“Another day, another attack.” Gemini deactivated his Skill, and the blade of energy he was holding vanished, sending droplets of blood onto the ground. The dripping streaks of red tainted his vision with a fell crimson for a moment, before the Constellation shook his head gently.

He’d just killed another Paragon-level primal demon, permanently. The madness that had attempted to consume him, however, had been repressed by the existence of the true Champion Support System within him, leaving behind a touch of sorrow that Gemini forcibly repressed. Given enough time, the CSS was nothing short of a panacea for all ailments and injuries — and as a way for him grow stronger.

“Level thirty-six.” Gemini was somewhat curious if hitting level one hundred would make him a Demigod, but given that his level only increased by killing Exemplars or Paragons, it was an experiment that wouldn’t be completed for a long time.

Shaking his head, he prepared to bombard to the lower levels of the battlefield, where a horde of primal demons had been pinned down by incredible amounts of suppressive fire. Hundreds of blasts rocked the cratered, rocky ground, blasting whatever demons that had been there into oblivion.

The stragglers began to retreat, but the feeling of unease that had plagued Gemini from the moment he woke up was still in him. It was as though as something very important to him, something vital to his very survival, was under threat…and this feeling wasn’t just restricted to him alone. The citizens of Ark City he’d seen earlier had the same distressed expression on his face, and some of the children were on a verge of an emotional breakdown.

As he returned to the city, the same expression was still on their faces. The defenders on the walls couldn’t bring themselves to cheer for their victory; and Gemini could understand why. It just felt…odd.

“What on Earth is going on?” Gemini asked, as he walked towards Senator Harlinder, who was chatting with Senator Guo Ming. “Why is everyone feeling this?”

“You’re asking the wrong person, Paragon.” She placed her hands on her chest, a motion that Gemini’s vision lingered on for a second too long before looking back up at her face.

“Senator, you too?” Gemini shook his head. “Unbelievable. What is going on here? Why is everyone feeling on edge?”

“What edge?” A sweet voice whispered in Gemini’s ear, before two hands covered his eyes.

“Lila?”

“Yes?”

“What did I tell you about sneaking up on me?”

“It’s a…bad idea?”

“Yes.” A warm sensation assailed his back as Lila removed her hands from his eyes. Gemini turned to face Lila, who had a beaming smile on her face.

“Welcome back.”

“I’m back.” Gemini smiled. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the two senators mimic the act of vomiting, and he suddenly felt an urge to conduct an emergency training for the Lords of Ark City this coming afternoon. Being single didn’t confer them the right to poke fun at couples, especially if one of them was a direct superior on paper.

“Anyway,” said Lila, “I heard you mention something about an edge. Is it related to why everyone looks so worried today?”

A thunderbolt ran through Gemini’s mind, and he looked at the other senators, whose eyes were alight with a sudden realisation. Choosing his words carefully, Gemini said, “You don’t feel anything?”

Lila looked upwards. “A bit of worry, as usual. Whenever you go out to fight, I…”

Her words trailed away, and Gemini felt his heart clench. It was a reminder to him that his life…wasn’t just his alone anymore. There were others that would grieve if he died.

And yet, should he be allowed to feel this happy, considering all the sins he carried? Only when Lila came into his life did he start thinking this way — and every time he did that, he would discover that his resolve to die had weakened. Once, he’d thought of throwing himself into battle to protect Ark City until his dying breath, but now…

Gemini slapped his cheeks lightly, breaking away from that chain of thought. Lila and the others looked at him curiously, forcing Gemini to make some random excuse for that sudden action.

But if Lila wasn’t feeling any anxiousness or worry, then it had to be something to do with the Five Lands. Either that, or the Demon God was up to something. Clearly, the two senators had arrived at that conclusion as well, although their constant acts of dry-heaving were beginning to make Gemini take the notion of afternoon training seriously.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to get killed out there,” said Gemini. “After all…”

He glared at the two senators, who were acting like children, and bared his teeth.

Lila, who was also looking at them, asked, “Is something wrong with them? Are they not feeling well?”

“Yes,” Gemini replied. “I think their lunch was spoilt or something. Therefore, I’ll be having special, one-on-one training with them to encourage their bodies to expel the spoilt food through their mouths.”

“What?”

“Wait, wait, we were—”

“Say no more,” Gemini replied. “You need special training. Your bodies are telling me that. Look at you! All unwilling to throw up. You shouldn’t defy your bodily instincts like that.”

The two senators took a step back, but before they could run, Gemini had wrapped them up in a nice layer of qi. The construction was deliberately made for maximum discomfort, and after swirling them a few times around their very own little bubbles, Gemini willed them to follow him to the nearest arena.

Lila tagged along, her eyes alight with curiosity.