"So what will you do now, Silver King?"
The mysterious person couldn't contain their excitement and whispered. It had been too long, too long since they had felt such a pure emotion. It was truly like the first time they had come into contact with machinery and research, like when their passion for creation first emerged.
Although Asahi's performance was extremely convincing, with flaws so few they were almost impossible to nitpick. But there were people in this world intelligent enough to notice; it's just that normally no one would think in that direction.
Unfortunately, this person was thinking that way.
The Silver King might just be a "fake" symbol being constructed, primarily to hide Asahi's true purpose. Even the first question the person asked when appearing before Asahi was a small test, questioning whether he was truly a monarch. Regrettably, the face behind the silver mask was too calm; no clues could be discerned.
This might sound convoluted and hard to understand, but upon careful thought, it wasn't difficult to explain. No one wants to be controlled, and compared to "bad guys," "good people" are much easier to control in this manner.
When the faction under the Silver King's command was strong enough, he could shed that guise. But now, having just taken the very first steps, he could not.
Hence, this was the second trial.
There were only a few dozen Cursed Children down here. The benefit they offered was far inferior to the high-ranking people in the banquet hall.
If the Silver King was truly a heartless individual focused on profit, then he could only either turn away and leave without saving anyone, or save a portion of the high-ranking officials. Meanwhile, the Cursed Children, weakened to the point of immobility from being tormented by the Varanium magnetic field for a long time, existed merely as a burden. They fundamentally had no value worth saving.
Even if they were saved, it would take a long time for them to recover. And to recruit a few dozen Cursed Children, it wasn't necessary to resort to such complex means. He could simply collect a large number by wandering around the outlying areas.
It could be said that this was a subtle trap laid for Asahi, directly striking at his weakness and aiming to tear off the disguise he had painstakingly built up for so long.
Asahi had no clues, no evidence. But countless hypotheses and potential developments were constructed in his mind, and he immediately suspected he had stepped into a trap.
"Truly...
"...tiring..."
He sighed softly in his heart. Developing in this direction would certainly encounter schemes and plots blocking his way. Most of these plots heavily exploited human psychology, making them inherently difficult to defend against, hard to recognize, and clue-less.
"However, you, or rather, all of you, are still wrong about one thing. That is, using ordinary thinking to weigh and scheme against me."
Asahi instantly focused. A terrifying pressure erupted from him, no longer merely a psychological illusion, but true power stemming from the strength of his Dragon Form.
A silver glow emanated from him, dancing around the space, causing his figure to appear distorted before the camera lens. The mysterious person behind the screen was horrified. To be able to achieve such a degree demonstrated that the energy concentration released by the Silver King was sufficient to distort the reflected light, perhaps even distorting space itself.
"A foolish challenge."
Asahi's contemptuous voice felt like a punch to the mysterious person's face, making their expression extremely ugly, yet they struggled to continue observing. Asahi simply stretched out his hand towards the giant bomb. Energy instantly formed a large sphere, enveloping the bomb.
BOOM!!!
Affected by the impact, the massive amount of explosives contained within the bomb—enough to destroy an entire large building—detonated. Looking through the pale silver energy layer, one could clearly see the terrifying heat and red flame that erupted. But all the impact, all the explosive force, was like prisoners locked tightly within a silver jail. No matter how much they screamed, they could not escape.
Asahi's expression was extremely calm. Although this explosive force was frightening, his energy was far stronger.
Even without condensing into the supreme power form of the Dragon Form—the famous silver flame—it was not something a pile of C4 could compare to.
Asahi withdrew his hand. The silver energy sphere containing the explosives suddenly contracted and compressed tightly within his palm. He clenched it as if catching a fly.
With a small "pop" sound like a paper firework, he released his hand, leaving only a tiny black fragment in his palm and a few wisps of smoke, proving that explosives had once been there and it was not a visual illusion.
"Boring."
He flipped his hand, letting the black fragment vanish.
As if sensing something, Asahi turned his head, staring intently at an indefinite spot, "coincidentally" hitting the location of the hidden camera. This caused the mysterious person to break out in a cold sweat for no discernible reason.
Impossible, right? This camera was installed by them in an extremely secretive manner. How could it be detected so easily? Right?
"Stop playing these boring games. Otherwise, bear the consequences yourself."
In reality, Asahi didn't care if he looked at the correct spot or not. The important thing here was whether the opponent would treat his threat as empty words after witnessing everything that had happened.
If the person was still watching, they certainly wouldn't, and wouldn't dare to disregard his declaration. Who knew how much more power the "Silver King" was hiding?