The air was thick with the scent of smoke and dust, a haunting reminder of the battle that had raged through the land. Amidst the broken buildings, crumbling houses, and countless screams, Alec knelt on his knees with an expression filled with despair.
His forehead was dampened with sweat as he grabbed the hand of the beautiful woman cradled in his arms and started mumbling under his breath.
"Please wake up..."
His expression grew paler with each passing second after the hand in his grasp turned limp. The clothes draped on his body were torn from various places, with blood oozing out from the numerous injuries all around his body.
He let out a disbelieving laugh and screamed, no way, no way... But Lara's eyes remained shut, even after he poured many healing potions into her mouth. He could only watch as thick, dark lines slowly crept up her neck, threatening to steal her last remaining breaths.
How could this happen? After everyone scattered due to the circumstances, Alec and Lara, along with many other old individuals, were assigned to protect the western part of the East Continent. He thought everything would be fine as long as they didn't admit defeat, but nothing was fine.
The sky above him was shrouded in darkness, emanating from the whip of the woman floating in the air. Diora let out a sad sigh, but her eyes were twinkling with mirth. She looked at the blue-haired man kneeling below her, fluttering her thick lashes.
She was alone, with just a small army of one thousand people by her side. Hay and the other powerful individuals, along with the remaining third shadow general's army, were launching attacks on the planet from different places.
Diora came here to settle a past grudge with the blue-haired man because, even after so many days, she wasn't able to locate that old dwarf.
But who could've guessed her opponent would fall so easily?
Well, she would be lying if she said the man didn't have any potential to grow stronger than her. The moment she fought with him, she knew he could achieve a lot.
She let out a smirk when Alec raised his head to glare at her.
"What? You're standing on the weaker side. A side that was destined to fail the moment master wanted to conquer this whole universe."
Diora wanted to have a bit more fun with her prey, but then Alec closed his eyes and a faint voice escaped his trembling lips.
"Stop... You want to harm me, right? So, please don't kill her... please."
The woman's lips curled into a snarl, her shoulders trembling as laughter threatened to escape. She couldn't believe that the proud man, who fought her head-on despite being weaker, was now pleading to save the woman in his arms. She placed her finger on her lips and smiled at Alec.
"What if I don't want to? How about begging a little more?"
Alec's eyes trembled a little, but then he gazed at Lara. However, at that moment, the sky shook violently, and a tremendous amount of mana gathered in a faraway place.
Diora lifted her head, gazing into the distance. Her eyes widened, and in an instant, she fell to her knees. Her previous arrogance and elegance vanished in the presence of the person who had just arrived on the planet.
Not only her, but all the people fighting alongside her also dropped to their knees as the petals on their foreheads glowed brightly.
Alec's grip on his sword tightened as he stared at Diora with a blank expression. In his mind, there was only one thought—he needed to kill her, and everything would be fine. But his breath hitched when a figure zoomed toward him and Diora, moving so fast that he couldn't even see a blur. The sword in his hand was flung backward as the person solidified in front of them.
Alec spat out a mouthful of blood when his eyes met a pair of mesmerizing sapphire eyes staring directly at him. He thought the man was looking through his soul, and his mind went completely blank for a few seconds, only to be jolted awake when the system window rang out with countless warning signs. He gasped and abruptly closed his eyes because the ethereal glow in the man's eyes was somewhat eerie.
The dust flew around as Diora let out a faint welcoming cry, calling out to the man with utmost respect. Alec slowly opened his eyes and gazed at the man when he turned around to face the woman kneeling in front of him.
'So this is what a shadow general looked like...?'
The man looked just like a human with the pristine brown robe hanging loosely on his body, or maybe he was a human, except for the blooming five-petal flower in the middle of his forehead. His eyes flickered with annoyance when he saw Diora, who, for some reason, didn't dare to make eye contact with him.
Then, he gazed at Alec, who tightened his grip on Lara and moved back a little with gritted teeth. But what happened next made Alec's scalp go numb. The man actually offered to help save Lara's life, but the smile at the corner of his lips was anything but good as he landed in front of Alec.
"You know... there's a saying, if you want something, you should give something in return, right?"
Alec's eyes widened when a familiar red crystal appeared in front of him. He stared at the floating crystal with dilated eyes. It was the same crystal that harmed Kyle, the one who devoured Kyle's soul.
The man glanced down at the crystal, and it trembled a little.
"I just found the person who dared to steal my belongings and remained hidden for so many years. He deserves punishment for the crime he committed. But I was astonished when I saw the brimming and pure divine energy in the soul-consuming crystal. So, before killing him, I asked him to tell me where and whose soul the crystal consumed."
The man paused and grabbed the crystal before staring directly at Alec with his sapphire eyes that glowed faintly to captivate the young man.
"I know the person whose soul was eaten is dead, so tell me, where is his body?"
