The smoke thinned, leaving behind scorched terrain and sparking glitch residue. Kamaki flexed dramatically beside the crater he made, Felicia sat cross-legged on a floating ember, munching on a protein bar like nothing happened.
Tyrone wiped ash off his coat, sighing.
Tyrone: "Man, I knew we signed up for a live simulation. Didn't think we'd be running anti-virus duty."
Lihanna sheathed her nodachi, flicking some digital gunk off her shoulder.
Lihanna: "To be fair, you did provoke it with that uninstall joke."
Tyrone: "Hey, I stand by it. That thing looked like someone shoved a USB stick into a demigod's spleen."
Lihanna chuckled—just a small one.
Lihanna: "Still… That wasn't just a simulation glitch. Parasites from the Dynasty don't just wander into firewalls. Someone let it in."
Tyrone's expression tightened.
Tyrone: "Yeah. Or something guided it."
He glanced toward the fading distortion where the parasite had first appeared.
Tyrone: "It knew how to mimic us. You saw how it adapted—like it'd been watching."
Lihanna: "It was watching. Studying."
(She looked at her blade, faint ripples still dancing across the steel)
"And if one got through…"
Tyrone: "…there are more."
They both fell quiet.
Then—
Kamaki (yelling in the background): "DO YOU GUYS THINK I CAN PATENT THAT UPPERCUT?! LIKE—AS A FINISHING MOVE?"
Felicia: "You'd need a lawyer first, muscle brain."
Lihanna and Tyrone exchanged glances.
Tyrone: (Cracking a grin) "We should probably get them out before Kamaki starts naming his attacks after himself."
Lihanna: "Already too late. He's calling it the 'Kamakaze™'."
Tyrone: "…We are not surviving this tournament, are we?"
Lihanna smiled as she walked ahead.
Lihanna: "Only if the next bug doesn't copyright our moves."
Tyrone followed, muttering to himself.
Tyrone: "I swear if I get eaten by something that looks like my reflection again, I'm suing the devs."
⸻ [Simulation Exit Gate – Cooling Down] ⸻
As the party moved toward the glowing exit, the last of the glitched terrain melted into static behind them. Lihanna slid her nodachi back into its custom sheath, the long blade humming with residual pressure.
Tyrone glanced at it, still a little breathless.
Tyrone: "You swing that thing like it's a feather. Remind me never to be on the wrong end of it."
Lihanna: (Shrugging casually) "You survived it once. That's more than most."
Tyrone: (Grinning) "Oh, is that your way of saying you're impressed?"
Lihanna: (Half-smile) "Maybe I was just holding back."
Tyrone mock-clutched his chest.
Tyrone: "Damn. I got humbled and flirted with in the same sentence."
Lihanna: "You'll live. Barely."
⸻
Felicia: (Appearing beside them) "Not to interrupt this adorable trauma bonding, but that glitch-thing mimicked Kazimir's pressure for a second. You both felt it, right?"
Lihanna's nodachi pulsed slightly in its sheath, a ripple of water-like energy spilling off the hilt.
Lihanna: "It did. But not perfectly. It was like… a corrupted echo. Like someone downloaded Kazimir's soul at 144p."
Tyrone: (Snorts) "Bootleg Kazimir."
Kamaki: (Jogging up, still smoking slightly) "That thing fought dirty. My spine is permanently backwards."
Tyrone: "Sounds like a you problem."
Kamaki: "It bit my aura, Tyrone! That's identity theft!"
Felicia: "If I get haunted by a malware spirit, I'm blaming all of you."
Lihanna stepped ahead, nodachi in hand.
Lihanna: "Whatever it was, it won't be the last. Parasites don't break through for fun. They follow signals."
Tyrone looked at her.
Tyrone: "…You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Lihanna: (Quietly) "Someone's signaling back."
They stared at the flickering simulation screen one last time.
[Monster Dynasty Parasite: Threat Class-R / Realm Signature Detected: Active Pulse → Eastern Sector]
Felicia: "Guess we're heading east."
Kamaki: "Do I get a nap first?"
Tyrone: (Walking forward) "Only if you snore quietly."
Lihanna gave her nodachi one last glance—then followed, eyes narrowed.
Lihanna: "Next time… I won't be holding back."