Who is Zi?

The Panther has a different line of business in a different industry than Falcon Face, so Mario never felt compelled to compete with him. For Mario, the problem is D'Kingdom. That company penetrated almost all business lines, including the fashion industry.

"How did it happen?" Mario was intrigued by the incident at the Panther Stadium.

JoydaG continues her story, "A student named Alex, descended from the Phantom Wolf has long disliked his own family tradition of serving the Panther family so much that he secretly hates Frank, the crown prince of the Panthers Phantom. At the same time, appears Rian, the son of the Bhoja family. Under the pretext of protecting the panther community, Alex attacks Rian. Actually, he just wanted to vent his frustration. But Rian gets Frank's protection."

"That's a bit elusive," Aditya said when JoydaG stopped talking. "All I know is that Panther and Bhoja are not on good terms."

"That's right. Almost all the students who claimed to be loyal to the Panther bullied Rian, who went to the panther school. They regarded him as a spy, so they also tried to drive him away. Children's imagination is very amazing, isn't it?" JoydaG laughed.

"In fact, Rian Bhoja is friends with Frank. Even so, Mantis considers the relationship between the two to be based on a secret. They don't want the real reason they are friends. Let's refocus on the Black Skull Demon who attacked Frank in the stadium. After the attack on Rian, Alex no longer cares about his loyalty to the Panther. He admitted that he wanted to walk his own path, so he finally didn't hold back anymore. He expressed his hatred for Frank. On the day of the National Martial Arts Olympic Games, he attacked Frank while also trying to paralyze public opinion against the Panther family. He not only attacks Frank but also messes up the match. Mantis concluded this was a personal motive, having nothing to do with his extended family. Alex grew up with his own idealism."

"We didn't hear the news," Mario said.

"The case is closed from the public. Mantis has a group of people who are able to erase the memories of those who were victims in the Stadium. They will only remember this incident as an accident due to the wrong construction of the stadium. Candra Kumala, the leader of the Panthers took on that responsibility," JoydaG said.

"Oh, that's right. I heard the news about the stadium collapsing, not expecting that it had anything to do with Phantom activity," Aditya said

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mario complains to Aditya.

"I don't think it's something we deserve to talk about. You are not interested in news other than those related to the fashion world," Aditya said defensively.

JoydaG observed the conversation between the two. Mario seems to accept Aditya's reasoning. Mario then refocuses on JoydaG. He hasn't got the information he wants yet. Mario wants to get weakness from Zi.

"Closing a severe case like this must cost a lot of money. Did Zi show up?" said Mario. He can imagine it.

"The matter of cost is a matter for the panther," said JoydaG.

"So what does Mantis have to do with all that?" Aditya asks.

"Isn't it obvious? Since the incident was caused by Phantom, the country's military and security forces would not be able to cope. Only we can," JoydaG said. Her statement reminds Aditya of the purpose of Mantis being founded. Aditya apologizes.

"Then how did you find the connection of that case with the Black Skull? Did Zi show up?" Mario realigns their conversation to the main issue he wants to know.

JoydaG drank first to wet her throat.

"Zi? Do you call the Black Skull by the name of Zi?"

Mario and Aditya nodded. "We don't know if he has any other names."

JoydaG nodded in understanding. "We've always called it the Black Skull Phantom. The Zi you are referring to did not appear. We can surmise that it's the work of the Black Skull Phantom because we conducted an investigation into the residue of power released by Alex impure from himself. We thought he was possessed, but he wasn't."

"Then who is possessed? You said just now..." Aditya interrupts and makes JoydaG show her dislike for Aditya through her expression.

"It's another student. Let me continue my story," JoydaG said.

Aditya was silent. Mario didn't say anything.

"Alex's power residue contains the power of the Black Skull. How do we find out? That's because the leader of our organization once confronted him. Our leader also knows the Serpent Phantom. He asked for confirmation from the Serpent Phantom. As he wished, the Serpent Phantom appeared in the middle of the investigation, he was the one who gave information about who possessed the power. However, only he knows for sure the power of the Black Skulls, because they have been enemies for centuries."

"From this we reached the point of concluding that the power of the Black Skull could belong to someone who surrendered himself completely to receive that power. Alex, who is actually rudimentary, can unleash great power after he cooperates and receives power from the Black Skull Phantom. On the day he unleashed his power in the Stadium, he thought he could control the huge power flowing inside him. However, he was defeated by Frank."

"Then regarding the possessed student... the student is called Jeff. A famous singer, fostered by Bhoja Entertainment. Somehow he encountered the Black Skull Phantom and the Black Skull took possession of his body. This part is quite difficult to understand, why? Because Black Skull didn't kill Jeff. He let Jeff's soul live. Jeff, whose body is used by the Black Skull, attacks Rian and Frank. Had Candra Kumala not interfered through his confidant, the two young men might have been dead."

"We then learned about Jeff's condition. His body was partially burned from the inside. Now he is still in a coma. Most likely, his body was unable to accept the power of the Black Skull which contained poison to burn Jeff's body. That means the Black Skull cannot arbitrarily choose a human body to be its host. Black Skull can move around the body as he wishes. At present, the Black Skull is not in the original body."

JoydaG fell silent.

"What if we kill the Black Skull when he's not in his real body?" asked Mario.

JoydaG shook his head. "It was not the right choice. The Serpent Phantom tells us that the only way to destroy it forever is to destroy it while it is in its original body."

"That means it could take years because we don't know where the real body is," Aditya said.

JoydaG nodded. "And we also don't know how to find it except to ask directly with the Black Skull."

"Asking directly would be very risky," Mario said.

Everything fell silent. They swallowed each other's thoughts.

"What about the Serpent Demon? Does he know where the body of the Black Skull is?" asked Aditya.

Mario saw that JoydaG did not answer immediately.

"He claimed not to know," JoydaG said with an expression that was not easy to guess.

Mario and Aditya thought about the meaning of the word 'don't know' from the Serpent Phantom. That demon itself is mysterious. It feels like something is still hidden in the grey.

"Then where is Alex?" Mario secretly hopes to see Alex.

"He is at the headquarters of Mantis."

Mario cursed inwardly.

"Then we can't meet him in person," Mario said.

JoydaG grinned. "So, you don't believe my words and want to confirm it yourself?" JoydaG seemed a little offended.

Mario makes sense so that their conversation does not turn into tension that cannot ruin his position.

"Because maybe something was missed. Maybe I dug up something you couldn't find," Mario said.

JoydaG remained calm, even though she felt Mario was satirizing the crummy way Mantis worked. "So, how did you meet the Black Skull? I'm tasked with finding his whereabouts in anyone's body right now," JoydaG said.

Mario tells JoydaG. He didn't think about the risks.

"You are not afraid to tell me this?" JoydaG was curious about Mario's attitude. To her, Mario seemed like betrayal now.

"I only pay the meeting fee. You asked us to exchange information," Mario said.

One corner of JoydaG's lips raised.

"Then thank you for the information. I have to go now," JoydaG said. Without waiting for a reaction from Mario and Aditya, JoydaG leaves them.

Mario and Aditya didn't move from their seats at all.

"She's still keeping things secret," Mario said when JoydaG was far away.

"I think so too. Now what are you going to do? This information from Mantis is not useful at all, it only corroborates our previous analysis."

"From what I heard just now, there are two things I think of. First, Black Skull Phantom also didn't know where his real body was, so he wandered around looking for his real body. Secondly, Black Skull Phantom knows where his real body is but can't get close to it casually, he needs great strength to liberate his own body. So now, he seeks and gathers souls who have ancient powers to be able to defeat anything that is shackling his real body."

"Is it true that it's all just about the real Black Skull's body? It feels like something is out of place," Aditya asked.