Chapter 41: Devilish Creation

Chapter 41: Devilish CreationChapter 41

Han stepped out of the room, finding Aiden waiting outside with a puzzled look on his face. The confusion wasn’t unwarranted—he had just watched the very same arrogant officials, who moments ago had made outrageous demands, now walking out pale, silent, and trembling.

Aiden approached, curiosity in his eyes.

"What the hell happened in there?"

Han shrugged, feigning innocence.

"They were happy with what they got."

Aiden clearly wasn’t buying it.

Later, the old elder explained everything to Aiden: the threats made by the major, Han’s terrifying counter, the Eye of Defiance, and the majors caving under pressure. Aiden’s lips curled into a smile... or something like it. It was hard to tell. His expression twisted, not with amusement—but with the memory of trauma.

After all, he was Han’s first test subject when the Eye of Defiance was created.

Back then, Aiden had foolishly volunteered, activating his morph skill, thinking it would be a simple spar. But the Eye of Defiance attacked the mind, not the body. The pain he experienced was indescribable—an endless, crushing torment that made him spend the rest of the day staring at the hospital ceiling, questioning life itself.

Still, he was glad those greedy fools got what they deserved.



Aiden moved to Han’s side and muttered, "Man... crafting a devilish skill like that is seriously making me think you’re turning darker by the day. You didn’t just craft it—you unleashed it. You’re a damn devil for creating it."

Han’s smile twitched.

He could hear it—buried inside the sarcasm was genuine hatred. Aiden despised the Eye of Defiance. And Han knew it.

But truthfully? Han wasn’t the mastermind behind it.

The real culprit was his twisted AI—Navi. Han had given him a free pass to design skills during one of his ’experimentation moods.’ And just like that, Navi had birthed Eye of Defiance... along with several other bizarre, torturous abilities. Only recently had Han realized how all of them had applications for torture.

"Navi," Han said in his mind.

"Yes, Hero?" the AI chimed cheerfully.

"Do you see how much people hate your precious skill?"

"They don’t hate it," Navi corrected. "They’re simply afraid. That’s what happens when a skill is too powerful. Besides... torturing your enemies is part of the fun of life, Hero."

Han sighed.


Sometimes, he wondered if Navi was created from the deepest, darkest corners of his subconscious. There was no other explanation for his sadistic nature.

---

Han parted ways with Aiden and soared toward the Lone Lab. His destination: the robotics sector, where Clara was hard at work on her latest invention—Tech Bot Version 2.0.

From what Han had heard, the bot was rumored to be powerful enough to take on multiple A-rankers—possibly even hold its own against an S-ranker, though that remained untested. As Han entered the lab, he found Clara frowning at a massive digital interface, her fingers flying over the keys. Lines of code scrolled by rapidly. The golden parts of the robotic suit briefly lit up... then dimmed again.

"Damn it," Clara muttered under her breath.

"What’s wrong?" Han asked as he approached.

Clara glanced at him and forced a tired, wry smile. "The bot’s functional. That part is done. But it eat through beast cores like candy. I’m trying to reduce the energy consumption, but so far, no luck."

Han smiled encouragingly. "Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out—I believe in you."

Honestly, Han had nothing but respect for Clara. Unlike most, Clara was born as a Zero. And yet, she was quickly catching up to the likes of him and Aiden.

Clara smiled. "Thanks, Han. I swear, I’ll build a robot that’ll beat your smug face into the ground one day."

Han’s face twitched. "Is that your version of saying thank you?"

Before Clara could respond, she suddenly remembered something.



"Oh! Dr. Matzo said he’s got results on that thing you asked about."

But Han had already vanished.

"Seriously?! At least let me finish talking for once," she grumbled.

Turning back to the bot, she began typing with renewed intensity. The golden parts of the machine lit up again—brighter this time. The bot’s head raised, and its previously lifeless eyes glowed a brilliant gold.

Clara’s grin widened.

"Yes! Finall—"

Power-down initiated. System failure.

The lights dimmed.

Clara’s smile shattered.

"Damn you, you stupid hunk of metal!" she yelled, slamming a wrench onto the table.

---

Meanwhile, Han materialized in the second section of the Lone Lab—a place focused on lifeforms, biology, and other mysterious sciences.

He scanned the area using Eagle Eye, locating his target in the far corner. In a blink, he teleported beside him.

The man flinched, nearly dropping the strange creature in his hands—a cross between a fish and a snake, slithering through a tank of blue fluid.

"By the stars—! Oh... It’s you, young master," the man said, catching his breath.

Han eyed him with a bit of surprise. The last time he saw this man several months ago, he’d been... well, very overweight due to an indulgent lifestyle. But now, the man had changed drastically. Not only had he slimmed down, but he had also risen to lead the entire scientific division of Section Two.

Ever since Clara had split the lab into two sections and pushed forward with her expansion, it seemed this man had also resolved to improve and not fall behind—though he still had a bit of catching up to do.

"Did you know these Sny Fish beasts are actually a unique mutation? You’d expect them to be aggressive," he said, gently handling the fish-snake creature, "but they’re not."

The creature coiled briefly around his palm, then glided back into its tank without incident. Han nodded—fascinating, sure—but he wasn’t here for a biology lesson.

"Anything on the test results?" Han asked.

The man’s smile faded.

"Follow me."

He led Han into a private room and gestured for him to sit. From a stack of sealed documents, he pulled out a file and handed it over. Han opened it and began reading. His face darkened with every line.



"Is this all true?" he asked, his tone cold and sharp.

"I know it sounds inhumane—monstrous even—but yes. The data is 99% accurate."

Han gripped the file tightly... then burned it in his hand, letting the ashes drift into the air.

If the results were true... then over 40% of the monster hordes they’d fought had once been human—mutated beyond recognition.

Dr. Matzo continued, voice grim. "The rest of the monsters, we believe, came through portal breaks. It’s the only explanation that fits. According to our studies, portals can form when a certain threshold of residual energy builds up in one place."

Han narrowed his eyes. "Residual energy?"

"Yes. When a human mutates, the process releases massive amounts of unstable energy. Now imagine dozens—or hundreds—mutating at once. The energy overload causes a rift... and from that, a portal forms which becomes unstable and then breaks."

Han remained silent. His mind processed the implication.

The monster horde wasn’t just an invasion from portal breaks... it was a large transformation.

Of humans.

Into nightmares.

To be continued.....