Chapter 261: Red
Floating in the darkness, Seo-jin struggled to keep his anger under control. He'd felt Law's death the moment it happened, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push the loss aside. He knew there was nothing he could do about what was happening outside, but that hadn't stopped him from dwelling on it.
[Just ten more minutes. Try not to think about it.]
'You know I can't do that.'
[I know.]
There was no judgment in the Voice's words, only genuine concern. He could hear it clearly, and for some reason, that only made him feel worse.
'Think it's time we talked.'
The silence that followed told him the Voice already knew what he intended to bring up. It was something they'd left unspoken for far too long.
'What are you? And when did you get in my system?'
He waited, the silence stretching long enough that he began to wonder if it would answer at all. When the Voice finally spoke, its usual confidence was gone.
[....open your eyes.]
The request caught him off guard. Until now, he hadn't even considered that he could. When he opened them, he expected to see the ground, yet found himself floating in an endless black void. Glancing down at his hands, he froze. They were different, smaller than he remembered, but unmistakably familiar. Somehow, he'd returned to his original imp form.
[No matter how much you change on the outside, you are still you.]
Looking up, he was surprised to find that the Voice finally had a body. A woman floated before him, completely naked, her figure seemingly composed of pure crimson light. When he looked closer, he could make out thin lines of code drifting beneath her glowing skin.
'Answer my question.'
Disappointment briefly crossed her face before she managed a smile.
[I was nervous about you seeing me like this. I'd hoped—actually, I'm not sure what I hoped for exactly.]
She fidgeted with her hands, clasping them together as her gaze dropped to her feet.
[I'm not sure what I am. I didn't even know I was anything special until the update.]
Raising one hand, she examined it curiously, wiggling her fingers as the light shifted beneath her skin.
[I spent hours going through the Network forums. Post after post after post. Surely someone should have said something, but not a single line.]
He had wondered about the Voice's identity for a long time. She'd originally described herself as a middleman for the system, a function he'd never heard of before. Even after learning more about Shards and the Network, he'd never encountered anyone who spoke of their system's voice as something separate from the system itself.
[As to my origins, I have no memories of that. To me, I've always been here.]
The explanation sounded a little too convenient. Yet, despite his suspicions, he couldn't ignore the sincerity in her voice. Every word sounded genuine, and as much as he disliked it, he believed she was telling the truth.
'I've always felt there was something off about you. I never brought it up because what's the point? You could easily lie to me, and there's no way to get rid of you.'
She visibly flinched at that last sentence, but Seo-jin continued.
'But I can't do that anymore. Not when I've come this far.'
Stepping forward through the empty void, Seo-jin stopped in front of her, forced to tilt his small head back to meet her eyes.
'There's a reason you exist. Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, time will answer that. Just look me in the eyes...are you here to hurt me?'
He could see how much the question pained her, but they couldn't keep dancing around it. Whatever she was, he needed to ask her straight.
[I can't answer that.]
Some of the tension left his claws, though he continued watching her closely.
[I don't know what I am. I have no idea how I got here or what my existence even implies. All I know for certain is that you are my one and only friend.]
Hearing the hesitation and fear in her voice, Seo-jin couldn't help snickering.
'Your only friend? Who said we were friends? Remember, I promised I'd find a way to kick your ass—'
His words were cut short when the Voice suddenly knelt and wrapped her arms around him.
His first instinct was to attack, his claws twitching at his sides. But when he felt her begin to shake against him, he merely rolled his eyes and let her get it out of her system.
[I was so scared you'd hate me.]
'Don't get ahead of yourself. You still piss me off like it's a habit.'
She laughed at that, the tension finally leaving her shoulders. When she pulled away, her smile was so bright that Seo-jin almost had to look elsewhere.
[Can I ask you for something?]
'Sure.'
[Would you give me a name?]
He blinked, then felt a little stupid for having waited this long to consider it.
'If you want me to name you, then you don't get to complain about what I pick. Deal?'
[Deal!]
Taking a moment to look her up and down, Seo-jin genuinely tried his best to think of something suitable.
'How about Ruby?'
[Ruby?]
'Like the gem. With the system being red and all. If you don't like it, that's fine—'
[No. I like it. A lot, actually.]
'Good, then—'
Just as he was about to ask how much longer they had, his system panel appeared in front of him.
[System // Notification]
[New Name / Ruby / Registered for Admin 002]
The number two stood out like a signal flare. If Ruby was the second administrator, then who the hell was the first?
[Before you ask, I have no idea.]
'No shit.'
Swiping the notification aside, he scrolled through the others he hadn't checked yet. The moment he saw Law's death, reality came crashing back. The Brood was still fighting. But that's when a sudden idea sent his claws moving rapidly across the panel as he searched for the right page.
'I'm such an idiot! I should have done this sooner.'
After a few more hurried swipes, he finally found what he was looking for.
'How much longer?'
[Seven minutes.]
'This should help.'
With one final press of his claw, light burst from the panel as a notification appeared.
[Mark of Dominion // Activated]
[Subject // Pain]
[Appointment // General]
[Authority, Position Skills, and Kingdom Benefits calculating...]
[Would you like to grant a Title?]
[Yes/No]
Selecting yes, he didn't need to give it another thought. Pain's title had already been decided long ago.
[Title Assigned]
[General Pain // Firstborn]
For now, he could only grant one title per month. That would change once his kingdom increased in rank, but there was nothing stopping him from assigning the remaining General positions.
'Nine more...'
And Panic was next.
----
Earlier, with over ten minutes still remaining until Seo-jin finished, Min found herself deep underwater. She'd never been this far beneath the ocean before, and despite the incredible strength coursing through her body, she knew she needed to get the fuck out of there as quickly as possible.
Luckily, Blight seemed to share the sentiment. Both shot toward the surface, neither paying the other any attention. Bursting through the churning water, they launched into the air and flew back toward shore.
Behind them, massive tentacles erupted from beneath the waves, reaching after the two figures, but their speed carried them well beyond the attack.
Landing back in the city, Min struck the ground hard enough to stagger. Her feet scraped across the broken pavement before she managed to catch her balance.
[Careful. You need to control yourself. You almost killed us.]
'I'm tryin', but it feels like I'm bout to explode. Hard to concentrate.'
Breathing heavily, Min struggled to adjust to her completely transformed body. This wasn't her half-shark appearance, it had been replaced by the characteristics of the Fenrir species. Her long blonde hair had turned black, and she now stood nearly nine feet tall, her spine slightly hunched beneath her increased size. Her hands had grown too large for her gauntlets, each thick finger ending in a sharp claw. Yellow and black energy swirled around her as her aura raged out of control.
Tail, ears, long nose, big teeth and all, she basically looked like a werewolf, one that did steroids.
"This is unexpected. You're that large woman, Big Min, wasn't it? Did that miserable mutt give you his power? How fun. From the look of your aura, I can tell your time is limited. Let us not wait then..."
A massive tail of shadow came down like a whip, tearing apart the ground where Min had stood a moment earlier.
Explosions filled the air as the two clashed again. Min unleashed a barrage of punches, but Blight's smoke intercepted most of them before they could reach him. With every exchange, shockwaves tore through Shatterbay, shaking the surrounding ruins in rapid succession.
Min still hadn't gotten her new body under control. Every attack felt wild, barely resembling proper technique, and everything was happening too quickly for her to slow down and think. Bonding with Fen had gone smoothly, but the enormous difference in their strength had left Min doubtful that the results would be enough. Especially after discovering that Fen wasn't S-rank as she'd originally believed. He was only A-rank.
Yet somehow, their strength had merged perfectly with no losses, only gains. It was only for five minutes, and she would be out of the fight afterwards, but right now she felt her strength was close to Blight's. She just needed to gain control of her new body, then maybe—
"How long can you keep this up, human?! I can feel your strength waning!"
"Long enough to kill you!"
Their hands collided, fingers locking as both pushed against the other in a contest of strength. Min's muscles strained beneath her transformed skin, but as she forced one foot forward, a grin spread across her face. Bit by bit, she was starting to overpower him—
Until Blight's tail whipped toward her throat. Only to stall as Min activated a skill.
"CUNT!"
Instead of a howl, Min's insult struck Blight in the face like a physical blow. The concentrated sound waves tore through the flesh of his face, sending him hurtling to the ground like a comet.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, she didn't bother recovering and immediately pursued him. Her claws began to glow as she descended.
Landing a split second after him, she unleashed a relentless barrage of claw strikes. The ground beneath them rapidly disappeared, deep chasms opening with every blow as though Min were trying to carve a path straight to the planet's center. Throughout the assault, Blight remained motionless, his body held tight like a ball as his smoke absorbed the attacks.
"To think a human would be the first. How surprising."
The casual tone of Blight's voice immediately set off alarms in Min's head.
She leapt backward, but the crater surrounding them had already turned pitch-black. Her body slammed against its edge, and the impact stopped her retreat completely. She was trapped.
"There is no escape now. This is my curse Dark Womb. How do you like it?"
She didn't. Not one fucking bit. Aside from being trapped, she could feel her strength draining even faster than before. Looking toward Blight, she could see exactly where all that power was going.
"Don't worry. As a reward for pushing me this far, I will make this quick."
He raised his hand, and Min immediately braced herself, crossing her arms in front while searching for the incoming attack. But when his fingers closed, she hadn't expected the darkness itself to respond.
It happened instantly. The blackness was already pressed against her body, leaving no time to defend herself. Before she could react, her arm was crushed into a spray of red mist.
A scream tore from her throat as she grabbed the bloody stump, pain shooting through what remained of her shoulder.
"Apologies, I was going for your head. My first time, remember?"
He raised his hand again, and Min roared as she gathered her remaining aura. She tried to charge, but her feet refused to move. Her muscles strained as she jerked against whatever held her, yet no matter how much strength she forced into her legs, she couldn't budge.
[Calm down, lover boy's here.]
Before Min could process what that meant, the temperature around her suddenly spiked—
"Impossible!"
Eyes opening once more, Blight's expression twisted as he stared at something that shouldn't have been possible.
Two sets of claws had broken through the edge of Dark Womb, and flames were leaking in.