"Well, that was a real pain," I sighed, as I picked up a bottle of water and took a sip.

"Yeah, they were really bombarding us with questions. I think we managed to pull it off convincing though," Replied Aria, stretching her arms up.

"Mhm, great job lying, you're getting better at it," I grinned, giving her a thumbs up.

"Uh, not sure that's a good thing."

Today's the 3rd of August, 2169, about a week since the battle against the Archdemon and corrupted Aces. And Aria and I had just gotten done getting through a press conference.

Following the battle, the bodies of the corrupted Aces were analyzed.

Three of them had been subdued alive, but it was quickly confirmed that there was no way to reverse the changes that their bodies and minds had been put through.

The three that were still alive were currently being locked up, the Union was trying to figure out what to do with them.

While most of the damage to their brains had been done through Zeifas's Enthral Demonic Art, his Demonization had further messed up and deteriorated their brains.

If Ai hadn't stabilized the Demonization effects in me and Aria, we would've had our minds damaged too.

But not only did that not happen, but we also didn't get any Demonic mutations to our appearances, besides the slight difference to our teeth and nails, but that's minimal enough that it isn't too conspicuous.

A couple of days ago, we dropped by the Union and had our Power Levels measured, and we were both promptly promoted to X-Ace Rank.

It was publicly announced yesterday, and the Sanctuary-...actually, the entire world...-was abuzz.

Which was understandable, considering that there were only five active X-Aces in the world a few days prior, so getting two new ones in one go is kind of a big deal.

We both got offers from Guilds in the other Sanctuaries, trying to recruit us, but we both declined, since neither of us had any desire or reason to move out of Sanctuary Theta.

We decided against telling the press that I intentionally had the Archdemon trigger the ability that effectively mentally crippled all the corrupted Hunters, so we simply told them that we managed to resist the negative effects when he used it on us, which made us stronger without damaging our brains.

They seemed to buy it, I was a bit nervous about whether Aria could lie convincingly, but she managed to pull it off.

"Good work, you two. The spotlight's going to be on you for a while though, so I'd advise on staying out of the public eye for a few weeks," Remarked Charlotte, as she approached us.

She'd helped set up the press conference, and she'll also be helping us get home without getting mobbed, like she did after my press conference when my true power was revealed to the world.

"Yeah, based on the buzz around us online, that's bound to be the case. I kinda feel bad though, our promotion to X-Ace Rank has really overshadowed the number of deaths that piled up.

While the Archdemon himself didn't end up killing all that many people, the Aces he hypnotized racked up quite the kill count," I responded with a grimace.

The party of Academy students and the Teleporter's family, that was the extent of Zeifas's kill count.

At least, if we're talking about those he killed directly...naturally, all the deaths that occurred were caused by him, but the majority indirectly, at the hands of the corrupted Aces.

"Yes, this is the largest number of civilian deaths we've suffered since the Sanctuaries were built, not to mention the first time a Monster had entered the Sanctuaries.

We've captured and brought in Monsters for experimenting and also for students at the Academies to train again, but we've never had a Monster intentionally enter any of the Sanctuaries successfully," Nodded Charlotte with a frown.

"Honestly, considering that it was an Archdemon, I'd say we got off a bit easy. If he'd decided to go on a rampage in public instead of targeting Kai, who knows how many people would've died?" Added Aria warily.

"He could've killed thousands in no time, and with the Teleportation Magic he stole, he could've escaped the instant any X-Aces showed up," I responded in agreement.

"Speaking of which, I'm sorry I was only able to get two of them to come back you up. Ordinarily, that might have been enough, but this Archdemon was a cut above the Calamity Level Monsters previously encountered.

If Ariella hadn't returned when she did, there's a good chance that the outcome would've been quite different," Sighed Charlotte, looking worn out.

She had to get through a lot of red tape to get back up sent to Sanctuary Theta, not only the two X-Aces who showed up to fight Zeifas, but also the Aces that helped take down the corrupted Aces.

"It's fine, we managed to pull it off in the end, so it's cool," I shook my head with a shrug.

I almost definitely would've died if Aria hadn't shown up though. Even though he was in a weakened state after using Demonization, Zeifas was still slightly stronger than me, and I was exhausted and running low on Mana at that point.

"Yeah, I'm glad I got back in time. I wasn't able to fight for long, but I'd like to think I managed to make a difference," Smiled Aria, as she glanced at me.

"Oh, you definitely did," I replied as I patted her head.

"Alright, you two should probably get going now, there's quite a crowd gathering outside. You should rest up for at least a couple more days, you've certainly earned it," Remarked Charlotte, as she got a message on her I-Watch.

"Yeah, sounds good, answering all those reporters wore me out," I nodded with a wry smile.

"Mhm, same here. Mind if I come hang out at your place, Kai? I don't really have anything to do today."

"Sure, that's fine with me."

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