Episodes 170. Punishment

I didn't expect this to work. This is even beyond my expectations.

Nova the Prince(Goddess) was caught by my charm spell. She is now at the edge of the abyss, holding a knife made by earth magic ready to pierce her own neck like a harakiri.

Note: Harakiri = Japanese honorable suicide.

I knelt close to her, so our can see each other.

"You know, Nova? Right now, I am the one who will replace you…" With a soft yet piercing tone, I intimidated the young grandma.

I thrust my right hand through Nova's body and pulled out her Anitya core.

"Give me that power!"

Nodding in surrender, Nova agreed to my desire.

The power transfer with CODE occurred again. My body felt strange once more, as if something heavy was being forcibly inserted into me.

I remembered this feeling. It was the same sensation as when Anitya was first implanted in my body.

A few seconds later, all the heaviness vanished. I felt something returning to normal within me.

At that moment, I finally realized it was the same thing.

"This is…." The same premonition, even as if something normal had returned to my body.

I had Anitya again.

Meanwhile, Nova, whom I forced to transfer power, lay weak on the ground, aging once more. Her expression looked horrifying, like someone crushed by concrete.

"She's dead, isn't she?"

Nova was now gone. All the chaos should soon subside.

*Crack! *Tap! *Tap! *Tap!

I sensed footsteps approaching behind me.

"You… Stole her power?"

Haran, now healed but still mentally traumatized, tried to question me with her staggering body. Her hands gripped her knees as if still severely injured. Her breath was ragged with shock.

"What are you planning to do?" She didn't wait for my answer and bombarded me with more questions.

"…" I didn't actually know what I would do with this power.

In my heart, I just wanted to take this power because I didn't want my freedom stolen by others.

Now I was free from the prison that stole that freedom, but… Becoming the overseer of others' freedom was something I didn't want.

"Hey! I'm asking you, you bastard! Don't just stand there—" I cut off her rant.

"Shut up!"

With a single command, Haran fell silent, unable to open her mouth again. Her angry face was evident, her mouth wanting to say something but unable to. Her fists clenched as if ready to beat me.

Strangely, even though Haran wore her Hover Shoes, she was affected by the Prince's command.

Maybe it was because of the charm spell, not the Prince's power.

Whatever, it wasn't too important to me. What mattered now was resolving all this chaos.

.......

Somewhere, in a part of a ruined building, a young man struggled to stand.

"Gkhhh!" He slowly stood, but couldn't walk normally. The pain throughout his body slowed all his motor senses.

*Thud!

He leaned against a wall that had lost its foundation.

He couldn't see anything, his vision blurry and obscured. Everything around him looked like censored images. The glasses he usually wore were broken again.

"Where am I…?"

He looked around. But all he saw were black and brown colors. The moon that accompanied him at night was nowhere to be seen, and the stars that always illuminated the world were dimmed.

He was in the midst of darkness.

"Mr. Rasyid? Mrs. Erika? Sophia?" He called out one by one to those who were with him earlier.

But there was no response, everything was silent and soundless. This world seemed dead.

I can't stay here. I have to move forward.

With a body full of pain, he walked straight without turning, not attempting to divert or choose another path. Just a straight line like a ruler.

In his straight path, he heard terrifying noises. Though not very clear, he knew those sounds were familiar. They were the sounds of two or more people fighting.

He tried to ignore those sounds. Not because he didn't care, but he had a more important goal right now. Moreover, the fighting sounds were more than one. They sounded more like a battle.

He kept walking little by little, moving away from his starting point.

His steps only halted when he reached a place where he saw two people lying amidst scattered chunks of metal.

The young man named Stevent widened his eyes and walked closer to someone he recognized.

"Mr. Ryan!" He checked the teacher's body.

The heartbeat he felt in the man's chest was faint. He immediately knew the teacher was in a critical condition.

"How did this happen?!"

Stevent checked the man's body until he reached the back. There, he saw a sharp five-colored agate stucked there.

*Srrip!

Stevent immediately pulled out the object.

If this were ancient times, removing a sharp object from a wound would cause severe bleeding. But nowadays, this must be done immediately. The agate had damaged the Anitya system and had to be removed.

Once freed from the agate, Anitya would start healing its host as long as they were still alive.

"Thank goodness!" He sighed in relief as his efforts paid off despite the panic.

While waiting for the teacher to regenerate, Stevent looked at the dark and blurred sky. Uncomfortable with his vision, he took out a another glasses from his pocket.

"This is better."

The sky became clear again, though still dark.

In that darkness, he thought about the fate of the others. Were they still alive or not? But his eyes welled up as he remembered the fate he had witnessed. He knew one thing, even though he was the first to be attacked, he remained conscious and saw Mrs. Erika and Sophia die. He also saw Mr. Rasyid suffer greatly, his body cut to pieces and unable to regenerate.

"What has happened…" He turn down his head, not daring to look at the darkness anymore. "… This feels like punishment to me."

Amidst his sorrow, a firm yet gentle hand touched his shoulder.

Stevent looked back and saw a now-conscious Ryan.

"It's not just your punishment…" Ryan tried to force a smile. "It's punishment for all of us. We who lived in evil without fearing death anymore."

Those words were frightening but resonated with Stevent's feelings. No, maybe not just him, but everyone here.

Those who once feared no death now saw what death was. And how terrifying it was. They were mourned for only a few days and then forgotten for a lifetime.

It also proved human ego. Just to show power and vengeance, they were willing to enter a minefield.

The teachers of Podoagung, once 27 in number, were now around 15. Such a terrifying reduction in this era.

Their fate was not yet sealed; there was still one unresolved matter there.

.......

Bahar's group was heading towards the giant artillery far from their ground zero. But they chose to run than use their pick-up due to their numbers.

"Are we close?!" (Bahar)

"More or less…!" (Fredrica)

"There should be many vehicles there! If we see a bunch of vehicles, that means it's the place!" (Rasputra)

"A bunch of vehicles, huh? Got it!" (Zarbeth)

Eventually, they saw the vehicles.

There were many armed soldiers ready to attack anyone who disturbed them.

They stopped because of it.

"What's going on?" (Tasya)

"It looks like a ceremony." (Xander)

"Look over there!" Samuel pointed towards the giant artillery. There was a pole, and what Samuel pointed at was…

"Vrandy is tied there!" (Samuel)

They were all shocked by the statement.

What just happened?