264 GRAVITON LOCK
Gasps rippled through the assembled family heads.
"It's Black Halo! How did he get here?" Rione Veyran shrieked, panic cracking his voice.
"Our meeting is compromised—we must evacuate immediately!" Macan Nuralith shouted.
"No," Exoren snapped. "We stay and watch. Godfather has four Rank 6A Wardens. We're safe."
Amid the chaos, Godfather didn't flinch.
"Break him," he said calmly.
Breaker leapt.
Pyrelord's flames converged, scouring the air itself.
Hexblade closed in, predictive strikes aligning for a perfect execution.
All four Wardens moved as one.
Damen assessed the battlefield in an instant.
"I can't fight all four at once", he realized. "I have to dismantle them—one by one."
His focus narrowed. "I need to find the weakest link… the one with the deadliest ability but the least protection."
Iron Choir was the Control power among the four and also the weakest constitutionally…. But to deal with her, Black Halo must first break free from her Gravity control.
Breaking free from a psychic's grip was nearly impossible. For most, it was a death sentence.
Then darkness erupted.
A dome of void tore through the sound field, shattering Iron Choir's resonant rings. Psychic feedback screamed back along the link, ripping through her mind. The Warden shrieked as her control collapsed.
Damen tore free.
"How did he escape Iron Choir's control?" Hexblade yelled in disbelief.
Iron Choir was a Rank 6A psychic—but Damen's mind was no fragile thing. It had once been pried open by Morana herself, another Rank 6A psychic, yet he still prevailed.
And even Iron Choir had failed to control him.
Damen activated his Core of Blood. Alien suppression surged through his veins, hardening his will, drowning out psychic interference—even Iron Choir's.
Suddenly the space screamed.
Reality tore open above Iron Choir as Damen emerged from the rupture, looming over her like a descending executioner.
"Now is the moment," he said coldly. "If you cannot kill me—"His eyes burned.
"—prepare to be killed."
His fist crashed into her head, shattering every force field she managed to raise. A brutal kinetic crunch followed as the blow drove into her skull.
Her amulet cracked—then her bracelet—then her ring. One after another, every defensive artifact on her body detonated into fragments, all at once.
"Momentum Collapse."
The rings embedded along Iron Choir's body flared to life, expanding outward into layered force fields. This was her final safeguard.
Five rings—five last barriers between her and death.
"You will not break me this easily, supervillain!" Iron Choir screamed.
Damen was already there.
His hands closed around her throat, locking her in place.
"Unlike you," Black Halo said coldly, "I don't need a psychic ring to keep you pinned."
He had already locked onto her.
"What are you doing?!" she screamed.
Damen shifted power.
His Core of Electricity ignited as he rerouted everything—speed and psychic resistance sacrificed for absolute plasma purity.
His chest blazed. The silver halo spun violently.
At point-blank range, a beam of searing plasma erupted into Iron Choir's body.
"Halo's Judgment."
The rings shattered.
One.Then another.Then another—in rapid, merciless succession.
Every last life-saving force field of Iron Choir disintegrated.
"No—don't kill her!" Hexblade shouted.
Damen smiled.
"Don't worry," he said calmly. "I won't….yet."
He flicked his hand.
Iron Choir vanished—erased from the battlefield in an instant.
"Where did Iron Choir go?" Pyrelord asked, stunned.
"Kill him first—talk later!" Breaker roared.
But in the very next moment, Black Halo was already in front of him.
He switched back to Strength Mode. In this state, he was fasterthan the brute ever could be.
His hand snapped out and clamped around Breaker's wrist.
"Get off me!" Breaker roared, struggling uselessly. The grip wouldn't budge. Panic crept into his voice. "How are you this strong?!"
"Sorrow asked me the same question," Black Halo replied evenly. "Right before he died."
Physically, Breaker was stronger than Black Halo.
But Black Halo possessed a terrifying locking technique born from his newly acquired skill…. Graviton Hold.
"Graviton Lock"
Once it engaged, the grip became absolute. Strength no longer mattered.
Even with superior raw power, Breaker could not break free.
Once Black Halo locked on him, escape was impossible.
Hexblade dashed in without hesitation. "I've got you, brother!"
His blade flashed, premonitive strikes cutting toward vital points—but Black Halo didn't dodge.
He charged.
The impact was catastrophic.
Black Halo smashed straight into Hexblade, driving him through the air as all three of them slammed into the wall.
Hexblade was agile, precise and deadly in duels. He could evade surgical strikes with ease…. But no amount of swordsmanship could stop a rolling boulder.
"Release me, you pervert!" Hexblade screamed.
It was already too late.Black Halo's other hand closed around Hexblade's wrist.
Now he held both of them…. locked.
He turned—and charged toward Pyrelord.
"What are you doing?! Don't come any closer!" Pyrelord screamed. "I'll burn you alive!"
"Go ahead," Black Halo said calmly. "Let's see who suffers more—me, or your friends."
Fire erupted.
But most of the flames struck Breaker and Hexblade instead, their bodies forced into the path of the attack.
"ARGHHHH!" they screamed.
Pyrelord's once-delicate arcs of flame degenerated into wild, clumsy sprays. Panic shattered his control. He was no longer an artist of fire.
He was just trying to survive.
"This—this isn't right!" Pyrelord muttered, turning to flee.
Black Halo spread his arms wide.
Still gripping Breaker and Hexblade, he hurled them forward—straight into Pyrelord—all four of them in a crushing, unwilling embrace.
"One for all," Black Halo intoned in his hoarse, mechanical voice,
"and all for one."
The three froze in confusion.
Then—
Electricity detonated through their bodies.
The voltage was overwhelming, tearing through muscle and nerve in a blinding surge. Their screams cut off as their bodies convulsed, before going limp.
"Electrocution."
In the next instant, Hexblade, Breaker, and Pyrelord vanished into thin air.
Silence fell across the mansion.
All four Wardens were gone.
Smoke curled upward from the shattered ground. Damen hovered above the ruin, bloodied, his armor fractured, a roaring aura of power blazing visibly around him.
For the first time, Godfather stepped back.
"…Impressive, Black Halo," he said at last. "I'll remember you."
The pylons collapsed inward.
Reality folded.
Godfather vanished into a collapsing portal.
"You may win this time," his voice echoed, while fading, "but I always survive in the end."
Then the portal sealed.
"Damn it," Damen muttered. "The old fool got away."
Still, it wasn't a total loss.
Godfather was already tagged—captured in his mining app's favorites. Finding him again was only a matter of time.
Damen descended slowly, landing amid the wreckage and terrified silence.
He surveyed the devastation—then the survivors.
The city's leaders stood frozen, pale and speechless. To face Black Halo was to stand before Death itself.
"Did he just defeat four Rank 6A Wardens…unhurt at all?" Rione Veyran whispered.
"He's Hades", Macan murmured.
"Good," Black Halo said evenly. "You're all still here. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down later."
Macan Nuralith dropped to his knees. One by one, the others followed. These were among the most powerful metas in the city—yet before the Devil himself, they were nothing more than ants.
"We can offer compensation," Exoren said desperately. "Aur. Power. Women. Anything you want."
"Yes," Black Halo replied. "There is something I want."