133 REPORT TO THE GODFATHER?
Damen was caught off guard.
Physically, the harm was minimal. But the true threat lay deeper.
Raw anti-meta energy seeped into Black Halo's body, flooding his veins, smothering every spark of meta power it touched. His circuits dimmed. The lightning in his blood sputtered.
"See how my anti-meta devours your strength," Umbros hissed, his voice echoing from everywhere and nowhere.
"Your power… and your life."
Inside the void, Damen slowed his breathing.
And steadied himself.
He checked his stats—more than half, nearly two-thirds, of his command points were gone. Drained by exposure to Umbros' so-called anti-meta.
Indeed, Umbros' ability devoured endurance and power alike.
"Tch… this damn anti-meta drains my energy… it's almost like the Drain function in my mining app," Damen spat.
He clenched his fist. Dark blue light flared through his veins.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Lucky for me… meta isn't my only power source. I can power my abilities with my Blue Blood."
A thunderous shockwave exploded outward.
"Sonic Wave."
The darkness tore apart as the sound ripped through, scattering Umbros' cloud.
"How can you still use meta powers after exposure to my devour…and such an intensive power hungry skill?!" Umbros screamed. "You should be gone by now—!"
Umbros attacked again desperately as tendrils of darkness lashed out violently.
"You kidding me? You've just lost with your ultimate move… will these octopus hands help?" Black Halo scorned.
Black Halo met the tendrils head-on—with fists and legs moving with brutal, disciplined precision. Damen didn't just parry; he countered every strike, each blow sending rippling echoes through the tendrils themselves.
They shattered under the accumulated force.
"H-How dare you break all my tendrils?!" Umbros shrieked, his voice cracking—like a spoiled child screaming over a broken toy.
"It's about bloody time, crybaby," Damen snapped.
Then came the strike.
His right arm glowed with chained electricity and compressed energy. The punch detonated the air into a visible vortex of force and electrical storm.
"Thunder Crush!"
The strike hit like a thunderclap from heaven leaving Umbros crippled, reeling, and half-formed.
Umbros howled as he fell. "Why… why do you still have strength left after my anti-meta…?!"
Damen's voice was calm, but cold. "Are you a damn parrot? Why must you keep asking the same damn thing over and over…I've already told you… I have another power source."
He slammed one final strike… a fist to chest. Then he was ready.
Umbros was finally broken.
"Drain."
Umbros screamed as his meta essence was ripped from his body, streaming into Damen like black fire reversed. His power was devoured, consumed by Damen's thirst.
"I'll let you experience what real 'Devour' means," Black Halo said to Umbros.
"What kind of demon are you?" Umbros choked. "How can you steal my power?!"
"Right…you can steal from me?" Black Halo whispered, his eyes flickering blue. "But I can't take back from you..."
Umbros's voice dissolved into static as his form was torn apart, his essence scattering into sparks. Damen stood over the smoldering crater on the road, while shadows evaporated around Umbros.
"Please spare me", Umbros pleaded.
"Moron, you came to kill me…how dare you expect mercy from me?" Black Halo replied before ending him with a short but precise kick.
The silence afterward was absolute. Umbros was gone.
Damen checked his stats after the battle with the Rank B meta.
Name: Damen Dark
Strength Rank: B Meta Rank: C Blood Rank: B
Strength: 608 | Charm: 262 | Meta: 303 | Command: 302 | Blood: 882 | Armor: 1005 |
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[The Zetheris family room]
Shawn Zetheris knelt on the floor while his father's belt snapped through the air.
"Useless bastard—why did you send Umbros after Damen Dark and Zairgid without a plan? You ruined everything for us," Garius screamed, each word followed by a lash.
"But…. Damen Dark humiliated cousin Cyara at school, I wanted to teach him a lesson…Umbros, Cyara's guard is the only one who could whack him," Shawn managed through the sting.
On a throne-like chair, Exoren Atheris watched the scene with a cold, cutting patience. "Your branch is worse than useless. Do you even think before you act? You called us here to deal with a Rank-B meta and then sent Umbros out alone, unprepared."
The woman standing beside Exoren added, her voice tight, "Umbros still hasn't returned. That isn't like him."
Umbros and Acyros were a paired duo of Rank-B metas the Atheris family kept in Silver City. When Garius requested the main family's aid against Black Halo, both of them were dispatched.
Two Rank-B operatives were more than capable of handling one target. The mission would have been an easy one.
But Shawn, blinded by rage and jealousy, ordered Umbros to strike without waiting for Acyros' support, thinking that teaching some students a lesson wouldn't require it.
"Do you realize what happens if Umbros meets Black Halo alone?" Exoren barked. "His odds drop drastically without Acyros at his side."
"What are the odds Umbros will meet Black Halo… out of all people in this city?" Shawn tried to reason.
Suddenly, Dackerie arrived breathlessly, and his expression was grim. "Sir, we've confirmed a major battle between powerful metas near Route 23. The entire sector's been leveled."
Garius's face went pale. "An entire sector destroyed? How—"
"You imbecile," Exoren cut in. "When Rank-B metas go into battle, leveling a sector is small collateral."
"And what about Umbros?" Acyros demanded, her voice cracking with fear as she swiped through the hologram feeds around Route 23.
"Umbros was there. There are signatures of his power in the ruined sector, but we don't know where he is now?" Dackerie replied worriedly.
"If he isn't back by now, he's gone," Exoren said flatly.
"Who could Umbros be fighting in Route 23?" Garius asked.
Exoren snapped his fingers at him, "Who else… besides the one you ask us to come here deal with. Are there anyone else in this forsaken city who could harm Umbros?"
Acyros collapsed to her knees, grief and fury tearing at her composure. "I will kill you, Black Halo."
Garius Zetheris bowed his head. "I'm sorry, cousin. What do we do now?"
Exoren let the room hold his silence for a moment before answering. "If Black Halo can take Umbros, then Acyros alone won't be enough. I must speak with Godfather—we need reinforcements from Silver City."
----
Damen stepped into the private room where Zairgid had arranged their high school graduation celebration. Kail, Dorin, and Lander were already there, laughter fading the moment he entered.
"Thank goodness you're back in one piece," Zairgid said, half-joking but clearly pretending to be worried. "I was about to call the SIA."
"The SIA would've been useless for this," Damen replied flatly.
Lander frowned. "What happened to you?"
"We were ambushed on Route 23 by an unknown meta—a Rank B, I sent Zairgid back first," Damen said.
Lander's eyes widened. "A Rank B attacked you people, and you still came here to party?" His gaze flicked sharply toward Zairgid.
"Well, it's nothing Damen couldn't handle by himself," Zairgid replied defensively.
"If Damen made it here in one piece, he's obviously fine. There's no reason to ruin a good party…", he added before Dorin slapped his head lightly.
"All you think about is party", Dorin scolded him before asking Damen, "So how did you deal with a Rank B? alone?"
"I didn't," Damen said.
"Black Halo appeared out of nowhere. He fought the assailant. I just… watched from the sidelines. It was unreal—the entire sector's a wasteland now. Good thing it was mostly empty lots before this," Damen explained.
Lander opened his datapad, pulling up the latest feeds. The holographic display projected the devastation near Route 23.
For a moment, no one spoke.
"Who is this Black Halo?" Lander finally asked. "And why would he help you?"
Damen hesitated.
He couldn't tell him the truth—not about his alter ego.
Dorin already knew, but Lander was too by-the-book. Even though he'd left the SIA, his loyalty to order ran deep. There would be consequences if he revealed his secret identity.
"What should I say to him?" Damen thought.