"Pfft—"
Lucien spat onto the ground beside Lilia.
A small drop of saliva landed near her shoe.
Lilia slowly looked down at it—
Then back at him.
Lucien smirked faintly.
"Let's go," he said casually, waving his hand toward his men.
The four suited men turned immediately, following him as the five of them walked away through the ruined streets, laughing among themselves.
The hunters watched them leave in silence.
Only when they completely disappeared from sight did Lilia finally let out a long sigh.
"…Annoying as ever," one hunter muttered.
The others gradually gathered around Lilia, their eyes still fixed on the direction the Purloin Guild had gone.
The atmosphere remained tense.
Nobody trusted them.
"…Let's go," one hunter finally said, breaking the silence.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Even Lilia.
Even Zachary.
The group began walking away from the battlefield together, stepping past rubble, broken weapons, and monster corpses scattered throughout the ruined city.
Then—
Zachary stopped.
"Uh… you guys go ahead," he said casually, resting both hands behind his head. "I'll catch up."
"Hm?" Lilia looked back at him.
"…Okay," she said slowly, clearly confused, but she didn't question it further.
The hunters continued moving forward until their figures eventually disappeared into the distance.
Only then—
Did Zachary turn around.
The griffin's corpse still remained where it fell.
Massive.
Motionless.
Even after everything—
Its body still carried an overwhelming presence.
'…Undead.'
The thought crossed Zachary's mind naturally.
Then—
-[Would you like to make this creature an undead?]-
The screen appeared in front of him.
Zachary stared at it silently.
Thinking.
"…Yes," he answered after a brief pause, though uncertainty lingered in his voice.
The moment he accepted—
A massive black circle spread beneath the griffin's corpse.
Dark tendrils slowly rose from the ground, wrapping themselves around the creature's body like living shadows.
The griffin began sinking.
Slowly being dragged downward.
Its enormous body disappeared piece by piece into the darkness below.
Then—
Another notification appeared.
-[Name this Undead to summon it]-
Zachary blinked.
"…Wait," he muttered in confusion. "Why this griffin… but not the Chimera?"
The system answered immediately.
-[This 'Griffin' is an unknown creature without a registered name or identification]-
Zachary frowned slightly.
"So… Chimera was already a fixed species name," he muttered while thinking aloud. "But this thing just resembles a giant griffin…"
No response came after that.
Zachary looked back at the slowly disappearing creature, thinking carefully about what to call it.
Then—
An idea came to mind.
"Gryphon."
The system reacted instantly.
-[Your Undead will now be named 'Gryphon']-
A gryphon.
Another variation of the word griffin.
The black circle finally closed.
Silence returned.
Then—
Crunch!
A faint metallic sound echoed from somewhere nearby.
Zachary's eyes sharpened immediately.
"…Activate."
His Eye of Sensibility activated at once.
The world changed color.
Buildings.
Debris.
Rubble.
Everything faded into a dull, retro gray.
And there—
Below a tall, barely standing building—
Was black.
Hatred.
The figure resembled a human.
The moment Zachary locked onto it—
The figure turned.
Looked directly at him.
Then ran.