Our Mr. Luka was in a very good mood today.
At the request of Physician Natasha, this morning Luka had taken the Through Train from the Underworld to the Overworld. On this trip, he was to discuss some matters with Miss Bronya—the former leader of the Silvermane Guards and current political officer of Belobog—while also taking the chance to visit his cheap older sister Seele.
Ever since the Stellaron crisis on Jarilo-VI was resolved, Seele had stayed in the Overworld, always assisting Bronya by her side and helping handle matters that might require the use of force.
"The Overworld... the Overworld has changed so much..."
Though it wasn't his first time coming to the Overworld, Luka still felt endless emotions at Belobog's current transformations.
He remembered that just over half a year ago, the Overworld was merely an ordinary city—even calling it ordinary felt like an exaggeration.
After long years of erosion, not a few buildings had stood for a century amid wind and snow. Describing the city as riddled with holes wouldn't have been excessive.
Yet now, the Overworld had completely transformed. Countless high-rise buildings rose from the ground, shops opened one after another, and merchants from across the cosmos gathered here, bringing countless novel gadgets and practical items.
Because Jarilo-VI had no moon-like satellite, and due to the previous severe shortage of energy storage in Belobog, once night fell, the entire surface world became like an abyss, with hardly any light to be seen.
But now it was different. Belobog had become a city that never sleeps. Light filled every corner of the city—even the nooks and crannies—leaving darkness nowhere to hide.
Yes, the darkness in the environment had been dispelled, but the darkness in people's hearts could never be driven out or melted away.
Due to that call from Topaz, Bronya had once again plunged into busyness. Even her confidants Gepard and Seele were now searching for evidence of the company executives' crimes.
So, Bronya had no time for a detailed discussion with Luka right now. With no other choice, the young man could only temporarily stay in the Overworld for two days and wait until Bronya's matters were settled before talking business.
As for where to stay, staying at the Goethe Grand Hotel was obviously unrealistic—no other reason than that Luka had no money.
Ever since Belobog was reborn from the storm, the Great Guardian Cocolia had invested massive effort into managing social order.
Consequently, countless underworld forces and crooked merchants and traffickers were arrested and collapsed.
The boxing gym where Luka worked was no exception. The owner of the boxing club, Scott, was arrested by the Silvermane Guards and ultimately sentenced to death on multiple charges. The boxing club closed down as a result, leaving Luka without an income source.
Luka wasn't angry about this. On the contrary, he felt genuine joy from the bottom of his heart.
Scott had treated human lives like grass for more than just a day or two. It was only because of his overwhelming power and Wildfire's shortage of manpower that they hadn't been able to deal with him before. Now, at last, good and evil had met their due reward.
Walking along the main streets of Belobog's central district, Luka's gaze swept over hotel after hotel, searching for one that was relatively cheap and had decent conditions for a two-day stay.
Yet after wandering for a long time, he still hadn't found an ideal hotel in his mind.
Just as the young man felt a bit dejected, his eyes suddenly narrowed, looking toward a group of outsiders not far away.
No—more precisely, toward a beautiful girl being surrounded by them. Though it was only a single glance, Luka's heart felt as if it had been struck by a bullet, even his heartbeat slowing by half a beat.
Feeling the restlessness in his chest, Luka realized he seemed to have fallen for that girl at first sight.
But when he lowered his head to look at his somewhat shabby attire and then raised it to see the girl's figure surrounded like a moon among stars, a trace of inferiority rose in the red-haired young man's heart.
He and that beautiful girl were fundamentally from two different worlds. His first love hadn't even begun before it had already shattered to pieces.
With a somewhat lost feeling, Luka continued walking forward, seemingly wanting to catch one more glimpse of the girl's figure.
However, at that moment, as he passed by a couple on the roadside, he suddenly pricked up his ears.
"It's really too pitiful. That girl probably won't escape those outsiders' clutches." The girl in the couple looked at Sparkle with worried eyes and said sympathetically.
"Sigh, who says otherwise? Such a good girl—what Interastral Peace Corporation? They're just a bunch of damned foreign invaders!"
"..."
The couple's conversation made Luka realize things weren't as simple as he had imagined. So that girl wasn't some pampered young lady but a pitiful girl about to fall into the abyss under evil coercion!
With this thought, the hot blood in Luka's body instantly boiled. What stirred the young man wasn't just his innate hatred of evil but also the surge of hormones from wanting to play hero and save the beauty.
And so came the scene at the beginning.
"You outsiders, don't run wild in Belobog!"
Watching the company security guards slowly closing in on him, Luka clenched his iron fist, and the power of the Nihility Path within him surged forth.
"Ha—!"
With a roar of fury, the Path power flooded in, pouring into Luka's iron arm.
In an instant, several beams of light crossed, and Luka clashed with those security guards.
"He's actually a Pathstrider..."
Sensing the Path aura emanating from Luka, Ezekiel's expression changed slightly. He then subtly glanced at Sparkle beside him.
Seeing that she only seemed a bit frightened but had no intention of fleeing, a smile appeared on the young man's face as he comforted her.
"Miss Sparkle, don't be afraid. He's just some thug who jumped out from who knows where. I'll handle it—you don't need to worry."
"Mm... I understand." Sparkle nodded timidly, then hugged the handbag in her arms even tighter, seeking a bit of psychological comfort from it.
"I'll be right back."
With that, Ezekiel loosened his joints and headed toward Luka, who was fighting the security guards.
However, after Ezekiel left, in a blind spot out of the young man's sight, Sparkle—who had still shown fear and timidity on her face—suddenly changed her expression. A cold and irritated aura flashed through her cherry-red pupils in an instant before returning to normal.