In that moment, the air in the hall froze. Redback's eyes—glowing with dark emerald light—widened slightly. He had not expected this declaration, this sudden coup against his legal dominion. But the stillness did not last.
"Impudent!" Redback roared, his massive hand rising to point at Alistair. "Arrest him! Erase him from existence!"
From behind Alistair, and from the dark corners of the hall, four more Eviction Enforcers surged forward. They were faster and bulkier than the first, clad in gleaming black armor, their weapons pulsing with red light.
Alistair did not wait. He had anticipated this. Before they could reach him, he deftly flipped the luxurious table separating him from Redback. As he rolled, he fired three shots from his brass pistol at the enforcers.
[Bullet: Clause No. 7 | Parallel Nullification][Bullet: Clause No. 9 | Property Reclamation][Bullet: Clause No. 12 | Forced Eviction]
The bullets did not kill; they redefined reality.
The first struck the nearest guard, who began to fade in a strange way—not from existence, but from parallel alignment with this reality. He became a phantom, passing through walls, unable to touch anything.
The second bullet hit another guard. His weapon exploded in his hand, and his armor began to shrink until it turned to dust, leaving him exposed and defenseless before Alistair.
The third struck a guard who was about to fire. He collapsed to the floor, muttering incomprehensible words, as though his language contract had been revoked.
Alistair was rising, his eyes glowing with a digital blue flicker, when Selene—the legal advisor—lunged toward him. She carried no weapon, only a black data whip extending from her hand. Her first strike aimed for the code-bullet at Alistair's temple, but Alistair was faster.
He sidestepped, and instead of shooting her, he aimed the pistol at the massive glass floor overlooking the city below. He fired a single shot.
[Bullet: Clause No. 15 | Boundary Breach]
The glass floor shattered—not from impact, but because its durability contract had been terminated. It dissolved into shimmering dust, revealing a dark abyss plunging hundreds of meters beneath the tower.
"Redback!" Alistair shouted, standing at the edge of the void, the wind whipping his coat. "You have declared bankruptcy. This tower no longer belongs to you. You are now a landless entity."
Redback had risen from his chair, his fur bristling with rage. "It doesn't matter! I'll kill you and reclaim the bullet. This city was built on my debts!"
He hurled a mass of red energy toward Alistair—Mortgage Energy, unstoppable by any shield. But Alistair wore no armor.
Instead, he did something no one expected.
He pulled an old brass coin from his pocket. It was not merely a coin—it was a Sacrificial Token. Inscribed upon it were the words: (Existential Loan Contract).
Alistair tossed the coin into the air, and for a fleeting moment, the pale image of his father appeared above it.
[System: 'Existential Loan Contract' Activated][Warning: Converting 'Pain Contract' into 'Defense Contract'][Alert: Material assets of the borrower (Alistair) will be affected]
The red energy collided with Alistair—but instead of burning him, it transformed into a cold blue flash and rebounded toward Redback.
The price was steep.
The glass of Alistair's goggles cracked. The edge of his brass pistol's grip snapped. Streaks of gray appeared in his black hair.
The reflected energy struck Redback, who let out a thunderous roar. He suffered no physical harm—but the golden contracts coiling around him, symbols of his legal empire, began to crack and shatter.
"This is impossible!" Redback bellowed. "I encrypted everything!"
"I voided that encryption," Alistair said, blood trickling from his temple under the immense strain. "This city is no longer collateral, Redback. It is Void Land. It has no owner, no tenant, and no debt."
At that moment, the Debt Collector emerged from the shadows—but he did not attack Alistair. His waxen face was rapidly melting, his hollow eyes staring at Redback in fear.
"Sir… the core contract is dissolving," the Debt Collector said, his voice trembling. "You are no longer registered as an 'Owner'. You will soon vanish from the records."
Redback realized then: Alistair had not come to kill him—but to erase his legal existence, to turn him into nothing in a world built on contracts of being.
Redback drew a black pistol from behind his seat. It was different—a weapon that fired Bullets of Nothingness.
He aimed it at Alistair, but his hands trembled—not from fear, but because his Grip Contract with the weapon was fading.
"You won't do this, Redback," Alistair said, pulling another bullet from his pocket. It was the last one. And the most dangerous.
[Bullet: Clause No. 20 | Final Liquidation]
"You are a bankrupt entity," Alistair continued. "And every bankrupt entity… must be liquidated from the database."