Two minutes earlier.
Silas looked over the supplies he'd prepared, making sure everything was in order.
'That should be all of it,' Silas thought, recounting the supplies once more.
Pointing the ring around his finger at the bags, they vanished into thin air.
'Alright, time for me to go,' he thought, walking out of his room.
'It's certainly been a while since I've last gone to a dungeon,' he thought, using the elevator to get to his personal flying shuttle on the roof. 'But the government can only remain lenient for so long.'
Ever since the main family members had disappeared, he hadn't been to a dungeon. He'd poured countless hours searching for the family, but it appeared as if they'd vanished into thin air.
'Not to mention the damage control needed,' Silas thought, his brows furrowing as he remembered how many board members took advantage of the situation rather than maintaining the company's stability.
As he ascended with the elevator, a certain face came to mind.
'Did I bother him with the information too soon?' Silas thought, doubting himself. 'He's barely had any time to even adjust.'
'No, I think he's smart enough to deal with this.'
Suddenly, Silas sensed an powerful, unfamiliar mana signature.
Raising his senses, he pinpointed the location where the mana signature appeared.
'Wait, isn't that...' Silas thought, frowning.
The next second, a loud alarm blared from his wristband.
Without hesitation, Silas conjured a large, sword-like icicle from his mana and slashed through the top of the elevator with ease.
Jumping up, an ice pillar shot up from the elevator platform, boosting him up to the top floor in mere seconds.
Dashing forward, Silas passed several security personnel rushing to a room he knew well.
Throwing his icicle sword in front of him, it pierced through the barrier protecting Logan's room.
After breaking the barrier, the sword continued on and obliterated the thick mana-reinforced metal door behind it.
Dashing through the broken door, Silas was prepared to deal with the enemy.
But what he saw inside left him stunned.
Logan Mercer, surrounded by melted objects and deep orange flames, completely unharmed.
Without hesitation, Silas spread his ice around Logan.
'What are these flames?' Silas thought, noticing that they were enduring his ice much longer than other flames he'd faced in the past.
After putting out the flames, Silas approached Logan, who stood up calmly.
''What the hell happened here?'' Silas asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.
Logan, seeing Silas's confusion, didn't know what to say.
Not only was he exhausted, but he also hadn't prepared himself for such a large phenomenon.
''I don't know,'' Logan said, sounding tired.
Quickly thinking of something, he continued.
''Something crashed through the windows, hitting me in the center of my chest.'' Logan started. ''What happened after that was a blur, I just remember immense pain and fire everywhere.''
Frowning, Silas stepped closer to the windows, peering outside.
While Silas looked out the windows, searching for threats outside, Edric walked up to Logan, his expression filled with concern.
''Are you alright?'' He asked, concerned.
''I should be,'' Logan said, looking over his body.
''Not good enough,'' Edric said, shaking his head. ''I want full-body scans done, please follow me.''
'To be expected,' Logan thought, nodding. 'I should make sure it's done privately though.'
Glancing at Silas, Logan noticed his suspicion, but neither of them said anything.
While the security teams were still checking the remainder of the rooms, Logan, Edric, and Silas walked out of the mess to get to the medical labs.
Glancing at the ice spread out through the halls as a result of Silas rushing over, Logan couldn't help but appreciate Silas.
'Seems like he really tried his best to get here as fast as possible without breaking the entire building apart,' Logan thought, satisfied.
It had only taken Silas seconds before he'd broken through Logan's room. As an S-rank with a diamond core, he could've been there within two seconds. But that would've killed countless other people on the lower floors.
Taking an elevator that hadn't been destroyed by Silas, the group arrived at a lower floor where special medical machines and medical staff were located.
Just before they entered a private room, a soft tone chimed on Silas's wristband.
Glancing down, Silas froze.
"Apologies. Something urgent," he said, pausing. ''Please continue, I'll be nearby in case something happens again.''
'Perfect timing,' Logan thought. 'He must've gotten the message about 1 billion vanishing.'
Logan and Edric entered the private room. Inside, they were greeted by a medical technician.
"Sir, we're ready to begin the full-body diagnostic," the technician said, gesturing toward the scanning pod.
Logan stepped forward but paused. "Before we start, I want my scan results locked and make sure the machine is offline from any network.''
The technician looked at Edric, unsure who Logan actually was since his identity had been kept secret.
Edric gave Logan a confused look before turning to the technician and nodding.
Lying down, the platform slowly slid inside the machine as blue lights started scanning Logan's body from head to toe.
'I wonder what the machine will say,' Logan thought. 'From what I've been taught, S-rank should be the highest tier people can get.'
On Edric's side, a blue hologram of Logan's body appeared. Beside the hologram of his body, warning signs appeared.
''What...'' Edric mumbled, confused and shocked.
One of the warning messages showed Logan's body temperature having reached 198 Fahrenheit, something that was supposed to be impossible for someone of his rank.
Edric stared at the screen, his eyes widening.
[Core grade: Peak Gray]
[Affinity: Unknown, Fire-Type]
[Classification Note: No known match in global affinity registry.]
[System Alert: Subject affinity output exceeds S-Rank threshold. Recommend manual evaluation.]
"This… This can't be right," Edric muttered.
The technician leaned in, puzzled. "Sir, is the equipment malfunctioning?"
Edric's expression hardened. "Thank you. That'll be all. Please give us the room."
"But we're only halfway through—"
"Leave," Edric said firmly. "That's an order."
The technician hesitated. According to protocol, he couldn't leave the machines alone with anyone, no matter the rank. But, seeing Edric's expression, he followed his instincts and left immediately.
After the door closed, Edric turned back and frowned as he looked at Logan's test results.
Then, with a slow exhale, he tapped the console to freeze the projection.
He turned to Logan, who had already sat up on the scan bed.
"How?" Edric asked quietly.
''I don't know either,'' Logan answered, feigning innocence.
Edric looked at Logan for a moment before turning to the scanning machine. Without hesitation, he produced dense controlled lightning that melted the machine in seconds.
''You were right to request the machine to be disconnected from the network,'' he turned back to Logan with a serious expression. ''This information should never leave this room.''