Chapter 146: A little talk
"Hide. Hey. Hide!"
He didn’t hear her at first. The voice was distant, muffled behind the roaring static of his own mind. He was standing still on the sprawling, glass-paneled balcony of his twenty-eighth-floor hotel suite, his hands gripping the railing so tightly that the metal was beginning to groan under the pressure.
Below him stretched the glittering, hyper-futuristic expanse of Area 10, the crown jewel of Ufrifa. Because the entire metropolis was encased in that colossal, semi-translucent dark dome, the city didn’t adhere to the normal cycle of day and night. Instead, it was a perpetual, vibrant twilight. Massive holographic advertisements spanning fifty stories high floated gracefully between the spiraling chrome towers, casting neon hues of electric blue, magenta, and gold across the polished streets.
It was a city that never slept. Looking down, Hide could see the bustling arteries of the mega-city alive with movement. Anti-gravity transit trams shot through elevated magnetic tubes like glowing streaks of light, weaving seamlessly between massive, floating oasis gardens suspended by gravity engines. Thousands of people moved like tiny, colorful ants across the wide commercial promenades below, completely ignorant of the monsters that lurked just beyond the dome, and even more ignorant of the monsters standing right above them.
Hide stared at the glittering lights.
This place was even more developed than Area 5 of Varisus, the reason was simple, this place was a world wide trade center.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder and forcefully shook him.
Hide violently flinched. He spun around, his enhanced instincts flaring as a terrifying shudder ripped through his entire body. For a fraction of a second, his vision violently glitched. Standing in front of him wasn’t his teammate. It was the girl from the alley. Her throat was a ruined, jagged mess of crimson, her eyes wide with that same hollow terror, screaming that he was a monster.
Hide stumbled backward, his breath catching in his throat as he raised a trembling hand.
But then he blinked. The horrific hallucination shattered like glass.
Standing in front of him, her hand still reaching out where she had just grabbed his shoulder, was Sora. She was wearing casual clothes—a loose grey hoodie and dark athletic leggings—her dark hair tied up in a messy ponytail. She wasn’t bleeding. She wasn’t terrified. But she was looking at him with a deep, concerned frown, her sharp eyes scanning his pale face.
"You look like you just saw a ghost," Sora said, raising an eyebrow. "Do I look that bad?"
Hide stood frozen for a second, his heart hammering violently against his ribs. He forced his breathing to slow, forcefully commanding the swirling, chaotic dark mana in his Abyssal Core to settle down. He dragged a hand down his face, letting out a long, ragged sigh.
"No, it’s not like that," Hide said, his voice coming out a little rougher than he intended. He turned his gaze away, looking back toward the neon city. "I... my head hurts a little. Just tired, I guess."
Sora stepped up to the railing beside him, leaning her elbows against the cool titanium. Over the last two months of grueling, near-death combat in the volcanic island and the subsequent training hell Maddox had put them through, they had formed a genuine bond. They had watched each other bleed, covered each other’s blind spots, and survived. Sora knew Hide wasn’t just ’tired.’ The guy had the stamina more than any exterminator she had seen.
"You didn’t sleep at all, did you?" Sora asked, keeping her eyes fixed on a passing magnetic tram. "I saw your door was open when I walked past a few hours ago. You went out into the city."
"I needed some air," Hide replied flatly.
"In a desert?" Sora scoffed lightly, crossing her arms over her chest. She cast a sideways glance at him, noting the tension still lingering in his jaw. "Look. I don’t know what you were doing out there, and frankly, I don’t care. But the tournament officially starts in a few days. You are the vanguard of our assault formation, Volter. You can’t afford to be dragging your feet because you wanted to go sightseeing."
Hide let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "Worried about me, Sora?"
A sudden, fierce blush exploded across Sora’s cheeks. She immediately recoiled, her posture snapping perfectly straight as she glared at him.
"Hah? Worried? About you?!" Sora stammered, her voice pitching up defensively as she aggressively tossed her dark ponytail over her shoulder. "Don’t flatter yourself, you arrogant jerk! I’m worried about my own ranking! If you collapse in the middle of a synthetic biome because you didn’t sleep, it drags the whole team’s score down! I’m just looking out for my own career, obviously!"
Hide looked at her flustered, reddened face, and for the first time since he had stepped out of that alleyway, the suffocating weight in his chest lightened just a fraction. He offered a faint, genuine smirk. "Right. My mistake. I’ll make sure not to ruin your flawless record."
Sora gritted her teeth, realizing he was teasing her. She forcefully jammed her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, her face still burning. "Tch. Whatever. Just... don’t push yourself so hard, okay? You always try to carry everything by yourself." She muttered the last part so quietly it was almost lost to the ambient hum of the city. Before Hide could respond to the sudden vulnerability, she aggressively cleared her throat and spun on her heel toward the sliding glass doors.
"Anyway!" Sora snapped, completely flustered. "Claire called a meeting. Everyone is waiting in the main suite. Hurry up and get inside before Grand-uncle decides to penalize us."
With that, she practically sprinted off the balcony, the glass doors hissing shut behind her.
Hide stood alone in the cool, artificial breeze for a few minutes longer. The brief, normal interaction had grounded him. He looked down at his hands. They were clean. He had scrubbed them raw in the sink for twenty minutes until the water ran clear. He wasn’t a monster. He was an Exterminator. And right now, he had a team waiting for him.
Taking one last, deep breath, Hide turned and made his way back into the hotel, navigating the plush, carpeted hallways until he reached the opulent double doors of Claire’s executive suite.
He pushed the doors open.
The room was massive, featuring a sprawling lounge area centered around a colossal holographic tactical table. The entire squad was already there, scattered around the plush leather sofas. Gideon was stretching his massive arms. Rol was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking characteristically bored. Claire stood at the head of the tactical table, dressed in her crisp, dark NEA uniform.
But Hide immediately noticed two anomalies. Standing near the digital bar were two people who were definitely not part of their combat roster. They wore the sleek, silver-trimmed logistical uniforms of the National Exterminator Agency.
As Hide walked into the room, one of the two strangers—a lean, enthusiastic young man with short brown hair—immediately locked eyes with him. The man’s face lit up. He practically abandoned his drink, marching straight across the lounge to intercept Hide.
Before Hide could react, the man grabbed his hand and shook it with profound, overwhelming pride.
"Hide Volter. It is an absolute honor to finally meet you in person," the young man beamed, his voice practically vibrating with respect. "I saw the footage of what you did in Area 17. The way you completely dismantled the Vice Leader of the Green Horn Agency... it was a masterpiece. That corrupt bastard ruined my older brother’s Exterminator career three years ago over a contract dispute. Seeing him humiliated like that on a global feed... thank you. Seriously. You really are Black Justice."
Hide’s left eye violently twitched. He pulled his hand away, suppressing the urge to cringe. ’I am going to murder whoever coined that stupid name,’ Hide thought bitterly.
"Just Hide is fine," Hide replied dryly, quickly stepping past the man before the conversation could continue.
He walked over to the main seating area and dropped heavily into an empty leather armchair. From the sofa opposite him, Gideon grinned, tossing a cold, condensation-covered can of synthetic energy soda through the air. Hide caught it effortlessly with one hand, cracking the tab open and taking a long drink as the room settled down.
Claire clapped her hands together sharply, the crisp sound cutting through the low chatter and instantly commanding the room’s attention.
"Alright, settle down. We have a lot of ground to cover," Claire began, her piercing red eyes sweeping over the team. She gestured toward the enthusiastic young man and the quiet, stern-looking woman standing beside him. "First, introductions. These two are Kael and Lira. They are officially assigned to us as our dedicated Helpers and Logistics Officers for the duration of the World Exterminator Tournament."
Kael offered a bright salute, while Lira simply nodded.
"They will not be entering the combat with us," Claire explained. "Their job is entirely operational. They will secure our weapon repairs between rounds, manage our dietary and medical supplies, and act as our direct liaisons to the tournament organizers. If you need anything fixed, researched, or procured, you go to them."
Hide nodded slowly. Having dedicated support staff meant they wouldn’t have to waste energy scrounging for basic necessities in a foreign, unfamiliar mega-city. It was a massive tactical advantage.
But then, Claire’s posture shifted. The faint, professional warmth vanished from her face, replaced by the grim, suffocating intensity of a veteran Special Investigator. She tapped a command into the master console, and the colossal holographic table in the center of the room roared to life.
"Listen closely," Claire said, her voice dropping into a deadly serious register. "I will now explain how the Ranking system and mechanics of the Tournament will work."
