Adam’s hand moved instinctively to his brow, the Crown of the Hollow Glutton materializing in a pulse of dark, hungry light. But the moment it manifested, a sharp, searing pain lanced through his soul.

[Warning! Crown influence detected. Host soul integrity is destabilizing.]

[Prolonged use of Gluttony’s authority will accelerate soul degradation. Current damage: 12%.]

[Recommendation: Cease Crown activation immediately.]

Adam’s hand dropped, the Crown fading from his brow. His voice came out tight, strained.

"Tch. So it’s still not safe to use."

Adam’s gaze swept the sixteen Trench Wyrms moving through the acid mist. His hands were empty, and the Crown was still too dangerous to use. He’d have to do this the old-fashioned way.

"Alice! Toss me my blade!"

Alice’s form flickered as she dodged a sweeping tentacle, her voice coming out sharp and breathless.

"Got it!"

Her hand disappeared into the void, and she pulled out Ouroboros’s Fang from her Void Locker. With a precise, practiced motion, she hurled it toward Adam.

Adam caught it one-handed, the familiar weight settling into his palm. But his brow furrowed as he glanced at her belt.

"Alice. Where’s the Pouch?"

Alice weaved under another strike, her voice casual, almost dismissive.

"Eh? I threw it away."

Adam’s hand froze on the hilt of Ouroboros’s Fang. His voice came out flat, disbelieving.

"...Ehh? What did you say?"

Alice’s cat ears twitched. She didn’t look at him, her voice carrying that same infuriating nonchalance.

"I threw it away. It’s fine—I stored everything in my Void Locker. You don’t need that pouch anymore. Not when you have me."

Adam’s eye twitched. His voice rose, sharp and incredulous.

"Wait—wait. You’re telling me you threw away a magical inventory pouch?! What is wrong with you?!"

Alice finally glanced at him, her dark violet eyes flat and unimpressed.

"What’s wrong with you? Why are you so attached to a dead item? I can carry everything for you now. Why would you need a pouch when you have me?"

Adam’s mouth opened, then closed. His voice came out strangled.

"That’s... that’s not the point! You can’t just throw away someone else’s belongings!"

Alice’s tail lashed, her voice carrying a sharp edge of irritation.

"It’s not ’someone else’s.’ It’s yours. And I’m yours. So it’s the same thing. You’re being dramatic."

Adam’s voice rose with frustration.

"That doesn’t make any sense! I can’t just—"

Isolde’s voice cut through, calm but carrying a note of pointed urgency. Her blade carved through a wyrm’s tentacle as she spoke.

"Adam. Focus. We’re in the middle of a fight. You can argue with your cat later."

Adam’s shoulders rose with a sharp inhale, then fell as he pushed the anger down.

"We’re not done talking about this."

Alice’s ear twitched, a faint, almost smug smile flickering across her face. She said nothing.

Adam lunged forward, Ouroboros’s Fang carving a blazing arc through the acid mist. The blade met a Trench Wyrm’s chitinous hide, and the golden veins along its surface flared, cutting deep into the creature’s flesh. Black ichor sprayed, and the wyrm screeched, its body convulsing.

Lilith’s crimson eyes gleamed as she watched Adam’s transformation, her voice smooth and teasing despite the chaos.

"My, my. You always find a way to make an entrance, don’t you?"

Adam’s response was a blade to the face of the nearest Trench Wyrm.

Ouroboros’s Fang blazed as it carved through chitin with brutal, methodical precision. Each swing landed with mounting force, the golden veins along the blade flaring hungrily with every strike. The creatures’ chitinous hides cracked and shattered under the relentless assault, black ichor spraying in wide arcs across the battlefield.

Azrynn’s arrows flew in perfect synchronization, each one finding its mark with deadly accuracy. Isolde’s blood whips lashed out from the flanks, binding and tearing, while Lilith’s threads wove a web of death that trapped the creatures in place for Adam’s blade to finish.

Adam’s voice was flat, cold, utterly devoid of the usual dark amusement.

"Die."

Another wyrm fell. Then another. The ichor painted his skin, his clothes, his face. He didn’t slow. He didn’t blink. Ouroboros’s Fang carved through chitin and flesh like paper, each strike driven by a cold, simmering fury that had nothing to do with the battle at hand.

Ignis finally broke free from her restraint. Her flames roared to life, golden fire erupting in a spiraling wave that consumed the remaining wyrms. Their chitin cracked, blackened, and crumbled under the onslaught, their screeches swallowed by the roar of the inferno.

The survivors tried to flee. Adam didn’t let them. His blade swept in a single, devastating arc, and the last two Trench Wyrms were cleaved in two, their bodies crashing to the ground in separate halves.

Silence fell over the battlefield. The acid mist began to dissipate, revealing the carnage strewn across the cracked earth. Bodies lay everywhere—sixteen in total, their chitin cracked and blackened, their ichor pooling in dark, steaming puddles.

Adam stood at the center of it all, his chest heaving, his grip still tight on Ouroboros’s Fang. The blade dripped with dark ichor, its golden veins pulsing with a faint, hungry light.

[Multiple Trench Wyrms Defeated!]

[16 Enemies Eliminated]

[+1800 EXP | +2100 EP]

[Ding! Level Up!]

[Level: 88 -> 89]

[EXP: 195/920 -> 920/920]

[Ding! Level Up!]

[Level: 89 -> 90]

[EXP: 0/940 -> 940/940]

[Current Level: 90 | EXP: 75/960]

[Evolution Points: 11,597 -> 13,697/20000]

[Skill Points: 14]

[Crown of the Hollow Glutton – Soul Harvest Complete]

[+16 Souls Acquired]

[Total Souls: 12,753]

Adam’s gaze flickered as the notifications scrolled across his vision. A faint, almost imperceptible shift in his posture—a release of tension, a settling of power. Level 90. He was getting closer to the next evolution threshold. His voice came out quieter, the cold edge beginning to fade.

"...Good."

Lilith’s threads retracted, coiling around her fingers. Her crimson eyes swept over the carnage, then settled on Adam’s blood-soaked form. A slow, knowing smile spread across her face.

"Seems Adam is very annoyed today. I wonder who made him that way."

Alice’s ear twitched. Her tail lashed once. She said nothing.

Ignis’s flames dimmed as she surveyed the scene, a wide grin spreading across her face. She nudged Alice with her elbow, her voice light and teasing.

"Heheh. Looks like someone’s going to get an earful later."

Alice’s tail lashed again, her voice coming out flat and clipped.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

But the faint redness creeping up the tips of her ears said otherwise.

Adam didn’t look up. His voice came out cold, flat, still dripping with unspent frustration.

"Alice. We’re going to talk about this."

Alice’s ears flattened further. She turned away, her voice carrying a faint, defensive edge.

"Fine. But we’re walking while we do it."

Adam sheathed Ouroboros’s Fang without a word and walked, his pace sharp, his gaze locked ahead, still burning with unspent frustration.

Alice fell into step beside him, her voice quieter now, almost reluctant.

"I only threw it away because I thought you didn’t need it anymore. You have me now. I can carry everything for you."

Adam’s voice was flat, but there was a crack in the ice.

"That’s not the point, Alice. You should have asked."

Alice’s ear twitched. Her voice came out softer, almost apologetic.

"...I’m sorry."

Adam was silent for a long moment. Then, slowly, the tension in his shoulders eased, just a fraction.

"...I’ll forgive you this time. But don’t do it again."

Alice’s tail swayed once, a faint, almost imperceptible sign of relief.

"I won’t."