The hot wind of Hell made its presence known, sweeping across the place like a living furnace. In the distance, an enormous dirigible drifted through the crimson haze, while three figures tried desperately to take down a fourth. Yet every time they aimed their weapons, that fourth figure moved faster—shooting their wrists, knocking their hands aside, sabotaging every attack before it even began.
Every motion he made was choreographed to contrast his opponents. He danced through combat with movements that were rigid yet strangely fluid, unmistakably elegant in their brutality.
They're good… but only those two actually know how to fight together… Edward thought, not slowing down for even a heartbeat. He struck Angel under the ribs, sending the spider demon flying upward. Instantly, Edward leapt, grabbed him midair, and hurled him across the field. Angel barely managed to hide behind a stone before Edward began shooting indiscriminately, bullets cracking the rock apart.
Then Edward felt something tap against his leg.
He looked down.
A C4 explosive.
BOOM!
"Ah!?" he shouted as he rolled out of the cloud of soot. His hoodie and part of his pants were torn open, but he only paused long enough to take one calm breath before standing. An Eggboy rushed him with a flaming fire axe; Edward caught him by the throat, crushed the metal skull with a cold squeeze, stole the axe, and in the same smooth motion batted a bomb straight back at Cherry Bomb, where it detonated point-blank.
"Trust me," he said, pressing Angel's bayonet against the fire axe as sparks flew, "I only wanted to steal the snake's tech when this was over. But for the first time… I actually want to kill someone."
His mask shifted, the scribbled eyes and mouth rearranging into a wild, manic expression with sharp, cartoonish teeth.
In another part of the city…
Inside a TV studio, several sinners watched the fight broadcast live. On-screen, Edward was tearing through Eggboys like paper toys while brawling with Angel, Cherry Bomb, and Sir Pentious all at once.
"Well, ladies and gentlemen," the host announced, "we've got yet another bastard in the territorial brawl! And he's giving hell to the porn star and two high-class sinners!"
Beside him, a reporter gawked. The Princess of Hell watched with wide eyes.
"My Satan…" she whispered, shocked at the sheer brutality Edward displayed in every strike. Every time a gun or weapon broke in his hands, he grabbed another Eggboy and broke that one too—in a single fluid movement. At one point, his mask opened along the jaw, revealing jagged serrated teeth, and he bit an Eggboy apart along with a chunk of rubble.
Back with Edward…
"The clock runs out!" he sang in a chaotic rhythm, spinning with the axe. "Everyone trying to be someone! It ain't easy, but in this world—it's only me!"
He lunged at Angel, who kept trying to flee the berserker.
"Ah—they fall! They can't rise! And those who try—ARE FOOLS!"
He stabbed Angel in the shoulder; the demon screamed, but Edward clamped a hand over his mouth, muffling everything. The scribbles on Edward's mask twisted wildly, reacting to the storm inside his mind.
Bang!
Angel tried to scream again, but the sound never left his throat.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Edward let Angel collapse to the ground, then turned toward the hovering news helicopter and smiled slowly.
"The greatest victory of a soul is heaven… that's a fact," he said to the camera. "But the most beautiful thing in this world? It isn't there. It's simply accepting who you were in life. Redemption is foolish. Don't try to clean yourself. We're here for a reason."
He threw a dagger from an Eggboy's belt into the camera, shattering the feed into static.
Angel crawled away, dragging himself across the dirt.
"And to think you have fans…" Edward muttered, barely acknowledging him as he walked past. He ripped a jacket off a corpse caught in the crossfire and headed back toward his warehouse.
[Mission Complete!]
[Rewards]:
• Chakra System – Genin Level
• Player Stats Increased!
The system interface flashed—abruptly.
Wrongly.
Glitched.
The edges trembled, pixel lines jittering like broken audio.
A whisper surged inside Edward's mind.
Old. Vast. Heavy.
[EMERGENCY SYSTEM UPDATE…]
Edward froze.
Slowly, his head tilted.
[THE PLAYER AWAKENS.]
His vision flickered.
[MENTAL INTEGRATION: 3%...]
[7%...]
[22%...]
A low hum filled his skull.
"...who's there?" he muttered.
No answer.
Only pulses—like data dripping directly into his brain.
[THE SYSTEM IS REWRITING YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS.]
His sight went blinding white before—
Silence.
Total.
Edward's thoughts opened—wider than they ever should have.
[THE PLAYER HAS BEEN ACTIVATED.]
End of chapter.