Chapter 151: Looming Extinction

The response was immediate and unanimous.

“No! No, Hero, never!”

“We didn’t know! We didn’t understand!”

“It’s a demon weapon! A demon weapon!”

“Whatever it is, we’re terrified of it now!”

“We’ll never speak badly of it again! Never!”

Heads shook vigorously.

Voices overlapped in a chorus of denial and fear.

The elves who had been so dismissive, so casual in their mockery, now looked at the gun with the same expression they might reserve for a hungry predator.

Luca let out a long breath. Some of the tension left his shoulders.

“Good.” He said quietly. “That’s…That’s good.”

He then looked at the destroyed wall, at the scattered fragments of what had been so beautiful, and his expression softened into something almost sad.

“Then I want to apologize.”

The elves blinked, confused.

Luca continued, his voice sincere.

“I’m sorry for shocking you all like that. I’m sorry for scaring you, especially the little ones.”

He glanced at the children hiding behind their mothers.

“But most of all, I’m sorry for destroying your beautiful portrait.”

He gestured at the wreckage.

“That wall was something special. Something you created together, with love and laughter. And I destroyed it.”

He paused.

“But I needed you to see. I needed you to visualize what could happen. Because that wall…”

He pointed at the splintered remains.

“…that wasn’t just wood and paint to me. That was you. All of you. Lined up together. Your faces, your bodies, your identities.”

His voice dropped lower.

“And I wanted you to imagine what it would look like if instead of that wall, it was actually all of you standing there. Your families. Your children…”

“…Everyone you love.”

The words hung in the air like poison.

The elves looked at the destruction with new eyes.

The scattered wood. The gaping holes. The complete and total obliteration of something that had been whole moments ago.

If that had been them…

If those had been bodies instead of planks…

Blood. Guts. Dead loved ones scattered across the grass.

Mothers holding children who would never move again.

Sisters lying beside sisters in eternal silence.

Shivers ran through the crowd.

Lulu and Luna grabbed each other’s hands, gripping tightly.

Leona and Nyx exchanged glances—concerned, serious, finally understanding the true weight of what they were dealing with.

The gun wasn’t just a weapon.

It was annihilation given form.

And suprisingly, Leona stepped forward.

Her face was solemn, but there was something else in her eyes—a flicker of something that might have been anger, or frustration, or perhaps just the need to understand.

“Luca. Let me first tell you that I understand why you did such a thing”

She gestured at the destruction.

“A few moments ago, we were mocking that weapon. We didn’t take it seriously. We’ve never seen anything like it, never imagined something could be so destructive.”

“So yes, our reaction was ignorant. Foolish. I understand why you wanted to show us the truth.”

She paused, choosing her words carefully.

“And I understand that what you did was to demonstrate its power. To make us understand what it’s capable of.”

Her eyes then narrowed slightly as she asked,

“But wasn’t this…a little excessive?”

This caught everyone’s attention as it seemed as if Leona was going against what Luca had done, which was rather brave.

“I mean, you built an entire wall.” She continued. “You had us spend all that time drawing ourselves on it. And then you destroyed it in front of us.”

“So, what I’m trying to ask is couldn’t you have used something else? Some other target? It just seems…”

She hesitated, searching for the right word.

“…Extreme.”

Nyx stepped up beside her sister, nodding in support.

“I have to agree, Hero. I understand the lesson. Truly, I do. And I’m not saying it wasn’t effective. But look at them.”

She pointed at the children. At their pale faces. At their trembling hands. At the way they clutched their mothers and refused to let go.

“Some of the younger ones are genuinely terrified. And honestly? I’m pretty shaken myself. I’ve seen a lot of destruction in my life—battles, monsters, all of it. But this?”

She shook her head.

“This is different. This is on another level entirely.”

Luca looked at them. At the children hiding. At the adults still trembling. At the two sisters who had found the courage to question him.

He sighed.

“You think I went too far.” He said quietly. “You think it was excessive. That I scared everyone unnecessarily.”

Leona and Nyx said nothing, but their expressions answered for them.

Luca looked at them for a long moment. Then, slowly, a sad smile crossed his face.

“But what if I told you it was necessary?”

This caught them off guard.

“What if I told you that the fear you’re feeling right now—the terror, the horror, the absolute certainty that you never want to experience anything like this again—is exactly what you need to feel?”

“What if I told you that I did this deliberately, knowing it would scar you, because the alternative is infinitely worse?”

Leona’s frown deepened, but now there was uncertainty in it.

“But why?” She hesitantly asked, as she really didn’t want to go against him in anyway. “Why would we need to fear something like this?”

“I mean, sure, there might be skirmishes with humans eventually. Maybe raids. Battles. But those are things we understand—arrows and swords and axes. Things we can fight against.”

She gestured at the gun in Luca’s hand.

“But that? That’s from your world. It doesn’t exist here. So why would we need to fear something that doesn’t exist? Why terrify us over a weapon we’ll never face?”

Luca looked at her for a long moment.

Then he said, “That’s where you’re wrong.”

Leona blinked. “What?”

“You think this is safe. You think this is something from another world that you’ll never have to worry about.”

“That the destruction you just witnessed is a one-time horror show, something to be horrified by and then move on from.”

“But…”

He looked at her with a grave gaze.

“What if I told you that in the very near future, there is a very high possibility that this exact weapon or something like it could be created in this world? By humans? And turned against you?”

The blood drained from Leona’s face.

Luca continued, his voice hard.

“What if I told you that the destruction you just watched—those planks being torn apart, that wall ceasing to exist could easily be you? And your daughters? And every single person you love?”

Leona didn’t even know what to say.

The words had hit her like a physical blow, stealing the breath from her lungs and the thoughts from her mind.

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out—just empty air and silent shock.

This was completely outside her expectations.

Outside anything she had ever considered.

Finally, she managed to sputter.

“That’s…That’s ridiculous, Luca. What you’re saying can’t happen.”

She grasped for logic, for anything to push back against the terrifying image he had painted.

“That weapon came from your world. Your world, not ours. It’s not like it can magically teleport here. And I doubt you’re going to go and distribute such weapons to the humans on the other continent.”

She tried to laugh, but it came out hollow.

“So really, we don’t have to worry about that threat. It’s…It’s not real.”

Around her, several elves nodded, grasping at her words like lifelines.

Yes, that made sense. The weapon was from another world. It couldn’t just appear here. They were safe.

Luca looked at her with an expression that was almost pitying.

He clicked his tongue softly and shook his head.

“Once again, Leona, you’re wrong.”

He let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

“You might think that the humans from my world are a different species entirely. A different breed, a different entity altogether.”

“But that’s completely incorrect.”

He looked around at the gathered elves, making sure he had everyone’s attention.

“The humans from my world are the same as the humans in this world. Biologically, mentally, in every way that matters, they are identical.”

“The only difference is that they come from two different worlds.”

Confusion rippled through the crowd, as to what he was trying to say.

But Luca didn’t care and pressed on.

“The humans in my world were once exactly where the humans on your continent are now.”

“They lived in primitive times. They used swords and arrows and bows. They built wooden forts and fought with iron weapons.”

“They were, in every meaningful way, the same as the humans you know.”

“The only difference is that the humans in my world…” He let out a chuckle. “…they changed.”

Leona didn’t why but she felt a chill down her spine.

“They adapted.” He continued explaining. “They started creating new inventions, new innovations. They pushed themselves to greater and greater heights. Generation after generation, they advanced…”

“…And now?”

He held up the gun.

“Now they live in a world of technology. A world where this is considered primitive. A world where they’ve left the old ways so far behind that most of them have forgotten they ever existed.”

He turned and gestured in the direction of the human continent.

“The humans on that continent? They’re exactly where my ancestors were thousands of years ago.”

“But they won’t stay there forever. They’ll advance too. They’ll innovate. They’ll evolve. Slowly at first, then faster and faster. And eventually…”

He pointed at Luna, who finished his thought in a whisper, her voice barely audible.

“…they will also create guns. T-The exact same gun you’re holding right now.”

“Exactly.” Luca nodded slowly. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

He held up the gun, letting them see it clearly.

“You might think this gun is from another world, that it will never be brought here, that you’re safe from it.”

“But in a matter of years? Decades? Centuries? However long it takes—the humans on that continent will progress to that same point.”

“And when they do, they will wield weapons exactly like this. Weapons that could completely destroy your home. They’ll obliterate everything you love…”

“…and basically make it all cease to exist.”

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