Dungeon Corpse Stacker: I Absorb Everything to Become Ominous Monarch
Chapter 4: The Price of Treason

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: The Price of Treason

Outside the Abyssal Gate, the night air was thick with the blinding glare of floodlights and the rhythmic thump of news helicopter rotors overhead.

Dozens of reporters, cameramen, and heavily armed guards from the Apex Guild stood behind the yellow barrier tape, waiting for the victorious return of their elite Rank-S party.

Guild Master Richard, a broad-shouldered man in a bespoke suit over enchanted mithril armor, stood at the front of the crowd. He checked his diamond-encrusted watch, a subtle frown tugging at his mouth.

Five minutes ago, Leon’s communication orb went silent after some lunatic spoke into the receiver, Richard thought, his eyes narrowing at the pulsating blue vortex of the portal. Did an unexpected boss minion ambush them? Impossible. Leon had three Rank-S combatants with him.

"Guild Master!" a young female reporter thrust a microphone forward, her voice echoing over the roar of the crowd. "Rumors are circulating that your party took an unranked porter, Renan, into this Class-S dungeon. Is it true he sacrificed his life to save the party?"

Richard smoothed his silver hair, putting on a solemn, mournful expression for the lenses.

"Tragically, yes," Richard said into the microphone, his tone dripping with practiced grief. "Young Renan fought valiantly. He realized his physical limitations as a porter, and when the Abyssal Arachnid ambushed our frontlines, he threw himself into the jaws of the beast so Captain Leon could secure the Core. The Apex Guild will cover his funeral expenses and support his sick sister. He died a hero—"

BOOM!

The blue portal berated violently. A horrific sonic shockwave blasted outward, shattering the glass lenses of three news cameras in the front row.

The heavy iron portcullis—a ten-ton enchanted steel barrier designed to contain dungeon breakouts— blast out of the portal like a cannonball. It skidded across the concrete staging area, crushing a park Guild SUV into a accordion of twisted metal.

The crowd screamed, scattering in utter panic as armed Guild guards immediately raised their enchanted rifles, aiming toward the swirling dust cloud at the mouth of the Gate.

"Hold your fire!" Richard barked, stepping forward, his hand dropping to the hilt of his rapier. "What happened?!"

Through the rising smoke and burning sulfur, a solitary figure walked out.

He didn’t crawl. He didn’t limped.

He walked with slow, measured, crushing steps. His clothes were stained black with monster blood, and a terrifying violet mist coiled around his boots like living serpents.

In his left hand, dragged across the rough asphalt by his hair, was Leon.

The proud, arrogant Captain of the Apex Guild was barely recognizable. His face was swollen, his chest armor caved in, and his legs dangled uselessly—his hamstrings severed clean through, mirroring the exact injury he had inflicted on Renan inside the cavern.

"L-Leon?!" Richard gasped, his face draining of color.

Renan stopped ten paces from the Guild Master. He casually tossed Leon forward like a sack of trash. Leon tumbled across the concrete, groaning in agony as he clutched his bleeding legs at Richard’s feet.

"Guild Master..." Leon wheezed through bloody teeth, his eyes wide with unadulterated terror as he pointed a trembling finger back at Renan. "Kill him... he’s a monster... he absorbed the boss..."

The crowd of reporters went dead silent. Cameras flickered, capturing every frame of the gruesome scene.

"Renan?" Richard’s eyes darted from the broken body of his top Captain to the young porter standing calmly before him. "You... how are you alive? What did you do to my party?!"

"They tried to use me as bait," Renan’s voice carried effortlessly over the hum of the helicopters. It was flat, ice-cold, carrying an unnatural echo that made the surrounding guards shudder. "They severed my legs, locked the portcullis, and took the loot. I simply returned the favor."

"Lies!" Richard roared, instantly realizing the catastrophic public relations nightmare unfolding in front of live news broadcasts. If word got out that Apex Guild deliberately sacrificed porters and engaged in party-killing, the Guild’s stock would plummet, and the Hunter Association would strip their license overnight.

Richard’s eyes flashed with a ruthless glare. He made a swift gesture to his personal strike team—six Rank-A elite Hunter guards stationed around the perimeter.

"This man has clearly been infected and corrupted by the Abyssal Boss’s mental pollution!" Richard shouted, his voice amplified by mana to drown out the reporters. "He has lost his sanity and attacked his fellow Hunters! Strike team, subdue him! Use lethal force if necessary to protect the public!"

"Subdue?" Renan scoffed softly.

Six Rank-A Hunters leaped into action simultaneously. Two heavy shadow-assassins vanished into the dark, aiming for Renan’s blind spots with poisoned daggers, while two fire-elemental mages began chanting high-tier spells, flaming circles illuminating the night sky.

Renan didn’t even turn his head to look at them.

[Skill Activated: Corrosive Aura (Rank-S)]

CRACK-LE!

A wave of pitch-black and violet pressure erupted from Renan’s body in a thirty-foot radius.

The asphalt beneath his feet disintegrated into fine black powder instantly. The two shadow-assassins, mid-leap in stealth, were slammed out of the air as if hit by a invisible mountain. They hit the ground, screaming in agony as the dark aura ate through their enchanted leather armor, melting the steel daggers in their hands into liquid slag.

GAAAH!

The two fire mages dropped to their knees, vomiting blood as the suffocating pressure crushed their lungs, snuffing out their spells before the first syllable could leave their lips.

In less than three seconds, six Rank-A elites lay writhing on the ground, defeated without Renan lifting a single finger.

The remaining reporters fell backward, tripping over their equipment in sheer terror. The power displayed wasn’t that of an F-Rank porter—it was the overwhelming, oppressive presence of an unmitigated disaster.

Richard took a sharp step back, his hand trembling over his rapier. His mind raced frantically. This is impossible... His mana density... it’s exceeding the parameters of a human! What kind of cheat did he find down there?!

Renan took a step forward, his crimson eyes locking onto Richard.

"You built this Guild on the blood of nameless porters, Richard," Renan said, his voice dropping into a register that made the ground tremble. "You sent me into that Gate expecting a corpse. Instead, you got me."

Richard gritted his teeth, his pride as an S-Rank Guild Master overriding his panic. He unsheathed his glowing golden rapier, his S-Rank mana exploding around his body in a brilliant flash.

"Do you really think defeating a few Rank-A guards makes you invincible, boy?!" Richard snarled, stepping into a high-tier fencing stance. "I am an S-Rank Hunter! I will cut you down right here and clean up the press later!"

Renan didn’t draw a weapon. He simply reached out his hand toward the broken body of Leon lying at Richard’s feet.

"You’re too late, Guild Master," Renan whispered.

[Target: Live S-Rank Hunter (Leon - Severely Weakened) Detected.] [Initiating Forced Extraction...]

Before Richard could thrust his golden blade, a dark violet tendril erupted from Renan’s hand, piercing Leon’s chest in broad daylight—right in front of dozens of live news cameras.