Ti: Twenty years after the apocalypse.
Location: Japan, Tokyo.
Tang Haofei stood within the dilapidated city quarter, looking up at the sky.
In the sky, a massive Demon Realm’s Gate floated mid-air. No one could explain why this entity could defy Earth’s gravity, but of course, that didn’t matter. What mattered were the contents of the Demon Realm’s Gate: a pipeline-like structure protruding from the pitch-black gate. One end was deeply entrenched in Mount Fuji.
The black pipeline, like a colossal straw, ceaselessly absorbed sothing from deep within Earth. According to Earth’s Will, this was called the origin of the Earth’s nucleus—the very foundation of a world’s existence.
The closer he got to the black pipeline, the more tangible the lant of Earth’s Will was to Tang Haofei, the sole Divine Beast of the Human Race.
The origin is Earth’s life! And the Demon Tribe is plundering a world’s life!
Tang Haofei sensed the increasing presence of high-ranking demons ahead. The weakest among them was an Ancient Demon, to say nothing of the thousands of demon spawns.
Behind him, a bloodied and battle-worn Qin Min slowly approached. Looking at the overwhelmingly outnumbered enemy, he didn’t hide the despair in his voice.
"Word ca from the Yanjing Assembly Site: the powerful experts sent by Cathay were killed by Sea Demons before they could even get near the Japanese coastline. Sequence Number 4 died in action. The Washington Assembly Site and the Europe New Hope Assembly Site both refused to dispatch troops." Qin Min continued, his voice heavy, "The divine beasts we contacted a while ago were intercepted near the coast. The only ones who’ve made it here are Sea King, Luo Hu, and Shadow. The Sea Tribe Legion is desperately trying to reach the Japanese Island, but they can’t break through the Demon Tribe’s defense line. All aid is gone..."
Looking at the black pipeline continuously absorbing the origin of the Earth’s nucleus before him, Tang Haofei slowly shook his head. "Not enough... This power isn’t enough for us to destroy the transport channel, not even enough for us to get close to Mount Fuji. And Earth... it can’t hold on much longer."
"I know," Qin Min said. "But those who could co are here, and those who couldn’t... they really can’t co anymore. We’re done for this ti. We’ve lost. Boss, let it go..."
Tang Haofei looked intently at Qin Min beside him, then turned away and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"We’ve known each other for twenty years now, right?"
Seeing Qin Min nod hesitantly, Tang Haofei spoke calmly, "Do you rember our initial wish then?"
Qin Min’s lips trembled. "To protect..."
"No, I an the very first one."
Seeing Qin Min’s confused eyes, Tang Haofei thumped his shoulder firmly and laughed heartily. "At the beginning of the apocalypse, we t. You boasted you were strong, the strongest in your small town, but I broke several of your ribs with one punch!"
As if recalling old tis, Qin Min’s gaze grew distant.
"And then, we fought the dead together, sitting under the setting sun, drinking beer. When was that? Less than a month after the apocalypse had started?" Tang Haofei continued.
"I said, ’Join .’ You asked, ’What’s in it for ?’ I said, ’We can take this world!’"
"That was our first wish. It was also my initial wish when I established the Ultimate Force Team: that our power could carve out a place for us in this world we thought was ending."
"Yes, the world we thought was ending..." Qin Min seed to recall that ’naïve’ ti, and a genuine smile touched the corners of his mouth.
"When the Demon Tribe invaded later," Tang Haofei went on, "we discovered this apocalypse was different from what we’d imagined. At first, we thought we could drive those Demon Bastards back where they ca from. Then, after several years, we hoped to find a piece of land where humans could thrive. Now, we just want to protect the last spark of humanity... It’s such a massive change."
"Yes, a massive change..." Qin Min murmured, but the hand grasping Tang Haofei’s clothes didn’t loosen its grip for a mont. He understood what Tang Haofei ant.
After a long silence, Tang Haofei spoke again.
"Actually, my goal has never changed. I an our first goal!"
"But if we want to own this world, to stand at its peak, we must ensure it *remains* a world—a world where creatures can still thrive, not a desolate land of death, stripped of its origin!"
"Can you understand what I an?" Tang Haofei stared intently into Qin Min’s eyes, his voice grave.
Qin Min swore to himself that he had never seen Tang Haofei look so utterly serious.
"And so, ’to protect’ beca our mission."
"Protect this world, protect the last spark of humanity..."
Then, Tang Haofei gently pulled his arm free from Qin Min’s grip. He said slowly, "Today is the closest we’ve ever been to the Origin Extraction Device. You know how many Divine Beasts and Sequences died for us to reach this point. I can’t let their deaths be aningless. Besides, I’m tired..."
"If I can die here, at least I won’t have to endure all this anymore—the pressure that cos with the titles of Sequence Number 1 and ’the protagonist’..."
"So, are we doing this together?"
Seeing Tang Haofei smile as he extended an invitation to die together, Qin Min was silent for a long mont before he finally laughed.
"Together! How could I miss out on sothing this good? After living in this apocalypse for twenty years, I’m tired. We’re all tired."
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