“This place should be safe.”Julia Lopmore took them to a spacious underground banker South of the city.The energetic girl from five years ago had matured a lot, either in terms of attitude or appearance. However, as she laid low and avoided public attention, no one really knew what she had been doing the past couple of years.“Thank you.”Celestia, who was the unofficial leader of their small group, bowed toward Julia.They didn’t have a place to hide as the General surely knew all their bases. They could have gone to the company, but that would involve other people.The Lightning Flame Mercenaries might have grown in popularity and become nationally recognized, but they were still a small organization compared to the Department of Defense.Moreover, as Zhang attacked them in their villa, it was apparent that he didn’t care about the public attention it might consequently bring.“We still cannot contact Zeke.” Said Azmer as he let out a heavy sigh and glanced at Cecilia.The old Imp
As she witnessed the slaughter, the young Layla turned around and puked. Even though she was a mercenary, she wasn’t used to such brutal sights. Admittedly, Zeke’s voltage had burned almost all the bodies, but some were blown to pieces or filled with bloody and gaping holes.Even Vins looked disturbed as he tried to not look at the gore and blood. In contrast, Kiam Hells and George Mill weren’t the least bit affected. The former hailed from a tribe of warriors and the latter had been a veteran soldier for more than a decade before joining the Lightning Flame.It was a horrifying sight to see a young man kill so many people so fast and with ease. Any doubts any of them had harboured toward his strength was not replaced by fear and awe.When Layla saw Zeke stare at her and the other three and then approach them, she got a little bit tense.“I remember seeing you. You’re one of the mercenaries?”“They’re our finest, actually.”Young Jeremy, whose handcuffs were broken by the voltage, sto
“.... What?”Although his plan was successful, General Zhang was flabbergasted when he heard the shocking news.The Mother Starship had crashed into the Eastern coast of the Nezulian Republic. The subsequent explosion reached the capital, but Bhak Djinn had acted fast and set up layers of barriers that absorbed most of the damage.“He escaped…”The red-haired man sat on his chair and shook his head, still processing what happened. He knew that Zeke was taken by the Zyth, which made the timing of his attack perfect. However, Zeke’s fast escape was totally out of his expectations.Even if he was the Holder of the Paths of Extinction System, it was still surprising to see him not only escape but bring ruin to the Zyth’s starship.“He has been sighted with Frederic Whitefort. It is highly likely that they are now working together.”The General frowned, his expression turning colder. As if things couldn’t get worse, an agent entered the room and reported on the incident that happened in fr
“Hate me and resent me all you want, but the truth remains: I gain nothing by backstabbing you right now. Even if I manage to get your System, which isn’t possible due to how strong you’ve become, I’ll still have to start from scratch. I wouldn’t be able to resist the Dead Ends. I might survive, but what use is that when everyone is dead?”Frederic stared back at Zeke, his voice and expression both serious. “If you succeed in destroying the Dead Ends and want to get rid of your System, then I can relieve you of it. How does that work?”There was a hint of desperation in the Vagabond’s words. He genuinely didn’t know if Zeke would accept or would just kill him there and now.After an inordinate silence, Zeke spoke,“First, tell me what you know of the Dead Ends.”“Do I have your words that you won’t kill me?”“Prove yourself useful and make me change my mind. I’m disinclined to let someone like you free, especially after all the shit you did.”Frederic Whitefort let out a heavy sigh i
“Trying to find the facility that’s manufacturing the Artificial Dead Ends will take a lot of time. If you’re really hell-bent on killing the General, then why not attack the HQ of the Department of Defense?”Frederic nonchalantly spat that proposition right after his lengthy explanation of the System.“The HQ? There will be hundreds of Special Agents. It’s impossibl-”Vins objected but Frederic interrupted him,“Pipe down, will you? I wasn’t talking to you.”“You’re our captive, in case you forgot.” Kiam Hells approached Frederic and gave him a chilling glare, but he chuckled.“I’m Zeke’s captive, to be precise. If he wasn’t here, I’d have killed all of you already.”“I’d like to see you try, pumpkin head!” Blurted the young and pink-haired Layla.She stomped the ground and gave him a look of anger, but when he stared back at her, she fidgeted nervously and hid behind George Mill.“So… what’s the plan, Zeke? I think it would be best to wait for Celestia and the rest to contact us.”
The battle was getting more intense as the two sides were going all-out.A couple of Special Agents had been killed or rendered incapacitated. As for Celestia’s group, they weren’t as lucky as to remain unscathed throughout the fight.Bibi and Maxwell Lepard, whose roles were to offer tactical support, got heavily wounded and almost killed. Were it not for Signora’s timely magic, their bodies would have been blasted to nothingness by the barrage of flashy magic coming from inside the building.Sulong and Signora glanced at each other and nodded. The former then shouted atop his lungs,“We’ll take care of them. You all charge inside!”Thereafter, a pillar of crimson fire burst from his body, followed by an ear-piercing creepy roar, emitted by none other than the flame itself!The ghostly wraith-like silhouette appeared above Velvet Signora’s body, puppeteering her body like a marionette. Her hands were extended forward as they let out a blinding flash of light that split into many lase
“I’ll stay a bit behind. I wouldn’t want to get caught up in whatever is going to happen.” As they rushed into the building, Frederic suddenly halted his feet and muttered those words before dashing to the side. Although his actions were suspicious, Zeke didn’t have the time to chase or stop him. Frederic was weaker than he was, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have been able to escape if he had wanted to, and that meant that he was willingly following Zeke. Within two minutes, Zeke found General Zhang inside a spacious room filled with the Artificial Ends. Celestia and the rest were also there. “Zeke!” Celestia, Azmer, Xiao, and Ava were inside somesort of translucent bubble that constantly released waves made of Aether. They didn’t seem to be physically injured, but their faces were pale due to the effects of the fog. Zeke moved his eyes to the back of the room, where clashing sounds could be heard. He saw Cecilia moving around and attacking the General from a distance. The
Zeke found himself back in the Extinction Order after confirming the System notification.He wasn’t alone, Velvet Signora and Sulong Braveheart were also there. The couple were startled to suddenly find themselves in this ethereal place.“Zeke? What happened? The sky turned red and there was an earthquake.”As he saw the confused and anxious looks of the two of them, Zeke took a deep breath and explained the situation.Before he got transported here, he was sure that the System had teleported him out of the Department of Defense HQ, but he wasn’t able to see his destination as it happened too fast.“What about the General? And Angel.”“The General isn’t a threat anymore. The real danger is the Dead Ends. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it won’t be good. You must regroup with Celestia and the rest.”Zeke paused for a bit and frowned, “If the Dead Ends are really upon us, then there won’t be any safe places. You must resist it until I can reach you.”[Time remaining in the Exti
“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