Chapter 110: After the Storm Part 3
While they celebrated humanity’s first victory, something else was moving in a different direction.
Far from the capital, Francis stood at the edge of a ruined rooftop overlooking the dead city below.
His appearance had changed again.
Pale white skin stretched tightly over a lean muscular body, while dark stitch-like patterns ran across his flesh as though his entire body could split open at any moment.
White cloth covered his eyes completely, matching his long white hair that swayed under the cold wind.
Despite the blindfold, he could see everything.
"This place is not enough for me anymore."
His voice carried little emotion as he stared across the desolate streets below.
Burned buildings filled the horizon.
Smoke still rose from collapsed highways.
Corpses littered the city like discarded debris.
The survivors were scattered across the city in tiny groups, hiding beneath rubble or inside underground shelters.
Their numbers became so small that hunting them no longer felt worth the effort.
For the first time in days, he felt disappointment.
’I’m only at five million livers,’ His fingers tapped lightly against the rooftop railing. ’Looks like I need to move to another city.’
Just as the thought settled he looked towards a sound.
"What are you doing here?" Francis asked without turning around.
The cold wind swept across the rooftop as several figures slowly approached from behind him.
"We’re here to talk," Aris replied calmly.
She already knew what he had done.
The total silence was proof enough.
Millions were dead because of him.
Yet despite that—
she still came.
Nathan stood beside her in silence while the others remained behind them, tense and alert.
None of them lowered their guard.
Not after sensing what Francis had become.
"Aren’t you afraid of me?"
The stitched patterns across his body shifted slightly as he slowly turned toward them.
Several members behind Aris instinctively stepped back.
Nathan’s hand semi transformed, though he knew it would not matter if Francis decided to attack.
But Aris remained still.
Her eyes never left him.
"Of course we are," she answered honestly. "Anyone would be."
"But fear isn’t why we came here."
Francis leaned slightly against the broken railing. His blindfold moved as he tilted his head.
He made sure it would not fall. It was not just for show.
One of his cognitive abilities kept evolving in ways he could not fully control. At some point, having eyes started to feel like a burden instead of an advantage.
So he covered them.
How it happened, he never fully understood.
It came from absorbing too many abilities. Too many skills. Too many talents that did not belong to him.
Each one left a trace inside his system.
And now, his body kept changing without asking permission.
Francis exhaled slowly.
His attention returned to Aris and the others.
Even without sight, he could still sense them clearly.
Every heartbeat.
Every shift in posture.
Every drop of fear they tried to hide.
None of that was lost on him.
"Then what do you want?" he asked.
Aris took a slow breath before answering. "We came because of the Covenant. Our mission."
She pressed on.
"The Covenant was formed to keep balance."
"Balance, you say?" Francis touched his chin.
"What does that have to do with me? I’m just eating humans like any other beast. I don’t see how that helps anything."
Aris did not react right away. "That is exactly why we came."
She kept her distance, but her stance stayed firm.
"Please help us destroy the NET," she bowed her head.
"If they successfully use it, the Kings will be eradicated. And once that happens, no one will be able to control the other beasts."
"This world will be engulfed by a flood of monsters."
He did not answer right away.
"What exactly is this NET? And why are you so afraid of it? I saw Rynik’s ability with my own eyes. I doubt even my current form could fight it head-on."
Aris paused. She thought through her words first, making sure he would not misunderstood her.
"The NET isn’t a single weapon. It’s a system of multiple orbital cannons located all around the world."
This time, Francis reacted.
He was not unfamiliar with the idea of orbital cannons. They were common in old-world movies, just fiction back then.
But hearing that they actually existed here was shocking.
Not just one but many.
Spread across the world.
If that was true, even a Kings would struggle to survive a direct hit. The only way to destroy it would be to leave the atmosphere and fight in space.
Aris noticed his silence
She did not rush him. Instead, she pushed the point further.
"If all the Kings die," Aris paused, "there will be nothing left to hold the rest in place."
"Right now, the Kings act like anchors that keep most of the beasts in line. If you remove them, that structure collapses."
He understood what she meant.
But it still did not feel like his problem.
If things kept going as they were, he could reach Category 10 in a month. After that, he could bring his daughters back.
That was all that mattered.
The rest of the world could burn for all he cared.
Francis looked past them, toward the ruined skyline.
"I get it. But why should I care?"
"Because of the prophecy."
"Prophecy?" he repeated.
Aris reached into her coat and pulled out an old book.
The cover was worn, edges darkened like it had survived centuries of handling. She held it out without stepping closer.
"Because you’re the one in the prophecy," Her grip tightened slightly as she added, "This is our doctrine. Please take a look."
Francis did not reach for it right away.
Instead, he asked, "And why would I trust something like that?"
She did not lower the book.
"You don’t have to trust it. Just read it."
A pause.
Then he slowly pushed himself off the railing.
His steps were too quite as he approached.
He stopped just in front of her.
His fingers brushed the cover.
Cold.
Old.
Francis opened it slowly.
The pages turned with a dry crackle.
Lines of text covered in faded ink.
Symbols. Records. Notes that did not look like modern writing, but he could still read them, because of the sheer number of beings he had devoured.
His expression did not change at first.
The more he read, the quieter he became.
It tells a story about the birth of a new type of beast, one that could grow without limits and had the ability to become any kind of beast by using the skills and likeness of what it devours.
The more he read, the more similarities it showed with him, with the exception that the book did not mention his parasite nature.
"Who wrote this?"
"I don’t know," she shook her head. "Even in the Covenant records, the author was never confirmed."
A short pause followed.
"It’s been passed down for almost a thousand years."
Francis slowly lowered the book .
"So..." he responded flatly, "someone a thousand years ago wrote about a creature that resembled me."
"If this is your proof, then you just put your entire group in danger because I have no plans of becoming a King."
His mouth cracked open, ready to add more points.
She raised her hand.
"You can easily kill us, but is that really what you want to do? Don’t you think we would be more useful to you alive than dead?"
CRACK!
He closed his mouth hard. He was not really going to eat them. It was only a way to pressure them into backing down.
Now that his target had expanded, having people guide him to the next city would be useful.
Still, he did not accept their offer right away.
If he agreed too quickly, it would feel strange. Suspicion would build later. It was better to appear uncertain first.
"Alright, I’ll work with you for now, but just to be clear, I’m planning to kill more humans."
"I know," Aris nodded. "It’s also in the prophecy that the new King has bottomless hunger. And destroying this nation until only a few remain is part of our goal too. By setting civilization back, we can return the balance, the way things should be."
"Good then—"
Before he could finish, Aris dropped to the ground. Her hands hit the concrete first, then her knees followed.
She tried to steady herself, but her stomach turned. She bent lower and began vomiting onto the rooftop.
"What happened?" he asked.
A sharp crack of static cut through the rooftop air.
"No... no, no," she whispered.
Her head shook slowly at first, then harder, like she refused to accept what she felt.
Her voice finally broke through.
"Rynik... is dead."
Her revelation hit everyone hard, even Francis.
To think that the giant beast responsible for almost destroying this very city just days ago had been killed by humans.
