[Sector 7 - The Burning Slums]
"ROAAAAR!"
The sound wasn't human. It was the shriek of tearing metal and boiling blood.
Vincent—now a ten-foot-tall monstrosity of black scales and hellfire—swung a massive claw.
BOOM.
A three-story apartment building collapsed instantly. Bricks turned to dust. Steel beams melted like butter. The heat radiating from his body was so intense that the asphalt on the road bubbled into black sludge.
"Run! It's a demon! Run!"
The mob of bounty hunters, who were so greedy just moments ago, were now paralyzed with primal terror. They scrambled over each other, screaming, trampling the fallen.
A grandmother fell to her knees, clutching her rosary, staring up at the towering beast. Vincent raised a foot to crush her.
WHOOSH.
A blur of silver motion. Luna tackled the woman, rolling her to safety just as Vincent's foot smashed a crater into the street deep enough to bury a truck.
"Master!" Luna shouted, her voice strained. She threw three daggers at Vincent's chest.
TING. TING. TING.
The daggers shattered on impact. His scales were harder than diamond.
"USELESS," Vincent bellowed. His voice caused the windows of nearby cars to shatter. "I AM AN AVATAR OF THE ABYSS. PHYSICAL ATTACKS CANNOT HARM ME. I AM ETERNAL!"
Vincent turned his burning eyes toward Alex.
"ALEX... I WILL EAT YOUR HEART FIRST."
Alex stood amidst the chaos. The wind from the fire whipped his suit jacket. He didn't look scared. He looked annoyed.
"Eternal?" Alex scoffed. "Nothing is eternal. Except taxes."
Alex tapped his earpiece.
"System. Analysis."
[Target: Abyss Avatar (Vincent)] [Defense: Physical Immunity (100%). Magic Resistance (80%).] [Weakness: Holy Damage or... Orbital-Class Energy.] [Current Tycoon Points: 15,500.]
"Fifteen thousand," Alex muttered. "Not enough for a Holy Sword. But I don't want a sword. I want a flyswatter."
Alex pulled out his phone. The screen reflected the flames of the burning city.
"System," Alex said calmly. "I need Tycoon Points. Convert my cash."
[Warning: Direct Cash-to-Point conversion is inefficient.]
"Do it," Alex ordered. "Donate $5 Billion to the Global Red Cross. Right now."
[Transaction Processing...] [DING!] [Donation Confirmed: $5,000,000,000.] [Reward: +50,000 Tycoon Points.] [Current Balance: 65,500 TP.]
"Open the Military Tech tab," Alex commanded. "The illegal section."
A holographic menu appeared in front of Alex, invisible to everyone else.
Tactical Nuke (0.5 Kiloton): 30,000 TP. (Too messy. Fallout would ruin the real estate value).
Nano-Bot Swarm: 40,000 TP. (Too slow).
Orbital Particle Cannon (Single Strike): 60,000 TP.
"There it is," Alex smiled. "The finger of God."
"DIE!" Vincent lunged. He moved faster than a car, his claws reaching for Alex's throat.
"Master!" Luna screamed, sprinting toward him. She was too far away.
Alex didn't move. He pressed [BUY].
[Item Purchased: Orbital Particle Cannon (One-Time Use).] [Targeting: Locked.] [Firing in 3... 2... 1...]
The night sky suddenly ripped open.
It wasn't a cloud parting. It was the atmosphere igniting.
A beam of pure, concentrated white light—thicker than a skyscraper—slammed down from space. It didn't make a sound at first. It moved faster than sound.
ZZZZZ-CRACK!
The beam hit Vincent directly.
"WHAAA—?!"
Vincent didn't even have time to scream. The sheer kinetic energy of the orbital strike drove him into the earth. The black scales that were "immune to physical attacks" evaporated instantly under the heat of a miniature sun.
The ground turned to glass. The air turned to plasma.
For three seconds, the entire city was blinded. It was brighter than noon.
Then, the beam vanished.
[Silence.]
The dust settled.
Where Vincent had stood, there was nothing. No body. No ash. No demon heart.
There was only a perfectly circular hole, ten meters wide, going down into the darkness of the earth.
[The Reaction Shot]
Three blocks away, on a rooftop, the Police Chief dropped his binoculars. His hands were shaking so hard he couldn't pick them up.
"Did... did he just call in an airstrike?" the Chief whispered. "That wasn't the Air Force. That was... space."
In the alley, the mob began to weep. They weren't crying for the money anymore. They were crying because they had just seen a god.
A teenage boy, the one who had wanted to hit Vincent with a bat, fell to his knees. He looked at Alex, who was standing at the edge of the glowing, molten crater, adjusting his tie.
"He bought the sky," the boy murmured, his eyes wide with reverence. "He literally bought the sky."
People began to bow. Not out of respect, but out of terrifying realization. They had chased a demon for money. But the man who paid the money... he was the one they should have feared.
[Dragon Bay Villa - The Aftermath]
Alex looked down into the hole.
[DING!] [Mission Complete: The System War.] [Target: Vincent (Eliminated).] [Method: Total Atomization.] [Reward: +1 Mystery Box (S-Rank). +Title: 'Planetary Threat'.]
"Luna," Alex turned around.
Luna was standing there, covered in soot, her silver hair messy. She looked at Alex with a mix of adoration and fear.
"Yes, Master?"
"Cancel the bounty," Alex said, dusting off his shoulder. "And call a paving company. I want this hole filled before breakfast."
Alex walked past the kneeling crowd. He didn't look at them.
"Let's go home," Alex said. "I'm tired of playing with insects."