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
“What do you hope to achieve by bringing me here?”When he heard Zeke’s question, Viator’s beady eyes stopped their incessant movement and focused on the young man.“Instead of staying on your doomed planet, we want you to come with us. With your cooperation, we might be able to study the Paths of Extinction System. We are ready to accommodate you and anyone you want to bring along. We have no destination in mind and what little fuel we currently have is only enough to run away from the Dead Ends. Eventually, we will run out of fuel and be stranded in space, withering away with the passing of time. You store enough Aether in your body to fully power our Mother Starship and allow us to travel longer distances.”“If you know about the Systems, then you surely know that mine will interfere and force me to stay.”“Yes, we are aware of that. Our efforts for the past decades weren’t completely fruitless. We know how the Night Goddess resisted the System and emerged victorious. If you agree,
“Why did you do this?”After a short silence, a brave Zyth stepped out of hiding and glared at the human.“It was your kind that forcefully brought me here and planned to lock me up.”The Zyth, enraged, jumped at Zyth while unleashing a wave of vermillion flames.Unfortunately, the flames were overpowered by Zeke’s voltage. The Zyth, too, was blown away with ease.It was apparent that he wasn’t a fighter.“S-stop!”“Don’t!”Female and male Zyth rushed from all around and ran toward Zeke as they saw him about to attack again.“You attack me and then tell me to stop if I retaliate?”“Haven’t you killed enough of us? Our leader is dead!”Another Zyth stepped up and yelled atop her lungs. She looked like any other Zyth, only her outfit was different.The confrontation between Zeke and the remaining Zyth was short-lasting as an intense tremor assaulted the Mother Starship.The lights stopped working and there were a series of explosions happening from the way Zeke had come from.The Zyth f
“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