After the meal, Empty City calmly bid farewell to everyone. He vanished like a gentle breeze, as if he’d never been there.

About ten minutes later, he arrived at the rest area outside the combat chamber. There, he saw Mira alone.

The petite girl who cursed fiercely and radiated confidence before strangers. The same girl who seemed fragile and sweet around him. If the real Mira stood here, she’d likely act identical. Night Zero saw no difference. Those so-called S-rank heroes saw nothing amiss either. But Empty City was different. From the first glance, he sensed that familiar aura—the one that could drive him to madness and slaughter.

For Night Zero’s sake. For his student’s sake. He’d held back. He’d even pretended not to know her. But now… he couldn’t restrain himself anymore.

She hadn’t come to recruit him against the Apostles. She hadn’t come to arrest him. She was here purely for him. To kill him. Or to witness his helpless despair.

“Empty City… brother~?”

Mira dropped her crossed legs and skipped toward him, surprised. If it were the real Mira—the one he’d never met—she might’ve moved just like this. Everything else felt true: her rescue story, her personality, even her lonely moments. But the core of her being was a lie.

“You… how long will you keep this act up, Michelle Castella?”

His icy voice made Mira shudder. His pitch-black pupils, sharp enough to devour stars, locked onto her. She froze mid-step. The strongest hero known as Mira shed her mask.

She laughed maniacally, her grotesque mouth splitting wide. “AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

The empty afternoon arena echoed with her unrestrained cackles. “When did you realize? Or… could someone like you actually notice?” Her gaze turned glacial.

“From the moment I saw you. You’ve always been flawless at imitation. Terrifyingly perfect at replication.”

“Then why not kill me immediately?”

As she spoke, Mira’s form shifted. Her petite frame—barely reaching his waist—swelled violently. A monstrous aura erupted. She grew to three meters tall, her massive breasts straining against the ceiling. Jet-black hair stood like spears behind her. Blood-red pupils glowed with vampiric killing intent. A soft exhale from her bewitching lips released a sweet, intoxicating scent.

Empty City stood unfazed. “Hiding your ugliness by copying others’ bodies forever? Is this truly your limit?” He smirked, calm yet cruel. Then—a tsunami of ferocious aura surged from him. Nothing changed visibly. He stood as before. But the air thickened with endless killing intent. A suffocating pressure filled the space.

Michelle gasped in shock. “So… you have nothing left to protect? Will you kill me here? Or… do you still want to shield that Fox Maiden?”

Empty City stayed silent. His mind drifted back five years—to memories he’d buried.

Back then, Empty City had awakened his boundless Meta Ability. His sister, White Sunflower, had gained hers too: healing power surpassing all technology. A touch from her hands erased any illness. Though it drained her, they’d vowed to save humanity together.

Then came that day. Black ice flowers fell again. But these Apostles were smarter. Far stronger. They toyed with fourteen-year-old Empty City—powerful yet still a child at heart. Their weapon was imitation.

While he hunted Apostles, they raided the rear base. They captured White Sunflower. To rescue her, he charged into their trap. Familiar faces surrounded him: high school classmates, teachers, even his dead parents. They wielded bloodied blades and scythes, charging like zombies. He realized instantly—their goal was to break him through human bonds.

Slaughter. Slash.

Watching his “father” die. Watching “classmates” fall. His heart sank into a quagmire of rage. He butchered them all, unstoppable. Then Michelle appeared—wearing White Sunflower’s face. She taunted him with vile words. She stripped naked, flaunting a body identical to his sister’s.

Unforgivable. He’d never let anyone desecrate her likeness.

He chased Michelle madly, trampling corpses. Inside a wooden hut, a girl huddled in the corner. Lips blue. Trembling violently.

“Trying to fool me with my sister’s face?” Empty City growled. His bloodstained fist and frozen glare screamed one command:

Kill her!!

This isn’t my sister! This is an Apostle! A monster bent on human destruction!

His slaughter-crazed mind lost all reason. That killing intent drowned White Sunflower in despair.

His fist swung. It smashed into her face.

Blood trickled from her lips—a sight he’d never forget. She collapsed in a crimson pool, smiling gently. “I won’t blame you, brother… I knew you’d see through it…” What else did she say? His mind went blank. Slaughter consumed him.

Then came the arrogant laughter. The sound that shattered his soul.

He defeated the Apostle later. But his split-second distraction to save White Sunflower let Michelle escape. That night’s horror was etched into his bones. Unforgivable. Even after his sister survived.

Five and a half years had passed since then.

No one expected the vanished Apostles to return.