BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

As the explosion tore through the flying car, Erik felt the vehicle lurch to the side.

Instinctively, he turned to his right, only to be met with a shocking sight. The entire side of the car was gone, ripped away by the force of the blast, and with it, the president's daughter, Mia, had vanished.

For a moment, Erik's mind raced, trying to figure out what fate might have befallen the girl.

Could she have survived such an explosion? No. It wasn't possible. The blast had been too strong, and Mia didn't look like someone who spent time training and making neural links, which meant she was weak, which meant she must have been dead.

Erik clicked his tongue. If the blackguards knew about his plan, then they had to know who his target was, and yet, they had attacked anyway, knowing that the president's daughter would be caught in the crossfire.

That, of course, if they were aware of the plan, because if they weren't, maybe they would have avoided attacking him if they knew he had a hostage.

Erik wasn't so na?ve as to think the blackguards didn't know about the kidnapping. They were attacking him minutes after the plan got carried out, and it would be weird if they didn't realize what was happening. The callousness of their actions left a bitter taste in his mouth.

<I wondered to kill her, but I actually didn't, and even decided to keep her safe, yet they didn't think twice, even for a second.>

But Erik didn't know Mia, and despite the implications of her death, he didn't care about her or her mother, who agreed to send troops on Frant and kill his clones.

But there was no time to dwell on this. The car was plummeting from the sky fast.

"Prepare for battle," Erik said at the Chimaeric Demon in the driving seat. "We're going to have company soon."

The clone nodded, his eyes narrowing behind his white demonic mask. Since there wasn't much on the right side of the car preventing them from coming out, they leaped out of it just moments before it crashed into a building.

The two landed with a roll on the roof of a nearby skyscraper. But as they straightened up, they found themselves surrounded by blackguards.

<That was fast!>

They were masked and armed. Erik took in the number of people the blackguards prepared to fight for him.

However, now that he was finally standing, Erik noticed not all of these people were blackguards. There were even several known faces: mercenaries from Etrium and soldiers from the other countries.

Some had blue, green, and brown uniforms. Some didn't even have one and were dressed in casual clothes or very tight bodysuits. Most of them had various pieces of armor donned, and some were clad in full armor and weren't even showing their faces.

Erik counted the people on the rooftop. There were about 500 of them, plus two more, he and the Chimaeric Demon. He wasn't worried about fighting them. Instead, he was worried that the roof might not be able to hold so many people. It could collapse under their weight.

<These fuckers really got to the point of not caring anymore about collateral damage.>

Well, of course. If they did, they wouldn't have left a vehicle explode in midair and let it crash inside a building.

They were all great thaid hunters and at the top of the power ranks in terms of destructive powers. These were guys not to trifle with, and yet, that was exactly what Erik had to do if he wanted to get out of this situation.

As Erik observed those he was going to kill in a moment, a sudden movement in the corner of his eyes grabbed his attention. He turned just to see a single figure flying from the sky and landing in front of Erik and in front of the 500 idiots who decided to have a party on a roof.

He was a blackguard. There was no way for him to be mistaken. However, his uniform marked him as one of their elite, a Vindicator. As the man approached, Erik's heart started skipping beats.

He recognized the man's lean frame, the height, and those jet-black hairs tied back in a ponytail, which he didn't even bother to hide. It was Uncle Benjamin.

The man came to a stop a few meters away, keeping a relaxed posture. Erik felt conflicting emotions rise within him. Anger was the most prominent one.

"I wondered when you'd come for me in person."

There was nothing more he wanted to do than rip Uncle Benjamin to shreds, and yet he stopped himself and just treated him coldly.

"Levium."

The man tilted his head, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. "Why so formal, Erik?"

The man's tone was almost hurt. "What happened to 'Uncle'? You called me that way all your

life."

Erik's jaw clenched, his fingers curling into fists at his sides. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Yes, of course. After all, it's not like I did anything to you directly." He lied, of course.

"I know it was because of you that my father got imprisoned. Are you aware what you did to him led to his death?"

Levium's shoulders sagged, a sigh escaping his lips behind the mask. "I know," he said. "And I'm sorry, Erik. Truly, I am. But you also have to understand that is not mine, but your father's fault. He chose who to stand with, and he made the wrong choice. The blackguards wanted to recruit him for years, yet he always refused to join."

But Erik was in no mood for apologies. "You are sorry?"

Erik's word came out dripping with venom. He couldn't believe what Uncle Benjamin had just said.

"My father was wrong for not having joined you, scum? How can you stand there and spout all those bullshit just like that? After everything you've done to us? After everything you've put us through? Everything you have done to the people?"

Levium took a step forward, his hands held out in a calming gesture.

"Erik, please," he said. "You have to understand. The love I had for you, the bond we shared... it was real. I cared for you like a son. I still do, but what your father did is the truth. Those were actions everyone saw."

"I doubt you took care of me because of affection, Levium," Erik spat again, his eyes blazing with fury. "The only reason you stuck around was because you wanted whatever my father found on Mur. That's all I ever was to you, a means to an end."

To his surprise, Levium didn't deny it. "You're right," he said, his voice heavy with resignation. "But that was just part of it. I won't lie to you. But Erik, my feelings for you were genuine. I loved you like my own flesh and blood. I paid for your food, for your clothes, for

your education."

"Really? Then why was I forced to be used as a slave on a farm?"

There was silence. "The only thing you did was to come home a couple of times a month and bring me out to dinner or lunch, occasionally leaving me some money. But that is beside the

point..."

Erik stopped talking for a moment. Then he said, "We both know what you were doing. You were trying to make me feel like I owed you something. But you never gave me enough to really help me change my situation. Then, when my father would inevitably come back, you would have offered me money for whatever he gave me. You wanted me in a situation where I wouldn't have refused. I'm not dumb. I know you didn't do any of this to be nice."

Erik's lips curled into sneers. He spat on the ground at Levium's feet, the Chimaeric Demon behind him mirroring his disgust with a low growl. Uncle Benjamin didn't reply. "Why are you here, Levium?" Erik asked, though he already knew the answer. "What do you want from me?"

Levium spread his hands, a rueful smile playing across his lips, behind the mask. "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to bring you to justice, Erik. To make you answer for your crimes."

At that, Erik threw back his head and laughed. It was a harsh sound, tinged with an edge of

madness.

"Justice?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm, incredulous at the words Levium just

said.

"JUSTICE?! YOU, WHO COORDINATED THE KIDNAPPINGS OF PEOPLE TO USE THEM IN DORAN'S EXPERIMENTS, ARE TALKING ABOUT JUSTICE?!"

Levium flinched as if struck, but he regained his composure. "Those were necessary sacrifices," he said. "To help humanity ascend, to reach its full potential."

Erik's eyes narrowed. "Ascend? Is that the reason for all of this? The experiments, the manipulation, the countless lives destroyed? All so you could play god?"

Levium shook his head. "You don't understand, Erik," he said. "You have these incredible abilities, these powers that set you apart. But that's only because of your father, because of what he brought back from Mur."