Before Loki could utter a single syllable, I vanished. A crack of displaced air followed as I reappeared in front of her. My palm connected with her cheek in a slap that would have made Saitama proud, sending her spiraling out of the room like a rag doll.
In the same heartbeat, I teleported behind the bed, using the mattress as a tactical shield for my lower half.
The silence that followed was deafening. Riveria stood frozen, her face rapidly shifting through every shade of crimson known to elven kind.
[So... you launched the Goddess into orbit and just left the High Elf standing there?]
'Not the time, System,' I hissed internally.
The System's interface flickered toward the doorway where Loki's body was currently slumped against the corridor wall in a pose reminiscent of Peter Griffin falling down the stairs.
[Now that I think about it, that slap was incredibly efficient. 10/10 execution.]
"Riveria... could you?" I asked, my voice strained with the effort of maintaining my dignity.
"Y-yes! We're sorry! We should have knocked!" she stammered, turning on her heel and slamming the door shut with more force than necessary.
I began dressing in a frantic, humiliated silence.
[On the bright side, Host, they certainly know your size now.]
'Shut the fuck up!'
[Why are you embarrassed? Technically, with your current stats, you would send any woman to—]
{Alright, can you two shut up?}
The new voice cut through my mind like a jagged blade. Cold, familiar, and annoyed.
[Host, who is this lost soul loitering in your subconscious?]
'That's the "Infection" to you,' I explained, quickly relaying the events of my mental trip to the PS5 void.
[I see. So the Radiance's seed has begun to sprout. Charming.]
{At least I'm not a glorified calculator acting like a servant to a mortal,} the Seed spat back.
[At least I'm not a parasite living in a house I don't own.]
{At least I'm not a lazy OS that gives out useless missions... Screen Boy.}
I groaned, pulling my boots on. 'Is there a mute button? Seriously. They're talking trash like they're in a Call of Duty lobby.'
{Shut your bitch ass up, Allen, we're talking here,} the Seed snapped.
[He's right, Host. Stay out of this until I finish with this weed.]
Ah shit, here we go again.
-THUD-THUD-THUD-
The door didn't just rattle; it groaned under the weight of what felt like a physical assault rather than a knock. I opened it to find Bete, Tiona, and Tione standing there.
"Why are all of you here?"
"Come with us," Bete growled, his eyes sharp and expectant. No explanation, just the typical "lone wolf" attitude. He turned and walked away without checking to see if I was following.
I looked at the Amazon sisters. Tione was glaring at me with a look of pure disdain while Tiona was vibrating with excitement, looking at me like I was a shiny new toy.
We reached the training grounds, the open air doing little to cool the tension. Tione drew her serrated blades immediately, her stance low and aggressive. Bete cracked his neck, his boots scraping the stone.
"Oh, I get it," I said, a smirk playing on my lips. "Finn told you to train with me, didn't he?"
The trio blinked, momentarily caught off guard by my confidence.
"If that was the case, you should've just asked." I reached back, unstrapping my Needle and Nail, and slammed them into the soft earth at the edge of the ring. I rolled my shoulders, the Nosk-enhanced muscles rippling under my skin. "I won't use my weapons then. Wouldn't want to make this too short."
"Don't underestimate us, you bastard!" Bete roared.
He was the first to move. A gray blur fueled by Level 6 speed, he closed the gap in a heartbeat, his leg sweeping upward in a crescent kick aimed squarely at my jaw.
I didn't dodge. I shifted my weight, my hand shooting out to catch his shin. The impact sent a shockwave through the ground, cracking the tiles beneath my feet, but I didn't budge.
"Too slow, doggy," I whispered.
Before he could retract, I pivoted, swinging him by his own momentum toward Tione, who was lunging in with her daggers. She hissed, flipping over her comrade mid-air with acrobatic grace, her blades aiming for my throat as she descended.
Suddenly, a heavy shadow loomed over me. Tiona was airborne, her massive Urga Blade—which she'd surprisingly kept sheathed for now—coming down like a guillotine.
"Urya!" she cheered.
I threw my head back, a manic laugh bubbling up. With the Seed and the System bickering in the back of my head, and three of the strongest adventurers in Orario coming at me at once, for the second time in a century... I actually felt alive.
My skin began to harden into a dark, chitinous sheen. My bones shifted with a sickening crack-pop—the power of Nosk answering my call.
"My turn," I growled, and the ground exploded as I lunged at Tiona, where she attacked me, thinking I would dodge, but I didn't.
The air in the training ground grew heavy, saturated with a sudden, chilling pressure. Tiona was mid-descent, her eyes wide as she realized I wasn't dodging.
I didn't need the Needle. With a flick of my wrists, shimmering, razor-sharp Hornet Silk erupted from my palms. The silver threads lashed out like living snakes, weaving a complex web in the blink of an eye.
Tiona's Urga Blade hit the silk and bounced. The threads tightened, wrapping around her mid-air and yanking her toward the ground with a forceful "Gah!"
"What the hell is this stuff?!" Bete barked, skidding to a halt as threads began to carpet the floor, turning the arena into a deathtrap. He tried to leap clear, but I wasn't done.
I slammed my fist into the ground.
Deep, scarlet flames—the color of dried blood and dying stars—erupted from the cracks in the earth. Giant pillars of Grimm's fire shot upward, cutting off the trio's escape routes. The temperature plummeted and skyrocketed at the same time, a paradoxical heat that felt like it was burning their very souls.
Bete lunged through a gap in the flames, his boots glowing with mana as he prepared a high-speed strike. "Stop showing off and FIGHT!"
I chuckled, a low, distorted sound. "You want a fight? Fine. Have a gift from the 'Invincible, Fearless, Sensual, Mysterious, Enchanting, Vigorous, Diligent, Overwhelming, Gorgeous, Passionate, Terrifying, Beautiful, Powerful, Grey Prince Zote'!"
I reached into the air, and instead of a weapon, I pulled out a handful of sputtering, erratic Zote Bombs. I tossed them like juggling balls.
For Bete, he was familiar with the face.
'Isn't that face the same he drew before?'
"Wait, are those... floating faces?" Tiona asked, staring at the wobbling, explosive masks.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-
The bombs didn't just explode; they bounced with chaotic, unpredictable physics. One clipped Bete's shoulder, sending him spinning into a silk net. Another went off right under Tione's feet, the concussive force blasting her backward.
The arena was a mess of scarlet flames, silver silk, and exploding wooden faces.
"Is he even a Level 6 anymore?" Tione gasped, coughing through the nightmare smoke. She looked at her daggers—they were trembling.
I stood in the center of the chaos, my eyes glowing with that same orange hue I saw in the void. My bones continued to shift, my height increasing slightly as the Nosk influence stabilized. I felt the System and the Seed finally go quiet, both of them watching the carnage.
"Come on," I said, beckoning the three of them with a finger. "Finn sent you here to see what I could do. Don't tell me a few balloons and some string are enough to stop the 'brave' Loki Familia."
Bete snarled, his fur standing on end as he tapped into his beastification. "I'm going to kill you!"
"Try it," I grinned, as the Nightmare flames formed behind me. "I'm just getting started."
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How's the chapter? (I wish you all good day everyone.)