Vance laughed—a sound that rang out like a church bell cracked in half.

"HAHAHHAA!! HAHAHAHA!"

His lips curled back in smug triumph, his eyes glinting with cruel delight as he pointed toward Vonjo, whose body trembled not from fear, but from something far more complicated—rage, perhaps, or the deep hum of rising power restrained beneath the surface.

Vance's voice rolled out, oily and laced with mockery.

"Look what you did, elder brother," Vance spat, stepping forward, his hands spread wide as if to present a great tragedy to the crowd. "Your fifth shot. Your mighty, arrogant fifth shot. And now? You've lost your right arm. Gone. Just like that—poof. Evaporated into dust and smoke. Your flesh scattered like ash in the wind. And why? Because of you. I told you not to shoot me, and now look what you did! Don't blame me now, elder brother, okay?"

He laughed again, harder this time, his shoulders shaking as if the irony were too rich for his lungs to contain. "Hahaha! Too funny! This is why you should've been my underling from the start. All that strength you brag about? Meaningless without direction. Without control. You have power, my elder brother, but no purpose. No vision. You charge forward like a beast and expect everyone to respect your roar."

Vance would shake his head. "That's not the right way, elder brother. That's not it."

The bullet chat began to flood the air with comments, tiny squares of glowing text from watching spectators exploding across the floating holographic display.

CultivationGod_420: "LMFAOOO!! WHERE'S THAT 'DEVOUR EVERYTHING' BS NOW???"

LorthranIsDaddy: "HE CAN'T EVEN ABSORB HIS OWN ATTACKS—IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE A FLEX??"

VonjoTheClown: "What happened to the strongest, huh?? No hands, no plan, no chance!"

GoddessLunaPlsNoticeMe: "Should've stuck to farming side quests 💀💀💀"

The screen grew crowded with jeers and taunts, thousands piling in as if the air was being compressed with ridicule.

Vonjo's silence was deafening.

He stood with his left hand trembling ever so slightly, his right arm now reduced to a scorched shoulder. Smoke curled up from the burnt flesh where skin once was.

The pain was beyond mortal, yet Vonjo stood tall, jaw clenched, eyes low.

He looked like he was so shocked by what happened to him. And he couldn't move on.

Beside him, Eugene took a step forward, his face twisted in horror and concern. "Sir Vonjo…" he murmured.

The three-headed frog beside him croaked nervously, all three mouths quivering, each eye trained on Vonjo as if anticipating an implosion.

Vonjo didn't move. His left hand balled into a tight fist.

The bullet chats continued.

ThunderKingLover: "So THIS guy thought he could beat Lorthran? He can't even beat his own little brother!"

SlimeSlayer88: "This is what happens when you bark louder than you bite—and then get your whole damn arm eaten alive. 😂😂😂"

DragonSimp45: "It's his fault for being arrogant. What good are your words if you can't pack a punch? You are weak! Strongest sucker, huh? Why not be the strongest sucker of dcks instead? Hahahah!"

LorthranDMathan: "Hahahaha FRAUD! FRAUD! FRAUD! NEXT TIME, DON'T YOU EVER MENTION THE NAME OF OUR BELOVED LIGHTNING EMPEROR!"

Vance laughed once more, but this time it was quieter, smoother, more… enticing. "You don't get it, do you, brother?" he said, lowering his voice like he was about to confide in him. "You lost your arm, yes. But it's not the end for you. Not if you stand beside me. Imagine it."

He spread his arms wide, voice laced with honey now.

"Think about it. Women throwing themselves at your feet—not just any women, but noble daughters, sorceresses, priestesses from royal temples. You want respect? They'll kiss the ground you walk on. You want power? The House of Sutterfouse will elevate me now that I've awakened Curse Reverse Blessing. You, standing beside me? That makes you second only to the one in charge."

He stepped forward again, eyes shining with arrogant generosity.

"You'll be accepted back into the family, Vonjo. Mother? She'll pretend like she never cursed your name. The elders? They'll nod and smile like you're the lost heir returned from exile. The curse you carry? We can spin it. Make it a mark of honor. Your pain will be your glory. You'll eat at the high table. Your name will be written in the silver records."

He tilted his head, voice softening into a deceptive whisper, "You'll matter, my elder brother. It would be a waste to kill you here. Finally. No more hiding in your brother's shadow… you'll be his shadow. My shadow. And that's more light than you've ever had. What do you say, elder brother? Don't tell me you still want to act like my offers were not that good? "

His eyes sparkled. "How about it? Become my underling."

The bullet chat surged again, exploding with digital laughter.

DogjoConfirmed: "DO IT. BE HIS DOG. WOOF WOOF."

ArmLessWonder: "I can't fight. I might as well kneel."

LightningEmperorFan_999: "He really said he'd beat Lorthran. LMFAO. Dude lost to plot armor Vance."

Darkness_Enjoyer: "Please just accept it. I was hoping you were real, but now you've proven you're not."

Plot_terorist: "Well, he's not in the origin story; maybe he's just a background character."

For a moment, there was only the ambient hum of tension. And then—

Vonjo smirked.

It was slight—barely there, as fleeting as the twitch of a muscle before a blade draws blood.

But it stopped the comments cold. One by one, the bullet chats slowed, blinking in silence.

Then another chuckle came. This one, deeper. From his chest.

Vonjo was laughing.

"HahaNx!"

It began with a rumble in his throat, dry and worn, like something long buried was being unearthed. Then it spilled out of him, gaining volume. He laughed louder. Louder still. Head tilted back, mouth parted in that jagged smile, and his shoulders heaved. His body shook. He howled with laughter.

"HAHAHHAHAAH!!"

The crowd didn't know what to do.

Even the floating chat screens blinked into awkward silence.

And when it finally slowed, when his laughter broke into ragged breaths, Vonjo's gaze swept across the room with a terrible, crackling calm.

"Why," he said, each syllable drawn out with the weight of thunder, "would I… the strongest… ever kneel… to you?"

The silence afterward was a void.

Vance blinked. "What?"

Vonjo tilted his head, eyes narrowing, as if pitying the question itself. He repeated, slower this time, with a voice like steel dragging across a battlefield, "I said… I… Vonjo… am the strongest. Why would I be… your underling?"

The hall felt like it was holding its breath.

Then, Vance broke the tension with another scoff-laced laugh. "You're ridiculous—" he said as he was about to say that Vonjo was bullshiting it all.

But he didn't finish speaking when.

Vonjo moved. Fast.

Too fast.

He blurred forward, a streak of motion that cut through the air like a scythe. Before anyone could blink, before any reaction could take shape, his remaining hand—his left—was already at Vance's throat.

He gripped tightly.

Vance's pupils dilated. "Wh—what are you gonna do?" he wheezed, trying to laugh again, but the sound was cracked now, laced with something over confidence.

Vonjo leaned in, his lips just an inch from Vance's twitching ear, and in a low, terrifying whisper, he said:

"…This."

Vance felt it.

It was sudden.

Something inside him twisted.

And then… his eyes widened in horror.