“Have we cleared it all?”

  Back in the DCC, the staff that had been running around without sleep for more than a week now were finally allowed to rest. After clearing their first official “portal”, the portal that was closer to the city was cleared in less than an hour—after all, they spared no expense at all in destroying the black cube as fast as possible.

  The World Government had also given them funding, allowing them to send drones and raining down hellfire from above. Fortunately, there were no flying daemons to destroy the airstrike, allowing the Exterminator team tasked to clear the portal to smoothly operate without any casualty or injury at all.

  And so, right now, the DCC were literally lying on the floor, their breaths completely filling up the air with their reliefs. As for the Phantom Brigade led by Cindy Solis, as well as the other Exterminator team that was tasked to clear the other portal, well… they were currently celebrating a large paycheck.

  After all, not only were they paid by the government, the equipment they lost were also reimbursed, which was usually not the case as they were considered a private entity and all of their equipment were their own.

  The main Exterminator of this operation, however, was not celebrating at all as she was still with Dr. Ling and the DCC.

  “Yes, but why… are you still here?” And Dr. Ling quickly questioned her presence inside the DCC. Cindy, however, did not seem to mind at all; she just crossed her arms while observing all the monitor and holographic maps inside the center.

  “Because I have a feeling that’s not the last we’ve seen of the portals,” she muttered as she glanced at Dr. Ling, “That’s what your partner said too, that a portal would more than likely become a daily occurrence soon based on all the… data.”

  “That man just can’t keep his mouth shut, huh?” Dr. Ling clicked her tongue, adjusting her glasses as she returned Cindy’s glance, “And you’re staying here so that you could help us save lives?”

  “No, I’m mostly here for the money.” Cindy shrugged, a small smirk crawling on her face as she started walking away, “It just so happens that we’re also saving lives as an end result.”

  “I thought Exterminators are in it to save lives?”

  “Then you’ve been lied to.” Cindy softly chuckled, “The repairs on my armor alone cost hundreds of thousands of credits if damaged. Do you think I’d be doing this as a hobby?”

  “Your grandfather’s pension alone could cover that.”

  “...You know my grandfather?” Cindy raised an eyebrow.

  “Anyone who works with daemons knows your grandfather,” Dr. Ling smirked, “He’s a legend, the exterminator who single-handedly wiped out the daemons who—”

  “Enough about my grandfather.” Cindy cut Dr. Ling off, “Do you happen to have news on the man I told you to scout?”

  “Tch, first of all…” Dr. Ling rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she returned to whatever it was she was doing with her terminal, “...I am one of the heads of DCC, I don’t have time to do things like that. And second, I briefly checked on the man you wanted to pull into this world of ours—and the only question I have for you is ‘what were you thinking?”

  “Then you have peeked a little in the world of Julian Winters?”

  “There is nothing to peek at—he’s just a rich kid playing that stupid Otherworld game.”

  “Does the DCC still hate Humanity Engineering?”

  “Hate? Pft, why would I hate them? Why would I even have an opinion of a private company?” Dr. Ling scoffed, and it was obvious that she wasn’t even doing anything in her terminal and was just randomly swiping and panning the screen. But after a few breaths, she even stopped doing that and faced Cindy.

  “I mean… they’re doing some unethical and illegal things there—things that scientists like me swore not to even touch,” she said as she pointed at Cindy, “Mixing human DNA with an alien species that’s capable of… of magic? We are not gods, Cindy Solis—no matter how much our technology has progressed to the point that we could be, we shouldn’t—because the last time we did, the daemons were sent to us by God to humble us.”

  “...I didn’t know you believed in a god, Doctor,” Cindy raised an eyebrow.

  “What else should I believe in?” Dr. Ling adjusted her glasses.

  “Science?”

  “Do you not believe in god, Cindy?”

  “Well…” Cindy placed her hands behind her back as she once again observed the monitors and holograms within the DCC,

  “...I believe that there is, somewhere out there in the infinite expanse of the universe, an alien species capable of biologically engineering lesser beings such as… us, humans.”

  “Mel Cruz. I didn’t know you quoted history.” Dr. Ling scoffed, “And you don’t think this alien species could be God?”

  “No. I used to think it was truly just aliens.” Cindy shrugged, “But throughout our history, we’ve met 5 other intelligent species like us—but none of them had a higher level of thinking and civilization than us.”

  “Because they excel in different things that are foreign to even us—that we are still trying to understand. The Funari live underwater under immense pressure. The Kregans have metal skeletons and hard skin, the Esalli can live in space, the Mordols can communicate telepathically, and then there’s the Artemians, magic—something we can’t even begin to comprehend. How can you not think that is not the work of God?”

  “Because I’ve already met the alien species capable of biologically engineering lesser beings, Doctor,” Cindy answered without any hesitation,

  “It’s us.”

  “Don’t be so arrogant to think that we are the higher beings, Exterminator.”

  “I don’t think that we are the higher being…” Cindy smiled as she looked Dr. Ling in the eyes, “...Because our history already found them.”

  “What are you even talking about?”

  “The Mutants.”

  “The mutants were never meant to be our evolution,” Dr. Ling waved her hand and scoffed again, “They died out in less than a century.”

  “Did they?” And the smile on Cindy’s face just grew.

  “What are you even trying to say here? And I don’t know why you’re even coming to me for this, daemons are my specialty.”

  “Go check on Julian Winters again.”

  “...Are you saying that Julian Winters is a mutant?” Dr. Ling narrowed her eyes, “That’s impossible, genetically and theoretically.”

  “Is that why Humanity Engineering is doing all sorts of favors for him?” Cindy smiled, “The current CEO visited him herself.”

  “Dr. Victoria Wilkes?” Dr. Ling’s eyes widened, “...She left her asteroid for Julian Winters?”

  “You said it yourself, daemons are your specialty—what if I tell you that Julian Winters was able to defeat a Class 2 daemon all by himself? Without any cyberware in his body, without even a suit of armor?”

  “I would tell you that I am talking to a clown,” Dr. Ling’s voice turned serious, “Julian Winters is blind, and not to mention a GNVI.”

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  “Do you know what this is?” Cindy grabbed something from her pocket and spun it around her palm and hand.

  “A white kitchen knife?” Dr. Ling raised an eyebrow as she saw the insanely immaculate knife in Cindy’s hand.

  “It’s a Xylarion knife, to be exact.” Cindy then balanced the knife on her index finger.

  “Why… would you waste a mineral like that on a kitchen knife?”

  “Waste?” Cindy softly chuckled, “This knife is capable of slicing a low-class daemon’s exoskeleton like it’s a piece of tofu. And it’s even better than a phasing blade since it doesn’t need any power source, and not to mention it’s incredibly light. The only problem is the cost since this is condensed xylarion.”

  “I’m not interested in knives. We were talking about Julian Winters.”

  “We still are,” Cindy carefully slipped the knife back into her pocket, “The knife was made by Julian Winters by hand.”

  “What?”

  “He said he could hear the metal hum and sing,” Cindy smiled, “Julian Winters is a mutant. Don’t you want to learn more about him? Don’t you want to learn more… than Humanity Engineering? If he joins my team, our team, whenever we go into these portals, you will have a chance to study him face to face.”

  “...And what do I even need to do for him to join your team? That’s not my job,” Dr. Ling whispered, a small glint of light flickering behind her glasses, “That’s yours.”

  “Not exactly,” Cindy’s smile turned into a smirk, “As the co-head of DCC, you have enough pull to get me more xylarions and other precious metals—Julian Winters loves to forge. Give him materials, and—is that supposed to be doing that?”

  And before Cindy could finish her words, she was one of the holographic maps flickering and turning red. And not even a second after that, a loud siren echoed through the entire DCC, jolting all the staff awake from the ground.

  Dr. Ling stared at the flickering hologram for a moment before rushing toward her terminal to check what it was.

  “S… shit…” She whispered, “It’s another portal.”

  “Already?” Cindy’s eyes widened as she checked the hologram closer, “Wait… don’t tell me that’s in the middle of the city!?”

  “Los Angeles…”

  “The Below?” Cindy started giving notice to her team.

  “...Sky Net.” Dr. Ling covered her mouth, “I need to call Heinz!”

  “Where is it, specifically!?” Cindy’s feet moved back as she stared at the hologram.

  “You already said it, Cindy… It’s right at the center of the city—New Hollywood.”

  “That’s… a tourist spot.” Cindy’s breath faltered. But soon, her steps halted, and Dr. Ling noticed this.

  “What are you doing!?” Dr. Ling screamed, “Go, don’t wait for me! Our priority is to destroy it, not study it when it’s in a city!”

  “Julian Winters.”

  “What!? Why are we still talking about him!?”

  “No…

  …Julian Winters is in New Hollywood.”

  ***

  “W…what?”

  Everyone was frozen.

  How could they not be, when just a few moments ago, they were all casually chatting with each other and having fun at their respective tables? But now, one of those tables was completely ruined… and decorated with the mangled flesh and blood of the people who were sitting there just moments ago.

  Everyone knew that the daemons appear out of nowhere—but never did they imagine that one would actually suddenly come from above, not even from the sky, but from the high ceiling of the auditorium they were in.

  Most of them wanted to scream, but they knew that as soon as they did so, the six-legged daemon that was still busy mutilating the people it killed with its blade-like arms would turn its attention toward them.

  Their silence, however, did not last long… as another insect-type daemon the size of 4 adults emerged from the portal hovering above them. And this one did not seem as peaceful as the first… as it started swinging its arms and cutting the people without any warning.

  “R… Run!”

  And almost instantly, panic ensued.

  [E… everyone, please remain—]

  And the host who was tasked to keep everyone calm was also cleaved in half by another daemon that fell from the portal—no one cared, however, no one even actually realized as everyone was busy running for their lives.

  None of them even realized… that there were already more than 5 daemons inside the auditorium.

  “Where… where’s the security!? Send out droids!”

  “Help… please help!”

  “Get… get off me!”

  And then, just chaos. And the few who weren’t going with the chaos were hiding beneath their table, already calling and alerting the DCC and Exterminators—and one of those tables belonged to Kitty, who was currently talking with her AI.

  “Send me my armor, I’m going to kill these fuckers myself,” she whispered on her watch. She then glanced at the 5 other people underneath the table with her, but mostly focusing on Ellie and Julian,

  “You guys don’t need to worry, I have experience in killing daemons.”

  “Are… are… are you an Exterminator?” One of the other people stammered, her snot trailing down her nose.

  “No, but I’ve killed my fair share,” Kitty leaned down, slightly lifting up the table cloth to peek outside, only for her to wince as she saw the carnage happening, “What the fuck… why… why the fuck would they suddenly appear here, of all times?”

  “Are… you kidding me right now?” Another person whispered, “We’re just Otherworld players, you can’t seriously be thinking of fighting those things out there. We know you’re the highest leveled player, but this is the real world, Kitty. Just hide here.”

  “Shut the fuck up, pussy.” Kitty didn’t even glance at the man, “I’ve killed stronger things in Artemia. My armor’s going to arrive soon, so just stay here. And uh… your name’s Ellie, right? As soon as my armor arrives, can you take Julian out of here?”

  “Oh…” Ellie, who was latching on to Julian’s arm, looked at Kitty, “...Okay.”

  Kitty was slightly taken aback. She didn’t notice it earlier, but Ellie and Julian weren’t reacting at all—in fact, they didn’t seem scared.

  “You… seem to be taking this quite well,” Kitty muttered in surprise, “People are dying.”

  “I’ve already survived a worse daemon attack,” Ellie whispered, “And Julian’s here, so I’ll be alright.”

  “What?” Kitty raised an eyebrow. She looked at Julian for a moment, only to see him just staring out into nothing. Well, since he was blind, he wasn’t actually staring at all, “What are you—my armor’s coming.”

  And without even any warning, Kitty suddenly rolled out from the table, “All of you, run as soon as I distract them!” She roared.

  “What the!?” The other people who were there kept the tablecloth slightly open to watch her, only to see her running toward some sort of rocket that was flying to meet her. She then leaped onto a table, before leaping again from it as the rocket drew near her.

  And in less than a second, the rocket separated into pieces—expanding into a suit of armor that imitated her exact same pose in the air.

  But before the armor could actually wrap around her… it was suddenly rammed by a daemon.

  “S…shit!” And so, with nothing to catch her, Kitty just went straight into the air… and then landed hard on a table, “A…argh!”

  Kitty gritted her teeth from the pain, but she had no time to actually wallow in it as the daemon who rammed through her armor was already turning its tentacle-filled head toward her.

  “A…aw shit,” Kitty tried getting up, only for her to stumble back to the floor as she found her ankle broken, “Fuck… fuck!”

  The other people who were beneath Julian’s table could not help but cover their mouths as they saw the daemon slowly crawling toward her, almost as if mocking her.

  “No… shit, she’s… she’s dead! What do we do!?”

  “What do you mean ‘what do we do’!? We just hide until the cavalry arrives! We have a GNVI with us, do you want him to die!?”

  “Ssh! Quiet!”

  And while the others were starting to panic, Ellie whispered into Julian’s ear.

  “Save her, Julian.” She said, and Julian slightly turned his shoulder to her.

  “...But you said not to do anything that would expose me,” Julian whispered, “Even if all of them die.”

  “I did…” Ellie let go of Julian’s arm, “...But she tried to save us, Julian. But… it’s up to you.”

  “Hm…” Julian hummed as he thought about it, “...I am curious about what she wanted me to forge.”

  And as Julian was deliberating what to do, MEGAN whispered into his mind,

  [I am ready whenever you are, Julian. It’s time to be a superhero. I have already calculated the strength of the daemons—you shouldn’t have any problems facing them if you’re careful.]

  “Very well. I’ll be back,” Julian once again hummed as he casually lifted up the tablecloth on his side. And as soon as he did so, the other people there with them whispered loudly.

  “What are you doing!? If you want to kill yourself, then just—”

  And before any of them could even say anything else, Julian lightly tapped his cane on each of their chin, instantly knocking them down. As for Ellie, she placed her hand on his arm and whispered,

  “Please be safe, Julian… and kill them all.”

  “I will.” Julian whispered back, “I’ll get this over with and come back to you.”

  And with those words, Julian just casually stepped out from the table. Of course, no one really noticed him since everyone was still busy running for their lives. No one even heeded him any mind as he casually made his way to Kitty… who was surprisingly still alive as the daemon continued to seemingly mock her with its slow steps.

  Soon, however, the daemon was finally content with relishing on Kitty’s helplessness as it raised its blade-like arms. And feeling this, Julian ran—well, with his strength, perhaps it was better to say that he leapt, even cracking the floor he was standing on just moments ago.

  And while Julian was on his way to Kitty, the only thing she could really do was grit her teeth as she tapped on her watch, calling for her armor. But alas, it wasn’t responding anymore.

  “I… am really going to die here, huh?” Kitty gasped as the sharp arms of the daemon reflected in her eyes. But as she was about to close them, something else reflected in them, “What the… Julian!? What are you doing!? R… Run away!”

  She saw Julian running toward her position. And if her mind wasn’t panicking because she was so close to death, then she would have probably realized how fast Julian was running. But while she was urging Julian to run away, Julian was actually listening to someone else—MEGAN.

  MEGAN once again whispered in his mind, [From the way they landed earlier, they should be around 700 kilograms, Julian. That means…]

  Julian felt the vibrations around him, focusing on the daemon’s sharp arm that was on its way to cleave Kitty in half. As for MEGAN, she just continued her words,

  [...It means that you can actually lift these things with one hand.] MEGAN whispered, and at the same time she did so, Kitty’s eyes turned incredibly wide in shock.

  How could they not be, when the sharp blade of death was just inches away from slicing her torso in half? But that wasn’t actually what caused them to turn as wide as they could be, no.

  It was the fact that Julian was holding back the very blade of death from behind like it was nothing.

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