111(2) – Zenyo! (VII)
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PART 3 – Burning!
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The Neutral City burns. The Warlord's mansion is devastated and the scene of a massacre, with few survivors.
Looting and clashes occur everywhere. Verna, bloodied, walks the streets, having just looted Alonso's hidden vaults. There were some peculiar documents, including a guide on how to program the "MK7 Combat Suit." Verna may not be a big fan of Earth's popular culture, but she's certainly heard this term in Marvel movies before.
There's a 99% chance its creator came from Earth. Unlikely to be someone as unlucky as her, because from what she's discussed, she has an idea of what her existence in this universe is like.
Unlikely to be someone capable of traveling between worlds; she's probably trapped here and used her knowledge associated with this universe's system to improve herself, study, and subsequently implement her ideas.
But if it's none of that, Verna automatically considers "Special Abilities."
“But if it’s a Special Ability about inheriting memories from some brilliant Earth scientist or something similar, it means that this universe has some connection to Earth before.”
Verna finds it unlikely that something like that was born because of her; there are limits to her knowledge. At most, somewhere far away, someone must be born with a complete Dantian as part of a Special Ability, another already starting with some Cultivation Technique that Verna is unaware of, that this universe simply created.
There are many possibilities, but a Special Ability related to Earth's knowledge and culture, she doubts exists because of her. The possibility is that Earth has some connection to this Universe, or the system that generates these Special Abilities has more secrets than Verna imagines.
“I already had plans to study the System when I became a Transcendent, now there are a thousand more reasons to do so.” – Verna sighs, thinking about the possibility of returning to Earth.
“But there probably isn’t anything there for me.” – Verna nodded. More than 100 years must have passed on Earth; her known family must have already turned to dust, leaving only her cousins who, if alive, must be over 100 years old, which is unlikely, leaving her children who must be around 70 years old, and their children and grandchildren.
Verna sighs, she misses her so much… nodding her head, Verna goes to the meeting point, a slight smile on her face.
……
The Neutral City burns, and the culprits are mounting horses and galloping out of the city. They are not the only ones; many groups have formed to leave, and others have stayed to try to rebuild and take the city.
Verna spends a lot of time contemplating her recent discoveries. Lina is extremely cheerful, talking about what she found, how many heads she took, and already wanting to exchange everything for money.
Zenyo is also in a good mood; with this, they are one step closer to curing him.
……
Days later!
Over the Neutral City being rebuilt, three distinct figures appeared in the sky, observing the damage.
They went to the mansion in the center, damaged but with no sign of Alonso or anything belonging to him.
“Did he escape?” asked a woman with platinum blonde hair.
“No. Alonso isn’t that brave. Not to mention the combat traces, two strong people fought here,” said a man with an intimidating expression, observing the office where the confrontation occurred.
“The impacts occurred here,” said a man with a gentle expression, approaching the broken window and taking Verna’s position. “The person who was here received… two or three blows from someone and blocked without moving.”
“There are no marks on the floor,” said the woman, looking at the cracked floor.
“There isn’t one, because whoever received the attacks perfectly redistributed all the damage outwards, to the point that their feet weren’t even marked by the shockwave. But you can tell this is the center by the damage spreading from here.” – The gentle-faced man pointed out.
“Judging by the damage, 2 Legends fought… at least 1 Legend attacked, but was contained and concentrated. But whoever defended didn’t move, probably a Demigod.” – Said the gentle-faced man with a sharp look.
“What would a Demigod be doing here? Could it be from the Royal Family?” – Asked the woman, frowning.
“Unlikely, we know where everyone is and we would be warned if any of them acted here. Not to mention they stole everything, I don’t know any Demigod from the Royal Family with such capabilities.” – The intimidating man said as he analyzed the damage. – “But if it wasn’t a Demigod, whoever blocked the attacks has precious artifacts.”
“A combat suit was used, probably Alonso’s,” the kind man said. “There are traces of activation, but no deactivation, which is strange.”
“Use magic to reconstruct the scene, I want details.” – The woman said, and the gentle man pulled out a staff and struck it on the ground.
The environment distorted, and in a few minutes, the scene was revealed. The conversation and faces.
It showed Verna nonchalantly handling Alonso easily, seemingly distracted by her weapons and interested in the armor. Then they saw how Verna, with a simple touch to Alonso's forehead, made him stop moving.
“She killed him with one blow? Even if it's not the newest Suit, it's an MK7, right? Even a Demigod would need to destroy the armor to kill the wearer.” – The intimidating man frowned.
“She's a Demigoddess, but I don't know her. Verna, a mercenary hired by the Thorn Family… let's take a look and see if any group of informants is still even remotely intact; we should be able to get information if they find her.”
“And what about the Thorn Family?” – The woman asked with a cold and cruel look.
“We have no excuse, not to mention they’re partially on our side; harming them will affect future plans. We must go after the culprit who made Alonso go after the Thorn Family’s assets, who made them hire this Verna and bring such a setback to our plans,” said the kind-faced man. “And only after the dust settles can we annihilate the Thorn Family.”
The woman nodded. “But who used our toy and attracted such attention? I know Alonso is quite greedy, but to make him steal from a noble family like that…”
“Perhaps the Sanders? They would pay a lot to harm the Thorn Family. I think I heard a rumor almost 100 years ago about the current leader of the Thorn Family having stolen the fiancée of the current leader of the Sander Family.”
Hearing the kind man’s words, the intimidating man spat on the ground, “You mean we suffer this loss because a nobleman can’t get over losing a woman?” – “Okay, let’s go after Verna first.”
“No.” – The woman refused. – “Being a Demigod, she must already be quite far away, knowing that others would pursue her. Probably skirting the region. I think the best thing is for us to split up after trying to gather information to follow her. There’s no way she could just go straight to the nearest city for teleportation. But at her speed, she must have already reached her destination or be close.”
The two nodded. At that moment, the minds of the three were focused on Verna’s final attack, the capricious way she killed a Legend with armor that puts him on the level of a Demigod. They wouldn’t be able to do that, that’s what scares them.
…
While the trio is paranoid that Verna was clever enough to avoid the pursuit of Demigods, she, along with Lina and Zenyo, are heading straight for the border city they were in.
Their speed is quite slow, especially since Verna is keeping up with Zenyo and Lina. It will take them a long time to arrive.
So if the trio ran in a straight line at full speed, they would catch up in a few hours.
It's a shame they focused so much on Verna being "intelligent" that they didn't foresee the fact that she had so much confidence in her strength that even 10 demigods wouldn't be considered her rivals.
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PART 4 – News & Rewards!
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Verna, Lina, and Zenyo achieved their goal in a few days. They paid for the teleportation, returning to the Capital.
Upon their return, they spent a cozy night at an inn, ate their fill, and naturally had a lot of fun.
The following morning, after finishing their preparations, a carriage came to meet them, bearing the Thorn Family emblem. The trio entered and were guided to the mansion.
Arriving there, in front of the mansion, was none other than Elias Thorn. Smiling happily and greeting them.
“Verna, my friend!” – Elias said joyfully, opening his arms. – “You don’t know how happy I am for your successful return.” – His laughter resonated, but he understood that if he tried to hug Verna, he might hurt himself.
“It’s good to see you happy, Viscount. I hope you’ve prepared the place for the things I have in hand; there are many.” – Verna said, smiling.
“Of course, come on, I’ll personally take you to the unloading site.” – Elias said cheerfully, guiding them.
…
“I heard the mission was a great success. That the whole city was burned and its leaders beheaded?” – Elias asked, probing.
“Yes. It only took pitting them against each other. Amazing how taking food away from some makes them quickly run to eat the food of others, and if there isn’t any, they’ll cannibalize each other.” – Verna mocked.
“You can’t expect much from that kind of low-level rabble.” – Elias laughed heartily.
“Indeed. Speaking of them, there were many bounties on the heads of some evildoers, some related to certain families. I honestly don’t need the connections or privileges that this might bring, so do you want them? By providing a 20% bonus on the overall bounty, the heads and benefits are yours.” – Verna said, showing the bracelet.
Elias held out his hand, Verna gave it to him, he glanced at it. Many heads, some familiar faces. – “Indeed, here is a treasure trove of connections. I think my family might even receive a rich reward for ridding the country of so many evildoers. I will accept this gift and, of course, pay you a fair price. But I didn't see Alonso's head.”
“Ah.” – Verna rolled her eyes. – “Give it back for a moment.” – Verna took the bracelet and returned it in seconds. – “I forgot to put it with the others.”
Elias nodded and, finding a head similar to the illustrations, he smiled. – “This head will be a good decoration to show that you shouldn't mess with my family. And speaking of family…” – Elias looked at Verna.
“If we're talking about marriage and things like that, know that I already have many wives and children, I'm quite happy with my life.” – Verna waved her hand.
“I wouldn’t talk about it, but now that I know you have children, I have some very beautiful and talented daughters and nieces. Perhaps some meetings to try and bring the younger ones together, and if they get along, form a marriage between the families.” – Elias’s eyes sparkled.
“Well, if one of my wives were here she would call me a hypocrite, but I’m not the type to interfere in my children’s love lives. But if they are interested, I can bring some of them in the future.” – Verna said, and for Elias that was more than enough. – “But what else did you want to talk about if not that?”
“Oh, I got so excited about bringing the younger ones together that I forgot.” – Elias laughed lightly. – “I heard that with the many assets you took from Alonso, you ended up provoking some very powerful and old families. Many resources are being used to try and find out who you are. From the trail, you can get an idea of which families are involved.”
Verna nodded; she had expected this. “Well, since your family is still standing, it means you’re useful to those forces, right?” she asks, observing Elias’s reaction; he shudders and smiles.
“I think it’s because they have no justification; they’re probably more focused on the root cause, which led to your hiring, and directing it towards them. I think it’s unlikely they’ll target me,” Elias said, laughing, seemingly unconcerned.
“You’re too smart to believe something like that,” Verna teased. “The fact that we’re still talking, even after you sent me there, indicates that either you’re useful to those people’s objectives, or they’re just waiting for my return to start something. But I haven’t sensed anyone yet, which indicates that their political and shady decisions benefit them more by having them alive than dead.”
Elias sighs. – “Yes. It turns out that the power struggle in the country is intensifying. It’s not common knowledge, only within the innermost circles of the nobility, where any intelligence organization that dares to disseminate it will suffer harsh consequences, but I trust you won’t tell.” – He smiles slightly.
“As you must know, here in the Country of Jerla, we have a Royal Family, but they don't hold absolute power. They subtly manage the country and are the image, but there are hidden forces that govern everything, called The Council. Their existence isn't a big secret; the secret lies in the fact that the oldest member of the council is nearing the end of his life. He holds more than half the power in the country, controlling the other Councilors.”
“His imminent death, with no more than 10 years to go, will plunge the country into chaos. With this enormous power vacuum, which also balances the nation and its hidden forces, many will want the biggest slice, and… the group you harmed—I have some influence in political circles and am a supporter. But when it happens, I'll probably be exterminated for this transgression.” – Elias chuckled lightly.
“That means I've forced you into a delicate situation.” – Verna smiled. “Either you desert to the other side to try and survive, which is unlikely; you probably don’t have the resources that would make the other side protect you now or after what happened.”
Elias smiles. “Yes, a real headache, but conflicts will arise soon. If we aren’t annihilated by them, we will be by our rivals. We need a lot of luck.”
Verna nods. “Perhaps I can do something, but you need to answer something. Who manufactured the Combat Suits?”
“Combat Suits?” Elias was surprised by the question. “It was Scientist Kevel.” He said as if it were common knowledge.
“…Kevel is still alive, right?” Verna asks.
“Yes, he’s at most 60 years old, he still has a very long life ahead of him. Do you want a meeting with him? Unfortunately, I don’t have contacts for that; everyone wants to recruit him or even kill him. He’s a genius who is shaking the whole world with his inventions.” “But what does this have to do with you doing something about my situation?” Elias said, making Verna’s mind race with millions of possibilities.
“But what does this have to do with you doing something about my situation?” Elias seemed confused.
“For now, nothing, but in the future maybe I will do something. We can negotiate after I resolve these problems.” Verna said, and Elias didn’t ask anything else.
Having arrived at their destination, Verna unloaded the contents, and Elias, seeing the recovered goods, sighed in relief and smiled with delight.
Elias quickly sent someone to count the rewards for the heads that were brought and accommodated the trio in the mansion, preparing a sumptuous banquet.
Elias wanted to know more about how Verna could help him, but she said they would discuss it in the future.
The day passed without incident. No visitors, only a few distant observers.
The capital is already aware of the presence of a confirmed Demigoddess, who, they say, is capable of deceiving the Kevel Measuring Devices.
Elias said, making Verna’s mind think of millions of possibilities.
Elias said, making her mind think of millions of possibilities.
Elias soon sent someone to count the rewards for the heads that were brought and accommodated the trio in the mansion, preparing a sumptuous banquet.
Elias wanted to know more about how Verna could help him, but she said they would discuss it in the future.
The day passed without incident. No visitors, only a few distant observers.
The capital is already aware of the presence of a confirmed Demigoddess, who, they say, is capable of deceiving the Kevel Measuring Devices. But even though they know who she is and where she is, no one has done anything yet. No one wants to provoke a demigoddess with a little-known personality.
Other demigods are just observing, cautiously waiting to see what she'll do. If she gets involved in the nation's politics, it will be a gigantic problem.
In any case, Verna got the bounty on the heads increased by 1/3, received a huge bonus from the Thorn Family, and some more elixirs of her choice. Verna asked for the recipes, and Elias didn't hesitate to hand them over.
And finally, Elias had already made contact and they are awaiting a response. Now they just have to wait.