The city pulsed with artificial life.
Neon veins carved through the midnight skyline, illuminating the silent war playing out beneath its surface. While the Republic celebrated peace, while children dreamed of heroes, a different reality was unfolding—one painted not in glory, but in blood and betrayal.
In the heart of it stood Elior Caelum, shadow-wrapped and broken anew.
Asher Vane.
They had bled together in dungeons. Saved each other's lives more times than they could count. Asher was more than a comrade—he was a brother. And now he was the Republic's hound, leash held tightly by the very people Elior had vowed to destroy.
> [Target Update: A-Class Hunter – Asher Vane]
Mission Objective: Terminate the Traitor
Approach Estimated: 3 Hours
Threat Level: High
Elior stared at the glowing text for a long time.
He didn't move. Didn't speak.
Some part of him had hoped—irrationally—that Asher wouldn't come. That he would hesitate. Refuse. Question.
But that part of him still believed in heroes.
And Elior had stopped being a hero the moment he chose revenge over justice.
The safehouse felt colder that night.
He sat at a rusted table littered with fragments of an old life—photographs, worn badges, torn ID cards, and one picture that he couldn't bring himself to destroy: the four of them at graduation.
Elior. Asher. Liana. Mira.
Smiling. Arms thrown around each other. Idiots chasing dreams.
"Do you still see them when you close your eyes?" Elior muttered to no one, fingers tracing Liana's face in the picture.
He closed his eyes.
And saw fire.
Two hours later, he stood alone on the rooftop of an abandoned mall, overlooking the eastern edge of Nova District. His senses, enhanced by the Villain System, picked up the faintest tremors of approaching energy. It was a signature he'd memorized years ago.
Asher.
He dropped from the sky like a silver meteor, twin blades drawn, armor laced with radiant sigils that shimmered against the night. His white mantle, marked with the Republic's crest, fluttered in the wind.
Elior didn't move.
"Asher," he said quietly.
The man didn't respond at first. His helmet retracted slowly, revealing a face harder than Elior remembered. Sharper. Older. The boyish charm was gone, replaced by eyes that had seen too much—and still clung to too little.
"You look like shit," Asher said.
Elior almost smiled. "So do you."
For a moment, silence hung between them. Heavy. Nostalgic. Then Asher exhaled.
"Why, Elior?"
"You know why."
"No. I don't." His voice trembled, just slightly. "I read the reports. I saw the aftermath. You burned Rhys Valen alive. You slaughtered Mevron. You hacked into classified servers and destroyed Hero Authority property. The Republic has branded you a rogue."
"Did they also mention that they killed my sister?"
Asher flinched.
Elior took a step forward. "Did they tell you how they sent her into a Tier-4 dungeon with zero backup? That she uncovered something they didn't want exposed?"
"They said she died in action. A tragic loss, yes, but—"
"She was murdered."
The words hit like a blade.
Asher looked down, jaw clenched.
"Then why not come to me?" he asked, voice thick. "Why not trust me to help you expose it? We could've done it together. We were supposed to fight this system from the inside, Elior!"
Elior's laughter was bitter.
"You don't fight rot from the inside. You burn it out."
The two locked eyes.
Old friends.
Current enemies.
Then Asher shifted his stance.
"I have my orders."
"I figured."
"Don't make me do this."
"I won't."
Elior summoned his flames.
The battle shook the skyline.
Asher moved like lightning—blades slashing through space, radiant energy carving streaks through the darkness. Elior countered with black fire and void spikes, the rooftop warping beneath the weight of their power.
Sparks flew. Shadow met light.
Neither held back.
Every strike echoed with memory. Every dodge betrayed knowledge only brothers could possess.
But Elior was stronger now.
Faster.
More vicious.
The Villain System evolved with emotion—and Elior had a well of grief and rage deeper than any hero's code could match. He caught Asher off guard, his flames twisting mid-air, crashing into him with a silent roar.
Asher flew back, crashing into a vent pipe, blood dripping from his mouth.
Still, he rose.
"I don't want to kill you," Asher whispered.
"You think I'm giving you the choice?"
Elior charged again.
Twenty minutes in, both stood bloody and bruised.
Breathing hard. Weapons dulling. Magic flickering.
Then Asher dropped his swords.
Elior paused.
"What are you doing?"
"I won't kill you," he said. "Not because I agree with what you've done. But because I understand why you did it."
Elior's fingers twitched with flame. "That's not enough."
"It has to be."
And then—without a word—Asher reached into his pocket and tossed something across the rooftop. Elior caught it.
A crystal drive.
"What is this?"
"Everything I could steal without being noticed. Files. Projects. Names. Including Project Revenant."
Elior stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because I still believe in you," Asher said. "Even if you don't believe in yourself."
And just like that, he activated a recall beacon and vanished in a flash of blue light.
Elior stood there for a long time, watching the empty rooftop.
And for the first time since he'd accepted the Villain System…
He felt the faintest flicker of pain.
Not the burning kind.
But the aching one.
The kind that whispered, You didn't want this. You just didn't have a choice.
Back in the safehouse, he plugged in the drive.
Data flooded the terminal—encrypted documents, hidden reports, blacklisted personnel. He saw the faces of scientists, politicians, and even high-ranking heroes who had quietly authorized atrocities. And then he saw it:
Subject 09B: Liana Caelum.
Not a patrol mage.
A test subject.
Rage surged through him.
> [New Target List Expanded: 12 Additional Names Unlocked]
Next Recommended Target: High Judge Velan Kreed.
Codename: The Butcher of Sector Twelve.
Status: Protected.
The system chimed softly.
> You have made your choice.
Path Progression: 7% Complete.
Reputation: Feared.
Faction Unlocked: Rogue Heirs (Pending Contact)
New Skill: Wrath Sigil – Your next attack ignites fear-based paralysis.
He stared at the terminal, jaw clenched.
There was no going back now.
But maybe—just maybe—he could drag the truth into the light before it buried the world.