Aloe's gaze was now strengthened with resolve.
Her fists were clenched, and her heart pounded with sheer annoyance.
So far, she had silently observed the antics of Chad, especially after realizing his true nature, but her patience had reached its limits.
Even after he was exposed, he still wanted to control everyone and have them do his bidding.
"You've gone too far. It's time for you to pay for your acts." Aloe floated from her seat, her eyes locked with Chad's strangely terrified gaze.
Sweat formed on his face, and his confidence began to morph into something—almost ss if a realization was dawning on him.
"I... I admit..." His voice quivered as he spoke, causing Aloe to hesitate for a moment as she stared at his horrified face.
"... It's my loss this time."
'This time?' Her thoughts echoed.
However, before she could conclude her thoughts, a bright blue swirling pool of energy appeared distorting the space around him.
Aloe instantly recognized the signature, her eyes widening in annoyance.
"YOU...!!!" She sharply lunged at him, her eyes flickering with rage.
"I won't forget this! I'll be back to take what's mine."
>VWUUUUUUUUUMMMMMM<
The energy dissipated, and with it went Chad. He vanished from sight, escaping Aloe's grasp in just a fraction of a moment.
"Damnit!" Her howl rose to an unprecedented degree, expressing just how frustrated she was.
'I have to chase after him.'
At this point, the Hunters within the auditorium were slowly regaining their senses. They seemed weakened, however.
'I can leave them alone here... right?' As Aloe was about to vanish, a sudden thought interrupted her.
'No. Something's not right.'
The Zenith was a large organization. Even though they had dispatched a majority of their troops to attack Seoul, there had to be a good number of Hunters left in this place.
Yet... where did they go?
'The two Pillars as well...'
Using her sensory abilities, she was able to spot them instantly.
'They're all outside the auditorium. But why? Shouldn't they be making an effort to apprehend the Hunters here in order to prevent the information from spreading? Or of they're scared, shouldn't they be actively retreating?'
Other than one particularly hidden one, the rest were just watching the auditorium from a distance.
Why?
'Wait... could it be—?!' Aloe's eyes widened instantly as soon as she realized what was going on.
>BEEP!<
>BEEP!!<
>BEEP!!!<
However, it was too late...
>BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—<
... Or was it.
"[Original Magic: Aurora Vidalis]"
The entire auditorium—no, the entire island it occupied—lost all color at that point, replaced by a fading darkness.
The only source of light in the room was Aloe Vida.
Her multicolored Core, shrouded in intense light, complimented her golden form. A halo floated atop her head, granting her the allure of a cherub.
Time seemed to stop for Aloe. Everything around her was in a complete still.
From the multifarious expressions of the people in the hall, to the emerging blast that was bound to consume the entire auditorium in seconds.
They were all frozen in place.
No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't like time had stopped or anything.
She had just become too fast, and everything else had become too slow.
That was the nature of her Original Magic. This was the true meaning of [Aurora Vidalis].
"Fools..."
In that moment, Aloe took it upon herself to rescue every single person in the hall from certain doom.
She could have simply generated a barrier to protect them, but in order to fully prevent any tragedy, she decided the best course of action would be to evacuate them.
And so, she did.
All the attendants, numbering roughly a thousand, were safely evacuated in the blink of an eye—no, faster than that.
And it was only after she was fone that the explosion resumed.
>—OOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!<
Not only had Aloe saved everyone present, but she was now right in front of a confused crowd, facing the members of the Zenith who were equally confused.
"W-what is happening?"
"They survived?!"
"Teleportation? B-but how?!"
"I-impossible!"
The Pillar that led them, Pillar of Love—Derek Scotsman—glared at Aloe with caution.
He gulped hard, unsure of whether he could confidently face someone as monstrous as her.
'She's clearly responsible for all this. I can handle the others, but this... this one is dangerous.'
As Derek was still having this thought, he heard a strange sound emanate from his chest.
>SQUELCH!<
And with widened eyes, he noticed blood was dropping from his chest, forming a small pool on the ground.
"H-huh...?" He whispered, murmuring as he slowly lost all strength in his body.
That single attack had proven fatal, and death followed instantly.
The last thing he saw was a blurry image of Aloe's confused reaction towards his demise. It didn't seem like she was the one that dealt the final blow.
'T-then who...?' It might have just been an illusion caused by his demise, but Derek felt his shadow flicker before finally closing his eyes and breathing his last.
Rather fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—death wasn't exclusive to only him.
>SQUELCH<
>SQUELCH<
>SQUELCH<
... It came for them all.
Echoes of piercing flesh rang in the cool outdoors, and puddles of blood gathered to form a massive pool.
Many were too slow to perceive what had occured, but not Aloe.
She clearly saw the shadowy hands that pierced the chest of each member of the Zenith, ending their lives instantly.
'Shadow Demons? Then, is Jared—' While she was still making this thought, a deep voice echoed in her head.
~Please leave this place to us. You may chase after Chad~
The voice sounded strangely familiar, and the presence also shared the same quality.
It belonged to the one who was responsible for taking her life before she met Jared.
Kahn, the fallen Shadow Demon Lord.
'He's an ally now, so there's no need to be on edge.' Aloe thought to herself, her eyes still wavering a little.
Since Jared's plan involved this, she couldn't particularly complain. However, something else bothered her.
'There's one more Pillar hiding around. He may cause some trouble for—'
~Master is well aware of that. He has plans for that one.~
'Alright then. I'll leave them to you.' With that, Aloe stole one final glance at the stunned Hunters who were still wondering how they arrived outside the hall, how their lives had been saved from the massive explosion the observed in the distance, and the shocking massacre of all their enemies in the blink of an eye.
Everything was happening too fast.
"I'll be leaving to chase after Chad now. Chairman Sung, Director Baek, Han Soo... I leave this place in your care." Aloe glanced at her allies, nodding her head knowingly.
Even though they were still dumbstruck by all that had happened, all three of them returned her nod with theirs.
"Leave it to us."
"We won't fail you."
"Be careful."
Nodding at their words, Aloe vanished in a brilliant glow of golden light, leaving everyone with the sight of a devastated auditorium on one end, and a bloody mess on the other.
