The cheering crowd sprung into mass panic as the air cracked and a massive dark violet portal revealed itself.
Almost instantly, dozens of frightening devilish creatures, known as Proto-Demons, jumped from the portal.
Michael’s expression turned grim as he grabbed Julia’s hand and dragged her away.
Meanwhile, the Special Agents and the Space Soldiers defended their leaders. Bullets, beams, and flashy spells exploded in the air, turning the festival atmosphere into a battlefield.
The Proto-Demons were being killed left and right, but even more kept jumping from the portal.
There were so many of them that it was impossible to take the ambassador to safety. The Special Agents formed a defensive group around General Zhang and the other high-ranking officers, whereas the Space Soldiers protected the scared ambassador.
The Proto-Demons paid no heed to the fleeing civilians, nor did they care about General Zhang and the rest. They were stubbornly trying to break through the earthlings’ defense and get to the ambassador.
…
“Breathe, Zeke. Inhale and Exhale periodically.”
Zeke was crouched on the ground while holding the large sniper rifle. He was currently on the roof of one of the city’s skyscrapers, right at the edge as he leaned close to the scope and followed Frederic’s instructions.
Everything was ready, but neither of the two expected Proto-Demons to appear.
“This works in our favor. Don’t get distracted and get ready.”
Frederic was pacing around as he prepared the escape route and used a binocular to look at what was happening in the Central Square.
Albeit their numerical advantage, the Proto-Demons were literally getting slaughtered by the Space Soldiers.
There was one soldier, especially, who kept ripping the hideous abominations into shreds with his bare hands. He was equipped with an outrageous speed and monstrous strength, not even needing to use the special firearms.
“What are you doing?!”
Special Agent Katrina had been following Zeke for the past two days, but, from her perspective, he wasn't doing anything suspicious. Unbeknownst to her, however, she was fooled by Frederic or else she would have stopped Zeke.
Although she didn’t approve or trust Frederic Whitefort, her job was only to protect Zeke and nothing else: Everything had been relatively well until an hour before the main event in the Central Square.
Frederic used a teleportation device to take Zeke away. It took Katrina some time to locate them, and when she did, Zeke was on the edge of the roof with a sniper rifle.
Seeing Zeke momentarily lose his focus, Frederic clicked his tongue and said,
“Pay her no heed. You only get one chance.”
With her twin blades in hand, Katrina rushed at the vagabond but he stopped her with ease.
“Unless you want him to die, you better stay put.”
“What do you me-”
Her voice was cut-off by deafeningly crackling lightning that manifested from Zeke’s body.
There was an astronomical amount of Aether pulsing within him, quickly transforming into voltage thanks to the special circuit implemented inside of him.
“He needs to kill the Ambassador.” Solemnly said Frederic as he forced her arms down and snatched her weapons.
“...”
“It is a gross oversimplification of the matter, but that’s how it’s gotta be.”
Katrina bit her lips and tried to fight back but Frederic was simply too strong. She was stopped and disarmed before she could do anything, and he didn’t even use any ability… purely physical prowess.
A distance away, Zeke isolated himself and purged any dark thoughts. He filled his mind with a domineering silence as he calmed his heart and breathed cyclically.
‘I don’t want to die. I need to succeed. Focus…. Focus!’
The sniper rifle was already shocking cracks as a massive amount of electricity flowed through it, originating from Zeke and the bullet already stored inside.
With one eye closed and the other on the scope, Zeke concentrated and unleashed everything.
Frederic blocked his ears and motioned for Katrina to do the same, but she was too confused and surprised to react.
Her eyes were glued on the youth whose body was literally covered in lightning.
And just like that, with the Ambassador protected by dozens of Space Soldiers, the bullet was shot. The sound was so deafening that it reverberated across the entirety of the Sunken Metropolis.
Katrina, who was unprepared, fell to her knees. She was dizzy and disoriented as the booming bullet shone brighter than the sun as it travelled unidirectionally.
Everything happened so fast. The bullet exploded mid-air and became something born of Zeke’s imagination: An unstoppable and brilliant pillar of azure lightning that descended upon the Ambassador.
There was a loud explosion which destroyed the plateau and blew everyone away, including General Zhang and the rest.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The place in which the target stood was absolutely obliterated, leaving nothing but a mass of blood and gore. Even the Space Soldiers stationed near the Ambassador weren’t spared.
The super Space Soldier was startled by the unfolding events. He jumped back and looked at the massive crater with electric currents around it.
He frantically looked around before taking out a long black sword and directing his attention to a skyscraper a long distance away.
Without any hesitation, he charged ahead with unbelievable speed, and when he was at the foot of the building, he kicked the ground and leapt hundreds of meters in the air.
Alas, the crime scene was left and he couldn’t find any traces that might lead to the culprits.
“We have nothing to do with this.”
The soldier turned around and saw the red-haired general coldly looking back at him.
With lightning-speed and loud breathing, the soldier took out a handgun and pointed it at Zhang.
“Do you really want to escalate this?”
A growl akin to that of a lion came out of the general's body, which seemed to be getting bigger.
After a couple of seconds, the Space Soldier lowered his hand and jumped from the roof.
“Proto-Demons and this? What the hell is going on.” Zhang gritted his teeth and walked away too.
In a matter of minutes, the plateau was destroyed, a massive portal appeared, and the Ambassador from earth was killed.
Even if the earthling believed that the republic wasn’t behind this, there was no amicable way to mend their diplomatic relationship.
To begin with, Earth and the Aether Planet had a rocky relationship, especially since the latter was in alliance with the Zyth Race.
Now that an earthling was killed here, no matter how many apologies or excuses the General professed, war would be inevitable.
Still, it wasn’t like Earth had any significant advantage. Admittedly, they had massive spaceships and strong weapons, but the Aether Planet was protected by a dense shroud of Aether. Moreover, the Ultima Mothership, which was the homebase of the Zyth, was close to the Aether Planet.
...
“We’re screwed! There’s no turning back now!”
Madam Jevani was livid as she shouted atop her lungs. She was taken to a safe location along with the other high-ranked government officials.
The earthlings returned to their ship and departed shortly after the incident. It was clear they were hostile and the only reason they didn’t retaliate was due to the heavy losses they suffered from the lightning explosions and the suicidal Proto-Demons.
The portal had disappeared right when the Ambassador died, which made it clear that the monstrosities’ objective was the earthlings and not the republic.
“Calm down first.” Said the relatively young Minister Bhak Djinn.
With clasped hands and a stone-faced expression, he motioned for Madam Jevani to sit down, which she begrudgingly did.
“The portal could have been a distraction. This was clearly the doing of the Proto-Demons.” Declared Bhak as he glanced at the gloomy General.
“It doesn’t matter who it was. We need to organise a meeting with the Emperor and the Witch Queen. I already sent someone to contact Zyth Commander Null. We should be expecting a positive response and reinforcement in case war really breaks out.”
“You want an alliance? What makes you think that the Emperor won’t help those earthling bastards?”
“Because he stands to gain nothing. We don’t have time for arguments. Stop gawking and get moving!”
The officials hastily nodded and dashed out of the room. Madam Jevani kept cursing as she was escorted by two Special Agents.
Only Minister Bhak Djinn and General Zhang were left.
“You clearly saw it, right? It was lightning that killed the Ambassador. Proto-Demons cannot use that which is lethal to them. Someone is trying to cause trouble.” Commented the Minister as let out a heavy sigh.
“I’ll look into it. Can you go talk to The Witch Queen? Anyone of us will be killed at the entrance.”
“I’ll deal with it, but I cannot guarantee that she will help. Out of the three nations, the Witch Association is the safest. The harsh climate makes it impossible for the earthlings to launch any kind of offensive, and that’s while ignoring all the secrets holed up in the Witch Palace.”
“I know. This is just a precaution. Maybe the earthlings will see reason and not act impulsively. If they want compensation, I would be more than happy to oblige.”
“That’s why we need to find the killer.”
…
“Shit! Hold him down! Quickly!”
Frederic urged the dumbfounded Katrina, who snapped out of it and pushed back the convulsing Zeke against the ground.
His body was letting out steam and twitching uncontrollably, which freaked out Frederic. They had successfully escaped the scene, but Zeke’s condition worsened out of the blue.
Even if it was over-exertion, it shouldn’t have caused such an extreme reaction, which was why the vagabond was confused and panicking a bit.
“Do something!” Yelled the distressed agent but Frederic was clutching his head and mumbling to himself.
‘Have I missed something? Nononono, his body should have been capable of withstanding the backlash. Except a minor exhaustion, he should have been okay? What’s going on? Think Frederic…. Think goddamnit!’
“C-call… Celestia…”
Zeke barely managed to squeeze these words as his eyes closed. System notifications appeared in front of him but he couldn’t register anything.
It wasn’t pain that he was feeling but suffocating; It was as if his body was distorting and crumbling.
…
“Sir… sir?”
Edward was holding the phone while in a daze, unable to process what was happening. His subordinate’s repeated calls snapped him out of it.
“You take care of it. I need to go.”
While ignoring the fearful and desperate expression of the agent, Edward stormed out of his office with the phone still close to his ear.
“Jan, go to Erys and bring Celestia. I’ll message you the exact coordinates.”
Thirty minutes later, Edward Orland arrived at the hotel room. He first saw Katrina kneeling next to Zeke then the curly-haired vagabond.
“Zeke!”
He held his brother’s body but was instantly zapped by a burst of voltage.
“He stopped convulsing, but he isn’t waking up.” Said Katrina as she apologetically lowered her head.
“I’m not too sure either.”
“This was because of you… wasn’t it?”
Edward stood up and glared at Frederic, but the latter snorted, “If it wasn’t for me, he would have died!”
Droplets of water slid from Edward’s fingers, but he didn’t attack.
“Ed, I’m here.”
There was a knocking on the door, followed by the arrival of Jan, a surprised Celestia, and a very perplexed John.
The newcomers saw Zeke’s body letting out steam, but they didn’t say anything.
Celestia had guessed the reason behind all of this, so she motioned for John to remove the stitches, which he did albeit wanting some answers.
Seconds later, the Talking Sin ‘Alexia’, surfaced. Her eyes were glued on the unconscious youth, though unlike her natural calmness, she was slightly startled.
[Processing….incompatibility with the heart… unable to upgrade the Voltage Body.]
[Advancement reverted.]
[Grand Mission #1 completed: Calculating Rewards.]
[+400 EXP]
[+10 to all stats.]
[+100 PE]
[Congratulations! You’ve reached Level 10!]
[+1 skill point]
[Initiating the second Tribulation.]
Alexia was the only one who saw the System notification, which made her ‘expression’ change.
“Oh… fuck.”