CHAPTER 175: PEACE IS NOT AN OPTION

[: Daniel’s POV :]

"It’s a bit insulting that such a meagre planet chooses to call our Lords prideful beings."

The creature’s voice slithered through the air like smoke, its silhouette warping the space behind it.

Its hands, long, bony, ending in hooked claws, rested behind its back as though it were taking a leisurely stroll rather than threatening an entire world.

Its head tilted, neck cracking unnaturally.

"We’re merely cooperating to achieve our goal... and that goal is ’you’."

It raised one hand, a single talon glinting with malevolent light.

"A mere planet born with a Nexus Heart."

The air grew colder.

Even the wind seemed to recoil at those words.

"An existence that should have been taboo, and yet..." the creature’s mouth twisted wider, "with nothing but the coincidence of star alignments, you appeared."

Then its eyes, black orbs with a single white dot drifting in the void— ocked onto Mika.

"Hence, do not blame us for fulfilling the wish of my Lord."

It stepped forward, and with a sound like reality being torn apart, it vanished.

A split-second later, it appeared right in front of Mika, claws poised to shred through her chest.

But it didn’t get the chance.

My arm was already moving.

I grabbed Mika with my right arm, cradling her close to my chest, and with my other arm I intercepted its strike.

The collision unleashed a shockwave that flattened the grass around us and sent a wave of dust spiraling outward.

*BOOM.*

The creature’s eyes widened.

For the first time, wariness flickered within that abyssal gaze.

"...You," it growled. "Just who are you...?"

As if my presence alone contradicted the logic of the universe it knew.

"Time for you to find out."

A smirk tugged at my lips.

Holding Mika securely like in a princess-style, I twisted my body, gathering force through my core and legs.

A faint ripple of Destruction Element manifested around my foot as I stepped, pushing off the ground with condensed power.

The impact of my kick sent the creature flying, its body a blur until it stopped midair, trembling.

A crack, thin but unmistakable, split across its chest.

"What the hell was that!?" it shrieked, voice cracking between astonishment and disbelief.

I didn’t answer.

My focus shifted to the trembling girl in my arms.

"Mika, change of plans."

Her eyes met mine, and the fear there wasn’t for herself, it was for me.

"You have no choice but to evolve now."

Mika’s breath caught, her hands clutching my shirt.

"D-Daniel... if I evolve now... t-that—"

"I know."

My voice softened.

She had explained it before.

The preparation needed and all of the risks and the instability.

The fact that evolving now would draw every cosmic predator like a beacon.

But right now, all of the expectations that she had were all useless.

They had already moved and if Mika still choose to prepare herself, it would all be for nothing.

Rather than waiting, might as well, she evovle now.

"Yes," I murmured, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek, "it’s dangerous. Yes, the timing is awful"

"But the moment these beings arrived... preparation no longer mattered."

I tilted my head toward the sky, where rifts shimmered faintly.

"They already know. And you can see it yourself."

"But... Daniel... that would mean..."

"That I have to face them alone," I said, finishing her sentence.

Her voice broke.

"But that’s too—"

"Mika."

She flinched gently at her name, looking up at me like a frightened child.

"Remember what I promised?"

She nodded slowly.

"You can rest easy now. Nothing will happen to this planet. Not anymore. Not as long as I’m still breathing."

I met her gaze unwaveringly.

"So go and evovle andwave everything up to me."

There was only silence afterwards with her hands clenching and she bit her lips.

Then, slowly, Mika exhaled as she had finally made her decision.

"...Alright, Daniel. I’ll trust you with my life on the line."

After her declaration, she glowed.

Light wrapped her body like liquid silk.

Essence gathered, swirling in streams of blue, white, and emerald.

Her physical form dissolved into a sphere of pure mana before encasing itself into a cocoon of radiant essence.

Then her voice, soft but echoing in every mind across the world, spoke.

[: My children... I have decided to evolve due to unavoidable circumstances. I know this choice will hurt many of you... I’m sorry. Please... hang on. Survive :]

There were various kinds of reactions and most are clueless that there was such conscious that had existed.

However, none of them could peer and think about Mika as the whole world was in a war.

At the same time her voice wavered, heavy with guilt, sadness, and the crushing burden of a planet forced to abandon her people even for a moment.

The creature burst into hysterical laughter.

"Are you serious!? A planet chooses to evolve right here, right now? In the middle of a crisis? H-How hilarious! Even for me who have lived for countless years, this is the first!"

Its hand lifted, forming spiraling violet orbs that pulsed with destructive force.

"Allow me to demonstrate how foolish that decision is!"

[: Cataclysmic Repulsion :]

The spheres detonated toward the cocoon.

*BOOM*

But the attack never reached it.

I stepped between them and the cocoon, holding out one hand.

A translucent barrier, woven with the very technique it tried to use, manifested, reflecting the orbs.

"Are you forgetting about me?"

My voice was cold, clipped.

"And what did you say about hearing it for the first time? Why don’t you think that it would be the last time you’ll hear?" I declared.

The blast reflected with double the force, smashing into the creature and erupting into a thunderous explosion.

Dust hid the aftermath for a moment but of course, it stood there, unscathed.

It was annoyed, but not harmed.

"How amusing," it chuckled.

"And how strange. If it weren’t for my Lord’s wish, I would unleash my true power upon you."

It tapped its chest while declaring proudly.

"Black Dragon of Sovereign Velsa, chosen by the highest of our kind."

"And yet," I said, "you’re about to die."

Its head snapped toward me, insulted beyond comprehension.

Before it could retort, I vanished, Void Step bending space as easily as pushing aside a curtain, and appeared right in front of it.

My fist sank into its face.

*BOOM.*

The ground buckled.

The creature crashed back down, carving a crater that swallowed dirt, stone, and broken earth in its wake.

"HOW DARE YOU!" it roared from below, its aura erupting in a violent tempest of black flames and warped mana.

"A MORTAL DARES LAY A HAND ON ME!? ME, CHOSEN BY LORD VELSA!? ME, THE ONLY BLACK DRAGON OF SOVEREIGN!?"

It rose, trembling with fury.

"I WILL SHOW YOU THE CONSEQUENCES OF DEFYING ME!"

"You’re shouting too much"

"Whoever the hell you are," I said, shaking off dust from my knuckles,

"I don’t care. But today is the last day anyone will speak of your ’Black Dragon’ title."

"YOU—!"

Its aura exploded again, mana condensing into scales, horns, and tendrils of divine flame.

"I SHALL SHOW YOU THE BLESSING OF MY LORD! THE ONE AND ONLY—"

I sighed.

"I swear... you talk too much."

It froze.

Because I was suddenly right in front of it again, my hand gripping its entire face, fingers digging into its skull.

Then, calmly, clearly, I spoke the words that caused its eyes to widened.

"You know...I don’t know why but everytime...why do your kind...the ones that are prideful and ego love to boast about your lord?"

"Ah...I forget...there’s no way you could answer that...after all...that would be your last words"

[: Essence Devouring :]

[: Kingbreaker :]

[: Irrefutable Order :]

[: Decay of Nothingness :]

[: Essence Reclamation :]

"It’s time for you to disappear"

Kingbreaker activated first, crushing every Authority, Blessing, and Law it possessed.

Its divine aura shattered like glass.

Then Decay of Nothingness ate away its physical form.

Essence Devouring consumed its stats, its energies, everything it had ever accumulated into nothing.

Irrefutable Order with my word ’disappear’ wouldn’t allow it to be alive again.

And Essence Reclamation fed all of its stats into me.

Its scream, raw, panicked, disbelieving, echoed across the plains.

Its body rotted, dissolved, and was erased layer by layer until nothing remained, not even dust.

The aftermath was silence.

When I looked back, the students, including Silvia and Fendrick, were staring at me as if I had turned into an entirely different species.

Their faces reflected everything.

There was shock, relief and disbelief and perhaps a hint of fear.

And a dawning understanding that nothing... nothing in their world worked the way they thought anymore.

"I know you have a lot of questions," I said softly, brushing dirt off my sleeve. "But now is not the time."

I looked toward the sky, toward the rifts widening, toward the cosmic predators waiting on the other side.

"The whole world is in deep shit," I said. "So from this moment on, do exactly as I say."

Surprisingly, no one argued.

No panic, no protests.

Just solemn nods.

Because even they could sense it.

This was only the beginning.

My eyes narrowed as I stared at the heavens.

"I guess," I muttered, "peace isn’t an option."