That was what Achilles currently felt.
Even though he'd agreed to take down the murderous entity who'd experimented on countless humans and advanced beings—and butchered hundreds of thousands over the span of years in his own colony cities—he had planned to do it while getting stronger.
Because the enemy was a fucking Astral Core Ascension Entity.
Someone who stood at the very top of one of the Thirteen Dynasties of this World.
And now, instead of slowly accumulating power—even at the rapid pace he'd been moving—he was going to face the wrath and attacks of such a being way too early.
This was a dangerous predicament, and he looked at the daughter of that being.
What was he supposed to do?
As of this moment, he didn't know. But her father had observed everything.
To make things even more complicated, he now knew that within his own body flowed both Primordial Energy from ancient times and Evolutius Energy from the current era. They coexisted seamlessly, and he was even using that power to strengthen her.
On top of that, there were the scorching flames of the Nirvanic Sun Moon Phoenix.
He may not know what it was exactly, but the energy was ridiculously pristine compared to anything else as it had to have caught his eyes.
Which meant? An entity like him would be heavily interested in something !
He glanced coldly toward Nyxaria Moonveil Lunaris. She looked...hesitant. Maybe even a little desperate, like she knew this was happening too fast.
The fear of her father had been etched into her very being as she had been suppressing it this whole time.
And even now, when things were spiraling, she gritted her teeth. Her eyes flickered with thought, with unwillingness to give in.
No matter how afraid she was, she didn't want to die.
So she thought. Hard. And based on what she knew of her father, she started to speak.
"He is a man who will discard anything he no longer considers useful. He'll twist any circumstance to his advantage. He doesn't care about anything other than himself and how to elevate his power."
"Now that he knows my intent to kill, I've lost all standing in his eyes as he will discard me. Publicly. In here and in the Capital of Virelux Ascendria. He'll use it to make a statement to my brothers and sisters. But he won't just throw me away. He never lets anything slip through his fingers. Most likely, he'll bring me back. Use me for experiments he hasn't done before. Ones that might prove fatal."
Despite the weight of her words, her expression grew calmer, more determined. Like she wasn't even talking about herself anymore.
"But he won't stop there. He uses everything to his advantage. I could be wrong—I don't know all the details of his experimentation—but he might even involve the Colony City I'm in. He'll find a way to benefit from it. And of course, he'll likely send someone after me, after you, and after everyone around you. For that, I'm...incredibly sorry. I brought you into this thinking we had time. That we had potential. I didn't bring you in to die."
Gradually, her eyes dulled, like she was accepting the inevitable. As if nothing could be changed now. The only thing left was her defiance, hidden under a veil of apathy!
She raised her head and looked at Achilles, whose eyes were currently glowing with a blinding light of purple and gold. The intensity made her entire body tremble, her emotions cracking.
His gaze wasn't fearful. Even now, in this nightmare of a situation, he looked calm. In control. Powerful. Already thinking of a way to get through this.
After hearing her words, he seemed to get an idea. He looked up toward the skies of the Colony City of Neon through its transparent barrier and spoke aloud.
"So, he'll send someone powerful for you. And for me. And maybe... he'll even target the Colony City of Neon itself. The question is, what would—"
Booming horns and alarms blared through Fort Cape of Hope and across the entire Colony City of Neon.
Its transparent barrier shimmered, then blazed with an orange-red glow.
But it was out of the scope of any declared Danger Level!
Nyxaria's face turned pale. Her eyes filled with fury.
Even Achilles went still—ice cold!
Back when he was a kid, this was one of the first things they taught you in school. A warning passed down from adults to every child in the colony.
If the skies of the Colony City turn red... pray.
Pray, because you probably won't live long enough to do anything else.
Because if the skies turned red, it meant you were about to die!
And now, as the barrier over the Colony City of Neon blazed red-orange, those words echoed in his head.
Nyxaria's voice rang out in defiance and rage.
"An Evolutius Beasts Cenotaph Wild Surge."
Yeah. A long name. Simple in its meaning.
It was a threat that surpassed every normal danger level. Why?
Because it meant countless Evolutius Beasts in the Cenotaph Wild Lands had decided to work together. For one purpose.
They were heading straight for a single Colony City.
A literal wave of monsters, coming from every direction.
It only happened when something truly terrifying appeared—a behemoth, or a creature with the power of an Ancient One.
Something that could command the beasts.
Lead them in an all-out assault.
And what were the odds this was happening now?
Right after they realized that her father—the Lunaris Throne—had discovered their rebellion?
Achilles's body glowed with blinding gold and purple light. Incandescent. Flaming with heavy brilliance!
And he stared up at the reddening skies as inside of his body, a deep and ancient lineage that seemed older than time began to rouse and light up with more and more activity, his whole body displaying a sense of regality others would never be able to understand!