The Broadwood Gate opened with a metallic roar, like bones being torn apart. It always sounded the same—but today the sound was deeper, heavier, as if it knew this wasn't just a team of hunters entering.
It was two predators stepping into the same space.
I took the first step forward, and the ground beneath my boots trembled slightly.
That wasn't the barrier.
That was the Predator System responding.
[WARNING: HIGH EMOTIONAL VOLATILITY ZONE]
[PREDATOR SIGNATURES DETECTED — TWO SIMULTANEOUSLY]
Two.
Mine.
And hers.
Mira moved beside me like a shadow—too quiet, too smooth, too stable. Her face remained soft, almost kind, but her eyes… her eyes were empty. As if someone removed the person inside and left only the shell.
The others noticed nothing.
Armin kept talking like always.
"All right, team!" He raised his hand, wide grin, effortless ignorance. "Quick run! First dungeon of the semester, no panicking! Mira, stay in the back. Eliasz… well, you know where."
I knew.
In front of the monster.
Always there.
Only today, I was the one holding the leash.
Mira turned her head toward me. Her smile was gentle, but something inside it twitched—something inhuman.
[PREDATOR RESONANCE DETECTED]
[SOURCE: MIRA — CONFIRMATION 92%]
No more doubt.
I stepped slightly to the side, pretending to check the entry path. In reality, I measured distance, angle, reaction.
She didn't react.
Predators don't respond to movements that aren't meant to kill.
The forest swallowed us whole.
⸻
The first stretch of the dungeon was exactly as I remembered—damp soil, cold air, thick roots twisted overhead. The smell of rot and moisture clung to everything.
In my previous life, death came here quickly.
This time, I waited for it to arrive late.
Armin marched at the front, playing leader. The others followed loosely. Only Mira and I stayed at the very back.
She was silent.
I was calculating.
[WARNING: UNSTABLE ENERGY LEVELS — MIRA]
[FLUCTUATION PATTERN: RISE / DROP / DISTORTION]
[POSSIBLE STATES: HYBRID? DORMANT PREDATOR? SYSTEM INFECTION?]
It wasn't the same presence as the man from the alley.
His was clean. Systemic.
This was dirtier.
Like something had only recently awakened inside her.
Like the Predator System clung to her as a parasite, not a master.
Good.
A weaker predator is easier prey.
Armin suddenly raised his fist.
"Hold!" he hissed. "Something's coming."
Everyone tightened formation.
Only Mira smiled faintly—like she already knew the outcome.
The monster burst from the dark: a wolf-type mutant, low-tier but fast. In my previous life, it slammed into my side and threw me into a tree.
This time, I stepped forward.
The First-Edge Blade flashed into my hand, its edge light as breath.
The Predator System opened on its own.
[MODE: FIRST BLOOD ACTIVE]
[TEMPORARY BONUS: STRENGTH +40%]
[SUGGESTION: STRIKE NOW — ALL GAINS WILL AMPLIFY FUTURE ENGAGEMENTS]
I moved without hesitation—no fear, no emotion, no backup plan.
The blade cut through air, then through the beast's throat.
Silence.
Clean. Absolute.
The monster collapsed without a sound.
The team froze.
"W—what was that?" someone muttered.
Armin scoffed.
"Beginner's luck."
Idiot.
Mira watched differently—not shocked, not afraid.
Curious.
[MIRA — RESPONSE: ADVANTAGE ANALYSIS]
[INTENT: THREAT ASSESSMENT]
A predator measuring another predator.
Test one: complete.
Then the system hissed like a sharp breath.
[DEVOUR AVAILABLE]
[COMPONENTS: CHARGE INSTINCT / COLUMBIAN REFLEX]
[ABSORB?]
Yes.
Something wild surged through me—not emotion, but data.
And within that violent stream, I sensed something else…
Mira turned her head too late.
Too sharply.
Like someone suppressing an unnatural reaction.
Yes.
It was her.
⸻
The deeper we went, the more unstable the dungeon became. Trees twisted at wrong angles. The ground pulsed like muscle. A sweet, metallic scent filled the air—the promise of blood.
In my previous life, I died after twenty minutes.
This time, only four had passed.
A larger clearing opened ahead.
This was where things always went wrong.
Armin turned around.
"Eliasz. You go first. Draw aggro. Mira, take the rear."
Mira nodded.
No words.
No hesitation.
Like she already knew the result.
I took one step forward.
Just one.
The Predator System shuddered violently.
[WARNING: SUDDEN SYSTEM TENSION SPIKE]
[SECOND PREDATOR SIGNATURE — DISTANCE: 8 METERS]
[POSITION: BEHIND YOU]
Behind me, there was only Mira.
I didn't turn.
A predator doesn't expose its back to another predator—
but it also doesn't react nervously.
"Mira," I said quietly. "Keep your distance."
"Of course," she whispered.
Too fast.
Too soft.
[MIRA: FOREGROUND EMOTIONS — 0%]
[PREDATOR ACTIVITY: BACKGROUND — RISING]
That wasn't her voice.
That was the system speaking through her—like a puppet.
We stepped into the clearing.
⸻
The monsters attacked immediately. Three of them, exactly as I remembered: two smaller wolf mutants and one larger brute with bark-like growths on its skull.
Armin shouted orders.
The team scattered.
I moved—not to fight, but to feel.
[DEVOUR AVAILABLE — 3 TARGETS]
[SYSTEM SUGGESTION: ABSORB DATA FROM SECOND PREDATOR'S COMBAT PATTERNS]
That surprised me.
The second Predator fought differently.
Aggressive.
Chaotic.
Like something still learning its own body.
Did Mira know?
Was there anything of her left?
I cut the first beast's throat.
Snapped the second's spine.
The third fell only because its eyes stopped tracking me—something distracted it.
Too many variables. Too fast.
Armin shouted:
"Finish it! Finish it! Mira!"
Mira and I turned our heads at the exact same moment.
Her eyes were glowing.
Not with emotion.
With system light.
Blue.
Shimmering.
[MIRA — ACTIVATION ≈ 30%]
[WARNING: PREDATOR MODE AWAKENING]
Time slowed.
She stepped forward.
Not like Mira.
Like a predator lining up prey.
Not the monster.
Me.
The Predator System inside me screamed—so loud I almost felt sound.
[WARNING: ATTACK ON HOST IN 1.2 SECONDS]
[ONLY ONE MOVE CAN SAVE YOU]
A fallen leaf trembled in the air.
Mira vanished.
Smeared—like she had no mass.
In my previous life, I would never have seen it.
Now I caught every detail.
She reappeared to my right—too close, too fast.
Her smile cut through space.
She wanted the first strike.
The Predator System flared.
[ACTIVATE "FIRST-EDGE BLADE" NOW]
And for the first time in history, two Predators struck at the exact same moment.
The air shattered.
Everything I knew told me this fight shouldn't be happening yet.
Not here.
Not now.
Not in this life.
And that's why the cliffhanger came a second later.
A voice echoed from beyond the clearing—
a voice I hadn't heard since the reset.
A voice that knew the truth about Predators.
"Stop. Immediately.
Both of you will die."
We froze mid-motion.
Me.
Mira.
The systems.
And above us, the sky cracked like glass.