Life Number 0-Chapter 41: Element Halt lV

She wore a black robe, her dark hair, as black as ink, suppressed it, as if it wasn’t even worth showing. He felt hungry. Perhaps he should head to the square—there, he might find something to eat, something to affirm life.

[Claude]"Free?" Morgan’s eyes ignited with worry. But a voice came from above: "Nah, is... he’s dead." All heads turned to the sky. There, Egologia descended slowly, his crimson wings spread wide. On his shoulder, he carried a lifeless body—Gamora. His feet touched the ground, and he advanced slowly before throwing Gamora’s corpse in front of them. ’Dead? Who is he?’Claude whispered to himself, "As I expected... that amulet belonged to him." But what truly shocked him wasn’t that. It was what Egologia said next. "Or rather... I killed him." Darmin, the Magins, even Morgan himself stood frozen, unable to comprehend what they had just heard. "You killed him? Who are you?" Egologia continued walking, his voice calm but laced with an edge. "Me? Just a newly joined guard." Then, in a colder tone, he added: "As for killing him? Well, I crushed him like a tank." Morgan raised an eyebrow, then began to advance slowly. The golden aura around him began to glow, rising like a blazing sun, obscuring everything behind him. "A person of no identity like you... killed him? Great." Egologia whispered to himself, ’Damn, he resembles the sir. Good thing I absorbed Gamora’s immense maga after melting him...’ Morgan disappeared. Egologia too!Then, in an instant, he reappeared in the sky. A massive collision erupted. A golden fist met a crimson fist. Pure energy pressed against the air itself, creating shockwaves that rippled through.. "This aura... who are you? Really?" Morgan demanded, his voice like thunder. Egologia wasn’t surprised, but he realized his opponent someone, or beast! "Oh, didn’t you want to make sure yourself? Well, I’m tired as you kno—" Before he finish, Morgan’s second fist pierced through his face, a blow so powerful it sent Egologia hurling toward the ground like a thrown cow. Morgan descended slowly, walking toward the crater made by Egologia’s impact. His eyes didn’t calm. There was something suspicious. He looked down, his voice deadly: "Hoooy you! You pale hair... I’ll really find out myself, really!" "Wait, my lord!" Morgan turned, his blazing gaze meeting Claude’s eyes. "This person... he has done much. We have all witnessed it." The Magins nodded in agreement, speaking one after the other: "He humbled the Fist of the Ocean, lord." "His maga alone did the unimaginable." "And despite being unknown to us... But we know he’s not a liar." Claude added, with a confidence he didn’t have minutes ago: "He is a guard under me... I knew of his abilities." Everyone was surprised. Morgan turned back to claude, then... With one aura fist, he struck Claude in the face. The blow exploded the blood vessels in Claude’s face, sending him flying backward. Then body bent unnaturally before crashing to the ground, lazy!. Morgan stood over him, his voice dripping with disdain: "So... you hide behind a guard under you?" "Damn the weakness with which you have marginalized our family." Family. Egologia, amidst the dust, spat, ’That beast...’ ’Damn, he’s Claude’s father?’ ’I didn’t wrong the resemblance indeed.’ And then they appeared in the sky—reinforcements. Many with high jumps were accelerating toward the field. Morgan looked up, his breaths slow and deliberate. "Unfortunately, I brought many... despite your few. Who expected from us in the capital all this weakness?" ---

He took a deep breath, the hot air entered his lungs, but it wasn’t suffocating, it wasn’t harsh..."I’m alive."At that moment, that alone was enough."And as I expected, this body is cursed, cursed by fire... like the boy’s condition, and there’s something wrong with that, but the important thing is that he saved me, the fire did that."But then—a sound. A deafening screech tore through the silence, the grinding of rocks against rocks, a low roar building like distant tidal waves. Except they weren’t distant. The Ocean’s Grasp, the colossal entity they had thought defeated, was not lifeless after all. Its massive body stirred, its void-like eyes burning with pure, unrelenting hatred. "It’s impossible! How... how are we going to deal with this thing?" one of the Magins cried out, panic lacing their voice. The entity glowed faintly, blue sparks flickering between its layers, illuminating its massive, decaying form. It began to rise, its movements slow but deliberate, its jaw opening wide. Inside, a dark, icy vortex swirled, a gravitational point of pure malice. "What’s the plan, damn it? Gamora is nowhere to be found, the King!, the voices have vanished—did he die? And now this?!" Claude spat, his eyes fixed on the monstrous jaw. Egologia stood motionless in the distance, watching as if he were safe, as if the chaos couldn’t touch him.But the others—the leaders, the Magins, the guards—all froze, their breaths held in anticipation. "This thing... is it going to do what it does?" Egologia muttered..The entity’s jaw opened wider, the vortex within growing darker, colder. Then— "Look!" A high-pitched scream shattered the tension. But everyone had already seen it. A golden light cut through the foggy sky, a blazing meteor of pure radiance. The gray gloom was overcome by the golden glow, a celestial festival of light and power. The Ocean’s Grasp, driven by instinct alone, opened its jaw wider, as if to consume the light. But the golden meteor pierced through its mouth, and for a moment, time seemed to stop. Then— Massive rays of light erupted from within the entity, tearing through its body like divine judgment. Holes opened in its form, not from external blows, but from the light expelling its very existence. The golden beams burst through its cracks, its body glowing before exploding in a cascade of light and debris. Its rocky shoulders crumbled, its legs gave way, and its jaw crashed to the ground.The once-mighty entity, the size of an island, was reduced to a pitiful heap, its final scream echoing not from its body, but from the halo of its disintegration. The Ocean’s Grasp collapsed, its massive body shattering into debris that fell like comets. The shockwaves threw soldiers back, the ground trembling as if finally released from a nightmare. Silence returned, heavier than before. Amidst the settling dust, something moved above the ruins. Not a meteor, not energy—a man. His image became clearer as the dust thinned. [Oriver Morgan] The Eternal Overseer of the Sky War. The Eternal Heir of the most ancient lineage in Zirafin, the Oriver lineage. The Golden Structure of Zirafin. Valeras’ only rival. He stood atop the rubble, his presence alone rendering the ruins beneath him unworthy.His posture was regal, every inch of him radiating loftiness. His eyes—two glowing stars—did not reflect light; they created it. His long, golden hair flowed like liquid sunlight, a purity that could not be forged. His white robe, adorned with threads of gold, billowed softly in the wind. In his clenched fist, he held the fate of the battle, a silent declaration that the Golden Structure had arrived. The war was over.

Morgan looked around; there were no corpses. No remains. Only dust. The air was thick with it, a grim reminder of the bodies that had vanished. The human warriors were gone, leaving nothing but this fine, ashen residue on the barren surface. Morgan could see it. He could feel them, even in their absence. He spoke, his voice a mix of questioning and self-reproach: ’Valeras, you convinced me. You affirmed the necessity of this. And here you are, not even here to welcome me.’ He stood still for a moment, his eyes slowly scanning the rubble, taking in the sheer scale of the devastation. In a hoarse, barely audible whisper, he wondered: ’Where...? Where could you be, a man like you, destined to rest in gold?’

Morgan preempted him with an ascending vertical kick, striking him like a solar explosion. Howard was lifted violently, golden blows raining upon him, one after another... Then Morgan spun to finish the strikes with a side kick that embedded itself in Howard’s waist, hurling him away. He landed steadily, delivering his prepared words: "We are more than that, Howard."

Morgan was in constant vigilance. The punches pierced through the monstrous defenses with ease—flexible, penetrating, golden radiant.A strike to the chest stood, the silence between them heavier than any blow."Damn... Is this beast truly this strong?""We see him being restrained before our father.""I question people’s sanity these days.""

He wasn’t asking about Valeras’ location. He wasn’t seeking an answer. He was trying to understand... how could there be nothing left? How did it all end this way? The wind rushed past him as he leaped, landing with his golden weight before the surviving leaders and magins. The Magins quickly knelt, as did the two leaders, Darmin and Claude. Conflicting emotions overwhelmed them—terror, loss, the haunting scene before them, and the grim realization that the war was over... but at what cost? Morgan slowly turned his head, his piercing eyes scanning the ruins. The tow other unconscious leaders.A terrain completely wiped out. The guards’ corpses, limbs torn off. The beasts, crushed and scattered like broken toys. "Lift your head."