Lord of Annihilation

The scene on the hologram blinked a few times before it went dark. The video had unexpectedly come to an end.

An intense silence prevailed inside the World Council Hall.

Alex who had also been watching the video play was in a similar state. A human being's perspective is quite limited. One was only able to view what one is able to observe. What the eyes see, the mind might not necessarily approve.

Although Alex had personally taken part in the battle of Deatov, his mind had still unconsciously ignored most of the events that happened in the background. His mind had instinctively rejected this information, acting as a defense mechanism for his psyche.

Seeing the complete unedited footage, his heart was in turmoil and his fists unconsciously tightened in anger. In fact, the hearts of all the people, present in the hall were filled with similar emotions.

"..Dear God!..what are those things?!" the old commander seated next to Alex, unconsciously mumbled. Faint fear could be detected in his voice.

After a few seconds, the solemn voice of the Alliance representative echoed through the silent hall.

"As you can see.... we have made contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial race. One that has hostile intentions." saying such, he paused for a moment to allow time for the people present in the room to digest this information.

"...Did we lose the frontier base of Deatov?" a fickle sounding voice was heard.

The Alliance representative turned his head in the direction of the voice. Noticing the owner of the voice, he shook his head.

"No. In fact, we managed to win," he replied briefly, his tone becoming polite.

Due to his enhanced senses, Alex was also able to immediately detect the owner of that voice. His eyes immediately fell upon the speaker.

The speaker was a fat, middle-aged man with a handsome face. He was clothed in extravagant attire, which screamed 'expensive'. The man's face wore a golden monocle, which shone with a faint brilliance.

Seeing this person towards whom even the Alliance Representative was being respectful, Alex's curiosity was stoked. Being single-mindedly devoted to the art of war and combat, Alex wasn't educated in the matters of politics. Therefore he was unable to recognize this man.

Seeing the interested look in Alex's eyes, the old commander next to him gently spoke.

"That fat guy is the Head of the White Family. A fickle guy who would sell his own mather, if it guaranteed him profits. Tch!" the old commander spitefully explained.

Hearing that explanation, a flood of realization descended on Alex's face.

The White family was a powerhouse that was on the same level as the Hellwig Family. They controlled the majority of the banks in the Alliance and were also the ones who issued the united currency of 'credits'.

The White family was widely known for two reasons. One was for their unimaginable riches and extravagance. The other was because of their current heir.

'A detestable prick!' just thinking about the heir of the White Family, made Alex's mood instantly sour.

Just as Alex was lost within his thoughts, the White Family's Head spoke once more.

"Oh? How did they manage to win? Seeing how badly those people were losing, I don't think that our weapons were that effective against these aliens."

Hearing the question, the Alliance Representative nodded his head. Just as he was about to reply, his movements suddenly paused.

"Understood, Sir." he softly replied before getting off the stage.

Just as the audience was growing confused, a middle-aged man with silver hair suddenly climbed onto the stage. He had an amicable smile plastered on his face and his disposition was very soothing. As he walked towards the stage, he radiated a feeling of trust and gentleness.

Seeing this person climb onto the stage, the audience immediately rose and performed a bow.

"We greet the Alliance Head!" a resounding chorus was heard.

The High Commanders, White Family's Head, and Alex were no exception.

This silver-haired middle-aged man was the current leader of the Earth Alliance. Edward Roseberg.

Looking at the audience, he performed a perfunctory nod, before starting to speak.

"I'll get right to the point. To answer your question on how we managed to win the battle in Deatov, please take a look at the screen above me."

Having said so, Edward spoke an instruction to his subordinate through his mic and the holographic screen on the stage lit up once again.

On the screen, the distant battle on the plains of Deatov could be seen. A youth with jet-black hair and glowing crimson eyes could be seen swinging a large scythe.

Wave upon waves of Sickle Bugs fell underneath his blade, as the youth continued to dance with the army of alien bugs. Due to the distance between the youth and the camera, his facial features couldn't be seen properly.

Just as the audience was watching the scene with amazement, the holographic screen turned black, before cutting to the scene where Lucius was battling with the Leader Bug. The earth-shaking fight continued to play out on the screen as the audience watched with rapt attention.

Lucius' battle with the Leader Bug concluded. Following that was the scene of the rest of the alien army being slaughtered by the plasma cannons. The video continued to play without a pause, as the scene of the various soldiers rushing towards the black-haired youth standing in the middle of the plains.

It was then, that a beam of light fell on top of the camera, and an endless amount of white light shrouded the screen.

"And that's it." Edward softly spoke before switching off the holographic screen.

He turned around and looked at the faces of every person present in the hall. Giving them a few minutes to properly process this information.

"My god...." "Superpowers?!!" "How can a single person do that..?" "Is he even human?"

Hushed murmurs and mumbles filled the room as the various representatives and dignitaries started to discuss the contents of the video. Most of them wanted to instinctively reject this information, with one part of their minds saying that this was simply impossible.

If this was not real, then what could it be? A joke? Special effects?

However, the rational parts of their mind quickly denied this possibility. After all, they weren't dumb enough to think that the Alliance Head himself, would stand before them and present the video if he wasn't sure of the veracity of the information.

Still, the looks of incomprehension, astonishment, and fear were seen on the faces of most of the people.

"I understand that most of you are doubting the contents of that video. But, I can assure you in my capacity as the Alliance Head, that the entire content of that video is most definitely true." Edward spoke with utmost seriousness.

"Not only has mankind made initial contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial race, according to the words of the survivors of Deatov, these survivors have also seemed to undergone something called an 'Ascension."

"After undergoing this 'Ascension', the survivors have awakened various abilities. Abilities which grant its user with varying degrees of supernatural powers."

"Some have received increased strength, which would allow them to lift hundreds of kilograms with ease. Some have received the ability to affect soundwaves. Some have had their brains upgraded to allow increased activity. A variety of abilities, which seem to have no correlation with each other."

"Actually rather than me trying to explain it, it would be better if you were to see it for yourselves. Especially since one such person is sitting right here with us in this hall.", saying so, Edward turned to look at Alex.

"Alex Hellwig, come onto the stage," he requested.

Alex, sat in his seat dumbly while having a blank look on his face. Seeing the events of Deatov play out once again, his mind was preoccupied with various thoughts.

'What could I have done differently? Could I have rescued more soldiers?' such thoughts plagued his mind and a feeling of regret started to grow within his heart.

"Cough, cough!" a sudden sound interrupted Alex from his thoughts.

Snapping out of his daze, he raised his head and looked towards the old commander who was the source of the noise.

"Young man, the Alliance Head has been calling your name all this while. Quickly, run to the stage before things become awkward," he advised in a low tone.

"Ah? Oh yeah, right. Sorry." Alex quickly shook off his daze and rushed towards the stage. His movement speed was very quick, thanks to the advancement in his physique and soul power.

The audience who had their eyes fixed on Alex, were astonished by his speed. Without wearing any enhancements or exoskeletons to boost his strength, Alex was able to cover a distance of 30m in a split-second.

This had in fact been an intentional display of strength by Alex.

Having listened to the speech given by the Alliance Representative, Alex realized that the matter regarding soul power was not known to the higherups within the Alliance.

By displaying his abilities, he wanted to add veracity to his upcoming words and also wanted to use this opportunity to warn the higherups, of the true power of the soul.

The words he was about to speak here today, would have a direct effect on mankind's future.