The rooftop was silent.
Too silent.
Aria Crimson floated in midair, arms crossed, crimson eyes glowing like molten lava. Her aura cracked the concrete beneath us, and I could feel the system vibrating inside me like it wanted to run away screaming.
"Let's make this quick," she said, licking her lips. "I have other hosts to purge tonight."
Agent 7 tensed. "You take one step closer, and I'll—"
"Die first," Aria finished calmly, flicking her fingers.
A blast of red energy surged forward. Agent 7 shoved me aside, rolling behind a vent. The attack scorched the rooftop, melting a steel pipe into slag.
"Okay," I gasped, heart pounding. "So we're officially in Dragon Ball territory now."
System: [Boss Battle Initiated!] Survival Time: 15:00 Minutes. Optional Objective: Land a direct hit on Aria Crimson.]
I peeked from behind cover. Aria hadn't moved. She was just smirking.
Then, like a scripted anime entrance, my backup arrived.
Cynthia crashed through the door wearing battle maid armor (don't ask), wielding a glowing frying pan that hummed like a lightsaber.
Luna landed in a somersault, dual-wielding stun grenades and still somehow chewing gum.
Celia strode out in sleek black yoga gear, holding what looked like a taser-spear combo and wearing an expression that said "I don't care how sexy you are, I'm still going to electrocute you."
Aria cocked her head.
"How cute. The harem comes to save the boy."
Null's hologram flickered in beside me. "She's totally into domination, bro. You're doomed."
"Null. Shut up."
The battle exploded.
Cynthia charged first, swinging her frying pan with wild, anime-inspired energy. Aria barely moved—just deflected the attack with one finger, sending Cynthia spinning through the air with a yelp.
Luna leapt from behind, tossing a stun grenade at Aria's feet.
"Catch this, you crimson-haired dominatrix!"
Boom.
Smoke burst everywhere.
For a second, we thought it worked.
Then Aria emerged, completely unharmed... and now missing her coat.
Which revealed a very, very tight bodysuit underneath.
Even Celia choked a little.
System: [WARNING: Charm Level Rising. Focus Stat Decreasing Rapidly.]
"I'm going to slap this system into a wall," I muttered.
Aria smiled—and in an instant, she was in front of me.
Her fingers gently lifted my chin.
"So this is the host the Supreme System chose... interesting."
Her gaze flicked over my face. I felt like a bug under a microscope. A hot, flustered bug.
She leaned closer.
"Your system is special," she whispered. "Different. I wonder what happens if I just—"
She reached out and touched my chest.
The system screamed:
[WARNING: SYSTEM BREACH! Intrusion Detected! Defense Protocols Failed!]
Suddenly, my vision went white.
I was pulled into a mental world, floating through code and chaos.
And Aria was there too—only she wasn't attacking.
She was... touching the core of my system, like she was examining it.
"This system... wasn't made by the Supreme Devs," she murmured. "This... was hijacked. Modified."
Modified?!
"Who—"
But she vanished before I could finish the thought.
Back on the rooftop, I gasped and fell to my knees. My body was still trembling.
Celia rushed over and caught me. "Ethan! You okay?!"
I nodded, barely. "She… she didn't try to kill me. She looked inside the system. Said it was hacked."
Everyone froze.
Even Null blinked in stunned silence.
Agent 7 stepped forward. "If that's true… someone else put this system in you. Not the Devs."
"Which means what?" I asked hoarsely.
"It means," she said slowly, "you were never supposed to have it in the first place."
System: [System Lockdown Imminent. New Objective: Trace the Hidden Coder.] Time Remaining: 72 Hours.]
Aria hovered in the sky above us, her figure now fading into red mist.
"This was fun," she called down. "Let's play again. Soon."
Then she vanished.
And the rooftop fell silent again—except for my racing heart.
Null whistled. "Plot twist unlocked."