The moment the crimson fireball descended, the world seemed to freeze.
Air solidified.
Time stretched infinitely.
Even the senses dulled to a crawl.
Then, in the next heartbeat—
A blinding flash erupted, splitting the silence apart with a shriek so sharp it could pierce the soul.
The earth convulsed as though struck by a divine hammer, letting out a desperate wail that echoed deep within every living thing.
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Then came the storm of shattered debris — rocks and dirt blasted outward by the titanic impact, tearing apart the ground and forest alike.
An invisible shockwave, traveling faster than sound, ripped across the landscape, sweeping everything into its wake.
"Oh my God—Damon! You're my eternal deity!"
Madison's jaw dropped so wide you could've fit an egg in it.
"You could've at least told me you could summon a meteor big enough to wipe out a city!"
Damon, ever modest, replied,
"Wrong. It's just a small town."
Tommy scrambled on all fours into the house, shouting without looking back,
"Don't just stand there! The shockwave's coming!"
Madison didn't move.
Maria wanted to, but seeing Madison stand her ground, she stayed as well.
Meanwhile, Yurenka and her mother Jenny had been knocked to the ground by the quake, Jenny landing hard on her backside with a pained yelp.
Yurenka, protected in her mother's arms, wasn't hurt — just staring blankly toward the fiery distance.
Madison's earlier words echoed endlessly in her mind.
That meteor… was summoned by that man?
Even though they were over ten kilometers from the impact site, it wasn't a safe distance.
A single piece of debris, moving at supersonic speed, could shred them all into ribbons.
Damon raised his hand.
A jagged ridge of rock burst from the ground before them, ten meters tall.
A faint brownish-yellow shield shimmered around Damon, Madison, and Maria — the Earth Shield.
The shield couldn't block a nuclear-level blast, of course,
but after the shockwave's strength had been diluted by miles of forest, its power was no longer lethal.
"Bro—no, Boss! Mind giving me one of those shields too?"
Tommy poked his head out, trying his best to sound friendly.
His earlier arrogance had completely vanished.
Damon shook his head.
"Can't. The shield only protects those who completely trust me."
Tommy hesitated, suspicious—but then noticed Yurenka and her mother weren't shielded either.
Maybe Damon was telling the truth.
He dove into the cellar and slammed the door shut.
Nearby, Yurenka helped her pale-faced mother to her feet.
Jenny's long white dress had torn at the hem, dragging along the ground.
Yurenka knelt and gently tore off the frayed part to help her move easier, revealing her mother's smooth white calf — and a hint of her thigh.
Jenny gasped softly, biting her lip as she cast a shy, lingering glance at Damon.
"Handsome mister… could you please help us too?"
Yurenka blinked up at him with pitiful, wide eyes.
Madison rolled her eyes toward the explosion site.
She could tell immediately — Jenny was nothing more than a living blow-up doll.
Plaything material, not competition.
That kind of cheap flirtation didn't even register on her radar.
Damon actually wanted to send them into the cellar with Tommy.
Jenny might be beautiful, but he wasn't interested in other people's leftovers.
Even if he liked mature women, he preferred to train his own.
He could always create the "model" he wanted.
Yurenka, sensing his reluctance, lowered her head and spoke weakly:
"Big brother, please… I don't care if I die, but my mom's had it so hard…"
"Ever since she adopted me, she's been working three jobs just to keep us alive. She's never had a life of her own."
"I don't want her to die like this — before she ever gets to live."
As Yurenka spoke, Jenny's expression dimmed perfectly on cue — her moist eyes losing all light, as if her soul itself were fading.
She held her daughter tightly, staggering toward the house.
Maria's heart softened immediately.
"Can we… help them?" she asked, glancing at Damon.
"They're pitiful."
Yurenka smiled faintly at her.
"Thank you, pretty sister. If big brother truly can't help, that's okay."
"Even that old man went to hide in the cellar, didn't he?"
She turned back to Damon, eyes earnest.
"But… if we survive, I hope one day we can be people you truly trust."
"I won't live long anyway. The doctors say I won't make it to eighteen."
"I just want my mom to have someone reliable to depend on before I go."
Her words hit a soft spot.
Even Damon felt a flicker of pity — and a dangerous warmth.
Jenny's delicate, submissive posture didn't help either.
It made one want to throw her down and—
Madison's eyes narrowed.
She didn't care about Jenny, but Yurenka… that girl was strange.
Too calm. Too aware. Too perfectly manipulative.
A little monster in disguise.
Maria didn't notice. To her, they were just unfortunate victims.
Damon exhaled. "Fine. Stay inside."
He raised a hand toward the distance.
"Triple Rashōmon!"
The earth split apart like torn fabric, web-like cracks spreading hundreds of meters wide as the ground boiled violently.
Three pillars of purple miasma erupted skyward, laced with sulfur and blood-metal tang, dyeing the heavens a sinister red.
The air itself screamed.
—BOOM!
Three massive gates rose from the depths, each towering hundreds of meters tall, like mountains dragging their way out of hell.
It was Orochimaru's signature defense technique, capable of blocking even a Tailed Beast Bomb.
After digesting the meteor's residual energy, Damon had swapped out one of his skills for Radiant Aura — a passive that hastened energy recovery.
With what he'd regained, he could barely manifest a three-layer Rashōmon.
More than enough to stop the incoming wave.
The shockwave slammed into the first gate head-on.
From above, it looked as though a hurricane had hit a wall — and lost.
But the second wave followed instantly, and the first Rashōmon crumbled under the strain.
Fortunately, its sacrifice had bled the shockwave's power dry.
The second gate trembled slightly — then the world fell silent.
Elsewhere, though, the shockwave still ravaged the landscape, annihilating millions of creatures and trees in every direction.
Yurenka's eyes sparkled, glued to Damon's figure.
So strong. So cool. So goddamn handsome.
She had only wanted to entrust her mother to a trustworthy man before dying…
But now, Damon's godlike silhouette had broken into her tiny world, shattering her limits.
From this day on, she realized—
No man would ever measure up again.
Perhaps it was contagious, because Jenny's gaze also turned sticky and glistening, her eyes shimmering like they could drip water at any moment.
Madison turned away, sighing.
So what if Yurenka was a little witch?
She was ten. No real threat.
As for her mother… a toy at best.
Her real concern was elsewhere.
"Is Jason dead?"
Damon was wondering the same.
Until finally—
[Anomalous Entity: Jason — Confirmed Dead. Recording… Successful. Gained 3,000 Anomaly Points.]
[Map Editor System upgraded to Version 1.9. Current Anomaly Points: 900/1000 (Tommy's earlier unrecorded points have been added).]
[Note: Standard Jason is worth 300 points.]