Claire stepped to the side, gesturing toward her assembled squad. "Julian," she said smoothly, using the gentleman’s first name with a familiarity that immediately put the rest of the team on edge. "This is my core team for the World Exterminator Ranking Tournament. You already know Rol. This is Gideon, Sora, and..."

Her hand gestured toward the silver-haired teenager standing with his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Before Claire could even finish the introduction, Julian’s calm, measured gaze shifted. He eyed Hide curiously, his bottomless mana seemingly rippling for a fraction of a second. With smooth, elegant strides, Julian walked forward, closing the distance between them. He offered his hand.

Hide looked at the extended hand for a moment before slowly pulling his own from his pocket and accepting the handshake. The grip was firm, perfectly calibrated, but beneath the skin, Hide could feel the weight of a devastating physical force holding back.

"I have heard a lot about you," Julian said, his voice a rich, cultured baritone that carried easily over the ambient noise of the sweltering streets. "A prodigy, that old man called you. I am very much looking forward to meeting you in the tournament."

That single statement instantly shattered the quiet tension of the group, taking them all by sheer surprise.

Gideon’s jaw dropped, his massive frame tensing. Sora blinked rapidly, looking between Claire and the suited man as if she had misheard him. Even Hide felt a sharp spike of confusion cut through his stoic demeanor.

The man was an S-Rank Commander. Everyone in the Exterminator underworld knew the fundamental rules of the World Ranking Tournament: it was the grand stage for rising stars, prodigies, and elite Awakeners trying to carve their names into the global hierarchy. High-tier administrators and acting Commanders—literal walking natural disasters who had already reached the absolute peak of human power—were strictly forbidden from entering.

Claire’s professional smile vanished, replaced by a deep, genuine frown. She took a step forward, her red eyes narrowing sharply. "Julian, what are you talking about? What was that about meeting him in the tournament?"

Julian released Hide’s hand. He took a slow step backward, and a bright, boyish smile spread across his handsome face. He opened his arms wide in a theatrical, exaggerated gesture of welcome.

"Surprise," Julian declared cheerfully, his tone dripping with sheer arrogance. "I have resigned from my post as Commander. And as of yesterday, I have officially entered the World Exterminator Tournament." He casually gestured a finger toward the swirling, bruised-purple vortex of the 4-Star Gate humming behind him. "My team is already inside the gate. So, you guys might need to hurry if you want to have anything left for yourselves."

Claire was utterly dumbstruck. She stared at him, the red aura around her form flickering erratically as her mind struggled to process the sheer absurdity of his words. Resigned? An S-Rank Commander stepping down from one of the most powerful, lucrative, and politically influential seats in the world, just to enter a ranking tournament?

’Why...’ Claire thought. ’Why would he possibly do that?’

The gentleman’s cheerful, measured smile slowly faded. The perfect, aristocratic posture seemed to subtly contort. Julian looked at Claire, the polite mask slipping to reveal something entirely different. He leaned closer, invading her personal space, his voice dropping into a low, chilling rasp that made the hair on the back of Hide’s neck stand up.

"You are thinking of why I did that, aren’t you, love," Julian whispered, a terrifying glint of madness sparking in his eyes.

Through his True Sight, Hide watched in horror as the previously calm, bottomless pool of Julian’s mana violently churned. It turned into a raging, chaotic storm of dark ambition and malice. The pressure of it was enough to make Gideon take an involuntary step back, his massive hands trembling.

Julian stood up straight again, the heavy pressure vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. He let out a dark, rattling chuckle, smoothing the lapels of his suit.

"To become number one, of course," Julian stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He pointed his finger at Claire. "You were here the last time, Claire. You must remember. I was only a B-Rank back then. I poured my blood and sweat into that arena, but that fucking imbecile took my place just because he was a bit stronger at the time. It was a humiliation I have carried every single day since."

Julian’s knuckles turned white, his cultured voice straining with barely contained fury. "But now... now I have reached the absolute peak of my potential. I am an S-Rank. I have cultivated my class and my talents to perfection. I will crush every single prodigy, veteran, and so-called genius on this continent. I will be the best in the world. And no title or bureaucratic post was going to keep me from my crown."

Hide’s blue eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. He gritted his teeth, suppressing a violent wince.

Mad! Hide thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. This person is completely mad! Hide had fought feral Calamity Beasts, psychopathic curse-users, and cold-blooded assassins, but the entity standing in front of them was a different breed of monster entirely.

There were actual madmen like this in the tournament? An S-Rank powerhouse who threw away global authority just to satiate a bruised ego from years ago? Looking at the manic glint in Julian’s eyes, Hide could easily tell that this bastard would not hesitate to brutally murder anyone who stood in his path to the top spot. He would slaughter rookies and veterans alike without a shred of remorse, all for the sake of his own twisted vanity.

He wasn’t so gentlemanly now.

"But how did they even allow you to enter?"

The voice came from the back of the group. Rol, who had kept a safe distance away from the commotion up until now, finally stepped forward. The lazy, slouching assassin had his hands shoved into his pockets, but his grey eyes were glowing with the sharp, calculating light of his talent.

"Even if you formally resigned from your post," Rol continued, his voice tight with suspicion, "that doesn’t take away the fact that you are an S-Rank Awakener. You are far too powerful to be in a tournament designed mainly for new Exterminators and rising talents. The international committee strictly evaluates the power output of the registrants. They should have instantly vetoed your application."

Julian slowly turned his head. He looked past Gideon and Sora, his gaze landing squarely on the slouching assassin. The manic tension in his face smoothed out, replaced by a condescending, deeply amused smirk.

"Oh, look. Little Rol has grown so much," Julian mocked, his voice practically dripping with patronizing sweetness. "I remember when you were just a scrappy kid. And look at you now—you tower above me."

Julian eyed the assassin up and down, casually tapping his cane against the pavement. He let out a short, dismissive sigh.

"You just need money and power, kid," Julian added, his tone utterly devoid of morality. "The committee? The international evaluators? They are all human, Rol. And humans have prices. When you possess the kind of wealth I have accumulated, and the leverage of an S-Rank, you don’t ask for permission to bypass the rules. You buy the rulebook and rewrite it. It really is that simple."

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the squad. The sheer reality of the corruption, flaunted so openly, left a bitter taste in Hide’s mouth. The tournament wasn’t going to be a fair test of skill. It was going to be a bloodbath dominated by monsters cheating the system.

Claire finally snapped back to her senses. She violently shook her head, her red aura flaring as she forcefully reasserted her authority over the squad.

"Enough," Claire ordered, her voice sharp and commanding, cutting through the heavy tension. She turned her back on Julian and looked directly at Hide, Rol, Sora, and Gideon. "We are wasting time. If his team is already inside clearing the grid, we are losing valuable experience and artifacts. We should go in the gate right now."

Gideon pounded his massive fists together, his face set in a grim scowl. Sora drew one of her serrated daggers, twirling it anxiously, while Rol simply gave a stiff nod. Hide didn’t say a word, his glowing blue eyes fixed on the bruised-purple vortex of the 4-Star portal. He silently agreed. There was nothing more to be gained by standing out here in the sweltering heat listening to a madman.

"Alright team, move out," Claire instructed, stepping back to clear the path.

As the sponsor and official administrative handler for their squad in this specific bracket of the tournament, Claire was required to remain outside.

Hide led the charge. He stepped past Julian without giving the S-Rank a second glance, plunging directly through the heavy, shimmering stasis field of the gate. Gideon, Sora, and Rol quickly followed, their figures blurring and distorting as the spatial tear swallowed them whole.

Outside the perimeter.

Claire stood perfectly still, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her red eyes locked onto the spot where her team had just vanished. Beside her, Julian rested both hands on the railing, watching the portal with a satisfied, predatory smile.

Once the squad was completely gone, Julian slowly turned to face Claire. The manic, terrifying glint in his eyes had receded, entirely replaced by the smooth, cultured charm he had initially worn.

"Did I tell you," Julian murmured, his voice dropping into a soft, velvety register as he looked deeply into her red eyes, "that you look absolutely gorgeous today?"

Claire blinked, completely caught off guard by the sudden, jarring shift in his demeanor. The sheer whiplash from unhinged megalomaniac to suave gentleman made her heart skip a chaotic beat. Despite knowing exactly how dangerous the man standing in front of her was, a faint dusting of pink touched her cheeks.

"Thanks," Claire replied, her voice a little flustered as she looked away, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Julian smoothly stepped closer. He reached out, gently taking both of her hands in his own. His thumbs traced her knuckles with practiced, disarming elegance.

"It will take our respective teams quite some time to clear a 4-Star gate," Julian suggested, offering a warm, inviting smile that betrayed none of the madness hiding beneath his skin. "Would you care to join me for a drink while we wait for them to finish?"

Claire looked at his hands, then up at his perfectly composed face. After a moment of internal debate, she gave a slow, hesitant nod. "Alright. A drink."

Inside the Gate.

The spatial transition was incredibly violent.

The moment Hide’s boots passed through the threshold, the sweltering, forty-degree desert heat of Ufrifa was instantly, violently ripped away. It wasn’t just a drop in temperature; it was a complete atmospheric inversion.

Hide landed heavily on a jagged expanse of slick, freezing black rock. Before he could even open his eyes, a deafening, apocalyptic roar shattered the air. It wasn’t the roar of a Calamity Beast. It was the sky itself tearing apart.