My System Doesn't Give Power

Chapter 55: What Happened? Armani Happened!

An armored jeep with the association symbol sped through the streets toward the harbor.

Five variants, including the driver, sat inside. One of them glanced at his watch and sighed. "How much longer?"

The driver looked ahead and said. "We’re almost there." But his expression suddenly changed. "Actually..."

"What?"

"Look for yourselves."

The jeep came to a halt, and everyone stepped outside. The moment they saw the harbor prison, they became speechless.

"What the hell happened here?"

One of them rubbed his eyes. "Wasn’t there supposed to be a prison here?"

Another looked at the massive crater and the ruined remains of the building. "It looks like a hurricane and an earthquake hit it at the same time."

Their eyes quickly landed on a familiar figure standing among the wreckage. "Wait. Isn’t that Captain Benedict?"

"Yeah, that’s definitely him."

"Man, he looks wrecked."

"Shut up." One of his teammates elbowed him. "He’s still a captain."

"Right. Sorry." The group quickly approached Benedict and saluted him, "Captain!"

Benedict looked up. "Sir, we’re from the Association. We were ordered to retrieve two illegally entered terrorists."

For a moment, Benedict simply stared at them. "They were gone, and they are not cultists, just two newly recruited students."

The group blinked in confusion. "Gone? Students?"

"They aren’t here anymore. You can all return."

The five of them exchanged confused glances before turning around. Just as they were about to leave, one of them couldn’t resist his curiosity.

"Sir? If you don’t mind me asking...What exactly happened here?"

For several seconds, Benedict remained silent. free𝑤ebnovel.com

"Armani happened."

The moment they heard the name "Armani," their bodies jerked. Their faces turned pale, remembering all the stories they had heard about her.

Without saying another word, they sprinted toward the jeep, and within seconds, the vehicle disappeared into the distance.

The entire sequence happened so quickly that Benedict almost laughed.

Watching this, a young man from Benedict’s team approached him.

"Sir?"

"What is it, Kevin?"

Kevin hesitated for a bit but still asked. "There is something I’ve never understood."

Benedict raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"Why does everyone seem so terrified of her? I know she’s strong, but..."

Kevin looked toward the ruined prison. "That reaction seems a little excessive."

Benedict stared at him for a moment. Then he shook his head. "You’re still young."

Kevin immediately felt offended. "Sir, I’m twenty-six."

"So? You just finished your academy, there is a lot for you to see and learn in this world."

Benedict pointed toward the blood stains scattered around the prison ruins. "Did you see the blood covering her body?"

"Yes. But I don’t think it was hers."

"You are right it belonged to a beast and not just any beast. The amount of ’True Mana’ contained within that blood was overwhelming."

"I felt it simply by standing near her."

Kevin’s eyes widened. "True Mana?"

"That’s right. And do you know at what rank Variants begin cultivating True Mana?"

"S-Rank."

Benedict nodded. "Exactly."

Then Kevin slowly realized what that implied. "You mean..."

"Yes! She must have killed an S-Rank beast before coming here?"

Kevin immediately shook his head. "That’s impossible. It usually takes multiple S-Rank variants working together to kill a single S-Rank beast."

Benedict looked toward the horizon. "And that’s what scares everyone about her."

Kevin swallowed his own saliva in fear. "You think she’s stronger than normal S-Ranks?"

"I think she’s beyond anything we can reasonably estimate. Maybe one in a billion or maybe even rarer."

The young Variant stood speechless.

"Then why doesn’t the association do something about her?"

"Ahaahaa..." Benedict gave a bitter laugh. "Do something? Kevin. Do you know what the truly frightening part is?"

Benedict looked him straight in the eye. "Even the Twelve Pillars avoid provoking her."

Kevin froze in astonishment. The Twelve Pillars are the strongest and most influential figures in human society, second only to the chairman himself.

"Sir...That’s just a rumor, isn’t it?"

"Rumors don’t survive for years without a grain of truth. You have to know there is always some truth hidden inside every lie."

Kevin looked back toward the destroyed prison. The image of the blood-covered woman standing amidst the ruins suddenly felt much more terrifying.

Only now he fully understood why everyone had run the moment her name was mentioned. And why hadn’t Captain Benedict, who is also his uncle and one of the strongest people he knows, not even considered resisting?

"But still, sir," Kevin said, "even if she’s that strong, that doesn’t mean she can do whatever she wants, right?"

"Surely someone among the higher-ups would feel the same way."

"Of course they do." Benedict pointed toward the ruins.

"Look around you. She blew away eighty percent of the prison. And yet, not a single prisoner escaped. Not one person died or even seriously injured."

"Including me. I was the one she attacked directly. Yet every injury on my body is superficial."

"Do you understand how terrifying that is?"

"Raw power is one thing but control is another."

"To unleash enough force to demolish more than half of the prison while deliberately avoiding fatal casualties..."

He shook his head. "The amount of control required for something like that is beyond anything I can imagine."

"But still... That doesn’t justify everything."

"Humanity is currently walking on a knife’s edge." His gaze drifted toward the distant skyline of the Central City.

"One major shift in power could trigger a second apocalypse. In times like these, people such as Armani become more valuable than entire armies."

"The world can’t afford to lose her. Whether they like her methods or not, people like Armani are one of the pillars keeping humanity standing."

"And when someone becomes that important...the rules tend to become more flexible."

***

In a deserted alleyway somewhere in Central City, Armani casually threw both Zac and Marty onto the street.

The two rolled several times before stopping.

Armani crossed her arms. "Give me one good reason not to kick your ass."

"Because I’m your lovable nephew." Zac thought in his mind.

[Go ahead. Say that to her face if you have the balls.]

"If I say it, I won’t have my balls anymore."

"Because we didn’t do anything wrong." Zac said confidently.

"Yes, you are!" Armani’s answer came instantly. "Everything about this situation is wrong."

"First, you let yourself get scammed. Second, even after getting scammed, you couldn’t get your permit back. Third, you let someone trample all over you."

"And finally..." Her eyes narrowed. "You disturbed my fun time by calling me for something this small." freёwebnoѵel.com

"I’m sorry."

"Sorry won’t cut it." Armani pointed at him. "Next time, make sure you’re the one scamming people."

Marty blinked. "I don’t think that’s a good life lesson."

"Now," Armani looked at Zac. "Tell me. What’s your problem with that..."

She paused. "What’s his name again?"

"Mark," Marty supplied.

"Right. Him." She looked back at Zac.

"What did you do to him?"

"That’s my personal matter." Armani stared at him for a moment.

Then she slowly turned toward Marty. "You! Fatso"

Marty immediately stood straight. "Yes, ma’am?"

"You tell me."

Seeing that Marty was about to spill everything, Zac instantly lunged forward and tried to cover his mouth.

But Armani casually flicked a finger.

A burst of force slammed into Zac, sending him flying across the sidewalk and crashing into a wall.

Marty became even more afraid of her.

With Zac no longer able to stop him, he immediately began explaining everything he knew, leaving out not even the smallest detail.

By the time he finished, Zac was staring at him as if he had stabbed him on the back.

"Traitor," he muttered under his breath.

Armani remained silent for a moment.

"I see."

She turned toward Zac. But before she could say anything, Zac met her gaze and spoke first. "Don’t interfere."

Armani raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"This is my problem. I created it, so I’ll deal with it myself."

Armani placed her hands on her hips. "You are in no position to order me around."

"Auntie, listen..."

The temperature instantly seemed to drop. For a brief moment, Armani’s aura leaked out, scaring the hell out of both of them.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" she asked in a terrifyingly calm voice.

Zac immediately straightened up and coughed awkwardly. "Sorry, my mistake. I mean... sister."

Marty looked back and forth between them, completely bewildered. "Where the hell did that relationship come from?"

"As I said, this is a problem I created, so I’ll be the one to solve it. Please don’t interfere."

"Do you really think I won’t interfere just because you asked nicely?"

Zac shook his head.

"No."

"Then why ask?"

Zac’s expression turned serious. "Because a man has to take responsibility for his own mistakes. If I run to you every time I get into trouble, then I won’t become much of a man."

The alley fell silent.

Armani looked at him for a long moment and then sighed.

"Fine. I won’t involve myself."

"I don’t believe you, promise me."

Armani’s eye twitched. "You are crossing a line, kid."

"You blew up the prison knowing I was in there. What do you think my mom would say if she found out?"

("...")

("...")

"...Fine. I promise."

The moment the words left her mouth, she vanished from the place.

Marty remained frozen; his poor brain was still trying to process everything that had happened.

Zac walked over and smacked the back of his head.

"Wake up."

Marty blinked. "Dude. Who the hell is that woman?"

"And how did she become your aunt?"

"Or sister?"

"Or whatever she is?"

Zac scratched his cheek.

"Her name is Armani Wild, vice principal of New Dawn Academy."

Marty looked like he was about to faint.

"How do you even know someone like that?"

"It was mostly coincidence. Apparently, she was a junior of my parents back when they attended New Dawn Academy."

"I didn’t even know she existed until a few days ago."

Marty stared at him and then pointed accusingly. "You are one lucky bastard."

"What?"

"The kind of things that only happen in fantasy novels happen to you every week."

"You’re exaggerating."

"No, I’m not."

[Yes he is not.]

"Anyway."

Zac looked around. "Where exactly are we?"

The alley was completely unfamiliar.

"No idea."

"Let’s find out."

With no better plan available, the two started walking through the streets of central city.