A year ago, a clear blue sky with the sun shining brightly was a common sight. No one paid much attention to the countless benefits it provided to Earth. It was taken for granted, unworthy of extra notice.
But, as the ancient proverb goes, humans only realize the value of something after losing it.
In their desperation against the monstrous abominations, humanity resorted to their ultimate weapon: nuclear bombs.
A weapon meant to be a deterrent became a second catastrophe.
That decision marked a dark end.
The nuclear explosions not only failed to eradicate the threat but worsened the situation.
Deadly radiation poisoned the air, soil, and water. The ozone layer was severely damaged, allowing harmful ultraviolet rays to scorch the Earth mercilessly. Fertile land turned barren, uninhabitable for centuries, covered in salt crusts and radioactive ash.
Now, the entire Earth was shrouded in a permanent dark cloud—a deadly mix of volcanic dust from eruptions triggered by seismic activity and radioactive particles from the nuclear blasts.
The world was plunged into an eternal, cold, and gloomy twilight.
"So, this is the state of a Planar World on the brink of destruction due to the apocalypse brought by the Abyssal Devourer? Truly tragic."
Charlie appeared on the rooftop of a nearly collapsed building. Upon arriving, a flood of information about this Planar World inundated his mind—a complete narrative of the invasion, despair, and devastation that had unfolded over the past year.
The scene before him was one of total destruction.
Skyscrapers that once stood majestically were now mere twisted metal skeletons and piles of concrete rubble, as if struck by a barrage of missiles. Highways were littered with burned and rusted cars, forming a silent graveyard of metal.
Dried black bloodstains were everywhere, silent witnesses to the mass slaughter that had taken place.
Only a few buildings still stood, heavily damaged, with shattered windows and cracked walls, ready to collapse at any moment.
"Where are Wang Jian and Elena? Were we teleported to different locations? Or was there an error in the process?"
After a brief moment of melancholy observing the devastation, Charlie realized he was alone. He looked around but couldn't find his two comrades.
"Cough… Cough…"
Suddenly, he coughed violently. The air was thick with fine particles irritating his lungs.
He looked up. From the dark sky, black ash fell like grim snow.
"Snow? No, this is ash!"
"If humans breathe this air for too long, they'll suffer severe respiratory illnesses. Life in this Planar World is harsh. They're not just living under the threat of monsters but also enduring a brutal, deadly environment."
Reflecting on this, Charlie's resolve to save this Planar World grew stronger.
"I'd better check on their conditions."
Making a decision, he activated his Senrigan.
His Six Eyes, with their bright blue irises, underwent a dramatic change. His pupils glowed white, surrounded by expanding dark crescent shapes, while the sclera of his eyes turned pitch black.
Instantly, Charlie pinpointed the locations of Wang Jian and Elena.
"That iconic building… Elena's in India, and Wang Jian's in Egypt?"
His mouth twitched as he realized the three of them weren't even on the same continent.
As for himself, he was in Tokyo, Japan. He knew his location thanks to the Tokyo Tower in the distance, though it was in shambles, looking as if it could collapse at any moment.
"Did Gaia intentionally place us in different locations for a specific reason? No use speculating now."
"My top priority is to find the Summoner-Type Abyssal Devourer, eliminate them, then destroy all the portals connected to the Abyss, and finally cleanse the Earth of these monstrous abominations."
"Huu… This will be a long-term job. I hope I can finish it within a year."
Charlie was about to use Senrigan to locate the Summoner-Type Abyssal Devourer in this Planar World when an unexpected event occurred. His heightened intuition, enhanced by his Mind's Eye, detected danger behind him.
*WHOOSH!*
Without hesitation, Charlie used Shukuchi. His body vanished from where he stood.
*BOOM!*
The next second, a tremendous force struck the building he'd been standing on. The ten-story structure collapsed into the ground, reduced to rubble in an instant.
Even with his Armor of Fafnir, Charlie was certain he would have been severely injured if that attack had hit him directly.
"…"
Fifty meters from the collapsed building, Charlie observed with a frown.
"What happened? Did humans launch a missile?"
His speculation was refuted by a deafening, beast-like roar from within the rubble. The soundwave was so powerful it cleared the dust, revealing the figure responsible for the attack.
"ROOAAARRRRR—!!!"
*TAP-TAP-TAP!*
The figure emerged from the ruins. Each step cracked the ground like a spiderweb. Its eyes glowed red, brimming with madness and rage.
It was a muscular giant with gray skin like a statue, dark eyes, a large nose, and disheveled black hair. It gave off the impression of a monster in both appearance and presence.
Wearing no shirt, it donned only a gray metal belt, a brown leather cloak, and metal bracers on its wrists and calves. In its right hand, it held an unusual weapon—a sword-axe.
"Oh, crap! That's Berserker-Class Heracles!"
With a single glance, Charlie recognized the opponent's identity.
Heracles was the greatest hero in Greek mythology. A demigod born of Zeus and a human woman (a granddaughter of Perseus).
Though Heracles possessed extraordinary talent in all fields, he had personality issues. He beat his lyre teacher, Linus, to death after Linus scolded him for a mistake and whipped him with a stick. As a result, his mortal father, Amphitryon (also a grandson of Perseus), sent him to tend his cattle.
Thus, he became a great man who accomplished several monumental feats, leading the King of Thebes to grant Heracles his daughter, Megara. They had two children, and he earned the right to succeed the king.
Young and powerful, Heracles seemed unmatched among humans. His future looked bright after marrying the king's daughter and fathering two children. But Zeus's wife, Hera, despised the child born of Zeus's affair with a human. She interfered with his fate at every opportunity, starting by sending madness that caused Heracles to kill his family.
Shaken by the sins he committed, he received an oracle that he must atone by becoming a slave to Eurystheus, the man who had usurped his promised throne.
Jealous of the mighty hero, Eurystheus gave him numerous difficult tasks, declaring that Heracles would remain his slave until they were completed. These tasks, impossible for ordinary humans, became known as the famous Twelve Labors.
Originally set at ten by the gods, Eurystheus added two more after rejecting two of them.
Heracles completed these tasks, earning not only his freedom but also an immortal body as proof of his extraordinary achievements.
This marked the beginning of the great hero Heracles, Greece's mightiest hero, who single-handedly accomplished feats rivaling the Trojan War and the Argonaut Expedition.
He possessed immense strength, capable of defeating monsters like the Kraken, Medusa, and Hydra. The gods acknowledged his great deeds in a conference, preparing a seat for him on Olympus after his death and recognizing him as a god.
"Heracles is a formidable opponent. I need to take this seriously from the start."
Facing the approaching Heracles with heavy steps, Charlie could feel alarm bells ringing loudly in his mind. He had to be serious, or he would be killed.
"It's been a while since I felt this close to death. In Orario, there aren't many opponents who can threaten me."