Within a self-contained space just beyond the world's gaze, Fian held Marie’s hand tightly. The situation was getting worse and worse. Their initial plans had failed before they could even begin due to unforeseen circumstances. Sammuel had some confidence still even as the Monster Faction attacked but Sadin’s appearance was far too much for him to handle.

The threat of his existence alone was enough to make Sammuel cower. Not to mention his previous reputation back on Earth, his [Perfect Affinty] was able to defend himself from one of Vzella’s terrifying attacks. Compared to such an existence, Sammuel didn’t have the confidence to keep Marie from Sadin.

Fian ruminated about the current scenario. The cost of breaking her [Contract] was the loss of her attachment to Marie. Her current thinking was of a stranger. She couldn’t find the will to keep going out of her way for Marie. Not to mention that her memories were slowly wilting away, being stripped of everything related to Marie.

It was difficult. Truly so.

At the end of the day, Fian had been keeping Marie for herself for far too long now. The Genesis Foundation had taken Marie away to fulfill their own goals. She was nothing more than a vessel for the Genesis Foundation’s will. With her losing all sense towards Marie, it only made sense what answer she would arrive at.

“Marie, I think you should go with Alyur.” Fian’s cold tone made Marie’s heart shatter.

“Mom?” Heartbroken. Confused. Sad. Marie’s little heart couldn’t bear the pain of these words. It didn’t matter what kind of threat loomed over them, this was the type of pain that was unremediable.

“I don’t want to.” A desperate plea to keep what she had learned all of these years.

“Marie, do you know why you’re my daughter?”

No response. Marie didn’t want to know. She wanted to keep the loving feeling of a family in her heart.

“The Genesis Foundation, the organization I was from, took you away from your parents. We stole you under their gazes.”

“That can’t be…”

“The plan was to have you think you were human, growing up as one of us, not knowing your origins.”

“Sammuel, this is a joke, right? Just a joke? To lighten the mood...” Marie turned her gaze towards Sammuel. Anything to keep the world she lived in from shattering apart, she would take anything at this point. Yet even she herself couldn't believe her own words.

“It's... true.” Sammuel regretfully said. “But going back with Alyur will at the very least keep you safe. You can live your own life how you were supposed to live it out.”

“But I don’t want to! I love my life right now! I love waking up to a hot breakfast made with my favorite dish. I love playing around with the clothes we finally managed to save up for! I love the small things that happen from day to day! And…” Marie’s eyes were tearing up. “I love my, Mom…”

“I don’t love you anymore, Marie.” Fian took a moment to be silent. “You can feel it, can’t you? Hatchling of the Supreme Dragon of Attachment?”

Marie could no longer look back. If this was Fian’s stance then she didn’t know what else she could do. With this sentiment, Marie looked at Sammuel instead. If Fian was so willing to cut all their ties to this degree then, she’ll just comfort herself with the only other person she had grown attached to.

“Sammuel… take me to the Dragon.” Marie left Fian’s arms a long time ago. As she was closing her eyes away from all the horrors of the world, she grabbed Sammuel’s waist tightly, afraid to let go.

Sammuel looked at Fian, as minuscule and as insignificant as it seemed, there was a tiny droplet that formed from the corner of her eye.

He didn’t comment on this.

For the sake of Marie, this was the step they needed to take.

“I’ll start setting everything up. With Lawrence’s technology, we can leave this rift unnoticed. We still have a lot of time before the Radical Faction of the Genesis Foundation finds us.” Saying so, Sammuel contacted Alyur once more.

After planning their next moves, they finally settled on letting Alyur make her move first. Once the barrier protecting Aganth finally breaks, Alyur can finally swoop in directly in front of them and take Marie away. For the time being, they would simply wait inside the rift as the situation continues to unfold.

Sammuel closed his eyes and started thinking through his newfound abilities. There were numerous [Ego] and [Skills] at his disposal that it was too big for him to fully train everything. For [Ego], it was clear which ones he should prioritize so he didn’t even need to worry about that. The problem was [Skills], there were far too many that he was having difficulty figuring out which ones were good and which ones were terrible.

Mixing and matching the most optimal set-up was time-consuming, fortunately for him, he had a few days to sort everything through.

~~~

Escaping the rift, Ian walked off. He looked behind him and saw the current state of affairs of Aganth, pure chaos. The Monster Faction was going all out, trying to rip and tear everything in their path to find the Hatchling. The other factions were desperately fighting against the incoming horde from Alyur whilst trying to minimize the internal conflict within the city.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The ones that had it the worst were the powerhouses in the same realm as Weston. Most of the Ascendant Realm experts of Aganth were trying to hold back against Alyur’s attacks. They couldn’t close up the gap within the barrier due to the sheer amount of monsters rushing in through the gap. It was unrealistic to manage enough time to patch the gap during such a precarious situation.

For the time being, everything was at a standstill as every force was slowly weakening at a rapid pace. That is, except for a singular murderous human that appeared out of nowhere. Sadin, the one currently going after every single being in the Monster Faction.

Flames raged as Sadin incinerated everything in his path, be they human or monster. Everything that was consumed by rage was reduced to cinder. He was currently, the most terrifying person in Aganth as of now. Yet it would still be foolish of him to battle someone as powerful as Weston.

With all the Ascendant Realm experts preoccupied with Alyur, they couldn’t use any more manpower to deal with him. Not that they wanted to, after all, despite the damage Sadin was doing to Aganth, it was mostly directed at the Monster Faction, letting them have an easier time suppressing the ongoing conflict.

Ian stood atop a small tower overseeing a small section of Aganth.

“If it’s reached this point then I can just leave.” Ian smiled, his face seemed free of all troubles. “The Conservative Faction has already given up on the Hatchling since she’s been compromised. It’s such a shame to leave so early.”

Ian closed one of his eyes as a symbol appeared within the other, he was going to create an escape route for himself. “Too bad Fian can no longer use this since she’s gone rogue. What a way for someone of her caliber to go out.”

As the space in front of him started to tear away, he took in a deep breath. Taking a step forward, he waited for a moment. “It’s not like there’s anything else for me here.”

The memory of Xeril coming up to protect him popped up in his mind. He wouldn’t have made it if Xeril didn’t sacrifice himself. Despite not knowing each other for that long, Xeril was actually willing to go that far. Even though he had his own position in the Genesis Foundation, Ian couldn’t help but let this scene play in his head.

“I didn’t expect I would actually do something like this.” Ian didn’t step into the portal, instead, he used some sort of communication device from his pocket and called someone. “Send someone over, I have a deal to strike with you.”

After a short while, a hooded figure appeared in the same tower. He was a mountain, built as if he was the biggest person alive. Ian looked up, seeing a familiar oppressive gaze staring back right at him.

“You very well know what we want here.” The man’s voice was deep and gruff, Ian couldn’t see past the man’s hood as everything was enshrouded in a mist of powerful mystifying magic.

“Always to the point. Why not have a bit more fun in your life before you kick the bucket, old man?” Ian didn’t expect this person to be the one here. It was as if fate was taunting him with his actions.

“You’re not even qualified to be out here yet, you haven’t finished your training. Stop playing around and head back. Your incomplete baptism irks me.” Two strange symbols manifested from within one of the man’s eyes, it seemed to be a much stronger version of whatever Fian or Ian was using.

“I’m doing fine on my own. Besides, if I head back right now, wouldn’t you be outclassed immediately? It’s such a shame if that happens too quickly. My teacher shouldn’t be disgraced like this.”

“As a… teacher, it brings me nothing more than pure joy for one of my students to reach heights that I can never reach. You’ve been playing around for too long, you could’ve already reached the upper echelons of the Plains of Divinity if you tried.”

“I’ll do it when I feel like it.” Ian shook his head. “You want to know where Fian is, right? I can lead you to her. That’s where the Hatchling is after all.”

“You’ve learned to be more direct these past few years.” The symbols within the man’s eyes started dimming out as they turned back into empty black sockets. “What do you desire that the Conservation Faction won’t do for you?”

“I’ve met a certain person, Xeril. Save him.”

“That’s it? Quite a cheap price for such expensive information, don’t you think?”

“Are you taking the deal or not?”

“Very well, Xeril, currently under Bargom’s care, one of the twelve leaders of the Monster Faction. Our people have been keeping an eye out from a distance. Someone that my student has taken an interest in should be quite the figure. Well, they say he's not in good condition. On the precipice of death, as they call it.”

“Then make sure he heals from all his ailments.” Ian turned around, facing the chaotic city once more. The embers in the sky illuminated the city with an orange hue. Sadin's rampage was clear for everyone here to see.

“Simple enough. Though, reports have also stated that one of your other friends, Sammuel, is close to the Hatchling. Wouldn’t that create a rift in your relationship?”

Ian shook his head. “I’m disappearing after this. If the Conservative Faction already gave up on the Hatchling then I couldn’t care less what happens to it. At the very least, Sammuel can fend for himself.”

“Kekeke… what if something happens to the poor lad?” The man viciously grinned under his hood. Despite his status, his personality wasn’t befitting of it.

Ian didn’t show any anger at all. “Then you should be able to handle the consequences in the future. He might be an outsider but he’s got a good heart. He’s not as psychopathic as Sadin is. There’s no harm in letting him be.”

The man continued cackling. It truly was an entertaining interaction with his one and only pupil. “Any interest in speaking out as to how you would want this to unfold? A traveling samaritan wanting to help Xeril out specifically? Perhaps even an unknown master came forward with Xeril catching his eye and taking him on as his apprentice. Might it even be some special prophecy awakening his bloodline, letting him live on?”

“Keep it tame.”

“If that’s all, consider it done.” Even more symbols appeared all over the man’s body before space itself tore apart. It was as if the world was reconstructed for him to disappear.

From the distance, a man wearing silver armor with a smile on his face appeared. He shook his head as he muttered, “Man, keeping my identity a secret is really tough if you guys keep calling out for me.”

His figure was that of a hero, bravely marching on forward without a care in the world. A monster saw him. It growled as it took out its sword, aiming to cut this man’s head off in one clean slash.

“Hmm?” The young man tilted his head. “Really?”

[Flowing Swordsmanship | Gain Combat Power: +??? | Verim: ???]

Verim, the very same person Sammuel had learned this technique from had once again appeared before them. His silver hair flowed along the wind as if there was a simple breeze. Yet this was not a breeze, this was the shockwave of his very surroundings turning into a mist.

The monster that had tried to attack him merely disappeared. There were no marks in the surroundings nor was there any semblance of a fight happening here. Verim had used an attack that had reached a terrifying state, rendering his opponent into nothing.

This scene didn’t last for long as the cold air turned scalding hot, enough to make Verim notice it. “That’s not very nice, Sadin.” Verim sheathed his sword as he yawned. He wanted to make his move but that would just add additional trouble for him.

“I should save that Xeril guy first. Besides, I’d rather not fight Sadin.” Verim stretched his limbs as he figured out which direction Xeril would be. “I don’t want to kill such a promising candidate.”