The Earth After Rebirth

"What are you guys whispering about?"

Their skin almost jumped from their muscles when they heard the sudden interruption. Their necks mechanically turned and it was Isla no less.

Abrupt panic jolted within Kiro. He didn't know how she'd heard and that she was playing dumb. He didn't know how long she'd been standing there, for all his focus was on their conversation and the fact that Nikolai declared he'd be killing his father.

He admitted he should've been more vigilant as there were outsiders there too, but regret wouldn't turn back time no matter how much he felt it.

"It's rude to sneak on people, what if we'd attacked!" He didn't know what else to say.

"Attacked? Yeah right, you should've seen your faces. You were so scared you couldn't even move!"

They didn't answer her this time, they were lost for words. She surveyed the area and the mood, it didn't seem like they were having casual conversation clearly what she disturbed was more serious than that. It was a pity she didn't hear anything, and she wasn't trying to.

"Why are you so—"

"It's nothing, did you want something?" Kiro quickly tried to amend.

Reading her face, he knew she didn't hear a word of what they were saying. Which also confirmed that, she had just arrived at where they were seated.

She was now more curious, they were trying hard to hide whatever they had to be secretive about. She wanted to pry, but held her tongue. There was still an awkwardness between her and Kiro, she didn't want to spend more time than she had to speaking with him.

"Sorry for the disturbance, but we're done so we can move." She said in the most professional accent she could muster.

Kiro wanted to say something else but she didn't give him the chance as she turned on her hills to join Saanvi at a distance.

"I screwed up again without knowing it didn't I? Relationships seem complicated, why did I want one?" He sighed, giving himself a mental pat on the head, as if to say it'll be alright.

"Not really. You just need to be better at communicating. Girls, they need that." Hiro told him, patting him on the shoulder.

"You're an expert all of a sudden? This really sucks." He commented through gritted teeth. "Anyhow, no time to think of that now. This weekend then?"

They all nodded in agreement. Their plan was to leave the academy on Friday, travel to the upper district. They'd have to carry out the mission on Saturday.

Now that there was a date to cripple the sanctum, Kiro felt more anxious. This was something he'd wanted to do for a long time, in his previous life he had no power but in this one, in this one he could do more than his past self could.

He let out a deep long breath, telling himself that it would all work out. They'd definitely succeed, but after this, the sanctum may suspect someone was out to get them.

Which is why he wanted them to wait a while before they attacked another. That would no doubt lull them into a false sense of security, and even assume that the attack was just pure luck. This was something he hoped would happen anyway.

He was no seer, but with how arrogant the upper echelons were, he was almost certain that this would be their reaction.

"Well then, let's go!"

They walked for quite some time not encountering any monsters. Their only enemy was the seemingly growing heat which made it more difficult to breathe.

Hiro didn't seem to notice, as he was too excited with how many legendary they'd collected so far. He had plenty to do trial and error, thereafter stock up to sell. Nobody else shared his ecstatic state. He was more resilient to heat than most, so to him, this was a breeze.

"It's like he's trying to suffocate us before we reach the agreed goal." Nikolai commented.

"That's exactly it, he's probably thrown everything at us but didn't think we'd reach this far." Saanvi commented thoughtfully.

Kiro couldn't believe Saanvi's naivety. The thing called itself a god and if that was true, which he didn't doubt it was, it could throw more than just heat and titans at them.

As if their inane comments had been heard, a cold breeze washed over them but only for a second. They enjoyed it nonetheless, but that one singular moment of relief ended just as quick.

The breeze hadn't been alone, it had brought with it a very large creature, not as large as the titans but still, for their size it was something.

It had the body of a male warrior but the head, something was very wrong with its head.

"Is that a muzzle?"

No sooner than he'd asked, it howled. The howl didn't have a sense of urgency within it, it didn't seem like it was calling for friends, it looked excited that it would finally be receiving a meal after thousands of years of starving.

It's eyes darted from person to person, this was also the first time, since he regressed that he felt like prey. A sense of dread washed all over them. Kiro cursed under his breath, this was most likely the god of this mountain showing them that he was far from being done.

It's eyes had a darkness in them that would swallow anyone whose will wasn't strong enough. Saliva dripped from the corners of its muzzle, revealing razor sharp teeth.

It had no weapon, just hands that had very long dark claws. They had no doubt that, those would slice up their bodies with no problem. Read new chapters at m_v-l'e|m,p| y- r

"He's thrown everything at us has he?" Kiro gripped Ryu tightly. He slightly vibrated in return as if to comfort him.

Saanvi didn't bite, he knew Kiro was taunting her. She'd said what she said, there was no reversing it now.

Kiro didn't shout anything this time. He knew whatever formation they chose, it wouldn't be enough to take this thing down. He was surprised that, his comrades took up the formation without being told.

This sparked a senseless hope and confidence within him. He felt that if they could withstand this, they could probably take on a harbinger general.