Chapter 173: He kept his word

Blake broke.

The moment Myles caught him, everything inside him gave out.

His fingers clutched desperately at the front of Myles’ armor, forehead resting against the cold metal plating.

Then the tears came.

However, it wasn’t quiet, he was hiccuping. Hos shoulders shook with every breath and he couldn’t stop.

He didn’t even know what feeling to prioritize, everything simply crashed into him at once.

His mind had spent days convincing itself to keep moving.

One more step.

One more lie.

One more hour.

One more chance.

Now, there wasn’t anything left to hold together.

The instant Myles’ arm wrapped securely around him, every muscle in Blake’s body simply released.

His legs no longer tried to support him.

His hands trembled uncontrollably.

His breathing dissolved into broken gasps.

He buried his face deeper into the armored chest, not even trying to hide the crying anymore.

He couldn’t.

It felt as though everything he had been forcing down for such a long time was finally spilling out.

Myles remained still, adjusting his grip slightly so Blake rested more comfortably against him.

Only then did he actually look.

Blake’s clothes were soaked with blood.

His hands, his face, his neck... dark red stains covered almost everything. But he could tell, none of it belonged to Blake.

However, his heartbeat was weak from exhaustion.

His breathing was uneven because of his broken ribs.

He had several bruises.

Myles slowly turned his head.

The surviving armored soldiers had already recovered from the previous shockwave.

One after another, they launched themselves toward him.

Dozens.

Some flew.

Others fired.

Several even drew special blades.

More poured out from the collapsing remains of the building.

Their footsteps thundered beneath the smoke.

Before Myles had restrained himself.

Every stronger attack risked bringing the factory down while Blake remained inside.

Now, there was no reason to hold back.

He shifted Blake slightly higher with one arm, holding him securely against his side.

His free hand slowly lifted, and the air around his forearm began vibrating.

A deep, almost metallic hum spread through the battlefield.

The muscles beneath the armor contracted unnaturally.

Layer upon layer.

His physiology compressed enormous amounts of energy inside specialized tissues running from his shoulder to his fingertips, forcing the surrounding air into violent oscillations.

The pressure alone distorted the dust floating nearby.

Several soldiers instinctively slowed.

"...What is that...?"

Too late, a blinding white beam erupted forward.

Not fire, not electricity.

A concentrated torrent of superheated particles expelled at terrifying speed, bright enough to bleach the world white as it tore through the air.

The beam stretched across the battlefield.

Everything in its path disappeared.

Armor glowed orange.

Then white.

Then burst apart.

The screams lasted only moments.

Myles heard every single heartbeat stop one after another, like candles being extinguished.

Within seconds, silence spread through that section of the battlefield.

Only burning fragments rained toward the ground.

Blake slowly lifted his head.

His eyes, still blurred with tears, wandered toward Myles’ completely covered face.

He was breathing hard, trying to steady himself and to convince himself this wasn’t another hallucination.

Myles looked back at him.

His voice remained calm.

"You won’t have to wait much longer."

Blake stared for another second before giving a tiny nod.

Truthfully, he hadn’t been worried about whether Myles could win.

Not once.

If Myles had reached him, then everything else would eventually be fine.

His gaze drifted downward.

Far below, three familiar figures lay scattered across the ruined courtyard.

Mori.

Deli.

Nar.

All motionless.

Blake blinked slowly.

...

’Of course, for him, this was a simple one sided fight.’

A battle that had terrified everyone else, had merely delayed him.

His eyelids suddenly felt unbearably heavy.

"..."

He hadn’t intended to sleep.

Not now, not here.

But, the moment Myles caught him, every ounce of tension his body had been carrying simply vanished.

His heartbeat slowed, his breathing evened out. The adrenaline disappeared all at once.

His head gradually rested against Myles’ shoulder.

His grip loosened, eyes sliding shut.

Within moments, he had fallen asleep, still clinging faintly to Myles.

Still held securely in his arm.

Behind them, the abandoned factory finally surrendered.

A deep groan echoed throughout the valley.

Steel supports bent.

Concrete fractured.

KRRRRRRAAAAAAAASH!!

The entire structure folded into itself.

Walls collapsed floor after floor.

Columns snapped.

Clouds of dust exploded outward like enormous waves.

Myles glanced back.

Without disturbing Blake’s sleep, he flew backward several dozen meters.

Chunks of concrete rained through the air.

One particularly massive slab hurtled toward them.

Myles simply adjusted his position.

The rock missed Blake by inches before crashing harmlessly below.

The dust cloud rapidly caught up.

Myles raised one hand.

Gently.

He covered Blake’s face with his palm, shielding his nose and mouth from the thick cloud of debris.

Blake unconsciously leaned closer, never waking.

Satisfied there were no more ordinary soldiers left, Myles slowly descended toward the ruined courtyard.

His boots touched the broken concrete with a soft thud.

Then, he walked forward past the shattered walls and burning debris, until he stopped beside Mori.

The man weakly opened one eye.

Blood covered half his face, his breathing rattling painfully.

He recognized the armored figure standing above him.

"...You..."

He never finished.

Myles raised his free hand.

A narrow beam burst forward.

For an instant, Mori’s head vanished.

The rest of his body collapsed limply.

One heartbeat disappeared.

Myles continued walking.

Several meters away, Deli struggled to crawl across the broken ground.

One arm dragged uselessly behind him.

Every movement left a trail of blood.

He heard slow and measured footsteps approaching.

He looked over his shoulder.

"...Wait..."

The beam answered.

A bright flash.

Then silence.

Another heartbeat ceased.

Only one remained.

Myles followed it.

Beneath a mountain of broken concrete.

He stopped.

Pieces of rubble shifted.

A hand emerged, then another.

Nar forced himself free with an enraged roar.

Blood poured from countless wounds.

His cracked helmet had fallen away long ago.

His face twisted with hatred.

Even barely able to stand, his eyes still burned.

He looked directly at Myles.

"...Who..."

He coughed blood onto the ground.

"...What...is your goal? What are you even fighting for, if you’re concerning yourself with these disgusting humans?!"

Myles looked down at him.

The information surfaced effortlessly.

Renar Restil.

The one who founded RENARTEN, called Ren or Nar.

A survivor of countless confrontations with AL-TECH.

Responsible for the destruction of multiple strategic facilities.

Countless casualties.

Countless hybrids or full extraterrestrials abandoned to die for his ambitions.

A man whose objective had become infamous among both allies and enemies alike. One of the few options a second generation could see as a solution for their despair.

To dominate the world.

Nar glared upward, waiting, demanding an answer.

Myles remained silent.

He didn’t owe him one.

He slowly lifted one foot, placing it against Nar’s forehead.

Nar’s eyes widened, for the first time, his anger became fear.

Myles pressed down.

There was a dull, wet crack.

Then another.

The concrete beneath Nar’s head fractured together with it.

Myles never changed expression.

He simply removed his foot.

The final heartbeat disappeared.

Silence settled over the battlefield once more.

Only the slow, peaceful rhythm of the sleeping boy resting in his arm remained.