Devourer: Echoes of the unwritten

[Scene: Guild Central Archives – Dawn]

The main guild tower pierced the clouds like a metal spear.

Inside, at the deepest level of the Archives Division, five executives sat at a glowing hexagonal table. Surveillance screens buzzed around them—some showing monster raids, others… showing him.

Kaito.

One screen replayed footage of his latest kill: the Alpha Scythehound, absorbed in seconds. Another showed his new mutation—a glowing scythe tail curling like a blade.

The silence in the room was suffocating.

Then—

"Human?" one man scoffed. "That thing is a walking bio-weapon."

A woman with silver eyes leaned forward. "He's evolving like no one else. Fast. Brutal. Unpredictable."

"He absorbed two registered hunters. That's enough to blacklist him."

The chairman finally spoke.

"Issue a shadow-level bounty."

The room went still.

"You mean…"

He nodded.

"Classify him as a Rogue Threat."

"From this moment on… Kaito Ryu is a Hunter-Level Target."

A screen updated:

[⚠ GLOBAL BOUNTY ALERT ⚠]

Target: Kaito Ryu

Threat Rank: Unconfirmed (Est. S-Class or Higher)

Status: Rogue System User

Reward: 700,000 Credits (Alive) / 500,000 (Dead)

"Approach with extreme caution. Target is not fully human."

[Scene: Backstreets – Market Slums]

Kaito sat on the edge of a broken rooftop, eyes scanning the city.

He saw the posters before he felt the tension.

Printed bounty sheets with his face—hood up, glowing eyes barely visible—were already plastered across alley walls.

"So they made their move…"

His tail flicked behind him instinctively.

Footsteps echoed.

"Kaito…?"

He turned.

It was Reina.

Panting. Wet from the rain. A bounty paper in her trembling hand.

"They're hunting you now… The guild. Everyone."

Kaito didn't flinch.

"I know."

Reina stepped closer. "But… they're calling you a monster!"

He stood up, shadows rippling from his feet.

His voice was colder now. Controlled. Focused.

"Then let them hunt."

"I'll devour everything that comes."

[Scene: Mid-City Rooftops – Nightfall]

Four figures moved through the dark, silent as assassins.

They were bounty hunters—ex-military, rogue-class.

High-level.

Well-paid.

All after one name.

"Kaito Ryu."

One aimed a sniper rifle down at a burned courtyard below.

"We got eyes. Movement by the south alley."

"Target acquired."

BANG!

A silent shot fired.

[Scene: Instant Counterattack – Shadow Strike]

THWIP.

[Void Step → Abyss Shift]

Kaito disappeared before the bullet hit.

Then—he reappeared right behind the sniper.

"Nice try."

SLASH.

The hunter's head rolled across the gravel.

Blood sprayed across the rooftop.

The others panicked.

"HOW DID HE—?!"

Kaito moved through them like a ghost. One vanished in a blink—dragged into the dark. Screams echoed.

"Stay together! Don't split—!"

Too late.

A tail sliced through the third's abdomen. Clean cut.

Final one activated a flame barrier—C-Rank spell.

Kaito simply walked through it.

[Shadow Body – Element Resistance: Moderate]

"Wait—WAIT—!! I'll talk! I'll—"

CRACK.

Silence.

[Scene: Guild Intel Room – Same Night]

Yuna Mizaki watched the camera feeds as one-by-one the hunters' vitals flatlined.

All four—dead.

In less than sixty seconds.

She sighed.

"Sending amateurs against him was a mistake."

The AI chimed:

[Target shows new behavior patterns. Morality continues to decline. Instinct Override rising: 12%]

[Estimated Time Until Core Awakening: Unknown]

Yuna narrowed her eyes.

"Who are you turning into, Kaito?"

[Scene: East District Slums – Later That Night]

Kaito stood in an alley, body steaming, blood dripping from his tail. His breath came in slow, deep waves.

He opened his status window.

[STATUS UPDATE]

Level: 12

Evolution: Stage One – Stable

Core Mutation Fragments: 2 / 4

[New Skill Unlocked – Predator Sense (Passive)]

– Allows real-time detection of hostile intent within 20 meters.

[Warning: Instinct Override Reaching Risk Zone]

– Host must stabilize or risk Berserk Evolution

"It's getting harder to hold back…"

His hand clenched the brick wall beside him.

Veins bulged.

His hunger… was starting to control him.

[Final Scene: Kaito walking through the city slums, bounty papers fluttering around him in the wind. People watching from windows, terrified—but none brave enough to move.]

Text overlay (anime-style narration):

"He once walked among humans… but now, they only whisper his name in fear."

"The boy who was thrown away by the system…

has become the system's greatest threat."

Next Chapter: "Blood Core: The Second Fragment"