535 - 541
Chapter 535 Wheel of Chaos
The world turned dark, pitch-black. Not only sight, but even sound disappeared, robbed by the sudden wane of light.
The combination was frightening, menacing, and full of hopelessness... Something the night was obviously known for!
Throughout the globe, people were shocked by the sudden arrival of night.
On normal nights, they could see somewhat, but now, the environment was such that they couldn't even see their own fingers!
Mobile phones, tube lights, bulbs, monitor screens... nothing emitted radiance, and if they did, it didn't seem to make any difference!
The World Councilmen might have ended the meeting, but the drastic change of events appalled them further.
The same went for other powerful organizations like Dharma Chakra, Revolutionaries, and the rest.
More than shock, they were horrified by frightening possibilities.
"There were entities who could do such a thing?! Bring such a dreadful night in the entire world!?"
Whether it was Atlantis, Eden, State of Avalon, Lizeana, or any other power center... everyone there was aghast. They have never experienced a night like this.
As the despair of the neverending night bloomed in their hearts, they desperately pleaded for it go away.
Now more than ever they understood the importance of the light. Something they took for granted...
They begged for it to return.
For it to conquer the darkness; for it to illuminate the world; for it to obliterate the night out of existence!
They waited and waited.... for the first ray of light.
For the dawn!
As despair reached the peak, Hyperion's voice thundered in the world.
"Let light shine out of the darkness!"
In the form of cherry blossom petals, divine radiance burst out of his body, carrying a primordial glow.
"Light is the death of all evils! The obliterator of all sins!"
Hyperion majestically spoke as he used the strongest ability he was presently capable of.
"Insipid Dawn Breaker!"
The radiance that swept from him didn't kill, it obliterated! The difference between the two words was boundless!
🎵🎶 🎵🎶
Angelic songs followed as the petals continued to spread in the sky, cutting through the darkness.
The petals didn't only obliterate the darkness, they obliterated everything in the sky. It didn't matter if it was clouds, dust, or even airplanes full of people!
Nothing was able to offer even a bit of resistance! Nothing!
Whatever the divine petals illuminated, they simply turned into ashes and disappeared among the winds...
Such an ability wasn't a display of power! Rather it was the manifestation of natural laws that governed the universe!
And Insipid Dawn Breaker was the epitome of Laws of Destruction!
As the divine radiance continued to free the world of night, the planet seemed to be divided into two: black and white.
The black part represented the night while the white represented the radiance. There was no third color!
Or perhaps there was, shrouded by the curtain of night, helplessly waiting to be obliterated!
Under this curtain, Extermination clenched the Cosmic Spark tightly.
From all sides, innumerable petals fell, swirling around him.
When looked from outside, the scene was of the blooming of beautiful petals, extremely gorgeous! But when looked from inside, the scenery was no less than hell!
The petals borrowed majestic might from Laws of Destruction and started obliterating Extermination! Not only him but also the Genesis inside him!
They were wiped out of existence!
As this happened, Hyperion's body of light glowed brightly from excitement. He could feel Extermination fading away!
"I never thought I would need to use this reserve of power even on Kiba but this Extermination forced me to! That despite him being weaker than Kiba!"
Hyperion didn't like the present scenario.
Even though Extermination was vanishing, the power he absorbed from Hope was also being consumed.
Furthermore, since he was wielding the might of laws to use such an overpowering ability without fully recovering.... he knew a backlash was imminent!
"If I was able to absorb Kiba, not only would I have recovered, there would have been no backlash! Alas!"
Hyperion could only blame fate for toying with him. Still, he was happy that even after such use, he could retain almost 8% of his powers. That was the best outcome he could pray for.
Hyperion let out a sigh and gazed at the petals. It was just a matter of seconds.
"!"
Just then, a sense of fear and crisis rose within his heart. His breathing almost stalled as he muttered, "Impossible!"
BOOOM
Through the swirling petals, two gigantic shoulders emerged, seeming to be capable of uplifting heavens!
The shoulders were gray, emanating a heavy presence of death, and when Hyperion looked at them, he became stiff.
They belonged to a titan!
"What's going on?!" Hyperion was taken aback.
As he continued to look on, the shoulders blasted the petals back. The petals were like leaves in the storm, and they simply faded in the air.
"No...way! These shoulders belong to...!"
Hyperion backed off as a horrifying imposing aura surged through the world. With the petals around Extermination fading, the body of the titan emerged.
It was a titan that was condemned to carry the heavens upon his shoulders!
Atlas!
He was gray, absolute gray, radiating a boundless aura of sinister death. He lifted his arms, as if to uplift the sky.
But he lifted nothing!
Rather it seemed he was waiting for something to turn up!
"What the hell did he do?!"
Hyperion brought his vision on Extermination.
The laws of destruction have wrecked his body, but he was recovering at a speed that could be best described impossible.
Sensing Hyperion's vision, Extermination lifted his head and looked back at him.
Their eyes met, and Hyperion was crestfallen by what he saw within them.
A mountain of corpses and an ocean of blood!
"That's not possible! He was on the first level of corruption! The Sea of Sorrow! How could he evolve all of a sudden..."
Hyperion trailed off as he eyed Extermination's fist.
Cosmic Spark!
"Don't tell me...!"
An ominous thought flashed through his mind.
He recalled what Extermination said after he destroyed Anti-Cosmic Field: 'You have my gratitude for helping me again.'
"Now it makes sense! The first time... due to the combination of Anti-Cosmic Field and my actions... Extermination gained sentience!"
"The second time... with me destroying the Field Generator, he was able to bring out the Cosmic Spark!"
"And now once again, I have helped him!"
Even though his body was made of light, Hyperion felt a chilling sensation as he realized Extermination has tricked him.
"From the start, his aim wasn't simply killing me!"
Because if Extermination wanted to kill, the best opportunity would have been when the Anti-Cosmic Field was active!
Now looking back, it was obvious to him that Extermination willingly failed to exploit that opportunity!
Then... the aim of Extermination was something far greater. It was to make Hyperion help him in achieving something not even Kiba could achieve!
"Exploiting the Cosmic Spark!" Hyperion was crestfallen by the realization.
He eyed Extermination and the sense of dread he felt from him increased countless fold.
"What a wicked persona!"
When the Laws of Destruction started obliterating him, the Genesis Matter inside the Cosmic Spark was forced to act!
They violently broke through the restrictions of the Cosmic Spark and established a direct link with Extermination!
"I have helped him in gaining the ability to wield the Cosmic Spark!"
At he thought this, Hyperion's chest moved up and down sharply.
"I must calm down! Blaming myself would serve no use!"
He tried to calm himself, by thinking the situation couldn't turn any worse, but then the reality gave him the shock of a lifetime.
Above the raised arms of Atlas, a bizarre expanse of chaotic mist appeared.
This mist swirled into a circular motion, and slowly, it solidified. At the same time, from the Cosmic Spark, rays of gray cosmic energy swept out and surged into the solidified mist.
Whoosh~!
The mist turned into what appeared to be the phantom of a gigantic wheel!
"This is...!"
Hyperion felt suffocated as world-shaking rumbling sounds echoed.
"Wheel of Chaos!"
Not even in his worst nightmare he expected to see this here. He glanced it only for a moment, and by then, he felt the cyclicality of all life, matter, existence!
"The endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth... something that's personified in Wheel of Chaos!"
Hyperion thought as he recalled what was carved on the wheel: discarnate souls, hellish spirits, and suffering living beings!
"Billions of years ago, in a world that has long ceased to exist.... the evil gods were bound to a never-ending wheel!"
"It was in that world the contaminated Genesis was first seen!"
"And Genesis means the start!"
"The beginning of a life that has no end!"
"Something those souls, spirits, and living beings perfectly represent!"
Even as he thought all this at light speed, the wheel pressed down on Atlas' broad shoulders.
BOOOM
Atlas lifted the wheel up, his muscles bulging out. This resulted in the eruption of shocking airwaves.
Hyperion's body flickered and he appeared hundreds of kilometers away. Despite such a gap, he could feel a heavy smell of blood, mixed with the scent of greed and avarice.
Extermination flew before the wheel and looked at Hyperion.
"This is bad!"
Hyperion's heart sank for he knew he was facing a crisis that for him, was no worse than the end of Celestial Elysian Plane!
Chapter 536 Becoming A Part of The Chaos!
As the Wheel of Chaos condensed, its sinister presence sliced through the curtain of night, bringing back the light.
Alas, the return of light didn't bring back colors. The sky was now dyed with the color of deathly gray, just like the wheel itself.
Around the globe, people peered at the sky. Earlier there were angelic musical notes from the sky, but now they were replaced with cries of anguish and howls of sorrow.
As they heard these ominous sounds, they sensed a feeling of decimation. This feeling resonated with their hearts, and they felt the world was full of suffering and dissatisfaction.
The weaker living beings even experienced the cycle of life; birth, life, death, and rebirth. They realized there was neither salvation nor nirvana, and if they wanted relief from this neverending cycle, there was only one choice:
Become a part of the chaos... of the gray that was in the sky!
"Isn't that gray so beautiful? So tempting?"
"Yes! I have never seen anything more beautiful than that!"
"Me too! I have watched Eden from far away and even that paradise wasn't this beautiful!"
"Unlike this ugly life, I want to become a part of this gray!"
The world might have been tempted by the gray, but not Hyperion. The scene in front of him made his heart twist.
Still, he suppressed his emotions and concentrated on surviving. From the center of his body, a bloody glow erupted and enveloped his entire body.
BOOM
The strength of his aura amplified countless times. The radiance from his body dazzled the world.
Earlier, his body of light was white, but now it carried a tint of crimson!
To extract more power, he had burned his lifeblood - the very essence of his being!
Now he almost recovered 20% of his strength!
Of course, this was only a temporary gain. Furthermore, the strength came with serious side effects.
Something that would take decades to recover!
Whoosh~!
The radiance from his body collided with the new grayness, releasing seething sounds. As this happened, Hyperion eyed Atlas.
"So you had fallen under Genesis and became a part of it!" Hyperion grimly noted.
Atlas didn't reply, though, in his gray eyes, there was a neverending sadness.
"My brother, don't you worry, I would do my best to free you! No proud child of Mother Ternity would ever be a slave!"
Hyperion promised as a vibrant halo appeared behind him.
And then he attacked!
Brilliant divine light flooded out, carrying a never-ending devastating force. Above the light, the halo followed, and inside it, the mouth of a bloody dragon emerged.
ROAR
The dragon let out a world-piercing roar. It awakened the tranced living beings around the world and sent them in shock.
"Die!"
Hyperion shouted.
Extermination's lips curved up into a smile.
Everything so far occurred in less than the fraction of a millisecond, and as this majestic attack swept at him, Atlas spun the wheel above his head and threw it out.
The spinning Wheel of Chaos rotated through the air and smashed right into the divine light.
BANG
Sparks flew out and rumbling sounds filled the world. The ground trembled and the sky twisted in swirling moments.
ROAR
The bloody dragon gushed out and bit down on the wheel. Its presence was that of an emperor and it inspired both awe and fear, but when it bit down, the spinning wheel crushed through its mouth!
There was nothing the dragon could other than fade away!
The momentum of the wheel didn't slow down and it slashed into the divine light. The light surged forward, trying to break the wheel.
BOOOM
The brutal collision turned into a powerful explosion. Detonating shockwaves swept out, so terrifying that they penetrated the fabrics of space and emerged directly in cities far away!
Delta City might be saved from being eradicated but the world paid the price!
Even before people could notice them, the shockwaves razed them and the buildings to pulp. No one got time to scream or react!
As such dreadful shockwaves continued to spread further, more buildings split from the ground and rolled into the air.
In one such city, the people were almost pulverized when a masculine mutant appeared. He simply lifted a finger as buildings around him collapsed.
Whish!
Pulses of cyan force rippled out and crashed into the incoming shockwaves.
Puff!
The terrifying shockwaves that could rip through space simply disappeared in a flash without inflicting any damage.
By now, the buildings around him almost slammed on the ground. He traced the finger in the air and more pulses rippled out.
To the pleasant surprise of the people, the buildings stopped where they were, without crashing. It was like space was tightened, locking everything.
The entire city started cheering loudly.
"Sir Ozir!"
"Thank you for saving us!"
"We love you!"
Not only everyone in the city knew him, but they also worshipped him!
And how could they not?!
He was an Alpha! Their god!
Ozir ignored the cheers.
"The shockwaves were very powerful... those two must be almost at the peak of Level VIII!"
Ozir thought with a heavy expression.
"If one of them doesn't die soon, the world would pay a heavy price."
....
In Delta City, the time came to a standstill as the wheel and light clashed. The light caved in and splashed outward, and through it, the wheel crushed forward.
Hyperion's expression changed.
At light speed, he crossed his claws on his chest. The instant he did, the divine light split, and the wheel appeared before him, smashing on his claws.
"Argh!" Hyperion cried.
His body might be made of light with no bones or flesh, but when the wheel smashed on the claws, they reverted to their original form!
With the crisp sound of bones fracturing, they burst open!
The ghosts and spirits engraved on the wheel turned excited.
"Blood!"
"Flesh!"
"Food!"
They swirled out with expressions of insatiable greed and pulled the flesh from the broken claws. They hadn't eaten in countless years and now having such a tasty feast before their eyes, they rapidly devoured everything.
The sensation was far more agonizing than being skinned alive! Something Hyperion not only hated but found deeply embarrassing!
He was a titan! Someone who guarded Celestial Elysian Plane! And yet his flesh was used as the food by these starved ghosts and spirits!
"Damn!"
From the moment he launched an attack to the moment the wheel consumed flesh, it seemed a lot of time has passed, but in truth, not even a second passed!
Hyperion retreated back at an impossible speed and even as he did, the wheel spun towards him.
"Just as I expected! The wheel is the perfect manifestation of boundless weight, unimaginable speed, and limitless power!"
Millions of years ago, Hyperion has witnessed Wheel of Chaos.
Back then, the wheel was too long, as vast as the solar system. As it spun, it crushed countless worlds under its weight, behaving no differently than a grinding wheel.
The wheel in front of him might be smaller, but Hyperion knew, for him, its weight and power were no different.
"I need to block it!"
His claws regenerated back, and he created a thick screen of light around him.
BANG
The wheel violently smacked on the screen. Cracks emerged and the screen shook like an earthquake, but Hyperion poured more strength in it, ensuring it didn't crumble down!
A few miles away, Atlas stepped forward. Extermination lifted a hand to block him.
"No need," Extermination said in a menacing tone. "I would end this myself."
He thrust his palm out and the space distorted.
Perhaps it was his imagination, but Hyperion felt the wheel pressed by a gargantuan gray palm. The rotation of the wheel increased and it ripped into the screen.
BOOOM
The screen exploded into countless shards, turning into an energy storm.
"Bloody hell!"
Hyperion shifted his body back. While doing so, he blasted out the enormous spikes on his body.
Like piercing beams of light, they penetrated the void and bombarded directly on the Wheel of Chaos.
BOOM
"What?!"
Hyperion was astonished.
The wheel swayed under the bombardment of the spikes and then vanished!
Where did the wheel go?!
He refused to believe the attack destroyed the wheel. Even if that happened by some good stroke of fate, there would have been the detonation of chaotic energy!
"What the hell happened?"
Hyperion was alarmed by this situation. He rapidly brought his eyes on Extermination and noticed the smile changing to a smirk!
"You helped me achieve freedom from my self," Extermination said coldly. "But you have also done something that I could never forgive!"
He lifted the hand holding the Cosmic Spark.
"You have proved that not only this world, but the entire cosmos doesn't deserve to exist!"
Cosmic energy crawled out of the Cosmic Spark and wrapped his other palm.
Whoosh~!
The Wheel of Chaos appeared behind him, spinning non-stop. The dread this scene created was far too horrifying. It was like he was the epitome of evil, wielding countless vicious spirits.
"!"
Hyperion felt his mind crash with an ominous feeling.
Even though the distance between him and the wheel has increased multifold, the very fact that Extermination brought the wheel back frightened him.
It made his heart stir with an intense sensation of deadly crisis.
Extermination pointed his palm at Hyperion's chest.
"No way!"
Hyperion saw the wheel vanishing again. But this time, it didn't really disappear.
Instead, it overlapped with a different space.
Space where he was!
The vanished Wheel of Chaos directly emerged inside his body!
This was an unimaginable scene to behold.
A titan and wheel as one!
Something that no one has ever witnessed!
In a way, it could be said, what Extermination achieved was impossible by merging two different spaces.
Amalgamation!
Something that even peak Level VIII Alphas would have a hard time achieving!
Alas, Hyperion was in no condition to be astonished or awe-inspired.
The instant the wheel emerged inside him, his body quivered. The chaotic powers from the wheel made him revert back to his fleshly form!
"AHHHHHH!"
Crackling sounds erupted from his insides as the wheel spun, slashing through his organs, bones, and scales!
"NOOO! URGHH!"
Hyperion screamed.
Had he been capable of complaining, he would shout: 'This wasn't how the Wheel of Chaos was supposed to be used!'
Throughout history, not once had the previous hosts of Genesis used the Wheel of Chaos in such a manner!
Overlapping it directly with the space of the enemy!
That not only defied all logic, but it was also extremely cruel!
Hyperion almost felt cheated.
His body was neither able to handle the pain nor the load of the wheel inside him. He was on the brink of explosion!
BOOM
And without any surprise, he exploded in a dazzling shower of blood, flesh, and bones.
"More food!"
"So juicy!"
The vicious spirits, ghosts, and living beings on the wheel threw themselves at the lavish feast.
For better or worse, Hyperion has the incredible ability of divine regeneration and recovery. As long as even a droplet of his blood remained, he wouldn't die!
He could recover almost instantly!
Sadly, this caused him a pain that no one could ever imagine.
Every time he healed, the grinding wheel tore through him and the hellish spirits started feeding again. They only stopped when a droplet of blood remained so that he could regenerate and provide them more food!
It was a vicious cycle!
Perhaps Hyperion could accept this agony, but what he couldn't accept was that he was becoming a part of the grayness... the chaos!
Inside the chaos, he felt indescribable resentment; full of anger and hatred. He sensed their suffering, torture, and helplessness.
This resentment was the accumulation of everyone who has fallen under Genesis!
"NOOOOO!"
Hyperion wailed.
The chaos brought his worst nightmares: The death of his homeworld, the slaughter of the Cosmic Emperor, and the torture of Mother Ternity by Eternal Darkness.
"Just kill me! Please!"
Hyperion begged.
He could no longer afford to behave in the way his dignity as the titan demanded.
Everything that made him feel despair, he experienced it again. Not only his nightmares but also the lives of others in the chaos.
"Pl...ease!"
He continued to become a part of the chaos... forever living in this everlasting prison of resentment.
Chapter 537 Beauty Is Delusion
In the final moments, as Hyperion merged with the chaos, he repeatedly remembered how Extermination used Wheel of Chaos to kill him.
Perhaps the chaos wanted to toy with him to make him remember this as it sucked him into the everlasting prison of resentment.
"Extermination... his method was not only genuine but also extremely cruel and sadistic! Something no previous host of Genesis ever used... at least as far as the legends I know of!"
"He might have become a different persona... but this sadistic nature....it was just like that kid Enchantia spoke of!!"
Hyperion's soul flashed with sudden realization.
A few weeks ago, he has sent his Astral Projection to the World Fragment known as BSE79 meteorite and met Enchantia.
When he demanded information about the Cosmic Spark, she was vague and showed him the visuals of what happened in the World Fragment a few years ago. The only problem was that the main character in the visuals was blurred by Enchantia... to hide his identity!
"Enchantia spoke of the title he was bestowed upon... the title he took as name after the events in that World Fragment!"
Dream Seeker!
In the old tongue, that was termed as Kiba!
"He's that kid!!!!!"
As if completing its objective, the feeling of resentment once again became active in the chaos. Like flames of madness, resentment enveloped Hyperion, torturing his body and spirit.
"AHHHHHH!"
His final thought before he screamed was:
"Enchantia...She was trying to warn me about this kid! I have unleashed the dark side of a monster!"
Sadly, he realized the warning far too late. If not for the chaos, maybe he would never have connected the dots... Now all he could do was regret and suffer for eternity.
*****
As Hyperion became a part of Genesis, the grayness in the area flared up wildly. The presence emanated by it turned stronger, radiating more ominousness.
If one looked carefully, they could see the vague outline of Hyperion in it. In body and spirit, he has become one with the grayness!
Just like before, this grayness wildly spread around, re-occupying the areas it had previously.
Swoosh~!
Some streams of grayness poured into the restaurant that was independent of space and time. Obviously this wouldn't have happened if not for the will of Cosmic Emperor.
The streams of grayness whirled before the ethereal Hope.
Cosmic Emperor made a hand gesture and the grayness wrapped on her body. But unlike what happened to those who were wrapped by the grayness, her body didn't disintegrate into motes of light nor lose color.
Instead, she turned more life-like. It was almost like that for her, this grayness was some potent medicine.
As she absorbed these streams of grayness, the allover strength of the grayness drastically fell.
Extermination didn't notice though.
Perhaps because he didn't bother about the strength gained from killing Hyperion or maybe for another reason.
Regardless, the ethereal Hope smiled happily and moved towards Cosmic Emperor. He let out a soft sigh and took her in his arms.
"A titan with the power of Light can act as a great tonic."
Cosmic Emperor said as she again started running her transparent hands over his face.
"But it couldn't substitute for what you need... the nourishment of time. Just wait some more."
Hope didn't understand what he said nor she was mature enough to care. She let out a cute yawn and fell asleep.
"..."
His eyes brightened at this. It was almost like he was remembering something similar from very long ago... the time when he used to be carefree.
*****
At the same time.
High in the sky, Wheel of Chaos rapidly spun behind Extermination, almost like a divine halo.
Brilliant gray glow gushed out of it; filled with phantoms of souls, ghosts, monsters, and living beings that were free from the cycle of life.
When Hyperion completely vanished from existence, they cried and howled from excitement.
Extermination ignored them and burst out into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
His laughter was filled with both joy and madness. His eyes glinted sharply for he has just started!
*****
Meanwhile, some hundred kilometers away.
From under a collapsing building, Carole rushed out. She carefully avoided the debris and the wreckages of vehicles that were floating in the air.
"What on Earth is going on?!"
She demanded as a figure joined her.
The only thing that could be said of this figure was that it belonged to a male. Otherwise, it was hard to tell anything as he was wrapped in a dark hood and robe, completely hiding his body. Not even his eyes were visible. When one looks under the hood, all they see would be plain darkness.
"Something very bad," The figure replied. "Let's quickly leave this city."
"I know that much!"
Carole was no longer her usual self. There was no more self-restraint, calmness, or respectful attitude.
After her clone was destroyed by Kiba in White Angel Corporation, from far away, she patiently waited to see how developments unfolded.
She was surprised when Hank pulled out his trump card - The White Angel and then further astonished by the ease with which Kiba destroyed it.
Just as she thought everything was over, the golden lightning phenomenon began, and then everything went crazy. If that wasn't enough, just after half an hour, the world started losing color; turning gray.
The apocalyptic battle that followed frightened her to the core.
Only she knew how tough it was to escape from all the explosive shockwaves. She glanced at the hooded figure and sighed. If not for his help, the shockwaves would have killed her a hundred times.
"My apologies for being rude," Carole said respectfully. "You have held your part of the deal so I'm thankful."
"...." The hooded figure didn't reply.
Carole shook her head. She always felt he was too mysterious.
Around six to seven months ago, after Kiba broke his ties with Hank, she resolved to have a backup plan. She decided to do so as she felt Kiba must have a reason why he refused to accept Hank's suggestion.
So when she secretly started looking for options, she was contacted by this hooded figure. He offered her a great deal according to which all she had to do was supply her information about Kiba, the plans Hank has for Kiba, and everything related. Additionally, she was to participate in the plans he has for both Kiba and White Angel Corporation.
In return, he would amplify her strength through genetic experiments and give her a body clone.
Cloning was difficult enough, and to create a clone that was completely life-alike, with no difference, was more than difficult, even for scientists above Rank VI.
Yet he was able to do so.
This solidified her resolve in making a deal with him. And how could she not when he promised more benefits when his plans succeeded?
"Plans which epically failed..."
Carole bitterly thought.
As per him, the plan - which he didn't share with her - would start shortly after Hank fell. But the sudden interference of the titan ruined everything.
"He wasn't surprised by White Angel's appearance so the plan has to be connected with her... But how would he know something even I didn't?"
Carole wondered as she ran while avoiding all the blockades: smashed buildings, craters, roads on fire, etc.
She and the hooded figure arrived on the perimeter of the city and jumped on the bridge that spanned over the river.
Just as they landed on the bridge, the water below surged up in gigantic waves, crashing directly on Carole and the hooded figure.
"Watch out!"
Carole leaped out of the waves, fully wet. She didn't stop and further backed away till she left the bridge.
"Haah~"
Carole let out a soft sigh while drying the water that has fallen into her eyes and ears.
"What just happened?"
She was startled by this development, and just as she asked the hooded figure, the water on the bridge evaporated into a menacing gray mist.
"!!"
Her heart began to pound and her knees grew weak. She desperately pleaded the appearance of mist didn't signify the worst.
RUMBLE
With rumbling sounds, the bridge that has lasted for decades sank before turning into motes of gray light.
These motes fused with the mist and concentrated together, transforming into Extermination!
Carole started trembling inwardly.
The hooded figure rapidly retreated, ignoring his crestfallen partner. Despite his quick actions and lightning speed, all he could cross was one meter before he froze!
He grunted and lifted his sleeves up.
Whoosh~!
Fierce winds stirred up and rippled outwards, and through them, five cyan spears emerged. Like divine arrows, they shot forward, carrying immense destructive power.
Even a peak Beta-rank mutant wouldn't be able to evade them. But the hooded figure had no expectation of these spears working on the one who has shocked the world!
"Explode!"
He shouted to detonate the spears into a violent blast.
He had no fantasy of harming Extermination. All he wanted was to buy himself some time and use the force from the blast to propel himself back!
Perhaps, if there was no grayness, the blast would have been intensely bright, colorful, and frightening. But the blast that actually occurred resulted in nothing more than a few sparks! Even a defective firecracker would have created a far imposing sight!
"AHHHH!"
The instant this dull blast occurred, the hooded figure cried out terribly. His hood and robe turned gray, fading into thin air.
Carole's eyes went wide.
There was nothing under the hood or the robe! It was like there was only air that supported the hood and robe till now! With their existence destroyed, the presence inside vanished!
"That couldn't be possible!"
If it was, then who has she partnered with? A ghost?
She was gobsmacked for only a moment because by then Extermination was in front of her. The grayness spread around, without touching her. Even as everything else turned monochromatic, she continued to be her colorful self, unaffected.
But this didn't make her relived! Instead, it frightened her more, especially when she saw the blurred phantoms in the grayness, vicious and thirsty for blood!
She lowered her head, her body shaking nonstop. The thought of attacking didn't even flashed in her mind!
Extermination placed his right index finger under her chin and lifted it up, bringing her eyes on his. Coldness rose deep within her heart as she looked into his eyes, full of chaotic evil.
It made her very soul tremble.
He moved his finger from her chin to the side of her face, tracing it slowly. The water droplets and wetness disappeared, allowing him to directly feel her soft and smooth skin.
Carole swallowed forcefully. Her creamy gorgeous complexion made a strange contrast against his gray finger.
"Colors... The beginning of the universe started monochromatically. So don't you think it is strange that humans develop their sense of aesthetics based on colors, especially that of skin?"
Extermination asked as he tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear.
Carole didn't answer. It wasn't that she wanted to offend him by not replying... it was just that her body couldn't muster any strength to open her cherry-red lips!
"What's even stranger is that humans forget their true selves for the flesh donned by beautiful skin."
Extermination said as his finger slid past her wet neck, chest, and stopped on the navel. The fabric covering her bellybutton dissipated into motes of gray light, displaying her enchanting navel.
The sight of her navel between her wet clothes was erotic. Something that could make even the sages salivate.
"You can take my false self as the prime example. One of his dreams was founded on the very pleasures the flesh could offer."
He pressed the fingertip into her navel.
"And you would know that, right, Carole?"
"!!!!!"
Her expression dramatically changed as the realization hit her.
Kiba!
Before she could react, the flesh behind her navel contracted.
From the sternum, she bent inwards and collapsed to the ground. Her flesh shredded off to pieces, turning into motes of gray light.
"UWAAA!"
She let out heart-wrenching screams.
"Beauty is just a delusion, just like everything in this world," Extermination said as she became one with the grayness. "And a deluded world doesn't deserve to exist!"
Chapter 538 Surrounded!
Outside the State of Avalon, there was a large mountain chain.
It was the home to many mutated beasts and evolved flora. As such the presence of humans here was very rare, except for the occasional hunters and mercenaries.
In the center of the mountain chain, there was an area covered with dry foliage. A place neither beasts nor humans ever visited. Because the moment anyone steps on it or fly above it, the foliage would emanate off a decaying power, making one experience the weathering of endless time!
The power was so strong that not only would the person die, but not even a trace of existence would remain!
While many have wondered about this power, no one succeeded in discovering its secrets. If one succeeded in drilling through the foliage and travel underground for almost a mile, only then would they discover the secret.
It was a lab!
A very advanced, high-tech lab. Far more advanced than the one managed by Claudia!
And yet, despite its advancedness, it was dim and filled with cobwebs, almost discarded!
When the presence of the hooded figure vanished, the dim lights brightened and virtual panels popped up before the embryo pod.
The pod was a glass tank filled with genetic liquid, preserving what appeared to be a crushed brain! The brain was only not only crushed, but also charred black, almost as if hit with lightning!
As readings flashed up on the virtual panels, a pained voice came from the speakers embedded on the pod.
"First me... and now the Phantom-Clone... that damn slum insect!"
~BEEP~BEEP~
The panels beeped loudly, warning him of the strain caused by aggressiveness.
In response, the voice from the pod paused momentarily.
"He has turned berserk, corrupted by Genesis! And just like back then, he refuses to die! But one day... he would run out of luck and die!"
The voice threatened before fading. The panels disappeared and the lights dimmed down.
****
House of Hestia, State of Avalon.
The higher members of the family frantically discussed the latest developments in Delta City.
Lord Harley absentmindedly listened to their conversations while looking at the blank digital screen, waiting for the latest visuals from the city.
During the final clash between Extermination and Hyperion, the recording drones were destroyed. To counter this, the government sent more drones and also activated the spy satellites to capture images.
Lord Harley has also activated the family's secret resources to acquire more information. It was just a matter of minutes before the remnant energy dispersed in the city and for them to receive information.
"We should send forces to the city!" An elderly man named Xalion said. "This is the golden opportunity for us to act!"
Delta City was on the other side of the globe. Even by high-speed airplanes, it would take around ten hours to arrive there.
But this was not an issue for the family. They had the means to cross such a distance in the span of a minute. Of course, these means were reserved for only important situations.
"Elder Xalion is right!" Kurtis joined in for support. "Regardless of who wins, the winner would be exhausted!"
Xalion nodded. He glanced at the other high-ranking members, and seeing them still silent, he explained further.
"The satellite sensors have already confirmed the final clash emitted a power almost at the peak of Level VIII!
"They might be extraordinarily strong, but since they were trying to kill each other instead of simply fighting, they would have spent every ounce of strength in the battle! Not to mention, the stress and injuries their bodies would take!"
An Alpha-rank living being fighting was a rare occurrence itself. And two Alphas trying to kill each other?! That was virtually unheard of!
Regardless, killing an Alpha was impossible. Even for another Alpha.
The only way to achieve the impossible would be to give up everything and accept mutual destruction!
"If we don't act now, the other families would grab the Cosmic Spark!" Kurtis stressed further.
While he didn't have full details on the Cosmic Spark like Lord Harley, what information he received has already shocked him to the core. The same went for the other members in the room.
Eternal life, neverending youth, and infinite power!
They all were excited by the prospects!
Once they have the Cosmic Spark, the World Government would be only theirs! Nothing would be impossible!
"Then let other families grab that treasure."
A female voice declared.
The room turned silent and everyone, including Lord Harley, turned towards the speaker.
Kurtis didn't turn though.
He already knew the voice was of his wife, Rebecca... the bitch who gave birth to that bastard! Like that wasn't insulting enough, she was now openly disagreeing with him.
What a whore!
Kurtis swore in his heart.
"Rebecca is the only smart one here," Lord Harley said with a suppressed smile. "We won't take any action."
"What?!" Kurtis and Xalion jerked their heads towards him.
"If we use our resources to acquire the Cosmic Spark from the winner of that battle, we would definitely succeed; even in the worst case of the winner not suffering exhaustion or injuries."
Lord Harley took a short pause before resuming.
"But the moment we acquire the Spark, the other families would gang upon us! The balance which has ensured the status quo would collapse!" Lord Harley reminded them. "The treaties and ties wouldn't matter! Everyone would be against us!"
Kurtis broke out into cold sweat.
Right!
Even if the family succeeded, they would also pay some price since they would be acting against an Alpha. Their power would fall for a short time, but that time would be enough for others to act.
And no matter how strong the family was, it couldn't face the combined power of the other eight families. Plus, who was to say the revolutionaries wouldn't participate to steal this treasure?!
Then there was Atlantis! The most powerful entity!
Everyone would become their enemy! Even their own family members!
Kurtis regretted opening his mouth.
"If I'm right, the other families would think just like us," Lord Harley said with a sigh. "No one wants to make the first move!"
Rebecca nodded before saying, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind! Everyone wishes to be oriole and not the poor cicada!"
Lord Harley lifted his head up and was in the process of lowering it to give a nod, when his face fell.
At the same time, Rebecca's eyes flickered in astonishment.
Wrapping herself with blue flames, she shot to the windows, arriving instantly. She pushed them open and looked up in the sky.
The other members of the family too felt something amiss. They looked out, their faces plastered with looks of absolute shock.
Not only them, but everyone else in the family estate was in a state of shock.
"What the fuck!" A youngster shouted as his pupils constricted. "Is this the arrival of doomsday?!"
From the outer space, hundreds of asteroids hurtled down, leaving behind a trail of gray flames. They were faster than lightning, and as they rained down, they seem to rotate, congealing in the shape of a wheel!
Images of discarnate souls and ghosts flew across this strange formation of the wheel; radiating an intense desire to murder.
In the estate, the faces of servants and youngsters turned pale. Even though the asteroids haven't yet crashed on the ground, they felt intense pain within their consciousness. Many of the weaker ones instantly bent down in kneeling position.
"This must be the attack of the gods known as Alphas!"
Everything occurred in the span of seconds and by now, the asteroids were barely a kilometer from the ground.
BOOOM
As if smashing into some invisible ceiling, the asteroids stopped in mid-air. Deafening booms echoed out, creating a stifling atmosphere.
Like cracks on the mirror, air below the asteroids fractured into fissures. It wasn't the air that fractured, but rather the invisible barrier that protected the estate and the surrounding property.
"The first layer of the barrier has been damaged!"
One of the high-ranking servants muttered in plain disbelief. There were five layers that formed the barrier, and each layer was far powerful than the other.
The top layer might be the weakest, but even then, a top Beta-rank mutant would need months of constant attacks to create a single crack!
And now, some asteroids created giant fissures!
"Just what the hell was going on here?! Who could have such terrifying power to launch attack from the outer space!?"
The youths wondered with awe.
A butler around the youths snorted coldly. He wasn't awe-struck or stunned. Instead, he was angry. With a thundering sound, he demanded, "Who dares to attack House of Hestia?!"
House of Hestia wasn't a place that anyone could attack. It was the main faction in the World Government, and the prestige it carried was beyond words.
Yet someone had the guts to attack! Have they lost the desire to live for them to do such a thing?!
"Seems like someone has a death wish!"
The youths got over the feeling and agreed with the butler.
As they exclaimed in agreement, the first layer of the barrier flashed with a bright radiance. The radiance ripped into the asteroids, exploding them from inside out.
"Phew~ That ominous feeling is gone!"
The youngsters sighed in relief.
Earlier, they might have nodded due to their sense of pride, but they were kneeling! That was shameful for them!
"Thankfully it's over!"
"I thought I would die!"
"So did me!"
A few youngsters whispered among themselves.
Even though the barrier prevented the aura from the asteroids pouring inside, some of it entered inside by merging with the air. This was what made the youngsters and servants feel pain and kneel!
Inside the room, Lord Harley furrowed his eyebrows.
"The grayness... no doubt it must be that man! He must have won!"
Lord Harley thought just as visuals appeared on the screen.
Extermination floated above a river, with the Cosmic Spark on his right palm. His lips were curved into the same provocative smile as before.
The one he showed when he pulled the Cosmic Spark from his chest and showcased in front of the recording drones!
"He could summon an attack here from there?! How's that possible!?!"
Alarm flashed across Lord Harley's face. Before, he felt it must be Extermination, but only after looking at the visuals, he became sure!
"It must be the Cosmic Spark! Yes, it must be! Only that celestial artifact could have such impossible powers!"
His eyes flashed with naked greed. He wanted to have that artifact, at any cost!
Even as his desires turned stronger, in the outer space, the free space dust was infused with gray cosmic energy. This energy appeared out of nowhere, turning the dust particles into gray asteroids.
They once again smashed down.
Lord Harley sensed their arrival but he didn' care. He tapped into the air, and visuals from the estates of other great families appeared on other screens. The people inside showed faces of panic while looking into the sky.
"Just like I expected... he's attacking everyone!" Lord Harley spoke aloud. "But why?!"
He suddenly thought of a dreadful possibility. He further tapped into the air, and visuals from around the globe appeared.
Ten low-level cities and all places of importance were facing asteroid shower! Unlike important places, these cities were not protected by a grand barrier!
The asteroids easily burst into them!
Everyone within their impact range vanished! They didn't even get time to feel pain!
"This doesn't make any sense!"
Lord Harley noticed something amiss.
"He has targetted low-level cities instead of high-level ones! Maybe he's starting up something... but then why would he attack the homes of Nine Great Families, the revolutionaries, and even Atlantis?! They are the most important places, something that shouldn't be his target from the start!"
Just as he wondered, from the Cosmic Spark, a whirlwind of energy swept out, floating around Extermination. His smile turned to a smirk and he lifted his head up, almost as if he was looking at both the spy satellites and new drones!
"!!"
The smirk was like a hammer that smashed into Lord Hyperion's head. Realization instantly flashed across his mind.
"Damn him! Last time, he provoked all of us by showing-off the Cosmic Spark! And since none of us responded, he's now provoking us... this time by targeting us!"
The first time his smile said - Don't you desire this supreme treasure? Come and grab it!
Now the smirk said - Since you are cowards,let me give you an incentive to have this powerful treasure! Come, if you dare!
Lord Harley trembled from anger.
When has anyone provoked them like this?
Never!
Not even Lizenea did such a thing despite the hatred revolutionaries carried for the government!
****
The higher-ups of the other families had similar reactions. Still, they didn't give in to their anger and react.
No one wanted others to benefit by acting first! As for thoughts of collaborating, that would be a joke!
For a treasure like Cosmic Spark, people would even murder their parents!
So how could they trust others?
They continued to observe the developments though, and some of them even showed the live feed from Delta City to their juniors.
Extermination was a great lesson for the juniors, making them realize their worth was nothing!
***
House of Neville.
In the conference room.
An absolutely gorgeous girl - around eighteen years old- watched the visuals with others.
Despite the bloodline connection, the youths around her glanced at her, admiring her. But they did only for a second before turning back, afraid of her personality.
The girl noticed their gazes but didn't bother as she continued to observe the screen.
She was petite with pale skin tone, stunning black hair, and mesmerizing misty eyes that gleamed of innocence!
And yet, despite her innocence, she was given the nickname of "young pervert" by someone she wanted to teach a lesson.
As she watched the face of Extermination, she felt something that Felicity also did.
Similar vibes!
"Could he be the long lost brother of that shameless scoundrel?"
She wondered seriously.
"Maybe they were separated in some village fair?"
Obviously, she was none other than Sophia!
****
Delta City.
Extermination stretched his arms to the side and took a deep breath. He felt the loudness in the world decreasing.
He also sensed there was still great noise in this city. It might have been almost half destroyed, but a great amount of populace remained. Even the place his false self called home was safe.
Whoosh~!
He turned towards the eastern sky.
Out of nowhere, crimson clouds surged up, blocking the gray sky. Their sight was shocking enough and even before the panicked people in the city could react at their appearance, they twisted together, turning into the shape of a bloody wolf.
The members of the Nine Aristocrat Families who were watching this were stunned. Especially the families who allowed youngsters to witness this.
With looks of incredulous, the youths muttered, "Could it be...?!"
As they reacted, crimson rays spilled out of the bloody wolf and fell on the ground, making air squirm. Through these rays, a mutant with the facial features of a vicious wolf emerged.
"Crimson Wolf!"
"An Alpha!"
"It is really him!"
"Has he came to face that gray man?!"
RIPPPPP
People had hardly reacted to this development when on the western side, a katana ripped through the fabric of space. Space split apart like a curtain, and through the spatial currents, a woman walked out, wielding the katana!
The spatial winds stirred up her hair, showing her cold eyes.
"No way!"
"Another Alpha!"
"She's the legendary...!!"
Before they could call her name, a fissure appeared on the ground.
RUMBLEEEE
Rocks and stones flew up as the fissure expanded explosively, splitting the city into two!
One part destroyed and the other safe!
Through the fissure, more rumbling sounds burst out. As everything vibrated, a row of brown mountains rose up.
Between the mountains, a man sat, playing a flute!
Chapter 539 This Is The Only World We Have!
Ten minutes ago, on the other side of the globe.
Royal Palace, Atlantis.
Inside the throne room, the representatives from various races observed the projection from Delta City. Everyone was silent, their expressions serious as they waited for live visuals to resume and reveal the conclusion of the battle.
"Is this related to that warning?" A stunning mermaid wondered in her heart.
She remembered how seven to eight months ago, the king summoned them and ordered to not never step towards the land where the city was located.
They were shocked by his order, and when they thought of asking why, he revealed it was on the warning of Holy Seer!
In an impossible situation, they might defy the king's orders but never the Holy Seer! And how could they?
The Holy Seer was their god!
"From months, we haven't heard from her," The mermaid thought. "And the king looks troubled."
She shifted her gaze to the dais where Queen Anthea too looked troubled. There was no more joyous mood she was known for. If it was there, it was only in front of her teenage daughter, and the mermaid knew the queen was forcing herself to look joyful.
The mermaid then glanced at the royal throne. The majestic king - Poseidon sat there.
Suddenly, his eyes flickered. The mermaid was alarmed, thinking he noticed her rude actions of observing him.
But to her relief, he lifted his head.
Poseidon looked out of the palace and the layers of water above Atlantis, bringing his vision on the sky.
Through the clouds, gray asteroids came roaring down, carrying boundless energy of sinister death.
Without Poseidon or anyone from Atlantis acting, globes of water burst up from the ocean, transforming into arrows.
The water arrows were like rockets as they shot up, emitting an acidic vibe as if they were made from the water of hell.
In the blink of an eye, they smashed into the asteroids, creating an ear-numbing explosion.
BOOM
Fumes of acidic vapors swept out, destroying the asteroids...
"Your majesty, the visuals have returned!" A hydra informed.
The hydra has also felt the attack just like many in the room, and while he was astonished, he knew the formation protecting Atlantis would be more than enough to handle such attacks.
Poseidon retraced his vision and looked at the projection of Extermination floating above the river.
Seeing no sign of the titan, the result was obvious. Something Poseidon expected even before Extermination brought out the Cosmic Spark.
Reason? Because his body was ominous gray just like the gray matter that stayed in the body of Holy Seer!
Poseidon moved his vision to the screen next to the projection. There stats flashed up, revealing details that only advanced sensors could pick up.
"The readings picked up by the high-tech satellite points his strength to somewhere between mid to peak of Level VIII."
Poseidon thought.
"So he's strong, very strong... but not to the extent that he could wipe entire Atlantis out of existence! So why would Holy Seer be wary of him?!"
Poseidon felt his blood boil as he recalled how gray matter surged in her body from time to time. It was painful to even look, and he could only imagine what she felt.
"But he did such a thing to her... and that too from the future, when she was only a phantom of the past! So his true strength must far surpass the limitations of Alpha!
"Could he be the legendary Omega?!"
Omega!
A rank that no one knew if it even existed!
Because there was never an existence that attained this rank of power!
To achieve that, one would have to surpass Level IX! Something impossible!
The strongest known existences were Alphas! And they possessed the strength to wipe out the planet!
Of course, since there were multiple Alphas instead of only single Alpha, the planet was safe! The presence of other Alphas ensured that!
It was like nuclear weapons. The presence of more than one weapon acted as deterrence!
.....
At the same time, inside the crystal temple.
The Holy Seer - Rhea- sat frozen on the crystal throne. Her naked body trembled as the gray matter inside her resonated with the attack of asteroids just now.
"The instant those asteroids appeared above the ocean... the gray matter turned violent! It was almost like there was some command coded inside the gray matter... that would be only triggered by the arrival of asteroids!"
The asteroid attack was powerful, but it was easily taken care of.
Not the gray matter though.
Even her strength - which far surpassed the understandings of human compression - couldn't stop it. Maybe it could have, but since gray matter merged with her out of blue, she never got the opportunity to stop it.
Not now though.
Since the time gray matter merged with her body, it has ensured her powers were suppressed.
What little portion of strength she could use would barely qualify as the peak Beta.
She bitterly smiled at this thought. It has been decades since she used her true powers, and she couldn't use them when she needed the most.
Ssss
The blue radiance on her body considerably dimmed down as from her heart, the gray matter swept out. It started turning her blood into gray, absorbing her bloodline source.
"Get lost!"
She clenched her teeth and started fighting the gray matter. In response to her fighting spirit, the crystal walls vibrated and emitted streams of energy into her.
It stimulated her suppressed powers.
WHOOSH~!
Waves of temporal power erupted out of her very source of existence, wrapping her body like a maelstrom.
Around her, the time seemed to flow in a reverse manner as the gray matter moved back inside her heart. The gray matter went further back in time, almost to the instant where it was created, its most fragile state!
Just as it was about to fade, the gray matter glowed malevolently and returned back to its original might. It once again attacked her bloodline source.
As this happened, Rhea was shocked. The gray matter was too strong!
Back when she first saw Extermination in the future, she didn't think he was strong enough to terrify her... but in just the flicker of a second, her opinion had changed.
Something that still remained!
"Could he have been Omega?!"
Rhea wondered as she once again started fighting the gray matter.
Alas, what neither she nor Poseidon knew was that what terrorized her...was not Extermination but someone who impersonated him!
***
Delta City.
Extermination continued to float above the river as three mutants appeared.
Their entries were spectacular and amazing, to the point that the youngsters from the Nine Aristocrat Families became awe-struck.
And how could they not?! The three were Alphas!
Someone whom even the World Government couldn't afford to offend!
The World Councilmen and every top organization looked at the visuals with full concentration.
They first looked at the man with the facial features of the vicious wolf. His very presence emitted bloodthirsty aura, making the grayish world squirm with a splash of crimson colors.
"The Crimson Wolf!"
"The lone wolf of the south!"
"Supposedly, he was born in a family of mutated wolves... and gained enlightenment! No one knows how many living beings he has torn apart to gain that bloodthirsty aura!"
They then looked at the woman wielding the katana. Dressed in a blue sleeveless tank top and a white scarf draped over her neck, the space around her distorted as if it was continuously stabbed.
"Miria! The Mad Blade!"
"The day she was born, all sharp weapons around the world vibrated! When she lifted her right hand... on the other side of the globe, an ancient katana from World Heritage Museum flew out... landing directly in her hand!"
The youngsters swallowed as they remembered her stories. She was cold and merciless whenever she used her katana.
Calming themselves, they focused on the last mutant. His arrival has brought a row of mountains, dividing the city. He radiated calmness as he played the flute and jumped out of the mountains.
"Maldonado! The Mountain Lord!"
"Decades ago... the northern mountains in the State of Avalon split apart, and a baby flew out! It was him!"
As the top factions stared at the visuals, sharing shocking stories, the three new arrivals stepped towards the river.
Miria opened her lips, and in a cold voice, introduced herself, "My name is Miria."
"I'm nameless as everyone in my race is," Crimson Wolf joined the introduction. "But humans call me Crimson Wolf."
"Maldonado," The third mutant lowered the flute and introduced himself. "That's what my kind parents named me."
They continued to step forward, unfettered by the chaotic energy in the surrounding. Completing their introduction and still hearing no response from the gray man, Miria asked, "And who are you?"
Extermination looked at her.
In the time he has existed, he has been known by multiple names and titles.
Zed.
Kiba.
Wife Hunter.
Saviour of Women.
Holy Lord.
The Promised Sage.
Messiah.
Dream of Wives.
Living Nightmare of Husbands, among countless other titles.
But he didn't associate with them, not after getting freedom from his false self.
"Extermination," Extermination replied.
"Well, Extermination, we want you to back off," Crimson Wolf pointed his right claw at him. "And stop the madness that you have unleashed on this world!"
"Madness I have unleashed?" Extermination arched his head back and started laughing like he has heard the funniest joke in the world.
Crimson Wolf narrowed his eyes.
Around Extermination, the grayness expanded like flames of madness, reaching to the skies. The phantoms of ghosts and discarnate souls inside them faded, replaced by scenes from the cities where the asteroids have smashed.
There were thousands and thousands of humans that have survived. Now they ran, stamping on the bodies of others, without showing a little bit of the so-called humanity. Thousands of survivors died under the feet of other survivors...
The scene then changed to the cities near Delta City, which were safe, and yet full of chaos.
The news of events at Delta City became a source of panic and resulted in law and order situation.
Riots broke out and lootings started.
Whether it was normal humans, mutants, or even people from law enforcement agencies, none did what they were supposed to do in the face of extreme adversities!
'If others are rioting and looting, why couldn't we? No government can punish us all!'
This herd mentality broke what little peace that still remained...
So some run; some enjoyed the new developments with looks of schadenfreude; while the rest participated in breaking the law!
They harassed, murdered, burned the properties of those they disliked, and robbed what they always wanted to possess!
There was the madness of a different nature!
"Adversity does not build character, it only reveals it! And the truth of this double-faced world is only showed in the face of crisis!"
Extermination continued with a smile.
"So don't blame me for unleashing the madness on this world! I only exposed it!"
The river below him surged up in the form of an enormous gray wave.
"And such a world doesn't deserve to exist!"
He stretched his hand towards the adjacent city, and the wave charged at it.
Miria lifted her katana and pointed it at the gray wave. She then dragged the katana down in a gentle chopping motion.
Her movements seemed to be very slow and yet, countless afterimages of the katana flashed up.
RIPPPP
By the time one could notice the afterimages, the sound of space ripping apart echoed out. A spatial fissure erupted between the gray wave, revealing the dark outer space.
Whoosh~!
The pressure in the outer space was terrifying, especially the spatial force that could suck anything. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the wave flew between the fissure, arriving directly in the outer space.
"Maybe you are right. Perhaps this world doesn't deserve to exist," Miria said as the fissure disappeared on its own. "But this is the only world we have! And it is our home!"
"Something we wouldn't allow to be exterminated!" Maldonado declared as he jumped up.
Dozens of mountains appeared in his other hand. The sight was strange. The mountains were obviously grand and imposing, countless times taller than him, and yet, they were in his hand.
It was a paradoxical scene to behold!
Chapter 540 One Vs Three
As dozens of mountains descended on the palm of Maldonado, he wielded them like they were the parts of a wooden club. Alongside this, layers of mountain coverings sprang on his body, wrapping like an armor.
An ordinary Alpha would die due to the grayness alone. Thankfully, not only him but the other two also had the means to resist it for a few minutes.
Even as he prepared himself, Miria had shot forward, charging straight at Extermination. The space-stabbing presence around her pushed the grayness away, and she moved the katana up.
Rays of dazzling sword beams erupted out, concentrating into a sword wave. The wave shifted through space and arrived above Extermination, crashing down.
At the same instant, Miria appeared before him, slashing diagonally with her katana. The sword wave and the slash seemed to overlap, becoming one, unleashing a sky-cutting move!
There was no slashing sound, no explosion, nor a burst of terrifying energy. There was only calmness; just like the calm before the storm!
It was a perfect attack with no wastage of energy!
Extermination's expression didn't change. He lifted his right hand and stretched his index finger out to face the deadly attack.
If anyone from the top faction was fast enough to notice his actions, they would feel he was trying to commit suicide! But after deep thinking and knowing things he has done, they wouldn't trust their feelings!
The concentric circles on the fingertip gushed out ripples of gray energy, transforming into a gray vortex, as the finger pressed into the attack.
Tremors ran through the ground and sky alike. There were no shockwave or dreadful fluctuations though! Because the attacks neither ended nor collapsed!
Miria squinted her eyes.
A fingerprint blocked the sword wave while the fingertip stopped the katana.
While she had no expectations of injuring him from this move alone, she was startled by the ease which he blocked her.
Her attack and his response happened in less a second, and by now, Maldonado unleashed the mountains in his hand. It was an absurd sight to behold, a small hand unleashing mighty mountains that were upside down!
RUMBLE~~~
The mountains blotted out the sky as they came smashing down with explosive rumbles. It would be only half-truth to say smashing because they also seemed to stab!
After all, the peaks were downwards, looking like spikes!
Another baffling thing was that even though the mountain peaks were spread around, they seemed to converge as they smashed into Extermination.
Anyone who witnessed such a strange and yet powerful attack would die from fear alone!
With his right index finger still on the katana, Extermination pointed his left index finger towards the coming mountains.
Explosive crackling sounds rang out. The sky ripped and the ground quaked.
"!" Maldonado's eyebrows knotted in astonishment.
His attack was stopped!
The finger didn't touch the mountain peaks, but the pressure emanating from it locked them.
Grayness surged out of both his fingers.
"Damn!" Miria grunted as the grayness began to corrode the sharp essence around her katana.
The brown mountain peaks were an easier target. The grayness shrouded them, dulling their colors, and turning them gray before spreading further.
The mountains began to shake, and through them, more mountains emerged, to resist the grayness. Maldonado let out a sigh.
"As expected, you are very strong, far stronger than us," Maldonado said with a smile. "And that's why even in this warmup exercise, the three of us have to take action."
Extermination's eyes flickered.
From all around, crimson claws shot at him. As they closed in, roaring sounds reverberated and the phantoms of wolves pounced forward, their mouths wide open.
The instant they bombarded at him, his pupils flashed with swirls of grayness. The claws and phantoms grayed, their bodies twisting in swirling motions. The change in energy pattern imploded them, their fluctuations wildly colliding into the dulling mountains.
BOOOM
The combination of different forces turned into a violent explosion, enveloping an area of over fifty sq.miles.
Space in its range collapsed for eternity, turning this area into a land of death.
Maldonado flew backward, covering himself between a series of new mountains. Miria drifted back, arriving outside the impact area of the shockwaves.
Just as she did, the space behind her squirmed and gray mist erupted. Like a menacing ghost, Extermination stepped out of it, his finger moving towards her neck.
"!"
Miria's face constricted.
She fluttered to the side like the gust of wind and turned around. Despite this, his finger now closed to her throat, like a sharp sword. The speed itself was beyond frightening, and then there was the innate fear from grayness that froze oneself to certain death.
Perhaps if it was anyone else, such a thing would happen, but not her! She was an Alpha! The master of her fate! Not even death could touch her without her will!
Twisting her body, she arched her back in the nickel of time. His fingertip slide past her throat, cutting through the scarf.
As this happened, she gripped the katana tightly. Bright sword beams boomed out and plunged at his moving arm!
Sadly for her, his speed was no less than hers. The sword beams brushed past his arm and dissolved into the gray mist.
Miria didn't launch another attack. She cut through space and vanished.
Far away, Crimson Wolf spread his arms wide and released streams of bloodthirsty aura. They turned into crimson clouds, shrouding the nearby grayness.
"I have temporarily suppressed his ability to appear anywhere!" Crimson Wolf said as Maldonado and Miria arrived near him. "But let me tell you, he's a monster! So don't put expectations on my suppression! We have to use that strategy!"
Maldonado nodded before replying, "If only we didn't have to hold back."
Miria and Crimson Wolf didn't reply.
They wanted to stop Extermination, but at the same time, they also wanted to prevent this planet from further destruction.
If they fully unleashed their strength as Alphas and fought an Alpha far powerful than them... not only would the impact exterminate this city but countless others. Perhaps, it would even result in permanent damage to the foundation of this planet.
If such a thing happened, then that would mean helping Extermination in destroying this world! The very scenario they came here to stop!
"Even though we tried to make up for this by joining forces, it is definitely difficult," Miria said. "But we knew the risks. So no use of complaining."
Crimson Wolf nodded.
"I'm not complaining. It was just that everything could have been avoided if those old codgers in the council took acted," Maldonado added with another sigh. "Now, if we succeed, they would definitely come to grab that treasure."
He eyed the floating Cosmic Spark. From the time they arrived, it hasn't moved, floating above the place where the river used to exist.
Extermination hasn't used it, nor did he fused with it again. He just left it there, as if giving everyone an opportunity to take it away!
As Maldonado looked at the Cosmic Spark, desires burst up in his heart. His bright eyes turned muddy with a thirst for a power that no one has possessed, and he began salivating.
"No! I can't give in to temptation!" He quickly shook his head. "My aim is to prevent damage to the essence of this world and not grab more power!"
Maldonado retrieved the flute and played it. The soft, sweet tune cleared his muddled mind.
"Hard to resist the temptation?" Crimson Wolf asked.
Maldonado nodded in affirmation.
"That's why I don't glance in that direction," Crimson Wolf said. "Otherwise those desires would make us murder each other."
Miria spun the katana in her hand and injected energy she would need for the next move. Energy particles like snow drifted around her, flashing with spatial currents.
She locked her eyes on Extermination and said, "His body should be under great stress! So why isn't he turning weak, or at least slow down?"
She has watched the visuals of the fight between him and Hyperion. So she could imagine the extent of power he used. Then there was his action of launching asteroids around the globe. Every usage of such power should have heavily tolled the body, exhausted the spirit, and strained the source.
"Well, maybe, he's so focused on his mission that he doesn't care about anything else! He's suppressing his weakness to do what he must!"
Maldonado's body turned blurry and his speed exploded.
"The same should apply to us! Let's end this now!"
His eyes blazed with images of different mountains and the air materialized with them. Snowy mountains, green mountains, barren mountains, and so on rotated around him.
He clapped his hands together and these mountains fused together with explosive sounds. A stifling pressure swept out and everything dimmed down, even the radiance from the grayness.
RUMBLE~~
A towering mountain with no end floated in front of him. The mountain emanated an imposing will, like that of a world itself.
Crimson Wolf leaped up and stood on the mountain, his body radiating majestic murderous presence.
He lifted his head and howled loudly.
"Awoooo!"
An illusory head of a bloody wolf burst out.
The mountain and the wold head twisted with each other, transforming into a Wolf Mountain! Everything trembled violently, the mountain emanating a weight enough to crush the world.
With a movement of Maldonado's wrist, at an impossible speed, the mountain came hammering down on Extermination like a bolt of lighting.
The ground caved by countless miles, revealing the core of the planet. Magma gushed out and the Wolf Mountain squeezed Extermination into it.
With seething sound, the magma lost its fiercness, turning gray.
Extermination raised his hands to press the mountain away, but just then, Miria arrived next to him.
"You have done enough damage! Now get lost!"
She slashed out with her katana multiple times, tearing the fabric of space apart, and forming a gateway to the outer space.
Horrifying spatial force emanated out, swallowed everything in its range.
At the same time, before Extermination could push the mountain, Maldonado and Crimson Wolf snapped their fingers.
The Wolf Mountain exploded!
BOOOOM
Countless rocks burst out, tinted with bloodthirsty aura. They smashed into Extermination, and even as he tried to act, the impact from the rocks sent him flying into the spatial gateway!
He was pushed in the dark recess of space!
On Earth, the very next instant, the tears in the space stitched themselves.
"Phew~!" Miria let out a sigh.
The factions around the globe were stunned by the sudden end of the conflict. The councilmen were especially amazed, their eyes glinting.
"How crafty!"
"Instead of trying to defeat him, they sent him out of the planet! Somewhere far away!"
The youngsters understood this but they felt disappointed. They wanted to see the true fight and not some schemes, no matter how smart!
"Fools! Their aim was saving the planet and not showing-off" A councilman smacked a complaining youngster. He then moved his eyes on the projection, his lips forming a smirk.
"Let's leave! We have to acquire the Cosmic Spark!"
The other councilmen had similar thoughts. Just as they began to leave, beeping sounds rang out from the projection. The satellites picked new readings, something that shocked everyone out of wits.
"What?!"
"No way!"
The hearts of councilmen sank.
In Delta City, the expression of Miria drastically changed. She jerked her head and looked in the direction of the Cosmic Spark.
"You can't save what doesn't deserve to exists!"
Chapter 541 Price Would Have To Be Paid!
"You can't save what doesn't deserve to exists!"
Miria, Maldonado, and Crimson Wolf swiftly turned towards the direction of the Cosmic Spark, their eyes constricting in disbelief.
Ripples of grayish energy surged out, and through them, Extermination started emerging. He looked a bit weak and worn-out, but otherwise, he seemed fine.
"You got to be joking with me!" Maldonado muttered.
Just a minute ago, they had pushed Extermination into the outer space, far away from Earth, and yet, he was back!
While an Alpha can survive in outer space, living there wasn't easy. Then there was the amount of time it would take one to return to Earth!
But Extermination was different! He defied all logic!
"He must have been fused with that supreme treasure!" Crimson Wolf said, his face serious. "While their bodies might be separated, they are one! So one can directly return to the other! Extermination is using that principle to emerge here!"
Miria nodded.
"We failed in our original plan, but we can't stop, not now!" She gripped the katana and rotated it in the air. "We have to stop him, but without destroying this world!"
Circles of sword energy swept out, turning into a furious storm, emanating with her sharp will.
BANG
Like a meteorite, Miria shot through the storm, arriving before the ripples. Extermination was still emerging and she dragged the katana through the ripples, rampaging it with blinding essence.
"You might be very strong, but your body is exhausted and so is your spirit!" She said coldly. "I refuse to believe you can continue to handle all of us!"
A blurred slash swept through the sky and ground alike, encapsulating everything.
In cities far away, people felt as if their bodies were sliced apart by this blurred slash. They broke out in cold sweat, their breathing heavy.
Extermination stretched his hand forward to stop the katana, but the katana was too fast. It slashed through the air and space, and directly ripped on his chest.
Crisp, loud cracking noise ringed out, and in response, Miria's body turned stiff.
"No way!"
She looked at the hand wielding the katana. The cracking noise was from her hand bones!
She imagined the katana to cut through his bones, fracturing them like a bundle of straws… But even though the katana landed on his chest, it was her hand that was fracturing with crisp sound.
His chest was fine except for a slash mark on his clothes!
"Just how strong is his body to handle such an attack?!"
What shocked her, even more, was the shock-impact her attack created. It damaged her bones instead of harming him.
Her thoughts and the fracture occurred in a flash, and instead of losing her fighting spirit, she pressed the katana into his chest.
A burst of sword winds swept forth from her, enveloping the grayish space with illusory swords, pulsing with stabbing aura.
His gray skin tore apart, revealing his flesh, and as this happened, Extermination fully emerged. His stretched hand closed to her face.
Before it could touch her, to his side, Maldonado appeared. He pointed a finger at Extermination.
RUMBLE~
Mountains erupted like divine spears, emitting majestic might. They stabbed at Extermination, but he didn't stop.
"Bloody hell!"
Miria retreated and pulled her katana back. The essence on her katana was corroded with grayness just like surrounding and she knew she couldn't handle direct contact with his hand.
At the same time, Maldonado's face fell. After Extermination failed to grab Miria, he moved his hand towards Maldonado.
There were layers of majestic mountains in between, but his hand passed right through them. As it passed, the mountains broke into gray shards, merging with the grayness.
Maldonado jumped back, but before he could fully, the hand was on him. His body was covered with multiple shells of mountains to resist the grayness, but now, those shells also broke into shards.
"No!"
Maldonado twisted his body and narrowly escaped from his head being grabbed. The gray hand touched his right shoulder blade instead, and his pupils dilated in terror.
He was a mid- Level VII Alpha with power to shock the world, but when the hand touched, his body started breaking into grayness.
His body turned heavy and he felt himself becoming part of something extraordinary, something beautiful... the chaos!
RIPPPP
This feeling barely lasted a moment, and by then, Miria slashed the katana through his body, ripping away the part infected with grayness.
"Snap out of it!"
Crimson Wolf pulled Maldonado and backed off, their bodies vanishing in a puff of crimson smoke.
The infected part collapsed on the gray ground. In seconds, it fully merged with the grayness, making the grayness expand.
A few miles away, Maldonado snapped his teeth. He knew Miria cut his body to save him, but the pain of losing almost half his body was heart-wrenching. Thankfully, as an Alpha, his recovery ability kicked in, regenerating his missing part.
He took out the flute and played it again, calming his mind.
"Get ready!" Miria said as he transferred more power in her katana. "We can't stop!"
Crimson Wolf nodded.
Extermination turned in their direction and said, "You wish to exhaust me."
Miria's eyes narrowed.
Indeed, they had no delusion of defeating him, at least not in the present situation where they didn't wish to damage the world further by using their full strength. They already knew he was exhausted with barely any reserve of stamina left. So all they wanted was to make him use that stamina and end this.
"Then I should use my remaining stamina for what truly matters."
Extermination made a grasping motion, and simultaneously, the Cosmic Spark flew into his hand. Space began to twist and his aura exploded out, soaring to the sky.
In Earth's orbit, the dust particles glowed with grayish energy, rapidly expanding in size.
Miria's and others' faces went pale from alarm.
"Dammit! He plans to use that treasure to summon enough power to materialize that asteroid attack again!" Crimson Wolf shouted. "Those bastards in the government won't take action! So if the asteroids land, more cities would be damaged!"
"We need to stop him before the attack materialize!"
Crimson Wolf cut through the sky and pounced on Extermination, his claws surging out with crimson power.
Miria followed. Her katana slashed through the aura surging out of him, trying to break the connection with the dust in orbit.
Maldonado lifted his hands and aimed at the sky. With an explosive crackling sound, enormous mountains crashed down, suppressing the grayish aura.
Extermination raised his hand outward just as Crimson Wolf launched his attack.
BOOOOM
A terrifying explosion boomed out, unleashing massive impact force.
*****
Meanwhile, in Crystal Temple at Atlantis.
Rhea felt the gray matter inside her turning stronger, resonating with the usage of the Cosmic Spark. Despite her best efforts, she wasn't able to stop the gray matter from devouring the origin of her life... her bloodline!
"Argh!"
Rhea coughed up grayish blood. Her body collapsed on the crystal throne. The gray matter swept out of her body, like ethereal smoke, sucking her body dry.
BANG~!
Just then, the door of the temple opened up. Poseidon charged in, his eyes filled with shock and terror at what he saw.
"Holy Seer!"
He gritted his teeth. Throwing caution to the wind, he lifted his trident and aimed in front. Filaments of pure energy streamed out and charged at the gray matter.
But before they could make contact, the gray matter flew away as if completing its mission. It passed through the crystal walls and disappeared.
Posideon didn't have time to bother about the gray matter any longer. He arrived before the crystal throne and bent down.
"This can't be!"
Posideon felt her lifeforce on the brink of disappearing. She was barely holding up.
"It seems my end is near... isn't that a bit of an irony for a seer to not predict this?"
Rhea asked as her eyes dimmed and the blue radiance around her dulled.
Poseidon couldn't respond.
As Rhea began to close her eyes and Poseidon give in to despair, a teenager dressed in royal attire rushed in. Her head was donned with a tiara, denoting her status as the princess.
She was the daughter of Poseidon! The future of Atlantis!
Melina!
Looking at the dying figure of Holy Seer, her pure, innocent eyes flashed with firmness. She slashed her right palm and planted it on Rhea's forehead.
"Don't tell me you plan to...!!"
Poseidon was astonished.
What Melina was doing would result in many important events. But that's a story for another day...
*****
The gray matter rushed out of the ocean water and flew into the sky, arriving in the outer space. Resonating with the energy fluctuations from the Cosmic Spark, it turned around and rushed towards the source.
In the restaurant independent of space and time.
"For everything one wants, one has to pay the price beforehand," Cosmic Emperor said. "This is the balance that ensures the existence of the cosmos."
Instead of flowing towards Extermination, the gray matter rushed into the restaurant. Perhaps, if Extermination wasn't busy stopping Crimson Wolf, he might have noticed this strangeness.
The bloodline power of Time surged through the gray matter. Cosmic Emperor grabbed this power and transferred it to the body of ethereal Hope.
Her body started undergoing a strange development. The time on her body flew backward, approaching the instant where the other "Hope" died and she was nothing more than an ethereal existence.
Her time in this world was over with her death. The only reason she was still able to exist was due to the constant interference of Cosmic Emperor.
Now, as the power of Time injected into her, she turned completely life-like. The instability caused by something she lacked disappeared.
Hope smiled at him before closing her eyes, falling into a deep smile.
"We received what we wanted without giving the payment. The balance has been broken."
Cosmic Emperor let out a sigh while sweeping a glance out. His vision passed through space, arriving directly on Atlantis.
He noticed the state of the descendant of the Lords of Time. With a sigh, he retraced his vision and focused on Extermination.
"Make no mistake, the price would need to be paid, that too with interest."
Cosmic Emperor closed his eyes.
"The Time would ensure that..."
****
Dream Rise House.
In the underground facility, Eva sat on the examination table while observing the visuals from the battle site. Despite not having any knowledge about Genesis or what exactly happened, she was sure Extermination was none other than Kiba. This was obvious to her since she knew Kiba has gone to kill the titan after Hope's death.
"He has lost his sanity," Eva said bitterly. "How do we bring back the man we all liked?"
She didn't want to see Kiba like that, lost in the madness. She wanted the cheerful him, the one who amused her with his dreams and actions.
[[We can't.]] Claudia replied. [[No one on this planet is capable of that.]]
Eva lowered her head in disappointment.
[[But for better or worse, we do have the capable person here.]]
"?!" Eva was startled.
Claudia just said no one on the planet was capable of helping. So how could the person who can help Kiba be here?!
As she thought this, around the table where Agatha was sleeping and the table where she was sitting, a glass wall emerged, like an impenetrable barrier.
Eva was stunned. Before she could ask what Claudia was doing, the latter said: [[The wall would help but you also need to use your powers to shield yourself and Lady Agatha.]]
"?!?"
The lights in the lab dimmed down and an electromagnetic force field flashed on the outside of the lab entrance.
RUMBLE~~
Everything started shaking violently. It was like an explosive earthquake was passing through the underground facility, making everyone feel violent tremors.
Eva was shocked. Through the transparent forcefield, she saw the gateway to Section IV slowly opening, emitting strands of violet energy.