In the shadow of a ruined building,
a dark figure sat in silence, a twisted smile curling on his lips.
A golden eye embedded in his body flickered restlessly, scanning everything around him.
Beside him lay a pitch-black crystal, completely still—as if waiting.
Then he rose.
His gaze ignited with excitement the moment he spotted two figures moving through the rain.
His senses exploded outward, becoming sharpened, distorted, and abnormal.
He could feel everything—every living presence, every shift in the environment—through each falling drop of rain.
The figure stepped out of the darkness, slow and deliberate, lowering his gaze to his hand.
A red mist began to form in his palm, thick and viscous like blood.
It spread, engulfing his entire body.
Then came the laughter—mad and unhinged, echoing through the dense crimson fog.
Something flickered within the mist, alive… watching.
Then, slowly—
the fog began to disperse.
Revealing a metallic device fused to his chest.
A circular structure, elongated, tightly hugging his torso.
But it wasn't entirely metal.
Dark red strands—like blood vessels—burrowed deep into his flesh.
They spread like a web, twitching and pulsing.
At the center—
a circular core.
Inside it… was an eye.
It was open.
Its pupil contracted, then dilated, as if it were breathing.
He raised his hand.
His skin had transformed into overlapping serpent scales, cold and rigid.
Yet instead of fear—
a surge of exhilaration flooded through him.
Was this…
the form of divine power?
He licked his lips—
unaware that his tongue had split into two like a snake's.
Then his gaze shifted—
toward the distant cocoon.
"My heroine… My Queen."
"I won't let anyone get close to you."
"No one…"
"will interfere with this performance."
Before he could finish—
footsteps sounded behind him.
Without hesitation, he swung his arm and hurled his weapon toward the source.
Clang!
Metal collided with metal, the impact sharp and jarring.
But—
no scream followed.
Through the rain, a hooded figure slowly stepped forward.
A limp body hung over his shoulder, its face completely obscured.
The rain poured relentlessly, yet his voice came through—clear and steady.
"It's me."
A streak of red lightning tore across the sky, briefly illuminating the space between them.
The serpent man paused, then slowly curled his lips into a grin.
"Oh… Number 7."
"I already said it."
"This stage is mine."
"You just need to stand outside… and watch."
"So why are you here?"
His face remained hidden beneath the hood, but his voice had changed—higher, sharper, hissing like a serpent.
The man carrying the body did not respond immediately.
His gaze settled on the device embedded in the other's chest.
A brief silence stretched between them.
Then he spoke, his voice low and cold.
"You… activated the Hazard Driver?"
The dark figure tilted his head slightly.
His forked tongue slipped out, tasting the air, before he slowly reached up and pulled back his hood.
His face was revealed.
Serpent scales traced along both sides of his cheeks, and his pupils had narrowed into vertical slits, cold and reptilian.
He smiled.
"What do you think?"
"I feel… overflowing with power."
"Right now, testing it on you wouldn't be a bad idea."
Then his voice dropped, sharp as a blade.
"But don't interfere with my battlefield."
The other man remained silent.
The air suddenly grew heavy as an invisible pressure crashed down, like the sky itself collapsing onto the serpent man's shoulders.
He dropped to one knee, the ground cracking beneath the force.
But in the next instant—
a violent red aura erupted from the Hazard Driver.
It burst outward like a shockwave, tearing apart the pressure binding him.
A dry crack echoed, like invisible chains shattering midair.
The man carrying the body took a half step back.
His eyes flicked briefly to his left hand, then returned to his opponent.
In front of him, the serpent man was laughing wildly, completely unhinged.
"Hahaha…!"
"Even Number 7… can't suppress me!"
"I am unstoppable!"
"With this power…"
"I'll become the strongest!"
Number 7 didn't answer.
He simply turned away.
Still carrying the lifeless body on his shoulder, he began to walk, step by step, slow and unhurried.
Water began to gather around him, forming a circular current that spun and enveloped both him and the corpse.
Before disappearing, he glanced back once—at the madman laughing in the rain.
"Fool… doesn't know his own limits."
The ring of water closed.
Both of them vanished as if they had never been there.
Only the rain remained—
and the echo of laughter.
The serpent man stood there, laughing, his face twisted with madness.
The red aura around him expanded, spreading outward and distorting the space itself.
The crimson mist pouring from his body grew thicker, denser, and more violent.
He lowered his head, looking toward a man and a woman standing far away, deep in conversation.
His tongue slid slowly across his lips, hungry.
The corners of his mouth stretched wider, almost tearing to his ears.
"My prey…"
But then—
he froze.
His gaze shifted toward the distant cocoon.
It was pulsing, each beat heavy, clear, and impossible to ignore.
"…Ah. Of course."
"My Queen."
"I won't let anyone touch you."
He stood still for a few seconds, then gave a small nod, as if reaffirming his own will.
"I… will stay here."
Snap.
He flicked his fingers.
Instantly, the crimson mist around him trembled, as if it possessed awareness.
It began to spread, expanding through the rain like a living entity.
Then, from his mouth, a stream of blood-red mist poured out.
It didn't dissipate or scatter in the wind. Instead, it gathered, thickened, and elongated, twisting and reshaping as it took form.
A tail emerged.
Then scales.
Then a spine.
Piece by piece, the structure assembled itself—
until a massive serpent appeared.
Towering, dark crimson, as if forged from coagulated blood.
Its body coiled, heavy yet alive.
Its eyes opened, cold and starving.
He stared at it, entranced, his tongue slowly sliding across his lips.
"A masterpiece…"
His voice hissed, high and sharp.
"Go… my child."
"Hunt."
"And protect the Queen."
The serpent let out a low growl before surging forward.
Its enormous body slid across the rain-soaked ground so fast it became a blur.
Within moments, it vanished completely.
He remained where he was, watching until not even a trace remained.
Then his hand rose to his face.
He scratched lightly, his nails dragging across the scales and producing a harsh scraping sound.
"Perfect…"
"I can feel everything…"
"I know everything…"
"I am god."
"The ruler of this world."
Mad laughter erupted again, swallowed by the rain—only to echo back, distorted and hollow.
Not long after, he closed his eyes.
The world shifted instantly as his perspective dropped, gliding low across the ground.
He was seeing through the serpent's eyes, sensing every vibration and every subtle movement with absolute clarity.
The prey—two figures daring to approach his Queen.
He chased them, moving faster and closing the distance.
Then his consciousness surged forward, pouring into the serpent's body as he became it.
Everything sharpened, more vivid than ever.
He could feel the weight of the body, the tension of its muscles, and the hunger driving it forward.
Just as he believed he was about to offer fresh prey to his Queen—
something changed.
A red circle appeared beneath him, closing rapidly like ancient magic.
Then it sealed around his serpent.
Through its eyes, he saw the prey bathed in golden light—
and then they vanished without a trace.
He lunged forward, trying to stop it—
but something yanked him back.
Violent. Brutal.
As if something had seized control and ripped him out of the driver's seat, throwing him away.
The connection shattered.
He lost control.
"…Why?"
His serpent eyes widened, then slowly turned toward the cocoon.
Something… was looking back at him.
Not an illusion.
Not a misreading.
It was real.
An invisible gaze pierced straight through him.
At the same time, everything around him began to whisper.
A single signal repeated over and over in his mind.
Something… wanted him dead.
Wanted to devour him.
His senses had reached an entirely new level—sharper, more precise, impossible to mistake.
But he refused to accept it.
"No…"
"No one…"
"can threaten me."
He gritted his teeth, forcing the feeling away.
It was weakness—a reflex of those afraid to die.
Not him.
He closed his eyes again.
Once more, he expanded his senses.
Again.
And again.
Grass, trees, flowers, leaves—
everything felt like extensions of his body.
Every tiny movement lay within his control.
Everything was normal.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing to fear.
Then—
where was his child?
Why had it vanished from his perception?
Why was the connection severed?
His brow tightened as he searched, sweeping every corner within his range.
Nothing.
Not a single trace.
The link was completely gone.
Rage erupted.
The crimson mist around him surged violently once more, growing denser and more savage.
"I will not leave this stage."
"I will stay here."
"No one…"
"is allowed to ruin the Queen's performance."
"Even if it's an army of thousands—"
He stopped.
In the rain, something echoed.
Distant, but clear.
Like countless footsteps, rapid and perfectly in sync.
Then they appeared.
From within the rain.
Layer after layer, like a rising tide—
an army flooding into his battlefield.
"…Impossible…"
His hand clenched, then shot up to his face as his claws dug in.
"How… is this possible?"
"Weren't they… all destroyed already?"
His eyes trembled.
That number was absurd—far too many.
"…No."
He blinked.
Then again.
"…No!"
His senses swept across the entire mass.
There were no heartbeats, no heat signatures, no signs of life—
just images.
"Illusions…"
His voice came out hoarse.
"They're illusions."
But illusions on this scale?
Who could do this?
What kind of system—what kind of technology—could create something like this?
He slowly raised his head, looking toward the structure above.
"I've never heard…"
"…of this research facility having anything like this."
"So what the hell…"
"…is going on?"
A sense of unease crept in, slow but unmistakable.
Then his senses warned him again.
Something was approaching his Queen.
Humans.
Weak. Insignificant.
Daring to step into the forbidden zone he had established.
Rage ignited instantly, fiercer than before.
"You…"
His body dissolved, breaking apart into crimson mist and shooting forward through the rain.
"You insolent humans…"
"You dare enter my domain?"
"I'll crush you."
"No mercy."
"I'll torture you to death…"
"Then turn you…"
"into my new toys."
His laughter tore through the rain.
---
He could feel it—his prey had already touched the crimson mist.
It was only a matter of time.
They would go mad.
"What a pity…"
"I won't get to crush you with my own hands."
"But that's fine…"
"At least I'll get to see your faces…"
"…when you die."
He accelerated, his mist-form surging faster as it closed in on their position.
Then—
he stopped.
"…No."
They were retreating.
Why?
His trap should have been unavoidable.
"What… is happening?"
At that moment, the sky roared.
The wind twisted violently, like a storm forming right above him.
"What the—"
"What now?!"
And then he saw it.
A sight that shattered his expectations.
A massive boulder—
no—
something the size of a meteor—
was falling straight toward him.
No—
more precisely—
straight into his crimson mist.
"The hell…?!"