Before the Dawn…
A swarm of small creatures descended, their buzzing wings carrying them like bullets into [Vakh]'s body.
The Herrscher of Evolution flailed his arms, roaring, trying to disperse these tiny life forms.
But there were simply too many! So many that they blotted out the sun, occupying every inch of space! They were even continuing to multiply relentlessly!!
"Damn it!" The Herrscher of Evolution roared, reaching out and grabbing a handful of these creatures.
But he froze when he saw what they were.
In his hand were just locusts… a swarm of locusts flapping their wings, trying to escape, yet unable to offer even the slightest resistance to the Herrscher of Evolution.
The lowly insects he so despised, the insects that enraged him when used as a comparison…
Insects that, aside from their reproductive speed, were completely unremarkable…
The Herrscher of Evolution began to tremble violently. He crushed the locusts in his hand into a pulpy mess, black blood trickling from his eyes.
"SHU—!!" The Herrscher of Evolution unleashed a visible sonic wave, pulverizing the locusts around him.
Consumed by rage, his face twisted and contorted, only his divine eyes remained fixed on Shu.
"Are you mocking me?!!!"
In the distance, amidst the swarm of locusts, Shu covered his ears with his hands, but blood still spurted from between his fingers, accompanied by blood from his mouth, nose, and eyes…
The Herrscher of Evolution's roar had injured Shu's internal organs. Only the small amount of [Hope] he had accumulated in the last ten minutes protected his life.
His mind went blank, and he lost control of his body…
He felt everything slipping away…
Color, warmth, time… life…
Then, his senses returned as his neck was seized in a vice-like grip, and he was yanked from the ground.
He forced his eyes open. In a world now bathed in crimson, the Herrscher of Evolution's body had transformed into a mass of bulging muscles.
His grotesquely disproportionate body made him appear even more monstrous and terrifying.
The drone in the sky, amidst the swarm of locusts, dutifully broadcast this scene. On screens across the globe, everyone watched as Shu was held like a rag doll.
In this instant… everyone's hearts leaped into their throats.
"You bastard—!!" The Herrscher of Evolution, now a monstrous figure, roared at Shu again, spittle spraying onto his face.
But Shu could barely feel it… his fading consciousness couldn't process the sensation.
"BOOM—!!"
Like a petulant child furiously thrashing a toy, the Herrscher of Evolution slammed Shu against the ground.
The resounding crash was even louder than the Herrscher's roar. A gap appeared in the dense swarm of locusts, then quickly closed.
A golden light flickered across Shu's body, erupting like sparks on the ground.
The intense pain made Shu cough up blood as his body was flung into the air, disappearing into the swarm of locusts.
"BOOM—!!"
The Herrscher of Evolution slammed Shu down a second time. The golden light flared again, brighter this time, but the glow around Shu's body had weakened considerably.
Shu stopped thinking.
He should be dead… he should have died long ago…
Backup plans, strategies… all vanished from his mind… Now, he only had one simple question…
Was he dead?
Unfortunately, not yet.
"BOOM—!!"
This time, the Herrscher of Evolution flung Shu away. The high-speed camera on the drone only captured a blur, then showed Shu lying in a newly formed crater.
The golden light around him shattered. Shu's face was covered in blood, flowing from his forehead to his chest.
His dilated pupils trembled, and his body struggled to take its last breaths.
At this moment, Shu had reached the end of his life—death.
The screeching of the locusts ceased. Swarms of locust corpses began to fall from the sky, their life cycle ending before Shu's.
Their bodies couldn't even remain intact, disintegrating into lifeless dust and grit the moment they touched the ground.
This wasteland had, in just ten minutes, gone from barren to teeming with life, then back to desolation.
"Tch—" In Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical, Kiana suddenly stood up and rushed towards the door.
"Kiana…" Mei watched Kiana run off. She reached out to stop her, but found herself running after Kiana instead.
However, when they reached the elevator, they found it unresponsive.
"The elevator is locked…" Bronya arrived at the elevator as well. Kiana gritted her teeth and looked back. The crowd that had been sitting in front of the screen was now gathered at the elevator door.
"What about the stairs! There must be stairs!" Kiana shouted.
"The elevator shaft? I can climb it! The skylight? The emergency exits?! Those Titan mechs must have a launchpad!" In a short span of time, Kiana blurted out several escape routes.
Bronya didn't even have time to be surprised by Kiana's rapid thinking. She instinctively bit her nails, her brow furrowed as she frantically calculated.
"You can't get out…" Before Bronya could find an answer, Otto's voice echoed through the loudspeakers. "I've sealed off all exits."
"Otto! Let us out!" Kallen shouted urgently at the loudspeaker. She knew Otto could see and hear them!
After a moment of silence, Otto sighed.
"Sorry, Kallen, I can't let you be reckless this time."
On the thirteenth underground floor, Otto's fists were clenched tighter than anyone's. He didn't even look at Kallen on the monitor, only glancing at her briefly before turning his attention back to Shu, displayed on the drone's camera feed.
His finger hovered over a button, his hand slick with sweat.
"Shu… just a little longer… hold on…"