The two of them went backstage together. At that moment, the entire backstage crew had already fled, and a deafening silence filled the area. They searched slowly and eventually found a photo of the dancer in one of the rooms.
Aya walked over to her vanity, where a diary lay. The dancer's name was Melissa. The diary recorded that Melissa had recently contracted an incurable disease.
Later, a mysterious man approached her and claimed he could cure her illness by giving her a special medicine. After taking it, Melissa was indeed healed—but her body began to change, and her personality gradually spiraled out of control.
At the end of the diary, Melissa wrote that her personality had split and that her evil self now had control over most of her body.
"What do you think she took?" Aya asked as she looked at Javier.
"I have no idea. Probably some kind of mutagenic virus. But she did teach us something important." Aya looked at Javier, puzzled. He gave a faint smile and said, "Don't trust strangers."
Aya also smiled lightly at the joke.
As the two spoke, the sound of a piano echoed in the distance. They rushed out of the room—the sound was coming from the rehearsal hall.
When they arrived at the rehearsal hall, they saw Melissa sitting at a piano, playing. As soon as she saw them, she stood up and floated into the air.
"My current body needs to keep evolving, and soon I will become a goddess. You may call me Eva."
After saying that, Melissa began to transform. Her hands turned into sharp claws.
Her legs vanished, replaced by something resembling the hind end of a bee. Two antennae sprouted from her head, giving her the appearance of a giant insect.
Once the transformation was complete, Melissa launched her attack. Flames burst from her hands as she fired fireballs at the two. This immediately reminded Javier of Alexia.
(Could she have been injected with the T-Veronica virus?)
Aya dodged the fireballs while returning fire with her pistol. However, Melissa's defense had greatly increased after the transformation, and her bullets barely made a dent.
Javier, wielding his reinforced Desert Eagle, took aim. One of his bullets struck Melissa in the stomach, tearing a large hole that oozed yellow fluid.
Melissa screamed in pain, glared furiously at Javier, then floated up through the roof and vanished into the night sky.
Seeing her flee, the two had no choice but to return to the front of the opera house, which was now surrounded by police. As they exited, a colleague of Aya's recognized her.
After that, the two were able to leave the opera without further issue, where Natasha was still waiting for Javier outside. Seeing him safe, she ran up to him immediately.
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Lee." Aya extended her hand and shook his, then left.
Javier and Natasha returned to the hotel, and he quickly informed Alexia about everything that had happened.
Alexia also believed it resembled the T-Veronica virus. However, it couldn't have been that virus, since T-Veronica required a long integration period with the host—otherwise, the host would simply become a monster.
Melissa, clearly, still retained her rationality and even used attack methods resembling magic. Alexia suspected that someone had merged the T-Veronica virus with other viruses to create a new one.
The next morning, Javier watched the news and saw the Washington Police Chief giving a press conference, describing the incident as a "flammable chemical leak."
Of course, the reporters didn't buy it and immediately began questioning Aya, who stood beside him. Aya told them the entire truth, and the Chief's face turned grim.
"Looks like she's in trouble," Natasha remarked as she approached.
The two stayed at the hotel for the day.
That night, they heard a knock at the door and were surprised to see Aya standing there.
"According to the latest intel, Melissa was spotted in Central Park. I need your help." After seeing Javier's combat abilities, Aya felt confident that he could assist her.
Looking at the dedicated officer reminded Javier of Jill. He agreed to Aya's request, and they headed to Central Park in her patrol car.
By then, the park's perimeter had been completely sealed off by police. No one had entered because Melissa had activated an ability: anyone who stepped inside would spontaneously catch fire.
However, when Aya and Javier entered, nothing happened to them. The officers following behind assumed it was safe and stepped in as well—only to burst into flames almost instantly. The rest panicked and fled.
Javier had no doubt that he could handle Melissa's attacks—he had the skill for it. What surprised him was that Aya was also unharmed.
They quickly made it to the center of the park. Melissa was floating above the stage. The entire audience below had already been killed.
Seeing them arrive, Melissa laughed.
"Humans are so fragile. Only viruses can rule this world. I will create a new species to govern it."
Seeing Melissa's madness, Aya opened fire, aiming straight for the kill.
Melissa ignored her and flew high into the sky, then began to sing. The corpses scattered around them started to melt, then merge, eventually forming a massive monster.
"Why don't you play with my pet for a bit? I have more important things to do."
With that, Melissa flew away. Javier, unable to fly, had no means of stopping her.
The monster Melissa left behind immediately lunged at them. When its massive fist struck the ground, it created a large crater.
The two dodged frantically as the monster attacked again and again.
All the bullets Javier and Aya fired hit the monster, but they had no effect. Its body was like jelly.
"Hold it off for a few seconds—I'll get something to deal with this!" Javier shouted as he darted into a nearby bush. He wasn't hiding—just avoiding Aya's eyes—so he could pull weapons from his storage.
He quickly returned with a grenade launcher. The grenades were cryogenic, capable of freezing the creature and making it easier to deal with.
Aya struggled to dodge the monster's attacks and looked severely injured. Seeing this, Javier fired a grenade.
It struck the monster, freezing part of its body. Javier then fired five more in quick succession, completely encasing the beast in a block of ice.
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."