SYSTEM ASCENSION

The massive dome of energy towered over the ruined district in sound city, flickering violently whenever shockwaves erupted from within, yet no matter how many attacks crashed against it, the structure refused to break apart.

The numerous creatures had been taken care of, but no one could fix the barrier problems.

Rowen slammed his fist against the barrier again.

The impact sent ripples across its surface before rebounding directly into his arm, but he ignored the pain completely and struck it again with even more force than before.

Again and again.

His knuckles had already split open long ago, leaving his hands trembling and red, yet he continued hammering against the barrier.

Behind him, the heads of the leading families stood gathered beneath the ruined streets. They supervised the chaos and helped with rescue of people trapped under the debris.

Raiders were dispatched to finish off any remaining Null and identify unfortunate bodies.

Energy rebounded again and Rowen struck the barrier. They turned their attention to him again.

Lady Hinger stepped forward carefully, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Rowen, stop this already. Your hands are—"

"My brother is in there!"

His voice snapped through the street enough to silence everyone present.

She withdrew her hand, and stepped back.

Lord Tell narrowed his eyes toward the barrier again as another pulse of energy spread across its surface.

"How did he get in there..." he muttered quietly. "The barrier should have rejected outside interference completely."

Lord Joran stepped forward.

"Headmaster Rowen, your brother went into this barrier even when we couldn’t. There must be something about him that is different, or maybe the barrier was made to lure him."

Rowen narrowed his eyes.

"Lure him? Zeal may be a walking trouble, but he couldn’t have offended anyone to this point."

The family exchanged glances. They had met Zeal earlier today for the first time, and he left a lasting impression.

He’s a walking chaos.

Lady Anny sighed.

"We should..."

She turned her gaze. Then, all eyes followed.

Footsteps echoed from the street behind them.

A lone figure approached slowly through the ruined road with a hood draped over his head, hiding his face completely beneath darkness. Their pace was calm despite the suffocating atmosphere surrounding the barrier, and unlike the others present, he showed no hesitation whatsoever while walking toward the gathered family heads.

Several guards instinctively moved in front of the families.

"Stop right there!"

The hooded figure ignored them entirely.

"That...is a child." Lady Hinger muttered.

"Don’t he know what evacuation means?" Lord Joran frowned.

Joe’s eyes suddenly widened as the boy got closer.

That presence and vital energy was unmistakable.

"...Son?"

The word escaped him before he could stop it.

The others immediately turned toward him in confusion.

"What did you say?" Lady Hinger asked sharply.

But Joe was no longer listening.

His eyes remained locked onto the hooded figure while disbelief slowly overtook his expression, because the energy flowing from the boy was definitely his son.

"Your attic son?" Lord Tell raised a brow.

The hooded figure walked directly past them.

No greeting, nor explanation.

The boy reached the barrier, and raised his hand.

The massive structure that had resisted every attack until now suddenly distorted around his fingers like disturbed water.

Everyone froze.

The boy stepped through the barrier effortlessly.

"He went in!" Lady Hinger squealed, almost happily.

They all glanced at her.

"Sorry..." She zip her mouth.

"How did he do it?" Lady Anny muttered.

"Maybe the barrier is for children?" Lady Hinger raised her hand.

They glanced at her again.

"Zeal is twenty nine." Rowen spoke.

"I’ll go and oversee the evacuations." Lady Hinger resigned, and just chose to walk away.

Lady Anny turned to Lord Joe.

"Your son started locking himself up after he returned from that mysterious trip where the blinding light took him, and suddenly he can enter the barrier,"

"Yes?"

She turned to Rowen.

"Did your brother also experience it?"

Rowen’s frown deepened.

"What? No! There is no way..."

Reality suddenly started crashing in.

The first time they had met was after the second barge survivors returned. He had met Zeal inside the portal, where the young man had exclaimed that it had been a long time since he had been in Salvador empire.

Rowen gulp.

’He really...’

Then the barrier rippled.

Everyone snapped their heads towards it. Even Lady Hinger stared from a distance.

The boy stepped out slowly from the distorted surface of the dome, the hood still covering his face. He took a few steps and stopped before Rowen.

Then he slowly pulled the hood off.

It was really who they thought he was. An identical younger version of Lord Joe.

The boy said nothing for a minute. He simply held the hood out toward Rowen.

Rowen frowned before taking it.

"What—"

"His vital core was taken." The boy’s voice remained calm despite the horrifying words leaving it. "He should already be dead, yet he’s still hanging onto a breath somehow."

The surrounding family heads stiffened instantly.

The boy turned slightly, already beginning to walk away.

"Hurry if you want to see him."

Rowen stared at the hood in his hands for a second before confusion overtook his expression.

"What is this for?"

The boy continued walking.

"He’s naked. You should at least cover him up."

Rowen’s eyes widened slightly before he looked back toward the barrier with something close to panic now replacing the earlier rage.

His gaze slowly returned to the boy who kept walking away from them without another glance.

"The barrier should break anytime now..."

The moment the words left his mouth, the massive dome surrounding the battlefield cracked.

A deafening sound erupted across the district as fractures spread through the barrier like shattered glass before the entire structure exploded into countless fragments of light.

They all covered their ears.

"So loud!" Lady Hinger gasped. She glanced around, only to find Rowen staring at the hood, even as blood trails down his ears.

"Headmaster Rowen!"

She moved closer.

"Head—"

He bolted immediately, covering a distance in where the barrier had been before teleporting into the field directly.

His brother’s energy was indeed gone, so he got there with the help of tracing Elias’s.

His arrival made his fears come true. He stopped to stare at his brother’s corpse and dismembered pieces.

Nothing came out of his mouth, neither did anything enter his head. He stood still for a few seconds, before he forced his feet to move. Getting to Zeal’s body, he cowered down and checked his pulse.

There was indeed a little flicker, but despite that, no hope ignited in him. His hand moved up to his brother’s chest to search for his vital core.

It was also gone.

His eyes shut painfully.

When he opened them, he lifted his brother’s body and wrapped the hood around him.

"Who fights naked? Such a pervert."

Then, he hugged him. That moment, he felt it. The little pulse of life was gone.

"Karma really did catch up to you, you silly bastard."

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