Published at 10th of August 2026 7:06 am

Chapter 983: Failed

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Asher felt a gaze upon him as he walked. Turning his head to the side, he saw a familiar golden-haired and golden-eyed boy; Issac Wrath Chillstorm.

Issac didn’t hesitate. He stepped out of the line as he walked toward Asher with a fearless expression. Eyes immediately turned toward him as everyone wondered what he was about to do. Even Cynthia hoped that her son wasn’t about to do something foolish.

Asher had already stopped walking as he waited for Issac to arrive. Upon reaching him, Issac extended a hand outward as he spoke.

"Although I lost, it was an honor fighting someone as capable as you," he stated with a smile. "And through our battle, I was able to realize a lot of things regarding my hand-to-hand combat and Biomancy ability," his tone calm and sincere.

Asher took his hand as he spoke, "I’m glad I was able to help you, and thanks to your Empire for taking such good care of us," his tone respectful.

Issac nodded as he added in finality, "I won’t stay behind for too long, so don’t forget me." He released Asher’s hand before turning and walking back to his position.

Asher simply nodded and said nothing else as he continued walking together with the rest of the Wargraves.

’It’s refreshing to see that not every genius is like Hilton,’ Asher mused to himself. ’Or perhaps all those cliche-writing authors are simply liars who force plotlines for no reason, because surely not everyone can possibly be as stupid as Hilton... right?’ he asked himself.

With that, they boarded the Sky Jet one after another. Asher paused for a moment as he gazed at the Thalvorn Empire one final time, as though committing the breathtaking view to memory forever. He took in a deep breath before finally stepping into the Sky Jet.

The aircraft hummed before racing down the asphalt and lifting gracefully into the air. Asher watched as the Thalvorn Empire gradually became smaller and smaller until it eventually disappeared behind the clouds.

’It was a perfect experience. I never thought visiting another Empire would be this fun,’ Asher thought to himself as he finally stopped staring through the window. He rested his head against the seat and closed his eyes as though every experience he had gone through during the past few weeks was replaying itself within his mind.

’At least I’m glad the Inter-Empire Tournament wasn’t held in the Zarethorne Empire. Otherwise, I would have missed all of this,’ he thought to himself as his senses shifted toward his Space Ring, where the various gadgets he had gotten from FatelessPen were safely stored. He silently nodded after confirming their presence.

’I wonder if the Vandross Empire and the Velkarin Empire are just as enjoyable,’ Asher thought to himself, his eyes still closed as he remained immersed within his own thoughts.

’Arianna... I wonder when we’ll ever meet again,’ Asher thought to himself. The moment he had thought about the Velkarin Empire, his mind had instinctively drifted toward Arianna. Asher shook his head as he forced himself to stop thinking about her.

His eyes, which had been closed, suddenly opened as he heard footsteps approaching in his direction. His purple eyes landed upon Caldor and Annabelle.

"It’s been a while, Young Master Caldor, Lady Annabelle. Finally decided to approach?" Asher asked as he smiled familiarly at the two of them.

Annabelle smiled as she replied, "It has. Tenth Sun, I believe we haven’t seen each other since after the spar between us, Finch, and William," she stated with a gentle smile.

Caldor gave a weak smile as he said, "We aren’t used to hanging around the Wargraves," his voice almost a whisper. "So we thought it was best to be cautious and not suddenly... overstep our boundaries or die in our sleep," he explained awkwardly.

Asher simply shook his head with a chuckle. "Well, I certainly didn’t expect to see you two here, that’s for sure."

"That makes us even, because I certainly didn’t expect you to become this powerful and this ridiculous," Annabelle stated with a sigh. "Although after our spar and the Monster Tide Invasion, I guessed you were as talented as the other Wargraves... but after everything I witnessed over the past week, I honestly don’t even know what to say anymore," she shook her head as she spoke, making no effort to hide her honest thoughts. She and her brother had always been able to speak somewhat freely around Asher, of course, without ever overstepping their boundaries.

Asher smiled as he spoke. "I get that a lot."

Caldor opened his mouth to speak, but he immediately paused as his body suddenly froze... at least from Asher’s perception.

Asher, who had been sitting calmly only a moment earlier, immediately felt his senses unleash the most outrageous wave of death and warning they had ever produced. He felt it within his body, within his soul, and even within his very mind. He didn’t need to guess to know that they were under attack, barely five hours after leaving the Thalvorn Empire.

Asher couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t even react. The only reason he was able to experience even a fraction of a second to comprehend everything that had just happened was because his Accelerated Thought Process had slowed everything around him to an almost motionless crawl.

Malrik, the overprotective big brother, was already moving.

He appeared before Asher at a speed that only Crownstar Life Rankers could even perceive. Brilliant golden-orange Solar Energy exploded outward from his body as he instantly wrapped Asher, Caldor, and Annabelle, both of whom remained completely oblivious to everything due to their comparatively low strength, inside a massive protective cocoon.

The very instant he did... A titanic, calamitous attack descended upon the entire Sky Jet. The sky itself shattered. Space fractured apart beneath the sheer absurdity of the attack.

A catastrophic explosion erupted outward, consuming everything within the sky before crashing violently toward the endless forests below. Entire landscapes were annihilated. Thousands upon thousands of kilometers were wiped clean from the map. Mountains, rivers, forests, and every trace of life were reduced to absolute oblivion as overwhelming heat, smoke, and destruction swallowed the entire terrain.

Asher’s body was blasted backward like a cannonball, tearing through numerous old trees as the terrifying kinetic force and overwhelming shockwave of the attack completely overwhelmed him. Regaining control over his body was impossible, as this was obviously an attack unleashed by a Soulstar Life Ranker at the very least.

His body finally crashed into a distant mountain several kilometers away, the impact leaving him riddled with devastating blunt-force injuries. Agonizing pain flooded every corner of his mind, yet he immediately suppressed it as logic, calculations, and survival instincts completely overrode the sensation. He was in a dire situation, there wasn’t even the luxury to acknowledge pain.

Yet the very first thing that reached his senses was the smell of blood, but not his own blood. It was someone else’s, which made Asher stunned. Although he hadn’t actually seen Malrik’s movements, he had clearly perceived the eruption of Solar Energy when his brother used it.

’Big Brother Malrik... failed?’ Asher thought to himself as Crimson Pact immediately began regenerating his injuries. The thought itself was utterly maddening.

Then another scent of blood struck him once more, but this time, it came in crashing waves.

His eyes snapped forward and what he saw caused Asher to freeze in absolute horror. Before him lay the broken corpses of the people he loved, and those who had somehow survived were only barely clinging to life.

_____

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Shall we begin this round of madness and chaos?

Also, we need 40 golden tickets to climb to the next rank.

Thanks for reading.

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