Then she lounged to hug him. King responded, wrapping his arms around her in a firm grip.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

Vi shook her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"No. I’m okay. It’s Just... I thought I wasn’t going to make it."

King released her from his grip, Looking her straight in the eye.

"You’re safe with me" He said with a warm smile and reassurance in his eyes.

"Thank you" she said smiling back. Her cheeks reddening.

"Focus Master King" Eli’s voice chipped from the earpiece.

"Right!" He straigtened, stepped in properly, and shut the door.

The room was a mess. Furniture overturned, belongings scattered across the floor, a makeshift barricade of chairs and tables shifted from the door.

And sitting in the corner, knees pulled to her chest, was a young green-haired girl.

She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old. Her clothes were torn and dirty, her face streaked with grime and dried tears. She stared at King with wide, unblinking eyes, her body pressed against the wall as if trying to disappear into it.

"Who’s that?" King asked.

Vi looked back at the girl, then at King.

"I found her on the third floor," Vi said quietly. "There was an older woman with her. I think it was her grandmother. The scene was horrible. She... she didn’t make it. And the child hasn’t spoken a word since."

King studied the child for a moment, noting the way she flinched every time a sound echoed from outside.

She wasn’t part of the plan, an extra weight, but she was just a child, he wasn’t going to leave her here.

"Okay," he said. "We’ll take her with us."

Vi nodded, her face brightening in relief.

"There’s something else," Vi added, her voice dropping lower.

"what’s that?"

"There’s something wandering the top floor. I don’t know what it is, but I heard it up here in the hallway. That’s why the demi-humans weren’t on this floor. I think they’re scared of it."

King frowned.

"You sure?"

"Positive. I could hear it moving around. Distant footsteps. It’s been up here for hours."

King processed the information, running through the possibilities. Most high-tier enemies had spawn zones tied to specific locations. If something was patrolling the top floor, it was likely an elite or a mini-boss.

"Did you see or feel anything when you were coming up?" Vi asked, her eyes searching his.

King shook his head.

"No. Nothing unusual."

And then they heard it.

TAP

A soft step.

Coming from the hallway outside.

Vi tensed immediately, her breath hitched. King raised a hand, signaling her to stay quiet, while mouthing "Stay Calm" inaudibly.

The footsteps continued, growing closer with each measured step.

And as it sounded right outside their doorpost.

The child whimpered.

King turned sharply, moving toward the girl as quietly as he could and placing a hand over her mouth.

He folded his own lips teaching the child to .

The girl’s eyes welled with fresh tears, but she clamped her mouth shut, sniffling softly.

Then,

The footsteps stopped.

Right outside the door.

King summoned blue energy around his left hand, preparing a construct seal. He stepped forward quietly, stopping between the door and Vi, angling his body for combat.

Silence stretched for three long seconds.

And then the door creaked.

Slowly.

The handle turned, metal grinding against the locking mechanism.

The door opened.

A figure stepped through.

Winged.

Humanoid.

Its body was wrapped in tattered white robes that hung loosely over pale, scarred skin. Two massive wings extended from its back, the feathers dull and broken, some missing entirely. Above its head, a fractured halo hovered, glowing faintly with a sickly golden light that flickered like a dying flame.

In its right hand, it held a longsword. The blade wrestled to glow with a fading energy, pulsing in rhythm with the halo.

A name tag materialized above its head.

[Fallen Star: Arandiel] 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

King’s eyes widened.

Name tags only displayed for noteworthy NPCs. Quest givers. Bosses or Elite enemies. This clearly, wasn’t a random spawn.

This was a Fallen Angel.

Fallen Angels, even stripped of their divine power, were still leagues above humans. They operated on the same power scale as true Nephilim, beings that could wipe out entire player groups without breaking a sweat.

There was only one option on king’s mind.

At this stage,

They had to flee.

"Eli..." King whispered into the earpiece.

"I can see it," Eli’s voice crackled back immediately. "Make a jump through the window behind you. I’ll create a clearing for you."

King turned his head slightly toward Vi without taking his eyes off Arandiel who just stared at them.

"Vi," he whispered. "Take the child. When I say three, you jump through the window behind you. Don’t hesitate, Just jump."

Vi’s eyes widened, but she nodded, already moving toward the girl and scooping her up in her arms.

Arandiel stared at King’s glowing hand, then back at him, as if locked in a stalemate.

King counted.

"One."

"Two."

The seals activated, forming translucent blades that shot forward toward Arandiel in a barrage.

"Three.!"

At the same moment, he turned and sprinted toward the window.

Vi was already there, clutching the child tightly as she threw herself through the glass.

King followed.

The window shattered around him as he launched himself into open air. Wind whipped past his face as he fell.

He summoned another construct mid-fall, a massive translucent slide that materialized beneath them. The surface angled downward, curving toward the street and cutting a path through the cluster of demi-humans below.

Vi landed on the slide first, with the child still in her arms. King hit the surface a second later, and they both rode the construct down, picking up speed as they descended.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Eli’s rifle barked from his rooftop position, punching rounds through the demi-humans that tried to close in on the slide’s landing zone.

[Demi-Human Killed]

[Demi-Human Killed]

[Demi-Human Killed]

The slide dissipated as they reached the ground, Vi stumbled but kept her footing, holding the child close.