Chapter 48: A Pyrrhic Victory

Looking at the skyscraper breaking in half, its top section beginning a slow, terrifying descent, a grim expression settled on Russell's face. "It's too big... we're too close. It's too late to run. We have to take a gamble."

"Luffy!" Russell shouted.

The next moment, Luffy inhaled deeply, his rubber body instantly swelling up like a giant balloon, floating above the heads of the terrified students.

"Listen up!" Russell commanded, his voice cutting through the panic. "The rest of you, use your strongest attacks to break down the wall of debris that's about to cover us! Luffy will take the impact from the rest!"

The boys, now with a clear objective, didn't hesitate. They summoned their cards and unleashed a barrage of attacks, shattering the initial wave of falling concrete and steel, trying to lessen the pressure on Luffy even slightly.

Watching them, Russell's mind raced. It's a pity Master Blake didn't create [Wei Zheng, the Incorruptible Arbiter]. A card based on that legend would have special attacks against dragon-type creatures.

Unlike the current situation. High in the sky, Blake Whitmore's card—the massive, shadowy figure Russell now knew as [Lucius, the Shadow Regent]—was locked in a brutal battle with the flesh-and-blood dragon that had once been Valerius. But while Lucius could match its power, he was unable to subdue it quickly. If this continued, even if the dragon was only a bootleg diamond-grade product, the collateral damage could endanger the entire city. At the diamond level, destroying a city was a simple and comfortable affair if left unopposed. In just a few moments, even with Lucius trying to keep the fight in the sky, the surrounding city blocks were already in ruins.

Just as the students braced for the final impact, a brilliant beam of pure white light shot out from the distance, striking the collapsing half of the building. In an instant, the massive structure was vaporized, turned to little more than ash and dust that glittered in the night sky.

Stunned, Russell and the others stared into the distance. A huge, divine figure was flying towards them, riding upon the clouds. The figure wore brilliant red armor. In one hand, it held a serpentine, white glass dragon, and in the other, a precious, glowing orb.

Under the astonished gazes of the students, the white glass dragon flew from the figure's hand, rocketing into the sky to engage the flesh-and-blood dragon.

"Students, are you all alright?" A gentle, authoritative voice sounded beside them.

Russell turned to see the president of the New Metro Cardmakers Association. "President Jennings," he called out, relieved. The other students, whether they knew him or not, quickly followed Russell's lead, shouting the same greeting.

President Lance Jennings nodded, a wave of relief washing over his own features as he confirmed that the students were unharmed. Most importantly, Russell was fine. The boy could very well be the future of New Metro's cardmaking world. He was brave, resourceful, and willing to protect the weak. Jennings knew that without Russell's protection, the other students would have never made it down from the top of that collapsing tower.

He had to admit, the Association had not anticipated a change this drastic. He had assumed that with Blake Whitmore stepping in, the students' lives would not be in any real danger. Then, he looked up into the sky, his expression turning serious. The huge, divine figure was, of course, his own diamond-level, gold-quality card: [Virupaksha, the Western King].

Under its power, the battle was swiftly controlled, with both dragons being pushed farther and farther away from the city center. A fight of that magnitude could not be allowed to happen over a civilian population.

Seeing the primary threat removed, Jennings turned back to the students. "I'm sorry you were all frightened. Let's get you to a shelter now." He had hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should conscript these talented youths to help maintain order, but he ultimately gave up the idea. They were still children, too immature for such a burden. Let the old guys like me handle the current situation, he thought.

"President Jennings," Russell said hurriedly, "all the employees of Golden Talent Credit... they were turned into demons by the Spirit Begging Society."

Jennings fell silent. He knew. It wasn't just Golden Talent Credit. At that very moment, Brother Tiger's crew, and a dozen other organizations they had long suspected of having ties to the Society, had all erupted into chaos, their members transforming into monsters. Fortunately, because of the intelligence Russell had provided, they had most of those locations under heavy surveillance. Casualties across the city were minimized. Only the situation at Golden Talent Credit, with Valerius's unexpected transformation, had spiraled out of control.

But Jennings was still confused. This move by the Society seemed like strategic suicide. It had exposed all their major front operations in the city. In the future, besides the truly desperate, who would dare to secretly join them now?

Suppressing his doubts, he put on a warm, reassuring smile. "The Association is already aware of the situation. Russell, please take your classmates to the nearest shelter."

Seeing that the situation was in hand, Russell naturally had no objection and began to lead the other students away.

Somewhere over the sea, Blake Whitmore and Regent Jin confronted each other. As if sensing the events unfolding in the city, a strange, mocking smile appeared on Regent Jin's face. "You must be very grateful to that Russell boy this time. Otherwise..."

Hearing Russell's name from the mouth of his enemy, Blake's face darkened.

There really is a high-level traitor in the Association, he thought, his heart heavy.

Only a handful of people knew the details of Russell's recent involvement. Excluding himself, that left only a few possibilities. He could be certain of Jennings's loyalty; the man's son had died in the [Demon's Nest] riot years ago, a catastrophe orchestrated by the Spirit Begging Society. Jennings had been consumed by a hatred so deep he had nearly thrown his life away seeking revenge, only holding back for the sake of the Federation's stability. He would never betray them.

In that case... Could it be you, Jonathan Whitemore?

It was a sickening thought, but a logical one. Besides himself and Jennings, Jonathan was the only other person involved in all of Russell's recent activities. Only the three of them knew about the alterations to Russell's official resume. Unless someone had been watching Russell from the very beginning. But why would they? Before the Prodigy Cup, he hadn't shown this level of terrifying talent. Who would have been so prescient?

Once planted, the seeds of suspicion could only grow.

Seeing Blake fall into deep, troubled thought, a triumphant smile flashed across Regent Jin's face. He then adopted a playful expression. "It's a pity, though, Blake. Those geniuses... they didn't sign my contracts. Do you think I'm disappointed?"

"Yes, I admit, I am a little disappointed. You win this battle." "But," he added, his eyes glittering with malice, "we didn't lose the war." "After all... we achieved our primary goal."

Hearing this, Blake's brow furrowed, but he knew better than to ask a question that was destined to go unanswered. He just sneered. "Putting on a brave face, are we?"

Regent Jin was not annoyed. He just laughed, his form dissolving into the air. If the confrontation continued, he feared Blake might truly try to fight him to the death. The most frightening opponent, after all, is a powerful man with nothing left to lose.

Looking at the seawater rushing back to fill the empty space their battle had carved in the ocean, a profound fatigue settled onto Blake Whitmore's features.

"Russell..." he murmured, the boy's name now tied to a dreadful new suspicion.

(End of this chapter)