Damon went ice-cold on the other end of the line.
"Are you out of your mind? I can't believe the Inquisitors went to your place!"
But before Jude could answer.
SWIPE. Someone snatched the phone.
The loan sharks from the Black Viper Guild had forced their way into his house. Damon heard a voice like cold steel coming through the speaker.
"We saw the news,"
"I don't know how the hell you fooled all those idiots, but you're not going to play us. We know you were at ground zero, and we know you walked away. Fifty million. Today. Or we'll come finish you off ourselves, and we'll take care of your friend too. Click."
Damon was terrified. Not just because of the death threat, but because they had Jude.
Damn it! I have to do something. Now, he thought, but his arms were wrapped up and his legs were still in casts.
When one of the nurses came in to check on him, Damon put on his best "Poor Traumatized Hero" face.
"I need to use the bathroom,"
Once they reached the restroom, Damon was left alone in his wheelchair. He stared at the door, then at his own useless hands.
He didn't have a plan, and he could barely work the wheels, but he couldn't just sit there.
He had to save Jude and put as much distance as possible between himself and the Inquisitors before his lie blew up in his face.
MOVE. It's do or die.
Damon rolled the chair forward in clumsy bursts.
His hands, could barely get traction on the metal rims.
But before he could reach the exit, he ran straight into the most dangerous "wall" in the entire clinic: Captain Iris Valen.
Damon swallowed hard, bracing for a shout, for cuffs, for the end.
Instead, Iris looked at him and let out a long, tired sigh.
"Ah… I knew you'd try to run sooner or later."
"Even without your memories, your unshakable spirit is still intact. A true hero can't sit still, can he?"
Damon had no idea what to say.
He was just about to invent an excuse when Iris stepped closer and murmured into his ear, conspiratorial.
"I have a very fast way to get you out of those bandages… but technically, I'm not supposed to do this. I'll do it only because I can tell you truly need to leave."
Damon froze. What is she about to do to me?
But it wasn't anything sinister.
Turns out, on top of being an S-Rank warrior, Iris was also an elite Healer.
SHIIING!
Damon hadn't known that. Not even a hint.
The news never mentioned that the "Ice Queen" had support skills.
Being S-Rank in combat and having high-tier healing made her twice as powerful… and twice as terrifying.
Iris wheeled him back to his room and got to work.
FLASH. Warm light began to bloom from her hands.
By midafternoon, the miracle was done.
When the nurses came in, they just stood there, mouths hanging open: Damon was completely healed.
With the Captain in the room, none of them dared ask a thing.
They removed the bandages and the casts, and Damon flexed his arms and legs with an ease he hadn't felt since before the explosion.
"Hey, if you could do that, why didn't you do it from the beginning?"
Damon was still trying to process the fact that he wasn't a mummy anymore.
"I'm forbidden from using my powers on anyone outside the guild,"
Wow… the Inquisitors are selfish, Damon thought.
All that healing power hoarded for their own people while the rest of the world suffered.
Damon stood, cracking his knuckles. His body responded perfectly.
But reality hit him before he took his first step.
Wait. If I run out of here as Damon, I'm a dead man. I have no money, no weapons, and Viper will laugh in my face before breaking Jude's fingers.
He looked at the Captain, who was watching him with absolute reverence.
To her, he was a God.
To the world, he was an untouchable legend.
But if I go as Zero...
He remembered how the nurse had trembled just hearing the name.
Jude is in danger. If I need the costume to scare off the rats threatening my friend, then I'll wear it. Just for today. I save Jude using Zero's name, sell what I can, and disappear.
Damon clenched his fists, decided.
It was time to save Jude.
But things weren't going to be nearly as simple as Damon hoped.
Iris watched him recover, then casually dropped the bomb.
"It's time for us to go home."
Home?
What kind of home are you taking me to?
Because the destination wasn't his tiny, filthy apartment.
It was Zero's penthouse.
Top floor of one of the most expensive skyscrapers in the city.
Damon looked around in stunned silence.
"Well, I suppose you can use your eye to open the door now," Iris said, utterly matter-of-fact.
Damon's blood turned to sludge.
Shit! It's obvious I'm not Zero. There's no way in hell I can open this door.
If the scanner rejected him, Iris would realize the con and take his head off right there.
He approached the door slowly, cold sweat slicking his spine, praying for a miracle.
How do I force this? What do I pull in front of an S-Rank?
He didn't have time to come up with anything. He leaned in, set his eye in front of the scanner, and...
BEEP.
The door unlocked.
What?! That's impossible!
Is the system broken? Did someone rig it so I could get in?
Even as fascination threatened to crack his face, he held a perfect poker expression. Iris was right beside him, watching every twitch.
But the craziest part came after.
When they stepped into the penthouse, it wasn't quiet. They could hear shower water running.
SHHHHHH.
Someone else was in the apartment.
Damon went rigid.
He had no idea Zero lived with anyone.
Was it an ally? Or an enemy who'd taken advantage of the hero's absence?
"Well, I should be going," Iris was already walking back toward the door.
Damon froze again.
What? Why are you leaving now?!
He couldn't believe she was going to leave him alone in this massive penthouse after all of that.
Iris gave him a professional bow and closed the door behind her, leaving Damon swallowed by an awkward silence… except for the steady hiss of the shower behind the bathroom door.
SHHHHH.
Damon's first thought was pure survival instinct.
He went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.
He knew that if the intruder was some high-level Hunter, a kitchen knife wouldn't do a damn thing, but maybe he could bluff, buy a second, and run to save Jude.
He knew he couldn't go out the front door.
Iris was almost certainly still on the other side, watching.
Heart hammering, the knife shaking in his grip, he moved toward the bathroom.
Steam flooded the hallway. The air smelled like an odd mix of sulfur and lavender.
BANG.
The bathroom door suddenly swung wide.
Damon staggered back, ready to swing, then locked up completely.
A woman stepped out, imposing and towering, well over six foot three.
Dark skin. Wild white hair. Small but unmistakable horns rising from her head.
She wore nothing but a short towel that barely covered what it had to.
Damon couldn't look away. She wasn't just any woman...
She was a demon! And she was in Zero's home!