"So, how do you plan to resolve this?" Darius asked with a soft smile.
His question struck the leader deeply, because this suddenly had become a very troublesome situation. Gravitas didn't care about its reputation with the world. They had next to no foreign relations, so this team would not have bothered to even speak to Darius had he not possessed sufficient personal power.
And that was what stumped them, his power.
He had seemingly casually razed 30 city blocks into nothingness. The most astonishing thing, however, was that he had limited his targets to only the people. That coupled with how he had cleared the visitor center, his power was definitely above that of typical Grandmasters, that they could tell.
Was he a Demi-God then?
At this moment, one of the other team members in the group of five signaled their boss and spoke to her through the comms.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"No need to think so much, Boss. He is a visitor, isn't he? So let's grant him top visitor rights and status while waiting for orders on how to proceed next. It should defuse the tense situation and allow us to prepare suitable methods and plans to destroy him."
The other four seemed shocked by the idea, and the leader quickly replied after thinking for a short while. "Let's go with that for now. Report upwards on our decision, and set everything up."
Darius gazed at the one who made the suggestion, speaking for all five of them, then smiled harmlessly. The leader took a deep breath and could not be bothered to fret if Darius had some means to hear their chatter through comms.
"Well, clearly, this situation is quite complex and troublesome. We would like to offer you a temporary visitor status from us while we sort out the cause and effect of everything, granting both parties a suitable solution for this unfortunate event." The leader used their best legal and corporate lingo to try to put their plan across.
"I refuse."
So it was natural that they were flabbergasted when they heard Darius resolutely reject the idea while smiling at them as if they were children. The leader took a deep breath and asked.
"May I ask why?"
Darius nodded. "I don't mind answering that. You see, I have already gauged your power and found that it is greatly lacking in what I can output at 50% of my max power. None of your Mechs, your men, nor your artillery are capable of surviving my offense nor can they breach my defense. The only thing you have that could possibly harm me are rail guns and nukes, but they'd do far more damage to yourself than me."
Darius played with the Entry Token in between his fingers with a provocative smile. "You see, I am a merchant at heart. I like to maintain friendships where I can and seek benefits where I shouldn't. However, I have reached a level of power that allows… no, COMPELS me… to be selective of those I grant that benefit."
He copped the coin and flicked it at the member of the five who had suggested the idea, which traveled at what was easily 1200km/h since it was imbued with electricity.
It blew through the head of that person, completely rupturing their brain and splashing their brain matter on their four remaining compatriots faster than they could execute 1/20th of a blink.
"There is no need for me to think too much here. I came here to relieve my boredom, not to waste time. Gravitas was never an important destination, it's just a playground for me while I wait for more important things to reach their conclusion."
The four finally regained their senses and reacted to the still-standing corpse beside them. One of them, a burly male in a blue exosuit with horns like a triceratops roared with anguish.
"NOOO! JESSICAA!! YOU MOTHERFUCKER, THAT WAS MY WIFE!!" He charged at Darius while wielding a rocket-powered hammer that radiated magic and mana. A magitech enhanced weapon.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmDarius raised a hand and caught the flat end of the hammer meant to smash his head in, pulling it from the grasp of his enemy - which unbalanced him - and then struck him into the ground with his own weapon.
He was planted into the road like a cartoon character, only that the visible dent in his skull was not as amusing for children. Darius slung the hammer over his shoulder with a calm smile.
"I won't ridicule your pain. I'm sorry for your loss. Allow me to help you join her in the afterlife, and may Vena be kind to your souls if she's watching."
He easily used one hand to smash the hammer down, turning the head of his opponent into his neck. As for his neck, it was not part of his torso.
Long story short, he was dead.
With only three remaining, the other party could only stand there dumbfounded. It wasn't that they were hapless children, but rather things had happened too fast for them to overcome their shock and return to their training.
In just 2 seconds, two of their compatriots they had just been joking around and chatting with were dead beyond measure. They had died so simply and effortlessly on the opposing party's behalf that they couldn't help but remember his words.
Seeing his hostility, the airships hovering above immediately began charging their cannons to fire upon Darius. The man himself smiled and blinked onto one of the airship's deck, nodding towards the shocked deckhands who were prepping everything for the shot.
"Good day gentlemen, your death will be quick as I will be exploding your power supply." Darius stated as he blinked into the generator room and launched a Fireball at it.
He disappeared from that airship and appeared in the next one, in the same room as well, performing the same action. Each airship he left immediately shuddered greatly before exploding loudly in the sky, creating a minor mushroom cloud that swept the area.
Darius had destroyed 30% of them before the heat and shockwave reached the one he was currently on, so he paused and returned to the ground, watching the fireworks as the airships all lit up one after the other due to the chain reaction.