Inside the livestream.
[Silver Wolf: That was impressive… but why did she kill me too? I didn't even offend her.]
[Billy: Wh-what the hell was that?!]
[Nicole: Acheron can't really be that strong, right?!]
[Valerius: That was actually on the weaker side.]
[Nicole: …Okay, that I can accept.]
[Valerius: I mean the Acheron in the livestream was weaker.]
[Caesar: !!!]
[Lyte: !!!]
[Miyabi: Such power…]
[Zhu Yuan: Even if I trained longer in the Demon Realm, I don't think I'd stand a chance…]
[Valerius: What are you all thinking? She's operating on a planetary level.]
[Grace: Miss Acheron can destroy a planet?]
[Valerius: Not sure. But it shouldn't be too difficult.]
Valerius genuinely didn't know Acheron's true limits. Game damage numbers weren't reliable, but destroying a planet or two? That didn't seem unreasonable. Firefly could do it in a burst—there was no way an Emanator like Acheron couldn't.
[Soukaku: I've decided… I won't provoke people like them anymore.]
[Koleida: Same here. That was terrifying.]
[Cocolia: So this is the power of an Emanator… enlightening.]
From Belobog's ancient records, their first Supreme Guardian could supposedly pierce the clouds with a single strike. Fighting alongside her allowed ordinary soldiers to block attacks from the Antimatter Legion barehanded.
Cocolia had once wondered if that first Guardian had also been an Emanator. But now… the gap was obvious.
What surprised her even more was that Valerius clearly wasn't afraid of Emanators at all.
Which meant… he was far stronger than them.
"Bronya… just what kind of man did you bring back as my son-in-law…?"
Inside the space.
Looking at the wrecked lobby, Jaina sighed and returned behind the counter, gripping a pill in her hand.
She needed to prepare for what came next. One mistake, and she could be in serious trouble.
As expected, it wasn't long before Sunday rushed into the lobby.
"Banana, banana, banana."
"The Astral Express attacked Miss Robin. I tried to protect her, but I was a bit too late."
Since Sunday didn't know the full story, Jaina decisively pushed all the blame onto the Astral Express.
"Banana? Banana?"
"Well, believe it or not, that's the truth." Jaina shrugged. "Besides, I have no reason to lie."
She had no idea what Sunday was actually saying, so she just responded randomly.
"Banana… banana."
After pacing around for a while, Sunday gave her a long, deep look before finally turning and heading back to his room.
"Phew…"
Looks like she fooled him.
She had expected him to use that "banana" corruption on her again, but surprisingly, he let her off.
Was he intimidated, or was he planning something else?
Now, almost all the infected had been cleared out. Only Sunday and the stowaway remained.
Jaina felt a bit troubled.
If she had known Acheron was this strong, she would have waited until Sunday was present before acting. That way, everything would already be resolved.
Tap. Tap.
A series of crisp footsteps echoed.
In the distance, a fiery red figure bounced toward her.
"She… wasn't affected?"
Seeing Sparkle approach, Jaina was surprised. She had clearly seen her get taken away by Acheron earlier—how was she back?
"Hehe, surprised?"
Red koi fish swam around her as Sparkle lifted her mask, staring at Jaina with wide, playful eyes.
"Very. Where did you go just now?"
"Not telling you~ hehe."
With one hand on the counter, Sparkle pushed herself up and hopped onto the front desk, sitting down casually as she looked at Jaina.
"Want to cooperate?"
"…Cooperate how?"
Jaina grew cautious. She couldn't read this person at all. Microexpressions—useless. Psychological profiling—useless.
This woman was like a complete madwoman. Her thoughts were chaotic and impossible to predict.
"Hehe, don't worry. We can work together to deal with the chicken-wing boy."
"Why would I want to deal with him?"
"Oh~~~ my sister is dead, killed by the receptionist." Sparkle's expression suddenly shifted—she took on Sunday's appearance, mimicking his tone. "You… why are you still alive?"
"No, I must kill you to avenge my sister!"
Her face twisted with madness, her gaze filled with killing intent. For a split second, Jaina felt like she was truly facing Sunday himself—and a completely unhinged one at that.
"Hehe, scared you?" Her appearance returned to normal as she giggled. "Relax, chicken-wing boy wouldn't act like that. That was just artistic exaggeration."
"…So he'll deal with me in a colder, more calculated way."
Sparkle's eyes lit up, nodding eagerly. "Exactly, exactly! You're smart."
"…Then how do we cooperate?"
"Catching on quickly, huh…" She pulled out a small object and handed it to Jaina. "Here, a little toy. Use it at the right moment—it'll be very interesting."
Jaina examined it. It looked like a button of some sort.
She nodded and put it away.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome~ hehe."
With a mischievous grin, Sparkle hopped off the counter and skipped away.
[Valerius: As expected of Director Sparkle. She's completely fine after that?]
[Sparkle: Hehe, this is fun… so fun.]
[Bronya: Strange. Why is Miss Sparkle helping Jaina?]
[Herta: Helping? Isn't she just here for entertainment?]
[Sampo: That's the correct answer.]
[Zhu Yuan: Even so, she is helping Jaina.]
[Valerius: Not necessarily.]
[Seele: Not necessarily.]
[Seth: Huh? What do you mean? Isn't she helping?]
[Jing Yuan: A piece of advice—never trust a Masked Fool.]
[Zhu Yuan: So Jaina is in danger?]
Zhu Yuan began to worry. She hadn't thought much of it before, but now even she questioned Sparkle's motives.
Inside a luxurious room.
Sunday looked at Sparkle with an indifferent expression.
"Hehe, everything is already arranged."
"Banana, banana."
"Don't worry, she'll definitely fall for it. But you're not allowed to act yet—I still want to enjoy the show."
"Banana?"
"That's one of the conditions of our cooperation~"
"Banana!"
[Seele: See? I told you.]
[Ling: Wow, a double agent.]
[Zhe: I'm curious… what happens if that button is pressed?]
[Valerius: Boom.]
[Jing Yuan: The actions of a Masked Fool are impossible to predict.]
[Sushang: Sigh… too bad no one got eliminated immediately. I still have to wait.]
[Caesar: Wait for two more.]
[Eula: Keep dreaming. I won't be eliminated that easily.]
[Huohuo: Wuuu…!]
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