Chapter 95: Orders to Stay

“Shit.”

It was fast.

The golden light descended from the clouds in a single, silent column. It made no sound, stirred no dust, but the air itself seemed to be still as it passed. It hit Jagger’s body, surrounding him in golden light that poured over him like liquid sunshine.

A myriad of notification panels exploded in front of him.

–

[All wounds have been healed!]

[All negative status effects have been cleansed!]

[You have leveled up! lvl 14 ↑]

[You have leveled up! lvl 15 ↑]

[You have leveled up! lvl 16 ↑]

[You have leveled up! lvl 17 ↑]

[1x Elite Rank gift box has been added to your inventory]

[3x mid-grade Health Potions have been added to your inventory]

[New title has been acquired: Herald Slayer]

–

Golden light flooded through every torn fiber of him.

The claw wounds vanished first. The shredded flesh along his side sealed in an instant, hot pain replaced by a tingling rush that spread through muscle, bone, and marrow. The ragged line across his neck closed next, then the deeper tears across his chest and back. Exhaustion bled out of him like something forcibly ripped away. His lungs filled cleanly. His heartbeat steadied. His vision sharpened.

Jagger sucked in a breath and sat up too fast, examining his body as the golden light vanished into him. The blood remained, staining his clothes and skin, but underneath, he was whole.

’How irritating,’ Ophilia murmured, her voice silk over steel. ’The heavens throw scraps, and mortals call it a blessing.’

“Hyeong-nim…” Jung breathed, staggering closer with wide eyes, the Scavenger Fang still clutched in his grip. “You… you’re healed.”

Abdul stopped dead a few feet away, sword half-lowered, his face locked in disbelief. “That is a true miracle.”

Nico stood frozen for a long moment before he finally let out a shaky breath. “I knew it,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “I knew you were some kind of cheat code.”

Jagger barely heard them.

His eyes were fixed on the glowing blue panel that still hovered in front of him. The words pulsed faintly, brighter than the others, as if demanding acknowledgment.

–

[Title: Herald Slayer]

A title bestowed upon hunters who have slain a Herald of Chaos. The ????????? Gods have recognized your feeble attempt.

Effects:

+ Damage dealt to all Heralds of Collapse +20%.

+ All Core Attributes +20% while engaging a Herald of Collapse.

+ Heralds of Collapse can instinctively sense your presence within a 100-meter distance.

+ Hostility and aggression from Heralds of Collapse are significantly increased when detected.

–

Jagger’s stomach tightened.

He read it again.

The bonuses were absurd. A flat twenty percent increase to damage and attributes against Heralds was a game-changer. But the last two lines sent a cold prickle down his spine.

“They can sense me from a hundred meters out,” he whispered. “Nothing can ever just be good.”

Ophilia’s voice slid through the back of his mind, dry and amused. ’Did you expect gifts without teeth? Power never comes without consequence, guardian angel. Be grateful. At least now the beasts will come to you instead of hiding.’

“No shit.”

He swiped the notification away with a flick of his wrist. That was when he heard the sound of heavy boots approaching.

“Oi. You.”

Jagger lifted his head.

The squad leader was already walking toward him.

Her rifle had dematerialized, leaving her hands empty, but somehow that only made her seem more dangerous. As she closed the distance, she touched the side of her helm. In the next instant, the dark tactical piece dissolved into motes of blue light, peeling away from her face and vanishing into the air.

Without it, her expression was fully visible.

She looked younger than her authority had suggested, but there was nothing soft about her. Her features were sharp and composed, every line set in rigid control, though anger cut clearly beneath it now. A thin trail of dried blood ran along one temple, and soot marked one side of her jaw, but neither made her look disheveled. If anything, it only made the cold, flinty calm in her face more striking. Her eyes were a piercing gray-blue, and they were locked entirely on Jagger.

She stopped in front of him.

For one second, she simply looked down at him, chest rising and falling in a controlled rhythm. Then she moved.

Her hand shot out and caught the front of his shirt in a brutal fistful. Jagger barely had time to register it before she hauled him half off the ground by the collar.

“Hyeong-nim!” Jung barked, taking an instinctive step forward.

“Don’t,” Abdul said immediately, grabbing Jung by the arm.

Nico froze where he stood, his eyes flicking from the woman’s grip to Jagger’s face.

The silver-haired Valkyrie had already risen from the rubble and was hurrying over, rifle held loosely at her side. The heavy gunner was helping Rhea to her feet. Rhea grimaced in pain, her cape torn and the abdominal plating of her armor dented inward, but she was standing.

“What the hell were you thinking?” the squad leader asked.

Her voice was low, dangerously controlled. Not a shout. Something worse. The kind of quiet that promised violence if pushed.

’Do it,’ Ophilia purred. ’Break her wrist. How dare she touch us.’

Jagger reacted on instinct.

“Get your hands off me!”

His hand shot up and locked around her wrist while his other palm slammed into her forearm, breaking the lift and forcing himself back onto his feet. He stumbled once, more from surprise than weakness, then straightened and shoved her grip away completely.

“What the hell is your problem?” he snapped.

Her eyes narrowed.

For a heartbeat, it looked like she might hit him.

Instead, the woman took a single deliberate step back, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

“You fucking stole our kill.”

“WHAT?” Jagger stared at her, almost laughing from sheer disbelief. “Stole your kill? I tried to help you. That thing was going to rip all of you apart.”

’Kill her,’ Ophilia said with quiet contempt. ’You save them, and they snarl at their savior.’

“Captain Ulna,” the silver-haired Valkyrie said, her tone calm but edged with warning. “Rhea’s condition is getting worse. We need to head back.”

Ulna’s head snapped toward her.

Rhea stood unsteadily beside the heavy gunner, one hand pressed tightly over the wound in her abdomen. Blood seeped between the plates of her armor, dark against the black suit beneath.

Jagger moved without another word.

He stepped past Ulna and headed straight toward Rhea, but Ulna shifted into his path again.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

“Doing what you should have done,” Jagger said, not slowing.

He moved around her before she could stop him and came to a halt in front of Rhea.

“Here.”

He pulled a mid-grade Health Potion from his inventory without hesitation. It was an ornate glass bottle with a round base and long neck, filled with a viscous red liquid that swirled with faint specks of golden light.

For a brief moment, Ophilia went silent.

Then, low and amused, she said, ’You are absurd. They threaten you, and you offer healing. What a nauseating creature you are.’

The heavy gunner stared as he held the potion out.

“That is a mid-grade health potion,” Ulna said, her voice tightening.

“Make her drink it.”

The heavy gunner looked from the potion to Ulna. After a brief pause, Ulna gave a stiff nod.

Rhea took the potion and downed it in one swallow. The effect was immediate. Soft green plus signs rose from her body as the bleeding stopped. She exhaled long and slow, the tension in her shoulders easing as the pain dulled.

“Thank you,” Rhea said, her voice strained but sincere.

The heavy gunner’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked back at Jagger. “Why would you give us something that rare?”

Jagger’s gaze moved over the four women. The silence stretched. He could feel the suspicion in them, the calculation, the distrust.

Then he asked, “Who are you, people?”

He gestured toward their armor, their weapons, their bearing.

“The guns, the armor… I haven’t seen anything like it.”

Ulna finally stepped forward again.

“We are Valkyrie,” she said. “A special force operating under the direct command of the new Singaporean government.”

“Wait, really?” Jung said, taking a step closer. “I thought the government was gone.”

Ulna’s gaze shifted to him for only a second before returning to Jagger.

“The old government is gone,” she said. “The people at the top are dead, missing, or irrelevant. Lieutenant-General Adriana Tan assumed emergency authority the moment the chain of command collapsed. Mission Control is active. Military remnants, surviving police, civil defense, and awakened personnel have all been folded under provisional command. That is the government now.”

The street fell quiet around those words.

Behind them, the store’s remains continued to smolder, the walls and ceiling collapsing inward in bursts of sparks and ash.

Abdul blinked, still breathing hard from the fight. “So… there’s actually somewhere safe?”

Ulna’s expression didn’t soften. “Safe is a generous word. Defensible is more accurate.”

Nico let out a weak, disbelieving laugh. “I’ll take that.”

Abdul lowered his sword slightly, some of the tension leaving his shoulders for the first time since the werewolf appeared. “Then people made it. Organized people.”

“Enough of them to matter,” Ulna said.

A ping in her comms cut her off.

“Valkyrie-1, this is Mission Control. Status update. Please respond.”

Ulna’s posture straightened on instinct. “Mission Control, this is Valkyrie-1. Herald has been neutralized. Squad is operational but injured. We have encountered hunters on site.”

Static crackled briefly before the cool, professional woman’s voice returned.

“Copy that, Valkyrie-1. Hunters… are any of them hostile?”

Ulna’s eyes met Jagger’s.

“Negative,” she said, a little too quickly. “But uncooperative.”

’Kill this bitch and slit her throat,’ Ophilia said, her voice dripping with malice.

Jagger didn’t let the comment show.

“Understood, Valkyrie-1,” Mission Control replied. “A full squad has been dispatched to your location to secure the Herald carcass and assess the situation. Maintain your position. Do not leave the site. I repeat, maintain your position.”

“Copy,” Ulna said, jaw tightening.

The comms clicked silent.

“Uncooperative?” Jagger muttered. “Ungrateful is more like it.”

He turned, scanning the street one last time. Smoke still drifted along the road, and the scent of blood remained heavy in the air. In the distance, the sound of other creatures stirred.

“Let’s move. More monsters will come this way.”

He had barely taken a step when Ulna moved in front of him again.

“I have orders for you to stay with us,” she said.

–

[Time remaining: 18 hours, 30 minutes, 24 seconds]

[Targets Remaining: 40]

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