Chapter 349: Silva

With the fall of the woman, many of the awakened there were left in a state of varying emotions. Aren stood there watching all of them. He had no care for their feelings or that he had gone too far. All that mattered to him now was that he got back to the gates and went into the domain.

His shadows continued their attack, using the moment of shock of the awakened to attack with even more vigor. They pushed back the awakened and forced a path through.

"Let’s go," Aiden said. They could not stay and worry about what Aren did for longer. They had to move. The group rushed through. Zero created a space around them to ensure that no attack hit them.

The shadows did their best to force the way to stay open. The awakened began attacking with their strongest attacks. Explosions ripped through the air, everything trembled, the ground cracked beneath their feet, and houses around them began collapsing.

One of the awakened refused to stay and keep fighting the shadows. He turned his eyes to Aren, who stood at the top, the monster that sat above it all.

"Arghhhhh!" he roared and launched into the air with a powerful jump. He pulled his sword back and attacked with all his strength. A red aura swirled around his body as he swung down with all his might, his teeth clenched tight and his eyes burned with rage.

"Dieeeeeeeeeeee!"

Aren looked up, showing no reaction whatsoever. He raised his hand and shadow tendrils burst into the air. They wrapped around the sword. The man looked at his blade, realizing what Aren was trying to do, but he was unyielding. He gritted his teeth and poured more strength into his attack. The red aura surged with even more force and broke through the tendrils.

His blade came down like it was delivering judgment. Aren pulled to the side very fast. The sword hit the ground with an explosive force, sending debris in all directions and raising a cloud of dust.

The man attacked through the cloud of dust, thinking he could use that, but as his blade lifted to attack, Aren slid under him, fist already pulled back, eyes locked for that moment. He threw the punch. It moved like a bullet through the air and slammed into the gut of the man with so much force he folded in two.

"I don’t have time for this," Aren said in a cold tone. He didn’t go for the kill, simply left the man there and leaped off the side of the building, and at the same time, he summoned the guardian snake shadow.

The awakened all saw the massive snake shadow take form. Fear gripped their hearts as they watched. Aren landed on the back of the snake. He looked for the others.

"Come on, fast!" he yelled. Zero lifted them onto the snake, and immediately it rushed out of there, slithering through the town like a rocket.

"We could have done this from the start, you know," Aiden commented.

"I didn’t think they would be that persistent," Aren replied.

"You underestimate how big of a criminal you are now. They would easily send massive nukes against you if they could," Aiden added.

Right about that time, several news choppers flew in the air with cameramen taking live footage of what was happening.

All around the world, people watched.

[Shadow, the Greatest Enemy of Humanity, Attacks a City]

That was the tag they gave, using it as clickbait for everyone who was watching from their homes.

[...]

A man sat inside the top room of a very large and tall penthouse. He leaned back into a magnificent couch while dressed in white bathrobes and holding a glass of champagne in his hands.

A drop-down television was before his eyes, and he watched the news with an unbothered gaze. He slowly sipped his drink and relaxed even more into his couch.

"Hmm, everything seems to be going haywire these days," he muttered and then closed his eyes to relax. But then the door to his room opened, and a man walked in, wearing a prim and proper black suit and tie, slicked-back hair, and a look that oozed with age and experience.

"Master Silva, a message has come from the Floating and Sacred Palace." The butler spoke in a clean tone.

The man on the couch was none other than the father of Elena, the legendary mage, one of the strongest of humanity, who chose not to engage in the stress the domain had to offer. He was hardly ever in the domain and only entered when there was something that he needed to do.

"Hmmm? What do they want?" he asked.

"Well, two things. They want our organization to come in and assist with a new crisis. The Abyss has opened, and demons will be coming to attack humanity. A Great War is at hand, and after losing two patriarchs to the hands of Geisha and Shadow, there is a need for manpower," the man explained.

"Wait, you mean to tell me this Shadow who is currently on screen here managed to kill a patriarch?" Silva asked. He turned to look at the butler.

"I’m more shocked you did not know that detail, Master," the butler replied.

"I thought it was all Geisha. I never knew the young troublemaker was part of it."

"Well, concerning that as well, Master, they want your help handling Shadow. It is already far too much that the gates of the Abyss are now open, but having a powerful awakened who wants trouble running around is another issue.

The Sacred Palace and the Floating Palace have stated that you will be rewarded handsomely when all this is done."

"Hmmm? Fine, prepare my things and prep the team and the full squad. We will head in after Shadow. I do not want to meet him in town here. Not good for my image to engage in that type of battle here," he said and then got to his feet.

"Also, make sure you find my daughter. It’s been a while since I saw her."