The relay center was a fortress of efficiency, a nerve center designed to monitor and track the movements of exploration teams across several regions of the Northern Ireleone Continent.
Deep within its control room, a wall of displays pulsed with streams of real-time data—tracking beacons, vitals, and status reports from every active group in the field.
It was supposed to be just another routine day.
Then the alarm went off.
A single beacon—one of the life-bound crystals assigned to the exploration team—had gone dark.
The room went silent.
Eyes turned to the central display, where a red dot flashed ominously, marking the last known position of the fallen Dunter.
The officer on duty, a veteran named Garrick, leaned forward, his jaw tightening. “Bring up the beacon logs.”
A technician quickly pulled the data. The screen flickered, showing the sequence of events—tracking stable, then a sudden surge of activity… then nothing.
“Were there any distress signals?” Garrick asked.
The technician shook his head. “Negative. No emergency triggers. No messages. Just… silence.”
That was worse than any distress call.
The commander of the relay center, a hardened woman named Serah, stepped forward. “And the others?”
The technician hesitated before answering. “All missing. The only thing left behind was the single beacon.”
Serah exhaled sharply. “That means none of them survived long enough to activate their distress runes.” Her voice was grim. “Something wiped them out before they even had the chance.”
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Then, Serah straightened. “We’re sending a retrieval team. Immediately.”
Unlike the first group, this one would be different.
This was not an expedition team. This was a rescue and recovery unit—battle-hardened Dunters whose sole purpose was to retrieve survivors and, if necessary, eliminate threats.
Serah wasted no time assembling them.
“We lost a full team,” she told them as they geared up. “Demon hunters and researchers alike. We have a last known location from the beacon, but no additional information. That means we go in expecting anything.”
Among the team was Garrick himself, an expert tracker with decades of experience. Beside him stood Lisette, a master of barrier magic, and Varian, a close-combat specialist whose blade had slain more demons than anyone in the relay center.
They were joined by five more elite Dunters—eight in total, a force strong enough to deal with most threats.
This time, they weren’t going in blind.
Serah handed them two linked crystals. The first was a standard tracking beacon, identical to the one that had led them here. But the second was new—a communication crystal, capable of transmitting live audio in real-time to the relay center.
“You keep this on at all times,” Serah ordered. “I want a constant feed. The moment something feels wrong, you report back. Understood?”
“Understood,” Garrick confirmed.
“Good.” Serah exhaled. “Let’s bring them home. Or at least, bring back whatever’s left.”
The Dunters wasted no time.
Teleportation arrays were precious, requiring significant resources to maintain. There weren’t many, and none existed close to the beacon’s last recorded location.
The nearest active array was an hour’s journey from the site. It would have to do.
The Dunters gathered around the glowing sigils of the teleportation circle, their armor gleaming under the arcane light. Garrick held the tracking crystal tightly, watching the coordinates lock into place.
With a final nod, he gave the command.
The array activated.
In an instant, the world shifted.
The relay center vanished.
Darkness swallowed them—just for a second—before they reappeared at their destination.
A ruined outpost.
It had once been a forward operating base, now abandoned. The structures were little more than crumbling stone, long since overrun by the elements. This was the closest teleportation point to their target.
From here, the rest of the journey would be covered on foot.
The moment they arrived, Garrick activated the tracking beacon. A faint pulse of energy shimmered, pointing them toward their objective.
The Dunters set off without hesitation.
The land stretched out before them, a barren, lifeless expanse. The First Layer of Hell was an unforgiving place—scarred landscapes of jagged rock, rivers of molten tar, and skies filled with eerie red light.
An hour’s journey was nothing for experienced Dunters. But as they moved, an unease settled over the group.
Lisette frowned. “It’s too quiet.”
Varian grunted in agreement. “Not a single demon in sight.”
That alone was unnatural.
Garrick checked the tracker. The signal was getting stronger. They were close.
“Stay alert,” he warned. “Whatever killed them might still be out there.”
The team pressed on, moving as shadows under the crimson sky.
Ahead, looming in the distance, was the cave.
~~~~~
Damon had completely lost track of time.
It had been hours since Miss Leana had tied him, Daveon, and Anaya together like a bundle of supplies and started dragging them across the unforgiving landscape of the First Layer of Hell.
They had long since stopped protesting.
At first, there had been complaints. Then groaning. Then weak attempts at struggling. But now? Now they simply let themselves be hauled along, too sore, too tired, and too resigned to fight it.
The terrain was relentless—sharp rocks, scorched ground, and patches of twisted, blackened earth that reeked of sulfur.
Yet, despite the rough surface, they felt nothing. The enchantment on the rope dulled all sensation of impact, preventing their battered bodies from worsening.
Even so, their pride had taken a hit.
“This has to be some sort of abuse,” Daveon muttered.
Anaya exhaled loudly. “You just figured that out now?”
Damon tilted his head back, staring at the blood-red sky above. “At this point, I think she’s just doing this for fun.”
Up ahead, Miss Leana walked without a hint of effort, her movements as smooth and effortless as ever. Her eyes scanned the area, searching for a target—one strong enough to produce a Grade Four Essence Core.
But so far, nothing.
Grade Four demons weren’t exactly common. They were powerful creatures, cunning and vicious, usually lurking in deeper territories. Finding one should have been difficult, but today, it felt impossible.
Miss Leana stopped abruptly.
The trio barely had time to brace themselves before they were jerked forward, the rope pulling them closer as their guardian sighed.
“Not a single one,” she muttered.
Damon groaned. “Are you seriously complaining about not finding a dangerous, man-eating monster?”
She turned her head slightly. “Yes.”
Daveon scoffed. “What, disappointed that you don’t get to beat something up?”
Miss Leana ignored him, already moving forward again.
And so, the dragging continued.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three.
They passed smaller demons—pathetic Grade Sevens crawling in the dirt, feral Grade Sixes snapping at each other in meaningless fights.
A few Grade Fives prowled the area, their glowing eyes watching from the shadows. Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire
None of them were worth her time.
Then, finally—
Her gaze locked onto movement in the distance.
A deep, rumbling growl echoed through the air.
A shadow moved between jagged rocks.
And then, it stepped into view.
The Grade Four demon was a towering, monstrous figure, its body covered in thick, obsidian-like scales that gleamed under the dim red light.
Four muscular arms extended from its torso, each ending in long, curved claws that dripped with a faint, toxic-looking substance. Its head was elongated, split in the middle by a vertical mouth lined with rows of jagged teeth.
Its glowing orange eyes locked onto Miss Leana.
A predator recognizing another predator.
She didn’t hesitate.
The moment she spotted it, she released the rope.
Damon and the others collapsed onto the ground, the bindings falling loose the instant she let go.
But Miss Leana was already moving.
She sprinted forward, closing the distance with terrifying speed.
The demon let out a guttural roar, swinging one of its massive arms toward her. The claws sliced through the air—only to hit nothing.
She had already dodged.
Miss Leana twisted her body, sliding under the demon’s arm, then launching herself upward with a burst of force. Her twin blades flashed in the air, striking across its chest.
Sparks erupted as metal clashed against its hardened scales.
The demon staggered back, hissing in pain. But it wasn’t done yet.
It retaliated instantly, lunging forward, its vertical mouth splitting open wider than before—rows of jagged teeth aiming to snap her in half.
Miss Leana’s expression remained unreadable.
She moved before the beast could close its jaws, flipping over its head in a blur of motion. As she landed behind it, she twisted sharply, her blades slicing downward.
Crack!
Kaaareeeii!!
The demon let out an agonized shriek as one of its arms was severed completely, black blood spraying onto the ground.
It thrashed, its remaining arms clawing at her wildly. One of them nearly grazed her side—but she was too fast.
Her body weaved between attacks like a ghost, her movements precise, almost effortless.
And then—
She ended it.
Miss Leana darted forward in one final burst of speed, her blades glowing with condensed energy. She leapt, twisting mid-air before driving both swords straight into the demon’s chest.
The force of the impact sent a shockwave through the ground.
For a moment, the creature’s glowing eyes flickered.
Then—silence.
The massive body crumpled, its weight causing the earth beneath it to tremble.
Miss Leana stood atop the fallen beast, her blades still embedded in its corpse. She exhaled slowly, then yanked the swords free, shaking off the blackened blood.
The battle had lasted less than a minute.
Damon, Daveon, and Anaya could only watch in stunned silence.
“Did she… just solo a Grade Four demon in under a minute?” Daveon whispered.
“Of course she did,” Anaya muttered. “It’s Miss Leana.”
Damon sighed. “And here I thought she was just dragging us around to mess with us.”
Miss Leana approached them again, dragging the corpse behind her with one hand.
She walked up to Damon, stopping directly in front of him. Without a word, she dropped the demon’s carcass onto the ground and retrieved her rope, wrapping it around her wrist once more.
Then she reached down, her fingers cutting through the creature’s thick hide with surgical precision.
With a quick, practiced movement, she extracted a glowing Grade Four Essence Core from its chest.
The dark-red crystal pulsed with raw power, a testament to the demon’s strength.
Miss Leana turned to Damon, holding it out with a blank expression.
“Here,” she said flatly.
Damon blinked, still processing everything that had happened. He reached out, hesitating for a second before taking the core from her hand.
It was warm. Almost alive.
Miss Leana narrowed her eyes slightly. “You’d better put it to good use.”
Damon gulped. “Yes, ma’am.”
She sighed, shaking her head before turning away. “Let’s go. No more delays.”
Then, without another word, she grabbed the rope—again—and resumed dragging them forward.
Damon groaned as he felt the tug around his waist. “Oh, come on—”
His words were cut off as he, Anaya, and Daveon were once again yanked off their feet, dragged mercilessly across the landscape as their unstoppable guardian led them towards their next stop. The Regulator.