"I'm sorry," the white-haired man said calmly, gazing down at the battered man beneath him.
His eyes bore no hostility or anger; instead, a light burned fiercely within them. It was mercy, or sadness, as if the choice of killing the man was something he could not avoid.
The battered man just looked at the white haired man with a smile. "Just do it, Master Aldren," he said.
At those words, the white haired man bent. "You are my master, not the other way," he said.
Then, an ice spike that had been suspended in the air, just above the battered man, launched at full force, piercing him through the heart.
No resistance or pain, just a quick death to ease him of suffering.
As eyes closed, a green light burst out from the man and shot forward at a blinding speed. Aldren did not bother to catch or even glance at the light. After countless tries, he stopped caring about the light that always managed to escape his grasp, no matter how much he tried to catch it.
As if it were waiting, as soon as the light went out of sight, the clouds thundered. Arcs of lightning danced in the sky, and a heavy pour started. The rain threatened to tear the sky as it fell with unwavering ferocity.
But even amidst the rain, Aldren stood, not even a drop reaching him or the corpse. He moved closer and kissed the corpse on the forehead before standing up. As he stood, ice joined and reformed. In merely an instant, the corpse was wrapped in an ice coffin that hovered above the ground.
"Till next time, master," Aldren said, then vanished.
No words, not even a vibration in space, just vanished like he never existed.
3 years later.
An aurora light burst through a pristine, silver ceiling. It roared upward till it reached the clouds, splitting the clouds in a tapestry of pure art.
Everyone looked at the light with various expressions, some happy, others jealous. However, regardless of people's thoughts, forces in the world had begun to move.
In a vast room, several 3d monitors were controlled by millions of people as they all locked onto the location.
"Status?" A voice spread through the entire room as the door was swung open.
Coming in was a woman with bright red hair that went down her back. She was adorned in a white shirt tucked into a blue skirt that stopped barely above her knees.
Her silver eyes seemed to pierce through the veils of the monitors as she looked at the disaster.
"Madam Olivia, this is at least a prime-tier power," a woman said as she ran towards Olivia.
The woman wore a white overall coat that covered her inner clothing.
At her words, Olivia's face twisted. "Send the recovery team to the site. We have to get him before those villains do," she yelled, ensuring her voice reached everyone in the room.
The woman nodded, tapping into thin air.
"There is no need for a recovery team. I just scanned the area, he is there," another worker approached the duo, showing them the image of a person on their screen.
A soft smile graced Olivia's lips when she saw the person heading to save the awakened.
All around the house that caused the commotion, thousands of eyes lingered. But after a brief moment of admiration, everyone began a frantic run. They all knew what followed events such as this. None of them wanted to get involved in the battle between heroes and villains.
And they were right. No sooner had they left, an explosion erupted. Stones were hurled brutally, smashing unlucky citizens into walls. Flesh and gore tore, and bones splintered.
The wails of the citizens filled the air, but it was devoured by the sound of the explosion. From the heart of the explosion, 3 silhouettes appeared.
They stared at the citizens with scorn.
"The energy came from that building. Michael, go get the person," the woman in the lead spoke to one of the men behind her calmly.
But before the man could even reply, a voice cut through, "Take a step and die." The voice was neither cold nor rushed. They came out with ease and calm, as if the three villains were nothing more than dust.
Their eyes snapped forward in unison. Their rage was not hidden; they released their aura to its fullest extent.
In the same way their rage flared, fear erupted as their eyes met the person who stood calmly, not even bothering to acknowledge their existence. His eyes were on the beautiful bungalow where a potential hero was.
"The radiant sentinel," the words forced their way through one of the men's mouths.
The woman who led them did not falter. Unlike the weaker men behind her, she was stronger. Not strong enough to fight the sentinel, but still strong enough to avoid instant death.
With that thought in mind, she took a step.
"It seems I didn't make myself clear enough," the sentinel's voice boomed. His blue eyes locked onto the lady adorned in a crimson gown. His brown hair flowed perfectly as if the wind that blew dared disturb them.
In that single moment, she finally understood why he was called the strongest person in the world.
Her frame began to crumble into dust until nothing remained of her.
Michael and the other man shivered. Their bodies trembled, and sweat dripped, soaking the floor.
But to their surprise, the sentinel did not attack them. He just walked to the bungalow when he saw the pillar of light dim.
A huge sigh of relief was released as they saw the sentinel leave them. They were aware that other heroes had already reached the area and were prepared to capture them; nonetheless, they were happy.
The radiant sentinel, also called the villain butcher, had never let a villain go alive. He always killed his targets, no matter how strong.
Together, they both raised their hands into the air, signaling their surrender. Heroes swooped in from all sides and latched unique handcuffs that glowed with blue lights to their hands.
As the two villains were escorted into a car, Olivia stood calmly, staring at the sentinel as he entered the bungalow.