CHAPTER 123: GENUINE SHOCK

"it’s different. Stronger. More refined. Why would you..." he tilted his head again, his finger still tapping the earth, "have a skill akin to the boar’s?"

The atmosphere darkened instantly as his words spread into the silence. The air seemed to press down again, as though shadows themselves leaned forward to listen.

His other hand, casual yet menacing, raised the dagger once more, its edge gleaming faintly as he pointed it at Riley while still tapping his finger on the floor without pause.

That steady rhythm—tap, tap, tap—was as unnerving as the cold glint of steel.

"Unless..." he paused, dragging the silence long enough to pierce, before his lips curved slightly beneath the hood. "You killed the boar. And took its skill."

Riley’s eyes widened at the accusation, a flash of surprise cracking his mask of restraint.

His expression darkened almost immediately, his jaw clenching as he felt the weight of the figure’s suspicion pressing down on him.

’He knows about the Dark Fanged Boar...’ The thought echoed sharply in his mind, heavy with the weight of consequence. ’This could be even worse than I expected.’

He hadn’t just killed the beast to survive it absorb it, it was mainly to disrupt the plans of the demons.

The Dark Fanged Boar was meant to be unleashed upon Earth during the chaos of the first rift opening, a devastating weapon poised to tear through humanity at its weakest moment.

By killing it early, by devouring it, he had ruined their plans. That ripple alone was enough to set him apart as an anomaly—something they would not let slide.

"Hahaha!" Before he could respond, the figure suddenly burst into laughter, the sound rolling out in deep, jarring echoes.

The laugh sounded weird and grating to the ears, especially due to the warped tone he was speaking with.

It wasn’t one of amusement, nor of joy. It was sharp, cutting, filled with something twisted—like he had just uncovered a secret he found far too entertaining.

The sound startled Riley, and he instinctively shifted his stance, his grip tightening on his daggers as his pulse quickened.

"There’s something special about you..." the figure said at last, his laughter simmering down into something low and dangerous.

His head tilted back down, and his voice came in a whisper just loud enough to crawl across the space between them. "Not just one thing... but a lot."

Slowly, deliberately, the hooded man straightened back up from his crouch.

His finger ceased its tapping, and both his hands now rested steady—dagger poised, body relaxed yet ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

His words fell like a hammer, each one laced with certainty.

"You killed the Dark Fanged Boar..." he said, his tone thick with weight. Then, after a chilling pause, his voice dropped even lower, venomous and certain.

"You killed Harty too..."

Riley’s eyes widened, and his teeth ground together hard enough that the sound almost echoed through his skull.

His jaw locked as frustration and tension boiled inside him, a storm that threatened to break loose.

He had already expected this day would come—he wasn’t naïve enough to think that the demons would never realize he was the one who killed Harty.

But still... this soon?

His chest tightened. He thought he might have more time.

The revelation hit him like a heavy stone dropped into the pit of his stomach. The truth he wanted hidden for as long as possible had already begun to unravel.

He didn’t think they would uncover it this early.

He didn’t think their watchful eyes would reach him yet, not when he was still climbing, still crawling his way up from the depths of weakness.

Because deep down, he knew. He wasn’t strong enough to face the force of the demons—not yet.

He could hold his own, maybe, he could fight, kill, and survive, but against the true tide of their forces?

Against all their strength bearing down on him at once? His fingers twitched against the hilt of his dagger.

It wasn’t time yet. At least... not yet.

But what worried him the most wasn’t that they had discovered he killed Harty.

No... what tightened his throat, what clawed at the back of his mind with gnawing fear, was the possibility of something else being exposed. Something worse.

His SSS-rank Gluttony talent.

The one thing he couldn’t afford to let anyone know.

The talent that set him apart, that gave him a chance to rise above everyone else—but also painted a target bigger than any blade he could dodge.

If that was revealed, if it spread... no one, human or demon, would let him live in peace.

And right now, staring into those eerie, glimmering eyes of the hooded figure, Riley couldn’t shake the sense that he had already seen it.

That he had already witnessed the one thing Riley most wanted to hide.

As if to confirm his darkest thought, the strange figure threw his head back and laughed.

The sound was vile, layered with a twisted glee that vibrated through the vast emptiness of the boss room.

It was deep, deranged, the kind of laughter that hollowed out the silence, making the walls themselves seem to shiver.

"And now..." his voice carried, sharp and mocking, dripping with amusement. "I saw you... eat that monster whole!"

Riley’s eyes flew open wider, the blood in his veins turning ice-cold. His heart thudded hard in his chest.

’I knew it...’ His mind roared. ’He saw me!’

The figure’s laughter escalated, echoing louder, climbing until it was nearly hysterical. His shadowed hood dipped low as if savoring Riley’s reaction.

"It all flew into your mouth..." he continued, his words trembling with delight. "Isn’t that exciting!"

His steps grew louder, deliberate, heels pressing against stone as he slowly paced around Riley.

The dagger dangled in his hand, loose yet threatening, while his other hand casually dragged across the floor. His voice grew more curious, more insidious with every word.

"How did you do that?" he asked, tilting his head as though studying prey. "What did you gain from doing that?"

The blade pointed lazily in Riley’s direction as he circled him like a predator that had already decided on the outcome.

"How many monsters..." his tone dipped, then rose again in a sing-song mockery, "...or humans have you done that to? Is that why you’re so strong?!"

"Hahahaha!!!" He broke once more into loud, insane laughter, his voice jagged and piercing, like glass shattering inside Riley’s skull.

"You’re just so interesting," he howled, shoulders shaking with manic mirth. "Too interesting! You have to show me more... I want to see more!!"

The sound crashed against Riley from all sides, his head ringing, his chest tightening with each passing second as the hooded figure’s words drilled deeper into him, prying open secrets he wished to bury forever.

Riley had barely steadied his breath before the strange figure erupted once more into his manic fervor.

"Show me more...!" he bellowed, his voice breaking into a maddened echo that rattled the crystal-lined chamber.

"More... more interesting things!" His tone fluctuated wildly between a command, a plea, and a scream of raw delight, as though Riley’s very existence had become his most cherished obsession.

"Show me more!" the figure repeated, louder this time, the sound reverberating across the shattered stones of the boss room.

"More! More!! MORE!!!" His voice rang like a hundred knives scraping across glass, unhinged and hungry.

Each word carried a force that seemed to weigh down the air itself, dragging Riley’s nerves taut as if the madness was pressing against his mind.

And then, without the faintest warning, the figure lunged.

The air cracked from the sheer speed of his movement.

His body blurred, streaking forward with terrifying precision, his fist cocked back before exploding into a forward strike aimed directly at Riley’s face.

Riley’s expression hardened instantly.

His widened eyes narrowed with razor-sharp focus, teeth clenched so hard that the sound of grinding echoed faintly between them.

In that fraction of a second, he understood—this was no ordinary punch.

The way the figure’s arm cut through space, it was almost as though reality itself bent, bringing the fist directly in front of his face without transition.

It was as if the attack had teleported.

The rushing force closed in, a wall of inevitability threatening to smash into him before he could even register its full arc.

Yet, at that exact instant, Riley acted. His body tensed, his instincts screamed, and the shadows answered.

Just as the strike was about to crush into his face, his entire body collapsed into darkness.

He sank down—his legs, torso, arms, and head dissolving like smoke—before sliding seamlessly into the sliver of shadow cast by a jagged crystal protruding from the ground.

The transition was so fluid, so natural, that it was like slipping into water; the shadow stretched and swallowed him whole in an instant, rippling faintly as though it were liquid black.

The strange figure’s punch cleaved through empty space with a boom that shattered a nearby crystal pillar into shards.

The force alone was enough to cause the walls of the chamber to tremble, but Riley was no longer there.

A flicker of darkness coiled behind the figure. Riley emerged—his body shooting upward from a faint pool of shadow directly at the figure’s back. His movement was silent, predatory, like a knife sliding out of its sheath.

The strange figure jerked, his senses flaring at the sudden disturbance.

His hooded head twisted sharply, his body spinning around with speed that rivaled lightning.

For the first time, there was a flash of genuine shock across his hidden features.

But he was too slow.