The Author's POV

Kevin overlooked the entirety of Ashton city from the comfort of his new office.

The office was about the same size as a tennis court; it was large and spacious, and the decor consisted of a few shelves with books, a large wooden desk, and a couple of chairs.

The floor was covered with a fluffy gray carpet, and the large windows that were located at the far end of the room enabled light to travel through the room and illuminate the office space.

The office was sparsely decorated, nonetheless, this was how Kevin preferred things to be.

With his hand behind his back, Kevin's face remained expressionless as he gazed at the city below.

Sky that was clear blue, clouds that were fluffy white, and buildings that shone brightly under the light of the sun.

Everything looked perfect. At least on the outside.

At that very moment, the city was completely deserted, and the streets were totally devoid of any presence whatsoever.

Having initiated the evacuation call, it was only natural that the city would end up in this state.

The criticism that he got for his decree was significant. The vast majority of people now referred to him as a tyrant, and they believed that the world would end with him as the leader.

Even though he was the target of numerous different kinds of curses, Kevin was no longer affected by such things. His emotions were as hard as ice.

Kevin blinked his eyes once, and the scene in front of his eyes suddenly shifted.

The sky turned red, the buildings in front of him collapsed, and smoke filled the air as the situation rapidly deteriorated. Kevin could still detect the lingering scent of blood in the air, and in the distance, he could make out the muffled screams of those who were in despair.

It appeared to be a completely different city than it had been just a couple of moments earlier.

Kevin slowly clenched his teeth as he watched the city revert back to its normal state after another blink of his eyes.

His mind was gradually beginning to fill with recollections of the past, and he noticed that a reddish hue was beginning to radiate outward from his body.

A blue panel manifested in front him.

Synchronisation : 79%

"The rate of synchronization is increasing."

Kevin murmured, his brows furrowing into a tight frown.

Kevin would experience random flashbacks of his past just like what had happened a couple of seconds ago, and each time he did, his power would spike, albeit ever so slightly.

Normally, one would be happy with the sudden power boost. Even if slightly, any power boost at his level was considered significant.

It was just that...

The memories were of a past that he had long wanted to forget. They were like a curse, eating away at his sanity.

Every time he saw them, he felt a part of him relive the times when it had happened, and he noticed that his feelings were gradually fading as a result.

The greater the synchronization, the greater the power, and the less certain he was about who he was becoming.

'I'm Kevin Voss...I'm Kevin Voss...'

Many times, he had to remind himself of who he was. There were times when he would look around and realize that he had been doing nothing but staring blankly at the world for a considerable amount of time.

"Ukh"

Kevin covered his head with his hand and groaned out loud.

A sudden, severe pain shot through his head, making it difficult for him to stand; he had to lean on the bookshelf next to him for support. The pain made it difficult for him to think clearly.

"…I finally understand why I've decided to slowly spread my memories over time."

Kevin realized, the more he thought about it, that the reason why the recovery of his memories were done in batches was because it was highly likely that his mind would be unable to handle everything that had happened to him.

It was possible that his previous self had devised the defense mechanism in order to protect himself from potential danger that was to come with him learning of his past.

Protect himself from the overload of memories that depicted all of his failures and deaths.

Knock—! Knock—

After being startled out of his thoughts by a succession of knocks, Emma eventually entered the room.

She was currently dressed in a suit, which was quite an unusual sight, and her hair, which had now reached the point where it reached her tailbone, was now tied in a pony tail behind her head.

With a stack of papers in her hand, she asked.

"Have you adjusted to your new positions?"

"More or less."

Kevin answered, watching as she moved toward the desk where she dropped the stack of papers.

"According to the reports, there are still a lot of people that are refusing to go to the bunkers. They said that they would rather stay in their homes, what should we do?"

"Force them into the bunker. Whatever means possible, do it."

Kevin replied to her in a flat tone, and his eyes grew colder.

There had always been at least one person who, whether in the present day or in the past, refused to leave their homes because they believed that they were safer there.

That wasn't the only case, as some people did not leave simply because of the emotional attachments that they had with their place, but Kevin wasn't trying to put everyone in the bunker because he wanted to keep them safe.

Even though it was a contributing factor, Kevin's primary motivation for wanting to move everyone outside of the city was due to his perception of them as being a burden on him and the alliance.

Because they were in the way, it was clear that Kevin would have a lot of trouble, and the only way to deal with that was by having everyone locked away for the war.

Because he was already aware of the outcome of the situation if he had allowed them to remain, he made the difficult choice to order everyone to report to the bunkers immediately.

He simply could not allow anything to divert his attention away from the primary task at hand.

"Are you sure about your choice? It might cause a lot of backlash with the people."

Emma's voice brought Kevin out of his thoughts. She had a rather worried look on her face at the moment.

He slowly nodded his head.

"That's fine. I can take the backlash. It doesn't really matter to me."

Within the alliance, there was barely anyone that could oppose him.

Most of the guild masters and even the Union old heads supported him, there was no way anyone would be able to say anything about his decision.

At the moment, within the human domain, his words were law.

Nothing could go against him, and it was precisely because of this that he had planned so much.

"Well, okay. I trust you, so I'll tell the others about your orders."

"Thank you."

Kevin nodded his head, and shifted his attention back toward the empty streets below him.

Lowering his head to stare at his watch, he mumbled.

"Twelve hours left…"

***

"Are you certain we do not need to visit the bunkers? According to what I've read, the new leader of the alliance has apparently issued a decree making travel there mandatory."

"Yes I'm sure."

I reassured my mother, who was currently holding Nola in her arms while quietly sitting in the backseat of my car.

Nola was currently occupied with a game that was being played on my phone, and she appeared to be completely oblivious to the impending danger that was about to befall the human domain.

…and honestly, I would've liked it if it was kept this way.

The less she knew, the better.

"Where are you taking us?"

My father's voice echoed from beside me, and I calmly responded.

"I'm taking you guys to a safe place. You don't have to worry. Regarding the decree, it's fine, I know Kevin, he won't do anything to you guys."

Even though Kevin had changed, fundamentally he was the same guy.

He had become a lot more ruthless, but that was about it.

He still acted normally around me, and that was all I really needed from him.

"We're here."

Following the appearance of a sizable structure in our field of view, I carefully pulled into the driveway, parked the car, and then exited the vehicle.

"Ren, are you sure that this place will keep us safe?"

My father asked, staring at the building with a look filled with skepticism.

"I concur with your dad. Despite its distance from the city, this location does not appear very secure. I am concerned that it will not be as secure as the Alliance provided bunkers. You know that we don't really mind staying there. I saw the place, and it looks quite nice."

"Don't worry about that."

I reassured them both before proceeding to the building that served as the headquarters for my mercenary organization.

'I never get tired of everyone's reaction to the building.'

It always tended to be the same, with people dismissing it for looking worn down and badly maintained on the outside.

If only they had known that what was in front of them was, in all actuality, an impregnable fortress that had its roots deeply planted within the human realm.

"Alright, just follow me. I'll show you guys soon enough that you guys don't have to worry about anything."

I quickly typed in the password as soon as I arrived at the entrance to the warehouse, and then I unlocked the door.

After which, I opened it and gestured for my parents to go in.

"Don't be too surprised when you guys come in. Just know that your son has been very successful."