Evelyn was covered in blood.
Some belonged to her fallen enemies but most was hers. Her left shoulder had three bullet holes, her scalp and the right part of her face had been heavily damaged by shrapnel, her two legs were cut right below the waist, her left arm only went to the elbow, and she was using what remained of her right arm to keep her heavily burned body upright in the corner of the living room.
The entire mansion had been destroyed by the fight. Evelyn's father's corpse was beheaded and broken in another corner. Five of his bodyguards were also dead around him, together with twelve attackers.
Although Evelyn wasn't a Pioneer, she was still an elite mage. She had helped kill at least twenty invaders, but it had been for naught. They were too many, and her willpower was limited.
Only one attacker remained in the room, Alexandra King, wearing the E+ full plate black armor she had gotten as her reward for the Pioneer Title.
Evelyn hated herself for that difference. If she hadn't given her Title to Alicia, would her father be dead now? Maybe, but she would've had a better chance and would definitely have thinned their numbers more.
She would've died with an extra pint of the taste of vengeance, at least.
Yet, it wasn't rage she felt as she looked at her former best friend; it was... exhaustion. She was mentally and emotionally exhausted from the fight and the betrayal. She was physically exhausted from the blood loss. Her haggard breathing hurt as if she had to fight for every oxygen molecule entering her lungs.
She just wanted it to be done so she could rest forever.
"You have a good heart on you," Sandra said as she kneeled in front of Evelyn. "I tried to pull you away from your corrupt family, but you wouldn't listen to me. I'm sorry things came to this."
Evelyn just wanted to die already, but she found in herself the will and the curiosity for a single question.
"Why?" she asked and started coughing. Talking hurt even more than breathing.
Sandra looked in silence for a moment before sighing. "I suppose I owe you the truth. The Sorcerer King's hiding spell was good, but not good enough to hide from the US Intelligence Services," Sandra said.
Evelyn wasn't surprised. Many suspected that, but after Shen's massacre, no one high enough in the king's hierarchy had been around for questioning.
"General McArthur believed in a new world order," Sandra continued. "He convinced us about that during training, and he tried to bring the Rising Star to his side, but that bitch kept getting on the way." Evenly guessed Sandra was talking about the late President. "After the General died, the Senators and new General of the Army immediately started repurposing the Armed Forces for their benefit. The other Pioneers and I concluded the best way to move forward was by eliminating all evil at the root."
"You could have..." Evelyn started, had a fit of cough, then continued, "...talked to me."
"I could, but the others decided you couldn't be trusted even if you agreed to have your father killed. Poisoned well and all that. I'm sorry." Sandra pulled her arm and punched.
The last thing Evelyn thought as she saw the flaming gauntlet coming her way was that her father had been right:
General McArthur had really known how to brainwash his soldiers.
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Sandra stepped out of the crumbling mansion, drying a few tears before her unfortunate partner in this mission could see them.
She believed in the cause, but not enough to kill her best friend. Everyone Evelyn had killed were now on Sandra's tab, and if something went awry on that front, she would be executed for insisting on keeping her friend alive. Sandra was important enough to ask for such sacrifice, but only if it worked. Even then, she felt the weight of at least five extra lives lost to keep Evelyn alive.
Still, she was more relieved than anything. Evelyn would hate her, but it was alright. If things went according to plan, Evelyn would become an anchor of justice, a beacon of light in the US, as she had always wanted.
Scott was leaning against the wall beside the main doors, wearing his E+ bodysuit that looked like a diver's suit, except it was white. He stood up when she appeared and commented, "She fought better than I expected."
"It only goes to show the intel was correct," Sandra replied. "The Senator paid elite soldiers to train her in secret."
The man shrugged and stood up. "So? Did you have the guts to do it in the end?"
"She'll live," Sandra replied, and Scott rolled her eyes. "And she'll hate me for the rest of her life."
Scott didn't answer and started walking away toward the black SUV waiting for them.
Usually, Sandra would just ignore the man, but the emotional weight of everything must've gotten to her because she sounded almost like she was seeking his support as she blurted out, "I wish there was another way."
And to her surprise, she found said support in his reply. "Now you sound like Mark," he said without looking back. "We don't have time to do things nicely, and you know that. You voted against him too. Too much to do, too little time. I wanted the girl dead, but I got to admit she'll be a boon to humankind when it's all over and done. You did right."
Sandra didn't reply but was thankful for his words.
They entered the car, where an E-rank soldier gave them a smartphone. "Check this out," the guy said.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Sandra and Scott watched Shen's video in silence. The latter chuckled when it was over and said, "The asshole is still pretending to be a hero after everything he did."
Scott wanted Shen dead before he could become some sort of evil tyrant. However, most people in their organization were on the fence on the subject, Sandra included.
That was mostly thanks to Mark Williams. The youth had been very vocal and convincing in saying the Rising Star would never go on a rampage without reason, and Mark's neutrality on the US purge only gave him credibility on the subject. He was a considerate, prudent man in everything he said and did.
Well, he was a little bitch when it came to sacrifices. He had advocated for either killing or recruiting Evelyn but was against this specific plan. He wanted to protect the few extra people that had to die to keep her alive in this OP, but he didn't understand McArthur's vision.
In this new world, some people were naturally worth more than others. It was just the new order of things—and it was her prerogative as a worthier being to choose not-as-worthy ones, like Evelyn, to protect.
Sandra sighed as she focused back on the matter at hand. If Shen was telling the truth, he was worthy enough to be excused for his actions—a worthless being would have to be executed anyway just to make a point. He did sound sincere in the video, but a sociopath would.
"Let's hope the Maiden can explain things better for us when we see her," she said and was about to close her eyes to rest.
Alicia Winter, Marzia Martino, and other Pioneers had already released notes saying more or less the same thing Shen was speaking on the videos. That gave even more weight to Mark's arguments, but they were still too vague. The organization needed more details before it took an official stance on the matter.
"Speaking of which," the random soldier said and showed another video.
It was a Marzia Martino's selfie video—could a video be a selfie or vice versa? She was sitting somewhere with European flags behind her, probably that EU Congress Room, or however it was called, where she had last been reported being.
"Feng Shen isn't lying about anything," Marzia said. "I didn't even double-check what he said about the Rift, but I trust him enough to affirm he's telling the truth about it, and when he's proven right, you'll see. If he says Earth needs protection, we should go. I'll be there as soon as I can."
Scott snorted but didn't say anything. There was no need to—it was a quick video that said nothing of value.
Sandra sighed again as she thought about how much she should trust a man who reportedly killed at least a hundred thousand people in a few days.
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A garden had been built on top of a luxurious skyscraper. A muscular old man with long black hair and a black beard meditated in the middle. He wore a black martial arts robe with silver details and a silver tiger insignia on the back and left chest.
The elevator door opened, and a woman in a short green cheongsam, holding a tablet, entered the garden. She bowed to the back of the old man and kept in that position in silence.
"Come," he said after a few minutes.
She approached with a slightly lowered head. When she was close to the man, she bowed again and offered the tablet to him with both hands.
"What is this?" he asked. The tablet floated from her hands to the man's.
"Master's predictions were correct," she explained. "The world will unite against the D-tier rift."
He pressed play and saw the Rising Star's video, followed by the Maiden's. In the end, he nodded and said, "Good. Tell Hong Yao to prepare the troops."
"Yes, master," she said but didn't leave to obey. She hadn't been dismissed yet.
He made the tablet float back to her hands. "How is Shuang Xi's cultivation going?"
"She reached the Foundational Realm yesterday, master."
"Have her come to my room in one hour," he commanded.
The secretary shivered but could only reply, "Yes, master."
"That will be all."
She kept bowing for a few extra moments, then left the rooftop to do what had been asked of her.
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"This went as well as I expected," Shen said as he checked Alicia's smartphone.
One about one in every five replies on social media were on his side. He had killed a lot of innocents, and people wanted his blood. They hated that he had tried to pass as some sort of savior after his actions.
Ultimately, he didn't blame them for that reaction. From an outside perspective, it was a bit too convenient for him to go berserk against his will and come out of it much more powerful than he had started. He wasn't sure if he would believe his tale either.
Yet, that had to be done. Earth's fate was on the line, and he couldn't protect it alone. He could deal with people's hatred after they survived to hate him.
The unexpected and pleasant surprise had come from Marzia. Shen had expected her to hate him for what he had done to her father, yet she was supporting him. He suspected a trap, but at least Alicia had said Marzia had done nothing but support Shen until now—though neither girl had touched on the subject of the murder.
"How don't you run out of battery?" Shen asked, no longer paying attention to the comments.
"Oh, I never told you, did I?" Alicia said with a smile. "I bought this in the Guardian Store. Someone bought it first and spread the word. It runs on ambient mana and can supposedly connect to many technologies, even some alien ones. One of them is the local internet the Alliance has on every world."
"Alliance-run internet?"
"Yeah, Marzia revealed it after she came back. When the Alliance takes over, it creates or replaces a worldwide network with another run through the Guardian System. It's limited to that world though.
"Someone said it doesn't make sense because internet routers still work, but the grid stays up if the hardware is shut down. No one has any idea how that's possible, but that hasn't stopped the Alliance before. As long as your device has a wireless network interface card of any kind, it can connect to the Alliance's internet, no matter where. Also, electricity has been behaving weirdly. I didn't check the specifics, but as long as you have an undamaged wire going to an electrical substation, you get energy, even if the substation isn't working. Marzia didn't know anything about it."
Shen had acquired some knowledge of modern technology during his stay in the US, but it was mostly superficial because there had been so much to cover, and he had focused on military tech. Survival came first, after all. Still, he understood enough to know that only Alliance magic made those things possible.
It sounded actually... kind of the Alliance, to be honest.
The ability to instantly share information worldwide was terrific. If modern society had lost it after getting used to it, things could've become much more chaotic. Moreover, seeing how dependent they were on electricity, he couldn't even imagine if people could survive without it.
Well, food and water weren't an issue because the Alliance had removed humanity's need for nourishment, so maybe they wouldn't die without electricity. However, it would undoubtedly have inconvenienced them a lot, especially considering they needed electricity-powered devices to do almost everything.
As usual with the Alliance, Shen found himself admiring parts of it while hating other parts.
"Buy a device similar to Alicia's," he commanded the system, "but if possible, one that can be charged with my qi in environments without mana."
| Purchased: Any Equipment (F-) | -45,000 AP
| Remaining AP: 2,764,922 AP
G equipment, made of common materials and with no enchantments, cost only 100 AP—or 90 for him, due to his Rising Star discount. F- equipment, however, cost 50,000 AP before the discount.
The Guardian Store gave a quote for any item if you asked, but it didn't require confirmation if you ordered something directly. That was great in a pinch, like during a fight, but he hadn't expected that price—though, in hindsight, anything that dealt with mana or qi couldn't be G-tier. He had just gotten used to buying G-tier equipment when it wasn't armor.
That went to show, again, how his learning ability didn't protect him from his own stupidity, especially on things outside his specialty—combat.
He turned to Alicia. "You spend fifty thousand AP on a smartphone?"