The few remaining guards stormed toward Mina's location the moment news of Balrock's death spread.
"Where is the master?!" one of them barked, trying to sound alarmed. But their voices rang hollow—none of them truly cared. Their loyalty was to coin, not the man.
Mina put on her best mask of concern. "He's in the ballroom… It's horrible. He's barely even a corpse anymore."
A wave of unease passed through the hall. Everyone began playing their part in this grand charade—pretending to be loyal retainers of the Bluestone family, when in truth, most only stayed to avoid punishment or collect a paycheck.
The guards rushed off toward the ballroom, and the rest of the family was quickly alerted.
Balrock's mother, Luna, and his younger sister, Arura, came running in moments later. The sight of his mangled body dropped them to their knees. Their wails echoed through the mansion.
"My son!" Luna sobbed. "Who did this?! Tell me, you idiots! I'll kill them—I'll rip them apart!"
Mina instinctively stepped back, her body trembling under Luna's rage.
"You! Maid!" Luna shrieked, her bloodshot eyes locking onto Mina. "Did you see who it was?! Speak!"
Mina swallowed hard, heart pounding in her chest. "Y-Yes. It… it was that beast—the one that killed the guards earlier."
Arura stormed forward, grabbing Mina by the collar and yanking her close.
"Where did it go?! And how the hell did you survive when my brother didn't?! Are you working with that monster?!"
"I—I'm not!" Mina cried, her voice cracking. "I swear! I've never seen that thing in my life! I just hid and watched… Mr. Balrock fought it and injured it badly. It ran away!"
Arura's eyes narrowed with fury. With a harsh shove, she threw Mina to the ground.
"Get out!" she screamed. "Get out of my sight!"
Mina rushed back to Nova. She'd given the Bluestones enough to keep them distracted—for now, at least.
By the time she reached the servant quarters, Nova began to waking up.
"Ugh... man, my head..." he groaned, squinting. "Yo, Kan Sha—why isn't auto heal working ?"
Kan Sha's voice echoed sarcastically in his mind.
"Gee, no idea. Maybe it's because someone overloaded the system with so much rage we hit negative sanity?"
Nova scoffed. "Okay, but we lived, didn't we? Now, let's check the system."
Kan Sha let out a sigh. He couldn't be bothered to argue—truthfully, he was a little impressed.
"Rebooting the system... Initiating restoration protocol—#%^@&@%^!"
Strange words crackled through the air, sounding like echoes from some ancient, forgotten tongue. The room vibrated faintly as reality itself seemed to realign.
---
[MAD DOG SYSTEM: REBOOT COMPLETE.]
[ALL ABILITIES UNLOCKED.]
[ALL ARCANA ABILITIES AVAILABLE—INCLUDES PREVIOUS OWNERS' AND NEWLY INTEGRATED ONES.]
---
[NEW TRANSFORMATION UNLOCKED: MAD DOG KING FORM]
Nova blinked at the glowing text.
"Mad Dog King? Wait... is that the form I used against Balrock?"
---
[CONFIRMED.]
[LEVEL INCREASED DUE TO UNLOCKING 'MAD DOG KING' AND DEFEATING BOSS-LEVEL ENTITY: BALROCK.]
[NEW LEVEL: 10,000]
---
STATS UPDATED:
STRENGTH: 20,000
SPEED: 40,000
ENDURANCE: 60,000
HP: 250,000
ARCANA ENERGY: 500,000
ARCANA OUTPUT: 350,000
---
Nova broke into a coughing fit, nearly choking on air.
Kan Sha, still stunned, gawked at the numbers.
"Wait—wait, HOLD ON. How did that even happen?! How strong are we now?!"
The system replied in its ever-calm tone:
---
[MAD DOG KING FORM GRANTS A x100,000 EXP MULTIPLIER.]
[YOU ARE NOW STRONG ENOUGH TO FIGHT A CURSED EMBRYO NAKED—NO WEAPONS, NO ARMOR, NO ITEMS—AND STILL WIN.]
---
Kan Sha's spectral form flickered out of existence, his disembodied voice muttering in disbelief:
"I... I need a minute to process this level of plot armor..."
Just then, the door creaked open. Mina stepped in.
Her eyes widened at the sight of Nova awake and sitting upright. Relief washed over her, and before he could say a word, she rushed forward and threw her arms around him.
A single tear ran down her cheek as she whispered, "Nova... you're awake."
"Wait... who are you? And who's this Nova you keep talking about?" Nova asked, his voice flat and eyes distant.
Mina jolted back, her face turning bright red. "W-Wait! You're not Nova?! I thought—"
Before she could finish, Nova grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into his chest, a wide grin stretching across his face.
"Gotcha. I'm just messing with you," he chuckled.
Mina let out a deep sigh of relief, though her cheeks were still burning with embarrassment. "You jerk...!"
She shoved him back onto the bed with a huff, pouting. "Why would you do that? I seriously thought you were some random stranger!"
Nova laughed, loud and unbothered. "Hahaha—really? I don't look that different! I'm actually surprised you fell for it."
Mina crossed her arms. "Of course you look different! Your finger grew back, and after years of it being gone! You used to look like a walking skeleton, and now you're all... buff! And older, somehow!"
Nova smirked and flexed, striking a pose. "What can I say? I've been working out. You like?"
Mina gave him a blank stare. "Don't get a big head over it. Maybe get a little more meat on your bones before showing off."
Despite her deadpan tone, her eyes couldn't help but drift down to his newly toned chest. Not that she'd ever admit it.
Changing the subject quickly, she asked, "Anyway—seriously—what the hell happened? How did you transform into that beast? And your finger... how did it come back? What happened to Reginald?!"
Nova giggled and reached up, patting her head playfully. Her big mouse ears twitched as he moved them side to side.
"I'll tell you everything soon," he said. "But first... I've got one more thing to take care of."
His eyes darkened slightly, the playful energy simmering down into focus.
"Where are Luna and Arura?"
Edit ********
"Wait—why are you planning to fight them?!" Mina shouted, stepping in front of the door. "Look, I get it—you're strong now, really strong—but you just finished fighting Balrock and Iris! You should rest first—just for a bit, at least!"
She reached out, trying to hold him back, but Nova didn't even slow down. His eyes were locked forward, filled with unwavering intent. He had a one-track mind.
This family took everything from him. And now, it was their turn to lose.
He stopped for a moment—just long enough to pull Mina into a hug. His voice was gentle, but beneath it, something cold stirred.
"Shhh... just go to Nix," he whispered softly. "Tell her... she's going home today."
His words felt like a warm breeze brushing against her soul. They disarmed her in an instant. For the first time in years, Mina let her guard down. That simple warmth—comfort, real comfort—was foreign to her. Living in the Bluestone estate meant surviving behind a mask, but Nova's presence made that mask crack.
She moved to hug him back—only for her arms to close around empty air.
He was gone.
Vanished. So fast, it felt like he had teleported.
"W-What just happened...?" she breathed, placing a trembling hand to her chest.
---
In the ballroom, the guards were kneeling, carefully trying to collect the scattered, mutilated remains of Balrock's body.
Then the pieces ignited.
Without warning, blazing flames engulfed what was left—searing, consuming, leaving behind nothing but ash.
---
FIRE ARCANA: BLAZING INFERNO.
---
A pressure settled into the room like a curse.
Nova appeared in a blur of movement, black fur coat trailing behind him like a shadow. His eyes glowed with raw power, and his expression could kill.
The guards stumbled back in fear.
Luna fell to her knees, screaming in agony. "NO! My child! What did you do, you fool?!"
Nova didn't respond. His eyes were locked on her.
Arura stepped forward, seething. Her entire body shook—not with fear, but rage.
"You... you're that little runt Reginald always toyed with. Why are you here?! Where the hell is Reginald?!"
Nova cracked his neck slowly.
Then smiled.
A dangerous, maddening grin that sent shivers down every spine in the room.
"Dead," he said flatly. "Just like Balrock."
He stepped forward.
"Now it's your turn."
"Ha! Our turn?" Arura scoffed, stepping forward with a mocking smirk. "You actually expect us to believe you killed Reginald and Balrock? That's cute. Where's your little beast friend, huh? Too injured to crawl out of whatever hole he's hiding in?"
Nova said nothing. His grin didn't even waver.
Luna, however, had no time for games.
---
BLOOD MOON ARCANA: PURGATORY.
---
A blood-red serpent dragon, forged from spectral energy and dripping with malice, spiraled into existence behind her. Its jaws unhinged as it launched toward Nova like a cannonball, fangs bared.
WHAM!
With a single swing of his arm, Nova smacked the serpent aside like it was made of paper. The creature screeched, spiraled into the marble floor, and vanished in a puff of crimson mist.
Everyone froze.
"What… what just happened?" Luna stammered, eyes wide with disbelief. "You should be dead! That attack—it should've...!"
Nova took one step forward—then vanished.
Not a blink. Not a blur.
Gone.
Arura flinched. A cold chill crawled down her spine—then she felt his breath at her ear.
"I am the monster that killed them."
She whipped around, but he was already gone.
Luna screamed and reacted instantly, her hands outstretched toward the ceiling.
---
SKY ARCANA: SUPERNOVA CATACLYSMUS.
---
A brilliant orb of celestial energy formed in her palm, growing in size and mass until it became a miniature star. She hurled it at Nova with a howl of rage.
To Nova, the world slowed. The sphere of pure annihilation floated toward him in lazy motion.
He tilted his head.
"Hmm… should I move?"
Kan Sha's voice echoed inside his mind. "Nah."
BOOOOOOOM!
The explosion ripped through the ballroom, tearing apart walls, shattering the ceiling, and obliterating the chandelier in a rain of molten crystal. Dust and fire consumed the space.
When the smoke cleared, Nova stood in the epicenter.
Unmoved.
Untouched.
Not even a scratch.
---
[DEFENSE EXCEEDS THE POWER OF THE ATTACK SIGNIFICANTLY. 0 DAMAGE TAKEN.]
---
Nova wiped imaginary dust off his shoulder and smirked.
"HA! That all you got?"
His laughter echoed through the ruined hall, sounding less like a man—and more like a monster playing with its food.
Arura's hands trembled.
Luna's knees buckled.
They were starting to realize… they weren't facing a servant.
They were standing before something far worse.