Chapter 100: Chapter 100- Pulses Of Change

Talon's words echoed inside Chin-Hwa's head as he blinked. Different level? His mind couldn't register what it meant at first.

But, his body definitely understood those words. The crushing strength, the instantaneous defeat, and the fear of death that came with that sudden punch. They were all engraved into his senses and would probably never vanish.

The terror that Talon instilled in his heart in a split second without seemingly trying too hard. He couldn't understand how such a monstrous power could be in a human being. It was simply ridiculous.

'Monster...' Feeling a chill run down his spine, Chin-Hwa looked down as he tightened his fist.

"So you were that far ahead..." He murmured.

"Yeah, there was no chance for you to beat me here," Talon replied in a straightforward manner. Others might think that he was being mean for saying such things to a clearly broken person. But, Talon would rather tell him the truth than let him live in his delusion anymore.

Chin-Hwa's fist shook visibly as he tried to hold in his frustration. "Would I ever be able to shorten this gap?"

Talon stared at him silently for a few seconds before he opened his mouth. "No. I'm not going to sit idly and wait for you to catch up. I have many things I need to do in the future and I require more strength to achieve them. I won't stop improving any time soon."

"..." Chin-Hwa nodded his head faintly. It was all now clear. He was defeated, mentally and physically. It was an utter loss on every single level and it wasn't even a challenge to his opponent.

The pain he felt at that moment was far worse than anything he ever felt before, even worse than when Hyun-Jae severed their friendship once and for all. The reason for that was his realization that not only did he lose everything, but he also had no chance of actually taking back everything he wanted.

His desire to challenge Talon and beat him was simply a pipe dream, one that took weeks for him to wake up from and when he did, he did it in the worst way possible.

'What am I supposed to do now? I have nothing left to try for.' Dark thoughts filled his head and made him feel like he was falling deeper and deeper into a dark abyss, one that he would never wake up from. 'Maybe it would be better if I just vanished from everyone's lives... That would be better for them.'

Suddenly, he heard Talon's voice and it shook him up from his own dark world.

"But, who said you need me to stop for you to catch up?" He asked.

"... Huh?"

"I'm saying, you're trying to cut the gap between us short and prove that you aren't just a huge moron with an ego as big as the earth, right? Then prove it with your actions. No one is going to forgive you for being an idiot if you don't change your antics. Hearing me say that you will never catch up made you feel depressed? How pathetic.

I thought you had far more ambition than this." Talon said as he crouched down and stared at Chin-Hwa coldly. His tone was as condescending as it could be.

The latter blinked in shock, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"So what if your opponent said that, huh? Who is he to determine what you can and can't achieve? If you want to reach my level, do it, don't let me or anyone else stop you. Meanwhile, I'm going to stay at the peak and climb even higher so that you will always find me as a challenge that you will need to overcome."

"..."

But, that's a story for another time.

***

*A few hours later*

The winds whistled violently and the sky had turned a grim grey. The distant sound of lightning striking could be heard from inside the gymnasium. The light of the sun had completely vanished and was replaced by the darkness of the clouds and the night itself.

It was a very gloomy night by all means. However, the students had no time to even look at the sky as they worked relentlessly, getting ready for tomorrow, arguably the most important day in their entire lives.

Tomorrow, they will infiltrate the Research Center, a mission that was seemingly impossible considering the sheer number of monsters that guarded that place. They knew that it wasn't going to be easy at all, even with Talon on their side.

They had to be mentally prepared to see death in front of them and even look it in the eyes.

The tension was heavy inside the building. But, no one dared to relax or let their thoughts wander to what could happen tomorrow. One of the most important rules to survive was to keep an optimistic mentality no matter what. Losing hope, even for one second, meant death, no other choice.

While everyone was working hard, Talon stood outside as he looked at the sky.

"It's going to rain tonight..." He murmured as he squinted his eyes.

He went outside to check the terrain and the condition of the place where the battle would ensue. The weather was certainly a part of that inspection.

After that, he climbed one of the buildings and sat down and next to him, he put down a bag of chips that he brought with him to snack on.

'I'm going to spend the night awake watching the forest. That girl must be planning something.' His sharp eyes turned colder. 'I won't let her have any chance.'

Far into the distance, Talon could see the cluster of monsters squirming and moving as usual. Nothing was out of the ordinary, at least from what he was seeing. Except for some rare instances of fighting ensuing between the different monsters.

'I guess even she can't make them follow orders 24/7.' He thought to himself.

"Hmm..." Talon hummed quietly as he opened the bag of chips and started eating it. "Want some, Acrypha?" He asked as he looked to the side.

However, much to his surprise, his companion seemed completely occupied with something.

Her eyes were looking at the sky, precisely at the Core Dimension's Gate. Her sharp eyes peered through the clouds and stared directly into that massive hole.

"Don't tell me..." She murmured as her expression grew darker and darker.

(A//N: Thanks to everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )