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!"

deeply into Hemlock's

able to get a few words

are you doing

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

comprehend was the reason why Kevin

would such action bring

such a

manner, further tightening his grip on his neck. Once again staring

wasn't crazy... Had it been another time, maybe you would've been able to accomplish what you set out to do. Perhaps humanity wouldn't really

Crack—!

over Kevin's hand as the sound of

conflicts against my interests, and for that,

the Monolith, and an ranked

Thump—!

to the side, and as he did so, his limp trembled, and he

"Pffff."

as his face began to turn pale, and he fell to the ground

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

was almost able to feel his heart thumping against the back of his throat. He felt a sense of powerlessness

"Ugh…a

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

felt as though he was

shirt tightly, he rolled around and

"Pffff."

blood came up in his vomit, and his arm was nearly rendered completely limp. It took everything that he had in him to

himself to pass

Not yet.

have much

***

Human Domain.

heard all along the derelict streets and

Clank—! Clank—!

members of the alliance and the members of the Monolith. There was blood everywhere on the ground, and significant casualties were sustained by

was covered in severed limbs and blood, and one could faintly hear the screams of desperation coming from those who had managed

up above in

Boom—!

already, you old

hair who was covered in orange armor. The armor complimented her body perfectly and

standing in the opposite direction from her, and as she did so, a soft hue floated out of the corner

"Y-ou…"

look. Her white hair was all over her face, and her clothes were in

How did

wasn't supposed

was it possible for someone of

It didn't make sense!

would they take such

'Did…did he betray us?'

of what happened a little while

something. It was the only explanation she could come up with

"Don't tell me…"

Beeep—! Beeep—! Beeep—!

morphed dramatically as an alarming beeping sound

it! Damn it!

was saying before

Booooooom—!

accompanied by a

from underneath it, resulting in a mushroom

destroying it. A desolate landscape was left behind after the explosion as a result of the shockwave that traveled

followed by an eerie silence, followed by what