Kai Lane: Beginning

Alain's gaze was fixed on where Quentin was standing. He clenched his teeth. His fists were clenched so tightly that, had his fingernails been longer, they would have cut into his flesh. At that moment, he locked eyes with Quentin. His whole body froze. He remembered. He remembered how he hadn't been able to do anything when the Cannibal King attacked. He had been useless when Dani died. He wished he could give Isaac some advice. He wanted to tell Isaac not to be afraid, but he was scared too. He was lying to himself. He wasn't brave. He had fooled everyone—including himself. He didn't deserve to be a Legendary Leader.

How logical. Just right for the King of Lies.

People turned their backs on the city. Almost the entire contingent decided to leave. The great geniuses had given up. Each and every one of them was a coward. But the fact that thousands of people here were cowards humbled them a little. That's why they were able to leave so easily.

At that moment, under Quentin's despairing gaze, geniuses like Isaac and Alain were leaving. Even Elena, Clara, Raiya, and Orion were frozen in place. It looked like they would have to leave under these circumstances, too.

"You are all idiots..."

The calm voice echoed in the ears of thousands of people. Even a weak adult could recognize the desire to kill in that voice, and the powerful people here felt it in their bones.

At that moment, Jack's violent aura enveloped everyone. His right eye turned green, and his aura began to fill the space.

It was trying to turn into a Domain.

"Do you really think you have a chance to survive in this situation?!"

"They will hunt you down, one by one!"

"They will test the worst torture techniques on some of you!"

"Some of you will face situations beyond anything you've ever experienced!"

"Tell me! After they get out of here! Which one of you won't reach step three in twenty years?!"

"What do you think will happen if they go out into the outside world?!?"

Jack's words were fierce, and everyone paused for a moment. They could reach Step 3 in 20 years.

But so could the hunters who came to this island.

"If you don't think about the developmentalists, don't you think about your family?!"

GULP...

"What about the families you left behind when you came here?!"

"They've pinned all their hopes on you and you're going to run away!?!"

"You call yourselves men!?!"

KIRTT...

"How many of you have left your children behind? Don't you think about the children you left behind?!"

RIGHTRT....

"Do you think that any torture you can think of right now cannot be inflicted on them!?!?"

"..."

Silence descended on the area. Who could speak? Who could refute Jack's words? Clearly, his words were true. They couldn't look Jack in the eye, but they could feel his anger radiating from him. They felt as if he would hate them if they looked into his eyes.

No one could keep walking. But they didn't turn back, either. They clenched their fists and held their breath. In their minds, the great battle of the century unfolded.

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At that moment, Jack spoke once more.

"If you refuse to be a man and leave your children and family in the hands of death, then go! But never come back! It doesn't matter what you think! I will not let my loved ones die, no matter what! I will protect my family! I will protect my people! I will protect my brothers and sisters!"

As Jack uttered his last words, the bodies of the Developmentalists were beyond control. Tears of rage flowed from their eyes. Some of the tears were blood. Their knees shook as they tried to focus all their energy on walking.

Everyone had different thoughts. Some said they should go back; others said they should go away. But it wasn't easy. It wasn't easy at all.

Alain froze. He thought of Dani. And another man. Dani was dead. Honestly, Alain didn't know if the other man was alive. After all, there might have been a war in the outside world.

But he wanted to go. He knew what was going to happen, but he wanted to run until he died. No. He didn't want to die like this.

Isaac tilted his head to one side. He was the same as always. The same emotions had pinned him to the ground. He no longer protested. He was used to it.

At that moment, a young man walked around under the ramparts. He had white hair and a deep scar on his face. His eyes were white, and he looked tired of life. Yet, he stood tall. The presence of so little light in his eyes did not stop him. He stood upright.

He looked at where Jack was standing.

"What are you trying to say, Jack? Who are you going to protect? Protect yourself first."

Reina shook his head and looked up at the wall stretching tens of meters high. He looked, but he could not describe the grandeur of the wall in his thoughts.

"Maybe I have changed. I have no one to protect, Jack. My story has made me who I am."

'In a family where everyone got what they wanted, I got nothing.

Things changed when even my own father turned his back on me.

I remember the day, many years ago, when the Shield Lord was chosen. My father was the clan leader, so I was able to watch from the front of the crowd. However, I didn't pay much attention.

When my father raised the Shield of the Seven Seas, I fixed my gaze on it. It shone brightly. It had the power to shake a man's soul and make the weak strong. Whoever received it seemed capable of protecting heaven and earth.

But I only wanted to protect my little brother in my mother's arms. I didn't want him to endure the humiliation inflicted on me, so for a moment I did.

Choose me....

It was only years later that I realized it was a big mistake. At the time, I was just a child who couldn't understand what was happening. I was excited when the light from the shield hit me. I looked at my mother excitedly and saw that she was pale with fear. Her smile faded when the former clan leader tried to kill me. That's how I got the scar on my face. Even my father could barely save me. He prevented the attack not because I was his son, but because he was afraid the shield would leave the clan if I were killed.

Why did he choose me?

Why did the shield come toward me?

Did it sense me?

Did the pure thoughts in my heart appeal to the shield?

If so, then why didn't he help me? Why didn't you do anything when my parents kicked me out of the Ancestral Realm?

I'm sorry; maybe it wasn't your fault. You're just a shield.

It's not your fault that I'm so incapable.

I'm a Patriarch who can't reach the levels, even though I'm a Lord. What family in the Ancestral Realm would want someone like that?

They couldn't kill me themselves. So, they sent me here to get killed.'

At that moment, the ground began to tremble, and everything stopped for a moment. All the Kings, Lords, and Guardians turned their gaze towards the walls. The others might not have been able to perceive it, but they realized it at the last moment.

Then there was Jack, whose senses were heightened by his jade eye. Their gaze immediately turned to the ramparts and the white-haired young man standing closest to them.

"REINA!!!"

'My life was bad to some extent and I can say that I lost everything.

But when I came here, I'll never forget the smile on Michael's face when he found me days later. I've only seen that look on my mother's face. It made me happy."

There was a bald boy with him. He was a little older than me, but not by much. His look was just like mine: Ostracized, hard, and angry. When I stood next to him, I realized that, deep down, he was just like me.

He looked like he was about to cry.

Why?

Why didn't anyone want me?

He was soft. He was afraid of himself, and the loneliness was painful for him. I knew right away that he had been like this longer than I had.

He reminded me of myself, and when Orion joined us, I understood. I didn't need a family anymore. The three of us small children and this mysterious middle-aged man were a beautiful family.'

At that moment, where Reina was, the earth shattered, and an azure ray passed through the rampart. At the same time, rays were coming from every side of the rampart. The blue laser was destroying each side of the wall and attacking the city. The biggest beam was heading straight for Reina.

' I understand what you're saying, Jack. You are right. I will protect my family.'

The shield in her hand glowed, and countless shield beams appeared where the other beams had been.

I will protect my people.

At that moment, the Shield Lord's Ultimate Technique was revealed. Countless shields stood against the blue lasers.

'Don't worry, Jack. I will protect my brothers and sisters!'

BOOOOOOOOOOOMMM.....!!!!