262 DAMN HOW'D HE FIND OUT
Quantum Minds were among the rarest and most valuable beings in existence. If Godfather had deployed one here, the situation would be far worse than they feared.
Argent stepped forward. "Don't you find recent events… suspicious?" he asked calmly. "As if invisible strings were guiding all of you."
Macan narrowed his eyes. "Explain yourself."
"How did you suddenly obtain classified Trionix documents detailing illegal research similar to those you are doing?" Argent asked. "Information hidden so deeply even a quantum mind couldn't breach it unless they were inside your facility?"
Macan said nothing.
"And you, Luna Trionix," Argent continued. "You received identical intelligence on the Nuraliths—enough to provoke open war with them to gain advantage in your own programs."
Luna lowered her gaze.
Argent turned to the others. "Each of you received precise locations. Hidden aur vaults. Secret laboratories. Data that should never have surfaced."
"What are you implying?" Rione asked.
"That someone has been deliberately engineering conflict between your families," Argent said. "Pushing you toward mutual destruction."
A tense pause.
"Who could possibly pull something like that off?" Rione asked quietly.
"There is only one entity capable of such coordination," Argent replied.
"And only one leader ruthless enough to execute it."
He paused.
"Black Halo."
A murmur swept through the room.
Fear replaced anger.
Black Halo—was the supervillain that the entire city feared. He could kill a Super Soldier and Superhero from the League of Heroes with his bare hands…
…. If he had set his sights on Silver City's ruling families, none of them could survive alone.
"What should we do? Would he attack our family because we supported the armada that invaded Liberty City?" Rione Veyran asked.
"The League of Heroes would not send more heroes here after the last two Rank 6A got killed in our misadventure", Governor Lawrene said worriedly.
Slowly, painfully, the truth settled in.
They had no choice.
They must unite.
Suddenly a loud boom was heard.
"What's happening?" Governor Lawrene asked.
"We… Are we under attack?"
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[Some time before the attack on the unmarked farm]
Liorea sat inside the armored van, her eyes fixed on the holoscreen displaying the farm and the heated proceedings within.
"Do you think they'll actually unite and fight the aliens?" she asked.
Damen shook his head. "Unlikely. The alien horde isn't an existential threat to the major families. Silver City's shields are intact, and even with a weakened military they can always petition the League of Heroes. The League must intervene when aliens are involved."
"Hey," Kail said, leaning closer to the screen, "they're talking about you now, Big Brother."
Liorea smirked. "They seem more afraid of you than the alien invasion."
"Of course," Damen replied calmly. "I can assassinate their leaders at will—and they can't call the League to protect them. The League doesn't interfere in private power struggles between families."
"So," Kail asked, "are you betting they'll unite?"
"No," Damen said flatly. "I'm not betting on anything."
He leaned forward slightly.
"We get our revenge today."
Kail frowned. "I don't understand."
Liorea's eyes widened suddenly. "Wait… I do."
Damen turned to her, smiling faintly.
"The real reason you turned the major families against each other…. is to force them to come to this meeting," Liorea said slowly. "At the farm… with Godfather present."
"Yes," Damen replied. "Godfather is elusive. No matter how thoroughly Kail searched, there was no trace of him. It's as if he exists in a separate space."
Kail nodded grimly. "Like he's living in another world."
"So, I thought carefully," Damen continued. "The only way to reach him was to draw him out. And Godfather only appears when Silver City itself is at risk."
"So, you engineered the inter family conflict," Kail said. "To force the mediation."
"And," Damen added, "this is the only place and time when all our enemies gather in one location. I can wipe them out in one swoop."
Liorea frowned. "But this meeting is top secret. There are no written messages or transmissions. The location is delivered in person only. How did you even know about it?"
Damen's smile deepened. "Someone told me."
It was Jax Trionix.
He didn't say the name aloud, but both of them understood.
It had always been Damen's plan—to ignite the rivalries between the families and force Godfather to intervene, then pry the meeting location from the weakest link.
Jax had been the easiest target because he has few enmities with Damen.
"But attacking the farm won't be easy," Liorea said. "It's protected by a powerful force field and an army of well-equipped drones and juggernauts."
"I can handle the shield and the drones," Kail said confidently—then hesitated.
His expression darkened. "But there's a problem."
He pointed to the holoscreen.
"That boy. Argent."
Liorea glanced at him. "Aren't you evolved? Can't you beat him in a Quantum Mind battle?"
Kail exhaled. "I have evolved. I'm stronger. Faster. I can exist across distances of reality."He paused. "But in a direct clash… he's still superior."
Liorea crossed her arms. "Then this is a wasted opportunity. If we can't break the defenses, they'll escape. Godfather's elusiveness likely comes from portal-space access. He could vanish into a hidden world, and we would be back to square one."
Damen chuckled softly.
"I anticipated that."
He reached into his storage space and produced a massive speaker-like device—scarred, heavy, humming faintly with dormant power.
It was Boom Master's weapon.
"This," Damen said, "is something even Argent can't defend against."
Kail's eyes widened. "An EMP generator?"
"A military-grade EMP wave," Damen confirmed. "It'll cripple the force field. The drones. Most electronic systems—anything reliant on circuitry. This weapon is the reason machines could never take over humanity."
"Whoa," Kail said. "Where did you get something like that, Big Brother?"
Damen's smile turned sharp.
"The Syndic of Fracture."
------
[Back in the farm]
The thunderous boom faded, leaving the farm plunged into darkness.
Every screen went black. Consoles died mid-blink. The hum of machinery vanished, replaced by uneasy silence. Something had fried their internal systems.
"What's going on?" Macan Nuralith barked, igniting a handheld torch. "Why is everything dark? Are we under attack?"
A staff member hurried forward. "N-no, sir. There's been a massive systems failure… caused by an overload. The control chips are… destroyed."
One by one, emergency lights flickered to life, casting long, uneasy shadows across the hall.
"So, we're not under attack?" Rione Veyran asked warily.
"Attack us… that's impossible," Dr. Revive snapped. "No one outside this room knows about this meeting. The location couldn't have leaked…. unless one among you betrayed us."
"That's impossible", the family heads assured.
Dr. Revive turned sharply to Argent. "Argent. You're a Quantum Mind. Fix this."
Argent shook his head. "This isn't a software breach. It's hardware damage. I can't repair burned circuitry."
As the leaders argued, unaware—
A shadow slipped into the hall.
Silently and Invisible.
It was Damen.
The moment the EMP wave collapsed the force field, he moved. Unseen and untouched, he glided past panicking staff and malfunctioning defenses, his presence no more than a disturbance in the air.
Then his gaze locked onto a single figure.
Godfather.
He was the most elusive man in Silver City. A ghost among power brokers. The true prize.
If I take only him, Damen thought, this night is worth everything.
Step by step, he advanced toward the throne at the center of the hall.
Then—
Godfather's head snapped up.
"Intruder," he roared.
The word echoed like a gunshot.
"What the hell, how did he find out about me?"
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