SWOOSH!!
FWUMP!!
The moment Mo Fan stepped out of the portal and back into Bo City, he lost his Demon Element completely, returning him to his human form. He popped on his butt on the cold hard concrete and opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself once more at the place where his father had died. The white truck, still smeared with blood, stood by the roadside, a haunting reminder of the recent tragedy.
Mo Fan took a deep breath, trying to steady his turbulent emotions.
_I cannot bring him back... Not anymore..._ he told himself.
If Mo Jiaxing's body had still been around, there might have been a chance to revive him. But with only his hand left, protected by a barrier, Mo Fan knew his father was truly gone.
The reality hit hard. An ordinary civilian like Mo Jiaxing had no hope of surviving the monstrous invasion. The futility of it all weighed heavily on him. "But why didn't the Magic Equipment work as it should have? Why protect only his hand, damn it!" Mo Fan shouted, his voice cracking with frustration and grief.
H-Huff~
He took a shuddering breath, trying to regain control. He glanced in the direction of the Safety Shelter. It had been eight hours since he left Ye Xinxia. "She must be a hot mess right now," he murmured, feeling a pang of guilt.
The city around him was eerily quiet, devoid of monsters or Black Vatican members, thanks to his efforts. The emptiness mirrored the hollow feeling inside him. With a heavy heart, he began to float, flying back to the Safety Shelter.
With one last glance at the bloodstained truck, Mo Fan set his eyes forward and sped towards the Safety Shelter.
"Good Bye Dad..."
...
8 hours ago~
BOOM!!!
THRACK!!~
A massive blow echoed in the sky, shattering it like glass! A large rift in space appeared, and two humanoid figures stepped out.
"Shit! Those bastards got us good!" Enforcement Union Chairman Tang Zhong exclaimed, frustration clear in his voice.
"We're too late..." Executive Secretary Song Lin whispered, her eyes wide with shock as she surveyed the once lively city now reduced to desolate ruins. She averted her gaze, unable to look any longer.
"If only we had believed what the young man had said..." Tang Zhong sighed, regret heavy in his tone.
He closed his eyes and spread his intent across the city, searching desperately for any signs of life. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he turned sharply towards the Safety Shelter.
"Song Lin... Th-they're still alive!" he exclaimed, a note of joyous disbelief in his voice.
Song Lin quickly spread her intent as well, her confusion growing as she sensed tens of thousands of people still alive.
"But how is this possible?? How did they escape?" she uttered, utterly bewildered. There hadn't been enough time for a full evacuation, and the last report from the military indicated a disturbance had halted the process midway.
"I sense Zhankong's presence; he must be the one who saved them all!" Tang Zhong said, his voice filled with a mix of relief and amazement.
"For now, let's go and check. Also, call the Enforcement Union to send enforcers with supplies and resources for the people," Song Lin responded, her mind still reeling from the unexpected turn of events as she followed Tang Zhong.
...
In the Safety Shelter, chaos reigned. Hundreds of people had suddenly vanished, including many of Zhankong's soldiers, disappearing right before his eyes. Moments later, a blinding golden light enveloped the entire shelter, casting a warm, healing glow over everyone within its reach.
Cries of confusion and awe filled the air as the miraculous light mended wounds and restored health. Soldiers who had lost limbs watched in astonishment as their missing body parts regenerated. Those who had been on the brink of death, their bodies mangled and broken, were now whole and full of energy. Even individuals suffering from terminal illnesses like cancer found themselves inexplicably cured.
"What the hell just happened?" a soldier exclaimed, staring at his newly regrown arm in disbelief.
"I don't know!" another replied, touching his face where a deep scar had disappeared. "One minute I'm bleeding out, the next I'm good as new!"
A mother clutched her previously paralyzed child, who was now moving and smiling. "Is this some kind of miracle?"
"It has to be!" said an elderly woman, who had been suffering from severe arthritis and now moved with the ease of youth. "But how? And why?"
"Did you see that light? It felt like... magic," a woman murmured, touching her healed leg. "But stronger than anything I've ever felt."
"Magic? This is beyond magic!" an elderly man shouted, standing up from his wheelchair, his once feeble body now full of vigor. "I was dying of cancer! Now I feel better than ever!"
A woman, her face pale with shock, looked at her husband who had been on the brink of death moments before. "You were dying... How are you standing right now?"
"I don't know!" he replied, his voice trembling. "I was in so much pain, and then... I feel fine now. Better than fine, actually!"
"Where did all those people go? My brother was right here, and now he's gone!" a young girl cried, her voice trembling with fear.
A woman cried, looking around frantically. "My husband was just here, and now he's gone!"
"I saw it too," a young man said, his voice shaky. "My sister vanished right in front of me, and then this light... what does it mean?"
"I don't know! We need to find out what's going on," an officer replied, trying to calm the crowd. "Everyone, stay together and don't panic!"
"But who do we ask? Who could have done this?" another soldier asked, looking around helplessly.
"Figure out what, soldier?" someone shouted. "Our friends and family are gone! And what about this light?"
Amidst the confusion, a sense of hope began to spread. Though no one knew the source of the miracle, its effects were undeniable. People began to comfort each other, sharing their astonishment and relief.
"Maybe it was a divine intervention?" someone suggested, their voice tinged with wonder.
"It must be divine intervention..." an old priest wondered aloud, looking around for any sign of explanation.
"Whatever it is, it saved us," a nurse said, wiping tears from her eyes. "But where did everyone go?"
Conversations buzzed with speculation and fear.
"Could it be the work of the Black Vatican?" one person suggested.
"No way," another argued. "They cause death and destruction, not healing!"
"Maybe it's the Magic Association?" a woman wondered. "Some new spell we didn't know about?"
"The Association was destroyed, their entire building was that pile of rubble, didn't you see?" a man countered. "Also what about those who disappeared?"
Amid the confusion, an elderly woman raised her voice. "Whoever or whatever did this, they've given us a second chance. We need to be grateful and stay strong."
Her words seemed to resonate, and the crowd slowly began to calm. But the questions remained, hanging in the air like a heavy fog.
As they looked around at their healed bodies and the empty spaces where their loved ones had been, the people of the Safety Shelter couldn't shake the feeling that something extraordinary—and perhaps even more unsettling—had just occurred.
...
At the top of the Barrier Building, Zhankong was utterly stupefied by the various unnatural events unfolding around him.
"What the hell just happened?" he exclaimed, shock and disbelief etched on his face.
First, a terrifying and vile presence had descended upon their city. The sheer malevolence of it had been so suffocating that even he, a Super Mage, had struggled to bear it. The memory of that fear still clung to him, sending shivers down his spine.
Then, hundreds of people had vanished into thin air from the safety shelter, their life or death status still unknown. The thought of it made Zhankong's head spin. How could so many people just disappear without a trace?
As if that weren't enough, a divine glow of the Heal Element had enveloped the entire shelter, healing every single person inside. It was unthinkable to even call it magic. It felt like divine intervention, something out of a myth or legend, not reality.
And to top it all off, all the monsters in the city had simply vanished, just like the people in the safety shelter, but on a much larger scale. One moment the city had been overrun with beasts, and the next, they were gone, leaving behind a surreal silence.
Zhankong sat down heavily on a nearby bench, staring down at the murmuring crowd below, feeling utterly lost. His mind raced, trying to make sense of the impossible events.
"Commander... just what is happening in this city?" Commander Liu asked, her voice tinged with a mix of confusion and desperation.
Zhankong ran a hand through his hair, exasperation clear on his face. He had no answers, only more questions. He finally opened his mouth and said, "There must be a lot of panic among the people down there. Send some soldiers to take control of the situation so there won't be any riots."
Seeing his haggard look, Commander Liu nodded, quietly acknowledging the order. She immediately took a few soldiers with her and went down to calm the crowd.
As Liu and her team descended, Zhankong remained seated, trying to process everything. He could hear snippets of conversations rising from below.
"Did you see that light? It was like nothing I've ever seen!"
"Where's my brother? He was right here!"
"What's going on? Are we safe now?"
The murmurs of the crowd mirrored the chaos in his own mind. Zhankong's thoughts kept returning to the presence that had nearly crushed him. Was it responsible for all this? If so, what kind of being possessed such power?
He looked out over the desolate city, the once bustling streets now eerily quiet, empty and ruined. The silence was unsettling, a stark contrast to the chaos that had erupted earlier. Zhankong felt a deep sense of unease.
THUD!
Just then, Two people with powerful auras landed on top of the barrier building!
The people on the rooftop glanced at them in surprise.
"Zhankong!" Song Lin and Tang Zhong shouted at him.
"Chairman...!" He immediately got up from the bench and ran towards them
"Where were you both?!" Zhankong asked while raising his voice a bit.
"We'll explain it later, status report first!" "Tang Zhong said sternly and hurriedly.