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!"

staring deeply into Hemlock's eyes,

still seemed to be able to get a few words

you

trying to

reason why Kevin would

benefit would such action bring

about such a

soft manner, further tightening his grip on his neck. Once again staring deeply into his eyes, his gaze softened

know, your approach wasn't crazy... Had it been another time, maybe you would've been able to accomplish what you set out to do.

Crack—!

the

and

of the Monolith, and an

Thump—!

did so, his limp trembled, and

"Pffff."

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

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

to breathe and move, he was almost able to feel his heart thumping against the back of his throat. He felt a sense of

"Ugh…a

moaned out in agony, unable to overcome the pain that he was experiencing. Every single second seemed like an eternity to him, and the pain in his

though he was

shirt tightly, he rolled around and supported his

"Pffff."

his vomit, and his arm was nearly rendered completely limp. It took everything that

himself to

Not yet.

have

***

Human Domain.

be heard all along the derelict streets and buildings that were

Clank—! Clank—!

fierce battle going on between the members of the alliance and the members of the Monolith. There was blood everywhere on the ground, and

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

up above in the

Boom—!

already, you old witch

was covered in orange armor. The armor complimented her body

the opposite direction from her, and as she did

"Y-ou…"

white hair was all over

did you

wasn't supposed to

trap set up for them in order to eliminate their forces. How was it possible for someone of Monica's stature to show up? She wasn't supposed to be here! She was supposed to

It didn't make sense!

take such

'Did…did he betray us?'

memory of what happened a little while back

to a halt in midair after she had an abrupt realization about something. It was the only explanation she could come up with at the moment, and her eyes grew startlingly

"Don't tell me…"

Beeep—! Beeep—! Beeep—!

morphed dramatically as an alarming beeping sound suddenly

it! Damn it!

was saying before her

Booooooom—!

illuminated by a blinding light, which was accompanied by a deafening boom that seemed to travel in waves

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

and heat rushed outward from the explosion site, igniting everything in its path and destroying it. A desolate landscape was left behind after the explosion as a result of the shockwave that traveled for miles after

was followed by an eerie silence, followed by what