"This... is unprecedented," Farnes muttered to Olgierd, his deep voice laced with an ulterior motive, as if he had something he wanted to hide from the others in the room.
"Whoever did this... they're more than a prodigy..."
However, while those were his words, his thoughts — which he communicated to Olgierd telepathically, were different.
'This is most likely Alex's doing.'
'There is always the chance that this is just a native of the Primordial Expanse that has achieved this, but Alex has the highest potential for the human race we have seen. We previously rated him to be a King class prodigy... but it seems we still vastly underestimated his potential...'
'Not to mention, he has been missing for over a month, with rumours he entered the Primordial Expanse of his own volition. Is this really just a bit of coincidental timing?'
'I see. We should keep this secret for the time being before we can make any conclusive plans.'
Olgierd kept up the outside facade, while he inwardly agreed with Farnes.
The other S tiers remained silent, waiting for Farnes to say more.
But he didn't.
His thoughts had already drifted to larger implications.
***
In deep space, a colossal fleet of ships drifted in the quiet of the vast, black void.
Their sleek, obsidian hulls blended with the infinite black void.
At the helm of the largest vessel, an enigmatic figure sat in quiet contemplation, his eyes closed as he calculated all different kinds of things at the speed only a supercomputer could compare to.
However, suddenly a soft chime echoed through his chamber, heard only to his ears.
His brow furrowed as a system notification flashed before his eyes, annoyed that something had disturbed his thoughts.
[Announcement! Human <Name hidden> has achieved a momentous feat — the first human in history to defeat a King class being solo as a Mutant class!]
The man's eyes opened slowly, his expression unreadable as he stared at the floating words.
His calm exterior cracked for a moment, his brow lifting ever so slightly in surprise.
It was rare for anything to catch him off guard.
Before he could process the full weight of what he had just read though, the door to his chamber burst open.
A fierce, sharp eyed woman stormed into the room, her usual composure was shattered, her face flushed with shock.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the ground underneath them started to shake.
The small wooden hut shook violently as if the earth itself were in pain.
Smash!
The shorter figure dropped his cup, leaving it to smash on the ground, barely audible over the deep, resonating quakes that seemed to come from the far horizon.
The tall figure turned abruptly, his posture now rigid and alert.
"What is this?" The taller one clearly seemed more aware of what was going on, while the shorter one was still clueless.
Then, in the distance, a tremendous wave of energy swept over them.
It was so powerful, so suffocating, that even from nearly 20,000 kilometres away, they could feel the monstrous aura of the King of Evermoor.
The sheer magnitude of its power flooded their senses, making their skin crawl, their breaths grow shallow.
The tall figure's eyes narrowed beneath his hood. "That's the aura of a King..."
But something was off. This was not the typical radiating dominance of a King class beast.
This was raw, desperate power.
The type that only came from a creature fighting for its life.
The shorter figure stumbled to his feet, panic in his eyes.
"W-why would it need to use an attack so strong!?"
His voice was shaky, clearly filled with disbelief.
"Why would it need to go all out against them?"
They considered Alex and Mira as nothing more than insects beneath it — insignificant ants unworthy of a full display of the King's power.
Yet the tremors in the ground and the overwhelming aura said otherwise.
But then, as quickly as it surged, the King's aura began to fade.
At first, it was subtle, like a retreating tide, but then the energy plummeted in strength until it vanished entirely, leaving behind an eerie, unnerving silence.
The tall figure's face, hidden in the shadow of his hood, was still, but his posture betrayed his shock.
"Impossible..."