"Alright, alright," Cipher interjected again, her tone trailing off. "Rather than this mission-report style of catching up, could I trouble you to do something, Dux Gladiorum?"
"What is it?" Hysilens looked at her with confusion.
"That is!" Cipher pointed her finger at the torrential rain still falling outside the window. "Can you stop this rain first!"
As she spoke, she pointed somewhat disdainfully at her partially dampened fur. "The enemy has already been dealt with by you, hasn't he? Why is it still raining? Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to be soaking wet!"
Hearing Cipher's complaint, Hysilens's gaze lingered on Cipher's moist fur for a moment. After a short silence, she nodded.
"It was my oversight."
The moment her voice fell, the churning dark clouds outside the window seemed to be abruptly snuffed out by an invisible giant hand. The originally continuous rainstorm ceased instantly, the clouds parted, and the mist dispersed, revealing a bright, clear moon.
"That's more like it." Watching the night sky return to clarity, Cipher nodded with satisfaction.
Then, she turned toward Cerydra and Hysilens, giving them both a wave.
"Imperator, I've finished the task you assigned. I have to go elsewhere to restock in a couple of days, so I'll take my leave first~"
Before her words had fully faded, she leaped up, nimbly passed through the window, and vanished into the night.
Watching Cipher leave, Cerydra turned to Hysilens and said softly:
"Dux Gladiorum, tell me about what happened in your cycle."
Hysilens nodded and began to slowly recount that past...
...
[Cifera, the investigation of the new target has been completed. If you have time, return to the old place; I will be waiting for you there.]
Looking at this message on her Terminal, Cipher's lips curled up slightly as she murmured to herself:
"It looks like I can go 'restocking' again. I wonder if Apex Entertainment has learned its lesson after my last provocation. At the very least, I hope they don't make it too boring for me."
After speaking, she placed the Terminal into her System Inventory and jumped onto the balcony of a high-rise building.
Standing quietly on the balcony, Cipher turned her head. Using her incredible vision, she peered through the layered buildings and church windows to see Hysilens's figure inside the church.
"Hysilens..." she whispered to herself. "The first Chrysos Heir to truly descend into this world... I wonder if it's a blessing or a curse."
At this, she fell into deep thought again.
"It should be a good thing... at least I won't always have to play multiple roles by myself anymore, and..."
Her lips curled up slightly.
"I have Bartholos, Hyacine has Little Ica, and Cerydra... will no longer be lonely."
"However..."
"If Hysilens can descend into this world, does that mean within Amphoreus, fellow Chrysos Heirs like Tribios, Aglaea, Mademos, and even that savior brat Flame Reaver might also have a chance to descend like Hysilens?"
"Or... is Hysilens the only exception? After all, strictly speaking, she is part of Cerydra's ability."
She flicked her tail with some distress.
But soon, she shook her head dismissively.
"Whatever, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have plenty of time anyway, so there's no rush."
With that, she leaped up again, vanishing gracefully into the night.
...
Meanwhile, at the AMA Third District Branch.
Inside the base constructed of metal alloys, various corpses lay in different states of death.
Some were shot, some decapitated, and some charred by fire... the entire room resembled a scene from hell.
Not far from the corpses, a group of people with varying expressions stood in a circle.
In the center of the circle sat a man dressed in combat gear.
The man looked at the crowd surrounding him with fear, but even more so with resentment.
He pointed at the group before him and said with an unfriendly tone:
"You... you just wait! The AMA won't let you traitors go..."
Bang—
Before he could finish his words, there was a crisp explosion!
His head burst like a ripe watermelon, splashing a mixture of red and white across the floor, adding another stroke to this crimson scene.
"This was the last person from the Third District AMA Branch."
Damian walked slowly out from the crowd, looking at the headless corpse on the ground without a ripple in his expression—because that strike just now was his handiwork.
"Let's go."
He turned and walked straight toward the base's main gate.
The others followed closely behind.
The gate opened to reveal a multitude of people outside, looking at the entrance with nervous anticipation.
Upon seeing Damian and the others appear, the crowd instantly erupted into joyful clamor, and the scene became chaotic for a moment.
"Silence!" Damian's voice was not loud, yet it carried an authority that instantly suppressed all the noise.
Seeing the crowd quiet down, he nodded with satisfaction, cleared his throat, spread his arms, and roared loudly:
"Look! The AMA is not invincible! They thought to abandon us, but they did not know that together, we are enough to crush these useless wastes cowering in their sub-bases!"
"The AMA views Ability Users as weapons? Then today, we have completely destroyed the 'weapons' inside this base!!"
As his roar fell, the crowd broke into earth-shaking cheers!
However, in the next moment, Damian poured a bucket of cold water over them:
"But! Although the AMA wears the cloak of the government, it is actually the weakest link among the five great powers of this country! Above it are four major multinational mega-corporations; their technological strength is enough to bleed us dry!"
The crowd fell silent once again.
"But—" Damian added another "but," his voice suddenly rising, full of power. "Why did we do all of this?! Was it not precisely to prove our worth to Lady Imperator?!"
He then took a deep breath.
"Now, we have done it! We have proven it! We are worthy of Lady Imperator's protection!!!"
"Once we have her protection, not just the AMA, but even those four mega-corporations will no longer be a threat! We will never have to live those fearful days again!"
Ignoring the once-again excited crowd, Damian pushed through and strode toward the direction of the church.
"Now, we return to the church!"