"What is the meaning of this…?"

The female mage asked while tensed up, lowering her weapon as well but still holding it materialized, just in case of anything. At her question, Darius walked closer to her and reached out for a handshake.

"Nice meeting you. I’m Commander Daniel, in charge of the Elite Squadrons of the Main Army, under the direct command of General Arson. You must be Captain Aria of the mage-squadron, right?"

She stared intently at Darius and at his reaching out hand, then asked again, suspicion still visible in her eyes.

"Why have I not been informed of your arrival? We could have evaded all of this if you only sent us a notice."

"I would’ve gladly done that, but I had to ride for 5 whole hours at Arson's command, and I wasn’t sure when I would arrive myself. I barely got the chance to inform my men not long ago."

Hearing this, she glanced back, annoyed at the soldiers, but they all turned their heads, unwilling to even show a sign of remorse.

"There is no need to look at them like that. Because of the short notice, I bet they didn’t even have the chance. But for all this, I wish to apologize."

Still having his hand out, Darius offered his apology, and after a bit, the mage sighed and made the bow finally disappear. She straightened up and shook his hand with a nod.

"I’m glad to see you’re so understanding, Commander Daniel. But, although you will be in command from now on, I still request that you give out the needed information in a timely manner next time… please?"

She seemed awkward with giving out requests rather than commands, but Darius lightly nodded. After they finally made up, Aria and Darius walked together inside one of the aircraft to discuss the plan further.

On the way, the two walked between the mages and soldiers, and from all the mixed stares, Darius was able to see one especially familiar face looking at him with a confused frown, as if recognizing him from somewhere.

Jack… So we meet again in such conditions...

Darius sighed pained, but then simply turned back to Aria, who gave out a light report while walking towards the aircraft.

.

.

.

Back in time, Icarus went inside the Blue Sparks' headquarters in the Eastern City, while Darius just brushed him by. Icarus continued to walk alongside Bella and Joshua as he surveyed the sophisticated military base.

"How is it, Icarus? Have you gotten used to this world yet? Or still feeling like inside a dream?"

Bella asked with a mild smile, and Icarus smiled wryly, scratching the back of his head a bit awkwardly.

"To be honest, I'm not sure… I mean, just as I woke up, I suddenly found monsters similar to those in videogames while wielding fantastical powers like those from novels and movies. What’s even crazier is that I can barely remember anything from before appearing in this world. All I can remember is about how... my house suddenly got turned into dust by a black hole, and I got swallowed by it shortly after."

"……"

Bella knew exactly what Icarus said, and feeling rather sympathetic, she patted his shoulder and tried to cheer him up.

"Well, what matters now is that you’re alive and stronger than ever. And so, if you wish for it, we could help you grow even stronger. What do you say? Are you interested?"

"…"

Hearing the question, Joshua also looked at Icarus, waiting for his answer.

Whenever one grows stronger or weaker as a superhuman, it mainly depends on their desire to do so. If Icarus were to say that he doesn’t want to, then it would be best to just let him become a simple resident of the Southern City. However, if he were to desire more power, then his growth would also be inevitable, giving the Blue Spark another great helping hand in annihilating the monsters inside the city.

Hearing that, Icarus looked up at Bella surprised, and with a wide grin, he exclaimed confidently,

"Obviously, I wish to grow stronger! I have this power for a reason, so I might as well exploit it as much as I can!"

"Haha~ a scary answer. But it’s a good one nonetheless."

Joshua chuckled as he patted Icarus’ shoulder.

Then Joshua took out from his pocket a little earpiece.

He gave it to Icarus while giving out the next explanation.

"Here, keep this with you at all times."

"Huh? Airpods? And... just one?"

He placed it on his ear, and the next moment, a light sound as if it turned on resounded, with a girl’s voice resounding right after.

[Ahem. Hello? Can you hear me, Mr. Icarus?]

"Huh? A girl?"

Icarus was surprised that someone was already online, and the next moment a little holographic window appeared in front of him from the earpiece, showing a young girl no older than 17–18 wearing the Blue Spark uniform. She had an amiable smile on her baby face as she introduced herself to Icarus.

[Yes! Hello, Mr. Icarus. My name is Glow of the Blue Spark, and I’ve been assigned to assist you with information and explanations throughout your future missions and also be at your disposition 24/7 for whenever you may require Intel-wise.]

"Oh~! So we’re partners? In that case, drop the Mister, it feels weird. Also, I’m Icarus, nice meeting you, Glow."

[Yes! Glad to know you as well, Icarus.]

She smiled widely, glad to see that her next partner was so understanding and easygoing. They were also quite close age-wise, making it easier to communicate.

"Now that the two of you have finally met each other, Icarus, let’s start your training in the VR. We never know when a mission might appear, so it’s best we use all the free time we have to its fullest."

"Sure! Let’s go."

At Joshua’s words, Icarus nodded and walked forward towards the VR room.

Icarus was already familiar with it since he needed to do his test before, so after putting on his suit, he went inside the capsule and placed the VR headset on.

When he appeared once again, he appeared in an empty area between more buildings, with nothing visible in sight.

"I seriously can’t get used to this sight…"

The gloomy sight of destroyed buildings and deserted cars all around, with boulders and concrete covering the area while a mist of miasma coloring everything with a shade of purple. The dark and flashy sky, together with the rumbling sound that resounded constantly... One couldn’t help but feel like the end was there, and it was there to stay.

[It can’t be helped, really. But I’m sure that one day humanity will be able to find a way to purify the miasma and regain the territories lost to the Hell Gate.]

With a hopeful voice, Glow was able to raise Icarus’ morale, and with a chuckle, he also affirmed, his confidence growing inside.

"Of course. Now that I’m here, it’s just a matter of time."

[Of course!]

After a bit, Glow once again announced Icarus.

[Level 1 monster surge, appearing! Spirit Wielder Icarus, prepare for combat!]

"Alright! Bring it!"

From between the buildings, more and more humanoid monsters appeared that walked like zombies, all of which were lowest-tier monsters.

Not only were they the weakest tier, but the zombie-type monsters were also the weakest type of monster, having the lowest offense and defense of all the other monsters.

"Ew, that’s disgusting."

[I-if it’s too difficult, we can lower the difficulty.]

Although she wasn’t sure how she could lower it, Glow still thought that having a 16-year-old fight against such ugly monsters in such high numbers made her reconsider whenever she should just have a 1v1 first before actually fighting hordes.

However, Icarus smirked as he summoned his sword, and the mana around his body started vibrating strongly.

"Difficult? I bet their appearance’s deadlier than their actual combat prowlers."

He rushed in with his sword out, and with a strong swing, he completely decimated the first three monsters that walked in front, turning them into dark smoke the next moment. He swung his sword ferociously, each swing halving at least one monster at a time.

Although his moves were clumsy and wide, the power behind them was more than enough to massacre the weak, lowest-tier monsters that came in waves at him so slowly.

"Hahaha~! So weak! Come on, come on! Give me someone stronger!"

He laughed out in amusement at his own power and asked for a higher difficulty after he had finished slaughtering every single monster.

.

"What do you think of him?"

"He’s incredible… His technique's clumsy, but his power more than makes up for it."

Bella and Joshua observed Icarus’ combat abilities through a screen, while on a smaller window in the lower right corner, they were able to see his status with mana level, mana control, and mana circulation speed. Over all, he was close to two times what a normal Spirit Wielder could show even after getting completely familiarized with their own powers, leaving the two baffled. Joshua was especially baffled as he was more combat-oriented than Bella, with a nervous smile visible on his face.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Think you can train him?"

Bella asked in a high spirit after seeing Joshua’s smile. However, after hearing this question, Joshua faltered for a bit, only to sigh and shake his head.

"I don’t think there’s anyone able enough to teach him anything. Once he gets used to his own power, he should be able to easily deal with even a Field Boss-tier on his own."

"That strong?"

"It only depends on him… But by how I see it, I predict that in about a few months, he should be able to do so without a problem."

"T-that’s amazing…"

They looked impressed at the live video and commented together, when suddenly a third voice resounded rather unimpressed.

[What a sloppy technique... So that’s what he meant.]

""Miss Lola?!""

Both Bella and Joshua were baffled after hearing the voice through the live stream.

She was well-known for not paying attention to anyone who entered the VR unless a higher-ranking person specifically requested it. The fact that she was observing Icarus’ training sessions in VR meant one of the following: She was preparing for a large update and needed everyone to free the VR, and Icarus happened to be the only one online at the moment; someone from outside told her to direct her attention to the Southern City’s VR center; or Icarus’ great potential and high data potential attracted her attention on his own.

However, from the three, the first or second one seemed to be the most believable, since not even when the greatest Spirit Wielder of all times, Gerald, first showed his ridiculous abilities in the VR and almost broke the system, wasn’t able to get Lola’s attention.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lola. I will tell Icarus to log out in a moment."

Bella smiled nervously as she prepared to contact Glow, but then Lola stopped her with the usual indifferent tone.

[No need to. I came just to observe. But after seeing his fighting style, I was thinking of listening to someone’s advice and giving you guys this data. Maybe it would help the boy with his training.]

"Huh? Some new files that would help Icarus? What is it?"

Joshua also got closer and observed a folder being already downloaded by the VR system, the folder’s name being named: Unknown Sword-style.

"Unknown Sword-style…? Miss Lola, may I ask from where you got this? Did you perhaps create this yourself?"

[Of course not. I have no time to examine thousands of pieces of data to create battle styles. This was made by… a friend’s friend. He said this might help the boy if I consider that his techniques are bad.]

You have friends?!

Their mouths were closed shut after almost blurting this out, but they then quickly observed a short video of the techniques simulated by a 3D mannequin. And as the doll slashed and diced with the sword while dashing around with neat and calculative footwork, both Bella and Joshua remained baffled, unaware of where such techniques appeared.

"J-just who moves like this?! Miss Lola, you said it was a friend? Are they from the Blue Spark as well? Rather, from what city? These moves, although ridiculously agile, don’t seem made by a superhuman… Don’t tell me, it was a human?"

Joshua was more than excited to find out the owner of this technique, but Lola quickly shut him down.

[They told me not to disclose their information, so I can’t tell you who they are. But I can tell you that they're human… More or less.]

"M-more or less…?"

Bella was baffled by her statement, but then thought for a short while and decided that, if Icarus were to learn the unnamed sword techniques, then his overall power could rise to even further levels.

She then contacted Glow and told her to connect her to Icarus directly, allowing the two to speak in real-time.

"Icarus."

[Huh? Bella? What’s up?]

"Icarus. I just received new data that you might find useful. Here, see for yourself if you can use this to train your swordsmanship."

The next moment, all the monsters around Icarus disappeared, and one doll with a neutral physique appeared before him, with a sword almost as big as it, taking a combat-ready form and preparing to slash.

"Huh? Is it not an enemy?"

Seeing the doll point the sword in another direction, Icarus lowered his sword and looked at its movements.

-WOSH!-

"Woah-?!"

The moment the doll started swinging and moving, even with his enchanted sight, Icarus was barely able to follow the doll’s footwork and swordplay, staring at it as if hypnotized. Shortly after, a nervous grin appeared on his face, a feeling telling him that if he were to absorb this sword-style, he would grow invincible.

[I-incredible…]

The sword-style confused even Glow. If anyone had to give it a description, then Merciless and Fluid were the best words to describe it. It was the perfect fighting style for a large sword.

"Glow… Can we make this simulation go slower, frame by frame? I have to learn every move of this."

[Y-yes! We can even make a simulation of 1v1 combat while the doll uses this sword style.]

"Perfect."

Excitement overwhelmed Icarus as he rushed Glow to quickly help him grow stronger, wishing to integrate the unknown sword style as quickly as possible.

.

.

.

A day after Darius arrived at the edge of the Dead City and after he met up with his squad and the mages, they finished preparations and decided to enter the city and move towards the military base the next day, everyone being required to relax for the next day.

Because of the Elite’s obvious hostility against the superhumans, Darius advised Aria to keep the two forces separated so they would not suffer any inner conflicts.

Of course, at his proposal, she appeared rather confused.

"Excuse my rudeness, Commander Daniel. But for what reason are the elites so hostile to the superhumans? Have we perhaps done something that put them in difficulty?"

At her question, Darius stared deeply at her and said in a calm tone with piercing eyes,

"Yes. Yes, you did."

"May I ask what?"

"Exist."

"?!"

At his scandalous answer, Aria was rather taken aback, answering back almost unintentionally,

"B-but that’s unreasonable!"

"I know. And that’s just how unreasonably the elites are perceived. everyone thinking that if another form of elite was born between the humans’ ranks, then the traditional elites are no longer needed, such as those turned into disposable suicide squads that either grow desperately stronger to rival the mages or die trying, with nobody to complain to but themselves. This is the true face of an elite, Miss Aria. With no rights, no word to say, only survival."

And this is why almost all the elites have converted to demonic ways...

More and more anger was visible in his eyes and felt in his voice, making Darius’ breath tremble as he tried to calm his nerves, his mask barely concealing his fury.

"You… are also an elite…? But I saw you using mana."

Seeing him so agitated while explaining, Aria asked somewhat shockedly, wondering how a superhuman suffered the same treatment as an elite.

At her question, Darius simply shook his head, summoning a light string of mana to play around his fingers.

"Let’s say that... The Main Army hides uglier things than you can ever imagine under the carpet, Captain Aria. But may this remain between us, just so nobody ends up dead in misterious ways."

"……"

Although the reason for his powers was his gloves and not some mysterious inner power like for the superhumans, it was better to just hint at the underground human experiments made by the human coalition. Although it was a lie that he was a victim of such experiments, the fact that they exist is a truth, and the more people started to become aware of that, the better as well, since Darius’ final plan would be to get rid of everything that represented the cult, the corrupt inner organizations, and the Lords that ruled over the coalition as well.

"Well then, if you could pardon me."

He lightly nodded at Aria, who now had a dark expression on her face, going out of the hybrid aircraft and towards his squad, which raised tents in a fan formation facing the Dead City.

""Sir.""

Walking towards the tents, the four nearest saluted immediately after seeing him approaching, their eyes down. It was an unwritten rule between the elites to not stare their superiors in the eyes so they wouldn’t attract their attention; otherwise they could get into trouble for showing malice against the superior for ogling too much.

At this sight, Darius sighed and in a calm voice, asked,

"Stand-by. Let me ask you, where is Nr.705, a.k.a. Jack the Hunter?"

""?!""

They showed no apparent emotion, but their eyes shone with surprise, not expecting a superior to remember an elite’s name AND their nickname. They stared for a moment at one another, and one of them announced that he’ll bring him in a moment. The others listened to the stand-by command and took a relaxed position, still standing tall and ready for orders nonetheless.

Was I also such a hardhead?

He sighed at the sight of the three remaining soldiers waiting for either orders or for Darius to leave. But after Jack finally appeared, he couldn’t help frowning after seeing his eyes, Jack’s eyes seeming sunken deep, his mental force as if hanging on a string.

"Nr. 705 of Squad 7, sir!"

He announced his number and squad while saluting with respect, continuing to look down. Darius nodded, and after thinking for a bit, he walked away, telling Jack to follow.

"……"

"……"

After following Darius outside the camping area, Jack started thinking of the worst outcome, thinking that maybe he showed some type of insubordination that now asked for him to be either exiled and sent on his way or straight out killed, which is why they were deserting the camping area behind a hill.

"… Jack."

"Y-… yes sir."

Jack chocked for a moment while thinking that maybe his life was finally forfeited, squad 7 dying now and forever together with him as the last one in it. His fists were clenched tight and trembling while his eyes were turning watery, not because of fear but because of frustration. He was revolted inside by his wrecked destiny.

"Jack… Why are you crying?"

Darius asked weakly as he felt his own heart tightening, shocked to see an elite shed tears in front of someone else, especially a stranger and a superior. But even then, Darius understood that even the iron men of the Main Army that were raised as mere killing machines had emotions in them like any human, like any other man, and... just how much can a man shoulder on his own?

Jack fell on his knees and lowered his head at this question, lowering his head while holding in his tears to the best of his abilities, trying to control his trembling voice as he begged.

"S-sir, I do not wish to beg for my life, but-… But… please… spare my squad from being completely wiped out…"

"… What do you mean?"

Darius remained dumbfounded at his request and asked with a deep frown. Jack explained while breathing heavily to control his emotions, his face red from subduing his frustration.

"Sir… My colleagues died either from accidents or went missing and were nowhere to be found. My superiors told me they all died, and I remained the only one from Squad 7, sir… And because their deaths weren’t in combat, they said that Squad 7 was cursed and unworthy of battle, not even an honorable death! I got the nickname Last Piece because of that, sir! Please! I beg you, sir! In honor of my fallen brothers! Please let me die in battle, sir! I don’t know what my offense is, but at least let me die in battle while reconquering the Dead City in the front rows! SIR!"

His whole body was trembling, and uncontrollable tears fell down his cheek, his teeth strongly clenched. A tool asked to die with honor? If it were any other supperior, he would've laughed in mockery at Jack's request, finding his honor as nothing but the amusing sophistry the elites most probably came up with to keep the least remaining bit of pride they still had. However, to Darius, there was nothing laughable.

Darius looked down at Jack while his clenched fists trembled the same way, guilt and self-blame taking over his heart.

Killing machines and grown men, but unable to fend for themselves inside their own bases... Just what was on my mind—to leave my brothers alone and just go by myself? God…

He looked at Jack on the ground, and a few words told by a veteran he once met in his original world resounded in his mind when he was at a bar for a drink;

"Man has the ability to adapt to and withstand any natural tragedy that may befall him, except for society... That's a tragedy that can make even angels fall. And when he finally gets used to it, he's already dead or given up something he shouldn't have."

These words made Darius think a lot back then, but now these words make him feel a lot right now, gnashing his teeth while trying to control his own emotions as well.

Never have such words been more true... His brothers were striving with all their might to survive the ridiculous missions or commands made by the superiors. And once they accepted the injustice and discrimination, they would either lose their will to struggle and die in battle or accept whatever other offer they could get, willing to sacrifice their humanity and shake hands with the devil in joining the cult. This was something all of them were guilty of, Darius especially.

"Jack, get up…"

"Sir…! I beg you!"

"Jack, look at my face."

"Sir! I won’t! Not until you let me die in battle-!"

"JACK!"

Darius roared as he took off his mask, and at his loud voice, Jack finally raised his head, only to see the familiar face of his old brother, with pain and anguish visible on Darius’ face as well.

"D-Darius… Darius…! Yo- you’re alive…! Y-you son of a bitch...! Thank God!”

Jack’s emotions suddenly burst out, and unable to control himself anymore, he burst out in tears. Darius was kneeling on one knee and patting his back, unable to say another word as his brother cried his eyes out, be it from relief, frustration, or grief.