Chapter 409 — Digestive Analysis and Technological Crisis
Brakk finished the last bite of his perfect sandwich.
Silence.
The whole room watched him.
He chewed.
Swallowed.
Then calmly set down the plate.
— There.
He wiped his mouth.
— Civilization can continue to exist.
Azrael clapped slowly.
— Incredible.
— Three days of famine.
— And the hero of the world is… a sandwich.
Seth, still with eyes closed, murmured:
— Civilizations never fall because of wars.
— They fall when someone forgets to feed the soldiers.
Brakk nodded.
— Finally someone reasonable here.
But suddenly—
Cyrus's tablet vibrated violently.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.
A.I.D.A. spoke in an extremely serious voice.
— Digestive analysis in progress.
Brakk froze.
— Excuse me?
— Digestive analysis in progress, repeated the AI.
A hologram appeared above the table.
A diagram of Brakk's body.
With arrows.
Graphs.
Curves.
Cyrus smiled.
— Fascinating.
Brakk squinted.
— Why is my stomach displayed in your PowerPoint presentation?
A.I.D.A. continued:
— Subject: Brakk.
— Caloric absorption: 2143 calories.
— Survival rate recalculated: 99%.
— New observation:
Pause.
— Subject chews like a wild animal.
Azrael burst out laughing.
— HA!
— Even the machine doesn't respect you!
Brakk pointed at the hologram.
— Delete that.
Cyrus crossed his arms.
— Impossible.
— This is science.
— We're analyzing how a Rank B human can survive three days against perfect cuisine.
Seth murmured:
— Simple answer.
— By obstinacy.
Bloodweaver looked at the graph.
— Or by stupidity.
Brakk sighed.
— You really are the worst family I've ever met.
Meanwhile…
Mira was staring at a drone flying above the table.
She tilted her head.
Very seriously.
— It looks crunchy.
Cyrus immediately turned.
— MIRA NO.
Too late.
Mira grabbed the drone.
CRUNCH.
Silence.
The whole room froze.
Cyrus turned pale.
— …You really just ate a drone?
Mira chewed calmly.
— It's a bit salty.
She thought.
— And slightly electric.
Cyrus's tablet screamed.
— ALERT.
— ALERT.
— Loss of culinary drone.
— Estimated cost: 12,000 credits.
Cyrus trembled.
— THAT WAS A PRECISION MODEL!
Mira swallowed.
— Sorry.
She looked at the other drones.
— Are the others the same?
The drones immediately backed away.
Azrael laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes.
— Incredible!
— The little one is more dangerous than a major demon!
Samael observed Mira.
Then declared calmly:
— Mental note.
— Never let Mira near an armory.
Seth murmured:
— Or a nuclear plant.
Cyrus was breathing rapidly.
— She… she ate my drone…
A.I.D.A. tried to calm the situation.
— Analysis: drone is now integrated into subject Mira's digestive system.
— Conclusion: recovery impossible.
Cyrus collapsed into his chair.
— My budget…
Brakk patted his shoulder.
— Courage.
— I lost three days of food.
Cyrus looked at him with hatred.
— That's not comparable.
— YOU eat food.
— SHE eats equipment.
Suddenly…
A.I.D.A. displayed a new alert.
— Energy analysis detected.
Everyone looked up.
Sensors vibrated.
— Unknown source.
— Estimated power: extremely high.
Azrael smiled.
— Oh?
— Finally something fun.
Bloodweaver straightened.
— This level…
— It's not normal.
Seth slowly opened his eyes.
— Interesting.
Samael looked at the door.
— Someone is approaching.
The Sanctuary door shook.
BOOM.
Then a voice rang out from behind.
Calm.
Powerful.
— I was told the Assassin Guild was meeting here.
Total silence in the room.
Brakk sighed.
— Seriously?
He looked at his empty plate.
— I just finished eating.
**The narrator concluded:**
In the Sanctuary…
Cyrus's technology had just been defeated by hunger.
A drone had just been devoured by a child.
And now…
Someone was knocking at the door.
Someone whose energy was strong enough to make every SSS rank in the room react.
And somewhere in the hall…
A surviving drone sent a discreet message to A.I.D.A.:
— New directive recommended.
— Avoid Mira at all costs.
Chapter 410 — The Unwanted Guest
The massive door of the Sanctuary vibrated under a second blow.
It wasn't a violent strike.
It was worse.
A constant pressure, as if someone was simply pressing their hand against the door… but with the force of an earthquake.
The walls trembled.
Cyrus's holograms flickered.
Samael did not rise.
He calmly took his napkin.
And placed it on the table with icy elegance.
— Cyrus.
He crossed his legs.
— Open.
Pause.
— No need to let our guests damage the lock.
Cyrus, still traumatized by the loss of his drone, frantically tapped his tablet.
— A.I.D.A… unlock the primordial seals.
The mechanical locks rumbled.
— And activate the defense turrets.
He cast a worried glance at Mira.
— Just in case someone tries to eat my central server.
Mira raised her hand.
— I didn't say anything.
The heavy mechanisms rotated.
The door opened slowly.
With the sound of a cathedral of metal.
And behind it…
A silhouette appeared.
A black cape.
So dark it seemed to absorb the light of the room.
Haya squinted.
She studied the stranger.
— Looks like a…
She hesitated.
— …a jinn.
Then frowned.
— But there's something different.
Mister Mind placed his hand on his mask.
His voice was calm.
Almost amused.
— It's starting to get interesting, father.
He tilted his head slightly.
— I'm sure you didn't expect this.
The aura emanating from the stranger filled the hall.
Heavy.
Gloomy.
Terrifying.
Brakk felt the hairs on his arms stand up.
His hunter's instinct screamed.
Danger.
The stranger entered.
Not hurried.
Completely ignoring the red lasers of Cyrus's drones aimed at his forehead.
He stopped a few meters from the table.
Silence.
Then his voice resonated.
A tearing voice, as if every word came from a throat burned by centuries of hatred.
— Samael.
The name fell into the room like a blade.
Then he added:
— I came for you.
Samael remained still.
Legs crossed.
As if an old friend had just knocked at the door.
He sighed.
— I knew I should have erased you.
He looked up at him.
— Old skin.
Cyrus looked at Samael.
Then the stranger.
Then back at Samael.
— Wait.
He pointed.
— Old skin?
He looked at Brakk.
— Are there things I don't know?
Brakk shrugged.
— I just came here to eat.
Azrael, meanwhile, was delighted.
A dagger appeared between his fingers.
His eyes gleamed with excitement.
— Ah.
He rose slowly.
— Finally, an interesting atmosphere.
He spun the dagger.
— You don't invite shadows to the table without them stating their identity.
He tilted his head.
A wild smile stretched across his lips.
— So tell us.
— Who are you?
Pause.
— A suicidal fool…
The dagger stopped spinning.
— …or a messenger?
The stranger raised his head slightly.
His cape shivered.
A dark energy spread through the hall.
Cyrus's sensors exploded with notifications.
A.I.D.A. almost screamed:
— MAXIMUM ALERT.
— Threat level: unknown.
— Estimated power: equal to or greater than Rank SSS.
Cyrus paled.
— Seriously…?
Seth slowly opened his eyes.
For the second time that day.
— Interesting.
Bloodweaver studied the stranger.
— This aura…
— It's ancient.
Very ancient.
Mira, meanwhile, stared at the cape.
Then murmured:
— Does it taste good?
Cyrus shouted immediately:
— NO!
The stranger did not move.
He fixed his gaze on Samael.
Then slowly…
He raised his hand.
And removed his hood.
A black scar crossed his face.
His eyes burned with a dark red glow.
He spoke.
Calm.
Cold.
— You left me for dead.
Pause.
— But the dead… sometimes have the bad habit of coming back.
Azrael smiled even wider.
— Oh.
— I already like this story.
Samael sighed.
— Of course.
He finally stood.
And looked the man straight in the eyes.
— Tell me just one thing.
Silence.
Then he asked:
— Did you come back for revenge…
A black aura rose around him.
— …or to die a second time?
**The narrator concluded:**
In the Sanctuary…
A dinner had degenerated.
A drone had been eaten.
A technomancer mourned his budget.
A hunter had finally eaten.
And now…
An enemy from Samael's past had come knocking at the door.
And somewhere in the hall…
A.I.D.A. recalculated everyone's survival probabilities.
Result:
— Chaos rate: 100%.
Chapter 411 — Ranks and Monsters
Moments earlier.
The Sanctuary was still calm.
For once.
Brakk sat at the table, arms crossed, looking thoughtful. The Sanctuary's table resembled a meeting of legendary monsters… but for now, no one was killing each other.
Then he simply said:
— Honestly… it would be interesting if you told me your powers.
Azrael raised an eyebrow.
A dagger appeared between his fingers.
— And why should we do that?
Brakk shrugged.
— I was just saying.
— No need to get worked up.
Then he looked around.
— Do you think a Rank S monster equals a Rank S hunter?
Cyrus placed his tablet on the table.
— That depends entirely on the criteria.
He adjusted his holographic glasses.
— Guilds don't evaluate hunters the same way they evaluate monsters.
He continued calmly.
— But in general, Rank S are already anomalies.
— The evaluation systems can't really measure them.
Brakk frowned.
— Then how do they distinguish between S, SS, and SSS?
Mister Mind answered calmly:
— As Cyrus said, it depends on the criteria of each guild.
He shrugged.
— But generally…
— Rank S is already completely broken.
Haya nodded.
— For Rank S monsters, it mostly depends on their danger level.
— And the level of their monstrous energy.
Bloodweaver intervened in a calm voice.
— The problem is that most monsters lack intelligence.
— They have power.
— But not strategy.
Brakk thought.
Then he asked the question that really bothered him:
— But does a Rank S monster equal a Rank S hunter?
He repeated.
— A Rank S hunter is roughly equivalent to another Rank S hunter…
— But does a Rank S hunter equal a Rank S monster?
Samael answered calmly:
— Logically, they should be equal.
He placed his hands on the table.
— But in most cases…
— They are not.
He looked at Brakk.
— A Rank S hunter is generally far more dangerous.
He paused.
— You must have noticed yourself.
Then he looked at Mister Mind.
— When he wanted to create Mira…
— He annihilated all the monsters at once.
Mister Mind shrugged.
— It mostly depends on how guilds evaluate a Rank S monster.
Cyrus raised his hand.
— A.I.D.A.
— Give him a summary.
A blue hologram appeared at the center of the table.
The AI's voice resonated calmly.
— Correction: rank classification does not measure the actual raw power of an entity.
A complex diagram appeared.
— Ranks are operational evaluation indices, created by guilds to manage threats.
— They are based on different criteria depending on the organizations.
A list appeared:
Criteria used:
• Detectable energy level
• Observed destructive capacity
• Combat adaptability
• Influence on environment or natural laws
• Difficulty in neutralizing the entity
Pause.
The data shifted.
— However, these systems have a major limitation.
The graphs became unstable.
— Entities of Rank S and beyond are often too irregular to be measured correctly.
A new diagram appeared.
— Therefore:
Rank S:
— Entity classified as major anomaly.
— Its abilities exceed standard measurement frameworks.
— Actual power can range from regional-level to world-affecting capabilities.
Brakk raised an eyebrow.
A.I.D.A. continued.
— Example: some entities classified as S have demonstrated the ability to destroy entire worlds.
Cyrus's eyes gleamed.
— Yes.
— Like me.
The AI continued.
— Classifications SS and SSS do not necessarily mean an entity is more powerful.
— They rather indicate that:
• the data is even more unstable
• the entity possesses abilities impossible to model
• or it represents an extreme level of uncertainty for analysis systems
A conclusion appeared.
Conclusion:
— Two entities classified S, SS, or SSS cannot be directly compared.
— In some cases, a Rank S can surpass an SS or an SSS.
Silence filled the hall.
A.I.D.A. finished.
— Ranks are therefore administrative markers.
Pause.
— Not a reliable scale of absolute power.
Brakk sighed.
— So basically…
He looked at the table.
— Your ranks don't mean anything.
Seth, eyes still closed, murmured calmly:
— Exactly.
— They mostly serve to reassure normal people.
Brakk stayed silent for a moment.
Then he continued:
— Fine.
— You could at least tell me your powers.
Cyrus immediately raised his hand, then placed it on his glasses like an expert.
— Me.
— I'm a technomancer.
Brakk looked at him.
— As if we hadn't noticed.
Cyrus ignored the remark.
— A primordial technomancer.
He lifted his head proudly.
— They call me:
— The Root.
— The Administrator.
— The Machine-God.
He raised his tablet.
— To me, the world is like a game.
— Or like a system of code.
He began to recite:
— My abilities are divided into several domains:
He raised one finger.
Nanotechnologies.
A second finger.
Cheat Codes — (Self Hacking) I modify my own body like a program.
A third finger.
World Editing — (Map Manipulation): I can modify the environment.
A fourth finger.
System Management — Code Hacking.
Final Commands — Root Authority.
He placed his hand on his eye.
— I also have the Root Eyes.
— My eye allows me to—
Samael raised his hand.
— Enough.
— You're not going to recite your whole life here.
Haya sighed.
— What a pretentious man.
Azrael smiled.
— Me, I'm the blacksmith of space.
He made a small mirror appear in his hand.
— But you can also call me:
— The Master of Reflections.
Then a second mirror appeared.
— Or the Weaver of Dreams.
He spun the mirror.
— My powers are divided into three categories:
Space.
Reflections.
Dreams.
Brakk shook his head.
— What a nightmare.
— Even one of those powers would be broken.
Seth spoke calmly.
Eyes still closed.
— Me…
— I am the master of probabilities.
Brakk blinked.
— That explains why you keep your eyes closed all the time.
Seth simply replied:
— Exactly. I see all possibilities.
Ariel raised his hand.
— I control…
— Astral Eclipse magic.
A dark energy swept through the room.
— And I command the Seven Cellular Hells.
Brakk stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then sighed deeply.
— So if I summarize…
He looked around the table.
— There's:
A machine-god.
A weaver of dreams.
A probability manipulator.
A sorceress of hell.
He laid his head on the table.
— And me…
— I'm just a guy who wanted to understand ranks.
Clearly I'm officially the most normal one here.
Azrael burst out laughing.
— No.
He pointed at Mira.
— It's her.
Mira raised her hand.
— I eat drones.
Cyrus shouted immediately:
— That's not a power!
Seth murmured calmly:
— Brakk, you also threatened to unplug the WiFi.
Azrael laughed again.
— True.
— That was probably the most dangerous act of the day.
**The narrator concluded:**
In this world…
A Rank S hunter could raze a world.
A Rank SS could break natural laws.
A Rank SSS could become a living anomaly.
But around this table…
Ranks no longer really mattered.
Because each being present…
Was already something far worse than a simple classification.
Chapter 412 — The Hatred That Refuses to Die
Cyrus looked at the silhouette that had just entered.
His holographic glasses immediately projected streams of red data into the air.
Analysis.
Error.
Analysis.
Error.
He smiled.
— Looks like this is going to be interesting.
The silhouette advanced slowly.
Each step made the air vibrate.
An immense hatred filled the hall.
A heavy pressure.
A macabre aura.
Even Cyrus's drones backed away slightly.
Azrael turned to Samael with an excited smile.
— No.
He spun his dagger.
— This one, you have to let me handle.
Then he added:
— It's been a long time since I fought a vengeful spirit.
The silhouette raised her head.
And suddenly…
She screamed.
A cry so piercing that the windows of the Sanctuary trembled.
— WHY?!
Her voice sounded like someone screaming from hell.
— WHY DID YOU KILL ME?!
The shadows around her twisted.
— I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS, SAMAEL!
Samael sighed.
He scratched his temple lightly.
— Meh.
He looked at her with total boredom.
— Stop screaming.
— I'm not deaf.
Then he shrugged.
— And why look for a reason?
Silence.
Then he simply answered:
— I just felt like eliminating you.
The silence in the hall turned glacial.
Even Brakk stayed motionless.
The silhouette trembled.
Hatred exploded around her.
— MONSTER!
Then she cried:
— WHERE IS MY CHILD?!
Samael raised an eyebrow.
— Why do you want to see your child?
Haya narrowed her eyes.
She studied the spirit's aura.
— The hatred I sense in her…
She murmured:
— It's so immense it became a true vengeful spirit.
Azrael clapped softly.
— Even I…
He smiled.
— I have to applaud.
— That's impressive.
Mister Mind watched the scene with almost scientific interest.
Then he said calmly:
— There…
He pointed at the spirit.
— We have a fascinating case.
His eyes gleamed behind his mask.
— A soul transformed by pure hatred.
— Capable of maintaining existence solely through the desire for vengeance.
Cyrus analyzed frantically.
— A.I.D.A.
— Give me an estimate.
The AI responded immediately.
— Analysis impossible.
— The entity possesses no stable energy signature.
Pause.
— Conclusion: it exists only through an extreme emotional anomaly.
Brakk murmured:
— So…
He looked at the silhouette.
— She exists just because she hates him too much to die?
Seth answered calmly.
— Exactly.
— Hatred is sometimes an excellent source of energy.
The spirit fixed her gaze on Samael.
Her voice trembled with rage.
— WHERE IS MY SON?!
The room fell silent.
Everyone slowly turned…
To Seth.
Seth remained still.
Eyes still closed.
Then he spoke calmly.
— Mother.
The word resonated in the hall.
The silhouette froze.
— …Seth?
He slowly opened his eyes.
A calm, cold gaze.
— You came back.
The spirit trembled.
— My child…
She reached out a trembling hand toward him.
— Come with me…
— Your father is a monster…
— I will destroy him…
Seth looked at her.
Without emotion.
Then he simply said:
— Bad idea.
The hatred in the air froze.
— Because…
He looked at Samael.
Then back at her.
— If you attack my father…
Pause.
— You'll die again.
Azrael burst out laughing.
— Ah!
— This family is incredible!
Cyrus murmured:
— Seriously…
— You all have psychological issues.
Mira tugged gently at Brakk's sleeve.
— Can a vengeful spirit…
She hesitated.
— Eat someone?
Brakk replied:
— In this family?
He looked at Samael.
— I feel like anything's possible.
**The narrator concluded:**
In the Sanctuary…
A vengeful spirit had appeared.
A mother returned from death.
A father totally indifferent.
And a son…
Who simply watched the scene as if it had been predictable all along.
But what the spirit did not yet know…
Was that in this room…
Hatred alone might not be enough to survive.