At the same time Elizabeth left his penthouse in the morning, Sero teleported over to Gregor's home to visit Nala and Luna.

Sero smiled to himself as he walked up to the door, seeing it fly open and the succubus greeting him warmly.

"Hey, Sero! I was wondering when you'd be back," Luna said with a burp, holding a can of beer.

"Well, I promised I'd visit," Sero frowned at the succubus. "The morning just started and you're already drinking?"

Luna shrugged and took another sip from her can. "Hey, I'm a succubus, remember? What's the harm? Come on, come inside. Nala's been asking about you." She leaned in and whispered, "She's been feeling a little down, you know? Thinks you might cheer her up."

"Really? About what?" Sero asked as he stepped inside. Nala was sitting on the couch, watching a movie as she munched on pancakes drenched in syrup and whipped cream. She glanced up, giving the slightest of smiles when she saw him.

"Hi, Sero. Want some pancakes?"

"Uh... no, I'm okay," Sero replied, his stomach churning as he could imagine just how sweet those pancakes would be. He shot Luna an accusing look. "Nala doesn't look down at all."

"Well, she's not wrong," Nala said with a sigh, taking another bite of her pancakes. "I mean, it's not that I'm unhappy or anything. It's just... I miss the old days, you know?"

Sero quietly took a seat on the couch next to Nala, Luna sitting in the chair next to them. "Yeah, I get what you mean. It was easier when all I had to worry about was winning some stupid tournament."

The Shadereaper nodded in agreement. "Especially ordering dessert at your place or playing that gaming system I borrowed."

"I agree," Luna chimed in. "Free food on demand and all the alcohol I could ever drink." 

"That was the life- Wait, that's what you were bothered about?" Sero stared at Nala. "I thought you'd be sad about not seeing everyone else as often or having to always be on guard."

"Oh yeah, that too." Nala paused, thinking for a moment. "It's just... I'm no stranger to being alone, so that doesn't really affect me as much, I guess."

Sero nodded understandingly. "Well, if you ever want some company, you know where to find me. I mean, if I'm not busy with something else, that is."

"Thanks, Sero," Nala said, patting him on the knee. "I appreciate it." She paused, glancing over at Luna, who had fallen asleep with her head back and her mouth open. "I'm sure she appreciates your company too."

"Yeah, she really shows it," Sero replied dryly. "Hey, you know, maybe we should do something today. Get out of the house, go somewhere. Just the three of us."

"That sounds nice," Nala said with a small smile. "I've been meaning to check out that new arcade down the street. Want to give it a try?"

Luna snapped awake at Nala's words. "The arcade that also doubles as a bar?"

"Yes, that's the one," Nala said, grinning. "And it's all-you-can-eat, too."

Sero felt himself salivating. "S-seems like it has something for everyone."

"Ah, but it doesn't open until the afternoon." Nala made a face.

"That's fine, we can just hang out around the area," Sero suggested, standing up. "Is there anything around we can do in the meantime-" 

An explosion in the distance cut off Sero's words and caused the three to jump up and run to the window.

"What was that?" Luna asked, her voice trembling slightly.

In the direction of the Ascendants Association, they could see a swirling cloud of darkness spiraling upwards. The sky above it seemed to be torn asunder, revealing an unnatural void. A sense of foreboding filled the air as they watched, their hearts pounding.

"That's not good..." Sero muttered to himself. He turned to the two women, his expression hardening. "Nala, stay here with Luna. I'll go check it out."

Without waiting for a response, he dashed out of the house. As soon as he was out of sight, he teleported to the park near the association building. 

When he got his bearings, Sero was faced with a scene of utter devastation. The park had been torn apart, trees uprooted and scattered like matchsticks. Luckily, the association building was unharmed as Ascendants flooded out to engage in whatever was happening in the park. 

Sero caught sight of Dante and J'takk leading the charge towards the swirling darkness and ran to join them. The Sin Reaper's eyes narrowed at him once he got close enough. 

"Dante, I can explain–"

"I'm not stupid, Sero. I know you didn't have anything to do with it this time," Dante said, waving away his explanation. "Just be ready for whatever might happen next. And follow. My. Orders."

Without another word, Dante and J'takk charged forward, with Sero and the others following close behind. As they drew closer to the swirling darkness, Sero could feel a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. The air seemed to thicken and grow heavy, as if the very fabric of reality was being strained by whatever force lay within the vortex.

"Report?" Dante barked at a woman who seemed to have been in charge of leading people to safety.

"Multiple civilians injured, and unknown how many are dead," the woman reported grimly. "We've already got a triage set up, but we're still assessing the situation. Apparently some witnesses say that there was a black pendant hanging off a tree and just blew up when some people tried to grab it."

Dante shared a concerned look with J'takk. Sero opened his mouth to say something, but remembered that he and Elizabeth agreed to keep his discovery of the first pendant a secret.

"All right, then," Dante growled. "J'takk and I will lead the defensive line. Sero, you stay out here and coordinate with the others. We don't know what we're walking into." His eyes glowed neon green as he plunged a hand into a green-ringed portal in his chest. 

Sero's body buzzed as he copied the skill 'Rend', a scythe weapon similar to Enzo's Jury axe or Liam's Order staff. However, Sero learned that the conditions to wield the Rend scythe involved having immense mental fortitude to fight against its influence and not being controlled by it.

Dante's scythe was made of an unearthly substance that seemed to shift and change shape with each movement, as if it was alive. The ethereal green blade was razor-sharp and glistened with an unnatural light. As he stepped forward, the ground beneath his feet seemed to ripple and distort, as if reality itself were bowing before him.

"Keep that stick away from me, yeah?" J'takk said to Dante as her eyes glowed gray. "Not that it matters, 'cause I'm always lucky."

Sero's eyes widened in surprise as he copied J'takk's 'Ante' skill, which allowed her to increase her luck in proportion to how much mana she used for it. He copied 'Mana Dice' right after, which allowed J'takk to increase her stats according to whichever number it landed on. 

"Show me Lady Six," J'takk muttered, throwing the gray dice in her hand. It tumbled, landing on a six. The Master Gambler smiled to herself as Sero sensed her mana restoring to full capacity.

As Dante and J'takk drew closer to the swirling mass of darkness, Sero had to admit that the Pentagram leaders were rightfully deserving of their positions and rank. Dante's presence seemed to command the attention of the vortex itself, while J'takk's luck seemed to be infectious, making everyone around her more confident in their abilities. The other Ascendants, seeing the two powerful individuals leading the charge, were emboldened.

Sero's usual skills were active as he summoned his dragon pups and Sting, preparing himself for whatever the mass of darkness would do next.

Suddenly, the vortex began to implode on itself, growing smaller and smaller until it vanished with a pop. Everyone stared in surprise as the wicked energy was no longer present. Dante and J'takk, still in a defensive stance, slowly relaxed their bodies.

"What... just happened?" Sero asked, confused. 

Dante and J'takk exchanged a glance. "I don't know," Dante growled. "But we'd better keep an eye out. If Culling's involved with this, then we should expect something else to happen."

Sero shivered, feeling a pit form in the bottom of his stomach as he remembered that Elizabeth was supposed to be at the site of the first pendant he found at the abandoned house. He hoped that she was okay, or at least, that the situation had turned out better for her than it had for the other witnesses who had been at the park.

---

Over at the site of the first pendant, Kit jogged up to the group, tense, but slightly more relaxed as she put her phone away. 

"There was another pendant at the park near the association building," the Paradox explained. "Dante and J'takk were able to get the situation under control, but there were some casualties. Meredith is working with Gregor and the other Janitors to see if they can locate any other pendants around the Zone, just in case there's more." 

"Why are these pendants popping up all of a sudden?" Kaizo murmured, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "The conditions for it to detonate seem to be close proximity. Do you guys think it might be another incident like the monster outbreaks?" 

Elizabeth shook her head. "If it was, there'd be more explosions like before, but only two happened just now. Simply put, I think these pendants were recently put up, given how we haven't noticed them before."

"That still doesn't explain why the vortex just disappeared out of nowhere," Kit murmured, looking slightly disturbed.

"Agh, this is so frustrating!" Jack frantically scratched his head. "How can we ever learn what the hell Culling's up to?"

"Maybe they're just playing with us," Ione offered, "seeing how we react to their little tricks. Trying to throw us off their trail."

"That was the case before," Kaizo admitted. "But now it seems like they're just... messing with us. Like they're toying with us. Like they're... bored."

Jack clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Well, I'm bored and tired of the games they're playing. Isn't there anything we can do to get the jump on them?"

"We could always investigate the other pendants Meredith and the others are looking for," Kit offered. "If we find them before they explode, maybe we can learn something from them."

"That's only IF there are more pendants they've planted," Kaizo pointed out. "If they're just messing with us, then they might not leave any more clues."

"Guess we'll find out," Elizabeth grimaced, powering up her Empress suit. "Jack, get in touch with Yelena and let her know the situation. Contact Serafina too, see if she can rally up the other A.R.E.S. members to come to the 25th Zone."

"On it, Empress." 

"Kit, take Amaya with you to reconvene with the others at the park. Ione and Cassandra, remain here with me just in case anything should happen," Kaizo added. "Everyone, be on guard."

With that, the group split up. Kit and Amaya left the abandoned house, jogging toward a secluded area where the Paradox was able to teleport them near the park. 

As Amaya got her bearings, she noticed Sero in the midst of the other Ascendants, standing next to Dante and J'takk.

"Sero!" she called out, running over to him. "Are you okay? What happened here?"

"Huh? Oh, hey Amaya, Kit-" the Paradox knocked the wind out of Sero as she hugged him tightly. 

"Is my little bookworm okay?" Kit asked, squeezing Sero.

"Yeah, I'm... fine," the Scholar managed to gasp out. "Kit, you're hugging too tight."

"I'm sorry!" Kit giggled, letting go. "I'm just relieved to see you're okay. So, what happened here?"

"A pendant was found here. Some unlucky citizen caused it to go off, killing a couple more," Dante explained grimly as he approached the three.

"I see... That's terrible," Amaya said, looking worried. "Seems like nothing else happened, right?"

Dante shrugged. "No, that's the thing. The explosion was pretty big, but other than that, it just vanished right after."

"That's not all," J'takk interjected, her voice heavy with worry. "Something felt... off about the area. It's like there was something more there, just beyond our senses. Something we couldn't quite grasp."

"Maybe it was just a residual effect from the pendant's power," Sero suggested, though he didn't sound entirely convinced. "Or maybe there are other pendants still hidden nearby."

"Whatever the case, the alliance is already responding," Dante glanced at the group. "Sero, it's great that you responded, but now you need to go back. I hope you still remember the decision the alliance came to regarding your involvement?" 

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be at Gregor's place with Nala and Luna," Sero consented, much to the surprise of Amaya. She hadn't expected Sero to willingly comply, especially since she knew how personal this was to him. A creeping suspicion began to grow within her mind.

"Good. And remember, if anything else comes up, you need to leave it to us," Dante warned. 

Sero scowled, but then turned to leave. Amaya didn't know why, but she followed him, reaching out to grasp at his sleeve.

"Wait, Sero!"

The Scholar turned around, looking surprised to see Amaya still there. "What's up?"

"I just... could I come with?"

Sero raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you busy with this stuff?"

"Yeah, but..." Amaya lowered her voice. "You're doing something behind their backs, aren't you?" 

Sero's eyes twitched, but it was more than enough to confirm her suspicions. "I knew it," Amaya whispered. "You're not just going to sit back and do nothing, huh?"

"Are you going to tell me to stop?" 

"No," Amaya shook her head. "I want to join you. To make sure you don't get into trouble like the last few times."