Chapter 52 — Killer
Krishna felt it.
A faint ripple in the air, subtle yet sharp, like a blade brushing against his senses.
Killing intent.
It was distant, not immediate, but very real.
For a moment, his eyes turned cold, the old Nameless surfacing instinctively, ready to erase the source without hesitation.
But then he exhaled slowly and let it go.
"This body can't even walk properly… and I'm worrying about assassins," he muttered to himself.
Right now, survival came first.
Stability came first.
Everything else could wait.
Krishna turned his attention back to his daughter, who was sitting on the floor, surrounded by scattered medicine bottles, playing as if they were toys.
He smiled faintly.
Walking carefully, step by step, he reached her, picked her up gently, and carried her to the bed.
He lay down, placing her beside him.
"Sleep," he said softly.
She nodded, snuggling close without hesitation.
For a few moments, silence filled the room.
Then Krishna realized something.
He never asked her name.
Not once.
He had only called her "daughter" or "little friend."
He looked at her small face and said quietly,
"From today… I'll call you Little Coco. Okay?"
She puffed her cheeks slightly, thinking for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay."
That simple answer brought an unexpected calm to him.
Soon, both of them drifted into sleep.
But the night was not as quiet as it seemed.
In the middle of the night, Little Coco woke up.
Krishna's arm was wrapped around her protectively.
She gently pushed it away and slipped off the bed, walking toward the bathroom with small, careful steps.
She stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection.
"Little Coco is beautiful," she said proudly, making funny faces at herself.
Then—
Something appeared.
A system window.
Dark.
Eerie.
Filled with skeletal patterns and strange, unsettling symbols.
Little Coco tilted her head, staring at it without fear.
The system scanned her.
Then suddenly—
Error.
User age below requirement.
Emergency protocol activated.
The dark, horrifying interface instantly changed.
Colors shifted.
Symbols softened.
The skeletons disappeared.
Now, it looked bright.
Pink.
Cute.
Child-friendly.
Little Coco blinked.
"What is happening?" she asked innocently.
The system responded in a soft tone.
"I am your little friend. You must choose a guardian."
"Guardian?" she asked, confused.
"Someone like your parents. They must be above S-rank."
Little Coco thought for a moment.
"Mama is S-rank… so Mama can be guardian."
Then she paused.
"What about Papa?"
The system hesitated.
"No data available. Please scan the target."
Little Coco nodded seriously, as if accepting an important mission.
She quietly walked out of the bathroom and approached Krishna, who was still asleep.
She raised her tiny hand.
"Scan."
The system activated.
But it did not just scan the body.
It reached deeper.
It tried to scan the soul.
And that—
Was a mistake.
Inside, something opened its eyes.
Krishna's soul awakened instantly.
A terrifying presence beyond comprehension.
It looked directly at the system.
There was a brief silence.
Then—
He grabbed it.
"What are you doing?" Krishna's soul said coldly.
Before the system could respond—
Slap.
Slap. Slap. Slap.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Sixty-seven times.
The system glitched violently, its interface flickering uncontrollably.
Krishna turned it around like an object, inspecting it from every angle.
"What is this thing?" he muttered.
The system, trembling—if something like that could tremble—quickly explained.
"I am a higher consciousness system. I select individuals and help them grow strong enough to challenge gods."
Krishna stared at it for a moment.
Then simply said, "Oh. Okay."
And disappeared back into his body as if nothing had happened.
But the system did not forget.
It processed.
Analyzed.
And then made a decision.
Threat detected.
Classification: Unknown entity.
Conclusion: Unsafe.
Krishna was marked as a demon.
Guardian registration denied.
Little Coco frowned.
"You're petty," she said seriously.
"My Papa is strong. You're just scared of him."
The system remained silent.
It still "felt" those sixty-seven slaps.
It refused to reconsider.
Little Coco crossed her arms, clearly unhappy, but she did not argue further.
Instead, she climbed back onto the bed.
She snuggled into Krishna's arms again.
Within seconds, she fell asleep peacefully.
And the system…
Stayed quiet.
Watching.
Waiting.