The Author's POV

Booom—!

Large portions of the hall collapsed inwardly, crashing against the ground beneath them as the sound of a significant explosion reverberated through the air.

Boom—! Boom—!

The hall continued to shake, and dust continued to fly into the air, creating a veil that obscured what was taking place behind it.

In the midst of the veil, bright white lights flashed while muffled explosions accompanied them.

Each impact was felt throughout the entire headquarters, as buildings collapsed and the dome protecting the facility continuously flickered. Cracks soon started to form, and alarms started to ring.

This didn't last for long, however.

Silence soon returned to the headquarters in the aftermath of the short conflict.

A great number of figures were seen lying on the ground as they took their final breaths, and those that were still alive did not even dare to move an inch.

They were helpless in the face of the overwhelming power that radiated from the hall, and they dared not even consider the events that had transpired there. Whatever had taken place was beyond their comprehension.

Within the destroyed hall.

"Uakh…h-how is this possible?"

Hemlock had a difficult time catching his breath. He looked up at two crimson red eyes that shone menacingly against the dark backdrop of the hall as a hand clenched tightly around his throat.

"How are… you this s-strong?"

It made no sense. It was impossible!

'This can't be real. How is this possible!?'

He, who had just broken through rank was supposed to be the strongest human in existence.

Apart from Octavious, there shouldn't be anyone else that could pose a threat against him, so…

How?

How was this possible?

"I-t makes no sense!"

"Of course, it doesn't."

The mute sound of Kevin's voice gradually made its way to him. Shivers ran down Hemlock's spine as he noticed his calm gaze pause on him.

He continued.

"The sacrifice and pain I underwent to get to where I am isn't something that the likes of you can ever hope to understand."

His power wasn't something he had acquired over the course of a couple of decades.

Far from it.

It was a skill he had acquired through a million distinct regressions. Throughout the centuries, he died over and over again. Endlessly.

To the point where death was merely a number to him.

All of it was for this one moment.

"Be glad you got to live as long as you did. If not because I allowed it, you wouldn't have lived as long as you did."

Had he not recovered his memories and power this late, he would have long since killed him. What he was doing now was something he should've done a while back but didn't.

...It was the last thing that he needed to do.

"Ukh!"

neck, staring deeply into Hemlock's eyes, which shook

able to get a few

you doing

wasn't asking why he was trying to kill him. He already understood

to comprehend was the reason why Kevin would attempt to conceal their strength

benefit would such action bring

worry about such a

his neck. Once again staring deeply into his eyes,

would've been able to accomplish what you set out to do. Perhaps humanity wouldn't really go into extinction

Crack—!

limped over Kevin's hand as the sound of bones breaking reverberated throughout

and

that, the leader of the Monolith,

Thump—!

so, his limp trembled, and he quickly

"Pffff."

his face began

Bu..thump! Bu..thump! Bu..thump!

the back of his throat. He felt a sense of powerlessness wash over his

"Ugh…a

that he was experiencing. Every single second seemed like an eternity to him, and

he

his shirt tightly, he rolled

"Pffff."

and his arm was nearly rendered completely limp. It took everything that he had in him to

himself to

Not yet.

don't have much time

***

Human Domain.

along the derelict streets and buildings that were

Clank—! Clank—!

of the Monolith.

blood, and one could faintly hear the screams of desperation coming from those

up above in

Boom—!

die already, you old

who was covered in orange armor. The

and as she did so, a soft hue floated out of the

"Y-ou…"

hair was

How did you

wasn't supposed

up for them in order to eliminate their forces. How was it possible for someone

It didn't make sense!

they take such a

'Did…did he betray us?'

memory of what happened a little while back

midair after she had an abrupt realization about something. It was the

"Don't tell me…"

Beeep—! Beeep—! Beeep—!

woman's expression morphed dramatically as an alarming beeping sound suddenly reverberated throughout the

Damn it!

barely had time to finish what she was saying before her body began to

Booooooom—!

sky was suddenly illuminated by a blinding light, which was accompanied by a deafening boom that seemed to

from underneath it, resulting in a mushroom cloud of ash, rubble, and smoke filling the sky, which in

everything in its path and destroying it. A desolate landscape was left behind after the explosion as a result of the shockwave that

silence, followed by what was comparable to the cracking sound