He struck.Again.And again.

  The screwdriver smashed into the monster’s skull already lying on the ground. A wet, sickening thud.But nothing.

  No notification.No glow.No thrill.

  Just warm blood on his fingers.

  Kael froze, panting, eyes wide.The corpse at his feet hadn’t moved in several seconds.He’d been pounding on something already dead.

  Another one.One more.Too many.

  With a hoarse cry, he hurled the blood-smeared tool and stumbled backward, tripping over rubble.He fell, slumping into the dust, arms limp at his sides.His face, streaked with grime and sweat, twisted into a mask of frustration.

  He still hadn’t killed.

  Not a single monster.

  Every time he approached a weakened target, another creature would appear.Faster.More savage.

  The fights sted seconds.And Kael just stood there.A bystander.Useless.

  The system gave him nothing.No message.No reward.Nothing.

  All around him, hell had broken loose.

  Screams pierced the night like bdes.Twisted silhouettes collided in frenzied masses, tearing flesh with ravenous hunger.

  Some monsters—through sheer sughter—seemed to evolve.Grow denser.Their movements became sharper.Their cries, deeper.

  One had even grown an extra limb—an ossified club it used to gleefully crush skulls like rotten fruit.

  Kael watched them, his stomach churning.

  Evolution.He saw it happening.He understood it.

  And him…

  He just stood there.Weak.Unseen.

  A human in a world that no longer needed one.

  This isn’t a curse, Kael…It’s an offer.Kill, or be killed.

  He clenched his jaw.

  His body ached.His ankle screamed from the fall off the first floor.He limped.Barely had anything to defend himself.

  He was slow.

  And now, the creatures weren’t just fighting to live —They were fighting to survive.To evolve.

  And him…

  He hadn’t even begun.

  A low growl pulled him back.He spun around.

  A monster was dragging a mangled leg behind it.One of its sockets was empty, oozing.It hobbled straight toward Kael, ignoring the chaos around it.

  Finally.A target.Weak.Alone.

  His heart surged in his chest.Adrenaline burned through his veins like fire.

  Kael pushed himself up with effort.Snatched a rusted metal pipe from the ground.Drew in a sharp breath.

  I have to do it. Me. Not them. Not this time.

  The creature staggered forward. Arms outstretched.Bck fiments oozed from its mouth.

  Close enough.

  Kael tightened his grip.

  "Die, dammit!"

  He struck.Once.Twice.

  The skull cracked—partially. Not enough.

  The monster colpsed to its knees, gargling…

  Then—a hiss. A blur.

  Another monster lunged from the side —Feral.Lightning-fast.

  It pounced on the dying one. Tore it apart with a triumphant snarl. Devoured it like prey.

  Stolen again.

  Kael staggered back, breath caught in his throat.

  He squeezed the pipe so hard it cut into his palm.

  Hot tears welled in his eyes.

  "Why?! Why do they take everything from me?!"

  He stood there.Shaking.Shattered.

  And something inside him…cracked.

  I’m useless...I’m a mistake...

  He stared at his bloodied hand.Knuckles split open.

  Even with all my rage… I’m still nothing...

  A shriek ripped across the sky.A thundercp.

  Then...the world stopped.

  A massive figure was smmed into the ground,Crushed like an insect.The earth shook.Blood burst in thick, violent arcs.

  Kael turned his head slowly.His ears rang.

  Something was coming.

  Not a monster.Not a beast.

  A presence.

  It didn’t walk.It harvested.It consumed.It erased.

  Silent.Unstoppable.Mechanical.

  The creature tore through the battlefield like a living guillotine.

  No screaming.No fury.

  Just the hiss of metal.The snap of bone.The red gleam of carnage.

  Every move was surgical:One strike = one kill.One leap = one throat slit.One turn = one torso torn apart.

  Its limbs obeyed a singur purpose: to kill.One arm elongated, tipped with a chitinous bde.A reinforced leg, built to unch.A spine that bent and twisted, ready to strike or evade.

  It wasn’t born from chaos.It used chaos.It fed on it.

  Around it, the evolved monsters attacked.And fell.One by one.No hesitation.No mistakes.

  Kael watched.Spellbound.Terrified.

  That’s not a creature...That’s a killing machine.

  One by one, the strongest foes colpsed.

  And then...the noise began to fade.Screams died out.The rhythm slowed.

  Not much remained.

  Just a few broken creatures. Crawling. Barely alive.Like him.

  Scraps.

  Kael felt his breath catch.He didn’t dare move.Didn’t dare breathe.

  And in that exact moment…the creature froze.

  Rigid.Still.

  All around it, silence.Nothing left worth killing.No prey of value.

  Then…

  slowly…

  it turned its head.

  Toward them.Toward the remnants.Toward the weak.

  Toward Kael.

  And Kael felt his heart go still.

  Why now?Why... me?Why when there’s nothing left?

  He wanted to run.But his legs were stone.

  The gaze—or whatever passed for one—locked onto him.

  And Kael understood.

  It wasn’t hate.It wasn’t curiosity.Not even a threat.

  It was an assessment.A calcution.A verdict.

  Is it worth it?