The ambient glow of neon lights bathed the interior of the club, casting an otherworldly hue over the patrons indulging in various forms of entertainment.

Gabriella reclined lazily in a plush booth.

Dressed in a white skirt with some boots and white gloves lined with gold, her attire was a stark contrast to the general aesthetic surrounding her.

She liked the food here, and the music was growing on her slowly, but the fashion sense these people had was embarrassing.

The hushed whispers of the crowd, those who were not simply enjoying the performances on the poles before them, only grew more pronounced as they cast furtive glances her way.

Lillith walked over, approaching with a subtle mix of admiration and caution. She wore a tight smile as she gestured toward the seat across from Gabriella.

"You're definitely making a name for yourself already," Lillith remarked. Her tone was a blend of awe and wariness. "I told you that word travels fast in Eden, you know?"

Gabriella acknowledged Lillith with a nod, her eyes scanning the room.

"What did you hear?"

Lillith lowered her volume.

"Well, now, a ton of people think that you're some undercover cop or something, sent to clean up the district. That protection doesn't mean anything to you. It's pretty huge news if that's true."

"I'm still not entirely certain what 'protection' means myself, in this context. Could you enlighten me?"

"Yeah. So, someone being 'protected' basically means that they're connected to a corp. If one person is protected, they can't hurt anyone else who's protected or they risk starting a war, unless both sides establish the battle beforehand and absolve their protectors of any involvement. Thing is, most people who are important, most, uh, strong people in the world are protected. So, if someone was to just walk up and kill a random, protected person, that would be a pretty big deal, right?"

[Ah... I see. If I'm understanding this right, most of the fear that my killing of Jackal produced did not come from people being wary of my abilities. Rather, it's because they believed that an Executioner, working for some company, had been tasked with killing someone who was 'off limits'. Interesting.]

At the same time, it immediately became apparent that continuing to do so would only serve to put a massive target on her back.

[If I did go around killing more "protected" people, I'd become this world's common enemy. A rogue, neutral party, acting completely in favor of my own interests. Even back in Gelmora, to some the idea of neutrality, pure lack of bias, itself was terrifying. As thrilling as the idea sounds, I'd rather take more time to properly get acquainted with my surroundings, first.]

A man soon began approaching them. Apparently, Lillith knew the guy, going by the way she sighed the instant she noticed him.

[A regular?] Gabriella wondered.

Lillith glanced back at her with some resignation.

"Be back in a bit," she said to Gabriella before forcing a smile and heading over to the customer.

Gabriella watched as Lillith engaged in a conversation with the man, who was gesturing towards a more private section of the club. Lillith wrapped an arm around one of his, leaning in very closely to deliver a response, and walked off with him.

As Lillith disappeared into that private space, Gabriella couldn't help but feel a twinge of loneliness pop up.

A few minutes passed, and Gabriella found herself lost in her thoughts.

It hadn't quite sunken in yet that she would be spending the rest of her new life here. She'd almost treated this place like she was visiting, with how flippant she'd been toward the idea of violence. Hearing all of that about the web of faction politics that Gabriella had threatened to set fire to, however, made the permanent nature of her rebirth all the more internalized.

[... I might need to take things a little more seriously. Strong people do exist in this world. And, I still haven't trained enough to ensure that I could win against them.]

The rhythmic thumping of the music filled the air around Gabriella as she sat at the corner of the bar, her eyes occasionally scanning the crowd while she waited for Lillith to return. The ambient hum of conversations and clinking glasses formed a backdrop to her thoughts.

Suddenly, the low murmur of the surrounding conversations faded as the club's massive holographic display switched to a news broadcast.

The visuals of the cityscape transformed into the stern face of a man in a blue suit, his voice projecting through the club's sound system.

"In a shocking turn of events, a brutal attack occurred in the vicinity of Sector 7B earlier today. Reports suggest that a group of unidentified animals, described as 'creatures made of darkness' by a lone survivor, wreaked havoc in the area."

Gabriella's attention snapped to the screen, her eyes narrowing on it.

[What?]

Suddenly, that "TV" as Lillith had told her it was called was projecting images of chaos and destruction onto the club's display. The visuals shifted to the crime scene, displaying the aftermath of the attack in grim detail.

"In what can only be described as a scene from a nightmare, the creatures left a trail of destruction in their wake. Preliminary reports indicate several casualties. Emergency response teams are on-site, working to contain the situation and tend to the injured."

The news anchor then introduced a witness, a disheveled man with haunted eyes. His voice trembled as he recounted the harrowing experience.

"I was just on my way home from work, you know?" the witness began, his hands shaking slightly. "Everything seemed normal until these things appeared out of nowhere. Shadows, like, literal shadows... They moved like nothing I've ever seen, attacking everyone around them."

The witness struggled to find the right words to describe the indescribable.

"I thought I was done for," he continued, his voice wavering. "It was like they were made of pure darkness. They attacked, and people just... no one made it. I-It's like they jumped out of a kid's nightmares or something."

The survivor, a shaken man, was being interviewed, recounting the terrifying encounter with the mysterious creatures.

A chill ran down Gabriella's spine.

[Creatures made of darkness...]

The location of the attack flashed on the screen, and a determination ignited in her eyes.

Without a second thought, she stood up, typing the name of the location in that navigation app and leaving the club behind as she made her way towards Sector 7B.

---

Gabriella arrived on the scene a short while later, tucking her phone away as she spotted the commotion.

Her eyes surveyed the situation with great curiosity and trepidation. The scene described on the TV told a tale of a group of regular people who'd been sharing laughs and relaxing in a narrow alleyway only for something horrific to suddenly appear and ensure that would be the last time they did so.

[... Impossible,] Gabriella thought, rejecting the notion of what she suspected outright, but walking forward nonetheless.

Every step she took resonated with the echoes of her past, of battles waged in distant realms against similar malevolent forces. The weight of her experiences pressed upon her shoulders, almost making her want to turn away and call it all a coincidence.

As Gabriella moved further into the heart of the desolation, she noticed a peculiar stillness—a quiet that defied the bustling energy typical of the city. The usual hum of urban life had been replaced by an ominous silence, interrupted only by the distant wails of sirens and the crackle of flickering flames.

"H-Hey!" Someone called out. "You can't just walk in here, this is a crime scene! HEY! Do you hear-"

The annoying individual had been about to walk up to Gabriella only to be stopped by some partner who simply gestured at Gabriella, whispered something, and, suddenly, the lady seemed far less inclined to go up and talk to her.

Gabriella's eyes never left the alley, though.

Her sharp gaze picked up on the subtleties of the scene. The irregular scorch marks that marred the pavement and the remnants of dark power that Gabriella had long since become acquainted with.

She swallowed.

Pacing back and forth, ignoring several curious eyes and cameras aimed at her, Gabriella punched a hole through the wall to her right.

[Of course.] Gabriella sighed [It couldn't have been as simple as just tossing me in here and leaving me alone, couldn't it? Of fucking course.]

Suddenly, a crackling emerged to Gabriella's left, deeper into the alley.

She turned in that direction, finding that the space itself was distorted. A red-black tear ripped through it.

A snarling demonic hound walked out of it, slowly.

It was a grotesque creature with fur as black as the void and eyes that burned with malevolent flame. Its sinuous form, twisted and unnatural, moved with a predatory grace.

Gabriella's eyes met those fiery orbs, and an unspoken challenge passed between them.

Level 80

MP: 500/500

Gabriella began moving toward it.

The hound emitted a guttural growl that reverberated through the desolation. Gabriella's hand instinctively moved to cast the spells she'd used to face these creatures before, only for her muscle memory to be reminded that she no longer had them.

[Fine.]

She didn't need them.

The hound lunged with a speed that belied its massive form, claws unsheathed and teeth bared in a vicious snarl.

With a dancer's grace, Gabriella sidestepped the initial assault, her lithe frame evading the gnashing jaws by a hair's breadth. The hound's claws raked the air, leaving trails of dark energy in their wake. Without hesitation, Gabriella retaliated.

Her hands, swift and precise, moved with a seasoned grace as she aimed for vulnerable points on the hound's sinuous form. This was, after all, an enemy she knew well.

Strikes targeted nerve clusters and pressure points, exploiting the weaknesses she'd made note of over the years. Each blow was a testament to how dedicated she'd been to the cause of ridding Gelmora of these creatures.

The hound, though formidable, found itself confounded by the unarmed assailant. Gabriella's hands blurred in the air, leaving trails of residual energy as she weaved through the demonic onslaught. It simply couldn't keep up.

The hound, sensing its adversary's tenacity, redoubled its efforts. Yet, with each passing exchange, Gabriella moved like the wind she'd used to control, dodging and countering with a mastery that transcended what was thought to be believable.

She had to give it everything she had, though.

Although Gabriella was level 100, most of that had been invested in her sorcery. Now, with only a collection of level 1 skills to rely on, Gabriella was, effectively, on even footing with this creature.

Still, her knowledge of the matchup won out in the end, and, finally, she punched a hole straight through the creature's head.

She gained no EXP, no satisfaction, nothing she could call a reward for this.

A message appeared.

{Event: Demonic Invasion}

{Periodically, demons will spawn into this world.}

{They possess the unique ability to turn anything they kill into a demon itself.}

{It shall fall on you to ensure your new home does not fall into their grasp.}

Gabriella's eyes widened.

Trait Gained!

Demonic Attunement

{Due to the many years in which you fought this adversary, you are able to sense their presence and predict where more demons will be spawning from.}

Instantly, it was as though a star had been pulled down from the sky and landed behind Gabriella.

She turned and ran.

[Anyone... they kill...]

She raced to the vehicle where the victims of the attack had been brought.

"STEP AWAY FROM-"

Gabriella picked up the man telling her to stop and threw him away. Where he landed or how he landed was not something she was concerned about.

Everyone around her pulled out guns, aiming them at her with fear while Gabriella found the bodies.

Demonic humanoids sprang out.

Level 2

Level 4

Level 1

Level 1

Level 2

Gabriella killed one quickly, but the other five ran around her. Thankfully, it appeared that they retained the stats of the humans they'd killed, but, Gabriella couldn't have them running around, knowing what dying to these creatures did.

She grabbed two of them through {Psychokinesis} but lacked enough power to grab them all.

Still, that allowed her to kill these two effortlessly.

She only had to put slightly more effort into taking out the remaining three, dashing from one to the other in three quick blink-like movements, and punching straight through their hearts.

A few people shot their guns but the chaotic nature of the situation meant that all they hit was Gabriella herself, who was left unscathed.

Staring down at the bodies, though, Gabriella nearly wanted to rip her hair out.

Her stay in this world just got a lot more complicated.