Lord of Annihilation

"Stop it at once!!" With a roar that shook the very room, Alex thundered. 

His hair was greatly disheveled, blood and soot marks covered his face, and his silver-colored uniform was torn in multiple regions. Alex's current appearance was no different from that of a beggar.

Grabbing onto Olivia's sword in one hand and Anya's weapon with the other, Alex placed himself in-between the duo and stared into his partner's face with his bloodshot eyes.

"Stop it, Anya. She's a friend." Alex sternly spoke.

"But she tried to kill Reyna!" 

"It's a misunderstanding! If she really wanted to kill her, she wouldn't be alive right now." Alex replied while gesturing towards Reyna, who was being tended to by the Stage 2 soldiers.

"Put your weapon down, you too," Alex ordered.

Jack simply shrugged his shoulders and sheathed his weapon. He never liked fighting women in the first place, especially one with Olivia's level of beauty. 

"I never wanted to fight her anyway. Woman of such caliber must be faced in a different battle, if you get what I mean, hehe." His face sported a lecherous expression. 

Anya, meanwhile, looked very hesitant and aggrieved. Having personally fought against Olivia, she had understood the exceptional strength and ability of the latter and did not feel comfortable letting her go unpunished.

"Anya…" Alex softened his voice and gently called out her name.

Giving in to her partner's wishes, Anya stepped back and replied. "..Fuu, fine!"

She did not, however, sheathe her weapon and continued to send threatening stares towards Olivia. Knowing that this was the best compromise that he could get from his wife, Alex sighed. 

He then looked towards the soldiers standing in the back and roared.

"Turn off that machine. She's not a threat!"

Hearing that furious bellow of their Commander, the soldiers did not dare dally. The machine which was obstructing Olivia was called the 'Neutralizer'. It had the specific effect of messing with the workings of soul power, rendering it unstable within the target's body.

The Neutralizer could completely neutralize the soul power within Stage 1 beings, but could only destabilize its working in Stage 2. As for its effects on Stage 3 beings, it was unknown for lack of such targets.

The machine was turned off and Olivia felt her soul power returning to her control. She quickly stabilized the rampaging energy within her body and immediately back away while abandoning her sword which was held by Alex.

Assuming a fighting stance with her fists, Olivia looked at Alex with a questioning, untrusting gaze.

Seeing such a hostile reaction from a friend of his, Alex mentally sighed to himself. He then turned to properly face her and bowed.

"I'm very sorry for the trouble. I hope you don't take it to heart."

Shocked by such a reaction, Anya immediately screamed.

"Alex?! She has killed almost thirty of our troops and almost killed Reyna!! She has to be jailed!"

"They attacked first and I simply retaliated. What else did you expect me to do, when your 'Vice-Leader' ordered the soldiers to shoot me? Quietly stand?" Olivia coldly replied.

"You-!!" Anya raised her weapon once more, only to be forcibly held by Alex.

"Calm down! Let's hear what happened first!"

Alex then turned to face Olivia and asked.

"Could you tell us what happened? From the first if possible." 

Olivia silently stood for a few seconds before nodding her head. She desperately needed time to heal her body and recover her soul power, after being caught off-guard by the Neutralizer attack.

Taking in a deep breath, Olivia then started to narrate the events since her meeting with the group of humans, prior to arriving here. Alex patiently heard her story, before proceeding to corroborate it with the people involved.

He first had the soldiers wake up the people who brought Olivia here and then proceeded to wake up the people who were present inside the room when the events took place.

After gaining a full understanding of the situation, Alex, Anya, and the rest of the troops who had arrived realized that the mistake lied with them. 

Olivia had originally come with peaceful and friendly intentions, however, she was then insulted by their Vice-Leader and then proceeded to be attacked by their troops. Out of self-defense, Olivia had retaliated.

"But that doesn't justify you killing them!! You're clearly stronger. Why not knock them out or disarm them?" Anya accused.

Hearing that accusation, Olivia looked towards Anya with a look of confusion, followed by disappointment and pity.

"How naïve could you be? No wonder Mankind is losing so badly with such people leading it." Olivia did not hide her derision and spoke audibly.

Anya's face reddened in shame and anger as she raised her weapon once more. However, she was immediately stopped by Alex who held her tightly.

Alex then looked towards Reyna, who was behind the line of soldiers, being treated for her injuries. 

Their discussion was not secretive and Reyna had clearly witnessed the proceedings. Her head was lowered and her fists were clenched, as her body faintly shook. It was unknown whether the trembling was out of shame or anger.

'Oh, Reyna…you have to stop blaming others. It's not Olivia and Lucius leaving, that led to our current situation but our own weakness.'

Experiences can change a person.

Alex, who had experienced many things over the last three years, had changed as a person. He had grown and matured a lot as a human, a husband, and a leader.

He still remembered the words Lucius had told him when they had first met: 'Weakness is a sin.' 

At first, he had rejected this extreme saying and believed that as long as humans could work together, they would be able to overcome anything.

Alas, the war against the Formicians, the betrayal by the Sors Fides cultists, and the struggle against the pirate organization had taught him the harsh truth. 

Without power, one could not dream. 

Without power, one could not be free.

In this Universe governed by Rules and filled with beings of unthinkable strength, power was the only constant. 

It was harsh, but it was the truth.

'I wonder why he didn't come. How strong is he now?' Alex absent-mindedly thought.

Shaking his head to rid himself of his daze, Alex turned to face Olivia and gently spoke.

"I once again apologize for all the trouble caused. It was our ignorance that led to the misunderstanding. Reyna's actions…I hope you don't take it to heart. She's lost a lot of people dear to her, making her a bit emotionally unstable." 

Not relaxing from her combat stance in the slightest, Olivia sarcastically replied.

"Whatever, man. As long as she doesn't try to kill me for simply trying to talk to her, I'll be just fine." 

Alex sighed at her response having understood that the previous relationship between the three had been destroyed by this event. 

It was sad but understandable.

"Why don't we go somewhere more comfortable to have a chat? I understand that you came here with the intention to help us." Alex offered.

"Oh, I'm not moving anywhere, until you guys fix this teleportation portal behind me and open a path to that planet. After my people transfer over we can talk all we want." Olivia instantly denied it.

Like hell, she would move this place. Who knew what other trap they might've prepared for her?

It was safe to say that Olivia's trust in her fellow humans had reached an all-time low after this incident. Her cautious personality built from her time in Pandemonium refused to take action without an advantage.

"There's no way in hell, I'm going to allow your forces to come over!!" Anya immediately shot back.

Alex, on the other hand, pondered for a few seconds before asking.

"How many?"

Shocked, Anya turned to face Alex and asked in a dumbfounded voice.

"You're not serious? We can't simply give her what she wants!!" 

"Anya." Alex's voice turned extremely serious as he spoke, "This is my base. I can do whatever I want."

"You--!!" Anya was speechless. 

She then forcibly removed Alex's arms holding onto her and walked out of the tunnel with a livid expression.

Olivia obviously did not care for their little spat and answered.

"A little less than three hundred."

"Their levels?" Rubbing his forehead, Alex asked.

"All in Stage 2." 

"These are the troops you brought to provide reinforcement for us, right? Aren't their numbers too little?" Alex asked.

It had to be noted that the enemies faced by Mankind were both numerous and exceptionally skilled. Even with the numbers that they currently had, they were losing quite badly.

To answer Alex's question, Olivia gave a slight smirk and replied.

"I can guarantee that my three hundred will be at least twice as strong as your 30,000 stationed in this base. Don't doubt the strength of my men." Her voice was filled with absolute confidence.

AT that answer, Alex simply nodded his head and turned to face Reyna and the other service staff.

"Fix this portal immediately and open a channel to that planet. We will be welcoming our reinforcements."

----------

Little under three hours had passed when the Teleportation Array was finally fixed and the channel was opened.

Although Reyna had looked extremely unwilling, she nonetheless performed exceptionally. The strength of [Machinery life] a rare soul-type at Low-Level Stage 2 was not to be underestimated.

Being the creator of this Teleportation Array, none was more familiar with its construct than Reyna. Empowered by her soul, she moved adeptly and dexterously fixing the machine in record time.

'So she does have her use after all.' Olivia thought to herself.

Ka'lor'ah who had heard her thoughts lazily replied.

'As spoiled as she may be, her skills are the real deal. You can say that she is the reason why Mankind is not already extinct. Without the devices and technology provided by her, they wouldn't have held on for so long.'

'I see.' Olivia nodded her head in understanding.

'Is that the reason why she's so important?' Olivia sharply asked. 

Having spent time with Ka'lor'ah, Olivia had learnt a lot about the former's personality. 

With her, Ka'lor'ah was extremely playful and childish. However, when faced with others she was extremely uncaring and aloof. 

It was almost as if Ka'lor'ah did not consider others, apart from a few select people, as worthy of her attention at all.

She had an aura that reminded Olivia of the Monarchs and Emperors she had often heard or read about in stories.

Faced with Olivia's question, Ka'lor'ah was caught off-guard. However, she immediately recovered and replied.

'Sharp. As expected of my disciple.' After giving Olivia, a word of praise, Ka'lor'ah continued. 'You could say it's part of the reason why she is important. As for the rest of the reason, I can't tell you.' 

Olivia was a bit saddened at that answer but quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts. She then looked towards the large Teleportation Array that was humming and glowing with fantastical lights.

Enormous amounts of energy were channeled into the portal resulting in the machine taking a few moments to stabilize. After achieving stability, the machine started to properly function as a group of figures passed over from the other side and landed on the platform.

Olivia immediately recognized the figures as her subordinates.

"Boss! You're here!"