"Huh?"
Zeig immediately dodged, flashing into the nearby pitch-black alley.
The brick missed its target and rolled lonely onto the ground.
Cyrille stopped, bent down, slowly picked up the brick, and silently walked toward the dim alley.
"Come out already, I promise I won't beat you to death."
"…"
…
On the other side.
The Fragmentum zone in the Overworld.
Zeig slowly stepped out from the light curtain, looking like he'd seen a ghost.
"What the hell stimulated that girl? She's like a mad dog biting anyone she sees!"
After changing back into his previous outfit, he unlocked the sealed door and walked out of the dilapidated building.
The crisp sound of footsteps echoed clearly in the quiet Fragmentum zone.
On a distant building, two black-clothed men holding binoculars were extremely excited.
"Look, he's out! Don't tell me he had constipation?"
"What else? Normal people don't take that long to shit."
"When you take your phone into the toilet, the time you spend is about the same as his."
"…"
Zeig silently walked along the ruined streets, heading back toward the city area.
He ignored the two people staring at him from above and simply pondered what exactly had happened to Natasha.
From Cyrille's reaction, it seemed the clinic had encountered some bad things, making her very irritable.
Those things might have been there even before Natasha left.
"In that case, wouldn't the Underworld be in complete chaos?" Zeig raised an eyebrow.
Suddenly, a sound came from the corner ahead.
"By order of the Supreme Guardian, we are to withdraw to the residential areas and temporarily suspend Fragmentum patrols in the short term!"
"Understood."
"Bro, this might be the last time we see each other for a while—you've been assigned to the Underworld."
"Huh? The Underworld? I've only been here a few years! I don't know how to handle arguments with Underworld folks."
"No worries, a huge group is going with you. This time, three major batches of troops will be dispatched for full garrison to stabilize the Underworld situation."
"Really? What if the Underworld people get dissatisfied?"
"Then let them be dissatisfied."
"…"
After the patrolling Silvermane Guards left, Zeig poked his head out from the corner, staring at their backs.
"Things have developed this far… Was I too arrogant when I beat up Gepard earlier?"
After thinking it over.
Zeig pulled out his phone and sent a message to Seele.
Zeig: [Big Sis, have you been missing me lately?]
After sending this message, it took a very, very long time before he got a reply.
Seele: [?]
Seeing this, Zeig sent another one.
Zeig: [Let me tell you, the dogs on this space station can do ballet!]
Seele: [Really? I'd like to see ballet-dancing dogs when I have time, but right now I'm not in the mood]
Zeig: [What's wrong?]
Seele: [Not saying. I'm about to fight—some gray-haired guy is really asking for a beating]
Zeig: [?]
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind struck.
"Clang—!!"
Accompanied by the sound of metal clashing, the scythe and iron rod collided fiercely.
Zeig held his phone in one hand while desperately bracing the iron rod with the other, gritting his teeth as he looked up:
"Damn, didn't you see I was looking at my phone? Attacking without warning, no martial virtue at all!"
Seele's fair hands pressed hard on the scythe, her gaze sharp:
"When you ambushed Gepard, you didn't care about martial virtue either."
"…"
Under the pressure of battle, Zeig braced Seele's attack single-handedly with the iron rod while quietly slipping his phone back into his pocket with the other hand.
Sparks flew in the Fragmentum zone.
The two figures fought fiercely. Zeig didn't want to tangle with Seele, so he fought while retreating.
Seele chased while attacking.
And shouted:
"Bastard, give Natasha back!"
"Shit, what evidence do you have that we kidnapped Natasha?"
"Besides you guys, who else? You even lay hands on kids—shameless!!"
"…"
Zeig swiftly darted through the Fragmentum zone while the two black-clothed men kept leaping across rooftops, firmly following the pair.
Seeing they were almost out of the Fragmentum zone, Zeig immediately turned back and ran toward the direction of the two black-clothed men.
"Don't even think about running!!" Seele chased relentlessly.
From afar, seeing Zeig rushing toward them, the two black-clothed men were stunned.
"What's going on? Why is he coming toward us? Did he spot us?"
"Impossible—our concealment skills are top-notch; how could we be discovered?"
"It's that woman who's too strong. He can't beat her, so he's preparing to retreat."
"…"
Seeing Zeig and Seele fighting while heading this way, with the former struggling more and more, his movements growing slower and slower.
One black-clothed man said gravely:
"He's almost at his limit—probably exhausted too much from fighting Gepard earlier. Let's go help him."
"Got it!"
Not far away.
Seele fought more and more vigorously, grinning as she felt the gray-haired man in front of her was about to collapse:
"Heh, I thought you were tough—how come you're so weak now?"
"I just came out of the toilet and used up a ton of paper. Being weak is normal."
"?"
"Has no one told you not to pursue a cornered enemy?" Zeig suddenly stopped in place, turning back with a slight smile at Seele.
"Hm?"
The two black-clothed men instantly appeared between Zeig and Seele, saying gravely:
"Kid, you go first—we'll hold her off for you!"
"Hold her off? Sure, come try it!" Seele grinned.
She swung her scythe and vanished like an illusion. The next moment, she appeared above Zeig's head!
Raising her scythe high, her gaze locked on Zeig's body, she shouted:
"Looks like you didn't hold me off at all!"
"Clack—!!"
A silver chain wrapped around Seele's scythe and yanked her entire body down from the air.
The other end of the chain was in one black-clothed man's hand.
"Seele… heh, once upon a time, I called you Big Sis too."
"…"
Seele landed steadily, swung her scythe hard, and the chain wrapped around it snapped, scattering across the ground.
She stared at the two black-clothed men and said gravely:
"You're the ones who defected from Wildfire? Hmph, are you sick? The planet's fine now—why do you insist on causing trouble for yourselves!"
One black-clothed man laughed:
"Where there are people, there will be conflict. After natural disasters, it's human against human—isn't that right?"
"Conflict? You serious?"
…
Two minutes later.
The two black-clothed men lay on the ground beaten bloody and covered in wounds, unable to move.
Facing Seele's relentless advance, they panicked.
"Wait—no, that kid was fighting and running while under this much pressure?!"
When watching Zeig and Seele fight earlier, they thought nothing of it.
When they were still in Wildfire and fought as teammates with Seele, they hadn't fought her directly and thought nothing of it.
But now, going toe-to-toe with Seele for real—they couldn't even last three minutes!
Seele planted her scythe on the ground and dragged it along, sparking fiercely.
"Now, do you have any last words!"
"…"