Joey's large En encapsulated the smaller En fields. None of them extended beyond the range of his own.
Within his detection, only one person was near him—and that person hadn't sensed his presence yet.
Most of the private soldiers, including the Second Prince herself, had rushed toward the Tier 2 entrance—the main doorway.
Exactly as Joey had predicted. The dumbest way to storm Tier 2 was by walking through the door.
These rooms weren't reinforced bunkers. Joey could easily destroy them—especially with Killer Queen's First Bomb.
All he had to do was touch the wall, apply First Bomb, and let Killer Queen detonate—it would erase the wall entirely.
Of course, if some living being touched the First Bomb first, it would detonate on that target, preserving the wall.
But that wouldn't happen—Joey was using En throughout the operation.
As soon as he touched the wall, Killer Queen pressed its thumb down.
The silent explosion didn't even require Weather Report to muffle sound. Joey just walked into Tier 2 unimpeded.
Melody was being held in the private soldiers' lounge, guarded by a single individual.
Joey's solution? Strike from afar using Weather Report's lightning.
Imbued with Nen, the thunderbolts were devastating. The target had no realistic way to defend.
As long as they couldn't locate Joey, and couldn't disrupt the stormclouds above, the lightning would keep raining down.
By the time Joey reached the lounge, the guard had already collapsed under the barrage.
He dispersed the fog and glanced at the corpse—charred black, unrecognizable.
Stepping over it, Joey entered the lounge and found Melody, unconscious on a bed.
Her face was swollen. Her exposed wrist and clothes were bloodstained.
She'd clearly been beaten—interrogated with violence.
Joey's eyes narrowed. Killing intent surged inside him.
But at that moment, he noticed something—people moving through the fog toward the lounge.
His position had been exposed.
That was Joey's first thought. But how?
He quickly turned to the charred body outside—and spotted a black object in the corpse's hand.
A walkie-talkie.
He'd anticipated the enemy might have communications gear. That's why he'd struck multiple locations with lightning.
But it seemed the guard hadn't died immediately—and still managed to relay his location.
It also wasn't hard for the soldiers in Tier 2 to deduce Joey's objective.
There was only one likely reason to invade Tier 2: to assassinate the Second Prince.
But with over thirty seconds passed since the fog rolled in and no disturbances near the Second Prince, suspicion grew.
Combine that with the report from the lounge—it became obvious Joey was here for Melody.
After all, she was the only non-local asset in Tier 2.
The fog incident had originated in Tier 12, and Melody was tied to Tier 12. The connection was clear.
Realizing this, Joey summoned a gust of wind to lift Melody's body, then sprinted toward the perimeter.
Meanwhile, the lightning strikes across Tier 2 intensified—indiscriminate bombardment.
Clearly, Melody's treatment had shaken Joey's restraint.
He'd never liked the Second Prince—and now that she'd hurt someone under his protection, he was barely holding back from going for the kill.
His En also picked up more figures approaching from the end of the corridor.
The Royal Army.
Tier 2 was close to their station, so they'd arrived quickly.
Partly due to the Judiciary's swift report—and partly due to how seriously they took Joey.
After all, he'd previously infiltrated the royal area and targeted King Nasubi.
Joey's response: unleash Weather Report at full power.
His Nen range expanded—less about fighting people, more about mastering nature itself.
Weather Report wasn't created for one-on-one battles.
When Joey designed it, he was already thinking about exploring the Dark Continent.
Back then, its range was smaller, better suited for duels. But now, with his expanded En, Weather Report became a battlefield weapon.
Covering nearly 100 meters in chaotic, indiscriminate strikes, it made the corridor impassable.
But the Royal Army was prepared.
Night vision, thermal sensors, and even flamethrowers.
Flamethrowers roared to life, quickly evaporating fog and moisture.
Their soldiers were equipped with heat-resistant suits.
The corridor dried rapidly. The lightning ceased. Visibility returned.
But then—the wind struck.
And the wind blew the flamethrower flames back onto the soldiers.
They panicked—pulling the triggers became too risky.
Heat suits offered some protection—but not enough to withstand being engulfed in flame.
Some soldiers, braving the storm, pushed forward—only to realize the wind was looping.
It passed over them, then reversed direction.
With the oxygen already depleted from their flamethrowers, further advance meant risking suffocation before even reaching Tier 2.
"Fall back! Retreat!" the Royal Army captain yelled.
The target was close—but the corridor had become a deathtrap.
Still, they weren't helpless.
Behind the withdrawing soldiers, a second group crouched, rifles ready.
"Seventy-three meters. Three walls between us and the target. No hostiles or royals in the line of fire. Open fire."
One soldier checked a smartphone—displaying a chibi-style tactical interface.
Tiny cartoonish soldiers marched in formation. Their rifles locked onto a translucent wall, behind which a large goblin-like creature appeared.
It was labeled BOSS—a monstrous fusion abomination.
Red targeting lines appeared. The walls went half-transparent.
The creature sprinted toward a gap in the back room.
"Fire!" came the order.
The riflemen squeezed their triggers—a barrage of gunfire erupted.
Inside Tier 2, the Second Prince's private soldiers and judiciary officers had gathered to shield her.
None of them chased Joey—instead, they hid in the main hall, aware of the Royal Army's plan.
The Second Prince looked livid. The Second Queen stared down at her shoes.
Suddenly—BOOM.
Bullets shredded Tier 2's wall.
That entire side of the room became a storm of metal.
When Joey sensed the Royal Army, his eyelid twitched—an ominous feeling rising in his gut.
He activated a hidden camera on his body to observe the hallway.
The Royal Army's preparation went beyond anything he'd anticipated.
Heat suits. Flamethrowers. Precise, rehearsed fog-clearing.
He'd known revealing his powers would invite counters—but this was excessive.
They'd clearly planned to take him out.
But he wasn't afraid—not of this level of threat.
Still, when his wind forced their retreat—that's when he saw the real danger.
The man giving commands while holding the phone—had Nen.
He was a user.
And those crouched riflemen made Joey's skin crawl.
Especially when he sensed the phone-holder retreating just outside his En's range—and the gunners targeting him remotely.
Every hair on Joey's body stood up.
"Danger!" his instincts screamed.
He hadn't expected them to go this far—attacking Tier 2 with full firepower.
The Second Prince wasn't dead!
This wasn't Tier 4, where such action might be dismissed. This was her residence.
For the Royal Army to act like this, either they didn't care about her authority—or they had her consent.
But someone as arrogant as her? Agreeing to this level of disrespect?
Impossible.
She wouldn't allow such a public affront—even if Joey were killed, her pride would be irreparably damaged.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
Joey could only admire Nasubi Hui Guo Rou's ruthlessness.
Through the Royal Army's actions, he now understood Nasubi's stance toward him.
But what Joey couldn't confirm was why.
Had Nasubi identified him specifically?
Or was this just retaliation for the assassination attempt?
If it was the latter, this still seemed excessive.
Nasubi didn't seem like someone easily provoked.
But if it was the former—it meant Nasubi knew who Joey was, and what he'd done below deck.
Destroying Tier 2 to eliminate him meant Joey had crossed a line—touched a true taboo of Nasubi's.
Thoughts whirled through Joey's mind.
On his shoulder, the weather beast activated a new function—increasing atmospheric resistance.
Then Joey burst into motion, sprinting toward Tier 4.
As he ran, he sent a signal to Fugates.
The best escape route was through Fugates and Kajo's teleportation.
But their powers had a catch: Fugates could open doors to destinations—but only Kajo could open the return gate.
That's why he hadn't brought them with him—he'd prearranged a pickup at Tier 4.
And since Tier 4 might be monitored, he couldn't have them wait there in advance.
Only after confirming its safety could he signal them.
Fortunately, he'd blocked the Royal Army in the corridor.
The Second Prince's forces, sidelined by the Royal Army, could only watch helplessly.
Meanwhile, the Royal Army opted for long-range firepower.
That meant Fugates and Kajo's arrival would be safe—a key factor in Joey's decision to act now.
(End of Chapter)