The wind moved like silk through Eden, brushing over the pool where Britanya sat with her cup of tea. Alzwalt stood nearby, hands in his pockets, eyes half-lidded but sharp—watching her, reading her, respecting her presence without crowding it.
Britanya finally spoke.
Britanya:
"You knew I was watching you. Only someone with a fully awakened circuit would have noticed that without looking."
Alzwalt:
"I didn't notice. I felt you. Your ice touches the air even when you don't release it."
She smiled faintly, tilting her head.
Britanya:
"You make it sound like a compliment."
Alzwalt:
"It is."
She sipped her tea again, icy mist rolling across the surface. Her aura was cold—not distant, but powerful. Naturally intense.
Britanya:
"My circuit… you know what it is, don't you?"
Alzwalt:
"Ice. Not normal ice either. Your potential is dangerous."
Britanya lowered her gaze, tracing the rim of her cup.
Britanya:
"When I get angry, the temperature drops. If I ever truly lose control… my ice can freeze the blood in someone's veins.
Freeze the air itself.
Even magma."
Alzwalt didn't flinch—his smile only deepened.
Britanya:
"Arata told me once that if I ever reach my final stage… I could freeze the sun for three days."
Alzwalt:
"You can. And you will."
Britanya:
"You sound confident."
Alzwalt:
"I've already seen your embodiment in visions."
Her breath caught.
Britanya:
"My… embodiment?"
Alzwalt:
"When you reach the final stage… your circuit becomes your form. For you—"
He lifted a strand of her hair gently.
"—your Frost Queen state. White hair. Blue eyes. Ice so pure it bends reality."
Her heartbeat quickened.
She looked into his eyes, suddenly vulnerable—but not weak.
Britanya:
"And what about you?"
Alzwalt (smirking softly):
"I've been in my embodiment since the moment I existed. Final stage, luminous circuit. Archetype Angel."
Their energy harmonized—not collapsing into something comedic, not weighed down by seriousness—just two powerful beings learning each other by instinct.
The air around them softened… then shifted.
John's voice hit Alzwalt telepathically, sharp.
John (telepathy):
"Something's happening in Karveth. Handle your date. I'll be back."
Alzwalt nodded subtly.
Britanya blinked.
"You're leaving?"
Alzwalt:
"John needs to deal with something. Let him. He'll be back before the moon moves."
John appeared above the entire city instantly, like he had never left.
Smoke. Screams. Clashing metal. Blood.
Karveth was a battlefield.
Before he even spoke—
10 shadows ripped into existence.
The Kurogami Unit.
The Ten Kings and Queens.
Elite users of Instant Step—ghosts among ghosts.
They knelt in perfect synchronization.
Kurogami Unit (in unison):
"WELCOME BACK, LEADER."
John's white mask and black suit formed on his body like liquid shadow reassembling itself.
He didn't even glance at them.
John:
"Go back. I'll handle this myself."
Queen Eriva:
"But—"
John (cold grin):
"Do I need to repeat myself?".
They vanished.
John appeared in the center of the carnage.
On his right—
10,000 humans, furious, desperate, armed.
On his left—
10,000 corrupted circuit users, eyes glowing with greed and mania.
Ahead—
1,000 Rankers, watching and doing nothing.
Bodies dropped like rain.
Metal clashed.
Screams cut the air.
The ground trembled.
And then—
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Unmistakable.
Every single person froze.
A voice rolled through the smoke like law itself.
John:
"No matter the species…
no matter the kind…
all beings share one thing—
greed."
Everyone turned.
Black smoke parted.
John walked forward with his hands behind his back.
John:
"And no matter how much you suppress it…
greed always grows quietly.
Then destroys loudly."
Silence.
Then—
SHRRRRK.
John manifested his black slime sword, the nuclear-pasta blade vibrating with cosmic density.
It hummed like a star dying.
John:
"You want war…?"
He lifted the sword with one hand.
John:
"Then fight me."
The circuit users immediately took several steps back.
The humans did too.
They knew him.
They knew of John Merciless.
The only ones who didn't—
The Rankers.
Their leader swallowed, whispering:
Ranker Leader:
"Idiots… don't provoke him."
But one Ranker—arrogant, prideful, stupid—stepped forward.
Ignorant Ranker:
"Who the hell are you supposed to be? We're Rankers. You can't kill us—"
They blinked.
And when they opened their eyes—
John was already standing in front of all 1,000 of them.
Behind them—
The Ranker's body stood still.
And then—
THUD.
His head rolled across the battlefield.
John turned his masked face toward the trembling Rankers.
John:
"Leave Karveth.
Now.
Or you won't get a second chance."
They scattered instantly—vanishing with panic-induced speed.
John's aura rose.
Dark.
Absolute.
Sovereign.
He placed his hand on the ground.
John:
"KARVETH IS.
MY.
DOMAIN."
His voice boomed across every continent surrounding Karveth—
even those hundreds of miles away—
a declaration, a warning, a promise.