The entire Kyushin force, along with Kazumi and Meilin, immediately charged at The Witness.
The Witness merely blocked them but then started attacking until they were all flung back.
"Kyumi, isn't that figure abnormal... he's incredibly strong," Meilin said.
"Hm, you're right, he's definitely not normal... but let's keep hitting him!" Kazumi grabbed her two katanas and dashed forward quickly, followed by Meilin.
Kazumi's slashes were extremely fast and precise, while Meilin came from behind with devastating punches.
The Witness matched them using the same movements, making it impossible for the Kyushin troops to get close.
"Stay back!! This isn't a normal fight anymore..." one of the Kyushin soldiers said.
Their battle was incredibly fast and insane. They moved from place to place across Kyushin, and the impact of their fight was terrifying—objects were sliced apart and destroyed.
"CHASE ME!! DEFEAT ME!!" The Witness shouted, his red eyes glowing brighter.
"What do you actually want, huh!? Just to be defeated!?" Kazumi said, panting.
"Don't ask too many questions about things you already clearly know," The Witness said.
He stepped forward again. "DEFEAT ME WITH YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE!"
Kazumi, not ready yet, tried to dodge, but The Witness's speed seemed unavoidable. However, Meilin intercepted him, and both of them were knocked back.
"Ugh... are you okay, Kyumi?" Meilin said, holding back the pain.
"Shinmei!! I'm fine... why did you protect me instead?" Kazumi helped her up.
"That figure is right. Why are you still asking things you already know? Haha," Meilin said, laughing in a situation like this.
"NOT FUNNY!" Kazumi pinched her.
They stood up and glared sharply at The Witness.
"Let's use that technique, Shinmei," Kazumi got into stance.
Meilin smiled, and they immediately took a stance that seemed to merge them together.
Seeing their determination truly united and synchronized again, The Witness stood still.
Then The Witness ran away and was chased by the two of them. The Witness went to a place with many witnesses, like the Kyushin troops.
They panicked, but Kazumi and Meilin caught up quickly.
Without wasting any more time, the two of them advanced, bombarding The Witness with their terrifying techniques. Kazumi was untouchable, while Meilin always counter-attacked.
Until one moment, they saw an opening in The Witness's defense, and simultaneously used their signature moves with immense power.
"IRON BLOW OF DEATH!"
"DEADLY WIND SLASH!!"
Meilin's iron fist pierced through The Witness's right wing decorated with Cherry Blossoms, punching a large hole and tearing it, while Kazumi's katana slashed very neatly through The Witness's left side decorated with Wisteria.
The Witness fell. The weapons he held dropped, and his red eyes dimmed.
Kazumi already pointed her katana at The Witness's chest to end it all.
"I will return... when you divide and destroy each other again... I will be even stronger... ughk..." The Witness said with a hoarse and weak voice.
"That will never happen again!" Kazumi said, about to stab The Witness, but she was stopped by Meilin.
Kazumi looked at Meilin, who shook her head with a sad expression.
"Don't, Kyumi... he... doesn't entirely deserve to be killed... let him go," Meilin said.
Kazumi let him go, and The Witness left, disappearing to who knows where.
The entire Kyushin force and officials cheered. They lifted Kazumi and Meilin and celebrated.
The officials started to realize their mistakes and apologized publicly in front of all Kyushin residents, admitting their guilt. With this, they officially made peace and considered Meilin and Kazumi not just phenomena, but symbols of peace and of Kyushin itself.
However, Meilin and Kazumi refused to be called symbols of peace because if The Witness hadn't appeared, they would never have done such a thing.
After that, they considered The Witness to be a creature embodying the sins they had committed, trying to wake them up.
Kazumi and Meilin officially became best friends again after so many years.
The Natural Tree of Heaven returned because the storm had subsided. Sakura and Aisteria saw their territories finally at peace, and with this, their voices could unite to stop the government from destroying the three Natural Trees of Heaven.
---
On the other hand, The Witness, or Nic, had gone to a forest in the middle of nowhere and collapsed weakly. His chest felt very tight.
[ Warning, Master Nic, your body has no energy left. ]
Slowly, The Witness figure disappeared and returned to Nic's normal form. His face was pale, his body couldn't move, and his vision was blurry.
"It hurts so much... did I succeed..." but before hearing Zeta's answer, Nic passed out.
[ Yes, you succeeded. At the same time, you felt the risks I told you about, Nic. You are a unique human. ]
Before using The Witness form, Nic had to endure something crazy: the impact of God of Illusion, which would make him dizzy if used for too long, especially on the scale of that weird manifestation that forced his brain to endure.
And for his brain to endure maximally, he used additional God Skills to help, as well as the Sharing Energy Skill by channeling all his body energy to his brain. Nic's body moved automatically because of his combat skills and his brain alone.
So when it was over, Nic's body would be paralyzed due to running out of energy.
In Nic's subconscious, Zeta kept healing him and keeping him stable so he wouldn't die.
[ If you do this every time, you might not be able to save me... ]
And Nic was unconscious for 3 days in that forest. No one looked for him.
Slowly his eyes opened, and he saw his hand being licked by a tiger. Nic didn't panic because he was truly too weak to express anything.
Nic sat up and looked at the tiger, which was passive and silent, staring at him. There was even a large snake and his crow, Noctis, perched on a small tree growing beside Nic.
"Zeta... what happened here?" Nic asked while rubbing his eyes.
[ Nothing happened, Master Nic. It's just that the wild nature likes you. ]
"I see..." Nic stroked the tiger's head while activating God of Animal.
The tiger roared, "Are you okay now?"
Nic nodded. "What are you and the other animals doing here?"
The tiger answered simply, "The law of nature always respects the strong."
Nic was confused. "Huh? How do you know I'm strong?"
The tiger turned toward Nic's crow, Noctis. It turned out he had indeed flown around the forest when Nic was out to meet other animals and give this info.
The snake beside Nic finally spoke too. "Can you really understand animal language? Amazing."
Nic just nodded, then got back to the main point. "Zeta, they have made peace, right?"
[ They have, Master Nic. Your Plan A worked... but I want to say a few things. ]
"???"
[ You remember your mission, right? In my opinion, your progress in the Eastern is very slow compared to the previous 2 countries... I just want to say, if Master Nic keeps sacrificing yourself without a good reward... it seems you will only become a hero in the shadows. Or is that what Master Nic wants to become? ]
Nic just stayed silent. He was confused about himself.
"I... just want to help everyone I feel I should help because I can, Zeta... I want them to be with me in a peaceful and calm condition without outside pressure and threats... I want them to get an impression first before entering my circle."
[ But that won't be useful for everything later, Master Nic. ]
"I don't care, Zeta... at least some people have had their lives changed because of me... love isn't that simple..."
[ Okay Master Nic, okay... I understand, no need to argue anymore... I will follow your words. ]
"Are you annoyed with me, Zeta?"
[ No. ]
"I'm sure you're annoyed. Sorry, I should have created unity here and gotten girlfriends quickly... but the conflict here is very strong, and I appeared at exactly this moment... I promise I will do as before when all this is over."
[ You are worried about a system like me, Master Nic? I honestly have no right to be annoyed or angry at you. Even if you didn't care about me, that would be normal... are you being like this because of my question back then? ]
"Ah, that's right... do you still not want to talk about why the one I have to save is you, not the Goddess of Love?"
[ I will tell you the story when you feel this is the end of your time in this world. ]
Hearing that, Nic realized he was allowed to know that when he no longer had business with his current world.
"Alright, Zeta... I will keep walking until you tell me the truth so I know what I have to do in the future."
[ Yeah, good luck, Master Nic. ]
To be continued...