3rd Day of the 2nd Earth Cycle[1], 2000, g.c.
Spinning our attention back to Talasi, my hometown was finally starting to find a rhythm that didn't sound like panic, war drums, or somebody screaming my name because another piece of geography broke.
Under Gaia's starry nighthalf, Talasi moved slower. Dayhalf was hammers, shouting vendors, blackwood dust, and citizens rushing like the world owed them interest. Nighthalf breathed. Windows glowed. Taverns murmured. The three moons washed the rooftops in usual silver, violet, and pale blue.
When the lumber mill closed, the air itself improved like Talasi had finally taken off a pair of sweaty boots. That usual sulfur bite from processed blackwood stopped choking the streets and got replaced by something warmer—hops, barley, yeast, and the rich smell of local beer brewing somewhere down the block. The scent rolled through town with a yeasty sweetness that made the night feel homier. Not fancy or no shit. Not polished. Just alive, really.
The new streetlights helped too.
Mana bulbs lined the main road, each one glowing inside glass casings with a soft blue-white illumination. They hummed gently, casting halos across the stone paths and wooden storefronts. Magitons moved inside the fixtures like fireflies trapped in crystal, pulsing in little waves whenever a breeze passed through. Talasi had an otherworldly shine now, the kind of glow most Monster Countries didn't have outside their capitals. And we were deep south in Arcadia, tucked back in the boondocks.
Seeing my hometown look like that did something to me. Made a nigga feel proud. Also made me feel like I was one tax report away from setting the whole government system on fire, but that was unrelated. Mostly.
I stepped out of the Talasi Inn, and the first thing waiting for me was the breeze.
That wind had been stalking me, I swear. The second my foot hit the porch, it rushed across my face like it had been holding a grudge. Cool air slid over the sweat beading along my forehead, helping my body start that post-activity cooldown. I wiped the sweat away with the back of my hand, then adjusted the robe slipping off one shoulder before fixing the rest of my clothes into something that looked presentable enough for a king casually leaving an inn at night. Unfortunately, my whole aura was snitching.
The former Panty Raider witches were finally satisfied, at least for now. Luvina, Zawa, and Danni had a way of treating peace like a challenge and my vigor like a public resource. Lucky for them, I had [Limitless Stamina]. Unlucky for me, they knew that.
As I started strolling down the street, my mind returned to the idea Luvina threw at me during all that chaos. A royal party. A ball. A whole event where the newly crowned King of Velonica could show off Castle Midnight, Talasi's upgrades, and the fact that the Mikazuki Clan had crawled out the mud and came back with a throne in hand.
I gently scratched at the hairs on my chin as the thought started expanding.
"With Castle Midnight built, I could show off my growing kingdom and flex with my ballroom."
[Midnight Star: Belial] perked up inside me so fast I could practically feel him grinning through my soul.
"Finally, we get to enjoy some bitches shaking their ass."
I slowed my steps a little, looking down the moonlit street like that statement deserved a proper investigation.
"Do women even twerk on Gaia? Now that I think of it, we've never learned how to dance here. I only know jooks from Earth."
Belial sounded offended, more than I expected.
"What do you mean they don't know how to twerk? Shaking and throwing ass is a multiversal language. Almost like it's built into the female spirit."
I let out a quiet laugh, shaking my head as one of the mana streetlights flickered softly above me.
"You wildin', Bel. But it will be fun to dress up again."
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi]'s calm voice slid in right after, giving the conversation a little more dignity. I appreciated that. Somebody had to keep us from sounding like a council of horny goblins.
"This will also get the word out about the Mikazuki Clan's reestablishment of the kingdom. I think it's a great idea, Master."
He had a point.
A party wasn't just a party. Not for a king. It was messaging. Symbolism. A chance to gather noble houses, allies, merchants, Artists, potential investors, and anybody else trying to sniff around the new power center in Velonica. Castle Midnight wasn't just a home. It was a declaration made of stone, magisteel, spatial architecture, and my questionable imagination.
A royal ball could tell the world Talasi wasn't some forgotten southern town anymore.
It was the heartbeat of Velonica.
That thought had me smiling, then I heard my name called out from behind.
"Xiro! It is you."
I turned, the voice pulling me out of my head and back into the night. Dream Flower hurried toward me from the direction of the inn's side street, her steps light but quick, ebony hair catching the moonlight as she moved. She looked better than the last time I really checked on her. Less shattered. Still carrying grief, sure, but not drowning in it.
"Dream Flower? What are you doing around here?"
She slowed once she reached me, placing one hand against her chest while catching her breath.
"I just finished grabbing something to eat. I was actually about to go look for you, but I heard your voice and ran to see if it was true."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, curiosity slipping through her softer mood.
"Were you talking to yourself just then?"
I chuckled lightly, rubbing the side of my neck.
"Basically. But besides that, you appear to be in a better vibe."
Her expression softened at that. The moonlight touched her face gently, giving her new periwinkle eyes a reflective shine that made the emotion in them easier to see. She wasn't fully healed. People don't just patch up grief like a torn sleeve. But she looked like she had found somewhere to place it.
"Mourning Nicole during the funeral helped a lot," she said. "After speaking to Ameera, it dawned on me that I was her only true friend. So while she lives on as Victorya now, the woman I remember can rest peacefully within my memories."
I didn't answer right away.
That hit me quieter than I expected. Nicole's situation was complicated as hell. Victorya Umbra was here, real, alive in her own new way. But Dream Flower had known Nicole. The woman before the rebirth. The friend before the transformation. That kind of loss didn't disappear just because the soul found a different shape.
I gave Dream Flower a small smile.
"You're pretty awesome, Dream."
She looked away for a second, like accepting that compliment took effort.
"Thanks. But it's the least I could do for her."
Then she straightened a little, trying to shift the mood before it got too heavy.
"Anyways. What are you doing out alone?"
"Me? Oh, I just finished a... umm, business meeting with the witches."
Dream Flower stared at me for a beat too long. Not judging. Probably judging. Connecting dots I didn't need her connecting out loud.
"What do you plan to do with them? If you don't mind me asking."
I started walking again, and she matched my pace beside me. The two of us moved beneath the mana streetlights as our shadows stretched and shortened across the road.
"For now, keep them close so I can keep an eye on 'em. They won't be doing any raiding in Velonica unless I order it."
Dream folded her arms loosely, thinking it over.
"After talking to a few of them, they didn't seem like bad people, personally. Just morally misguided." Her mouth twisted slightly. "But then again, they could just not give a fuck. Cause they've done some terrible things to the folks of Endora."
I inhaled through my nose, then let the breath go slowly.
"I would comment, but I destroyed Endora's World Wonder when I visited. So I may not be the one to judge."
Dream stopped walking.
Her head turned toward me slow.
"Wait, you did what? The Sycamore Tree? Holy shit, Xi."
Dream stared like she was trying to decide whether I was joking.
I wasn't. Which somehow made it worse.
I gave her a small shrug that definitely didn't make the confession better.
Yeah, looking back, maybe dropping that detail casually on a peaceful night wasn't my smoothest moment. But in my defense, my life had reached a point where "destroyed a World Wonder" was only one item on the list of bullshit I completed. When your week includes fighting Angels, becoming a God M-Cee, building a castle, and accidentally planning a financial crime, broken landmarks start feeling negotiable.
Dream stared at me for a second longer before rubbing her forehead.
"Well, I hope you can keep control of such unruly women."
"Unlike Queen Hyancinth, I can actually punish them if they break any of my rules."
That got a small nod from her, though her eyes drifted around us afterward. She checked the street, the nearby buildings, the tavern windows, and the corners where folks might listen. Then her gaze returned to me, and the mood around her changed. The softness didn't leave, but something serious stepped in front of it.
"Hey, Xi, do you mind if we speak about that request I had for you?"
I nodded, remembering the way she brought it up before.
"Oh yeah... Fill me in with more on that."
Dream exhaled with a clear sign of relief, like she had been holding that question in her chest for days. We stepped off the main road and found a quieter spot near a low stone wall lined with moonflower vines. Their pale petals opened wide beneath the tri-moonlight, releasing a soft floral scent that mixed with the beer brewing in the distance.
She told me everything. Her Fenrir. The labyrinth. The fall that separated them.
"She used to sleep against my back when we were under the stars," Dream said quietly. "Even when monsters screamed through the nights, she never moved unless I did."
How she got trapped inside a labyrinth while her pet was left outside. What felt like nine months to her had only been nine days on Gaia, because labyrinths loved playing with those foolish enough to enter them. But nine days were long enough for Babylonian soldiers to find the canine and capture her with little resistance.
Dream's voice stayed steady through most of it, but I could hear the strain underneath. That bond mattered to her. The Fenrir wasn't just some pet she picked up because it looked cool. There was love there. Loyalty. A connection she could still feel tugging at her soul.
"Damn," I said once she finished. "That's fucked up. So, how long has she been in the Humans' hands?"
"It's been three month-cycles."
My brows lowered.
"Are you sure she's still alive?"
Her face twisted immediately.
"Well, fuck, Xi. That's morbid as hell to think."
"My bad. I'm just sayin'."
She let out a breath, annoyed but not angry.
"Yeah, she's still alive. I'm still connected to her by Crest Link, so I can feel her through that. I think the labyrinth removed her from my party list, causing her to appear unclaimed."
That caught my attention.
"True that. I didn't know animals could be placed under a Crest."
Dream nodded.
"Besides, that bastard, Babylon is placing her as one of the additional prizes for his end-of-summer tournament winner."
I looked at her. The night got a little quieter.
"Word? So why not just go in and take her by force? If you want, I can do that."
And I meant it. At that point, kicking in a Human king's front door sounded like a pretty direct solution. Maybe not diplomatic. Definitely not subtle. But effective? Fuck yeah.
Dream held up one hand, stopping that thought before it put on boots.
"After invading the Sycamore Tree with you, I know this, now. But I want to save that as a last resort, since there is also a grand prize of three million coins for that same tournament. If you get my drift."
I stared at her for a second. Then the plan clicked.
"You're looking to win back your pet, while picking up some extra money on the way out?"
Her face brightened instantly.
"Exactly!"
I leaned back slightly, eyes drifting toward the streetlights as my brain started doing king math, which was just regular ass math with more pressure and fewer honest solutions.
"Tsukuyomi, what's the average GDP of a Monster Country and a Human Nation?"
His response came immediately, clean and horrifying.
"For the nine monster countries, the recorded information of last year states that it's around 3.26 million coins per year."
That already sounded ugly.
"While the six human nations are recorded to be at 34.22 million coins yearly."
I went still and stopped walking.
"Fuck... Over 10 folds. What was Velonica's GDP?"
"Your country only made 250,073 coins. It is the poorest recorded nation of the fifteen countries."
A slow, ugly realization settled in my chest. The kind that made my inner criminal put on a suit.
"Yeah, fuck that... We're robbing Babylonia."
[Midnight Star: Belial] damn near cheered through my Soul Core.
"This is why you're my God! Hell yeah, we're going to have so much fun dominating the Humans."
I looked back at Dream Flower, already more invested than I had been two minutes ago.
"My country could use some of that money in Babylonia. I definitely think I'mma enter the tournament now."
Dream smiled like she had just landed the deal.
"Awesome. It's a team tourney this year, so we'll have to form a squad."
"No problem. Just make sure you know we're splitting that money."
"That's not an issue, Team Captain."
I narrowed my eyes.
"So that's what you were really getting at. Fine. I wouldn't let just anyone command me, anyway."
She didn't even pretend to be ashamed. Smart woman. If you need an Archon on your team, sometimes you gotta hand him the clipboard and act like that was the plan all along.
"Did you have anyone in mind for the other three spots?"
"With all the crazy, strong people in your clan and party, I honestly want to leave that up to you. But I know Alex would love it. Prince Luda might, too."
"Guess I'll take care of it, then."
Dream shifted her weight, and I could tell she had one more thing sitting on her tongue.
"Also, how do you feel about me relocating the Flower Clan to Velonica? If you have room for a new honor house, then I would love to suggest my clan be added."
That one didn't need much thought.
"No need to sell me. You and your folks are welcome here. Plus, I need new noble clans to help the growth we're about to experience."
Her shoulders loosened like I had lifted a pack from them.
"You're the greatest, Xi. Since the tournament is at the end of the 3rd Earth Cycle, I have that long to train and get the Flower Clan down here."
Then her expression sharpened with the kind of excitement only fighters got when a big stage was coming.
"Expect most of Arcadia's strongest Artists to show up. King Babylon put out word that he would fulfil any request from the winner. This is also the first year that Sociovores will compete with Humans."
That information slid into place inside my head. The first year Sociovores could compete with Humans. A Human king offering any request. A tournament big enough to draw Arcadia's strongest. A stage sitting right in the middle of Human territory. Yeah, that was a door. And I was really good at walking through doors like I owned the building.
"I might be able to use that tournament to my advantage."
I looked toward the road ahead, already seeing more than the tournament.
"The Devil of Velonica is about to become the infamous Midnight King of Velonica."
Dream's smile turned playful.
"An alias update? Exciting."
She started to step back, already shifting into travel mode.
"Now, I need to get back to Endora. I'll make it back here before it's time to travel to the Holy Lands. I hope we get to ride your Nightcrawler there. I bet it would be more comfortable than a carriage."
I stopped. My whole body locked up like somebody hit pause on my brain.
"Oh shit! My car! I left it at the Sycamore Tree. I gotta go get that."
Dream Flower blinked at me.
"You're about to go to Endora right now? Can I travel with you?"
"Sure. If you're ready to go right now, let us leave."
I lifted my hand and snapped my fingers.
Spatial fabric opened above us with a smooth tear, folding the night sky into a dark, rippling aperture. The edges shimmered with indigo and violet, threads of Spatial Mana weaving through the air like silk pulled through a needle. The streetlights below bent in the reflection, their glow stretching across the portal's surface before collapsing inward.
Dream stepped closer as the pull caught us. In the next blink, Talasi vanished. The cool street. The moonflower vines. The beer-sweet air. All of it folded away as space swallowed us whole and carried us back toward the scene of the crime. And the party.
Because apparently, I had to go retrieve my shit while it was already causing international violence.
The atmosphere around the Sycamore Tree stump was spicy with wild magickal reactions by the time Dream and I arrived. I mean, the air had that hot, metallic, smoke-bitten pressure that made your skin prickle before your brain caught up. Wild magick kept detonating all over the ruined grounds, stacking new collateral damage on top of the mess I already left behind, like somebody said, "You know what this fallen World Wonder needs? More property damage."
Bolts of fire tore across the clearing in orange streaks. Lightning cracked between broken platforms, splitting chunks of old bark and stone with blue-white snaps that lit the forest in quick, violent flashes. Arrows of Water Mana screamed through the smoke and burst against walls with enough force to turn old structures into wet shrapnel. Every explosion kicked up dirt, ash, and splinters from the Sycamore Tree's corpse, making the stump look like a battlefield that refused to stop bleeding.
The Dark Elf Orishas moved too fast for the rookies on the side to follow.
Supersonic motion kept Cali, Raion, and Akai flickering in and out of view, their bodies appearing as smears of color before the sound of their attacks caught up half a breath late. The rookies stood near the edge of the wreckage with their hands wrapped tight around their weapons, eyes wide, breathing shallow, trying their best to act like they belonged anywhere near that level of smoke.
They didn't. And deep down? They knew it.
Akai supported Raion from a distance with sharp, controlled precision. Her Water Mana bow flashed beneath the moons, each arrow forming at her fingertips in liquid strands before hardening into piercing shapes. She moved like a hunter with dragon instincts and no interest in wasting shots. Every arrow she released forced Cali to adjust, retreat, or block.
Raion, meanwhile, fought close. Too close for comfort.
His fiery tri-point spear sparked every time he struck, but he was handicapping himself hard by refusing to use his Mana Arts and Combat Arts. That pride, tactic, or whatever history he had tangled up with Cali was holding him back. He kept choosing fists, kicks, and raw weapon pressure when he had more dangerous options sitting right there in his soul.
Still, Cali was finally showing signs of strain.
His cloak had tears now. His breath came heavier. His katana arm didn't slow, but the rhythm shifted—just a little delay between counters, a slight tightening in his jaw when he blocked Raion's heavier swings. Fatigue was creeping in. Quiet. Patient. Waiting for one opening to turn into a whole problem.
Raion and Akai started forcing him onto the back foot with clean tag-team pressure.
Akai fired low, aiming near Cali's ankles with a liquid arrow that burst into a spreading sheet of Water Mana. Cali hopped back before it could trap his feet, but Raion was already above him, falling out of a high jump with his tri-point spear raised overhead. The Spirit Weapon burned with a faint astral glow, its prongs slicing through the smoky air before slamming down onto Cali's guard.
Magisteel and spiritons screamed against one another.
Cali caught the strike with his katana angled across his body, but the force drove him backward. His boots tore through the soil, carving two deep lines as he slid ten yards across the ruined clearing, fighting to regain his footing before Raion could chain into the next hit.
Raion landed in front of him with a heavy stomp, the ground cracking under his boots. With a flick of his wrist, he rolled his spear along his palm, cocking the Spirit Weapon back like a javelin. Fire Mana poured from his gauntlets into the weapon, crawling across the shaft in bright veins.
His voice cut through the smoke.
"Enhanced Fire Mana Arts: Inferno Spear!"
Orange-scarlet flames wrapped around the trident spear in hungry spirals, growing brighter and denser until the weapon looked like a burning comet trapped in his hand. Raion hurled it with enough force to punch a tunnel through the smoke. The spear shot toward Cali like a missile, fire trailing behind it in a roaring tail.
Cali's eyes tracked the angle immediately.
He shifted his weight to escape the targeted zone—
But Akai had already predicted that. A liquid arrow sliced across his escape route and struck the ground beside him, bursting into a violent surge of Water Mana that rose like a wall. The pressure cut off his side step, forcing him to guard instead of dodge.
The Inferno Spear hit. The area exploded in a towering pillar of fire.
Scarlet flames licked the night sky, rising higher than the surviving trees as the blast swallowed Cali's position completely. The fire didn't just burn outward—it spun. A tornado of scarlet flame twisted around the impact point, roaring with enough heat to make the air ripple. Its light painted the broken stump, scattered stone, and surrounding trees in bloody red-orange brightness.
The rookies damn near lost their whole nervous system.
Jahil stepped forward before stopping himself; terror stretched across his face.
"Oh no, Vice Captain!"
The girl beside him clutched her weapon tighter, her voice shaking despite the analysis in it.
"That's an S-Class spell. What a crazy amount of mana."
The third rookie swallowed hard, staring at the flame tornado like it was a gate to the afterlife.
"There's no way we could join in for backup. We'll get slaughtered!"
He wasn't wrong.
Jumping into that fight would've been volunteer cremation. Respectfully, they would've been dead before they finished yelling their attack names.
Akai landed beside Raion with a graceful drop, her wings slowing to a stop as her boots touched the cracked ground. Her tail slapped the dirt once, then dragged lightly through ash. Both of them watched the flaming tornado spin with destructive beauty, its heat washing over their faces.
But then Akai felt it. A strange tingling sensation crawled along her scales. Subtle at first. Then sharper. Like something cold had touched the inside of her instincts.
Her eyes narrowed. Without knowing why, she drew back her magick bowstring and nocked another Water Mana arrow. The liquid gathered between her fingers, forming into a clean, arrowhead point as she scanned the area beyond the fire.
Raion didn't notice her tension right away. His attention stayed fixed on the inferno.
"Cali has really grown far in a simple year. We're going to have to end this soon, or he may find a way to win."
Akai kept her bow half-drawn, her glowing violet eyes shifting through the darkness.
"You're the one holding back. None of your strikes have been lethal. I've been watching."
Raion's jaw tightened.
"It's just..."
He stopped. Both of their heads snapped toward the flaming tornado. Something inside it changed.
The pressure of Cali's mana signature began expanding from the center, pushing outward against the spinning flames. His voice barely reached through the roar, muffled but clear enough to carry that dangerous confidence.
"Nullify with a replica—[Dominus Invidiae]."
A yellowish glow bloomed inside the tornado.
Then a second fire cyclone appeared.
It spun the opposite way around Cali, turning against the original inferno with violent friction. The two spirals clashed from within, grinding flame against flame. Heat folded in on itself. Scarlet and yellow fire tore at each other, collapsing layer by layer until the entire attack snuffed itself into the night air.
Akai's brows lifted. "How the hell?"
Raion exhaled through his nose, not surprised, just disappointed.
"There it goes. I was wondering when he was going to use it."
Within seconds, the spinning inferno dispersed. Its last flames vanished in curling wisps, leaving Cali standing in the center of the blackened ground. He leaned on the bottom of his sword, one hand wrapped around the hilt as he caught his breath. His cloak smoldered at the edges. Sweat shone along his temples. His jade-green eyes, though?
Still locked on Raion.
Jahil took a worried step forward.
"Vice Captain Terrantino, are you alright?"
Cali lifted his hand in a sharp stopping motion. His eyes never left the man across from him, but his voice carried enough command to freeze his subordinates in place.
"Remain where you are. I'm not defeated, yet."
His fingers flexed once around the katana hilt, quick enough to hide the tremor, but not quick enough for Akai to miss it.
Spiritons built in Raion's palm as he recalled his weapon. Astral Mana formed quickly, pulling the tri-point spear back into shape until it rested in his grip again. He lowered the tip, staring at his old friend through the smoke and the cooling embers.
"We can stop this, here, Cali. You go your separate way, we go ours. We don't have to do this."
Cali straightened slowly, breath still rough, katana dragging lightly through the dirt as he lifted it back into guard.
"That offer is only valuable if you leave without the vehicle."
Raion shook his head like he expected that exact answer.
"Stubborn as always."
While they exchanged words, Akai couldn't stop noticing that sensation again.
That ominous chill. Her dragon blood noticed before her thoughts did.
It moved through the battlefield like a shadow passing behind the soul. No spell circle. No visible enemy. No obvious direction. Just dread gathering in the air, getting thicker by the second.
Her fingers tightened around the bowstring. "...Something's wrong."
Raion glanced at her. "Huh? Whutchu mean?"
Reality answered for her.
A spatial ripple tore open the battlefield with a smooth, dark bend in the air. Space folded inward, then split, producing a portal edged in indigo and violet. It didn't explode open. Didn't announce itself with thunder. It just appeared, clean and controlled, like the universe had opened a door for a nigga who didn't need permission.
Two figures stepped through. Dream Flower and me.
The way everything paused, you would've thought I interrupted something private.
Nobody moved.
Not Cali. Not Raion. Not even the rookies.
Then Dream looked around, taking in the ruined stump, the broken platforms, the craters, the fresh scorch marks, and all the extra destruction Raion, Akai, and Cali had contributed to my already impressive crime scene.
Her eyes widened.
"Holy damn, Xiro. You did all of this?"
Everyone's attention chased her voice.
The Brazen Society members stared at us with complete confusion, looking between one another like somebody in the group was supposed to have answers. Nobody did. That's usually how it went when I randomly appeared somewhere.
The girl rookie pointed toward us, voice low.
"Where did they come from?"
Jahil leaned forward, squinting through the leftover smoke.
"Do you see that? There's a woman and a man over there."
Raion's eyes narrowed on Dream Flower. Recognition hit him slowly, then all at once.
"That girl... She's the leader of the Flower Clan. I recognized the armor she has on."
Akai shifted her aim slightly, studying me next.
"Really? Well, that man is an Oni. I can tell by the horns."
Funny thing about horns. They tend to make introductions dramatic when the right people have heard the wrong stories.
The third rookie focused on mine, and whatever realization hit him went straight through his legs. He dropped to his knees in the dirt, terror stretching across his face. His breathing turned shallow, fast, broken. His hands trembled as he tried to repeat a prayer under his breath.
"Mother Gaia, please protect your true sons. Without you, I am but helpless in the face of evil. Mother Gaia, please protect your..."
I honestly wasn't concerned with any of them yet.
My eyes bounced around the battlefield, taking inventory of the aftermath. The smell of copper, wet stone, and black smoke decorated the air, telling me other people had been adding their signatures to the ruination I left behind. Burned bark. Vaporized water. Singed soil. A little blood. All the usual seasonings of a fight where everybody involved needed supervision.
Then my gaze landed on the flaming wall surrounding Nightcrawler.
My beautiful car. My six-wheel baby. Sitting there behind somebody else's defensive enchantment, like it had been adopted without paperwork.
With my hands resting behind my back, I floated toward it slowly, inspecting the firewall from above the ground. The flames were produced by glyphs etched into the soil, each one drinking energy from the surrounding dirt to feed the wall. Smart design. Efficient. The spell used the nearby land like a battery, pulling minerals and residual magitons through the glyphwork to keep the flames sustained.
I had rarely seen that style in Velonica. Whoever cast it knew what they were doing.
Raion called out from behind me, voice firm.
"Hey, Majin, that contraption has already been claimed. So if you're looking to scavenge, I suggest checking the other side of the grounds."
The word Majin hit Cali harder than it hit me.
I could feel his attention sharpen. His thoughts started connecting dots he didn't want to admit might line up. He tried to get a sense of my mana signature, but my compressed aura gave a false reading. Weak. Low. Barely C-Class, if you trusted the surface.
His body didn't trust it. His instincts were screaming at him, and I could feel that too.
His thoughts moved fast behind those jade eyes. "It couldn't be. Not with a signature that weak. Yet, every fiber in my muscles is telling me that he just might be him returning to the scene of destruction."
Dream floated closer behind me, curiosity pulling her toward whatever had stolen my attention so strongly. Then she saw the vehicle behind the flames.
"Oh no. It's your special carriage. Did you place these defensive traps around?"
I lifted my left hand toward the firewall.
"Those glyphs? Nah, not my work. And sadly, they are in the way."
No chant. No drama.
No fancy hand sign. I placed my hand near the flames and cast [Absolute Spell Removal].
The entire enchantment unraveled in less than a breath.
The glyphs dimmed first, their lines going from blazing orange to dull ash. Then the fire collapsed inward, vanishing so cleanly it barely left smoke behind. The soil stopped glowing. The pressure around the car disappeared.
Just like that. The Dark Elves watching from behind me were wrecked with shock.
Raion stiffened. Akai's bowstring pulled a little tighter without her meaning to. Cali stared like his brain had just been slapped. None of them could figure out exactly what had happened, but all three understood the same simple truth.
A Majin had removed Raion's spell with a touch.
Seconds later, the third rookie's panicked stutter crawled through the quiet.
"That's… no. No, no..." His knees hit the dirt. "The Devil of Velonica…"
Cali's eyes snapped fully to me.
"Shit... he would pick now to show up."
Raion frowned, rubbing at the edge of his memory.
"I heard that name in a tavern," Raion muttered. "Thought it was drunk folk seasoning."
Akai's brows pulled together.
"Honestly, me too. I wish I could remember more, cause I feel like it's important."
With Nightcrawler cleared, I finally turned toward the Dark Elves and Dragonkin behind me.
That was when I noticed it.
With my new push into Outer Godhood, sensing potential in souls had become almost effortless. I looked across the battlefield, and three vessels stood out immediately. Three people nowhere near their actual capability. Three souls with deeper wells hidden beneath the surface, sealed behind struggle, ignorance, bad timing, or whatever the Prime Realm System liked to call destiny when it wanted to sound poetic.
Raion burned like a furnace with the door chained open.
Akai's soul moved like deep water hiding teeth.
Cali's core twisted around something sharp, jealous, and unfinished.
Something in me ticked. Not danger. But interest. I had found future recruits if they impressed me enough. Diamonds in the rough, as Earth folks would say.
And just like that, my whole attitude shifted. I wasn't just here for my car anymore. I was about to become their unexpected boss battle.
"I don't know who you all are, but whoever tried to protect my car from scavengers... Thanks."
Raion stared at me from across the clearing, his spear still in hand.
"So that's your machine? Who are you?"
I let the silence breathe for half a second.
Then gave him the kind of answer that sounded like it came with theme music.
"Demon Lord Xiro of the Mikazuki Clan. The Midnight King of the South. But some people like to call me the Devil of Velonica."
Everyone paused.
My words settled over the battlefield like a second layer of smoke. Dramatic? Yeah. Edgy? Absolutely. But when you've got horns, a missing planet on your résumé, and a car named Nightcrawler parked behind you, subtlety already left the group chat.
Cali reacted the most.
His forehead dampened with sweat, anticipation and anxiety mixing across his face as he stood straighter with his katana in hand.
"A Demon Lord? Like a real one? Or is it just pretty name vanity?"
Akai handled it differently.
Caution moved through her first. She reached out and tugged the bottom of Raion's shirt, forcing his attention toward her without taking her eyes off me.
"We should retreat. I can't fully remember, but I know I've heard that the Devil of Velonica is dangerous."
Raion's jaw tightened, his gaze flicking toward Nightcrawler.
"But without that machine, we can't collect the bounty money from the RIAA. That strange metal was going to be enough to retire us."
I understood his plight.
He was staring at a golden ticket he happened to stumble across in a graveyard of broken wood and bad decisions. In his mind, that vehicle probably meant freedom. Money. An escape from whatever grind had been chewing on him and Akai. I could respect that.
Sadly for him, that treasure had an owner. And only victory would change that.
But victory? Victory was already my bitch.
The wind crawled between us, slipping through the busted ribs of the Sycamore Tree's corpse and dragging ash across the battlefield in slow gray ribbons. For a second, the tension didn't belong to Cali and Raion anymore. It shifted like a pack of Moltenfang wolves catching a new scent. All of it turned on me.
I stayed hovering a few inches off the ground, hands resting behind my back like I was taking a peaceful evening stroll through a ruined World Wonder and not standing between three dangerous Orishas, a team of terrified rookies, and my dope-ass car. My robe flowed in the breeze, folding and snapping in soft black waves around my body. The tri-moonlight washed over me from three angles, painting my horns in pale silver and violet while the shadows under my eyes deepened into something more villainous than I honestly intended.
The air whistled against my aura, almost warning them for me.
If they were smart, they would've run. But I could smell it on them. Pride. That ego. That hot, stubborn belief an M-Cee or Artist got when they thought backing down would damage their soul more than dying would.
And I respected it. Didn't mean I was gonna let it slide.
Cali's breathing started to steady as he realized where this situation was heading. His earlier fatigue still clung to him—sweat at his temples, cloak burned at the edges, muscles tight from fighting Raion and Akai—but his eyes sharpened behind his glasses. He wasn't done. Not even close. Raion stood off to the side with that flaming body art pulsing beneath his skin, spear gripped in his hand as heat curled around him in smoky waves. Akai remained farther back, bow still drawn enough to show she hadn't dismissed me as a non-threat.
Dream Flower finally got a better look at Raion through the drifting smoke. Her eyes narrowed, recognition sliding across her face as she pointed toward him.
"Aye, you with the spear. Are you the Inferno Cycho?"
Raion's gaze flicked to her, then down at the armor marking her clan identity.
"That I am, Flower Clan."
Dream glanced toward the rookie Dark Elves first, then Cali. Her eyes scanned over his exposed sleeve, catching the black and white armor patch peeking from beneath the torn edge of his cloak.
"That Dark Elf with the sword is from the Brazen Society. High Rank, too, if I'm going by the patch on his arm."
I looked over at her, keeping my hands behind my back.
"You know them?"
"I know of his group," she said, voice dropping a little as she kept studying Cali. "They have a handful of the strongest Orishas in Endora."
She looked past him toward the dead forest around us, brows folding.
"The real question is, why are they this far southeast?"
"Strong, huh?" My eyes slid back to Cali and Raion with mild interest. "I was wondering if the witches were the apex in this land."
Dream nodded toward Raion.
"That Elf with the heat coming off of him used to be a part of the Brazen Society. But rumors are that he split from them recently."
Raion's mouth curled faintly.
"Endora loves gossip."
I floated a little closer to Nightcrawler, the black metal catching moonlight behind me like a sleeping beast waiting for its owner to return with the keys.
"Looks like y'all are running a fade. If you want to finish what you're doing, go ahead. I'll just grab my shit and jet."
Raion's grip tightened around his spear.
"I mean, since you left it behind, it's kind of been claimed by a new owner."
My eyes shifted to him.
"Fuck that new owner. The original is still alive."
A little heat rolled off his shoulders as his smile thinned.
"Is that the only problem? Then we'll have to fix that."
Akai gave a reluctant sigh. She already knew her partner had decided to be stupid and loved him too much to let him be stupid alone. Her violet eyes stayed on me as Raion turned his neck toward Cali.
"Cali, do you mind if we call a temp truce and alliance? I might need some help removing the machine from the grip of that dead man."
Cali adjusted his stance, katana lowering only a fraction.
"Fine. But once the Devil is taken care of, you're next."
"At least y'all are stupid enough to try," I murmured out loud.
Dream shook her head beside me, disbelief sitting heavy in her expression.
"You Oni sure love violence. Do you want any help?"
I didn't look away from them.
"Help? Null. They don't even have enough help on their side."
The robe around my body shifted before I finished speaking. Black fabric folded inward like it had melted under invisible heat, liquefying into glossy darkness that crawled across my skin. The liquid wrapped tighter, smoothing into the layered form of my black sleeveless armor of obisidium remix. Dark plates locked into place along my torso and shoulders, while the waist-cape flowed out behind me in slow, predatory waves.
Under the tri-moonlight, my [Noir Empress] armor drank in every glow and gave back nothing but menace.
My silver eyes brightened indigo as excitement stirred behind my calm expression. I was trying to keep it casual, but my face probably looked like I had just found a new toy aisle. That was the curse of being me. Even when I was being reasonable, I looked like the final boss asking if everybody had saved their game.
Cali lifted two fingers toward his glasses. The lenses flashed with a faint celadon shine as he tried to use [Scan] on me.
[Moon Sage: Tsukuyomi] denied him immediately.
The skill scraped against my information and found only the bare minimum. Name. Alias. Nothing about my skills. Nothing about my Combat Rating. Nothing about the pressure hiding under the surface.
Cali's jaw tightened, disappointment mixing with frustration.
"Raion, I've heard plenty of rumors about the Devil. And if that display that he used to remove your fire trap was any indication, then he might be the real deal."
Raion rolled his shoulder, embers drifting from the glowing lines on his body.
"That's why I'm asking you for help as well."
Akai took a few steps back, her bow lifting as Water Mana gathered around the string in a smooth crescent.
"I'll stay in the rearguard and support."
Raion gave Cali a side glance.
"You ready, Cali?"
Cali adjusted his glasses with a simple push of his finger.
Then he nodded.
They spread out clean. Better than I expected.
Still not enough.
Both of them advanced without needing to speak again. That part told me plenty.
They'd fought together before. A lot. Their movements fell into rhythm immediately, Cali angling toward my right with his katana low and ready, Raion drifting to my left with spearpoint leveled toward my ribs. Neither one gave an order. Neither one checked over their shoulder. They just naturally understood how to surround a target and close the exits.
Akai remained behind them, bow trained on me, violet eyes tracking every twitch of my body. That was when I noticed something else. Not just their positions. Their weapons.
I let my gaze settle on Raion's spear first.
"Call me impressed. That spear is a nice-looking Spirit Weapon." Then my eyes slid toward Cali's katana, and a faint memory from childhood brushed the back of my mind. "But this Artifact that four eyes over here is holding is giving me a flashback of a legendary sword I saw in a book."
Cali's face twitched.
"Four eyes? You ugly motherfucker..."
I smiled.
"You would be the nigga to see that, huh?"
His katana lifted slightly, the edge catching moonlight.
"How about I show you this blade up close and fix that ugly mug of yours?"
"That sword won't be enough to tickle me."
Raion didn't wait for Cali to answer.
He moved from my blindside with explosive speed, boots tearing through the dirt as his spear came in low and fast. The attack was quiet enough to be respectable, the kind of surprise strike that would catch most fighters reacting too late.
But [Danger Sense] whispered before he even crossed the line.
I didn't turn around. I simply lifted my arm.
Water Mana condensed in front of my palm, compressing the air and water into a small, nearly invisible bubble of naked hydrogen. It shimmered faintly, bending the moonlight around it like a glass marble made from atmosphere itself.
Then I flicked it at him.
Pure hydrogen, compressed tightly.
Fire touching that? Bad relationship.
Raion's instincts betrayed him. He parried.
His spear struck the hydrogen bubble, and with his body laced in Fire Mana, the chemical reaction sparked instantly. The bubble ignited with violent precision, bursting into an explosion that swallowed him in orange-white light.
The blast cracked across the clearing like a bomb.
Raion cried out as the explosion tossed him backward ninety-some yards, his body spinning through smoke and embers before slamming into broken ground and skidding through ash. Dirt sprayed up around him, and a scorched trail marked where he landed.
Same trick I hit Luda with as a child. A Xiro classic. Science and magick holding hands while committing a hate crime.
Cali didn't waste the opening.
"Enhanced Wind Mana Arts: Flash Step!"
His body blurred out of sight, Wind Mana folding around his limbs as he appeared on my opposite side with his katana already drawn back. The speed was clean. The angle was good. The timing was smart. He had me lined up for what looked like a clean swipe across my midsection.
Then he noticed my eyes watching him. Calm.
Focused. Not surprised even a little. His sword came down anyway.
The blade reached the edge of my space and suddenly twisted backward with violent force. The invisible push rejected the slash before steel could meet armor. Cali's arms jolted from the reversal, but his footwork recovered instantly. He chained into another slash from the opposite angle.
Rejected.
A thrust aimed at my throat.
Rejected.
A rising cut meant to tear up through my ribs.
Rejected again.
The rejection cracked against his wrists like invisible thunder.
[Love/Hate] turned the space around me into a hostile law. Attraction and repulsion bent through God Qi, making my defense feel less like a spell and more like reality itself had decided Cali was not allowed to touch me.
The Dark Elves had no clue what they were looking at. That made it better.
Cali landed a few feet back, boots grinding against the ground as frustration cracked through his composure.
"What tha fuck?"
As he regained his footing, four Water Mana arrows raced over his shoulder.
Akai's shots were beautiful.
Compressed liquid spun around each arrowhead in tight, deadly rotation, turning them into flying grenades aimed with the kind of precision that deserved respect. One for my head. One for my heart. One for my throat. One for my lower abdomen. All lethal points. All fired with no hesitation.
They just lacked the mana needed to do anything meaningful to me.
I lifted my hand and waved it through the air. The arrows stopped responding to her will.
Their shapes unraveled mid-flight, arrowheads loosening into flowing streams of liquid that spiraled around my palm. With a twist of my wrist, I reconstructed the loose magick into a bright blue orb, the Water Mana compressing and smoothing into a perfect sphere. [Magick Reconstruction] danced through the spellwork, rewriting ownership like I had snatched the remote out of her hand.
Akai's eyes widened, offended. Like I had touched something personal.
I tossed the orb upward with the casual charisma of a stage magician. The glowing sphere sailed into the night sky, leaving a faint blue trail behind it.
To their credit, the Orishas kept applying pressure.
A concentrated beam of fire shot across the battlefield from the direction Raion had landed. It moved near light-speed, burning through smoke and ash in a straight line before slamming into my defensive spatial barrier. The beam flattened against the shield, spreading into a wide flare before dispersing harmlessly into the air.
The barrier shimmered once. That was all.
Raion's angry voice carried from the distance.
"Son of a bitch! What kind of shield is that?"
Akai's bow dipped just enough to show her shock.
"Has anyone landed a hit yet?"
They weren't the only ones blown away by the difference in strength.
The three rookies in the back were already breathing heavy from the phantom pressure of my compressed mana signature. And watching me control three powerful warriors with almost no effort started validating every rumor they'd ever heard about the Devil of Velonica. Panic built in them fast, not loud at first, but ugly and contagious.
Jahil's voice shook. "He's invincible. This is really bad."
The rookie girl took half a step back. "No way... The Vice Captain might die. We need to run and escape."
The third rookie had tears forming in his eyes as he clutched his weapon like a prayer talisman. "The Devil of Velonica will kill us all."
Cali jumped back to put space between us, landing beside Raion as he returned from the smoking crater. Raion's body steamed from the earlier oxygen blast, his cloak torn, his fiery markings flickering hotter with irritation. Cali gritted his teeth, katana raised, but no longer casual.
"Yo, if we're gonna live through this, we're gonna have to use our true abilities."
Raion wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth, eyes narrowing on me.
"I see that now. He's starting to turn out more difficult than I expected."
That was when I felt it.
A pulse inside my Soul Core. Deep. Familiar. That same internal resonance that stirred when a Sonata Core sat near mine. A vibration that didn't belong to normal mana signatures, something more intimate than sensing power. It felt like hearing a chord from a song I knew before I learned language.
My eyes moved between them.
Cali.
Raion.
Both of them rang back with a resonance.
Not loud, but clear. Mine recognized theirs.
A devilish smile spread across my face before I could stop it. The kind of grin that made the rookies look like they wanted to piss themselves and apologize to their ancestors.
I finally lowered into a fighting stance.
My foot placement adjusted against the ruined ground, weight settling properly for the first time since I arrived. The air around me cooled as the orb I tossed into the sky reached its peak above the battlefield.
It imploded with a soft pop.
Bright blue light collapsed inward, then burst into falling violet snowflakes.
They drifted down gently over the battlefield, glowing against the smoky dark. Each flake carried a faint shimmer of reconstructed mana, turning the ruined clearing into something strangely beautiful. Firelight below. Moonlight above. Violet snow falling between warriors who had no idea the real fight had only just been invited in.
I looked at Cali and Raion, excitement curling through my chest like a hungry beast stretching awake.
"Aight, then..." My grin widened. "Let's see what y'all Sonatas sound like."
[End of Chapter]
[1] May on Earth.