Tower 1 — Floor 23, Crimson Garden
The floor smelled like rust and flowers.
A twisted garden of red vines stretched across the landscape, petals dripping crimson dew that stained everything they touched.
Stone pillars rose from the ground like gravemarkers.
The sky overhead glowed an eerie, permanent sunset—blood-red and unmoving.
Ragnor stepped into the garden and immediately winced.
"…Okay, I don't like this place."
Lyra scanned her surroundings.
"No wind. No insects. Nothing moves unless we do."
Aetherion nodded.
"Floor 23 is known for ambush predators and hunters.
It's one of the few floors… where humans are considered prey."
Rio stood silently, staring at the red vines swaying even though the air was still.
Iris hugged her spellbook close.
"W-why is everything red…?"
Aetherion answered:
"The Bloodplate Hunter coats the entire floor in its domain.
He absorbs life to grow stronger."
Ragnor frowned.
"He?"
Lyra exhaled softly.
"…it's a person."
A Rival Party Appears
Before Ragnor could ask more, a harsh voice cut through the vines.
"Well, well. Look who the Tower dragged in."
A group of seven stepped out from behind a crimson tree.
Heavy armor, red-tinted pauldrons, blades shaped like serrated fangs.
Each one bore a metal chestplate—painted with a blood-red insignia of interlocking claws.
The Bloodplate Guild.
One of the most ruthless rising factions.
Their leader stepped forward—
a tall young man with silver hair, cruel eyes, and jagged scars across his knuckles.
He looked their group over with a slow, predatory grin.
"Well now. If it isn't the rising misfits everyone keeps whispering about."
Ragnor's face fell.
"Oh hell…"
Lyra lowered her bow slightly.
"Who are you?"
The leader tapped his blood-red plate.
"Eliron. Commander of Bloodplate's Second Fang.
And… unfortunately for you—"
He pointed directly at Rio.
"—I'm here for that boy."
Rio's blood froze instantly.
Iris moved in front of him.
"You can't have him!"
Eliron smirked.
"Can't? Oh, little girl, you misunderstand."
Aetherion shifted forward, cosmic runes glowing.
"Eliron. There is no reason to escalate."
"Oh, there is," Eliron snapped.
"See, there's a rumor floating around."
He stepped closer, voice dropping cold.
"Something about a kid with false memories…
and a strange energy signature that only monsters react to."
Rio's heart slammed against his ribs.
Lyra's bow snapped up, aimed at Eliron's throat.
"Step back."
He didn't.
He smiled wider.
"You're protecting him? How adorable."
Ragnor crackled his knuckles.
"You wanna fight? We can fight."
Iris' hands trembled as she prepared a spell.
But Eliron raised a hand.
"Relax. I don't kill kids."
Then he pointed behind them.
"I let someone else do the killing."
A vine snapped.
Everyone turned.
And saw—
A creature perched on a stone pillar behind them.
Humanoid.
Tall.
Skin pale-red like stained bone.
Its chest was plated with cracked armor made from solidified blood.
Its claws gleamed.
Its face was covered by a featureless crimson mask.
Lyra whispered:
"…Bloodplate Hunter."
Aetherion's voice lowered.
"It's already chosen a target."
Rio felt the presence lock onto him.
Cold.
Sharp.
Hungry.
Iris grabbed him, terrified.
Ragnor stepped forward.
"THEN TARGET ME!!"
The Hunter didn't even look at Ragnor.
Didn't even acknowledge him.
Lyra's eyes widened.
"It… only wants Rio."
Aetherion's cosmic aura burst.
"Everyone—DEFENSIVE FORMATION!"
Eliron chuckled.
"Oh, don't die too quickly. I'm curious to see how far you make it."
He waved to his party, stepping back to watch like royalty waiting for a show.
Ragnor snarled.
"You're just gonna WATCH?!"
"Of course.
The Hunter never attacks its spectators."
Lyra gritted her teeth.
"Why is it after Rio?!"
Eliron smirked.
"Ask him."
Rio's mouth opened — but nothing came out.
He didn't know.
Or he wasn't ready to know.
Because something inside him was remembering something—
Something not human.
The Bloodplate Hunter Moves
The creature tilted its head slowly, as though analyzing Rio's soul.
Then it vanished.
Ragnor shouted:
"LEFT—!!"
A slash nearly ripped him in half—
only Lyra's arrow redirected it at the last split-second.
Iris shouted:
"Temporal bind—!"
Time froze around the Hunter.
But the bind cracked instantly.
Like glass.
Aetherion blasted it with a gravitational pulse—
it bent under the force,
then straightened
without effort.
Ragnor punched its mask—
the mask dented—
Then reshaped itself.
Iris whispered:
"It… can regenerate…"
Lyra fired seven arrows in succession.
All flew true—
All dissolved mid-flight.
Aetherion's eyes narrowed.
"It's not regenerating.
It's rewriting the damage."
Ragnor yelled:
"HOW DO WE FIGHT THAT?!"
No one had an answer.
Because the Hunter wasn't moving like a monster.
It was moving—
Like a memory trying to correct itself.
The Hunter appeared behind Rio.
Iris screamed.
Lyra fired.
Ragnor charged.
Aetherion unleashed a gravity well.
The Hunter's claws descended—
Straight toward Rio's chest—
And then—
Someone blocked the strike.
A broke the sound of vines and steel.
Even Eliron startled.
The Bloodplate Hunter staggered back, arm severed at the elbow.
The arm hit the ground and evaporated into red flowers.
Standing in front of Rio—
Barefoot.
Silent.
Mask gleaming white under the crimson sky—
Was DRM.
The child.
Calm.
Unbothered.
Empty.
He tilted his head toward the Bloodplate Hunter.
The Hunter recoiled.
Far more afraid than it ever was before.
Rio whispered:
"…DRM…"
The child spoke one word.
A whisper.
A command.
A verdict.
"No."
The vines around them shuddered.
The sky flickered.
Even the Bloodplate Guild froze, instinctively stepping back.
The Hunter lowered itself.
Then—
It retreated into the vines.
Fled.
Terrified.
The ground stopped trembling.
Lyra slowly lowered her bow.
Ragnor exhaled.
"What… the hell… was that…?"
Aetherion watched DRM closely.
Very closely.
"He… rewrote the Hunter's instinct."
Iris whispered:
"He saved Rio…"
Eliron stepped forward, eyes narrowed.
"That child… who is he?"
Rio lowered his head.
And DRM—
turned around,
looked directly into Rio's eyes,
and tilted his head.
No emotion.
No recognition.
No comfort.
Only—
analysis.
Then he vanished.
Just like always.
Leaving the team shaken.
Leaving Rio terrified.
Leaving the Bloodplate Guild silent in rare, genuine confusion.
And leaving a single lingering truth:
Every anomaly in the Tower wants Rio.
Except DRM.
DRM just watches.