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
Azmer and Maxwell Lepard came to pick up Zeke right after his meeting with the General.Zeke was curious, but neither of the two asked any of his questions. Besides the initial greetings, they remained silent.Azmer seemed to have grown, his golden hair tied into a pony-tail. He had a mature and serious demeanor exuding from him, and he acted like a disciplined agent.Maxwell, who was driving, kept sneaking glances at Zeke.The drive to the Capital took several hours, but only because they avoided the highways or roads in which there were any government troops.Zeke could sense Cecilia nearby, actually standing on top of the rapidly-moving car. It didn’t seem like Azmer or his friend were aware of her presence. Admittedly, however, Zeke could feel an impressive quantity of Aether within Azmer’s body. Undoubtedly, the youth who had once been his bully had grown considerably, mentally and physically.He and Zeke had already cleared their feud and were no longer enemies, so to speak. T
“You don’t think he’s going to sit back and watch, right? In fact, I guarantee that he’s devising a plan on how to take you down. He’ll exploit your weakness and aim for your family and friends. Speaking of which…”Teresa King let out a sigh and continued, “I spoke to Edward Orland, your brother. He refuses to join forces with me. ““Why?”“Because he’s loyal to the General, that’s why! He seems to agree that the Imperials must be eradicated at any cost and no amount of reasoning will convince him otherwise.”“...”Teresa didn’t seem to be lying, which only added to Zeke’s confusion. Edward might be an agent under the General, but he was a kind and caring individual. He also took his job really seriously.Zeke had been back for less than a day, so he didn’t have the time to check up on everyone. Edward was generally in the HQ of the Department of Defense.As for Maxine, she and Zeke haven’t talked for a long time. Zeke had learnt that she became a teacher at Erys, but that was it. Sh
“Try not to destroy this place. Okay… start!”The moment Teresa gave the signal, all 8 Special Agents attacked.Ava was the first and fastest amongst them. She leapt forward as a burst of dark purple energy raged forth and descended upon Zeke.[Thunder Movement]His body crackled with blue lightning as instantly moved away. [Ground Wall]The dirt shook and a thick tall wall surged from the ground, blocking a massive fireball before crumbling.Zeke took out the shortbow and leapt in the air, firing multiple thunderous projectiles at the small machines controlled by Bibi.Xiao, Devan, and Franklin, all close-quarter specialists, rushed at him from three directions.[Rain of Arrows]Zeke pointed his bow upwards, which caused shiny voltage-imbued arrows to fall down all around him.Devan and Franklin used their black batons to block, but Xiao stomped the ground and thrust his special silver spear.Zeke was hit by a rapid and semi-invisible force, which blew him to the back. He gritted h
“You can drop me off here.”-ZekeOrdered by their boss, Azmer and the other Special Agents accompanied Zeke back to the Sunken Metropolis. They used two inconspicuous six-seater vehicles and travelled through dirt roads instead of the highway. Then again, General Zhang probably knew that Zeke would go meet Teresa.“Don’t worry about me. Just go and make yourselves useful!” That was what the Minister had said as some of the team members, specifically Ava, didn’t want to leave her alone in such a crucial and dangerous period of time.By lending help to Zeke Orland, Teresa had basically showcased her stance on this matter. She would no doubt be considered a traitor and dealt with accordingly.Still, she wasn’t a pushover, neither was she stupid enough to keep herself exposed to potential assassinations.“You too.”Cecilia got off the car with Zeke, but when he waved her hand, clearly gesturing for her to remain with the others, she frowned.They stopped just outside of the city and Zeke
It happened around 7 in the evening, when the sky had almost turned dark. Zeke had just left the graveyard only for several silhouettes to appear.They didn’t immediately attack, but they were holding oddly-shaped artifacts that pulsated with Aether.Blue lightning crackled around Zeke as he stared at the Zyth closest to him.Out of all the Zyth here, he only recognized this one, which only added to his surprise and confusion regarding their unexpected arrival.One of the professors at Erys, the Zyth known as Nayro. He was one of the few Zyth that lived on the Aether Planet rather than staying with the rest of his kin.“Zeke, my boy! It sure has been a long time.”Nayro was as cheerful as ever as he let out a joyful laugh.“Indeed it has.” Zeke swept his gaze across the other Zyths, which numbered no less than 20. They weren’t moving, but their wariness was more than apparent.“I suppose this illustrious company you brought is for me?”“It’s just a precaution, my boy! You’ve grown st