“I don’t need Authority.”

Kuzon frowned as he squeezed Ciel’s throat even harder.

‘I can just use Marionette Worms.’

Either way, he would do anything he could to ensure they had what they wanted.

“Haha! Go ahead then! It’s not like that would do you any good, though!”

“Why is that?” Kuzon narrowed his eyes the moment he still saw Ciel smile despite her situation.

It made no sense… or did it?

“Do you know the coordinates of your home world? You don’t, am I right?”

As her words echoed in their ears, Kuzon’s eyes widened at the realization.

Ana sighed, pressing her palm on her face. She had also considered that aspect, which was why she had given up pretty early.

“I can just force you to—!”

“Bummer! I don’t know either! Legris didn’t tell m-m-m…”

“Don’t you dare lie to me!” Kuzon shouted, his thunderous voice causing everywhere to tremble.

Sparks of lightning flew all over him as his rapidly frustration climbed.

“She’s not lying.” Ciara said, her voice as solemn as it could be.

“I can tell. She’s not lying.”

“T-that…! What options do we have then? What can we do?!”

It would be impossible to scour the Aether Tree, even with The World, when searching for a world that Neron had expertly hidden in the first place.

Even Legris tried several times and failed.

“T-there’s nothing you can do, huh?” Ciel grinned as she felt her consciousness fade.

“Then suffer in despair… as your world turns to dust…”

“Shut up! We have powerful people back in our home world anyway! It’s not like Stefan can take all of them on!” Edward swiftly raised his voice and responded.

There were reliable people back in their home world. They weren’t pushovers.

“Haha! You fools. You still do not understand the current extent of Stefan’s power.”

Ciel’s chuckle came to a halt as she stared at them with the most serious gaze she had ever given.

“He’s just as strong as I am—if not stronger.”

Her eyes were narrowed, and hints of fear and respect were hidden somewhere deep within them.

All towards Stefan.

“That child… has become a monster.”

********

Meanwhile

The world was littered in nothing short of death and despair.

The fallen bodies of several hundred—if not thousands—of brave and powerful ones now decorated the landscape as a single entity looked down on them.

The young man had long black hair, and his outfit consisted of a dark trench coat and a hooded robe beneath.

His dead, uninterested eyes scoured the world that existed beneath him, looking at the many that had suffered grievous injuries or death… all for defying him.

As per his orders, he would reward defiance with the sweet, but cold embrace of death.

And it seemed like this world had no shortage of those who were willing to defy.

Stefan didn’t particularly feel anything for them, but he considered it tragic that they were fighting a battle they had no chance of winning.

“Why don’t you stop now?”

One might wonder who he was speaking to. Well, other than the hundreds and thousands of supposedly powerful enemies that he had laid waste to, there remained a few others that still desired to defy him.

“There’s still some time left until I am mandated to kill everyone here. If you choose to wait till then, I am not obligated to harm you right now.”

His cold words, his empty eyes, and his stoic demeanor… everything was perceived by his current challengers.

Ivan Smith. Elrich Lendertwale. Automaton Gawain. Advanced Golem Hugo 2.0, piloted by Maro and Freya…

… And finally, leading the charge was Kazen—Apostle of Aether.

All six of them were what remained of the resistance.

“You can’t defeat me.” Stefan spoke as if he was uttering a fact.

And perhaps he was.

In his eyes, just as water making things wet was a fact, so also was his superiority when compared to the likes of his current foes.

They stood no chance at all.

Even looking at them now, they seemed plenty exhausted. Gawain was currently going through self-repair, and Hugo 2.0 had lost an arm, while also having chinks in many areas.

The people present had also suffered considerable damage, but thanks to Recovery Magic, they seemed to be capable of pushing themselves even further.

Their disheveled state already made it clear how little of a chance they had to make a comeback, though.

Compared to them, Stefan was in a very pristine state. He hadn’t been damaged even once, and he didn’t even seem to be trying.

He was just waiting for the time when he had to eradicate the planet.

‘Or, if the opposition arrives before that period, I’ll have to face them.’

In a way, he was even holding back immensely. Every ounce of energy counted, and he had to conserve all that for a probable fight against anyone who would be coming to protect this world.

Either way, he would perform his task to the utmost.

“Why are you doing this, Stefan? I don’t understand! It doesn’t even seem like you’re interested in harming us.”

“Hm?” Stefan’s gaze shifted from the mass to the one who asked the question.

It was Ivan Smith, and he seemed to be the most disheveled of the group.

“Y-you… you don’t even seem interested in us. You don’t want revenge. You have no reason to attack us. Why are you doing this?”

“Ah, that…” Stefan’s voice trailed.

He was only doing this for one reason.

“Legris told me to. It’s important for his plan.”

That was all there was to it.

“Y-you… caused all this destruction… just because someone told you to?” Ivan’s voice echoed in disbelief.

“Yes.” Stefan responded stoically.

“Why…? I don’t understand. Why would you go this far for Legris? He’s the bad guy, you know? Why would you do all this because of him? Why would you join his side and go against us?”

No response was given.

“ANSWER ME, STEFAN!!!”

*

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*

A

/N

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Stefan really grew strong, didn’t he? Yayy!!!

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