260 ITS FOR THE PEOPLE
High above Silver City, atop Trionix Corporation's headquarters, tempers finally snapped.
Jax hurled his glass of wine across the room. It shattered against the holographic display, crimson liquid splashing through floating data.
On the screens hovered dozens of documents—schematics, genetic breakdowns, test logs.
All marked: Nuralith Corporation — Bio-Engineering Division.
"How the hell did those bloody Nuraliths one-up us in bio-engineering?" Jax roared. "And they have the audacity to call their project Blue Scorch?"
He slammed his fist onto the table.
"Who leaked our secrets to them?!"
Vilra folded her arms, eyes narrowed as she studied the data. "The name… could be a mere coincidence. We already knew the Nuraliths were running a parallel project. That part isn't surprising."
She glanced at Jax. "What is strange is this—why would someone send these files to us?"
Her gaze sharpened. "Do they have a grudge against the Nuraliths?"
Jax scoffed. "Disgruntled employees maybe. Corporate rats. Doesn't matter."
He waved a dismissive hand toward the displays. "We've got the documents. That alone gives us a clear picture of their progress—and a head start."
Before Vilra could reply, every screen in the room suddenly flashed red.
An alarm tone cut through the air.
A new feed forced itself onto the central display.
There were flames and explosions.
A hidden facility—deep underground—was collapsing in a storm of fire and smoke. Structural beams melted. Containment tanks ruptured. Shadows of twisted creatures burned away as the explosion consumed everything.
Jax's expression drained of color.
"…What the hell is happening now?"
Vilra's eyes widened as she recognized the location markers scrolling across the feed.
"That's one of our black facilities," she said slowly.
The feed shook violently as the final explosion tore through the complex.
Then a symbol flickered briefly on the screen—jagged, alien, unmistakable.
Vilra whispered,"…The Nuraliths."
Jax stared at the burning ruins, his fists trembling.
And somewhere far away, a masked man smiled.
-----
A month had passed since Silver City invaded Liberty City.
During that month, Damen was anything but idle.
With Kail's evolved abilities, no firewall remained sealed. Every server, every private network, every classified system belonging to the major families of Silver City lay open before them.
Financial ledgers. Illegal projects.Assassination orders.Forbidden research. Hidden Crimes.
Nothing stayed hidden.
Damen learned all of it.
And then he used it.
Warehouses vanished overnight.Aur banks were emptied without a trace.
Each raid was precise, bloodless, and devastating. Evidence was carefully planted—false signatures, forged data trails—always pointing toward a rival family.
No two strikes ever looked the same and for a time, no one ever suspected the truth.
Damen's hoard of alien cores has increased significantly again.
Worse still, Damen didn't just steal.
He fed the chaos.
Valuable intelligence about rivals—just enough to be irresistible—was anonymously delivered to each family at the worst possible moment: the locations of secret vaults, illegal stockpiles, hidden laboratories, private militias.
It was a lure… fuel to strike an enemy when they were weakest.
And most of them couldn't resist taking advantage of an adversary.
Temptation did the rest.
Suspicion led to hostility and hostility turned into open aggression before becoming total uncontrolled civil war.
By the time the families realized something was wrong, Silver City was already devouring itself from the inside.
And Damen watched it all unfold—silent, unseen, and perfectly in control.
Everything was as he planned.
-----
Liorea arrived in Silver City the moment her work in New Myrone was complete.
She stood before a wall of holoscreens, her eyes gleaming as reports streamed past—raids, assassinations, sabotage, internal wars.
Every major family was bleeding, tearing into one another without restraint.
Silver City was burning.
"This is incredible," Liorea said, almost breathless. "Boss, I can't believe it. How did you pull all this off without me?"
She turned, genuinely curious.
Liorea was usually the architect of chaos.
This time, she wasn't needed.
"I didn't do much," Damen replied calmly. "Kail handled most of it."
Kail's hologram flickered beside him. "I just followed your formula," he said matter-of-factly. "Feeding rival families, the right information at the right moment. Tempting them to destroy each other."
He paused, then added, "It's actually quite easy."
Liorea blinked. "Easy?" She laughed once, incredulous. "You're calling this easy? This is Armageddon—just on a smaller scale."
Damen nodded slowly. "That's a good analogy."
He continued, "Quantum Mind collapsed the world because he could infiltrate every known information system. He didn't need armies. He needed access."
Damen glanced at Kail.
"That's the kind of power Kail possesses now."
Liorea stared at Kail, then shook her head with a laugh. "Wow. I leave you for a month and you grow into a god of chaos."
Then she turned to Damen. "There's something I still don't understand. Why was all this chaos necessary? What's your plan?"
Damen didn't answer immediately.
"Part of it," he said at last, "is revenge—for Silver City's attack on Liberty City. Taking our livelihood in Silver City from us."
"With the chaos all around, our enemies wouldn't be bothered with us at the moment… it's like a smokescreen that protects us", Kail added.
"What is the other part of the reason?"
"The other part of it is for the people of this city," Damen continued.
Liorea's smile faded.
She crossed her arms. "I'm no saint, but… won't this civil war cause massive collateral damage? Many Innocent people will suffer."
Damen considered her words carefully.
"Actually," he said, "this chaos gives ordinary people something they wouldn't have otherwise."
"…Which is?" Liorea asked.
"A chance to survive… a reason to leave the city or at the least prep up for what's to come," Damen replied.
Liorea frowned. "I don't follow."
Kail answered instead. "We've been monitoring the alien hordes in Liberty City. After taking the city, they won't stop there."
He summoned several holographic feeds.
Shadow hounds of Anubis tore through farmlands along the railway lines—slaughtering livestock, leaving scorched earth behind. Their movement was slow but deliberate, tracing a direct path toward Silver City.
Liorea gasped.
"I knew about isolated shadow hound raids," she said quietly. "They came close to New Myrone sometimes… but I didn't realize they were gathering for an assault."
She exhaled shakily. "Fortunately, New Myrone isn't on their path."
Then she looked up sharply. "What about the governor of Silver City? He must know about this."
"He does," Damen said. "They all do."
"And?" Liorea pressed.
"They're enforcing a total blackout of information about the potential invasion," Kail replied coldly. "They don't want panic."
"That's not right," Liorea snapped. "The people deserve to know."
"We warned them," Damenadded. "Repeatedly in social media…we even hijacked the major channels to make an announcement once… But most people refuse to believe their city—or their lives—are in danger. People hate changes."
His voice hardened.
"When the invasion comes, like Melrose City before, the wealthy will escape within hours. The poor won't. They'll stay. And they'll die."
Silence filled the room.
Liorea slowly looked at Damen. "…So, you turned Silver City into a hellhole on purpose."
"So, people would finally make the decision to leave, while they can," she finished softly.
Damen nodded. "That's the least I can do for them."
Then his expression darkened.
"But like I said—that's only part of the reason."
He turned back to the burning city on the screens.
"My main reason," he said quietly, "is still on revenge…. Because that's the only way to ensure our survival."
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