I was still catching my breath when the voice I hadn't heard in a while decided to show up.
'Well. That was embarrassing.' Damien laughed inside my head.
'Right on time,' I thought.
This villain making system has started to become more and more silent by the day.
Maybe it was because Damien was still playing detective konan and trying to find about the rules of this world or the bastard author…or it was just because it had finally lost interest in me.
No way am I gonna get rid of this self proclaimed best system in the world so easily.
"You nearly got chomped like a chew toy, brat. Honestly, I blinked and thought, 'Ah, there goes the villain's career.
All bones, no brains.'"
I rolled my eyes. "Nice to see you too."
"Nice? I'm livid. You called for backup instead of finishing it with your own two hands. Where's that ruthlessness I signed up for?"
"The thing evolved, Damien. Evolved. I didn't seem to have a death wish today."
The half system clicked his tongue, low and irritated.
"You had him. Right there.
You cracked its mana shell.
You just needed ten more seconds and one insane move, and you'd be the guy standing over a dead Tier 3 beast. Instead…" He paused, then let out a dramatic sigh. "…and instead you chose to share credit.
For real, Noah?" Damien said in my head, reminding me again of how the girl sitting beside me on the log was actually influenced by one of the supreme gods.
My gaze drifted toward Seraphina.
Dario, finally able to speak again after her command wore off, rubbed his throat. "Okay. That was so not deserved. I was just being honest—"
Seraphina turned towards him, her dark blue hair swaying with the motion. "You told Noah. And the others. About my powers. Without asking."
Dario raised both hands. "Hey, come on. It's not like I posted it on the net. I just gave the team a heads-up."
"It wasn't yours to give." The girl stared him down all of a sudden, must be something her God told her that she was suddenly reacting this way.
I stepped in, trying to cool things off. "Sera, he didn't mean harm. I think he was just… excited."
She turned her glare toward me, and I shut up instantly.
Her gaze lingered on Dario. "You don't understand what it means to keep something hidden, do you?"
Dario looked like he wanted to argue. But then he caught her eyes—really looked into them, and said nothing.
Because she wasn't just mad.
She felt exposed, maybe?
Damien spoke again, quieter now.
'That girl… she doesn't just wield power.
Deep down, she's afraid of what others will think.
That's probably why she didn't want to reveal it this openly.'
I frowned. "You sound like you pity her."
Damien seemed to slap his head as he continued. 'I don't pity her. I respect her. She's the kind of person who'd rather die than be a spectacle. You?
You'd livestream your execution if it got you enough points.'
I walked up to Seraphina, keeping my voice calm. "Look. He shouldn't have said anything. You have every right to be upset. But you saved us, Sera. All of us. No one's going to mock you for that."
She didn't answer right away.
Her arms dropped to her sides. "I didn't want to reveal it this early. Not when everything's still uncertain."
She glanced away. "Because once people know what I can do… they stop seeing me. They only see what I can take from them. Their voice. Their control. Their minds."
That hit me harder than I expected.
I'd spent so long hiding who I was—what I was—that I'd almost forgotten how it felt when someone else carried that same burden.
I scratched my head. "For what it's worth… I see you."
She raised a brow. "You see everyone, Noah."
"True," I admitted. "But I look closer at the ones who throw wolves on their knees."
For the first time since the fight, her lips twitched into a smile.
Dario wandered back toward us, still rubbing his throat. "So… am I, like, cursed now? Or…?"
Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "Speak again without thinking and I'll make it permanent."
He mimed zipping his lips shut.
Aurelia limped over, looking exhausted. "Can we go five minutes without drama? Please?"
Erza stumbled in with a torn sleeve and a grin. "Hey, if this is what drama looks like, I'm buying popcorn next time."
"Team D left," Aurelia added. "Ren looked like he wanted to stab Noah in the kidney."
"I felt the love," I replied dryly.
We took a few minutes to recover, sitting in a loose circle around the dead beast.
Its body was already starting to decay, sinking into the forest floor like the mana was being sucked out of it.
I stared at the red and blue cores inside its chest.
One mutated creature.
Alchemical influence.
Erza stretched, groaning. "So, uh… we get credit for the kill, right?"
I nodded. "Already did. Five hundred points."
Her eyes widened. "That's almost as much as a Tier 3 beast!"
Aurelia gave a tired smirk. "And here I thought Noah's plan was suicidal."
Looking at our score table, I couldn't help but mutter.
I wasn't expecting us to work this well.
Like, yeah, I knew we were strong.
But this was something else—like watching a stage play where everyone hit their marks perfectly.
Kael would swing, Isla would freeze, Maxin would trap, Ciel would mimic… and I'd pretend I had no clue what I was doing, then stab the final blow for maximum effect.
"You're acting dumb again," Isla muttered as she launched a spear of ice right into the skull of a mutated bird-beast that swooped too close.
"I'm not acting," I smirked.
She rolled her eyes, looking like she always did—perfectly out of reach.
Isla Romero was dangerously hot.
She was among the very few that most of the guys had eyes for…
She cared about literally no one.
Not even her own family.