OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 472: The Fate Of All Heroes

***

The echo of their voices still rang in my ears.

Phoenix's fight, the banter of the others- so casual, so sure... so damn sure.

Now, all of that was drowned by silence as I made my way through the ruins, stepping over jagged rocks and scorched debris.

The air was thick with the stench of charred metal, burned flesh, and dust swirling in the aftermath of war. A small one, but a war nevertheless.

I reached for my terminal, even though I didn't need to, and spoke, my voice rough from the strain of battle.

"What's the status?"

[...]

Silence.

My heart skipped a beat. Again.

No snarky reply from Southern Cross, no teasing banter from Kalahari. Not even a grunt from Kremlin, or a short acknowledgment from Aquila. Just... nothing.

They always answered. Always.

But only the distant whine of twisting metal and the whisper of wind answered me.

My frown deepened as I repeated the question with more urgency, my feet picking up speed: "Status? What's happening over there?"

{...}

Nothing.

No response.

I gritted my teeth and pushed forward, each step growing heavier.

This... I... I couldn't ignore it anymore.

Something wasn't right.

'Faster.'

The rubble cracked beneath each step.

'Faster.'

My legs burned, but I pushed harder.

'Faster.'

The terrain blurred-rubble, twisted metal-all fading into a chaotic mess as I sprinted. 'Faster.'

My heart pounded in my chest, panic clawing at me with every breath.

{...}

Something was definitely wrong.

I could feel it, deep in my gut.

I drove myself harder, squeezing every last drop of strength from my muscles, my Aether sparking as I stretched beyond my limits.

Wind whipped past me, my feet barely touching the ground as I circulated my remaining Aether the best I could, feeling it strengthen my body and propel me forward like never before.

"STATUS! I SAID STATUS DAMMIT!"

I yelled into my terminal, my voice breaking.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!"

{...}

I'd never felt this kind of fear before-this sickening sense of dread inside me.

Not even in the hardest of missions we went through, where death stood right before us.

The ground underfoot trembled with every burst of my Aether, but I couldn't stop. "RESPOND! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

My voice cracked, the words somehow spilling out louder than before.

{...}

I couldn't stop myself from repeating the question.

{...}

I needed to hear them.

{...}

I needed to know they were still there.

{...}

But nothing.

{...}

The silence was suffocating.

I tore through the passageways, ducking beneath collapsed beams, leaping over gaping

craters.

The air was thick with dust, swirling around me as I moved, my hands clenched into fists, the burning panic spreading like wildfire.

Fuck those students, I should've been there with them.

I should've been fighting by their side.

"Southern Cross! Kalahari!"

I called again, desperation obvious in my voice.

"Anyone?!"

{...}

Still nothing.

My breath hitched, and I pushed even harder, calling on my Aether once more, overworking

my core, nearing Hollowness.

The world around me became a blur, everything whipping by in streaks of grey and black as I accelerated beyond my limits.

I would certainly die if I kept this up, but I didn't care.

I couldn't afford to care.

"P-Phoenix! Is Phoenix okay?!"

The question burst out of me, my voice almost pleading now.

She had been fighting, but... but if something happened to her-

No. I couldn't think like that.

I had to get there.

I HAD TO!

The passageway widened, and in the distance, I saw the faint glow of light breaking through

the darkness.

My heart slammed against my ribs as I closed the final gap.

And when I finally arrived, the scene that unfolded before me left me frozen.

It was a massacre.

Kalahari—no arms. Her signature daggers, gone. Just her body. Broken. Slumped against twisted metal, blood soaking the ground beneath her, her face twisted in agony, eyes wide

with disbelief.

I swallowed, hard, but my mouth was dry. It didn't matter.

She was gone.

Southern Cross, the once unshakable pillar of our group... He was lying on the ground,

missing a leg, crawling pathetically across the rubble, his face contorted with pain and panic.

Shinobi was out cold-his body twisted unnaturally, limbs bent in ways that shouldn't be

possible.

Kremlin, he was encased in a shell of ice, completely frozen.

I couldn't tell if he was dead or alive, his features locked in a grimace of surprise-whether

from the cold or the terror, I couldn't tell.

Was this how it would end for him? Silent? Still?

Iron Reich... I recoiled at the sight of him.

His eyes. They were gone. Completely burned out of his skull, leaving nothing but blackened, charred sockets, his once proud posture reduced to a stumbling, sightless wreck.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

His scream tore through the air as he groped around, lost and broken.

It was the one sound I could hear.

I felt my stomach twist, the bile rising in my throat as I took it all in.

This was the Hunter Group Alliance.

This was the force that no one dared challenge.

Yet here they were, decimated, reduced to nothing.

I couldn't move. I couldn't think. I couldn't...

I was too late.

They were absolutely and utterly... destroyed.

But then... I saw him.

A masked man. He stood there, untouched by the carnage around him, his aura calm and cold, as if this

massacre was nothing more than a game, a game that brought him endless amusement.

And standing before him... Red Dragon.

They were fighting. Or at least, that's what it seemed like at first glance, not at the second.

Red Dragon's movements were frantic, his attacks wild and desperate.

Though... that didn't happen for long.

In a flash of light, it happened.

One of Red Dragon's signature moves-Dragon's Breath-was reflected back at him.

Faster. Stronger. Many times more than what he shot out.

He couldn't dodge the attack. He didn't stand a chance.

His own fire consumed him, the flames biting into his flesh, searing him until he was nothing

more than a broken, charred husk on the ground.

I couldn't breathe.

My lungs seized, breath caught between disbelief and a rage so deep it threatened to burn me

alive like it did Red Dragon.

How had this happened? How could he have done this, whoever he was?!

Yet, before I could even process it, the masked man vanished, reappearing behind Phoenix.

I saw the look in her eyes, the realization that she was next.

Aquila was nearby.

He could save her, get her out of there with his Rapid Retreat, but...

He ran.

He ran away.

And Phoenix was left alone.

Then, I saw it.

The glow forming in the masked man's hand.

The light aimed right at her.

'...No.'

No obstruction. His aim was clear.

'No, no, no, no, no!'

She was going to die.

"NO!"

My mind went blank-didn't matter.

There was no time to think, no time to hesitate.

I moved. Faster than thought.

Instinct had taken over.

Every muscle moved on its own, driven by something deeper than fear.

Phoenix... I had to reach her.

And I did. Somehow. Only then realizing that it was my voice that tore the air.

Inwardly chuckling, I activated my strongest defensive ability, Turtle Shell, and jumped into

the attack.

My barrier of metal-infused earth formed just in time, the masked man's attack colliding

with it, the force reverberating through my entire being.

FSHH-CRACK!

The barrier held. Barely. But I felt it-the strain on my body, my core trembling, my life force

draining with each passing second.

The pressure was overwhelming, but I held on.

I held...

For her.

Yet, I couldn't hold on forever.

My barrier cracked.

In that incredibly short moment, Phoenix's eyes met mine, wide with shock, as the reality of

what I had done settled in.

I was going to die.

There was no saving me.

My body started to fade, dissipating into Aether, my Celestial Essence dissolving along with

it, the Turtle Shell holding just long enough to stop the attack from reaching her.

I had vaguely known this would be the cost.

However, that didn't matter.

I hadn't hesitated.

I never would have.

Not for her.

But still... Even then I...

'...I ...I don't want to die.'

I didn't want to die-no one ever did.

I was too young.

I didn't obtain what I wanted.

I had nothing truly valuable in my life.

None of it flashed before my eyes.

The only thing I wanted was a chance to be with her.

Phoenix.

Maybe have a family, settle down somewhere before the inevitable war ravaged the planet.

I know, the goal wasn't at all noble or even acceptable for a man of my position to have but...

'Heh, yeah, whatever.'

Well, it didn't matter anymore.

This moment wasn't mine to own anymore

The selfish lived... those who cared only for themselves survived.

But for those who felt for others, those who cared too much, those who fought to protect,

who dreamed of saving others, of being heroes-even if only for one special someone-they

were the ones to fall. Every. Single. Time.

That was the undeniable truth.

The fate of all heroes.

And before darkness swallowed me whole, I took one last look at her-the one I fought for,

the one I saved.

Phoenix... she was alive. For now.

That was enough.

'Yeah, I did good... right?.... I... am...'