"Huh?"
"You killed who?!"
At Herta Space Station, Herta had just finished dealing with Dr. Calderon Chadwick's matter when she received Koji's call—and learned that the Silent Lord, Polka Kakamon, had been killed.
For a moment, she couldn't believe her own ears. After all, that genius assassin was absurdly strong. All anyone ever heard was news of her killing other people—never the other way around.
Koji chuckled. That reaction was perfectly normal, so he repeated it again:
"Polka Kakamon, the Silent Lord. I just said her name once, and then she tracked me down…"
"No wonder. Polka really does have that ability—she can follow a causality chain straight back to its source."
Herta wasn't surprised anymore. She knew quite a bit about Polka Kakamon. She had wanted to meet that senior genius for a long time, but never had the chance.
If that woman showed up at your door, she wouldn't care whether you were a good person or a bad person—she would erase you all the same.
Well, now it was settled. There would never be a chance again.
"Was it that Emanator-level Self-Annihilator who did it?"
Herta quickly derived several possible outcomes. Polka's famous method was a narrow form of "omniscience domain." Even Emanators stepping into it would immediately be put at a disadvantage.
But the power of Nihility didn't care what your omniscience domain was—or anything else. To Nihility, it all meant nothing.
Besides, Koji likely had the means to deal with Polka Kakamon himself. She could only be called unlucky.
"It was Acheron. She killed the Silent Lord with a single slash."
"Impressive. Looks like I'll need to reassess the combat strength of that Emanator-level Self-Annihilator."
Herta ended the call.
Before, she hadn't wanted to study Nihility, because its power was too troublesome—get even a little bit on you, and it was hard to shake off.
But now… a Nihility Self-Annihilator might be worth researching in moderation.
As for Polka Kakamon's death, Herta felt no sorrow, no sympathy, no "the rabbit mourns the fox." She had never even met Polka face-to-face.
Penacony.
"Mei, that slash just now… that wasn't your full strength, was it?" Koji asked with clear interest.
Acheron nodded. "If it were any stronger, Penacony wouldn't be able to withstand it."
"You forgot? I reinforced the surrounding space. It won't collapse completely," Koji said.
Acheron understood that—she just didn't know the upper limit. If she used too much force, it would become collateral damage.
"If that one slash couldn't solve the problem, then three more slashes would."
She said it calmly. Right now, she wasn't being affected by Nihility's side effects, so she could use her power freely.
To be honest, Polka Kakamon's raw strength was only so-so. She relied far more on that omniscience domain. Once it stopped working, Polka Kakamon didn't really qualify as a top-tier Emanator.
And Acheron was a Nihility Self-Annihilator—one of the rare ones who could reach Emanator level. She could draw on as much Nihility as she wanted, as long as her own body could bear it.
"As expected of my Sister Acheron—ruthless, and not much talking." Koji raised a thumbs-up.
A dry cough sounded.
"Um… am I interrupting you?"
Aventurine walked over with his older sister.
After changing out of her worn, old clothes, his sister now wore a pale-yellow gauze dress—bright and lovely. Her long golden hair shimmered like real gold.
"Tsk tsk tsk. Aventurine, your taste is solid. Compared to before, your sister looks like a noble young lady from a great family now." Koji clicked his tongue in amazement.
Aventurine's sister blushed. It was her first time wearing something like this—she wasn't used to it.
"My sister's clothes aren't something I can half-ass," Aventurine said.
If his sister hadn't refused anything more expensive, he would've planned to keep buying and buying. And if he ran out of money? He'd go borrow from Topaz.
From now on, he would work even harder to earn money—make up for everything he owed his sister.
"So, what do you need?" Koji asked.
"Miss Acheron… you're an Emanator-level powerhouse, right?" Aventurine asked.
Acheron didn't answer—basically tacitly admitting it.
Aventurine's eyes sharpened.
"As I thought. Then please—when the time comes, slash me once."
He said it seriously, not like a joke at all, his gaze fixed on Acheron's katana.
That blade's aura gave him a lethal sense of danger. It could absolutely end him with ease.
Even though his sister had returned, he couldn't just resign. Someone at his level trying to quit? Incredibly, incredibly difficult. And he needed money—he wanted his sister to live in luxury, so completing the task mattered even more.
Aventurine's sister stayed silent.
Her little brother had grown up. Once he decided something, no one could change it.
Just like when he was small—staking his life on luck.
Now that he was grown, he still loved playing that way.
Sigh… she didn't want to see Kakavasha get hurt.
"Huh?"
Acheron's expression was unusually vivid. Knowing she was an Emanator and still asking her to swing a blade… she seriously wondered if Aventurine had something wrong with his head.
"Aventurine, how about you go see a doctor? Like Dr. Ratio?" Koji laughed. He understood what Aventurine was aiming for.
Aventurine looked helpless. "I'm not sick. I just need Miss Acheron to slash me once, so I can achieve my objective."
He didn't want to die right now. Even if he held part of an Emanator of Preservation's authority, he still couldn't take an Emanator's strike head-on. Acheron would need to hold back.
"You want to use your death to pry open Penacony's door for the company, don't you?" Acheron said.
After thinking it over, she didn't particularly care about the politics.
"Of course. If one of the Ten Stonehearts dies here, it gives the company a very convenient excuse and a very convenient reason." Aventurine nodded.
"If you want our help, what kind of commission are you offering?" Koji asked.
If you wanted to hire an Emanator to act personally, ordinary things wouldn't even be worth looking at.
Aventurine fell silent.
Emanators were at the absolute top of the universe. Normal rewards really couldn't move them.
"Aventurine, do you know about the IX Organization?" Koji asked after a moment.
The company was enormous. It surely had some intel or leads.
Aventurine's expression grew heavy.
"I've heard of it. A very mysterious organization connected to Nihility. Even the company knows very little."
Who was in the IX Organization? How strong were they? No one knew.
But one thing could be guessed: their foundations couldn't be weak. Any force tied to the Aeon of Nihility wouldn't be some small-time outfit.
"Acheron can act. In exchange, we want whatever information the company has about the IX Organization. If you don't object, we have no problem with it," Koji said.
"I need to ask first." Aventurine didn't decide immediately.
That kind of intel was core-level. He needed to contact Jade.
Koji nodded. Now it depended on the company's sincerity.
You could hate corporate capitalists—but you couldn't underestimate what the company could do. After so many years of expansion, its foundations were frighteningly deep.
(End of Chapter)
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