Nobody understood what just happened, but suddenly the crowd stood up and started chanting a name.
Not Zero, the hero they knew.
"DAMON! DAMON! DAMON!"
Up in the VIP box, the air turned heavy out of nowhere.
Lieutenant Miller dropped to his knees, gasping, and the reinforced glass started to vibrate with a deep hum.
At the center of that crushing pressure, Ophelia Valen stood up.
Her red lips curled into a smile that never reached her violet eyes.
"Lady… Master…" Miller wheezed from the floor, his nose basically glued to the expensive carpet. "I can… explain! System malfunction!"
Ophelia didn't even look at him. She moved one finger, and Miller got launched backward, slamming into the wall.
Down in the arena, Damon walked toward the cameras. He looked exhausted, dirty, and… delicious.
Ophelia wet her lips. Her passive skill, [Devourer of Lies], was buzzing in her head.
She could feel the deception floating around that man.
But the display of power?
That was real.
"Antimatter," Ophelia murmured, her pupils widening. "How naughty you are, Zero."
---
Damon felt like his lungs were on fire.
'SHIT, SHIT! I almost died! That thing ate thirty days of my life! THIRTY DAYS!'
Meanwhile, his shoulders screamed from all the times he'd hit the ground while running from that monster golem.
Dead tired, he stumbled to the mic and suddenly remembered what Kate told him.
"Too easy," he panted. "Drink Thunder Energy."
BOOM!
The crowd went insane again. Yeah, that drink was definitely hitting record sales this summer.
Up in the VIP zone, Iris was still standing there, crying from pride.
She didn't even know if she was crying because "Zero" was back…
Or because she just watched Damon Kells push himself to the edge.
---
One hour later.
Iris stood in front of her mother's desk.
"That weapon," Ophelia said, pouring herself a glass of wine. "Iris. Do you know what your… little friend was holding?"
"It looked like modified tech, Mother. Maybe a prototype—"
CRACK!
The wine glass in Ophelia's hand exploded, but the liquid didn't fall.
It floated in the air, held by her will, forming a perfect red sphere.
"Don't lie to me, daughter."
Iris felt a sharp pain in her chest, like someone was squeezing her heart.
Ophelia walked around the desk, her heels hitting the floor like gunshots in the silence.
"That pistol is called EVE."
The Matriarch touched the window glass, staring out at the rainy city.
"Twenty years ago, I hunted a creature in the Northern Ruins. It wasn't a dumb beast. It was a 'Walker.' Human-shaped. Proud." Ophelia smiled like she was remembering a sweet moment. "It refused to kneel to me, so I had to break every bone in its body until it learned manners. That pistol was his."
Iris went pale.
"A monster… used technology?"
"A monster used a weapon that erases matter, Iris. Nobody has been able to activate it since I killed its owner, because it burns the soul of whoever touches it." Ophelia turned.
"And now Zero uses it like it's an extension of his own arm."
Ophelia stepped close and traced Iris's cheek with a long, sharp nail.
"What does that mean, my daughter? Does it mean Zero is a genius? Or does it mean that under that name… there's something that isn't human?"
Iris tried to look away, but the pressure forced her to meet her mother's eyes.
"He's human."
But deep down, she was thinking: 'Does that mean Zero became a monster?' 'Or does it mean monsters… are more like us?'
Iris couldn't take it.
She'd have to investigate on her own.
---
"TAKE THAT!"
"Did you see Miller's face?!" Damon yelled, flopping onto the couch.
"He looked like he shit himself! And the crowd! They love me! I'm the king of the world!"
Jude was popping champagne, laughing like a maniac.
"Bro, with this bonus we can buy the whole city! Cheers to the damn genius Damon Kells!"
Damon laughed, adrenaline still pumping, covering up the dull ache in his right arm. It felt weirdly light and numb.
"Hey, cat," Damon said, looking around for the little furball. "You gotta admit that was—"
FWOOSH!
The room's shadows came alive, twisting like snakes. Black smoke burst out and Aiwass appeared in her human form, wearing Damon's silk robe, and it was scandalously short on her.
But Aiwass wasn't smiling.
"'That was great'?"
Damon sat up, his grin dying.
"Uh… we won, right? The golem's dust. I've got my license. The Inquisitors are happy."
Aiwass walked right up to him.
She leaned in, her shadow swallowing all his joy.
"You're an idiot," she said. "You almost lost your arm, and you just used Lost Arcane Magic on worldwide TV."
"It was self-defense!" Damon said, still holding his arm.
"It was a declaration of war," Aiwass corrected.
"Before, you were a funny little fraud. A clown with luck. The Inquisitors watched you, but they didn't fear you."
She pointed at the window, at the city lights where millions of people were now screaming Damon's name.
"But now… you proved you can erase matter. And you proved you have tech they don't understand."
"I told you to shoot so you wouldn't die, idiot. Not to put on a light show for that woman!" Aiwass smacked the back of his head.
"You're not a pet to them anymore, Damon. You're an Unknown-Level Threat and every dark guild, every killer, and every monster with half a brain is going to come for that pistol in your pocket."
Damon swallowed. Jude's champagne bottle suddenly felt way heavier.
"So… what do we do?"
Aiwass turned away.
"Do?" She let out a dry laugh. "Now is when the fun starts."
"Get ready, 'Zero.' You think the tutorial was hard… but the real party just started."