"You're ready."
Ragor's voice echoed through the canyon walls like a blade slicing silk.
Erwin knelt, eyes closed, soaked in his own sweat and dried blood. He had just defeated a four-armed hybrid chimera using nothing but a broken spear and sheer precision.
"You're not a student anymore," Nameless added. "You're a weapon."
"No," Erwin said, standing. "I'm a message."
The Outcasts gathered at the edge of the ancient stone map chamber. Torchlight flickered across the etched realms: Techno Zones, Murim territories, System Citadels, Divine Peaks, Demon Scar Wastes.
Kairos pointed at a crimson-marked sigil.
"Target: Councilor Drayvax. System-Blessed Elite. Head of Dungeon Regulatory Enforcement. Responsible for activating the breach that wiped out your district."
Erwin's expression didn't change.
"Where is he?"
"Public gala," Vel Sari said. "Floating District, Sector 6. Broadcasting live."
"Good," Erwin whispered. "Let them all watch."
🕯️ Floating District, Sector 6
A luxury city hovering over the ruins of the Old World. Neon-glass towers hovered by mana-lock, the sky laced with holograms and floating limousines.
System-Blessed elites drank codewine.
Demon-born danced with angels in disguise.
Artificial gods toasted to control.
Councilor Drayvax stood at the center, draped in gold-threaded robes, laughing beneath a digital sky.
"We've brought peace to the lower world," he declared, "by giving them purpose! Through dungeons, we've created heroes!"
Thunderous applause.
Cameras flashed.
Until the main light shut off.
A single figure dropped from above.
No cape. No insignia. No flashy entrance.
Just a man in a cracked coat, soaked in dried blood, carrying a rusted blade humming with corrupted energy.
Erwin Wail had arrived.
"Who—who let this rat in?" Drayvax sneered, waving to the guards.
Erwin didn't respond.
He walked past the first guard.
Slit his throat mid-step.
Caught the falling rifle.
Used it to blow apart the second's kneecap.
The gala dissolved into panic.
System drones swarmed.
"ERROR. UNREGISTERED ENTITY DETECTED."
"THREAT LEVEL: UNKNOWN."
Drayvax raised his arm — a divine interface spiraling around it.
"By order of the System—"
Erwin vanished.
Then reappeared behind him.
And drove a dagger into the back of Drayvax's throat — not to kill — just to silence.
Blood spilled across the marble.
Erwin turned to the crowd of elites, their mouths open, trembling.
"You don't know me," he said.
"You never even looked at me."
"But I saw everything you did. Every experiment. Every ignored breach. Every late arrival while people burned."
He twisted the blade.
Drayvax gargled, eyes wide.
"This man," Erwin continued, "was responsible for Dungeon 72B."
"The one that slaughtered 3,000 civilians. Including my best friend."
He leaned close to Drayvax's ear.
"He didn't die quickly. You made sure of that."
Erwin ripped the dagger out through the jaw.
Then carved the symbol of the Outcasts into Drayvax's face.
"Now he's a message too."
As the System drones swarmed, Erwin raised his hand. The parasite interface inside him bloomed — a cursed, glitching halo of black code.
Explosions rocked the sky.
The floating district shook.
"Remember this," he told the cameras.
"Your gods abandoned you."
"Your systems betrayed you."
"And I… will burn everything that lets them exist."
He leapt off the edge of the tower, vanishing into the night as the city collapsed behind him.
GLOBAL BROADCAST INTERRUPT
Unauthorized execution of Councilor Drayvax detected.
Public threat level upgraded to "Red Divine Breach".
Kill order issued for unknown rogue entity:
Codename: "The Laughing Wraith"
Real Name: Erwin Wail.
In the Outcast stronghold, the elders watched in silence.
Ragor crossed his arms.
"He's not one of us anymore."
Kairos smiled.
"He's something worse."
[End of Chapter 8 – The One Who Bleeds]