The screen cut to a different feed. The camera framed a cluttered lab crowded with humming machines and shelves of glass vials. A thin, gaunt man in a stained lab coat stood front and center. His hair was a wild halo around a face that smiled too much.

A placard flashed on screen: Scientific Community.

Below it, a smaller caption named him. Dr. Elias Roht, evolutionary mage-biologist.

Luna paused mid–popcorn, brow raised. "Isn't that the lunatic from the Bastet Q&A? He tried to turn the whole panel into a grant pitch about monster symbiosis or something and nearly spent the budget asking his dumb hypothetical questions. The higher-ups had to yank the budget out of his hands, or he singlehandedly would've made us billionaires. How unlucky…"

Bastet released a rare giggle. "Yeah, I remember. He was raving about 'The dawn of the age: Symbiotic Monster Romance Evolution!' or something like that. Basically, he wants to know how to breed monster girls."

The tanned felinid found it so funny that she kept giggling for the next minute.

Aria's eyes, instead of laughing along, darkened. She looked toward Kaiden while her fingers tightened around his hand. "Do you think he is behind those masked men?" she asked quietly. "Could he be the one who sent them after us?"

Nyx made a small noise, part scoff, part thoughtful hum. "I doubt it. This type of scientist is exactly the one Kai was worried about. The kind who would strap people to a table to study them. He would want specimens alive, not dead. The masked killers we faced were trying to murder, not capture. That smells like some big enemy of the state, like China or India, trying to get rid of us because we kept ignoring them. They'd much rather have us dead than in the hands of the USA."

But then the gorgeous pink-haired Valkyrie thought a bit more and corrected herself. "Or rather, it could be a radical group that hired them to erase witnesses. Maybe some smaller, desperate faction testing dirty tactics rather than a strong nation doing this outright, because if it were China or India, then the awakened they hired for the job would've been stronger… Probably…"

"Maybe they underestimated us. It could still be a major nation. If it were a couple of days ago, these guys would've been more than enough for the job," Luna replied. "We kept our new powers hidden until today, so no one knew what to expect. Instead, what I'm concerned about is how they knew we'd go to that dungeon… Either someone in Runewoven or the government itself leaked our information, I'm afraid."

Aria listened, accepting the logic. She let out a breath. "We'll deal with that later. Let's focus on the crazy scientist guy. He looks like he has something worthwhile to say for once. And, just for the record, I still do not like him," she murmured.

"You're not alone, yandere bestie," Nyx giggled, but her eyes stayed on the screen.

The interviewer adjusted her earpiece and gave a polite smile, although the strain was evident in her eyes. "Doctor Roht, the management of the Global Scientific Community has asked you here today to share what you know about the recent events. The world is understandably shaken."

Roht gave a visible sigh, pinched the bridge of his nose, and leaned forward as if the chair itself irritated him. "Yes, yes. We have collected data, we have run some preliminary tests, and those money–grubbing barnacles- ehem, I meant management, wants me to sit here and spoon-feed the public crumbs because it will be good for ratings- ehem, I meant that they feel it's the sacred duty of the Global Scientific Community to keep the dumb sheep- ehem, I mean the general public updated and aware of the ongoings."

His lips twitched as though the words soured his mouth. "I assure you, every second I sit here is a second stolen from actual work being done. I should be in my lab, not in front of a camera. Ehem, what I meant to say is-"

The interviewer cut the madman off before he could make things even worse. "Yes, I understand. Thank you, Doctor Roht."

She then looked around with visible discomfort, as if waiting for someone to interrupt the interview or at least drag this man away from the microphone. No one did, so she cleared her throat and pressed forward. "Then… could you elaborate on your findings, Doctor?"

Before Roht could answer, Luna nearly choked on her popcorn and burst into laughter. She jabbed a finger at the screen. "Wait! Are his legs chained to the chair? Oh my god, they had to keep this nerd locked down or he'd run away!"

Everyone looked more closely. The camera had not been framed to show it, but the angle shifted just enough to reveal gleaming restraints looped around Roht's ankles, etched with suppressing runes. Mana-sapping chains.

Roht, this absolute madman, somehow felt many eyes landing on his ankle. "Yes! Yes! I am chained, for they apparently need ratings more than answers. But do not think for a second these chains change the truth of my research! Listen well, dumb sheep, for I am about to enlighten you!"

The interviewer hesitated for a second time, but Roht barreled on. Words kept tumbling from his lips with manic energy.

"The woman's voice—the one heard across the entire planet—has no scientific explanation I can offer. None. It should not be possible. The most charitable assumption is that she employed magic on a scale we cannot replicate or used an artifact beyond anything we have catalogued. But these are only theories, pale guesses. What matters is the consequences of her announcement."

He leaned forward, chains clinking, eyes wild with fervor. "The dungeon breaks. We observed a pattern. A rule. The fresh dungeons, those less than twenty-four hours old, remained untouched. Not one has broken. We are building a model to determine whether the cutoff is precisely twenty-four hours or slightly beyond, but we can say this with certainty: no new dungeon collapsed today. That is not a chance with the data sample we have acquired. That is the law."

The interviewer, caught off guard, asked, "And… what does that mean?"

Roht's smile stretched thin, manic, as he ignored her and spoke directly to the camera. "It means someone or something is dictating the terms. The rules of this calamity are not blind. They are deliberate. And that, pitiful sheep, should frighten you more than the monsters feasting on your loved ones."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.