NOVEL NEXT Chapter 213: Past
At Elian's call, Bianca smirked and followed. When the two of them left, three world leaders and their Anchors were left at the altar. All three were turned speechless by Elian's action.
The worst thing to receive from someone else was not hate; it was indifference.
Hate demands that you dedicate a part of your energy and will to someone. To some degree, hate gives someone importance. This was why if someone else took out the object of your hate, you rarely feel joy; instead, you feel anger.
Anger that someone else took away the chance for vengeance.
Fury that you failed to vent your rage in the most savage way possible.
Before, Elian hated these people. They were the ones who drove the woman he loved the most to despair. But now that he stripped away his emotions using Adamant, everything became clear.
There was no reason to hate them.
He used to. But seeing them up close, rather than world leaders, all he saw was children. They scrambled to salvage their dominion when it amounted to a single world. As Elian learned and envisioned more, he found them childish and ignorant.
For they were like piles of crap you step on by accident. You simply wash them off your shoe and move on. They were not worth any more.
For their crimes against Bianca, they would die today.
Their empires, which they meticulously built, he would burn to the ground.
By the end of his time, no one would even remember that they existed.
The true killer who harmed Bianca was already brought to justice; the ones here were just dregs. For all their arrogance, they were weaker than Heaven's Fist. There was no reason to even acknowledge them.
It was like getting angry at someone else's kid at work. At the end of the day, they did not matter. Once the crucible finished, Elian would lead Earth and begin his plans of conquest.
In contrast to rushing to the altar, he now calmly walked down. Everyone froze at his disrespect; in the hallowed silence, only the sharp crunch of his boots resounded.
No one screamed. They didn't curse. The people once known as the Big Three only gawked in disbelief. The inner circles all knew what was to come. Once the timer ended, the final battle would begin.
Thus, they were the ones who were panic-stricken as Elian left. There was no deal, no negotiation, so naturally it only meant one thing: annihilation.
"Fufu, seeing their reactions, I am incredibly pleased. Who knew indifference would break them down this much."
Bianca beamed; although she could no longer love, she could hate. Thus, her animosity toward her enemies brought joy to her being.
"It only works because we are strong. If we were weak, they would simply murder us."
"Are you really fine just walking away? Considering how insidious you are, I half expected you to take everything they have."
Elian stopped and gazed at his lover, "Once they die, everything they own will belong to me. For their crimes against you, I will ensure no one remembers them. Whatever legacy they may have built, I will end today."
"Hmm, do you hate them that much because of their part in your life as a defect?"
"No," he shook his head, "my life as a defect led me to you. I cannot hate them for that. Even their part in your death simply ensured that we would meet. You might as well call them our matchmakers. If they didn't exist, we wouldn't be here together."
"Then why? Why do you spare no negotiation for them?"
"Because it would bring you joy," Elian confessed.
"Me? You're doing it all so that I can be happy?"
"Yes. All I do, I do for our happy ending. Removing all the things that would make you sad is part of it."
"…"
Elian's words caused Bianca to stop in her tracks. A faint blush ran through her skin, and she bit her lower lip before turning around.
Cute.
Despite her being in Frigid, Elian reached out and embraced her. Unlike before, Bianca did not thrash around in disgust. Giving a kiss to her cheek, he took her hand and gently pulled her back to their faction's area.
Silent and Bastion, who waited, both seemed to be in a good mood.
"Such overwhelming affection, I am pleased, Son-in-law. I will tell Blooms to hurry with the body. I want grandchildren! The sooner, the better."
"Elian, make sure not to break Bianca's new body during your honeymoon. Remake your body to something softer. She isn't like Silent, who can take a pounding."
Immediately, Silent slapped Bastion's head with her tail in anger. "What the heck are you saying, dear? Have some decency."
Elian couldn't help but chuckle while Bianca had a complicated expression.
[The negotiation phase has ended. The Noble Ascendancy faction has absorbed both the Bloodright of Conquest and the Truthsong Church factions. The only eligible Tyrant candidates are Elian Reed and Gerard R. Nobel.]
Silent, who heard the announcement smiled, "Good."
[The battle phase will begin shortly. It will end once either Tyrant Candidate dies.]
The borders separating the four sides changed. Three sides combined to form one part while Elian's area remained separate. Immediately, the members of the other factions left their areas and organized.
A large system window appeared in the sky.
[The Noble Ascendancy | VS | The Weapons of Valestra]
[Gerard R. Nobel | Tyrant | Elian Reed]
[Seraphi Cavour | Anchor | Bianca Valestra]
[40 | Knights | 2]
It was a simple scoring board. But one that showed the stakes of the battle. A large countdown timer was flashing underneath. It showed the number 30 and counted backwards.
"Well, it certainly isn't fair," Bastion grunted.
His wife snickered as she agreed. "Indeed. They should have brought more men. At least ten times more."
Silent turned to Elian and bowed her head, "My Tyrant, what is your will?"
Elian let go of Bianca's hand and turned on the chainsaws in his entire body. Along with the wild buzzing of his armaments, he gave his go-to command.
"Kill them all."
"Yes, my Tyrant!" both Silent and Bastion answered.
"And me? What do you want me to do?" Bianca asked in a fluster.
"Lay your past to rest."
[Talent: Driven – Hopeless mode activated. All enemies have been given a soul brand. Elian Reed will never lose consciousness until every brand is extinguished.]
Bianca, Silent, and Bastion all grew shocked at Elian's action. A soul brand was placed on every enemy in the crucible. It meant only one thing: Elian wished for not even a single one to escape, to the extent that he would burn his core memories to make sure.
"…"
A loud air horn then resounded throughout the whole space.
[The battle phase now commences. Fight for the glory of the Tyrants! Open Combat!]
At that moment, the borders that sealed Elian's faction in vanished. The Altar similarly retracted to the ground, leaving a vast, flat open space. But that soon changed when the enemy vanguard charged forward.
Gerard R. Nobel, lead them. His body turned golden, with black sparks of lightning running all around him.
"Scan."
___
Name: Gerard R. Nobel (M)
Talent: Blazing (SSS)
World: Earth
Species: Human
Class: Tyrant Candidate
Lvl: 80 | (Peak Dusk)
HP: 450,784/450,784 | MP: 100,000/100,000
Strength: SSS | Intelligence: SS | Agility: EX
Job: Thunder Mage (A) | Thunder Lord (SS) | Raijin (SSS)
___
Not really caring at all about the enemy Tyrant, Elian transformed his arms and his tentacles into rifled barrels. Fourteen long guns took aim at the incoming vanguard.
"Snipe."
And he fired without a second thought. A barrage of Cinderglass rounds flew. More powerful than standard Onyx bullets, these even exploded on impact. Thunderous booms erupted as the vanguard was hammered with Elian's ranged attack.
"ACK!" "NO!!" "HELP!"
There were fifteen people who were part of the vanguard. Mixed from all three factions. A fourth of them died instantly. It didn't take a genius to understand why.
Even from a distance, the ones that perished were those who had subpar equipment. Although they wore flashy sets of armor, they were not able to withstand Elian's simple attack.
"Hmm. So the Crusaders and the normal Breakers are weak."
When the smoke cleared, the rest of the vanguard raced. The ones in the lead were people who dressed like Silas. They had matching armor that looked cool and several accessories. Even from a distance, they looked well-geared.
They raced forward, sporting green barriers that protected them.
A bright flash erupted from a distance. Then fire shot up the sky; it was as if hell opened its mouth. The source was, naturally, the pale-skinned beauty flying up high; as there were no ranged attacks, Bianca must have taken care of them.
"REEED!!!"
Duke Nobel screamed like a mental patient, his face warped in rage. He raised his hands, and a terrifying number of lightning bolts raced toward him. Too fast for him to evade, Elian moved his tentacles to form a shield in front of him.
CRASH!
Like thunder, deafening booms rang out. Bright, blinding energy slammed into Elian's makeshift shield, pushing him back. Although it didn't hurt, he felt electric currents scorching the linings of his Dominator Variants.
"Hmm. Interesting."
But before Elian could counterattack, two figures joined the field. A hill-sized tank by the name of Bastion and a ghostly assassin called silent. Suddenly all the forces behind Duke Nobel were forcefully sent away.
Leaving only Elian and his prey.
When the golem retracted its tentacles, Gerard was still pale from how Bastion and Silent were massacring his allies.
Intrigued, Elian morphed the ends of his arms and tentacles into chainsaws and hacked Gerard with them. His body faded in and out like smoke.
"Well. That's new," he called out with a smile.