’s cold blue text flashed in the corner of her vision:

[Level Up] — Level 20 Reached.

[New Skill Acquired] — Blood Resolve.

She didn’t even blink at it. The notifications meant nothing to her right now even though before she wanted to level up faster.

What did a new level matter when her parents were gone—no, worse than gone—when she’d been forced to kill them herself?

Clyde crouched beside her, his voice low but firm. "We need to move."

She didn’t answer. Her hands came up to cover her face, hiding the red-rimmed eyes and the way her jaw shook.

"Mina," Clyde said again, a little sharper this time. "We can’t stay here. The noise will draw other monster to come to us."

Still nothing. Just a muffled breath, wet and shaky.

He sighed, glancing toward the treeline. He could already hear faint rustles in the distance. Shapes moving toward the sound of the fight.

"If we stay, we’ll die too."

Clyde didn’t think so but it was to make Mina want to move.

That got her to stir. She lowered her hands, eyes swollen, and without a word, pushed herself unsteadily to her feet.

Then she turned and walked toward what was left of her home. Clyde followed in silence.

Inside, Mina dropped onto the couch like her body had given up.

She stared at nothing, eyes glassy, her breaths shallow.

The cry were gone, but the heaviness and the sobs clung to her like a weight she couldn’t set down.

Clyde searched the kitchen, found a half-empty bottle of water, and held it out to her.

"Drink this."

She shook her head.

He watched her for a moment, then took a swig himself before sitting down beside her.

For a while, the only sound was the faint creak of the couch.

"Why is this happening to me?" Mina’s voice finally came, quiet but edged with something raw.

Clyde set the bottle on the table. "It’s not just you. This is happening to everyone."

Her gaze shifted to him, wet and sharp.

"Then why? Who would start something like this? Who would want people to suffer like this?!"

He leaned back and let out a slow sigh that feels heavy.

"There’s got to be something higher. Beings like gods, angels, demons or whatever you want to call them. They’re the ones pulling the strings and create all this suffering."

Mina’s brows knit. "Higher beings...?"

Clyde nodded. "And that man we met in the park, the one who spoke like he was above us mere mortals, he’s one of their servants who just doing whatever they want. He enjoyed playing with us."

Something changed in Mina’s expression then. The grief didn’t vanish, but beneath it, something harder began to take shape.

Her heart twisted. Not just with pain, but with a growing fire of anger.

The thought of those "beings" turning her life and her parent’s life into a game made her stomach churn and her hands clench again.

It wasn’t just sadness now. It was anger. And under that anger, a dangerous, simmering desire for vengeance.

Clyde could see it in her eyes. That flicker, or actually that steady burn of the same desire for vengeance that had driven him for so long.

It was the first time since meeting her that he felt a strange kinship. She was starting to understand, even if she didn’t yet know the full truth. She was already feeling the hatred.

The corner of his mouth curved into a grin, not of joy, but of recognition.

She didn’t realize yet just how deep the rabbit hole went. Clyde wasn’t merely guessing about the existence of beings above them, he knew.

He had seen the truth with his own eyes and faced them. The Celestials, Angels, and Demons... all of them dwelling in higher realms, meddling with mortal lives like toys.

And under them were the World Master, the one who they ordered to held the threads of this cruel game.

But that truth could not be spoken aloud yet. If the World Master sensed that Clyde was revealing too much, it could undo everything.

Still, there was no harm in giving Mina enough of the truth to fuel her. In fact, it was necessary. The more determined she became, the stronger she would grow.

"These beings," Clyde said, his tone steady, "I think they just think of us as nothing but entertainment. They push us into hell, watch us crawl, and laugh when we break."

Mina’s hands tightened around the dagger again, her knuckles pale. The fresh ache of her loss twisted into something hotter.

"They took your parents from you," he continued. "If you want revenge, you’ll have to become stronger. Keep fighting. Raise your level. And one day... we’ll drag them down."

She stared at him for a long moment, breathing hard. Then she nodded, slowly but firmly.

"I’ll kill them. Every last one of them."

Clyde’s grin widened slightly. "Then I’ll help you."

Her gaze didn’t waver. "Good."

The fire in her eyes was unshakable now. The grief was still there, lodged deep in her chest, but it no longer had her by the throat. It was fuel for her next actions.

They stayed in the ruined house for the night, barricading the doors and windows with overturned furniture.

The air was cold, carrying echoes of distant howls, but neither of them spoke much after that.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It was heavy with unspoken understanding.

Mina sat with her dagger in her lap, her fingers tracing its edge as though memorizing its shape.

Clyde sat nearby, leaning back against the wall, one hand resting lazily on the hilt of his own weapon.

Both were awake far longer than they needed to be, their minds turning over the same thoughts in different ways.

When morning came, the light filtered through the broken window panes in pale gold.

The warmth of it felt almost out of place in the death that still clung to the street outside.

They rose without a word, packing what little they could use like water, a few scraps of food, and their weapons.

Mina glanced once toward what was left of her home. Her jaw tightened, and she turned away.

They stepped out into the bright day. The air was deceptively calm, the sun clear and unclouded.

But somewhere beyond the horizon, grim fate was already moving toward them.

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