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Under the cover of night, the three brothers crept deeper into the forest.
Why sneaking around? Because of the recent god-and-demon battle. Even though the military had sealed off the core area, people still wandered near the edges.
Some were just thrill-seekers checking out the battlefield, while others hoped to grab something extraordinary, something that could elevate them to the realm of the superhuman.
So the three, who actually had a lead, were extra careful.
Even so, along the way they'd already had to deal with several groups of people.
"Still nothing?" Matt said impatiently.
He was interested in superhuman powers, of course. But Andrew, quiet and withdrawn, was useless for handling distractions, while the black teen was in charge of clues, meaning Matt had to deal with other people constantly.
Even though he was usually the life of the party, used to socializing, this constant back-and-forth was wearing him out.
The hard part wasn't the conversations—it was fending people off without arousing suspicion. By now, his brain felt like it was about to fry.
The black teen wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Trust me. We're close. Should be any second now."
Matt groaned. "You've said that seven times already!"
Andrew, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up. "Over there."
Matt whipped his head toward his little cousin. "Andrew, you found it?"
"No," Andrew shook his head.
Matt's mind went blank. "Then why are you even talking?"
"I… just have a feeling. Something's over there," Andrew said seriously.
Matt and the black teen exchanged glances.
"Fine. We're not finding anything anyway. We'll trust you this once."
Andrew led the way, and the three set off again.
It wasn't long before they arrived at the mouth of a cave.
Matt gasped in surprise. "There's really something here!"
"Let's go in. I feel… something inside is calling me," Andrew said.
Matt glanced at his little cousin with a flicker of suspicion. Could this guy really be… the protagonist?
Artifact calling. Heroic destiny. Princesses. Dragons.
His mind raced with every fantasy trope imaginable.
Shaking his head to clear the bizarre thoughts, Matt hurried after him.
If his cousin really was "the main character," then Matt could at least ride along as an important supporting character. He wasn't missing this adventure.
The three jumped into the cave. Before long, they reached the depths, where a black crystal radiating strange, dark energy hovered in the air.
The crystal seemed to defy explanation, held aloft by some incomprehensible force.
Their breaths hitched instantly.
This was no ordinary object—it was superhuman!
Superhuman! A step onto the path of extraordinary!
Power. Longevity.
Thoughts raced wildly through their minds. Their gazes burned with desire.
Andrew trembled slightly, his body betraying the intensity of his longing.
A withdrawn, bullied loner, he hungered for strength more than the others.
Power to get stronger. Power to take revenge on all the jerks who had tormented him.
"Wait, you two," Matt said, cautious.
"This thing… doesn't feel right. We saw the god-and-demon battle that night, right? This color, this strange energy… it doesn't feel like the god's power."
Matt wasn't unintelligent, and even now he could maintain some rational thinking.
But not everyone shared his restraint.
Andrew scoffed, shooting him a strange, intense look.
"I don't care about that!"
He slapped Matt's hand aside and lunged at the black crystal.
Gods, demons—he didn't care. Power was power. If he had to follow a demon, so be it.
In his eyes, the bullies who had made his life miserable were no better than demons.
Matt and the black teen watched in shock as Andrew pressed his hand against the black crystal.
The crystal flared violently. Streams of black, liquid-like energy surged into Andrew's body.
He shivered with ecstasy, almost wild-eyed.
"Power… endless power!"
Invisible streams of energy radiated outward. The entire cave trembled.
Matt and the black teen were forced backward, overwhelmed by the sheer force.
Then the black teen gritted his teeth and charged forward, willing to endure the crushing energy.
He wanted to become superhuman too.
Andrew, already absorbing the power, noticed him and erupted in fury.
"This is mine! Get out!"
The energy doubled, pinning the black teen in place. He couldn't move forward.
"You can't let him take it all!" the black teen shouted at Matt.
"If he absorbs all of it, he'll kill us to keep it secret!"
Matt froze. Normally, he trusted Andrew, but this was superhuman power. And he knew his cousin too well. Sensitive and withdrawn, yes, but not insane. Still… if he felt compelled to protect the secret of this power, he wouldn't hesitate to kill his own cousin.
No hesitation now. Matt surged forward.
Andrew's anger peaked, but his power was still raw, unrefined. He couldn't handle two opponents at once.
Suppress one, the other moved in. Suppress the second, the first pushed forward.
Finally, they all reached the crystal simultaneously.
Three hands touched it at once.
The crystal blazed brighter than ever, and torrents of energy poured into all three of them. They cried out in unbearable pain.
A terrifying surge of power erupted.
Moments later, the black crystal vanished. The three were gone without a trace.
Not long after, a group approached the site of the energy surge, led by Ivanka.
Her stunning beauty now paired with a face colder than ice.
"Damn it! We're late!"
The energy released, though far less than the god-and-demon battle, had been tremendous—visible from afar.
And the black energy clearly wasn't from their master.
The fallen demon had left a contingency… and someone had taken it.
Ivanka's expression grew even colder.
"This is going to be a huge problem!"
"....."