Chapter 79 : An ashtonishing feat

Jericho’s head rolled across the floor—

Bump.

Bump.

It spun one last time—

And stopped right at Sakura’s feet.

For a moment—

Silence.

No one moved.

No one breathed.

Blood traced a dark, uneven line across the polished floor, connecting the body and the severed head like a cruel, red thread.

Sakura slowly lowered her gaze.

Her expression didn’t change.

No anger.

No grief.

No shock.

Just that same calm, composed look.

She stared at Jericho’s dead eyes for a few seconds—

Then spoke in a low, almost gentle voice.

"I told you... there would be consequences if you lost... didn’t I?"

Her words drifted through the hall like a quiet verdict.

A faint pause.

"But you never learn."

She bent down—

Unhurried.

Her fingers curled into Jericho’s hair.

She lifted the head with practiced ease, as if it was nothing more than an object.

Blood dripped down in thick, slow drops.

Each one hit the floor with a soft tap.

She turned away from Arthur without another glance at him—

And started walking toward the body.

Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.

’...What the hell is she trying to do?’

A cold chill ran down his spine.

’It can’t be that....right.’

Sakura reached the corpse.

Calmly—

Almost delicately—

She lowered the head and placed it back onto the neck.

Blood smeared along the torn flesh.

The sight was grotesque.

Wrong.

Yet Sakura’s movements were precise.

Careful.

As if she were handling something precious, not a mutilated body.

She straightened up slowly.

Then turned her gaze.

It landed on a teenage girl standing a few feet away.

Long dark hair.

Expressionless face.

Eyes as calm as still water.

Olivia.

Sakura’s voice remained composed.

"Olivia... if you will."

The girl—

Olivia—

did not react immediately.

She just stared at the corpse for a brief moment.

Then she began walking forward.

Step by step.

Unhurried.

Her footsteps echoed faintly in the silence.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The teenage boy with dark hair watched quietly from the side, his gaze sharp.

The red-haired woman in her thirties stood beside him, wand still in hand, aura restrained yet ready to explode at any moment.

Arthur stood still—

Watching everything unfold.

The air felt heavy.

Charged.

Then—

A voice echoed inside his mind.

[Host... shouldn’t you try to stop them?]

Arthur’s lips didn’t move.

But his answer came instantly.

’Even if I want to... I can’t.’

His eyes shifted slightly—

Toward the teenage boy—

And the red-haired woman standing at a distance.

’The moment I move... those two will attack.’

His gaze sharpened.

He could feel it.

Their focus.

Their hostility.

Their readiness.

’And even if I’m faster than them... there’s Sakura.’

His eyes returned to her.

She stood near Jericho’s corpse like a guardian.

Her posture relaxed—

But the pressure she emitted was anything but.

’She’s guarding the corpse... and I can tell she’s not weak either.’

A pause.

His fingers twitched slightly.

’And more importantly... let’s not underestimate them.’

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

’I’m curious.’

His eyes flickered with interest.

’What kind of fascinating trick are they about to show me?’

He exhaled slowly.

His decision settled in his mind.

’Also... let them do whatever they’re planning.’

’We need to confirm what kind of systems they all possess... it will be useful for this fight.’

The system responded after a brief silence.

[Well... you do have a point.]

Meanwhile—

Sakura looked at Olivia.

Her voice softened just a little.

"Can you do it?"

Olivia stopped right beside the corpse.

She looked down at Jericho’s body.

Her face remained perfectly blank.

"I can try... but it will be difficult."

Then—

Her eyes changed.

A faint digital glow flickered within them—

As if invisible code was passing through her pupils.

Her system activated.

[ Supreme Hacker System Activated ]

To Olivia—

The world transformed in an instant.

The grand hall—

The bodies—

The people—

Everything shifted.

Lines.

Grids.

Strings of data.

Layers of code.

Systems.

Each person’s existence became a structure.

Jericho’s body—

Was no exception.

What others saw as a dead corpse—

She saw as a shut-down system.

A network of broken commands and damaged pathways.

She began accessing it.

Her system allowed her to treat everything like a system she could enter and manipulate. She didn’t need to slowly break through defenses—everything around her appeared organized, readable, and adjustable.

Permissions.

Restrictions.

Hidden functions.

All laid bare.

She could instantly understand how things worked—

And find their weak points.

Where to push.

Where to cut.

Where to rewrite.

With that—

She could interfere.

Control.

Modify.

Even override.

Her abilities extended far beyond technology.

More than machines.

More than weapons.

She could hack the human body itself—

Freeze movement with a thought.

Enhance physical capabilities.

Slow down senses—

Or push them to the extreme.

Twist internal functions until the body either obeyed—

Or broke.

Once she successfully accessed something—

She didn’t lose it.

She retained permanent access.

A backdoor only she knew.

And with each successful hack—

Her system evolved.

Improved.

New menus.

New options.

New pathways.

Unlocked possibilities that even she had not expected.

But—

It wasn’t without a cost.

Her system placed immense strain on her mind.

Even now, a faint pressure started building behind her eyes.

Like a tight band slowly being pulled.

Overuse could lead to mental overload.

Temporary shutdown.

Or worse—

A numbness where emotions should be.

Strong systems could resist her.

Fight back.

Corrupt the data she was trying to control.

Push their will against hers.

And if she tried to control too many things at once—

Her energy would drain in an instant.

Her consciousness would flicker—

Then vanish.

Leaving her completely exposed.

Still—

Despite all that—

She moved forward.

Calm.

Unshaken.

Her eyes focused—

As if she was looking at something no one else could see.

The grand hall had gone completely silent.

All eyes were on her.

On the corpse.

On the severed head resting where it should never have been again.

Olivia slowly knelt down—

And placed her hand gently on Jericho’s chest.

Her expression remained emotionless.

But her eyes—

Glowed faintly.

Cold.

Precise.

She spoke in a low, controlled voice.

"Take... forced access."

The moment those words left her lips—

Something shifted.

To everyone else—

Nothing visible changed.

But to her—

The world cracked open.

Layers of data unfolded.

Jericho’s body—

His system—

His karma—

His existence—

All of it appeared as structured code before her.

Locked.

Protected.

Resisting.

Like a sealed vault buried under countless safeguards.

But—

She forced her way in.

Her system surged.

Violently.

[FORCED ACCESS INITIATED]

[OVERRIDING SYSTEM DEFENSES...]

[RESISTANCE DETECTED]

[FORCE LEVEL INCREASED]

Pain stabbed through her head.

Her mind trembled.

Her breathing grew heavier.

But she didn’t stop.

She pushed deeper—

Past safety limits—

Past the threshold where normal users would have already collapsed.

The resistance cracked—

Then shattered.

[ACCESS GRANTED]

Olivia’s eyes flickered.

Her vision blurred for half a second—

Then cleared.

Without hesitation—

She gave the command.

"Use all of his remaining karma... reattach the head... and take anything you can from him."

Her voice carried softly through the hall.

For a moment—

Nothing happened.

The corpse remained still.

The air remained heavy.

Then—

Suddenly—

A golden light burst out from Jericho’s body.

Bright.

Blinding.

It crawled along his neck like liquid sunlight.

The severed head—

Connected.

Muscles tightened—

Flesh knit together—

Bones aligned with sickening precision—

Veins reattached, pulsing faintly beneath his skin.

It was unnatural.

Wrong.

Terrifying.

Reality itself seemed to twist around the scene—

As if rejecting what was happening—

Yet the process continued without hesitation.

System notifications began flooding Olivia’s vision.

[WARNING: ALL KARMA RESERVES BEING CONSUMED]

[GOOD KARMA: 72% → 0%]

[BAD KARMA: 28% → 0%]

[TOTAL KARMA DEPLETED]

The golden light dimmed—

Darkened—

Twisted.

[CRITICAL: ENTERING NEGATIVE KARMA STATE]

[KARMA VALUE: -150%]

[SEVERE PENALTIES INITIATED]

[- LIFE FORCE DRAIN]

[- PHYSICAL DETERIORATION]

[- SYSTEM INSTABILITY]

A final line appeared.

[REVIVAL CONDITION MET: WITHIN 24 HOURS OF DEATH]

That—Was the only reason.

This was even possible.

Jericho’s body jerked violently.

His fingers twitched.

His back arched.

Then—he inhaled sharply.

A raw, ragged breath tore its way into his lungs.

Alive.

As he jolted awake in shock.

And started looking all around him.

And touching his head."My head....My head it’s still there."

But he felt something was wrimg as he looked at his wrinkled hand.

It was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

His skin—Wrinkled.

Dry.

As if time had suddenly leapt forward.

His hair—

Turned gray in seconds.

Color drained from his face.

His once sharp, dangerous aura—

Felt weak and unstable.

Faltering.

Within moments—

He looked decades older.

Like a man in his fifties—

Maybe even more.

His body trembled weakly.

The price—

Had been paid.

Arthur stared at the scene, stunned.

His eyes widened slightly.

"What the hell... what kind of power is that...?"

His gaze shifted from Jericho—

To Olivia.

"A system that can revive the dead...?"

Meanwhile—

Olivia’s system exploded with notifications.

[EXTREME FEAT DETECTED]

[SUPREME HACKER SYSTEM REWARDING HOST]

[+350 SYSTEM POINTS]

[+PERMANENT ACCESS TO TH KARMA SYSTEM HAS BEEN ACQUIRED]

[NEW SYSTEM PATHWAYS HAS BEEN UNLOCKED]

More messages flooded her vision endlessly.

Too many.

Too fast.

The strain hit all at once.

Her head throbbed violently.

Pain surged through her mind—

Like her skull was being crushed from the inside.

Her breathing turned shallow.

Her vision shook.

"I..."

Her voice broke.

The world tilted.

Before she could finish—

Her legs gave out.

Her system reached its limit.

She lost consciousness.

Her body started to collapse forward—

But before she hit the ground—

Sakura moved.

Effortlessly.

She stepped in and caught Olivia in her arms.

As if she had expected it.

As if she had seen this exact moment before.

She held the unconscious girl gently.

Her gaze remained calm.

But her eyes—Were sharp.

Cold.

Assessing everything.

From Jericho’s aged, trembling body.

To Olivia’s unconscious form in her arms.