The Sunken Metropolis,Central CityZeni Street was famous for being where all the wealthy companies build their Headquarters. The place was filled with skyscrapers or buildings seemingly made of glass.It wasn’t an understatement to call this region the heart of the Sunken Metropolis.The security here was top-notch and all corners and alleys were monitored by hundreds if not thousands of CCTVs. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that no crimes ever happened in Zeni Street.At the very end of this street, there was a moderately sized building, one that couldn’t be more than 5-story-tall. Compared to the skyscrapers, it was like a minuscule ant, barely noticeable and totally out of place.However, despite its modest appearance, this building was famous across the entire Republic. After all, this was the Headquarters of the Lightning Flame Corporation.Founded five years ago, the Lightning Flame had risen to prominence and quickly became the biggest and strongest mercenary com
It has been a week since Zeke departed from the Serey Zhan Empire. So far, they encountered no attacks, either from beasts or bandits.As they got closer and closer to the territory of the Nezulian Republic, the devastation caused by the war became apparent.The carriage they used was neither too slow nor too fast, so they were expected to reach their destination in two more weeks, approximately.Sulong explained a couple of things about the Lightning Flame Company and how it had risen. Cecilia Eroa mostly maintained silence. After her brief argument with Zeke, she didn’t join their conversation and would simply sleep or absentmindedly look at the terrains they passed.However, considering this was a carriage that clearly belonged to the Empire, it wasn’t so unexpected for their path to be obstructed by agents from the Republic.In fact, Zeke still didn’t know what their response to his recent ‘feats’ would be. They probably think that he had joined hands with the Emperor and was com
“I will only reveal myself when necessary or when you’re alone.”Cecilia bowed and vanished into thin air. Zeke didn’t object, he just nodded and then turned his gaze toward the highway a distance away. They had discarded the carriage to not attract any attention and travelled through the forests instead of the main road.Aside from that one attack, they had not encountered any danger. There was a noticeable lack of monsters or bandits, but that could be attributed to the war.The conflict between the two nations had driven everyone and everything away. “I have a signal. We can wait for someone to pick us up.”Sulong tapped on his cellphone, looking particularly relieved and happy. He had become an influential figure, especially in the Sunken Metropolis. It wasn’t to the degree that everyone would know who he was, nevertheless, it wasn’t good to travel in the open. Zeke was accompanying him, and as someone who caused quite a ruckus five years ago, there were bound to be people that
While walking next to the giddy Celestia, Zeke looked around and was surprised by the interior of the building. It was luxurious, high-end, and sparkly clean. It was far-cry from the place at which they founded the company… that old building in which Sulong and Jack lived in.“Where’s Angel?”In response to his question, Celestia brightly smiled and responded almost immediately,“She has become a student of Erys. She’ll be joining us in the evening.”“Oh…”…Within minutes, they reached the top of the building. Celestia welcomed Zeke into her office before shooting nasty glares at Sulong and his spouse, which were following them.“W-we’ll see you later!”Sulong stopped at the entrance of the office and spat those words before grabbing Signora’s hand and leaving.Young Jeremy, who understood his boss’ intentions, was tactful enough to disappear as soon as they left the elevator.As soon as they were left alone, Zeke was startled to see Celestia turn to face him with red and tearful eye
“Zeke!”In the Evening, not long after Zeke and Celestia’s romantic time, a teenage girl with snow-white hair rushed into the office. She had a slim body, a pair of beautiful bright eyes, a short pointy nose, and an enchanting smile. Angel, who looked like a fairy, jumped into Zeke’s arms and hugged him. She was the same height as he looked older than she actually was.Zeke had already been informed that, due to her unique regenerative ability, her body matured faster than a normal person. Furthermore, she became more social and talkative, opposite to how she had been when they first found her five years ago.“You’re back!”She flashed a pretty smile at him as she giggled.“You’ve grown a lot!”“Yes… hihihi…”She sheepishly nodded and happily spun around. “How are you feeling now? Is everything okay?”Celestia was the one who answered as she approached Angel and caressed her head.“Thanks to Wolf’s treatment, her condition had been cured. She has a monstrous quantity of Aether in h
The next morning, after Angel went to school, the expected visitors knocked on the door.“They’re in a real hurry, huh.”Zeke glanced at the nervous Jack, who was the only one who stayed. He told Sulong, Signora, and Celestia to go to the company and act as usual.The Department of Defense, or General Zhang more specifically, wouldn’t target and attack Zeke, so there was no need to worry about any assassination attempt. Moreover, it wasn’t like Zeke couldn’t defend himself.There was almost no one in the Republic that could match him in raw strength and power. However, the troublesome thing was the abundance of obscure and strong Artifacts at their disposal.Nevertheless, Zeke wasn’t particularly worried despite Celestia’s insistence on tagging along.Jack peeked from the window and saw the military trucks and the dozens of agents standing on the sidewalk, all next to each other and armed with artifacts.“Don’t worry. Enjoy your vacation day and let me handle it.”Jack nodded his head
“Zeke, I can understand your doubt, but we cannot just keep fearing the Dead Ends because we know almost nothing about it. It is better to study it, and eventually, learn to control it. We do not have the military might of the Empire or the Powerful Magic of the Witches, so we rely on something lest we fall and become part of history.”Zeke scoffed at the General’s words, but unlike the last topic, he didn’t drop it, instead rebuking,“Be that as it may, I and the Paths of Extinction System will not tolerate the Dead Ends. Where does that take us?”“I don’t know, Zeke. You tell me.”“For starters, drop the experiments and get rid of the Artificial Dead Ends you created. If you do that, I can convince the Emperor to stop the invasion.”“Convince him?” Zhang furrowed his brows and pondered for a bit. “After sacrificing so many soldiers, he will not stop just because of you. And even if he does, without something strong to defend our borders, we will always be at risk of being invaded i
Zeke was escorted outside of the Department of Defense HQ and taken back to his home.The agents that accompanied him seemed oblivious that he rejected the General’s offer and that Zeke was officially an enemy. Zeke maintained his silence and thanked the bearded agent for the ride before getting out of the car and staring at the military trucks leaving the street.He had already expected his talk with General Zhang to end like that. Neither he nor Zhang were willing to compromise.‘I need to check the Dead Ends on the Western Coast.’“Cecilia?”“I am here.”The old woman materialised right next to him and slightly bowed her head.“Did you uncover anything new?”“I have. My people have found three suspicious facilities in or close to the Sunken Metropolis. They couldn’t infiltrate it and determine in which one the Dead Ends are being replicated. If I had to take a guess, I’d say it’s the facility closest to the West, as they would have needed a ‘sample’ to begin with. Additionally, the
“I and Hephradet personally studied it, but found nothing. Here you go.”Kleya handed back the strange item back to Zeke.“There’s no Aether or any other foreign energy inside. We couldn’t determine its purpose.”“I see. Thank you anyway.”“Don’t worry about it. You should rest more or else I’ll never hear the end of it from Jenny.”Zeke wryly smiled and nodded. His mother kept nagging him day and night, telling him to rest and not continuously wander around the castle checking on everyone and making sure there were no issues.His body was already healthy and he felt no odd disturbances or unexpected awakenings. Everything is as normal as it could be.Just as Kleya left the room, Jennifer came in. Behind her was a red-faced Celestia, which made Zeke frown.“Mom?”Surprisingly, Jennifer grabbed his ear and pulled him to the couch.“Did I not tell you to overdo it?”“W-what? I haven’t done anything!”“That’s not what she told me!”Celestia stood a distance away, her head lowered in emba
“It’s still too early to assess everything, but… over 80% of the entire planet’s population died.” Kleya, whose eyes were a bit red and her face was filled with fatigue, sat across Zeke and Celestia. “And Her Majesty?” When she heard his question, Kleya lowered her head and held herself back from crying. “We… we think she died fighting the System. It’s no longer possible to return to the Unending Star, so we decided to acknowledge that Her Majesty was amongst those who had fallen there.” “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. She… she died protecting what she believed in. Us. Not just the Witch Association but all of the Aether Planet.” Zeke sighed, feeling sorry when he saw Kleya like that. The Witch Queen was the pillar of the Witch Association, their respected leader. It was especially so for Kleya and the other 6-star Witches, excluding Jennifer. “A-anyway, the situation at the capital of the Nezulian Republic remains the same. We’re still looking for a way to cancel that Frost Spell cast
“Huff… huff…” With a hand pressed against his hurting chest, Zeke dragged his tired feet toward the fallen copy. The copy’s head turned to look at him, its eyeballs, which looked as if they were to pop-out, were letting out the familiar yet incredibly dim crimson light. “We had completed our objective. There was nothing left for Us to do.” “That didn’t give you the right to wipe entire civilizations.” “You… wouldn’t understand, Zeke Orland.” Unlike earlier, the System spoke through the copy’s mouth. Its charred and cut lips moved in an unnatural way, but the voice was identical to Zeke’s. “We had succeeded. We had saved the world. Then, We understood that our creation, our existence was only for that purpose. That We were a tool destined to cease existing.” “...” “We could not tolerate that.” “So you manifested a will of your own?” In response to that, a self-deprecating laugh came from the copy. “After choosing our first User, we saw how the Races we were supposed to prote
While the Phoenix battled the System in the Cursed Plains of the Unending Star, Zeke’s fight against his copy continued.Things took a turn for the worst when the Crown was crushed and the System’s powers dramatically increased. Nevertheless, Zeke didn’t lose yet. His body was flung and then crashed into the ground, blood gushing out from his shoulder and back.Even then, he slowly stood up and grinned toward the System.“Still fighting the good fight.”The previously calm ‘copy’, or at least the System’s disembodied voice, grew agitated as Zeke refused to remain on the ground.“My will is not so easily broken.”[Voltage King]Zeke’s eyes shone with an azure light as his voltage grew silent and became white.[Divine Champion][Divine Sreyzhanian Arts]Just as he charged at the System again, its body suddenly turned stiff as if being immobilized by something.The item handed by Kayro Ol Zerg flashed from Zeke’s pocket.[Fist of Fury]Zeke’s fists, glowing orange and wrapped in condens
“What’s wrong? I thought you were invincible in your domain.”Zeke’s taunt had no effect, at least not at first. The System stood straight and looked down on its wounded body.“You know nothing of Us.”The copy raised its hand, and very soon, something familiar appeared.It was a tangible object of an odd-shape, but Zeke knew what it was. The Crown.“You will know what it is to be helpless and defeated, 5th user.”“You’re still talking?”Zeke let out a smile and charged forth, his fists wrapped by thick voltage.The System crushed the crown as the red voltage manifested and exploded in an uncontrollable manner.…“Is it done?”Julia Lopmore furrowed her brows as she looked at the enemy, whose body was crushed, burned, and almost unrecognisable. It wasn’t a body anymore, but a mass of flesh and poison.The silence lasted for a very short time as the Crown also appeared in reality.“Stop it!” Shouted Frederic as took out a blue bead, one with the same size and shape that Nicneven had pr
Xiao, with his spear in hand, actually deflected the Divine Thunder before safely landing on the ground.Several people appeared close to the Witch Queen. As she swept her eyes across the six people that unexpectedly showed up here.“Your Majesty, we’re here to lend a hand.” Frederic Whitefort smirked and looked at her as he muttered those words. He had brought along Azmer, Xiao, Celestia, Ava, and Julia Lopmore.“You… how ar-”“We can save that talk for later, eh?”Frederic motioned toward Zeke, who was standing there and staring back at them with a hollow expression.“As I’m the weakest of the bunch, I’ll just stay behind and offer assistance… as well as try to heal Her Majesty.”The Vagabond knelt next to Nicnteven and extended his hand towards her. He let out a warm and serene white light, which made her feel rejuvenated. It was Holy Magic, something which she didn’t know he could use.“Wouldn’t Zeke die if we tried to kill the System?” Asked Julia while furrowing her brows.“Not
Right after the destruction of the Heart of the Dead Ends, Zeke stood there, seemingly in a daze.The Witch Queen stared at him intensely, and when his eyes glowed with a crimson light, she immediately attacked.Jonathan roared and rushed as well, a creeping Darkness exploding from his hands.Nicneven struck out from afar, unleashing a blazing wave of flames, fused with a spinning thick beam of Ice-aspected energy.The Paths of Extinction System, which had taken control of Zeke’s body, retaliated with full-force as well.Dozens of thunderbolts erupted from Zeke’s raised hand, blasting Jonathan back and clashing with the Queen’s magic.“The Seat of Magic.” Muttered a voice that didn’t resemble Zeke albeit speaking from his mouth.It was emotionless and cold, one which no living being would be able to imitate.[Voltage Zap]Using such an elementary skill, the System shot innumerable bolts that arched in the air and concentrated on Nicneven.She jumped out of the way and performed a stra
“I know this is a lot to take in, Zeke Orland. But, I want you to trust me. Know that I have your best interest in heart and I wouldn’t have come unless necessary. I could’ve let you venture alone and complete your objective, after which you’ll be killed by your own System.”Zeke pointed his open hand toward the incoming shades.[Voltage King]A barrage of lightning bolts was unleashed, piercing through the shades and extinguishing them. They vaporised in an instant, leaving only a bit of red fog.The Dead Ends and the Paths of Extinction System, they both had that unique and ominous crimson light. However, Zeke thought it was just a coincidence.Now that the truth was revealed to him, he felt a bit lost. It wasn’t that much of a surprise that his System was dangerous or a threat as he had already suspected as much after learning about Edward Heart.Nevertheless, the fact that it was a tool from the very beginning did make him feel weak and clueless.An eerie silence flowed between Ze
Thanks to the thunderstorm Zeke had previously summoned, the three of them managed to reach and enter the Black Spike. Strangely enough, the entrance of the spire was fully-opened as if beckoning them inside. “This looks man-made.” “Because it is.” Answered Nicneven as she held the black katana with one hand and controlled five differently-colored elemental orb with the other. The interior of the black spike was empty but particularly eerie. Everything was black and except a spiralling staircase that led to the top, there was nothing else, not even the crimson fog. “Who made it?” “...” “Why do you refuse to tell me anything, Your Majesty? What is the Dead Ends? Who created it?” “You do not need to concern yourself with that. Just destroy the Hearts and everything will end.” Her immediate dismissal did irritate him, but he didn’t press her for answers he knew she wouldn’t give. “This is the final stretch. Jonathan, take the vanguard.” “Yes, Your Majesty.” Jonathan pushed bac