The sky was still burning.

Black smoke had swallowed City S whole until daylight itself resembled an endless night. The suffocating stench of blood, gunpowder, and scorched flesh saturated the air, while the corpses of monsters and zombies lay scattered across every street and alley as though the city had become an open graveyard.

But...

Despite the destruction.

Despite the death.

And despite the screams that still had not completely faded—

Something else slowly began appearing in people’s eyes.

Hope.

Some survivors sat on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, while others clung tightly to their families as though they had escaped hell itself.

"We... survived..."

a woman whispered in a trembling voice as she hugged her child tightly against her chest.

Nearby, a soldier sat on the ground staring blankly at his bloodstained hands, unable to even process the fact that he was still alive.

Military ambulances moved through the ruins nonstop while rescue teams hurried to gather the wounded.

Yet even amidst all of that chaos...

Everyone’s attention remained fixed on a single person.

Sian.

He stood silently in the middle of the devastation as though he were part of the catastrophe itself.

Flames blazed behind him.

Blood pooled around his feet.

And the terrifying pressure radiating from his body made people hesitate to even approach him.

Even the members of the ability-user squad looked at him warily.

Lan Qishing took a slow breath before finally walking toward him.

"Are you injured?"

Sian looked at him calmly.

"Nothing serious. Just exhausted."

His face was pale, and although he had wiped away most of the blood, faint traces still stained his skin. Sweat trickled down the side of his forehead, and if one looked closely enough, they would notice that his hands were trembling slightly.

Truthfully, Sian had finally discovered the key to unlocking his abilities. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The more he used them—pushing himself closer and closer to death—the more of his power awakened.

Just like the blood ability that allowed him to control the blood of his enemies.

It was by far Sian’s most lethal power, capable of manipulating the blood of both humans and non-humans alike. It was also the same ability that drove him into a violent frenzy whenever he used it for too long or unleashed it at full strength.

But earlier, he had only used a fraction of it.

And even then, the reaction was exactly as expected.

If Sian ignored the exhaustion and trembling, he could feel the power inside him growing stronger, fuller... overflowing.

"Exhausted?" Lan Qishing laughed tiredly after hearing the boy’s indifferent reply. "You crushed a monster the size of an entire building."

There were countless things he wanted to ask Sian.

He wanted to speak with him properly.

He wanted to tell him how much he had missed him and ask whether his health had improved.

But there was no time for that.

The world was in ruins now, and it was impossible to regain control of these monsters and save humanity in such a short time.

Lan Qishing thought about the countless human casualties that had already happened... and were still happening at this very moment.

A deep sadness weighed heavily on him.

As a soldier, it was his duty to protect people.

If he failed—

Then he was worthless.

He Jinyun approached while wiping the blood from his chin with a faint smirk.

"Gege, you’re still as strong as ever."

Confidence and wild arrogance lingered in his smile. The silver mask covering part of his face looked exceptionally beautiful, adding both mystery and charm befitting someone with supernatural powers. His golden eyes gleamed brilliantly, reminding everyone of the golden lightning that had descended from the heavens earlier.

As for Kira, she stood silently beside Sian while her sharp gaze swept across the surroundings cautiously.

As though she still expected something else to appear.

Suddenly—

One of the soldiers sprinted toward them.

"Captain Lan!"

He was breathing heavily while holding a military tablet.

"We just received new reports from headquarters!"

Lan Qishing’s expression immediately changed.

"Report."

The soldier quickly opened the map.

Dozens of red dots appeared scattered across the country.

And the number of them...

Was horrifying.

Silence fell.

"All these cities were attacked?"

"Yes..." The soldier swallowed nervously. "City H was attacked thirty minutes ago. The army is currently trying to contain the monsters... and we’ve completely lost contact with City F. Satellite footage shows a massive horde moving toward the neighboring city."

Several nearby soldiers widened their eyes in shock.

"That’s impossible..."

But the soldier wasn’t finished.

"And worse..." he said quietly, "the monsters are evolving."

Everyone froze.

"What do you mean?"

He pointed at several images displayed on the screen.

Gigantic monsters.

Some possessed extra limbs.

Others had grotesquely fused zombie bodies merged into them.

And then...

Animals.

Tigers.

Dogs.

Bears.

Even enormous mutated birds.

"The infection has spread to animals too."

Silence descended once more.

One soldier immediately felt nauseous after seeing the images.

"My God..."

"The zoo in City K completely collapsed," the soldier said in a trembling voice. "The animals escaped... then became infected. According to our estimates, if we don’t intervene, City K will be the first city to fall entirely."

Lan Qishing slowly turned toward Sian.

"City K... is next."

He Jinyun raised an eyebrow.

"How many monsters are there?"

"The latest estimates..." the soldier swallowed hard, "over four hundred thousand zombies... in addition to unknown mutated creatures."

Even the ability users looked stunned.

"That’s an entire army..."

Lan Qishing exhaled slowly before looking at Sian.

"The city won’t last long."

Silence lingered for several seconds.

Then—

Sian turned around calmly.

"Then we leave now."

Everyone froze.

"Now?!" one of the soldiers shouted. "You just finished a catastrophic battle!"

But Sian didn’t stop walking.

As though this was completely normal to him.

...

Five minutes later—

A massive black helicopter descended onto one of the shattered streets.

He Jinyun smiled faintly.

"This really brings back memories."

Kira merely adjusted her black glove silently.

"I was getting bored anyway. Let’s have one more warm-up."