The supermarket became eerily quiet.
Even Ethan stopped smiling.
The crazed Berserker slowly lowered his axe as his glowing blue eyes fixed on the entrance.
The Alpha Wolf had arrived.
Behind it stood five colossal monsters, each radiating an overwhelming presence.
The flames around one of them burned blue instead of red.
Another had six crimson eyes that never blinked.
A third carried armor that looked as though it had been carved from the bones of giants.
None of them looked at the survivors.
Every pair of eyes rested on Liam.
"...The Hunt begins."
The Alpha's voice echoed through the supermarket.
Its words weren't loud.
They didn't need to be.
Something in its voice demanded obedience.
The Shadow Hounds surrounding the building immediately backed away.
The monsters behind the Alpha lowered their heads.
Even Ethan's breathing became uneven.
His smile disappeared.
Liam noticed it immediately.
The Berserker...
Was afraid.
Ethan took a shaky step backward.
"...Commander."
The Alpha didn't acknowledge him.
It simply continued staring at Liam.
For a long moment, nobody moved.
Then the Alpha spoke again.
"You..."
Its ancient voice rumbled through the building.
"...carry a scent..."
"...that should no longer exist."
Liam swallowed.
"I don't know what you mean."
"I believe you."
That answer stunned everyone.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
The Alpha believed him.
"You do not remember."
Its golden eyes narrowed.
"...Yet."
The gray Administrator window flickered before Liam.
Observation Active
Translation Assistance Enabled
Liam blinked.
Translation?
The Alpha hadn't been speaking English.
Somehow...
He had understood every word.
The Administrator Authority wasn't merely observing.
It was translating.
Marcus slowly raised his shotgun.
"Whatever you are..."
"You need to leave."
The Alpha finally looked at him.
There was no anger.
No hatred.
Only indifference.
"As insects command storms."
"So you command me."
Marcus frowned.
"What?"
The Alpha looked away again.
"You are beneath notice."
Marcus's face turned pale.
For the first time in years...
He had been completely dismissed.
Rachel gritted her teeth and picked up her fallen spear.
"We can't just let it—"
"No."
Liam grabbed her wrist.
She looked at him in surprise.
"If you attack..."
"...everyone here dies."
Rachel wanted to argue.
Then she looked into the Alpha's eyes.
Whatever determination she had...
Vanished.
She slowly lowered her spear.
The Alpha nodded once.
"A wise decision."
It took another step forward.
Concrete groaned beneath its weight.
"I have searched."
"For worlds."
"For centuries."
"For one..."
It paused.
"...Administrator."
The word sent another chill through Liam.
"I am not one."
"You are."
"I don't even know what that is."
"You will."
The certainty in the Alpha's voice was unsettling.
It wasn't making a prediction.
It was stating a fact.
Suddenly—
The six-eyed beast behind the Alpha growled.
Its eyes glowed brighter.
A deep voice echoed inside Liam's mind.
Kill him.
Liam stumbled.
His head throbbed violently.
Another voice joined it.
End the bloodline.
Then another.
The Overseers must never know.
Liam clutched his head.
The voices weren't coming from the monsters.
They were coming from somewhere...
Far away.
The gray window appeared again.
Warning
External Mental Interference Detected
Administrator Mind Protection: Active
The pain disappeared instantly.
Liam looked back at the six-eyed monster.
It tilted its head.
Confused.
As though its attack had failed.
The Alpha noticed.
"...Enough."
One word.
Nothing more.
The six-eyed beast immediately lowered its head.
Like a soldier being disciplined.
Liam's heart skipped a beat.
The Alpha wasn't simply stronger.
It was their commander.
"You seek to capture me."
Liam forced himself to ask.
"Why?"
For the first time...
The Alpha hesitated.
Its gaze drifted toward the crimson crack stretching across the sky.
"The answer..."
"...belongs to another."
"What does that mean?"
"You are not my enemy."
Liam frowned.
"I'm not?"
"No."
The Alpha's eyes darkened.
"You are prey."
Silence.
"...To them."
Something exploded outside.
The Alpha's ears twitched.
Its head snapped toward the sky.
A low growl escaped its throat.
The surviving monsters around the supermarket became restless.
"What is it?" Emma whispered.
The Alpha ignored her.
Instead...
It looked upward.
Dark clouds swirled around the crimson rift.
Then...
A beam of brilliant white light descended from the heavens.
It struck the middle of the street.
Not with an explosion.
But with absolute silence.
Everything stopped.
The rain.
The wind.
Even the monsters froze.
When the light faded...
A lone figure stood in the center of the ruined road.
A man.
Dressed in silver armor unlike anything Liam had ever seen.
A long white cloak flowed behind him despite the still air.
Floating beside him was a golden status window.
Except...
It wasn't blue.
It wasn't gray.
It was radiant.
The words couldn't be read.
They kept changing.
As though no human language was capable of displaying them.
The Alpha Wolf immediately lowered its head.
Not in fear.
In respect.
The silver-armored man slowly looked toward the supermarket.
Then...
His eyes met Liam's.
For the first time since the apocalypse began...
Liam felt true terror.
Not because the man looked powerful.
But because the man smiled.
Like someone who had finally found what he had been searching for.
"...Interesting."
The stranger took one step forward.
"And here I thought..."
"...the last Administrator was truly extinct."