2026-03-16 22:11:15Was it better to cling to life for now… or risk everything for that final sliver of hope?
For Jones, this had never been a question.
Enduring the searing pain, he forced himself to his feet and charged straight into the flames, resolve written across his face.
In an instant, the fire engulfed him.
His skin blistered all over, swelling into countless burns. The pain was piercing, unbearable—his vision nearly gone. And yet, Jones didn’t hesitate. He pressed forward with savage determination, like the soldiers in the early days of the Cataclysm, who had charged fearlessly into endless hordes of monsters—meeting death with flesh and blood, defying fate with sheer will.
Boom!
Flames surged.
Jones threw himself forward and locked his arms around the Hellfire Demon. Even as his hands nearly charred under the heat, he refused to let go.
Outside, Karl’s shrill, mocking laughter never stopped. The pounding on the door came again and again, the noise crashing into Jones’s ears.
But it only hardened his resolve.
With a final surge of will, he forced the ritual forward—
and forged the Life-and-Death Contract.
Boom!
A pillar of blazing light shot upward, tearing through the ceiling of Blackwater Trading House and piercing into the sky. In that moment, all of Night City turned to look.
……
City Hall
The mayor leaned back in his chair, sipping champagne, enjoying a rare moment of quiet after reviewing documents.
Then—
Crash!
The glass slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor.
He didn’t even notice.
In the next instant, he shot to his feet and rushed to the window.
A vast, terrifying pressure had just descended upon Night City.
Such a disturbance could only mean one thing—either a powerful monster had appeared… or at the very least, a genius had awakened an SS-class Titan.
The mayor stared at the pillar of light and slowly shook his head, dismissing the second possibility.
An SS-class Titan—one in tens of millions.
There was no way such a miracle would happen twice in a single day.
“What a pity,” he muttered, thinking of the boy who had awakened the Hellfire Demon.
“Guards!”
His voice turned sharp.
“Immediately investigate all nearby dungeons. A creature above level 30 may have appeared in Night City!”
Then, after a brief pause, he added:
“Send a team to trace the source of that light. If it truly is an SS-class Titan… bring them back at once.”
He stared into the distance, his voice low.
“I hope… it really is an SS-class Titan. Humanity is under too much pressure. We need talent—desperately.”
As a man in power, he knew better than anyone how brutal the front lines were. The casualty reports, soaked in loss, arrived day after day—each number heavy enough to keep him awake at night.
……
Outside Blackwater Trading House
Catherine gazed at the pillar of light, her eyes filled with longing.
“That kind of power… it must belong to a true hero. If only I could be the one by his side…”
Her thoughts quickly turned calculating.
“If I can win him over, I could rise with him.”
She had always looked down on Karl—a useless heir living off his family name. He was never worthy of her.
“Maybe I should host a party,” she murmured. “Invite this hero… and make sure the atmosphere is unforgettable.”
Her lips curled.
“For entertainment… ah, of course. Jones’s sister. Might as well make her useful.”
She picked up her phone and dialed.
“Lily? I’ve got bad news. Jones failed his awakening. Not only is Norman Academy expelling him—they’re demanding a five-million penalty. There’s no way your family can repay that, even if you sold yourselves.”
Her voice was laced with false concern, each word tightening around Lily’s heart. Shocked gasps came from the other end.
Catherine smiled coldly.
“Don’t worry. I have an opportunity for you—one that could earn a lot of money in a single night. You’ll just have to make… a small sacrifice.”
“Tonight, there’s a party…”
……
Back in the room
Jones slowly regained consciousness.
A thick layer of dried blood covered his body. As he moved, it cracked and fell away, revealing firm, well-defined muscle beneath.
His eyes lit up.
His strength had increased.
The trial by fire hadn’t destroyed him—it had remade him.
And his greatest gain—
Jones raised his hand.
A Titan appeared before him.
Roughly his own size, clad in crimson armor, wielding a massive blade. It stood there silently, yet radiated a lethal presence.
[Flame Sovereign]
Rank: SSSSkills:Flame Fist– Condenses hellfire into the fist, unleashing a strike with triple destructive power
Inferno Domain– Turns a one-kilometer radius into a sea of flames
Blazing Descent– Merges with the host, greatly enhancing physical abilities
……
SSS-class Titan.
If SS-class Titans were one in tens of millions, then SSS-class Titans were rarer still—beings that might not appear even among hundreds of millions.
With this alone, Jones could join any great family and be treated like an heir.
“So the Life-and-Death Contract… fused my soul with the Hellfire Demon deeply enough to trigger its evolution.”
He clenched his fist, feeling the surge of power within him.
Across from him, the Flame Sovereign mirrored the motion exactly.
Another effect of the contract—perfect synchronization.
Most Titan users took three years to reach this level.
Jones had done it instantly.
Just as he was testing his new power—
Bang!
The door burst open.
Karl’s face—disgusting as ever—appeared.
“Kid… that commotion just now—it was you?”
His eyes widened at the sight of the Flame Sovereign.
Jones’s gaze turned cold.
He hadn’t forgotten—Karl’s interference had forced him into a life-or-death gamble.
In a single step, Jones closed the distance.
His hand shot out, grabbing Karl by the throat and slamming him against the wall like a rag doll.
“W-What are you doing? I’m a DuPont—”
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Before he could finish, Jones’s hand struck again and again.
After awakening an SSS-class Titan, his strength was monstrous. A few simple blows shattered every tooth in Karl’s mouth, blood spraying as he choked.
“P-please… spare me…” Karl begged, his earlier arrogance completely gone.
At that moment—
The sound of high heels echoed.
The door opened again.
A breathtaking woman in a white dress stepped inside. Her figure was elegant, her presence commanding. Behind her stood several disciplined, battle-hardened guards.
Karl’s eyes lit up with desperate hope.
“Help me! He’s—”
She ignored him.
Instead, she walked straight to Jones and bowed slightly.
“Esteemed hero, my name is Sarah, the person in charge of this Blackwater branch. I sincerely apologize for the disturbance caused by such trash. On behalf of Blackwater, I promise you a satisfactory resolution.”
Then, glancing at Karl, she said calmly:
“Take him away.”
She paused.
“It’s time the DuPont family found a new heir.”
Her tone was light—yet it sealed Karl’s fate.
“No! You can’t—!” he struggled, but a guard struck him and dragged him out like refuse.
Sarah then produced a gold-trimmed invitation and handed it over.
“In one month, Blackwater will host a grand auction. Rare treasures and powerful equipment will be available. I believe it will interest a hero of your caliber.”
Jones considered.
An auction…
A hero’s path was long. Treasures could accelerate growth. Equipment could mean survival.
But all of it required money.
A lot of money.
And right now, he was only level one.
“Sir, as compensation, all your expenses today are waived. Please accept this invitation.”
Seeing his silence, Sarah bowed again, offering it with both hands.
Jones glanced down—
—and couldn’t help noticing her striking figure, the white dress outlining her form. Heat flickered briefly in his chest.
What a dangerous woman…
Just as he took the invitation, she handed him another.
“This was delivered by a woman named Catherine. She wishes to invite the one who caused the pillar of light to a party. I thought it best to give it to you directly.”
Catherine?
Jones frowned.
He had no desire to deal with her again.
Just as he was about to refuse—
his phone rang，it was his mother.
“Jones… Lily might be in trouble,” she said anxiously. “She got an invitation from Catherine. It’s some high-society party… but the way she dressed… I’m afraid she won’t be treated well.”
Jones’s grip tightened.
He knew exactly what those parties were.
Girls with no way out—young and beautiful—reduced to playthings. Controlled, used, discarded.
The thought of Lily in that situation—
His chest tightened.
That sister of his—who had dropped out of school to support him, who had given everything—
He would never allow it.Family was his one unbreakable line.And Catherine had just crossed it.
A storm of fury rose in his eyes.
At his side, Sarah spoke:
“My car is the fastest available. As an apology, I can personally drive you to the party.”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
The Knight
“Jones?” Catherine’s smile froze on her face.Why was he here?The one who was supposed to arrive was that mysterious figure—the powerhouse who had created the pillar of light and drawn the entire city’s attention.As for Jones—He should have been drowning in despair after awakening a useless SS-rank Titan, getting drunk in some bar, or desperately searching for a way to survive with less than a month to live.And yet—Here he was, at her party.A wave of dizziness hit Catherine. Her perfect plan was on the verge of collapsing.“Big sister…”Jones’s gaze fell on Lily.Her revealing outfit. The collar around her neck. The exposed skin—In an instant, a fury like a volcanic eruption surged through him.How could he not understand now?Lily had been tricked here—reduced to a plaything for these so-called elites.This was the “surprise” mentioned in the invitation?Turning his sister into an object?Unforgivable.Jones strode straight toward Lily. The guards tried to block him, but in hi
The Curtain Rises
At the party—A massive crystal chandelier cast shimmering patterns across the pristine marble floor. A jazz band played softly off to one side, while the air carried the sweet scent of champagne. Heirs of the great families, dressed in perfectly tailored suits, exchanged polite smiles and hollow toasts.Yet their attention never strayed from the center of the hall—where beautiful women were displayed like cheap commodities.Among them, Lily stood out the most.The most striking face. The most alluring figure. Naturally, she drew the most attention—and the most discussion. Under the weight of men’s possessive gazes, Lily lowered her head, helpless.Around her neck hung a humiliating silver collar. She wore a revealing black dress, thin and tight, the hem barely reaching mid-thigh. It clung to every curve of her body, radiating a dangerously seductive allure.The other women brought in to “entertain” tonight were dressed the same way, barefoot on the cold marble floor—stripped of even
SSS-Rank Titans
Was it better to cling to life for now… or risk everything for that final sliver of hope?For Jones, this had never been a question.Enduring the searing pain, he forced himself to his feet and charged straight into the flames, resolve written across his face.In an instant, the fire engulfed him.His skin blistered all over, swelling into countless burns. The pain was piercing, unbearable—his vision nearly gone. And yet, Jones didn’t hesitate. He pressed forward with savage determination, like the soldiers in the early days of the Cataclysm, who had charged fearlessly into endless hordes of monsters—meeting death with flesh and blood, defying fate with sheer will.Boom!Flames surged.Jones threw himself forward and locked his arms around the Hellfire Demon. Even as his hands nearly charred under the heat, he refused to let go.Outside, Karl’s shrill, mocking laughter never stopped. The pounding on the door came again and again, the noise crashing into Jones’s ears.But it only harde
The Life-and-Death Contract
The pain in his chest was unbearable.Yet Jones clenched his teeth and remained composed. Even as it felt like his heart was being hammered over and over again, not a single trace of panic showed on his face. He simply reached out and calmly took the black-gold card.Right at that moment—The materials required for the ritual were delivered with utmost care by a beautiful attendant: one hundred Titan cores and an ounce of Frost Crystal Essence.“I need a spacious room. No interruptions.”The contract ritual was extremely dangerous. Any disturbance could trigger a severe backlash.…Inside the room—The one hundred Titan cores were arranged in the shape of a pentagram. A mithril necklace had been crushed into fine powder, linking the energy of each core together. At the very center lay the Frost Crystal Essence.Under the chandelier’s glow, the entire formation shimmered with a cold, ice-blue light.Jones stepped into the center.It was time.Sensing danger, the Hellfire Demon lowered
A Billionaire
The game began.“I’m betting big!”Karl placed his wager first, absolute confidence written across his face. The DuPont family was powerful—even Blackwater Trading House had their people planted inside. Just moments ago, he had arranged for a device to be installed at the table, one that could subtly influence where the ball would land.For a seasoned gambler like him, there was no doubt—Jones was going to lose this round.With a dark look, Karl stared at Jones as if he were already a dead man.“Your turn. If I were you, I’d be on my knees begging for forgiveness right about now.”He had already made up his mind. Win or lose, he would have Jones seized and tortured to death.“You’re afraid,” Jones said calmly. “Afraid of losing.”His left hand brushed lightly over the black-gold card, a flicker of madness flashing in his eyes.“I bet on zero. But I want the odds raised to ten to one. And I’m adding another ten million.” He paused, then said coldly, “One round. Winner takes all. Let’s
Favored by the Goddess of Luck
Four-Favored by the Goddess of LuckJones walked down the street toward the trading house.“I’ve got the mithril… but I still need Titan cores and Ice Crystal Marrow,” he muttered to himself.Titan cores came from monsters. You had to fight for them—and even then, there was only about a ten percent chance of harvesting one from a corpse. Each core cost one hundred thousand.One hundred cores meant ten million.And that wasn’t all. To perform the ritual and forge a contract with the Infernal Flame Demon, he would also need Ice Crystal Marrow—another material that would cost roughly ten million.He didn’t have enough money.That was why he hadn’t repaid the five million he owed Norman Academy on the spot. Now that he had made up his mind, Jones was ready to go all in—whatever it took to control the SS-rank Titan, the Infernal Flame Demon.Before he knew it, he had arrived.Under the night sky, a gilded sign gleamed above the entrance, bearing four bold characters—Blackwater Trading Com
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