Chapter 90: Secrets That Must Not Be Heard

Chapter 90: Secrets That Must Not Be Heard

“W-What the hell is this?!”

Inside the vast, empty space of the underground drainage system, a werewolf Starbearer—one of the first to charge at Tendou—noticed something was wrong almost immediately and let out an incredulous growl.

His razor-sharp claws, capable of tearing through steel, suddenly froze in midair.

His towering, over-two-meter-tall muscular body was now like a toy being toyed with by a god, flying together with the inverted raindrops around him toward the ceiling of the drainage system in a way that blatantly violated the laws of physics.

“Awoooo—!”

Midair, the werewolf Starbearer let out a roar mixed with rage and terror.

Relying on the powerful flexibility and bodily coordination granted by his Gray Wolf, he adjusted his posture during the fall and ultimately landed steadily on the ceiling above everyone’s heads.

Now on all fours, his thick black fur stood on end as if electrified, like a lone wolf facing a deadly threat.

He stared intently at the seemingly fragile figure above him.

His dark red beastly pupils contracted into thin slits, his tension unmistakable.

You’ve got to be kidding me—since when could Vector Control have such a large area of influence at the First-Order stage?

Or was this guy’s Star Origin not [Vector Control] at all, as Benjamin claimed, but the top-tier Star Origin [Gravity Manipulation]?

Unable to make sense of it, the werewolf Starbearer felt his mind descend into chaos, unable to piece together any coherent explanation.

And he wasn’t the only one who couldn’t understand what was happening.

The other First-Order Association Starbearers near Tendou were equally bewildered.

So were the dimensional viewers watching on Crustyroll.

“Reversed gravity? That can’t be right. If I remember correctly, Vector Control can only affect objects within a 9-millimeter radius around the user. His coverage area is almost ten meters—this is definitely not ordinary Vector Control.”

“He’s cheating. Kingdou is definitely cheating!”

“Cheating? Kingdou clearly never turned it off.”

“It’s probably related to that special device on his forehead, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I think too.”

While the dimensional viewers were busy analyzing how Tendou’s abnormal [Vector Control] worked, the werewolf Starbearer on screen made his decision.

He raised his head, glaring viciously at Tendou directly above him.

At this moment, with him standing on the ceiling and Tendou standing on the ground below, it was as if they occupied two completely inverted worlds.

The composition created a bizarre, upside-down tableau.

“Die!”

On the ceiling, the werewolf Starbearer’s hind leg muscles bulged as he launched himself toward that slender figure with murderous resolve.

But just as his body left the surface, he caught sight of the mocking smile that had once again risen on Tendou’s face.

Immediately afterward, a calm voice—like the whisper of the Grim Reaper—reached the werewolf Starbearer’s ears.

“Vector… reversal.”

Boom!

With no time given for preparation, the sudden shift in gravity made the werewolf Starbearer feel the world spin violently.

Once again, the werewolf Starbearer experienced that horrifying sensation of his body slipping out of his control.

And this time, the experience was undoubtedly far more dangerous and far more lethal.

Bang!

Under the combined effects of the abruptly changing gravity and his own full-power leap, the werewolf Starbearer smashed headfirst into the ground, crashing heavily down right in front of Tendou.

The terrifying impact force smashed a crater nearly five meters wide into the solid concrete floor of the drainage system.

At the same time, feeling his internal organs churn violently, the werewolf Starbearer lying in the pit uncontrollably spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Pff—!”

Bright red blood sprayed from between the werewolf’s fangs, splashing into the remaining puddles on the ground and blooming into glaring crimson splatters.

However, before he could steady himself, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a finger pointing directly at him.

And hovering at that fingertip was a black sphere of energy radiating the aura of death.

Stellar Technique—Dark Grey.

Under Tendou’s emotionless gaze, the Dark Grey at his fingertip shot straight toward the werewolf Starbearer in the pit.

Staring at the black energy sphere rapidly expanding in his vision, a final thought surfaced in the werewolf Starbearer’s mind.

Is this kind of monster really just a First-Order Starbearer?

Bang!

As the projectile pierced through his skull, the terrifying centripetal force contained within Dark Grey caused the werewolf Starbearer’s head to vanish in the blink of an eye.

After disintegrating into clouds of blood-colored mist and mixing with the falling raindrops around it, it formed a dark crimson blood rain, strangely beautiful yet utterly horrifying.

Thud—!

As the headless werewolf body collapsed heavily to the ground, glaring blood flowed across the floor like a winding stream.

The entire underground drainage system fell into deathlike silence.

One minute.

From the moment Tendou first moved and instantly killed a Starbearer, to now—when he had slain the second—the total time that had passed was no more than a single minute.

And within that brief span, two First-Order Association Starbearers, figures admired in the outside world and far from weak—had died as easily as defenseless children in this mysterious stranger's hands.

What was even more shocking and suffocating was this—the one who accomplished all of this was a silver-haired boy who looked no older than fourteen.

This fact alone further intensified the terror gripping everyone present.

Everyone except Benjamin.

Having undergone an emotional severance procedure in childhood, he had long forgotten what fear was.

All that remained was the cold rationality and indifference of a perfectly functioning machine intelligence.

Benjamin’s mechanical pupils flickered with icy streams of data as he rapidly analyzed all the information he had gathered about Tendou so far.

And in a very short time, he arrived at a definitive conclusion.

“A star energy magnetic field, huh? It seems that thing on your head really is an excellent Star Origin amplification tool for you.”

Despite two Association Starbearers already dying at Tendou’s hands, Benjamin’s tone remained completely flat.

It’s as if their lives meant nothing to him at all.

And his analysis was correct.

The reason Tendou could break the current control-distance limitation of [Vector Control] lay at the core in the item he wore on his head—the Portable Quantum Core, and one of its special functions: the star energy magnetic field.

【Star Energy Magnetic Field: A special field that combines star energy with a machine-intelligence quantum magnetic field. It can increase the effective range of a Star Origin to a certain extent, but at the cost of significantly reducing the Star Origin’s effectiveness. (Current maximum field radius: 10 meters)】

A Portable Quantum Core worth 500,000 popularity points was expensive for a reason.

And although Benjamin had just exposed the secret behind Tendou’s gravity reversal—but Tendou wasn’t particularly surprised by this.

After all, from the very beginning, he had never intended to rely solely on so-called “gravity reversal” to deal with Benjamin.

“Go. His gravity field can no longer affect you.”

Benjamin looked at Tendou in the distance and coldly issued his order to the surviving members beside him.

However, upon hearing Benjamin’s command, none of the four remaining Association Starbearers stepped forward.

Because even without that bizarre gravity field, they hadn’t forgotten how the first Starbearer had died.

That man… had been sent off with a single palm strike from this stranger.

Get close to him?

If even the transformation-type werewolf Starbearer—who excelled at close combat—couldn’t do it, how could the few of them, mere Trait-Type and Controller-Type Starbearers, possibly manage it?

Seeing this, Tendou seemed to think of something and suddenly offered them a surprisingly kind reminder.

“Actually, you’d better do as he says.”

“Because if you don’t, you might end up dying at his hands before you ever die at mine—after all…”

As Benjamin’s pupils contracted, Tendou smiled and spoke the true reason he had come here.

“From the moment you stepped into this place, he never intended to let any of you walk out alive.”

“Because when it comes to matters concerning the Void Miraculous Stone, even if there’s only a one-in-ten-thousand chance—he still won’t allow any possibility of it being leaked.”

“And in this world, there’s nothing better at keeping secrets than a corpse.”

The moment Tendou said this, the atmosphere within the underground drainage space instantly became heavy, as if it had frozen solid.

And after his words, the four Association Starbearers stared at Benjamin in disbelief.

It was obvious that they knew exactly what this so-called “Miraculous Stone” was.

In response, Benjamin maintained his expressionless silence.

Yet, the killing intent revealed in his gaze was completely undisguised.

After all, these four ants had already heard a secret they were never meant to hear.

"Go!"

Without a moment of hesitation, one of the Branch Starbearers who had finally realized what was happening turned and sprinted toward the rear gate, his eyes filled with desperate yearning for survival.

Justice?

Benjamin’s true purpose in leading them had never been justice.

He had merely used that word—justice—to deceive them, borrowing their strength to achieve his own unspeakable goals.

Unfortunately, even though this Starbearer had finally pieced it all together, it was already too late for him to turn back.

Because just as he took his first step to flee, a sudden explosion erupted right at the center of his chest.

BOOM!

The unexpected blast caught the Starbearer completely off guard and instantly claimed the life he had so desperately tried to preserve.

In his final moments, the dying Starbearer turned his head in despair and stared back at the expressionless Benjamin behind him.

Because the thing that had exploded in his chest was none other than the Association insignia he always wore close to his heart.

At some unknown point in time, Benjamin had tampered with it.

The badge that was supposed to represent his identity and honor had now become the scythe of death, wielded by the very one who led them.

Thud

As the Starbearer’s corpse collapsed into the ankle-deep water on the ground, the remaining three Association Starbearers stood frozen.

Their minds went completely blank.

They didn’t know what to do—what to believe—anymore.

And witnessing this scene of total betrayal, the smile on Tendou’s face grew even brighter.

"Aren’t you the ones who pride yourselves on being just? And yet you don't even have the right to entrust your backs to one another."

"While we—the ones you've branded as evil—can believe in each other unconditionally."

"So then… could you tell me—"

"What is justice, really?"

"Because honestly—"

"I’m quite curious to know the answer myself."

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