[A few hours earlier. Alpha's POV]

Maria was tapping her feet impatiently, waiting for her 'boyfriend'. I, on the other hand, am still detesting the fact that I got stuck babysitting these two kids.

"Eahhhhhh! Where's Cain?! I'm bwwwwooorrredd!" She flopped on the bed.

"Quit your whining and wait. Who do you think is responsible for bringing him here to begin with? If you hadn't brought him to the Royal Faction, he wouldn't have met His Majesty, then he wouldn't have a reason to come here."

"Yeah, yeah, keep on rubbing me with the harsh truth. How consoling of you, Master." She pouted.

I didn't retort. I knew she was taking her boredom out on me and instigating a fight was part of it.

What an arrogant kid. Why are these kids always taking me for a joke? Am I being too nice to them?

"Sniff, sniff... What's that smell, Master? Did you forget to bathe?"

"Wha-!... Sniff, sniff."

She's right. It smells strange, but it's not me.

I got up and looked outside, black mist was swarming the streets. Fortunately, it wasn't thick, so I could still see through it.

"What is going on?" I mused, looking out of the window from the third floor of the inn.

"What are you looking at, Master?" She dropped her chin on my shoulder and shared my line of sight. "Woah!"

"Now is not the time to be amused." I pushed her face away from me. "And get your head off me! Your sharp chin is stabbing my shoulder!"

"Kyaaa! Hahaha!" She reacted playfully.

"Let's go," I commanded, walking downstairs and taking the lead outside.

What the hell is this?

Even though I might be lacking in the mind area, I knew that there wasn't any ordinary reason for everyone to be sleeping on the ground. The cause was clear.

"Wait, Maria. Don't breath-"

"I'm sleepy." Before I could stop her from inhaling the gas, she dropped to the ground unconscious.

"Damn it." I picked her up.

But why am I not affected? Is there a power limit of some sort?

I breathed a sigh of relief after feeling Maria's heart slowly beat against my back.

Good. It doesn't seem to be anything dangerous... yet.

Taking advantage of my resistance to the gas, I roamed around, investigating.

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After wandering for a few hours, I noticed that everyone was asleep.

I should meet up with that brat and share information. I'm sure he is doing his own investigation.

"Grrrwaaagh!"

"What?!" Someone suddenly grabbed my leg. "Tch! Let go!" I kicked him flying away.

What was that about? No, wait... Why are all of them getting up?

As if everything was planned, all of them woke up. No, there were some, like Maria, who inhaled later than the rest. As for those unfortunate people, those awake started stomping their heads on the ground, ruthlessly killing them. Some even resorted to tearing their flesh apart.

"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?! VIOLENCE IS A CRIME!" But none of them adhered to my warning. Instead, my voice alarmed them, drawing their attention to me.

"Grrrr...!" They all approached me with malice.

I dodged and jumped away. I knew too little to decide whether it was okay to kill them or not.

There might be an antidote or some way to turn them back.

But just when I thought that finding the 'antidote' was my only problem, several areas exploded.

"WHAT NOW?!" I darted my eyes across all of the sources of explosions. "Fuck! The wormholes!" Not wasting any time, I dashed to one of the wormholes.

What fucking idiot blew it up? These brainless fools or someone from a different Faction? Also, where's that fucking brat?

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Why does everything have to be so complicated? If you want to cause chaos and fight, then just come at me instead of using such annoying methods.

"Whoever is behind this, I'm going to kill you!"

"HAHAHA, THESE FOOLS ARE SO FRAGILE!" A voice lapped over the area.

This reckless behavior and arrogant tone... rebels? The kidnapping and the perfect timing of their appearance. Like that brat deduced, did someone influential here cause this? Are they working with these animals?!

As I witnessed multiple insane, yet 'innocent' residents get killed. Doctors and healers who, despite getting shunned for years, tried their best to make sure everyone was okay and healthy. They tried their best every day, studying and honing their craft to save others, but...

I gritted my teeth, finding the scene before me utterly unbearable.

Nobody could save them. No... I need to!

"Unforgivable..." I murmured. "Unforgivable." my tone slowly increased as my rage grew.

"Huh?" The one with the most kills looked my way while discarding a corpse in his grasp. "That ash-gray hair..." He grinned. "No way. An Iode member? I guess we'll get some fun, after all, boys! And she's a cutie too," he commented, licking his lips.

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"Unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgivable..." Even after trying to extinguish my burning fury with my mouth, my clenched fists didn't tighten one bit.

"Hahaha! Is she broken too?! Then I guess she's weak enough to fall for it!" He lunged at me, getting ahead of his allies. "First come, first serve, boys!"

"UNFOR-FUCKING-GIVA-BLEEEEEEE!!! ANSWER MY FUCKING CALL, [MEMENTO MORI!!]" I clenched the hilt of my weapon tightly, and swung it horizontally, sending a blade wave forth.

"Woah!" The rebel blocked it but was being pushed back. "Hot damn, that's tough!"

"YOU..." Not giving him time to recuperate, I took a single step and dashed to him. Compared to when I was composed, my blade was more fierce and heavy. "FUCKING SCUM!" It was a double-edged sword. Just as much as defending my attacks did a number on the opponent's hands, it did so to mine as well. But...

"Prepare yourselves! I'm not going to stop until I slay all of you fucking rats!" I shattered his sword and sliced him... I sliced, sliced, sliced, and sliced until he was no longer distinguishable from minced meat.

As long as I keep on attacking. As long as I don't give up. My indestructible katana won't give up on me. That meant... As long as these fools continued to roam this world, I wasn't going to stop.

"Die." I sliced up another one. "Die!" Another. "DIE." Another. "DIE!" What remained? "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!... DIEEEEEE!" Only me. "Hah, hah, hah." I looked back at Maria's unconscious body on the ground. Those crazy residents were approaching her with dangerous objects.

Should I just destroy this entire damn Faction?

"Hah..." I clenched my teeth. "Come Forth, [Omen of the Fallen]" I used my Omen to protect Maria.

It seems, despite being deprived of their sanity, their loyalty and faith towards the Iode Corps remained.

I used all of the residents' strength and faith in the Iode Corps to create a manifestation, protecting Maria from their attacks. As long as no rebels join in, she'll be fine.

I'll hunt down the rest of those arrogant pricks and teleport back here once my Omen sense activity from Maria.

And so, I eliminated all of the rebels from each wormhole, one by one. As far as I could see, there was no end to the wormholes they used. This meant that they were most likely occupying the entire Faction.

Without my Omen, it would take me a week or two to cover this entire Faction. Does this mean destroying the Faction is my only option? No, there's still a possibility that they can return to normal. I need to keep my damage to the residents to a minimum.

"Hm?" I shifted my focus to my Omen.

It seems she's finally awake.

I snapped my fingers, teleporting to my Omen's location.

"Master! Ahh!" I quickly grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the surrounding residents and carried her up a building. "Master, what's going on?"

Good. She's not affected.

"I don't know, but all of the residents have gone insane. They're fighting amongst themselves, but for some reason, they prioritize targeting intellectual beings like us. To make matters worse, the rebels are taking advantage of the chaos and are killing them. If things continue, there'll be nothing left of the Medicio Faction."

"Master..." She reached out to hold my hand reassuringly. "It'll be okay. I'm sure Cain is working to fix everything!" Even in this grim situation, she forced a smile to ensure that I didn't lose hope.

"You're putting too much faith in that brat. That brat is probably dead already, or went insane like the rest of these weaklings."

"If he died, my eyes would've reacted." Following the King Eye's senses, she looked behind her, possibly where that brat was located. "I'm going to regroup with him, even if I have to go alone!"

Wasting time regrouping with that brat will result in more residents dying at the hands of the rebels, but if I lose Maria, my manpower will decrease drastically. On the other hand, if we do find that brat, we will be able to clear this mess quicker. Also, if I use that chance to explain the situation to them, we can split and cover the Faction quicker and more efficiently.

I clenched my hands, weighing my options. Also cursing the fact that my strategist wasn't here to assist me, once again drowning in my weakness.

No, now that I have my Omen back, I don't need them.

"Master," she called out once more. But this time, her tone was foreign to the girl I knew. It didn't bear any affection and admiration. Only darkness, and underlying possessiveness and rage.

"Sigh..."

At His Majesty's orders, I can't let that brat die, and I can't entrust such a dangerous task to Maria alone. Not in this mess.

"Fuck... Fine. Let's go."

"Yay! I knew you'd come around." She jumped at me for a hug, but I quickly dodged, causing her to land on her face.

"Uwaah?! Ugh..." She got up and rubbed her nose. "That's mean, Master."

Good. She's back to her usual self.

"Whatever. Weren't you worried about that brat? Lead the way."

"I'm not worried about him. He can handle himself. Even if he can't..." She paused, tugging a dark smile before continuing. "It doesn't matter. He will survive. I just want to be by his side."

Am I imagining things? Something is off about her. Well, anything is better than her losing her sanity.

Maria made haste, and I steadily followed her from behind, observing our surroundings. I deactivated my heavenly weapon and ability.

Moments later, Maria came to a stop.

"What's wrong?"

"Something... dangerous... is up ahead." She directed, her hand trembling.

I stood beside her and looked where she was pointing at. Despite the tall hospitals, blood was splattering above it. Also, smoke was occurring from all directions except the center.

"Is this the work of a single person?" I mused.

Of course, this much isn't anything amazing, but the fact that they're making light work of their opponent means their strength is currently unknown. But why... why can't I shake off this uneasy feeling? Like my body is telling me not to go.

I glanced at Maria who didn't relate to the chill I was getting.

It must all be in my head then.

"Let's go. I doubt someone strong would be affected by this gas. And I'm planning on getting rid of all the rebels, anyway. You can go ahead without me." I called forth my katana again.

"No. I'll fight!" She withdrew her sword.

"What? Are you worried that I'll die?"

"That's not it." Maria glared in the direction where blood continued to spill and color the gas red. "I don't think that person will let anyone go."

"True. It seems they're shredding everyone in sight. Just don't hold me back." I jumped off the top of the building.

"I won't!" She jumped down as well.

We both cautiously hid behind building by building until we were a building away from the massacre. I peeked out my head to assess the situation.

There was a mountain of corpses, and a single man remained standing. His back was facing us. Black boots... black... black... the more I analyzed his outfit, the more everything made sense. That self-made black cloak. That ash-gray hair.

"Hey, Master. That black blindfold... isn't that the traitor?"

I nodded.

"It's Kai Iode, alright. There's no mistaking it. Nobody else is foolish enough to fight blindfolded."

Kai Iode, now known as the traitor of the alien nation. After a certain incident, he left the Iode family and disappeared. If he remained, I wouldn't have been considered the strongest knight nor received the title 'God of Blades' from the Tower. That's right. Not only did he leave the Iode family, relinquishing the title of the strongest, but also never attempted the Tower, allowing me to snatch the title.

But that's why I couldn't help but admire him. Out of all these people, including me, who took advantage of the Tower to gain power without putting in any effort, Kai was different. He despised the Tower for that exact reason! He became known as the strongest through pure skill, no abilities.

Even after all of these years, my heart still stubbornly pounded and yearned for him.

What is he doing here? Was he residing in the Rebel Faction all this time? No, he must have a reason. I mean, there were rumors that he was in the Rebel Faction but I never heard anything bad about him.

I thought about that, denying his involvement, but the corpses that he used to build that mountain solely consisted of residents from the Medicio Faction.

"What do we do, Master?" Maria whispered to me, trying her best not to catch his attention.

Heh... there's nothing we can do. He already knows that we're here. He's just being considerate and giving us time to brace ourselves. But telling her that would demoralize her.

"Leave it to me," I whispered back.

I silently crept closer, futile as it was, it was fine as long as he played along. I then took a deep breath before grabbing the hilt of my blade and lunging at him almost instantly. I aimed directly for his neck.

Cling!

He didn't even turn around to unsheathe his katana and block. He didn't bother dodging. Then... what did he do? He blocked it with his damn scabbard. He simply held his katana in his scabbard over his shoulder, defending my attack against his neck. Not only did he have a blindfold on, but I attacked from his blind spot!

"Ah... Alpha kitty." He looked behind him with a grin. "It's been a while."