"Sorry, mister Gil. But surrendering is no longer an option."

"..."

​​

Captain Dustin could not help but squint his eyes as he stared at the little boy that suddenly killed one of his men. The boy was quite eerily calm for someone surrounded by enemies left and right.

"Y… you!"

And like clockwork, the guards that were near him quickly cast their skills and loaded their fists. But before any of them could even take a jab at Van, he disappeared. The guards looked around to see where he went, only to hear another thunderous snap in the air as their captain once again flew higher.

"That…"

"Where the fuck did he come from!?"

Captain Dustin continued to flap his wings as Van suddenly appeared in front of him even though he was meters above the ground. And before Dustin could even collect himself, Van once again appeared near him.

Dustin could only click his tongue as he once again dodged the little boy's attack. Although the boy moved abnormally extremely fast, his movements were clumsy and predictable; one could see his movements stutter as he got near Dustin.

The boy is clearly inexperienced in fighting, Dustin thought. Of course, there's the fact that they were in his territory, the vast and empty air. Even with them being constrained by the confines of the Dome, there was still a lot of space for him to stretch his wings, literally.

As if a ballet following a certain rhythm, Dustin rotated his body, using the momentum from his wings as he continued to swiftly dodge Van's unrefined attacks. The boy is nothing but a wild beast for him, he thought.

And as soon as that thought crossed his mind, he instantly recognized who the boy was. He was the one that was tied up in chains months ago, personally escorted by the highest individual of the Explorer Association himself.

There was no mistake about it. Even though his face was partially covered then, there was no doubt in Dustin's mind that this was the same boy.

So… this is why the Association took all the precautions of sealing his movements? It makes sense, he thought. They would do the same if the City Guards were the ones who were able to catch the boy.

"Kill all of them!"

"!!!"

With a desperate roar suddenly coming from below, Dustin could not help but slightly glance towards the ground as his thoughts were suddenly disrupted.

This was, however, a fatal mistake as he quickly felt a warm breeze flowing from his left. The air once again snapped as Dustin flapped his wings and rotated his body to dodge the incoming attack.

But alas, even though he managed to get some distance and fly even further up in the air, it was too late. A sizable chunk of his arm was now missing, his flesh cleaved off from bones; his blood showering down on the people fighting below.

"K… kuh," Dustine could not help but stutter as he contracted his muscles, trying to stop his arms from bleeding profusely. It would seem that he was getting too complacent and underestimating the boy. The open air had always been his territory, and even other flying System Holders had a hard time fighting him.

But to think this boy was able to scratch him even though he was only able to go in straight lines was truly… remarkable. How is he even able to do that? Dustin thought.

A mage-type? No… considering how he cleaved off a chunk of flesh from hir arm without any effort, the boy obviously had a substantial amount of STR.

...A unique-type. They've always been tricky.

Dustin then suddenly shook his head-- this was no time to be thinking of such trivial things. Dustin then flew higher to gain more distance away from the little boy who seemed to not be getting tired at all.

He wanted to check the situation down on the ground… but perhaps he didn't even need to. As expected, his men were being pushed back. Even though their formation was clearly more solid and practiced, the sheer number of the enemy was enough to make them like children, pressured to bundle up in a circle as the enemy surrounded them.

Most of the people from the Pit were even just watching from the sides and not doing anything as there was no more space to attack. Charing blindly would just hinder each of their movements.

If only his hands weren't full in trying to dodge this little monster's attacks, then maybe they would have had a chance of actually fighting back.

But alas, this wasn't even a fight… it was a slaughter.

If only he heeded his men's advice to call for reinforcements as soon as they were able to, then maybe they would have had a chance. But now…

...Their death was inevitable. And with that thought, Dustin took a deep breath before letting out a loud roar.

"For the Circle!" He said as he flapped his wings again, waiting for the little boy to strike him. He was tired of dodging, it was time to fight back and at least drag this little boy with him to death.

However, to his surprise, the boy no longer rushed towards him. Instead, he saw him slowly descending towards the ground, letting himself fall right in the middle of his men's formation.

"..."

Did he run out of SP? Dustin thought as he watched as the little boy landed right at the center. His men, however, seemed not to have even noticed him as they were busy fighting for their lives against the unending barrage of enemies.

And soon… Van's eyes once again glowed, trickling a golden spark.

"!!!"

Dustin instantly realized what the boy was going to do; the snap of his wings echoing throughout the Dome as he rushed towards the ground. But alas, once again, he was too late.

He could only flap his wings once more to stop himself. He could only watch as a storm of blood and guts presented itself to him. His men, who were already pressured into a circle, were mowed down like grass.

Even the people from the Pit quickly stopped attacking as they saw their enemies suddenly being scattered into pieces… literally; some of their flesh even splashing towards their faces.

Latanya, who was overseeing the battle from a platform at the back, could not help but let out a sigh as she saw what was happening. She had seen a glimpse of this during the little skirmish they had back inside the Pit.

But to see it now clearly first hand, it truly was a gruesome sight. Before they left the Pit, Van had told her that he was at level 54. She believed him, of course; there was no reason to lie about that.

But to think that a level 54 was capable of mowing down other Holders that were of a higher level than him like it was nothing. Truly… Van was something else.

There was also the matter about the gods and souls being sent to the Afterlife. There were so many mysteries surrounding the boy that Latanya was almost starting to think that the real secrets of the world were not out there, but with him. Of course, Latanya still hasn't seen the world outside, but still...

Van…

...Van was truly special, Latanya thought as her lips slightly shivered from watching him work. It was as if… he was Death himself.

"..."

The Locals that were in the center of the formation could only stare as they once again saw their President covered in blood; surrounded by the corpses of his enemies, not even leaving a single body not cleaved in half.

And then, all it took was a stuttered breath for a cheer of victory to suddenly burst out from them.

Captain Dustin's wings which were previously drowning the air with its thunderous movements, slowly started to lose their shine as he dropped to the ground.

They really should have just retreated, he thought. Dustin closed his eyes, waiting for the clutches of death to arrive. But to his surprise, no one paid him any mind as his enemy just continued to cheer.

The only one that approached him was Gil. Seeing this previous member of the City Guards calmly approaching him, Dustin could not help but spit on the ground.

"...How could you do this?" He whispered, "They were your friends."

"They were…" Gil muttered as he looked at the cheers of the people, "...And I will forever regret this day."

Gil could only close his eyes as the cheers of the people lingered around his ears like a sharp knife. Even though they were victorious, there was no doubt about their victory from the start-- they could have ended this without a casualty with just the pressure from their numbers.

Their freedom could have been a path of peace. But alas, Gil would now forever swim in a river of blood. Perhaps he was on the wrong side… but this side was not the one who abandoned him.

"Once the Circle finds out about this, your little adventures would be over!" Dustin's voice became louder, "All of you will die!"

"Perhaps…" Gil let out a sigh, "But...

...I don't think anyone can stop this anymore."

"..."

"The Circle. No, all of us…" Gil's eyes then strayed towards Van as the people of the Pit made way for him, some even trying to touch him as if he was a deity himself.

"We allowed for this to happen...

...we created this."