Since his mastery had decreased, he couldn't control Death to affect only the monsters.
Some of the buildings had been pulverized.
The destruction was absolute—buildings reduced to jagged rubble.
Their towering silhouettes were nothing more than indistinct mounds of dust and twisted metal.
Concrete walls lay cracked and splintered, and windows shattered into glittering fragments were scattered across the ground.
The air was heavy with choking dust.
Neo snapped his fingers, and the red lightning lingering on the wreckages rushed towards him.
He began to absorb it.
Death elementals couldn't be converted back into Divine Energy.
He could, however, store the Death elementals within himself.
It was similar to storing petrol inside tank.
Currently, three red rings made of highly compressed Death Elementals were surrounding Neo's heart.
For the past six months, he absorbed all Death elementals he used after the battle ended.
He needed to do that, since he did not have a way to recover Divine Energy inside the Shadow World.
After absorbing everything, he jumped down from the wall and landed outside the city.
Kane, confused, followed behind.
"Where are we going?"
A few minutes later, Neo and Kane stood in an empty area.
"You've been training for the past months," Neo suddenly said, startling Kane.
"How strong do you think you've become?"
"Pretty strong, I guess. Why are you asking this?"
"Let's fight. I want to see how your trait works, and it will help you train too."
Kane's smiling face stiffened.
He unconsciously took a few steps back.
"No," he spoke firmly. "I don't like to get beaten one-sidedly."
"Stop being a drama queen."
'You are nearing my level already. I'm sure you know it too.'
Neo didn't say the thought out loud.
Someone who had awakened only six months ago was almost as strong as him.
Funnily enough, knowing Kane's talent made Neo excited.
It gave Neo a target to surpass.
'Surpassing a genius. I wonder how that would feel.'
Since the day he decided to become the strongest, Neo was prepared to fight geniuses who were hailed as once-in-a-century talents.
They were a wall on his path that Neo was determined to conquer.
Looking at Kane's anxious expression, Neo shook his head.
'I think he is as talented as Jack. Maybe slightly less, but near his level.'
It was a big praise, coming from Neo.
Jack, when he entered the academy, was quite weak, yet he was now as strong as the students in the top 25.
'A Necromancer thrives on the death and despair of others. Jack could grow that strong without having anything that could help him grow as a Necromancer.'
'If Jack had access to the Underworld like me, he would've had a chance at surpassing Morrigan.'
The Shadow World was an opportunity for Jack.
He could fight monsters and kill criminals in the apocalypse without anyone judging him.
The deaths and massacres would help him increase his Death and Darkness element mastery.
'I just hope he doesn't get overwhelmed by Darkness.'
Talent was important.
But without Willpower, it was impossible to train the Darkness element.
"Come on. Start already."
Kane unsheathed his sword at Neo's urging.
Today was the first time they were going to fight.
He was afraid and excited.
"Neo, I know this sounds pompous, but…."
"Don't let your guard down. Or you will die."
Kane raised the sword above his head.
Kane took a deep breath and exhaled.
His sword flashed in a downward motion, landing straight on Neo's shoulder.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Memory Shadow World
Dios Kingsley – Zeus – sat languidly at the beach.
His eyes were fixed on the horizon.
"How much time until the contact?"
"Two weeks according to our estimates," the man standing behind him answered.
His lips parted, and he spoke,
"He is quite an unlucky fellow. Trying to escape his country by using a ship, only to awaken in the middle of the ocean."
"Indeed, the man's trait made him gigantically large. It saved his life and made him large enough to walk through the ocean but…."
"Human brain isn't made to sustain a body of such large humans."
The Giant would reach Rio in a few weeks.
Zeus had come to meet him. Or so was Zeus' official reason.
But the man knew why Zeus was here, in Rio, in Titan's territory.
Just then, the man's device rang.
He opened it and read the message.
"What is it?" Zeus questioned.
"It's Apollo's message. He is moving out on a mission with Athena and Nyx."
"Mhm." Zeus nodded. "Where are they going?"
"I guess we can meet them if everything follow the schedule."
Zeus pursed his lips and probed, trying to look casual.
"What happened to the guy Apollo was searching for? I think he said the guy he saw in his visions was needed to locate the Child of Mana."
"Ah, Neo Hargraves. Ares has suspended the search mission for him.
"Apparently, there is no person named Neo Hargraves. Gaia said she couldn't find the Fate of anyone named Neo Hargraves."
His gaze returned to the horizon.
The words of the bastard Aides Hargraves, the husband of his sister, echoed in his mind.
'We will meet again, Dios.'
Normally, Zeus would've thought Aides was spouting bullshit at his death's doorstep.
But the apocalypse made things difficult.
'I thought Neo Hargraves was related to Aides since their surname was the same, but I guess I was looking too much into it.'
Just having a matching surname didn't make them related.
Zeus had been grasping at straws.
But, with Gaia's confirmation of Neo Hargraves inexistence, the straw disappeared.
Arzew, Algeria, Memory Shadow World
Kane spoke as he stood beside Neo's bed.
His eyes were red from having cried too much, and he clutched the edge of his clothes with trembling hands.
"Don't stand there like that, old man. It looks weird."
It only made Kane's expression worsen.
He stared at the stump at Neo's shoulder.
His hand was missing.
He used his strongest attack, believing Neo could block or dodge easily.
Instead, Neo stood motionless.
He took the attack with his bare body.
'Why didn't you dodge?'
Neo knew what he was thinking.
'I finally know how his trait works,' Neo thought.
Losing a hand was nothing big for him.
He could regrow it easily when he revived himself.
'I can't believe his trait was something so simple. I used to think it was something overpowered.'
'I couldn't have been more wrong.'
Neo didn't dodge because he was too busy analyzing Kane's attack.
He had been doing the same for the past few months, and today he could comprehend it finally when he took the attack with his bare body.
'He is using Incantations.'
The realization sent Neo to the moon.
He could learn Kane's sword technique.
Until now, he thought it was his Trait, but it turns out Kane was using Incantations unconsciously.