Hinata grinned, the smile of a man who'd paid too high a price for power.

"So you can regenerate," Raito spat, eyes flat. "A skill no hunter has. So you lied to the Hunter Association. You lied about your skills."

Hinata leaned forward like a blade. "You're right. I didn't have it at first. I got it from an experiment. A shadowy hunters' association. They give skills. Everything has a price." His voice cut. "What's the price? You'll learn when you die."

He charged.

Steel screamed. Dagger met cursed blade and the force shoved Raito back. He twisted, ducked, and snapped a back kick into Hinata's head. Hinata staggered. Raito didn't stop.

"You're a monster. Not human anymore," Raito said. He drove his dagger into Hinata's thigh. Flesh gave. Hinata howled, half laughter, half anger.

"This is only the beginning," Hinata snarled through the pain. "For now I capture hunters. Soon civilians. We'll cage them. Watch the monsters eat them. You'll die by my hand."

Hinata lunged like an animal. His hands closed on Raito's throat.

Raito vanished.

[Foreshadow Activated 800 LP]

Ten afterimages snapped into existence and the world split second fractured.

Hinata couldn't follow. His shoulder exploded outward; bone, sinew, and blood tore as the arm collapsed to the floor. Raito's blade was already an executioner's instrument he carved the detached hand into pieces midair. It fell like confetti.

Hinata reeled, choking. "You bastard! How dare you," blood foamed at his lips.

Raito didn't answer. He drove the dagger into Hinata's neck. Red sprayed. The corridor filled with distant pings, the elevator, the stairs, weighty footsteps flooding toward them. Twenty A rank hunters. Closing.

Hinata's wound crawled with a sickly light. Flesh knit. The regeneration worked. Slow. Messy. Not fast enough.

Raito ripped a shard from a broken glass and hurled it. It struck the nearest patrol, sending him down with a howl. The noise fractured attention. Raito slammed the metal door open and hauled Kira inside.

"You okay?" he panted, shoving her through.

Kira stared, disbelief carved into her face. "You… you actually beat the S rank?"

"I would have, if he couldn't regenerate," Raito said. "No time."

"Where are we going? Do you know an exit?" Raito continued, breathless.

"You told me to come. You led us here," Kira snapped, already moving.

Raito glanced at Neo, slumped on Kira's back. "Neo was supposed to guide us. He collapsed the moment we left him."

"So we actually don't know what we should do? Are you serious? Now, out of all times? We don't even know where we're going!" Kira shouted, his voice echoing off the metallic walls.

They both froze when a thunderous sound erupted from behind, the marching of heavy boots, dozens of them, shaking the floor. Metal slammed as the hunters began pounding at the reinforced door, trying to break it down.

"Now this is really bad," Raito said through gritted teeth.

"It's all your fault! I told you we shouldn't have fought him! We should've escaped when we had the chance!" Kira snapped, panic creeping into his tone.

Raito turned to him, eyes dark. "What you see next, you won't tell anyone. Understand?"

"What are you talking about?" Kira asked, confused.

Raito didn't answer. He raised his hand, and a faint blue light shimmered before his eyes. A glowing box appeared in the air, scrolling lines of data and icons flickering rapidly. His fingers moved fast, selecting something deep within his "Domain."

"Part of the entire domain…" Raito muttered. He tapped on an entry labeled Undead Summon. A number appeared, 50.

Instantly, a warning flashed in the air:

[Summoning 50 Undead will cost 500 LP to release from Domain.]

Kira blinked in disbelief. "Why are you, why are you tapping the air like that? What are you even,"

Raito pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh."

The air behind them rippled. Then, dark mist erupted from the ground, forming bodies. Armor clattered, bones creaked, and within seconds, fifty undead soldiers stood behind Raito, eyes burning faintly blue.

Kira stumbled back, shouting, "What the hell is going on?! What are those things!?"

"Don't panic," Raito said calmly. "This is why I told you not to tell anyone. They're mine."

"Yours? Are you a lich or something?! How did they even, how did they get here!?"

"No time for questions." Raito pointed to the nearest undead. "You, go to the back. Take Neo."

The undead obeyed without hesitation, marching toward Kira, gently lifting Neo from his back, and carrying him with ease.

Raito turned to the rest. "Ten of you, spread out. Search for exits. The rest of you, stay here and hold them off. Slow the hunters down as much as possible."

Kira's eyes widened. "What do you mean 'hold them off'? Those things are rank F, maybe E at best! You expect them to fight twenty A rank hunters? That's suicide!"

Raito's tone didn't change. "No. These aren't regular undead. Some of them are rank D, a few are rank C. They'll buy us time."

Kira looked at him in disbelief. "You, you've been hiding this kind of power?"

Raito didn't look back. The ground trembled again, the metal door screeched, beginning to give way. The undead soldiers shifted formation, their glowing eyes fixed on the door.

"Let's start moving," Raito said, eyes narrowing as the faint blue glow from his domain flickered. "Looks like I can see what some of the undead are seeing. They're finding a way out… already."

Before Kira could respond, the metal door behind them exploded inward, a thunderous crash echoing through the corridor.

"Damn it!" Raito hissed.

Twenty A rank hunters charged in, weapons raised, aura flaring like lightning. The thirty nine undead knights turned in unison, their rusted swords scraping the ground as they formed a barrier.

"Hold the line!" Raito commanded. The undead roared, dry, hollow, and chilling, as they clashed with the hunters. Sparks and blood flew instantly.

Raito didn't wait to watch. He grabbed Kira by the arm. "Move!"

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