Chapter 289: _One Way To Start A Horror Movie

Inside the Purple Rift

"Secure every opening around us." The leader said that without yelling, pulling out a blue sword with the handle shaped like a fin. "I doubt someone came in to steal Mason’s body."

An A-Rank Hunter shuddered like he was seconds away from crying. "M-Maybe it’s the elves. Maybe this is their twisted version of psychological torture or something."

"We didn’t see anyone walking in, Corbin."

"Well, how then would you fucking explain his body disappearing?!" He snapped, neck spinning to his teammate. "Bodies don’t just disappear."

"Knock it off, you two." The leader inched closer to a window, sticking to the edge with her sword lowered.

It gave a good view of the ruined city below. But she couldn’t risk looking out too abruptly.

The image of Mason having his eye gouged out by a single arrow was still freshly imprinted in her mind.

"Captain Trinity," another female Hunter whispered behind her. "Since the elves popped up can’t you use that device of yours to track where they are currently?"

The captain shook her head, expression grim. "Look." She raised the compass-like device to her face. "For the brief moment when they attacked us their aether signatures were visible. But now?"

She kept calculating the optics.

For a group of elves to corner and even kill one of them it meant they were easily past A-Rank. Probably S.

If that was the case this team was in serious trouble.

"So are they like," Corbin moved to the opposite edge of the window, "cloaking themselves?"

Trinity angled her head just a bit, allowing one eye to take a peek at what was outside. "From the records gathered after the Emergence," she began, "elves have always been described as stealthy and intelligent beings. But they’re also so rare. Even for an S-Rank dungeon."

No matter how hard she looked she caught no signs of the elves. Not in any of the nearby buildings. Not on the ground or in the plaza a couple of hundred meters away.

She was just about to give the team new orders when a loud voice boomed from outside. Almost guttural.

The words spoken by the voice were elven. Everyone frowned, either shaken out of their minds or genuinely trying to understand what was being said.

The captain knew what she was about to do was a huge gamble. But at this rate, the group was running out of options.

"Please!" She yelled. "We do not mean harm. We were sent in here because a Rift connecting your world to ours opened. We were only making sure there aren’t any threats in here."

The only sound that welcomed her was the shrill of a bird hovering above the city.

"Are we seriously trying to negotiate with the fuckers who killed Mason?" Corbin sneered. "Captain—"

"If you’ve got a better idea, don’t be shy to share." Trinity didn’t even spare him a glance, listening and hoping they’d understand what she said.

Everyone held their breath.

Until they didn’t have to.

"You aren’t... supposed to be here, humans." That same voice spoke again, but this time in English.

Although it was distorted, Trinity understood almost instantly and let relief slip out of her. At least there was no longer a language barrier.

"We... we know that now," she said. "We didn’t—"

"If you wanted us out you could’ve said so without killing our friend!" Corbin yelled, stepping out of the window’s edge. "And now you’ve taken his body as what? A trophy?!"

Someone tried pulling him back but he shrugged them off.

Trinity closed her eyes, hoping the idiot wouldn’t get himself killed.

An arrow whistled through the air before anyone could react.

THUNK!

It buried itself into the wooden frame of the window barely an inch from Corbin’s temple.

The A-Rank Hunter stumbled backwards with a strangled yelp, his face draining of every last drop of colour as his knees nearly buckled beneath him.

"You..." his lips trembled. "Y–You missed."

"No." That same distorted voice answered almost immediately. "We did not."

Silence swallowed the building.

Even Corbin couldn’t find another word.

Every last one of them understood exactly what that meant.

If the elves had truly wanted him dead... He would’ve already joined Mason.

Trinity slowly released the breath she’d been holding. "Thank you for showing restraint."

"We are not your enemies."

The words made every Hunter exchange uncertain looks.

Corbin scoffed despite the cold sweat beading down his forehead. "Bullshit. One of yours literally shot Mason through the eye."

Another pause followed, long enough that Trinity wondered if the conversation had ended altogether.

Then—

"We tried to get you to flee before that."

The captain frowned. "What?"

"You crossed the line."

A chill swept through the room.

"What line?" Trinity pressed.

No answer came.

Instead, the same voice continued. "Your companion is gone."

The captain’s brows knitted together. "Gone?"

"He has been claimed." That single sentence settled over the room heavier than any threat.

Claimed?

Corbin swallowed audibly. "Claimed by... what exactly?"

The voice simply fell quiet.

Trinity waited several seconds before carefully speaking again. "If we’re truly not your enemies then help us understand what’s happening. We have no desire to fight anyone here."

Still no reply.

Until every instinct in her body suddenly screamed.

Not because of an attack.

Because every elf from the last attack began appearing on top of scattered rooftops one by one. And they all had their attention on something now.

Toward the building itself.

Their expressions changed, the hostility vanishing.

In its place now was fear. Unmistakable fear.

One female elf with silver hair stepped onto the edge of a ruined balcony, her glowing eyes widening. Then she shouted. "Leave that building!"

Yet nobody moved.

Corbin barked a nervous laugh. "Nice try."

The elf’s composure shattered completely. "RUN!" Her voice cracked with genuine panic. "RUN NOW!"

Before Trinity could even process the warning, the floor shifted.

The entire building lurched beneath them as though something unimaginably massive had rolled underneath its foundations.

Dust poured from the ceiling. Ancient pillars trembled. Loose stones rattled across the floor.

Every Hunter instinctively spread their footing.

"What the hell was—"

CRUNCH.

CRUNCH.

CRUNCH.

Those sounds echoed from somewhere below them.

Everyone went still.

Corbin’s breathing became audible.

One Hunter slowly lowered herself onto a knee, pressing a trembling palm against the ash-dark floor.

Her pupils shrank. "Captain..."

Trinity looked down.

The thin smear of Mason’s blood they’d failed to clean was suddenly disappearing. Not soaking into the stone.

DISAPPEARING.

Tiny crimson strands crawled across the ancient floor like living veins before slipping soundlessly into impossibly thin cracks between the stone slabs.

Then—the ground rose barely an inch before falling again.

Like the slow expansion of a chest drawing breath.

Trinity’s heartbeat thundered in her ears. She slowly backed away, never taking her eyes off the floor.

"Everyone," Her grip tightened around her sword until her knuckles whitened. "Back away from the floor."

★★★★★

Outside the Purple Rift

The instant Wukong’s feet touched the snow-covered ground outside the quarantine perimeter, several Hunters instinctively raised their weapons.

"Stop right there!"

The Monkey King merely lifted an eyebrow beneath his hood, lazily resting his aether staff across one shoulder.

"Damn," he sighed dramatically. "Didn’t even get a ’welcome to Canada.’"

Kali ignored him entirely.

Her violet eyes remained fixed on the massive Rift looming ahead.

It looked wrong in every sense of the word.

Not simply because of its unusual purple hue. But because it was alive.

Even from dozens of metres away she could see the membrane subtly expanding before contracting again, almost imperceptibly. Like lungs filling with air. Or perhaps—

"A heartbeat..." She whispered.

Gabriel appeared beside them in a ripple of space before the surrounding Hunters could escalate the situation any further.

"They’re with me."

The armed Hunters visibly relaxed.

The Federation representative hurried over, confusion written across his face as he looked between Gabriel and the two hooded strangers.

"You know these people?"

"I do." Gabriel didn’t elaborate. He simply turned back toward Kali. "You came quickly."

"The moment we saw the news." Kali’s gaze never left the Rift. "Tell me everything."

Gabriel didn’t waste time.

He explained the trapped raid team. The Rift becoming completely solid. Then finally—

"A Federation Hunter ignored orders and touched the surface roughly twenty minutes ago." His expression darkened. "The Rift... reacted."

Wukong tilted his head. "Reacted how?"

Gabriel’s jaw tightened. "It tore him apart."

Silence.

"Not metaphorically," he clarified. "His body disintegrated into hundreds of pieces before being dragged inside."

"Well," Wukong scratched the back of his neck. "That’s certainly one way to start a horror movie."

Nobody laughed.

Even he ended up sighing. "Tough crowd."

Kali stepped forward just then.

Immediately several Hunters shouted.

"Ma’am!"

"Don’t get any closer!"

"It’s dangerous!"

Gabriel merely raised one hand. "It’s fine."

Whether they understood why or not, the Hunters reluctantly lowered their voices. Kali stopped barely two metres from the Rift.

Then... She closed her eyes.

The violet aura surrounding her expanded quietly, almost gently, flowing toward the pulsating surface without actually making contact.

Nothing happened for several long seconds.

Then her breathing slowed. Her consciousness slipped beyond the membrane.

Past layers of distorted space. Past the fractured dimensional boundary. Straight into the dungeon itself.

The first thing she felt was hunger.

Not ordinary hunger.

Something infinitely older. Something that devoured because it simply existed to consume.

It wasn’t merely feeding on flesh. It wanted essence.

Spirit. Identity. Life itself.

Her eyes snapped open, the violet aura exploding around her before settling once more.

Gabriel immediately noticed her expression. "What did you find?"

Kali stared silently at the beating Rift before speaking. "That Hunter wasn’t killed."

Everyone frowned.

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked quietly.

She swallowed. "He was consumed."

A cold silence settled over everyone.

"Completely." Her voice had become almost hollow. "Body... mind... soul..."

She looked directly at Gabriel.

"Whatever exists inside that dungeon didn’t simply drag him in... It ate him."