Dominic was completely restrained by the [Blood Chains], unable to move a muscle.
The chains’ strength depended on the user’s power, and since Alex was the one who cast them, escape was impossible.
Without hesitation, he dashed forward, closing the gap between them in an instant.
His claws gleamed under the dim office light as he slashed Dominic’s stomach twice.
-617,384,200! -617,384,200!
Dominic instantly coughed out an alarming amount of blood.
His health, originally at three billion, was now down to just a fraction of that.
He barely had anything left.
“H-HOW?!” he choked.
His voice shook in disbelief.
Alex didn’t answer.
He simply raised his claws and slashed again.
-617,384,200! -617,384,200!
Dominic’s body shuddered violently.
One more attack, and it would be over.
“You’re weak,” Alex sneered, his voice dripping with contempt, “The enemies I’ve fought could take hundreds of those hits and still stand.”
“You and your little sect? You’re nothing.”
Walking slowly and deliberately around the office, Alex let his words sink in.
The scent of blood filled the air, it mixed with the faint smell of ink and paper.
“T-The… teachers…” Dominic wheezed, barely holding on.
He knew he was done for, but he needed to confirm something, anything, that might give him hope.
“They’re all dead,” Alex answered bluntly, “Killed every last one of them, and your little [Hatred Sect] is next.”
Dominic trembled, not from fear of death.
But from the overwhelming sense of failure.
Alex chuckled, a cruel, mocking sound that made the air feel heavier.
It wasn’t just a laugh, it was a promise of suffering.
Even in death, Dominic knew he wouldn’t escape it.
“But!” Alex suddenly grinned, his golden eyes glinting mischievously, “I’ll spare you under one condition.”
“Tell me where the [Hatred Sect Hideout] is.”
“If you do, I’ll kill everyone… except you.”
Of course, that was a lie, Alex would never spare him.
But it was worth seeing if Dominic would take the bait.
Dominic swallowed thickly.
His mind clouded by pain and blood loss.
“I cannot… disclose…” he murmured, his vision blurred.
Alex sighed, shaking his head.
“If you tell me, I’ll make it quick so they won’t know anything, plus I’ll even heal you.”
“No suffering, no pain, just a clean end.”
Dominic’s breathing became more ragged.
“I… cannot… say…”
The light in his eyes began to fade.
Alex clenched his jaw, even at death’s door, the man refused to talk.
His patience snapped.
Grabbing Dominic’s head, he yanked it up.
He forced their eyes to meet.
“TELL. ME.” Alex’s voice was a growl.
His swirling golden eyes radiated power.
“Or I will haunt you even in death.”
Dominic’s breath hitched.
For a moment, his pupils shrank so much they almost disappeared.
This power… This overwhelming, suffocating power… Even Lord X wouldn’t be able to defeat him.
At this moment, Dominic felt as though he was staring at something far beyond human.
To him… Alex looked like a god.
And realizing that, knowing there was no other way out, he gave in.
“The hideout is in the—” he began.
But just as he was about to speak, a crimson symbol flared to life on his forehead.
The markings glowed like molten metal, searing into his skin.
“N-NO!” Dominic suddenly screamed, and his body convulsed, “I PROMISE I WAS LYING! I WASN’T GOING TO SAY ANYTHING—”
His voice turned into a shriek, unbearable pain overtook him.
Alex took a step back as his eyes narrowed.
And then…
Boom!
Dominic’s head exploded, literally.
Blood splattered everywhere, it stained the walls, the desk, and the floor.
His headless corpse slumped lifelessly against the chair.
Then, finally, it collapsed onto the ground.
A system prompt appeared in Alex’s vision.
[You cannot receive the experience since the other party has been killed by a curse.]
Alex exhaled sharply.
He backed away from the corpse.
“A curse…”
“It’s probably something the [Hatred Sect] placed on their members to prevent them from talking,” Alphox’s voice echoed in his mind.
“Yeah,” Alex muttered.
He crossed his arms.
“Even if they’re tortured or threatened, they’ll die before giving anything away.”
That meant one thing.
The [Hatred Sect] wasn’t taking any chances.
Even the [Guardians of Hatred], the so-called top figures of the sect, had these seals placed on them.
Lord X and the others weren’t going to give up.
No matter what.
Alex clicked his tongue in frustration.
He needed to find them.
But now, he had no leads.
‘Should I ask one of the lights?’
It had been months since he last saw one.
But maybe they could help.
The [Lights] were strange beings.
Alex didn’t fully understand them.
But they had never been a threat to humanity.
Unlike gods, their existence was… different.
There were five lights in total.
[Helping Light (Green) – Always assisted players.]
[Guiding Light (Blue) – Offered hints and guidance.]
[Hopeful Light (Golden) – Provided inspiration and motivation.]
Those three were the good ones.
But then, there were the others:
[Mischievous Light (Red) – Unpredictable and chaotic.]
[??? (???) – The unknown fifth light.]
Alex didn’t know what the last one was.
But if the pattern continued, it was probably another negative entity.
Still, none of them had ever been a major problem.
So he ignored them for now.
Taking a deep breath, Alex called out.
“Guiding Light! Helping Light!”
Silence, nothing responded.
Alex frowned, were they too far away to hear him? Or were they deliberately ignoring him?
After a few minutes of waiting, he sighed.
“…Whatever.”
“As long as they don’t side with the gods, I don’t care.”
Still, something felt… off.
Why had he suddenly thought about them after all this time?
Was it just because he needed help? Or was it something more?
His gut told him he would meet them again soon.
It was the same intuition that had warned him before every major event.
And if he was right… Then the [Chosen Games], the final event of [Universal Descent], would bring out and solve every mystery.
Every powerful entity he had ever encountered would be there, either as participants or as spectators.
“Maybe you should check Dominic’s office,” Alphox suggested, “Though I doubt there’ll be anything useful.”
Alex decided to take the advice.
For the next two hours, he rummaged through the papers.
He scanned through data logs.
He checked every hidden compartment he could find.
Nothing: no documents, no secret messages, no clues.
Just… nothing.
With a sigh, Alex sat down in Dominic’s chair.
His golden eyes glowed faintly: he had failed.
The one lead he had was now dead.
The [Hatred Sect] was still out there.
And he had no way of tracking them.
And even without the [Heart of Calamity], his intuition screamed at him that this wasn’t over.
That the [Hatred Sect] would find a way to revive the [Hatred Demon].
It was inevitable.
They had every item needed for the ritual except the [Heart].
The only thing left to do… Was stop them before it was too late.
‘But how?’
‘Should I just go back to training?’
That would mean failing the [Advancement Task] and resetting his level back to one.
Sure, his stats and skills wouldn’t be affected.
But he would lose all the potential rewards.
‘No,’ he shook his head.
That wasn’t an option, he needed to think.
And just as his thoughts swirled in frustration, something unexpected happened.
A system prompt appeared.
[You haven’t extracted anything from Dominic yet.]
[Your extraction talent has reacted to your determination.]
“Huh?”
Alex’s eyes widened.
“Oh shit—”
That was right.
He had been so focused on the curse and the lack of information that he completely forgot.
He hadn’t extracted anything from Dominic.
If the panel hadn’t appeared automatically, that probably meant he had to do it manually.
His heart pounded.
And taking a deep breath, Alex crouched down.
He extended his hand, and his palm pressed against Dominic’s lifeless body.
EXTRACTION!