— — — — — —
Other than Chika Fujiwara, Selena, and Gwen—
Hancock and Fubuki, who also received Veyron's gift in the group chat, were busy using the three vials of Almighty Serum to enhance themselves and their chosen targets.
The only exception was Merlin.
Thinking of her succubus blood and remembering the word 'Pure'. Now she considered herself unworthy of using the Almighty Serum. Technically, Artoria was eligible, but the one by her side at the moment was just a glitched, spirit-core-based clone cobbled together through a loophole in the chat group's rules.
So, Merlin decided to hold onto her three vials and wait until everything here was wrapped up before using them in her original world.
— — —
World-∞
Veyron scanned the area with a sweep of Divine Will, confirming that all the incoming mercenaries had been taken care of by Saeko Busujima and Rika Minami. With that done, he was ready to wrap up the night's little incident.
Honestly, with how low-effort the mastermind had been, it felt less like a battle and more like a cheap skit. Disappointing, to say the least.
Above him, a dozen satellites belonging to various nations were locked onto the Excellent Girls' Academy. They had already begun monitoring the area even before the mercenaries arrived.
Then, a figure shot up into the sky.
In an instant, he broke through the clouds and soared into the upper atmosphere.
He raised his hand—
—and the satellites clustered neatly around him, like toys drawn to a magnet.
"Evening," Veyron said casually. "I don't think I need to introduce myself, do I?"
"..." — XN
Of course, satellites couldn't answer him.
"Relax. You're not dreaming, and this isn't a hallucination," he added lightly. "I just tweaked the rules in this region temporarily—enough to let sound travel in space. Also fine-tuned your satellite's parameters so they could 'hear' me."
"..." — XN
In military bases and government command rooms across the globe, researchers, generals, and politicians stared at the satellite feed. Some pinched their arms or thighs hard enough to bruise themselves, only to flinch at the very real pain. Reality hit them like a brick wall.
"Before we have a proper conversation," Veyron continued, "I need to tie up a few loose ends. Don't want anyone throwing a tantrum after I'm done talking and ruining the mood."
As he spoke, he snapped his fingers.
Three flames—black and white—suddenly ignited in midair.
"This," he said, gesturing, "is called Destined Death."
"It's simple, really. Even so-called immortals—those who've broken free from the limits of mortality—aren't truly eternal. Unless they escape their world's constraints entirely, they're still destined to perish when that world comes to an end."
"My flame simply skips the slow part—no process, just instant result. A direct jump from 'life' to the final 'death.'"
With that, he picked up one of the dark flames and gently blew it toward the blue planet below.
North America. Western Europe. The two Koreas. Japan. China. ....
In elegant corporate towers, lavish private estates, hidden bunkers buried in mountains or deep underground… even in luxurious meeting halls where massive screens showed live satellite footage—
Many people were consumed by those eerie black-and-white flames.
Dead. Gone in an instant.
Not a trace left behind. No ashes. No smoke. Just… erased.
"Those were the ones who directly or indirectly targeted me this time," Veyron said, calmly explaining his actions.
Then, as fear gripped the people watching—whether they'd seen it with their own eyes or heard frantic calls from somewhere else—he picked up the second flame and flicked it down to Earth.
"These ones," he added, "are the people I've observed who might take the deaths of the first batch personally and try to act on it."
"Not that I think they could do much to me, but hey—less hassle, fewer headaches, fewer people dying pointlessly, right?"
After dealing with the second wave, Veyron continued calmly, "Don't worry about collateral damage. For someone at my level, things like space, time, causality, and fate—they're not vague concepts anymore. They're as real and observable as this flame in my hand."
And he wasn't lying.
In the Gene Lock system, even a mid-tier Tier 4 user could already perceive layers of causality, space-time, and glimpses of fate.
Let alone someone like Veyron, who possessed the Light of the Mind (Soul). Mistaken kills? Not a chance.
Honestly, he was being merciful.
If he wasn't the 'kind and reasonable' type, he could've just copied the ancients: bloodline punishment—when someone commits a crime, their entire family is executed too—parents, siblings, children, cousins. Nice, clean, and brutal.
But no, here he was… making careful surgical strikes, sparing lives when possible. How thoughtful of him.
With a sigh of feigned humility, he turned his gaze back to the satellites orbiting in front of him.
"Well, look on the bright side. I've actually made things easier for you all. If anyone shows up later claiming to 'avenge' the ones I just dealt with, just tell them this—'You didn't even have the guts to die alongside them. What revenge are you talking about?' Should shut them up real quick, don't you think?"
"..." — XN
"Alright, jokes aside," he said, shifting his tone just a bit, "this third flame —I'll just leave it here for now. Hopefully, it'll never need to be used."
He held the final black flame in his palm, then kneaded it into the shape of a black-and-white lotus flower. With a flick, he fixed it in orbit directly above Excellent Girls' Academy, letting it hover ominously in space.
"Of course, if any of you feel like this whole incident tonight is too much to swallow… you're more than welcome to come challenge me."
"..." — XN
---
On the other side of the satellite feeds, everyone—except for Yuriko Takagi on Umbrella Corporation's private channel—collectively swallowed hard.
"If no one's got any objections," Veyron said, waving his hand nonchalantly, "then I think that wraps up our little chat for tonight."
But just as he was about to leave, something popped into his mind. He turned to the satellite painted with the stars and stripes.
"Oh, right. Since you guys were the main ones behind tonight's stunt, and you've officially dragged Japan onto the board… I'm taking that land for myself. Any complaints? Anyone?"
...
America
In a secure command room, a general—who insisted on remaining unnamed—leaned back with a dry chuckle.
"Complain? About what, exactly? It's Japan's problem—and Mr. Veyron is Japanese, so that makes it an internal issue."
"Oh, and let's not forget the guy who started all this? He got vaporized into cosmic dust—along with half his faction."
Though… about half survived...
As the general glanced at the officers from that faction who'd somehow survived both waves of Destined Death and were still standing in the room, his eyes darkened with an unreadable look.
"…Sir," one of the officers piped up, sensing the shift in mood. "You know I've never really agreed with General Mike's more… extreme views. I mean, when I was at West Point, he was the head of the academy. You know how it is—kinda hard to openly say your own principal, right?"
Trying to steer the conversation in a more useful direction, another officer gave a subtle cough and spoke up.
"Speaking of which, sir, I remember something…"
He took a deep breath, then rattled off the names of several dozen major corporations and conglomerates like a waiter reciting a menu.
"…And the executives of these companies all regularly played golf with General Mike and his buddies, didn't they?"
"This isn't just corruption," the general said, his expression turning grim. "This is straight-up treason. We'll need to hit them hard."
And just like that, as the remnants of Mike's faction scrambled to offer up names and intel as proof of loyalty, the tides of internal politics began to shift once more.
.
.
.