The Martial Unity

While everyone was distracted, Leonel had already moved, making it to Conrad and James in a few steps and grabbing a side of the latter's collar himself. Another person might have chosen to fight off Conrad first, but Leonel was well aware how foolish such a choice was.

No matter what just happened, securing James' safety came first. No matter what happened between them, James was still his best friend. And, luckily, he had the now darkened lights on his side.

As expected, Conrad wasn't able to react. Seeing that Leonel now had a firm grip on James himself, he could only let go, allowing Leonel to pull James up.

"Leo…?" James' words slurred.

It was only now that Leonel realized James had actually been unconscious. It was likely his head that had smashed the window apart, it wouldn't be surprising if he was diagnosed with a concussion. Coupling that with the fact he was drunk and it was a recipe for disaster.

"Heeey, maaan. You're late, my sister-in-law was waiting on yoouu…"

Leonel sucked in a cold breath through his teeth when James heavily leaned on him. He was really in no shape to be taking on such a burden, but he still carried him out, letting him sit on the couch.

"Chef, do you have any gas burners back there? We need some light." Leonel called out.

The Four-Star Chef who had not said a word even when James' life was on the line finally looked a bit shaken. He didn't seem to know what was going on.

"… Yes… We use a blow torch for the finishing touches of certain dishes…"

He absentmindedly fumbled through the dark, pulling out the draw of a hidden compartment to take the torch he was speaking of. But, before he could think to hand it to Leonel, it happened.

In that few minutes, it felt that the planet would collapse. A cacophony of booms so loud Leonel had no choice but to cover his ears sounded. The earth beneath their feet trembled fiercer, the building swaying wildly from left to right.

It was then that Leonel froze. He didn't need to think to know what was causing this…

The Paradise Islands!

'Dad…'

A bout of worry seized Leonel's chest. No Paradise Islands were allowed to have routes that crossed over important landmarks. The top ten Academies, government buildings, and historical landmarks all fit this description. So, they were safe, for better or worse.

However, Leonel didn't care about his own safety. He was worried about his father.

Higher class Paradise Islands like the ones him and his father lived on had several safety features in case an event just like this one happened, however they weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. This was especially so considering the scope of this power outage.

island crashed into some of the high rise skyscrapers first, it could slow its descent enough to save his father's life. These skyscrapers were exactly the very last

the end, Leonel could only

of here, even leaving Aina behind. However, before everything happened, their wrist watches had warned of a Class 9 Code Red. It was

that their buildings were built with the highest earthquake technology,

often of the Paradise Islands above their heads. They would occasionally obscure the sun, but no more invasively than the clouds

became more and

several began to heave and vomit. A putrid smell filled the fourth floor lobby along

of had yet to even begin, yet billions had already died. What kind of sick

he had closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, keeping his visage expressionless as he covered his

the surface, not all of them were able to have a home in those protected zones. Their families might very well die by being

stopped, the earth still swaying beneath their feet. Maybe it was only now that they had become aware of just how many of those islands hovered above their heads… of just how many lives they

though nothing had happened. He carefully took James' shirt

have a concussion, but the remnant shards of glass on the bottom

Leonel borrowed a few scented candles from a resident of the dorm and lit them,

first-aid classes. He was unsure if the medics they had on standby for the game were still here, or if they had left to

stuck in his flesh. Finally, he wrapped them after disinfecting with some cooking wine he

"Love you, man…"

think he was the luckiest one of them all. Even if they tried to sleep now, they had no doubt that

smiled and shook his head, his gaze turning empty for a moment.

was to stay put. Everyone else knew as well. As one of the protected zones, they could

a worldwide power outage? Leonel had a feeling that it was more, but he had to admit to himself that he had no real evidence for this being the case. It was just that… how could the mighty Ascension Empire which unified Earth not be ready for such

caused this outage actively. It wasn't a mistake,

board. The academy also stockpiles several years worth of food in

capacity due to the game and the after party. Also, without power, the large freezers will slowly lose their heat. It'll be even faster if people are constantly opening and closing

overly paranoid. The food here is enough to last a month easily before they start to go

to act frugally out of caution, but another part understood that unless people had evidence toward how dangerous this situation

with any of this. He only wanted to go and see if

I can't stand

swaying of the building normalized, he didn't want to stand there a second longer. Usually such a mess of vomit would be cleaned easily with their high-tech. But, this was obviously impossible now.

from walking

that Conrad wasn't destined

a moment, Leonel thought that the foundation was too shaken by the previous earthquakes and that the dormitory was collapsing. But in the

if there ever was a spatial tear, it would look exactly like this. Maybe the only thing that deviated from his

abrupt cognitive dissonance, its black, starry innards, the way it seemed to have no, and simultaneously endless,