Chapter 70: Corpse Hunter

Ethan stared at the ceiling and gave a short laugh.

"I... I did it. I actually did it."

It sounded impossible at first... matter of fact, there was a point in time where he actually thought about giving up.

But somehow, he had made it work... somehow he actually killed a Devil class monster all by himself. With nothing but his wits and two dungeon crawlers

Ethan rolled over and dragged himself across the dark lake of its blood on elbows and shaking knees, his ribs pressing into his lungs so hard that every breath felt wrong.

The Crawlers coiled loosely at the perimeter behind him, slick with dark liquid and viscera. His hands left red prints on the dirt as he crawled until he reached the ruined torso and set his palm against the cooling flesh.

When he placed it, his hands trembled. Then he forced himself to calm down...

Kill. Raise. Exit. That was all he was supposed to do...

He pushed Death Energy into the corpse.

```

[Raise Undead (Basic) activated]

[Target: Cyclops — Devil-class / Rank B]

[Corpse Quality: Excellent]

[Energy Cost: 150]

[Warning: Host physical condition critical]

[Result: FAIL]

[Binding unstable — host vital state insufficient]

```

The corpse twitched once and went still, and the energy vanished into thin air. Ethan’s vision whitened at the edges as the failed bind caused a backlash that felt like a shock in his arm.

He blinked. "No. No no no no no..."

He coughed blood, the liquid sprayed onto the Cyclops’s chest, and forced his breathing into to a steady rhythm that barely held. He tried again, pushing Death Energy into the corpse with more desperation this time...

```

[Raise Undead (Basic) activated]

[Additional strain surcharge applied]

[Energy Cost: 150 + 40]

[Result: SUCCESS]

[Rank B Undead (Cyclops) — Devil-class bound]

[Warning: Host condition critical]

```

The single ruined socket flickered green, then green light slowly lit itself in it. It took a moment before the hulking frame rose upward steadily. Its long slender hands flexing as the bind finally took hold. The Rank B Devil weight sat in the control link and the feeling of the extra corpse nearly brought him to the ground but he gritted his teeth and held on with nothing but pure stubbornness and the simple fact that falling now meant wasting everything.

When the cyclops rose to full hieght, Ethan exhaled and let himself fall on the ground.

The space in front of him shone green and the system appeared. Ethan moved his face far enough that only a part of his face saw the notification.

```

[Congratulations!]

[Exit Condition Satisfied]

[Objective Complete: Dungeon Clear]

[Rewards Granted]

```

```

[EXP: Large grant applied]

[Rank Advancement: E → C]

[Level: 5]

[Title Unlocked: Corpse Hunter]

[Death Energy ceiling increased]

[Control Capacity increased]

[New Skill Unlocked: Death Control, Undead Recovery.]

```

The notifications bloomed in his sight with a brightness that made him squint. He could feel the new power coursing through him and laughed once before his injured ribs forced him to stop.

He looked at the title. "Corpse Hunter, huh..."

He forced himself to sit and opened the status long enough to confirm the changes.

```

[Rank: C]

[Level: 5]

[Title: Corpse Hunter]

[Death Energy: 312 / 1200]

```

More than half the old pool was gone in practical terms, and against the new ceiling the number looked even thinner.

But it was still enough to walk, and still enough for a full chain of command.

```

[Restoring Host back to peak condition.]

```

The moment the screen faded, Ethan felt a wave of warm energy surge through him. It washed over him as the edges of his body shone green.

Slowly, his breathing no longer stung, and his ribs no longer hurt...

He looked at his hands. It wasn’t shaking anymore. All his wounds were healing...

After a few moments, when the green light finally dimmed, he blinked, stood up and stretched. He was completely fine. His system had healed him.

```

[Complete]

```

```

[System Notice]

[Return to dungeon entry point for exist]

```

Ethan laughed, a sound that bordered on maniacal, and ordered the Cyclops to follow. The Crawlers sank into Storage, but he kept the Devil class out and started walking.

***

The path back toward the sealed entry throat was shorter than he remembered.

Halfway through a tunnel, the stone shook then an Iron Golem burst through from a side cave. It was Rank D. Intact, the kind of thing he had once treated as a prize.

When the golem turned, it raised an arm to crush the Rank C human standing in front of him...

Ethan did not move. This was the perfect time to test what that cyclops could do.

"Cyclops. Break it."

The bound Devil rushed forward.

The slender hands that had almost killed him closed on iron like it was a teddy bear. The golem’s arm crumpled, and the cyclops hurled it upwards and slammed it into the ground hard enough to form a crater.

The golem convulsed once and tried to stand. Ethan knew it would not be easy in the first place...

"Finish it."

The cyclops grunted and jabbed its hand into the chest of the golem’s chest, punching through it. The golem twitched, then went still and fell down when the cyclops withdrew its hand.

Ethan considered it for a moment, and went to the golem.

```

Raise Undead (Basic) activated]

[Target: Iron Golem — Rank D]

[Corpse Quality: Excellent]

[Energy Cost: 150]

[Result: Success]

```

The golem rose, and Ethan took a moment to look at it before ordering both of them into storage.

When he approached the entry point, the system flared once.

```

[Preparing Exit]

```

A thin fracture formed in the air. He looked back at the dungeon depths and exhaled. He couldn’t believe how close he was to losing his corpses and dying in this place

He ran a hand through his hair. "Lila would kill me. "

How was he going to tell her that he lost Bef to a one eyed monstrosity... if it ever came to that, the cyclops wouldn’t be the only devil he would have to do it.

He chuckled quietly. Then, he walked through..