My System Doesn't Give Power Chapter 55: What Happened? Armani Happened!

An armored jeep with the association symbol sped through the streets toward the harbor.

Five variants, including the driver, sat inside. One of them glanced at his watch and sighed. "How much longer?"

The driver looked ahead and said. "We’re almost there." But his expression suddenly changed. "Actually..."

"What?"

"Look for yourselves."

The jeep ca to a halt, and everyone stepped outside. The mont they saw the harbor prison, they beca speechless.

"What the hell happened here?"

One of them rubbed his eyes. "Wasn’t there supposed to be a prison here?"

Another looked at the massive crater and the ruined remains of the building. "It looks like a hurricane and an earthquake hit it at the sa ti."

Their eyes quickly landed on a familiar figure standing among the wreckage. "Wait. Isn’t that Captain Benedict?"

"Yeah, that’s definitely him."

"Man, he looks wrecked."

"Shut up." One of his teammates elbowed him. "He’s still a captain."

"Right. Sorry." The group quickly approached Benedict and saluted him, "Captain!"

Benedict looked up. "Sir, we’re from the Association. We were ordered to retrieve two illegally entered terrorists."

For a mont, Benedict simply stared at them. "They were gone, and they are not cultists, just two newly recruited students."

The group blinked in confusion. "Gone? Students?"

"They aren’t here anymore. You can all return."

The five of them exchanged confused glances before turning around. Just as they were about to leave, one of them couldn’t resist his curiosity.

"Sir? If you don’t mind asking...What exactly happened here?"

For several seconds, Benedict remained silent.

"Armani happened."

The mont they heard the na "Armani," their bodies jerked. Their faces turned pale, rembering all the stories they had heard about her.

Without saying another word, they sprinted toward the jeep, and within seconds, the vehicle disappeared into the distance.

The entire sequence happened so quickly that Benedict almost laughed.

Watching this, a young man from Benedict’s team approached him.

"Sir?"

"What is it, Kevin?"

Kevin hesitated for a bit but still asked. "There is sothing I’ve never understood."

Benedict raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"Why does everyone seem so terrified of her? I know she’s strong, but..."

Kevin looked toward the ruined prison. "That reaction seems a little excessive."

Benedict stared at him for a mont. Then he shook his head. "You’re still young."

Kevin imdiately felt offended. "Sir, I’m twenty-six."

"So? You just finished your academy, there is a lot for you to see and learn in this world."

Benedict pointed toward the blood stains scattered around the prison ruins. "Did you see the blood covering her body?"

"Yes. But I don’t think it was hers."

"You are right it belonged to a beast and not just any beast. The amount of ’True Mana’ contained within that blood was overwhelming."

"I felt it simply by standing near her."

Kevin’s eyes widened. "True Mana?"

"That’s right. And do you know at what rank Variants begin cultivating True Mana?"

"S-Rank."

Benedict nodded. "Exactly."

Then Kevin slowly realized what that implied. "You an..."

"Yes! She must have killed an S-Rank beast before coming here?"

Kevin imdiately shook his head. "That’s impossible. It usually takes multiple S-Rank variants working together to kill a single S-Rank beast."

Benedict looked toward the horizon. "And that’s what scares everyone about her."

Kevin swallowed his own saliva in fear. "You think she’s stronger than normal S-Ranks?"

"I think she’s beyond anything we can reasonably estimate. Maybe one in a billion or maybe even rarer."

The young Variant stood speechless.

"Then why doesn’t the association do sothing about her?"

"Ahaahaa..." Benedict gave a bitter laugh. "Do sothing? Kevin. Do you know what the truly frightening part is?"

Benedict looked him straight in the eye. "Even the Twelve Pillars avoid provoking her."

Kevin froze in astonishnt. The Twelve Pillars are the strongest and most influential figures in human society, second only to the chairman himself.

"Sir...That’s just a rumor, isn’t it?"

"Rumors don’t survive for years without a grain of truth. You have to know there is always so truth hidden inside every lie."

Kevin looked back toward the destroyed prison. The image of the blood-covered woman standing amidst the ruins suddenly felt much more terrifying.

Only now he fully understood why everyone had run the mont her na was ntioned. And why hadn’t Captain Benedict, who is also his uncle and one of the strongest people he knows, not even considered resisting?

"But still, sir," Kevin said, "even if she’s that strong, that doesn’t an she can do whatever she wants, right?"

"Surely soone among the higher-ups would feel the sa way."

"Of course they do." Benedict pointed toward the ruins.

"Look around you. She blew away eighty percent of the prison. And yet, not a single prisoner escaped. Not one person died or even seriously injured."

"Including . I was the one she attacked directly. Yet every injury on my body is superficial."

"Do you understand how terrifying that is?"

"Raw power is one thing but control is another."

"To unleash enough force to demolish more than half of the prison while deliberately avoiding fatal casualties..."

He shook his head. "The amount of control required for sothing like that is beyond anything I can imagine."

"But still... That doesn’t justify everything."

"Humanity is currently walking on a knife’s edge." His gaze drifted toward the distant skyline of the Central City.

"One major shift in power could trigger a second apocalypse. In tis like these, people such as Armani beco more valuable than entire armies."

"The world can’t afford to lose her. Whether they like her thods or not, people like Armani are one of the pillars keeping humanity standing."

"And when soone becos that important...the rules tend to beco more flexible."

***

In a deserted alleyway sowhere in Central City, Armani casually threw both Zac and Marty onto the street.

The two rolled several tis before stopping.

Armani crossed her arms. "Give one good reason not to kick your ass."

"Because I’m your lovable nephew." Zac thought in his mind.

[Go ahead. Say that to her face if you have the balls.]

"If I say it, I won’t have my balls anymore."

"Because we didn’t do anything wrong." Zac said confidently.

"Yes, you are!" Armani’s answer ca instantly. "Everything about this situation is wrong."

"First, you let yourself get scamd. Second, even after getting scamd, you couldn’t get your permit back. Third, you let soone trample all over you."

"And finally..." Her eyes narrowed. "You disturbed my fun ti by calling for sothing this small."

"I’m sorry."

"Sorry won’t cut it." Armani pointed at him. "Next ti, make sure you’re the one scamming people."

Marty blinked. "I don’t think that’s a good life lesson."

"Now," Armani looked at Zac. "Tell . What’s your problem with that..."

She paused. "What’s his na again?"

"Mark," Marty supplied.

"Right. Him." She looked back at Zac.

"What did you do to him?"

"That’s my personal matter." Armani stared at him for a mont.

Then she slowly turned toward Marty. "You! Fatso"

Marty imdiately stood straight. "Yes, ma’am?"

"You tell ."

Seeing that Marty was about to spill everything, Zac instantly lunged forward and tried to cover his mouth.

But Armani casually flicked a finger.

A burst of force slamd into Zac, sending him flying across the sidewalk and crashing into a wall.

Marty beca even more afraid of her.

With Zac no longer able to stop him, he imdiately began explaining everything he knew, leaving out not even the smallest detail.

By the ti he finished, Zac was staring at him as if he had stabbed him on the back.

"Traitor," he muttered under his breath.

Armani remained silent for a mont.

"I see."

She turned toward Zac. But before she could say anything, Zac t her gaze and spoke first. "Don’t interfere."

Armani raised an eyebrow. "Excuse ?"

"This is my problem. I created it, so I’ll deal with it myself."

Armani placed her hands on her hips. "You are in no position to order around."

"Auntie, listen..."

The temperature instantly seed to drop. For a brief mont, Armani’s aura leaked out, scaring the hell out of both of them.

"What did I tell you about calling that?" she asked in a terrifyingly calm voice.

Zac imdiately straightened up and coughed awkwardly. "Sorry, my mistake. I an... sister."

Marty looked back and forth between them, completely bewildered. "Where the hell did that relationship co from?"

"As I said, this is a problem I created, so I’ll be the one to solve it. Please don’t interfere."

"Do you really think I won’t interfere just because you asked nicely?"

Zac shook his head.

"No."

"Then why ask?"

Zac’s expression turned serious. "Because a man has to take responsibility for his own mistakes. If I run to you every ti I get into trouble, then I won’t beco much of a man."

The alley fell silent.

Armani looked at him for a long mont and then sighed.

"Fine. I won’t involve myself."

"I don’t believe you, promise ."

Armani’s eye twitched. "You are crossing a line, kid."

"You blew up the prison knowing I was in there. What do you think my mom would say if she found out?"

("...")

("...")

"...Fine. I promise."

The mont the words left her mouth, she vanished from the place.

Marty remained frozen; his poor brain was still trying to process everything that had happened.

Zac walked over and smacked the back of his head.

"Wake up."

Marty blinked. "Dude. Who the hell is that woman?"

"And how did she beco your aunt?"

"Or sister?"

"Or whatever she is?"

Zac scratched his cheek.

"Her na is Armani Wild, vice principal of New Dawn Academy."

Marty looked like he was about to faint.

"How do you even know soone like that?"

"It was mostly coincidence. Apparently, she was a junior of my parents back when they attended New Dawn Academy."

"I didn’t even know she existed until a few days ago."

Marty stared at him and then pointed accusingly. "You are one lucky bastard."

"What?"

"The kind of things that only happen in fantasy novels happen to you every week."

"You’re exaggerating."

"No, I’m not."

[Yes he is not.]

"Anyway."

Zac looked around. "Where exactly are we?"

The alley was completely unfamiliar.

"No idea."

"Let’s find out."

With no better plan available, the two started walking through the streets of central city.