When he was sufficiently prepared, he looked from his bedroom door to see that Miyu was fast asleep. It was best to let her rest.
'You didn't even hear your communicator's notification. Please. You're such a troublemaker.'
Miyu's powers would be a big help in situations like this, but she's completely knocked out in bed.
Besides, trying to wake her up isn't a good idea either. Her nails are very sharp. You could try it only if you want to lose an eye.
'I hope you don't make such a fuss tomorrow.'
He closed the door carefully and then approached his mother's room. He tried to knock on the door to say goodbye, but stopped himself before doing so.
'I should say something to her, but— No need. I'll be back soon.'
So he set off on the route marked on the map on his communicator. He didn't even open the door. He jumped out of the window.
Nova didn't have time to be a normal person right now. A Category 5 was waiting for him.
'If I perform well, that would put me within reach of the Sixth Level.'
Advancing one level would put him in the sights of the strongest Empaths.
Empaths classify their level of usefulness with levels. A First Level Empath is, in essence, one of the most powerful beings in the country, surpassed only by Feelers, who transcend the level of Elite Empaths.
'But... Sixth Level, huh. Will I ever be able to reach the First Level? Or better yet, will I ever be able to become a Feeler?'
He laughed at himself in his mind.
'That's impossible. I've never seen a Feeler in person, so how would I know if I became one?'
The mere idea of seeing himself at the top of the world was strange. Being an Elite Empath was more than enough.
He ran through the darkness like a murderous shadow.
The moon had already passed its highest point and would soon hide behind the horizon. Meanwhile, the Empaths who never rest made sure that dawn would come for the people of the city.
Before reaching the danger zone, where screams, roars, and explosions were already beginning to be heard, Nova frowned slightly.
'I'm still a little dizzy. That makes me feel strange.'
The emergency call was somewhat untimely.
'Uh... And this is the first time in my three years as an Empath that I'm going to fight a Category 5.'
No wonder. A Category 5 Aberration is extremely dangerous.
Aberrations are classified into eleven categories. The weakest are Category 10, while the strongest, and impossible to find, are Category 0. Never in the history of humanity after the impact has a Category 0 been seen.
Furthermore, many of the Category 10s are considered common animals today. Poki would have been classified as a Category 10 in the past, but today his breed is considered very docile, as pets and companions for humans.
'Category 5, Titan, huh. Its mere presence threatens cities. How scared I am.'
Nova actually felt calmer than usual. He felt that the closer he got to the Nox district, the more his dizziness and general discomfort faded away.
He jumped onto the roof of a building with all his strength, causing his trench coat to flutter in the cold wind. His shadow was cast in front of the moonlight.
Then he landed on the asphalt, making sure to bend his knees, and continued on.
"Let's see how strong I've become."
His amber-colored eyes reflected the greenish lights of the city.
***
The screams and orders of a dozen Empaths echoed through the city streets like a chorus from hell.
The air smells of sulfur and burns the skin. The atmosphere already feels hot. The ground beneath the feet of what appears to be a ten-meter-tall monster melts into magma, and smoke rises to caress the clouds.
Amidst all this disaster, there is a man running back and forth among the largest debris, commanding the other Empaths.
He wears a black uniform with gold accessories. His gaze is stern, covered by a large strand of long silver hair. His blue eyes channeled absolute attention on the beast that was ramming into the buildings.
"We need healing over here!"
His orders travel through the air and are obeyed by the Empaths.
They were all wearing the same black uniform: black pants with military leather boots, dirty and scuffed from the fight, an elegant black jacket with unbuttoned buttons, gold accessories hanging from the shoulder pads, and a pastel blue undershirt.
It was strange that they were all dressed up for a fight.
"Sion! Get out of the way!"
He pointed his finger desperately. Instantly, a stocky, dark-skinned man with a large hammer in his hands jumped to the right. A moment later, a giant foot stepped on the same spot where the man with the hammer had been a second ago.
The ground turned to magma as a result, splattering molten rock onto the asphalt.
The beast roared angrily. It was a colossus with black skin, broad arms, and short legs. Its hands and feet were red-hot, like hot metal sizzling in a bonfire.
Meanwhile, the Empaths jumped, floated, and struck around the beast to distract it.
The beast, meanwhile, turned its head from side to side to see and kill the flies, but it was impossible due to its colossal size.
"Abby! Shoot the bastard!"
At the command, a girl wearing a large pointed hat raised a staff with a floating jewel at the tip. Immediately afterward, the winds began to roar, whistling around her like a tornado. That tornado turned into a dense sphere the size of a basketball and shot toward the beast.
The wind sphere exploded the moment it collided with the beast's face, generating a shockwave that shook everything around it. The beast fell backward from the force of the impact, and the Empaths gathered on top of it to stab it with their swords and shoot it with their Spectrum powers.
In the rear, support-type Empaths took care of healing the wounded and enhancing their companions' Specters.
However, the beast was not going to give up. It got up immediately as if an invisible force had lifted it, and its white eyes glowed with intense power. Its small head turned toward the commander of the scene, and it smiled sinisterly with its mouth full of four large fangs.
"Ahskha Ashujiala Thriosha do Cuarime!" roared the colossus.
"You're not going to scare me with your meaningless babbling, you bald bastard."
The man smiled defiantly and prepared himself. He took off his jacket and threw it in the face of one of the Empaths behind him.
At that moment, Nova arrived, jumping from the top of a building almost twenty meters high. His blurred figure in the night caught the giant's eye, who reached out his hand with the intention of catching him.
'Sure, you're big. Let's see if your intelligence is too.'
Falling, Nova smiled slightly.
He took a couple of seeds out of his pocket and threw them at the colossus's hand.
He stretched out his hands and focused on the beast between his fingers as if he had a camera. Then his smile was replaced by an atrocious coldness that threatened to freeze the ocean.
A fraction of a second later, Nova said:
"Rasténiye."
The seeds exploded into tree branches and leaves. The colossus's hand became entangled in the roots and branches, as if the tentacles of a squid were strangling it.
All the roots grew to a large size, stretching out, covering its entire arm, and digging into the ground.
This left a landing path for Nova, who slid down the branches. The soles of his boots spat smoke from the colossus's temperature. Then he took a leap before falling onto the magma floor.
He landed on solid ground, rolling to cushion his fall, and skidded with his boots next to the man who was giving orders to the others.
"I'm here, Kayn."
Kayn laughed suddenly, causing Nova to look at him in confusion.
"Damn... You sure know how to make an entrance."
"Yeah. Sure."
'This guy was always so eloquent.'
"There's no time to talk. Get ready, because this is something you'll remember."
Without waiting for greetings or introductions, Kayn clenched his fists tightly and a fervent energy covered his arms. Nova already knew what he had to do. He spread his arms and looked at Kayn.
'My plants won't do anything to that guy. All I can do is this.'
True. The colossus had freed itself from the plants. It burned the branches using the beastly temperature of its body. It was like watching a volcano with legs make its way through the city.
The destruction it left in its wake was horrific. Dozens of houses had been melted. Flames began to consume the vines and plants on the block.
The places the bastard passed through resulted in a long line of magma and fire opened up in the earth.
'Look at what you've done. You've left many people in ruins.'
He frowned, but he wasn't angry. He needed to concentrate to empower Kayn's Spectrum. A good support stays quiet and makes the strong stronger. If someone isn't capable of doing that, then they're not a good support.
Kayn then became enveloped in the mysterious energy that fills the veins of the world. The Calem energy.
He flashed a psychotic smile. His eyes turned crimson, blood injected directly from his veins. His muscles swelled and the veins on his forehead became pronounced.
Even his hair turned black as the red aura enveloped him.
"Are you ready?" Kayn said, with a sigh that released a small cloud of steam.
The colossus roared. It stomped on the ground with all its might and launched itself into the attack. Debris flew up around it thanks to its mystical powers, the same powers that had lifted it off the ground earlier.
The giant is ten meters tall, fat and heavy, but it seemed to run at over forty kilometers per hour without any difficulty.
Fortunately, this is a wide open space, with a large intersection of seven roads stretching between the buildings.
"Die, you bastard!"
Kayn shouted at the top of his lungs, leaping toward the colossus.
Nova's hands trembled for a moment as Kayn and the colossus clashed fists for the first time, but he managed to steady herself.
A double punch at the same time between beings possessing abysmal strength always has repercussions. The ground shook, and the asphalt, previously melted by the colossus, broke into large fragments.
He knelt on the ground for more stability.
'How difficult it is to empower people stronger than me.'
He felt Calem energy flowing through every tiny particle of his body.
His veins flooded with power.
That power flowed out of his hands and traveled through the air like a gentle spring breeze. That breeze caressed Kayn, and in an instant, his red aura exploded, pushing the colossus back a few inches.
'Now you have twice your strength. Make it count.'
Although he said that to himself, he knew Kayn wasn't going to waste this opportunity.
From Nova's eyes, an image from three years ago overlapped with the present. He saw Kayn with other mysterious people. Among those people was Miyu.
Kayn jumped back after the first blow. The colossus smiled smugly. And he wasn't the only one.
"What's the matter, big guy? Scared?"
'Stop showing off, you moron. Just kill it already!'
The colossus raised his dominant hand, and the debris that had been floating near him was crushed. Enough time had passed for the rock to melt.
It was time to counterattack.
Kayn and Nova realized this at the same time.
'Crap! We need coverage!'
He looked around. His gaze met that of the girl in the pointed hat. He reached out his hand to her and extended his Serenity so that the girl's Spectrum would increase its effectiveness.
A loud bang was heard at the same time. Nova turned his attention back to Kayn, who kicked the colossus in the face with a powerful uppercut.
The colossus recoiled, but did not give up. It lifted the debris with its mysterious invisible powers, and the magma balls that had previously been debris fell everywhere.
"I won't let you do that!"
The girl in the hat raised her staff. The winds obeyed her and formed a powerful blizzard that grabbed all the magma and spun it in the sky.
'Nice! We're saved.'
If it weren't for her empowerment, they would have really turned into burnt flesh.
"Hey... Did you just try to kill my team?" he whispered in a very serious tone.
Kayn's gaze was now grim. The brutal and inevitable act of killing humans failed for the colossus. That provoked Kayn's Fury.
'Now you're going to stop clowning around, right?'