"ARE YOU BLIND?" The words were like the screech of a banshee, slamming into Ryuk's ears as he held onto his forehead, which was burning with pain.
He raised his head to look at the figure before him, but his expression quickly dropped.
The person before him was just a girl around his age, with long crimson-red hair that reached down to her waist and poured around her body, along with piercing red eyes and pointed, elf-like ears.
Her appearance brought quite a bit of shock to Ryuk, but his mind was quickly brought back to reality as he snorted coldly.
"What do you mean, 'Am I blind'? You were the one who knocked into me, you blind piece of red shit!" Ryuk cursed while scoffing at the girl like she was an idiot.
Turning his head to the side, he noticed his bag and the card given to him lying on the ground.
He instinctively stretched out his hand to retrieve them, but it was grabbed tightly by a pair of snowy white hands—cold as ice.
With a raised eyebrow, Ryuk turned to look at the source of the hand.
It was none other than the girl, whose eyes were flashing with an intense crimson light that sent a chill down his spine.
"What did you just call me, you lowlife?" the girl said, her words dripping with disbelief, but Ryuk pressed down the fear he got from the crimson eyes and responded,
"Get your damn hand off me, blind piece of red shit!" he snapped back with clarity, but the view before him abruptly changed.
All he felt was his entire body weight fading into thin air, followed by a rapid whoosh.
A thunderous crash resounded through the hall as the lights flickered.
A world of pain slammed into Ryuk's back, emanating from his spine as he felt himself hit the wall.
His body slid off it, but before he could touch the ground, something moved with speed.
It was heading toward Ryuk's neck, and he instinctively moved his head to the side, dodging the red claw's grip.
But his relief was short-lived.
The red clawed hand latched onto his neck, pinning him against the wall. The grip tightened with each passing second.
'But… but I dodged it!' he screamed internally, his head raising to meet the blood-crimson eyes staring at him with incredible bloodlust, accompanied by an amused smirk.
'How is she so strong!?' Ryuk thought, panic flooding his mind.
At that moment, his feet dangled in the air.
He felt his strength leaving his body.
No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't move a single arm.
His body wouldn't budge at all under the immense power holding his neck.
Not even the fight with the E-grade Mutated Rat made him feel .
That means this small girl in front of him, barely his age, was stronger than the mutated rat!
At least twice stronger!!
"Call yourself a dirty piece of shit and lick my boots, and maybe then I'll be merciful and not break your neck!" the girl said, her words venomous and her tone mocking.
Ryuk felt himself regaining the power of speech through the unbearable pain assaulting his body.
Clenching his teeth tightly, he opened his mouth and spat out:
"Then die, then!" the girl hissed with ridicule, her second hand expanding and forming into a claw.
It was soon covered by a red aura, elongating her fingers.
Veins bulged under her skin, and her hand turned even paler as she prepared to swipe at Ryuk's neck.
"That's enough, Vilora!"
The calm, gentle voice echoed from behind, stopping Vilora mere seconds before she could take the swipe and end Ryuk's life.
Her head turned behind her, eyebrows raised, to find two men walking toward her.
"Hmph," she harrumphed coldly, releasing her grip.
Ryuk fell to the ground, collapsing onto one knee.
A fit of coughing rang through the hall as Ryuk gasped for air, feeling it return to his lungs.
"Causing trouble again, Vilora?"
The masculine voice came with a chuckle.
Ryuk finally regained himself, raising his head to meet the speaker.
He saw a man bending down to pick up the card Old Jack had given him.
"Hmm," the man murmured, rotating the card in his calloused palms.
"Is that…?" the second man beside him asked, looking at the card with curiosity.
For some reason, he bore the same red hair and eyes as Vilora, and Ryuk could easily deduce they were related.
"A VIP Card of the Fallen Family," the first man whispered, both their eyes narrowing in suspicion as they turned to look at Ryuk.
The man who picked up the card was middle-aged, with piercing dark eyes and short, sleek black hair.
He wore a dark suit that concealed his muscular frame well, and he was tall—very tall, around 1.9 meters.
The other man, with red hair, was equally tall, albeit leaner.
Both men studied Ryuk as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Are you the one asked to come to the office?" the black-haired man asked.
Ryuk looked past him to the room labeled 0 just behind them. It was safe to say one of them was the person he was meant to meet.
"And why would a boy barely 18 years old, with no cultivation and apparently from the slum area of Grade E City, have the VIP Card of the Devilish Fallen Family?" Vilora asked, her disbelieving shock and doubtful gaze evident as she stared at Ryuk.
She had heard the men's conversation, and the name of the card left her more than surprised.
"We need to have a talk," the dark-haired man said, picking up Ryuk's bag and the card before heading toward Room 0.
Ryuk followed after him, giving Vilora a poker-faced glance before stepping into the room.
The door shut behind them with a bang, leaving Vilora outside.
She scoffed in annoyance, walking toward the door and reaching for the knob.
However, her hand withdrew violently mere inch from it like one electrocuted.
Her teeth bared in frustration.