The door to the apartment didn't just open—it vanished as a hundred Zodiac soldiers in tactical gold armor stormed the hallway. Their weapons were charged with Solar and Lunar mana, ready to incinerate the "glitch" in their system.
Xylo stood in the center of the wreckage of his life. He didn't look at the guns. He looked at the space where his mother had just been.
"Don't worry... you will have powers that no one has ever seen."
"I hear you, Mom," Xylo whispered.
As the lead soldier screamed a command, Xylo's eyes snapped open, glowing with a predatory, emerald light.
[Skill 4: Serpent Eyes - Activated]
The world slowed to a crawl. He could see the flow of mana in their veins, the weak points in their armor, and the trajectory of every bullet before they even pulled the triggers.
[Skill 5: Enhanced Physique - Activated]
His father's legacy kicked in. Xylo's muscles coiled like steel springs. He didn't just move; he blurred.
[Skill 1: Serpent Bond]
Shadowy, ethereal chains shot out from Xylo's shadow, lashing onto the front row of soldiers. They gasped as their own life force began to drain, tethered to the boy they were sent to kill.
[Skill 2: Poison Scythe]
Xylo swung his arm in a wide arc. Dark, corrosive mana manifested into a massive, shimmering blade of toxic green energy. It sliced through the "divine" armor of the Zodiac army like it was paper. Those it didn't kill instantly collapsed as the Ophiuchus poison turned their golden mana into lead.
[Skill 3: Serpent Barrier]
A hail of bullets and elemental bolts rained down on him, but Xylo didn't flinch. A translucent scale-like dome shimmered into existence around him. Every attack that hit the barrier was absorbed and reflected back as a hiss of emerald shockwaves.
In less than a minute, the hallway—once filled with the "elite" soldiers of the 12 Gods—was silent. Only the sound of Xylo's heavy breathing and the sizzling of the poison remained.
The Aftermath
Xylo stood amongst the fallen, his hands shaking—not from fear, but from the sheer Authority Augustino warned him about. He could feel the Serpent inside him laughing, wanting more.
He looked down at the Star-Glass Map in his pocket. It was glowing brighter now, pointing him toward the outskirts of the city, toward the hidden castle.
The smoke from the hallway cleared as Xylo stepped out into the rain-slicked street. Standing by the lead SUV was a man draped in a heavy, gold-trimmed trench coat. He had the build of a heavyweight boxer and hair that shimmered like a lion's mane.
Captain Kaelen. He was the one who had made Xylo's school years a living hell. The one who had tripped him in the hallways and laughed while calling him a "Broken Toy" in front of the whole class.
Kaelen spat on the ground, his hand resting on the hilt of a glowing claymore.
"I heard the commotion, but I didn't think it would be you, Xylo," Kaelen sneered, his voice dripping with the same arrogance from their school days. "You look different. You finally found some black-market stimulants to fake a mana core?"
Xylo didn't answer. He just adjusted his grip, his eyes glowing with that cold, emerald fire.
"You're a glitch, Xylo. A mistake in the system," Kaelen continued, his body beginning to radiate a searing, golden heat. [Leo Sect Skill: Lion's Majesty] ignited around him, making him look twice his actual size. "I am a Captain of the Leo Sect. I have the blessing of the Sun King. You think a few parlor tricks change the fact that you are nothing?"
Kaelen lunged. The ground cracked beneath his boots as he swung his massive blade, a wave of golden fire trailing behind it. "DIE, YOU FREAK!"