Apocalypse Beast Supplier: Only I Sell God-Tier Beasts

Jonas was left with no other choice; Winter left the estate entirely on her own.

”That kid really has a tough head,” Jonas muttered softly as he stood by the high balcony, watching his daughter ride the central lift down toward the murky lower floors of the Hanging City.

As Winter watched the heavy metal platform lower floor by floor, the surrounding temperature dropped perceptibly.

She summoned her Vampire Butler, its tall form materializing silently beside her. Its deep red, blood-hued skin reflected the faint metallic glimmers as every single floor drop made the ambient light dimmer and dimmer.

Finally, at the very last floor, the light faded into a gloomy haze, leaving her with only minimal visibility as a thick, damp mist swept across her vision.

”Can you help me with verifying the exact locations of the nearby rifts?” Winter asked quietly.

The lowest floor—the deepest floor located beneath the foundations of the Hanging City—was nowhere near a fit living condition for normal humans. It was completely crammed with open, unclosed dungeon rifts, with rogue tamers constantly roaming the dark corners just to clear unidentified dungeon rifts for profit.

Entering an unregistered portal or going inside without registering upon entrance with a designated Rift Guard was considered strictly illegal. But precisely because of this complete lack of oversight, the Hanging City was famous for desperate tamers who wanted to strike it rich beneath the city.

They could wander freely without the constant worry of registering, since the high government wasn’t even bothered about managing this deep, unknown territory hidden within the steep crack of the earth.

And so, this lawless subterranean zone was officially recognized as part of the Nexus—with the Nexus System encompassing all those unregistered rifts that remained completely outside the tracking system installed by the Contribution Agency.

The red-skinned vampire became a blurry streak in a fraction of a second, vanishing instantly from Winter’s side. Within just five seconds, it had effortlessly mapped out and noted at least thirty distinct dungeon rifts within a one-kilometer radius.

Winter’s eyes twinkled with a faint spark of excitement at the sheer density of energy. However, she quickly eased herself, firmly recalling her primary purpose for coming down here in the first place.

”I have to visit the guardian first,” she said aloud, turning her body to follow a mental map drawn inside her head.

The intricate structural patterns of the subterranean tunnels, combined with the eerie, wide open space containing virtually no light inside the massive fault line, created a terrifying atmosphere for normal tamers.

The violent fluctuation of raw mana lingering in the humid air was suffocating. This unrefined energy was completely unwelcoming to any tamer who sought safety or comfort.

However, Winter had a completely different objective in her mind. While most tamers ventured down here seeking fast riches, she came down here strictly seeking an answer.

Without wasting another second, she arrived at the narrow entrance of a massive cavern, its hollow tunnel stretching far into the distance until natural light could no longer reach.

She stopped abruptly at the entrance, her boots halting on the gravel as she paused just to think.

She became dead silent, while her Vampire Butler remained standing beside her in a perfect, ready combat stance—its hands neatly clasped together while standing completely straight.

A quiet sigh escaped from Winter’s lips.

”Prepare a thorough trap inside. Make sticky, high-density threads and set up anything else you can do just to make any approaching creature completely immobilized. But make sure to leave a narrow path for us to escape if things go wrong.”

Following her command immediately, the Vampire Butler stepped slightly into the cavern. Right near the entrance, it used its specialized abilities to weave sticky, crimson-hued threads across the stone walls, creating a massive spiderweb designed to catch unwary prey.

The blood threads were incredibly thin yet formidable, making them almost impossible to cut through with ordinary weapons. Right alongside the edge, a tight path remained open—just wide enough for Winter’s slim body to fit through.

”Let’s go,” she said after completing all her careful preparations.

Reaching into the tactical bag she had brought along, she pulled out a small green glow stick. It was small but highly efficient, matching her minimalist strategy of bringing only absolute necessities. She cracked the casing with a sharp snapping sound, and a bright green chemical light instantly illuminated the dark cavern floor, making her pathway vastly easier to perceive.

As they ventured deeper into the earth, the air became thinner and thinner, making her breathing noticeably rough and labored—the audible gasps revealing her physical difficulty. However, she gradually adapted to the low oxygen levels, and after a few tense moments, she was standing deep within the heart of the cavern.

”I know you are hiding here. Show yourself to me,” Winter called out firmly to the empty darkness.

Expecting a swift response, she waited in silence, but no sound replied from the depths.

The Vampire Butler clicked its tongue in annoyance, its pale fists clenching tight. Winter noticed her beast’s sudden agitation, casting a quick glance over her shoulder before continuing to speak toward the darkness.

”If you don’t show yourself right now, I will personally destroy this entire place. You, the guardian, are rumored to be a formidable entity living inside this cracked surface of the earth. But what on earth is happening to you? The Nexus is becoming wider every day and even reaching up to the surface levels. You promised my predecessors that you would control the mana fluctuations down here, so what is going on?!”

Still, no one answered her call.

She let out another heavy sigh, her mind recalling all the ancient myths and rumors surrounding the guardian.

The sheer long-term survivability of the Hanging City wasn’t just because of its impressive strategic height or defensive walls. It was also due to the hidden existence of this mysterious ”guardian,” who was constantly ensuring that the Hanging City wouldn’t materialize any high-rank rifts that were impossible for local tamers to clear out.

Long ago, ever since the Hanging City was first constructed, its glorious name had spread far throughout the entire region and continent. Not only that, but the Hanging City was officially proclaimed as the safest human settlement next to the Looming Bridge in this entire territory.

However, as the years passed by, this formidable entity clearly weakened. Unregistered rifts began appearing uncalculated inside the upper floors of the Hanging City itself.

Tamers—especially the specialized squad created specifically for Winter—were forced to constantly risk their lives to clear these rogue rifts inside the city proper.

Yet, no living person actually knew the true face of the guardian. Some popular rumors claimed it was a powerful contracted beast that had lost its master long ago, remaining behind only to fulfill a lingering promise to protect the land its master had left to it.

Others claimed it was merely a wild, territorial monster that was being secretly manipulated by the ruling families of the Hanging City as a strategic asset to keep the general public feeling safe.

But Winter knew the actual identity of this guardian—or at least, she knew the true title belonging to the entity.

Winter couldn’t contain her rising anger any longer. She signaled her Vampire Butler, ordering it to actively scan for any living life signatures hiding inside the dark, green-lit depths of the cavern.

The Vampire Butler vanished instantly in a crimson flash, and in the very next second, a sharp, metallic screech echoed wildly through the cavern walls.

Winter’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief as a clear silhouette of a human suddenly sprinted right past her position at a terrifying, mind-boggling speed. The intruder’s sheer movement speed was easily on par with her Vampire Butler’s maximum agility.

The Vampire Butler pursued the shadow like a red blur, but Winter already knew exactly how to handle this situation.

Instead of chasing after them blindly into the deep cavern, she turned right around on her heel and sprinted back toward the entrance, only to see that her trap had worked flawlessly.

A sharp smirk spread across her face as she came to a halt directly before the trapped figure—a man, a human who possessed a complex expression that was deeply worried, concerned, agitated, and intensely awkward all at the same time.

Winter stepped forward and stared directly into the eyes of the trapped ”guardian.”

”Now then... will you finally explain to me what is currently happening to the Nexus, 23rd Guardian of the Hanging City... the Human Beast?”