"…"
In the eyes of the heavily injured Gepard, the mysterious man, the Silvermane Guards lying on the ground, and the onlookers secretly taking photos from behind the streetlamp—
Zeig silently pulled out a thermos from his coat, unscrewed the cap, and with a splash poured the water onto the wall of fire.
Just as Zeig had expected, the moment the water touched the fire wall, it didn't make the normal "hiss hiss" sound—instead, it produced a "whoosh whoosh—" roar.
The flames flickered slightly before stabilizing again.
"…"
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" the masked man shouted.
"Oh, nothing, this water's been sitting around too long and gone bad, so I'm just dumping it out, haha…!"
After a quick glance at Gepard, Zeig shouldered his iron rod and walked off in another direction.
"…"
Only after Zeig's figure gradually disappeared from view did the mysterious man silently walk to the fire wall and pull out his long blade.
He cast a cold glance at Gepard in the distance and said in a low voice:
"Next time we meet, be ready to lose your head."
…
After the two terrorists had truly left, Gepard couldn't help but clutch his chest, drop to one knee, and gasp for breath frantically.
Finally, his lips turned pale, and he fainted on the spot.
"Captain of the Guard…!!"
…
It wasn't until evening that he slowly woke up in a certain room in Qlipoth Fort.
Tiny bits of cotton fluff floated in the air, landing on the tip of his nose.
By his ear came Cocolia Rand's voice.
"You're badly injured—only two ribs left intact. Fortunately, treatment came in time. For the short term, just focus on recovering."
At this moment, Gepard was wrapped head to toe in bandages, mummified like a corpse.
"Supreme Guardian, my brothers…"
"They're less seriously hurt than you. A period of rest and they'll be fine."
Cocolia stood silently by the bed and said calmly:
"We lost track of that gray-haired man, but my instincts tell me he'll definitely cause more terror again."
"I'm sorry… I was too weak."
"No, it's not your fault."
Cocolia said gravely:
"That person is simply too strong—and… the other one wielding the long blade. Preliminary judgment: his flames were the main cause of the museum's destruction."
"If most of Belobog's people walk the Path of Preservation, then that guy's fire probably doesn't come from Qlipoth."
"What?"
"I suspect he's using… the Destruction that the Astral Express once mentioned."
Gepard tried to force himself upright, but with his body completely immobile, he could only grit his teeth and say:
"Why? Why would anyone still choose that path after the Stellaron was sealed? Isn't everyone working hard?!"
"That's only relatively speaking."
Cocolia shook her head and sighed:
"In that blizzard, some people lost so much that even living lost all meaning. What replaced it was only rage."
"But the Stellaron has clearly been sealed, and the Fragmentum creatures…"
"It's directed at us," Cocolia said gravely.
"…"
Cocolia slowly walked to the window.
Silently gazing at the scene under the night.
"But now they threaten Belobog, so we absolutely cannot sit by and do nothing."
…
After Zeig beat down Gepard along with a group of Silvermane Guards, his reputation among the rebels grew better and better.
"Hey, I told you that kid wasn't a spy! So what if his personality's a bit wild? You guys are just overthinking it!"
"Now his appearance is completely exposed—the Overworld folks will fight him to the death."
"Publicly beating up the Captain of the Silvermane Guards—can his ending be good? Heh… but I guess he's like us, already doesn't care about living anymore."
"Kill kill kill kill kill—!!"
"…"
"Brother Dao, why did you stop that kid from killing that officer? Before, he even led teams to sweep the Underworld and caused us plenty of trouble!"
"…"
In the pitch-black mine tunnel, Brother Dao leaned against the wall and said in a low voice:
"If he killed that Captain of the Guard right now, the situation would become too severe. The Supreme Guardian side would probably recall the Executors—we absolutely cannot provoke them at this point."
"Huh? Didn't the Executor say he wouldn't get involved? He's already left with his two companions."
"Hmph, they can come back anytime! Besides, what makes you think he has no private dealings with the Overworld? His hands-off attitude is only because the situation is still controllable! Forget Bronya leading—go kill that adjutant Pela and see if he comes back or not?"
"I… I get it."
…
Deep in the mine tunnel was a huge iron cage.
A graceful figure was currently kneeling inside the cage, eyes closed in rest and recovery.
Suddenly, the iron door opened.
"Doctor Natasha, dinner time."
"…"
After placing the meal basin beside Natasha, the rebel sighed:
"Doctor, don't be angry. This isn't our fault. Without you here to heal us, we wouldn't have the confidence to fight those people up top to the death either."
Natasha leaned against the edge of the iron cage, slightly raised her head, and said softly:
"How are the kids?"
"Doctor, rest assured—as long as you cooperate properly, our education standards aren't bad either."
"Hmph…"
…
After shaking off the pursuing Silvermane Guards, Zeig slipped into the Fragmentum zone.
While pulling out his iron rod to smash the incoming Fragmentum creatures to death, he scanned the surroundings.
He kept walking deeper and deeper.
In the eyes of two black-clothed men atop a dilapidated building, the Zeig below finally… pulled out toilet paper!
Then, while urgently pulling down his pants, he ran.
"???"
"This guy came to the Fragmentum zone just to take a dump?"
"Seems reasonable—what if he gets ambushed by Silvermane Guards in the residential area?"
The two watched helplessly as Zeig rushed into another ruined building.
Zeig picked a room that looked relatively intact, charged inside, and locked the door behind him with a reverse hand motion.
"Fuck."
Zeig was extremely exasperated at this moment.
He'd been blocked by Gepard right after getting off the cable car—if it wasn't the Overworld's informants in the Underworld being extremely efficient, then the rebels had deliberately leaked it!
All to see what his reaction would be.
And to expose his face to Gepard and the Silvermane Guards.
After Zeig brutally beat his former colleagues, that guy who'd been secretly watching him also appeared just in time.
Stopping his troublemaking.
"Really troublesome."
While clutching the toilet paper, Zeig switched to another wig and outfit, disguising himself as a gray-haired big sister, then stepped through the light curtain and returned directly to the Underworld.
Stabbing corrupt nobles could wait.
After Zeig walked out of the women's restroom in the Underworld, he very skillfully stuffed the remaining sheet of toilet paper into his pocket, then silently headed toward Natasha's Clinic.
"Knock knock knock—!!"
On the streets of Boulder Town, Zeig—disguised as a woman—used a special prop to produce a feminine voice, knocking on the door while shouting:
"Is anyone there? Anyone?!"
"If you have the guts to steal a man, have the guts to open the door!!"
"Natasha, you shameless bitch~!"
This act immediately drew widespread attention from passersby nearby.
"???"
…