Chapter 107 – When the Roses Bloom (25)
◎ S-level Romance ◎
Behind Song Ke, Nai Kang crashed to the ground, bones shattered, piercing his organs, and crimson blood spread out.
Anyone could see that this once prestigious magistrate now met a dismal end, dead beyond any possibility of survival. The Tang sword, which had rung with such resounding authority, echoed like a funeral bell in everyone’s ears.
The onlookers were petrified, staring at Song Ke as if she were a monster.
Amidst the pursuit and blockade by three S-level awakeners, the ruthless killing of the magistrate from District C was not the most terrifying aspect. What truly shattered nerves was Song Ke’s act of single-handedly destroying a starship. This transcended human limits, and even among awakeners, the effect was explosively remarkable.
Consider this: the hull of the starship was entirely constructed from Rhenium (Re), a rare element possessing stability comparable to diamonds—hard, wear-resistant, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant. Except for its expensive cost, it had virtually no flaws. Yet, solely with her awakened energy, Song Ke disintegrated it into shards. One could imagine the astonishing energy she unleashed in that brief moment.
The remaining four starships hovered in high altitude, afraid to descend easily upon the Reunification Palace. Inside the foremost command cabin, a man in formal attire with meticulously groomed hair solemnly observed Song Ke on the floating screen.
“Trouble, such trouble,” muttered Park Jae-woo, deeply troubled. Even though he had mentally prepared before coming, the complexity of the situation in District C55 far exceeded his imagination.
The demise of the applying-for-emergency-asylum magistrate would undoubtedly invite scrutiny upon his return for duty. What troubled him more were the three unidentified S-level awakeners below, poised to potentially trigger a new round of conflict at any moment.
Park Jae-woo was an extremely astute politician, keen on promotions and averse to war and violence. Out of self-interest, he leaned towards resolving disputes through peace and non-violence—if it could be avoided, no battles should be waged. As any battle would result in casualties, and casualties would affect his political achievements, hindering his path to advancement. Nai Kang’s death was a settled matter, but there might still be room for maneuvering, perhaps even a chance for negotiation?
“Have you found information on these three individuals?” Park Jae-woo’s expression turned serious.
Two S-level operatives from the Special Operations Team and a team of fully armed A-level awakeners were on the starship, following Park Jae-woo’s orders.
The civilian aide brought up the file screen and reported to Park Jae-woo, “Sir, we could only find details on one person, named Song Ke, biological ID: VUL7700523, registered in District C72, awakener level… um, A-level?”
The A-level awakener seated behind immediately exclaimed in surprise.
“What? A-level! How does she even remotely resemble an A-level?”
“District C72, that governed by artificial intelligence, Ferrara? This is too chaotic, isn’t it?”
“What’s going on at Ferrara’s registration center? S-level awakeners slipping through? If they’d reported in time, maybe this could’ve been resolved earlier.”
“Sir, her energy fluctuations are quite abnormal,” Odin, also an S-level awakener, cautioned in a deep voice.
Park Jae-woo looked at the energy detection device on the console. The detector connected to it was circling around Song Ke, and the radiation levels kept skyrocketing. Various lines on the screen danced erratically, displaying energy far exceeding the threshold of an S-level.
“We can’t engage, we can’t,” Park Jae-woo’s expression remained unchanged, but internally, he sighed deeply.
“Issue an immediate broadcast for surrender.”
The cannons on the four starships were raised, armed with the Alliance’s latest heavy weaponry. Simultaneously, a small unmanned drone descended to low altitude, its loudspeaker repeatedly playing a mechanized message: “Those below, please disarm immediately! Any grievances can be resolved through dialogue! A step forward leads to a sea of fire, but stepping back might offer a way out. Special envoy urges—”
Song Ke, annoyed, her eyes flashing blue, conjured a dozen crossbow arrows out of thin air, turning the unmanned drone into a hedgehog.
Park Jae-woo: “…” It’s over. The chance for negotiation shattered.
Due to excessive strain from their supernatural abilities, Gasta and Roy collapsed to the ground, drained of energy.
Punk, seemingly unaffected, stared at Song Ke with a sly smile. “You’ve got guts, killing in front of me.”
“I’m quite curious, how did you survive last time?” Wisps of blood mist faintly appeared around Punk’s fingertips. “But it doesn’t matter. Today, I’ll watch you breathe your last.”
Song Ke raised her right hand, forming a phantom blue Sovereign Spear without relying on any external aid.
“It’ll be you breathing your last.”
“What does she intend to do?”
“Is she insane? She wants to kill Punk? He’s an S-level dual-elemental!”
People within the starship looked surprised, discussing among themselves. Several months ago, Punk, the Bloody Hunter, had his secret of possessing a second awakened ability exposed, stirring considerable discussion within the Alliance.
Song Ke launched an attack with the spear, and Punk confronted her head-on. Their exchange was so swift that it became difficult to follow—both possessed formidable supernatural abilities, their magnetic fields colliding relentlessly. Purely in terms of combat skills, Punk wasn’t Song Ke’s match, but his brutal explosive attacks often caught Song Ke off guard.
Song Ke didn’t retreat a step, fighting with a total disregard for her own safety. Unless it threatened her vitals, she didn’t bother evading. Her attacks grew more ferocious, deftly dodging the misty explosions, swiftly lowering her center of gravity, and seizing the opportunity. The Sovereign Spear, like a serpent, ruthlessly pierced through Punk’s left palm and flung his entire body backward.
“Bang!” Punk crashed into the outer wall of a building, causing it to collapse, rubble and debris scattering around.
His whole body was drenched in blood, his mouth contorting in a strange twitch, in the next moment, Song Ke’s arm erupted into a crimson firework, joints shattered, and her entire right arm hung limp.
Punk’s left eye flashed wildly as he triggered a time rewind, breaking free from her control and returning to his position several seconds earlier.
Unable to use her right hand, Song Ke remained unfazed. She calmly switched to her left hand, and her awakened energy manifested audibly, reforming into a spear, thrusting toward Punk.
Seeing the spear in her hand approaching, Punk triggered a time rewind! Song Ke retreated to her previous position, but her offensive remained unaffected. In the instant of her attack, the spear transformed into twin maces, like two iron plates crashing down with immense force, catching Punk off guard, hitting him in the mouth, damaging his internal organs, and causing blood to spurt out.
Song Ke’s transformations were erratic, driven solely by combat instinct. Her opponents couldn’t predict which weapon she would use next, and these weapons could appear at any time, in any unexpected manner. She shifted between swords, spears, crossbows, turning into staffs, halberds, and dual blades in the blink of an eye, incorporating a variety of concealed weapons, making her attacks unpredictable.
Punk had never seen such bizarre ancient weapons and couldn’t discern their characteristics. He could only increase the frequency of his blood explosions.
Song Ke sustained more and more wounds, shocking onlookers as she seemed to fearlessly withstand the blood explosions.
“Sir, the radiation levels are still rising,” Odin frowned.
“Is… is she still human?” a trembling A-level awakener asked.
“Should we intervene, sir?”
Park Jae-woo’s expression became inscrutable. Among the awakeners accompanying his actions, only Punk’s identity was somewhat delicate. Strictly speaking, he was Park Jae-woo’s political adversary, sent ostensibly to quell rebellion but actually tasked with monitoring Park Jae-woo, looking for any grounds to seize upon.
Park Jae-woo’s mind raced while maintaining a grave countenance. “Don’t rush in. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Others didn’t notice, but Punk, locked in battle with Song Ke, struggled increasingly against the mounting pressure. Gritting his teeth, Punk deliberately exposed a vulnerability, lunging forward, igniting blood mist at Song Ke’s left arm.
Song Ke quickly shook herself, and suddenly, an Emei thorn appeared in her right hand.
Impossible! Punk’s pupils constricted. Her right hand was supposed to be useless!
In that moment of Punk’s exposed vulnerability, Song Ke seized his head and forcefully slammed it into the ground, the Emei thorn piercing his intact mechanical eye!
“Ah!” Punk let out a heart-wrenching scream.
Through his blood-hazed vision, he witnessed the miraculous changes occurring on Song Ke’s body. The originally fatal wounds, deeply penetrating bones, visibly healed at an incredibly rapid pace, gradually reverting to minor flesh wounds.
Wide-eyed, Punk gasped, “You, you’re d-dual…”
Song Ke didn’t give him a chance to finish speaking. The Emei thorn pierced through his right hand, severing tendons, rendering both of Punk’s hands useless.
Following this, she conjured an axe and brutally chopped off Punk’s legs.
Punk’s mechanical eye was damaged, his limbs demolished, only his left eye could still move.
“Sir, should we…?” Odin couldn’t sit still, asking anxiously.
Under Park Jae-woo’s gaze, deeply conflicted, he spoke sorrowfully, “Go ahead. In urgent moments like this, we must watch out for each other. Punk has done his utmost; we can’t let him bear the risk alone.”
Odin and another S-level awakener leapt from the starship, successfully joining forces with Gasta and Roy, aiming to support Punk. However, just as they moved, four heavily scarred mechanical arms shot out, blocking their path.
Zhuang Qingyan assisted Lu Xiaoyu onto a wheelchair, his voice icy cold, “Personal grudges—wouldn’t it be inappropriate for you all to intervene?”
Odin snorted, utilizing his supernatural abilities. Before striking the two obstructing figures, a plethora of runes descended from the sky. A young man in a black Taoist robe flickered before them, and countless thunderbolts crashed down, delineating a clear boundary between the two groups.
“Qiong Qi!” Samuel and the others exclaimed excitedly.
At a crucial moment, Zhang Ci had returned.
Park Jae-woo, inside the command cabin, took a sharp breath. Another S-level? What sort of gathering ground was Mu City for these monstrous entities?
On Zhuang Qingyan’s side, several S-level awakeners engaged in a chaotic skirmish. Meanwhile, Punk, paralyzed in all four limbs, stared fixedly at Song Ke, bursting into raucous laughter.
“No wonder, no wonder you survived…”
“Wishing to kill me? Can you bear the consequences? I’ll drag all of you down with me to hell!”
Punk’s pale eyes suddenly flickered at a high frequency, his body rapidly inflating like an overblown balloon, emitting a faint, piercing crimson light.
Not good, he’s about to self-destruct!
Song Ke widened her eyes slightly and hastily released her awakened energy to counteract it.
However, the energy unleashed by an S-level awakeners’ self-destructive force was capable of cataclysmic destruction.
“Quick, retreat!”
Gasta and Odin screamed in terror as the four remaining starships swiftly veered away in the sky, the remnants of the security team and Shaye awakeners fleeing outside.
Punk’s dual abilities were merging gradually. He intended to use himself as a catalyst for one final blood explosion, utilizing time rewinds to repeatedly return to the moment of the blast. The destructive force would not just affect the awakeners but might reduce the entire Mu City to ashes.
Song Ke discerned his intentions. She attempted to attack the eye from which he was releasing his abilities but was obstructed by the explosion enveloping Punk’s body. Several times, she was blown away, struggling to keep her eyes open in the raging wind, cold sweat slowly soaking her back. Punk’s self-destruction was inevitable, but the chain of explosions had to be stopped. Was there any way to interrupt him?
“Think fast, think of a way!” Song Ke clenched her fists tightly, biting down on her lip.
At that moment, a hand reached out to support Song Ke.
Zhuang Qingyan approached against the powerful gusts, clasping her hand from behind, enveloping her in his embrace. Song Ke felt the warmth against her back as she looked up. Despite the man’s disheveled appearance, it didn’t diminish his handsome features. His deep peach-blossom eyes curved as he teasingly said, “If you don’t want to sacrifice yourself alongside me, Song Ke, seize the opportunity.”
Zhuang Qingyan lightly pinched his fingertip, sending forth an immeasurable awakened energy, rushing towards Punk.
His awakened energy, like a sharp knife, pierced through Punk’s skull, wildly churning within his mind. Punk’s consciousness stalled for less than half a second.
Song Ke’s eyes narrowed, instantly materializing a dagger, her eyes turning deep blue. Her entire awakened energy surged to its peak, breaking through the layers of interference. In a split second, she stabbed into Punk’s left eye!
“BOOM—”
A thunderous explosion erupted, the Reunification Palace razed to the ground, and the entire Mu City City violently shaking.
The scorching airflow surged towards them. Song Ke instinctively held onto Zhuang Qingyan, their different awakened energy tightly intertwining.
The flames engulfed the silhouette of the two figures.
