The bullet comments flared like a wildfire across the projected feed, rippling across the transparent screen suspended in the air above the battlefield.

A dozen usernames—xXShadowChanterXx, BeastTamer_777, IAmNotMauricio, HexHellBorn, VonjoFan#1, and EternalEye_9000—all began screaming, flooding the screen with frenzied speculation and hype.

xXShadowChanterXx: USE THAT THING YOU USED AGAINST YOUR BROTHER'S TWO SUBORDINATES!! THE BLACK HOLE ONE!!

BeastTamer_777: He used it on Mauricio and Colver. Use it! We want to see the thing that made you believe you're the strongest!

IAmNotMario: R.I.P. to my namesake. 😭😭

HexHellBorn: Yes! Yes! We didn't understand it. Please show us against your very talented older brother. Convince us!

EternalEye_9000: He called it that before—ENDLESS DOOM. Show it to us! Let us see what it can do!

VonjoFan#1: Bro swallowed a Hell Beast core and walked away like it was breakfast, and he didn't explain it that time. But now, it's time for us to see it again!

SpiritCursedKid: YEAH! THAT TIME I SCREAMED, 'HE GOBBLED IT—HE ACTUALLY DEVOURED IT WHOLE!' NOW WHERE IS IT?

EdgeLordRiot: Is it a devouring-based bloodline? Or a spatial one?

BloodlineScholar101: Nah. It's Endless Devour. A spatial-curse hybrid, probably. Rare-tier at minimum.

HellDungeonSurvivor: That's why they called him cursed! It wasn't a slur—it was foreshadowing!!

BlackMirrorCultist: The bow technique plus the bloodline ability... he's unranked and soloed Colver and Mauricio! Now he's going to show it to his extremely talented younger brother.

The bullet comments were going insane—so much so that the system began lagging, compressing the overlay for moderation, trying to cool down the fervor. But that didn't stop the flood.

Vonjo stood silent amid the echoing heat of anticipation, a single shadow among roaring flames of digital madness.

And then, out of nowhere, with a voice as calm as polished steel and as casual as discussing tea recipes, Vance stepped forward.

He stopped just two meters from Vonjo. His voice held not a hint of hostility, not even aggression—only arrogance wrapped in self-assured grace.

"Older brother," he said, with a smile that reached nowhere near his eyes, "how about this? Work for me instead. Become my underling."

The silence was instant. A vacuum seemed to suck the sound out of the dining hall.

And then the bullet comments exploded.

JawsDropped666: EXCUSE ME WHAT??

FleshGrinder: WHAT IS THIS DRAGONBALL ARC TURN?!

MildlyConcernedCitizen: Did he just OFFER Vonjo a JOB???

TripleS_Rogue: This man found out his subordinates got obliterated and said, "Wanna join my team?"

DoomHunter88: That's some Thanos-level recruitment right there.

QueenSlays: This is the part where the villain tries to "reform" you mid-battle lmao

Nobles_Watch: Unexpected. Elegant. Dangerous.

PeacefulPanda: Is he actually trying to defuse this?! Or trap him?!

MindOfMayhem: Either Vance is crazy—or he's playing 8D chess.

Vance remained unfazed by the digital storm, completely unaware that every syllable of his speech was dissected, clipped, and memed in real time.

"I'm serious," he continued, tilting his head slightly toward Vonjo. "Let's not fight. We can resolve this peacefully. Come back with me. We'll return to the family estate together. I'll handle the rest."

Vonjo narrowed his eyes.

"Why?" he asked, quietly but with a deadly weight. "Why would you even want me back?"

Vance let out a relaxed, musical laugh, one that made the air feel heavier with irony than sincerity. "Because, truly, we don't have that much between us. I was a child back then, wasn't I? Just playing around. The pranks, the ridicule… the way I humiliated you in front of the servants…"

His voice remained calm, even gentle.

"I mean, that was seven years ago. Who holds a grudge for seven years, right?"

Vonjo said nothing. His expression remained blank, impassive. But inside, something cracked—a sharp tremor rattling the remnants of his restraint.

Yes, he agreed… grudges were stupid. Childish. But what Vance had done went far beyond pranks. And that laugh—so light, so innocent—it was salt on a thousand scars.

But Vance didn't notice, or didn't care. He pressed on, his voice turning slightly reverent.

"Still, you did something remarkable, didn't you? You killed them. Mauricio and Convert. Do you know how strong they were? Don't lie to me…"

He turned slightly to address the imaginary crowd—though in reality, there were only guards and bullet comments observing.

"Colver and Mauricio weren't just powerful. They tamed hell beasts. They subdued a Titanclaw Manticore with just a dual-casting chain. They navigated the Blacksteel Abyss without backup. They took down a Lavahowler and Three-Tongue Leviathan in the same run."

He raised a hand for emphasis, as though recounting divine accomplishments.

"They were my best. Colver once withstood a Hell Gate Overload and lived. Mauricio fought during the Infernal Reaping. They slew beasts with names that most wouldn't dare whisper. I trained them myself—cut them from stone."

The room hung in stunned silence.

"And yet…" Vance's gaze lowered back to Vonjo, his tone sharpening, "you killed them."

MindOfMayhem: This is the part where the boss monologues right before the last fight

HellDungeonSurvivor: I have goosebumps. And I'm watching from my phone at a gas station.

DoomHunter88: Bro said 'You killed gods I raised.' That's INSANE

ShadowFangV: AND HE'S STILL OFFERING HIM A JOB???

But Vonjo's fingers moved.

Slowly, like winding the cord of fate itself, he pulled his bowstring.

Vance raised an eyebrow and sighed, shaking his head. "Still stubborn, I see."

And then, dark purple-black energy swirled around him—like chains of smoke being summoned from the pit of a cursed world.

With one swift motion, he raised his palm, and a barrier formed—jagged and unstable, yet pulsing with cursed sigils and heavy pressure.

"Fallen Curse Energy: Mirror Bastion."

The arrow let loose.

It collided with the cursed barrier—and instead of piercing through, it ricocheted, violently crashing into it and creating a storm of opposing 'fallen curse energy.' After a long time of closing, it was redirected like a bullet striking divine metal. The snap of cursed energy ruptured the air.

Vonjo's eyes widened.

He ducked an instant before the deflected arrow could skewer his head. His three-headed frog let out a warped croak and leapt sideways, narrowly avoiding the spiraling projectile.

The arrow hit the wall behind them—and then…

BOOM.

The explosion tore through the foundation behind Vonjo like a dying god's scream. Stone turned to shards, tables shattered, plates vaporized.

A blast of compressed air roared through the entire dining chamber, strong enough to fling even armored guards into pillars like ragdolls.

Eugene, eyes wide with terror, barely clung to a wrought iron railing with both arms wrapped around it, his boots skidding backward from the shockwave.

Dust, fire, smoke.

And then… silence.

A graveyard kind of silence.

Seconds passed, long and terrible. The kind where breath feels forbidden and the mind spins blank.

And then—

Drip.

It was so soft. One drip. Followed by another.

And another.

Vonjo looked down, then to the side, blinking through the dust cloud.

"Sir Vonjo!!" Eugene's voice cracked like a whip. "Sir Vonjo—your right hand!"

The world froze.

All eyes turned.

Blood splattered the marble floor, thick and trailing from an invisible wound. And where Vonjo's right arm should've been, there was nothing—nothing but jagged flesh and splintered bone.

His bow dropped. Disappeared somewhere behind him. Maybe hidden, maybe it was completely evaporated by that attack.

And for the first time that night, the bullet comments were dead silent.