"I know Rosgel."
"Back in Mimbo, he was an incredibly powerful figure."
"Not only was he unbelievably charismatic, but his strength was among the best."
"Even in death, his presence lingers. His aura remains."
"His remains were split into pieces and sealed separately."
"And now, he's become a taboo subject in the Kingdom of Fiora."
"For Fiora, the name Rosgel is a disgrace."
"Even someone like me... I'm not sure I could defeat him."
"Using Rosgel's body as a catalyst... any resuscitator created from it would be incredibly powerful. You can tell just from the aura it's emitting now."
"And this is only part of his corpse."
"If it were complete, his power would be overwhelming."
"Take it away first."
"Make sure the Republic of Mimbo doesn't catch wind of this."
Kaizen nodded.
"Got it."
...
After ending the call, Kaizen turned his gaze toward Rosgel.
Natsu stepped forward, standing directly in front of him.
Rosgel stared ahead, completely blank—like a lifeless doll.
Even with Natsu in front of him, he didn't react at all.
Kaizen extended his hand and waved it slowly.
A shimmering doorway appeared in the air—leading to the desert area within the Sumas space.
Rosgel didn't seem hostile at the moment, but better safe than sorry.
Kaizen hadn't used the desert region of Sumas much up to now. It was the perfect place to temporarily store Rosgel.
Natsu gently pushed Rosgel through the portal.
Kaizen focused.
The Nen beast and the door vanished instantly.
...
Kaizen looked up toward the massive sand dome overhead, a structure formed by Kroll's ability.
Now, cracks were forming along the surface. Sunlight filtered through the gaps.
Kaizen surveyed the area.
No other lifeforms remained.
The area still buzzed faintly with residual aura, scattered and complex.
With a flicker, Kaizen appeared beside the dome.
He didn't use any aura techniques.
He simply drew back his fist—and struck.
Boom!
A thunderous impact echoed out.
Crack!
A fissure split across the dome.
Then more cracks—spreading fast.
Suddenly—
Boom!
Chunks of the wall collapsed.
Then another.
And another.
All of the sand walls and the dome above crumbled and crashed to the ground, burying everything beneath them in an avalanche of yellow sand.
No trace of the earlier carnage remained.
The dried corpses were now entombed.
A desert once more—silent and still, as if nothing had ever happened.
Kaizen cast one last glance over the scene before vanishing into Sumas space again.
...
He stepped out through a different portal.
Waiting for him on the other side were Ponzu and the rest of his squad.
"Captain, are you alright?" someone called.
Everyone turned toward him as he emerged.
Kaizen gave a small nod.
"It's handled. Things got more complicated than expected, but your performance was solid. The special training wasn't wasted."
"Let's head back to Heavens Arena. I'm sure you all learned a lot."
Kaizen summoned a car.
Siper was already at the wheel.
Lacking combat strength, she'd taken on logistics without complaint.
In fact, Siper had used the least aura out of everyone during the mission.
As the engine purred to life, the tense atmosphere began to ease.
Still, Ponzu released a few bees into the air as a precaution.
...
"Kaizen," Nina asked, "did you really take care of all of them?"
"I did."
He kept his tone firm. "But listen, this whole situation... it's complicated. Best if you forget about it."
"Don't mention any of this to anyone."
His expression was serious.
"Got it."
"Yes, Captain."
"Understood, Kaizen."
...
Shizuku hesitated, then sighed with a tinge of regret.
"Captain… if only you hadn't left so quickly."
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"There were probably so many things we could've picked up!"
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"All those people… there must've been a ton of valuable stuff on them. If I'd used Blinky, we could've cleaned up big time!"
Kaizen frowned slightly.
It wasn't about money. Shizuku had no shortage of that.
But being raised in Meteor City, she'd developed a natural instinct for scavenging.
Even with her memory issues, Shizuku never forgot one thing—
When it came to looting, she was a professional.
...
In the front seat, Sally's eyelids drooped. The battle had drained her more than she realized. Now that the adrenaline was gone, exhaustion hit her like a wave.
The motion of the car lulled her into deep sleep.
Siper, meanwhile, was practically glowing with excitement.
She'd just witnessed the most intense battle of her life—and she was still buzzing from it.
At the same time, frustration stirred inside her.
"If only I could get stronger faster..."
Siper clenched her fists, determination burning in her chest.
Within Kaizen's team, aside from the captain himself, Nina, Tessia, Sally, and Shizuku were all considerably stronger than her.
The only one on her level was Ponzu.
But even then, Ponzu's role was different.
She didn't rely on raw power—her support skills made her incredibly useful.
During this mission, her impact had been massive.
Siper knew it well.
Compared to Ponzu, her own presence had felt... negligible.
...
Siper drove.
Sally slumped beside her in the passenger seat.
Kaizen and Shizuku sat in the middle row.
In the back were Nina, Ponzu, and Tessia.
The third row was a bit cramped, so the smaller members squeezed in.
Tessia leaned her head back, eyes closed, silently reviewing everything that had happened.
Kaizen was doing the same.
He was already reanalyzing the mission in his mind.
"I never expected things to escalate like that."
"I thought it was just a standard assassination job..."
"Turns out, we stumbled straight into a major plot from the Republic of Mimbo."
"It's obvious now—Kroll never really defected."
"That was just a cover."
"His true objective was to leave Mimbo and use human sacrifices to revive Rosgel."
"Under normal circumstances, Kroll shouldn't have died."
"If everything had gone as planned, he would've brought Rosgel back to Mimbo."
"And that would've been a massive boost in power for them."
"Rosgel's strength alone is a threat."
"But what he represents to Mimbo… that's the real danger."
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Fanfic is completed on patreon.com/FanficsHub (1047 chapters in total)