“And then what?” Guardian asked Wei Jun as he and Wei Jun were still talking about the matters of the past, present, and the future. Listening to his question that sounded out of place, Wei Jun asked, “What do you mean ‘What’? I’ll leave.”

“Leaving nearly a billion souls to die?” Guardian questioned.

“…” Wei Jun had no answer to that. Once the heart, which was Wei Jun’s goal, was taken, the dome would suffer the same fate. Then, the purtid environment of the world will kill them even before day passed.

“So what?” Wei Jun asked. “They’re not my responsibility.” Although he felt a little guilty about that, his life took precedence, and he worked to make the lives of people who followed him better than those who were even unaware of him. If for that he had to annihilate a race, or many, he was willing to do that.

“You certainly do not,” Guardian replied as if there was nothing wrong with Wei Jun’s response before he asked, “But will your brother approve of that decision of yours?”

Wei Jun stopped. His eyes held confliction as he mulled over his decision. In his life, he had never harmed children, women who were defenseless, the elderly, and most importantly, innocents, no matter what category. It wasn’t because he was compassionate for them or he was raised that way. It was simply because his brother didn’t like that.

Even now, ever since he came to that world, he had made sure he wouldn’t harm any innocents. Even when he sabotaged Run Long’s cream and ended up hurting many people, he offered healing pills to deal with that, although at a price so as to not appear suspicious. He had made sure no innocents were harmed due to his actions.

Of course, he couldn’t save everyone. Some military officers, CSF officers, and even police officers. Some of them were innocents, among the majority of cunning. Not all of them deserved to die, and he was sure his brother wouldn’t approve of that.

But the number this time was massive. There was a difference between a few thousand and almost a billion.

“What can I do even if I do?” Wei Jun asked.

“That is precisely what I’m asking,” Guardian said before he added, “Do you intend to save them or not? If you do not, then that is fine. If you do, then I have a solution for you.”

“…” Wei Jun fell into a moment of thought before he raised his head and looked at Guardian. “Whether I’d want that or not will depend on them. Tell me the solution.”

~~

[The question boils down to…]

[Whether or not they’re willing to give up their pride from centuries of ruling]

‘Exactly.’ Wei Jun said as he looked at Samson and Ahmad. Those two needed to come to a decision. Alfred and Anastasia seemed hot and simple-minded, respectively. They were good warriors, but they were those who followed orders.

Besides, everyone had a head above their shoulders. Looking at the situation, only an unreasonable person would refuse such an offer. If they weren’t unreasonable and good leaders, then they would…

“We, the presidents of Alanel…” Samson said as he threw his sword on the ground and knelt, plastering his knees on the ground and kowtowing until his forehead was also touching it, “…thank you for your grace.”

Looking at him, although finding it a little difficult, the rest of the three followed, Alfred finding it more difficult than others, but that was the truth of the universe. He had many kneel before him, but now he had to kneel before someone. It all came down to someone stronger than one. When he was strong, he was the king. Now, he wasn’t.

Only Ahmad didn’t kneel fully but just bent his body a little. When Wei Jun stared at him regarding that, Ahmad looked at him and said, “Please understand. It is in my religion.”

‘Ahh… the same as my brother and sister in law,’ Wei Jun was reminded of his brother and his wife. Nodding his head, Wei Jun gave the signal of his understanding before he said, “Now that we’re done here, get ready to move.”

“Move?” Samson stood up and asked.

“Move.” Wei Jun simply replied before he began to make his way towards the Citadel as he said, “It’s time to leave this putrid planet.” Read exclusive chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

~~

Wei Jun arrived in front of a giant door. A simple metal sheet acted as a door. Ahmad, who had guided him all the way there, looked at him and said, “Beyond this, the mana becomes so dense that we cannot go inside. We can monitor the condition from the other room, but going inside is not recommended.”

Wei Jun nodded in understanding and said, “Very well, you can back off. I’ll go in alone.”

Ahmad nodded hesitantly and remained in his spot as Wei Jun stepped forward. As if sensing his presence, the door opened automatically. Wei Jun stepped inside a tunnel. It seemed like a safety room. At the end of the tunnel, there was another door, but it wasn’t giant at all. It was human-sized.

Wei Jun made his way towards that door before he passed through something transparent, almost invisible. Even his senses couldn’t pick that up, but as soon as he crossed that, he felt something heavy creep up to his heart. The pressure wasn’t intense, but it was apparent, nonetheless.

[I wouldn’t have recommended had you not consumed the body]

Wei Jun nodded and finally arrived before the door; the pressure weighing on his heart increased considerably.

He hesitated as he reached for the handle on the door. He took a deep breath and grabbed it finally before he pushed it open. As soon as he did, something struck him like a strong wind, and he was almost thrown back. Various cuts appeared on his body, his face, his hands, and even his clothes were shredded as the intense pressure assaulted him.

[Mana]

[Such pure state]

[That, host, is the pinnacle of mana]

[Even I didn’t have mana as pure as that]

It wasn’t only the system that was impressed; Wei Jun couldn’t close his eyes even when his HP was slowly going down. Even the green power in his heart was healing him as if it was scared. His Yang Qi was also timidly focused on the centre, not moving an inch to save him.

Only Death Qi was moving fearlessly. As if it was greeting an old friend, no, as if it was greeting an old subordinate, it appeared before Wei Jun and protected him in the form of a thin shield.

As soon as his Death Qi appeared, the mana waves suddenly ended. No, they didn’t end, but the Death Qi deflected them like a magnet field would deflect power waves.

Taking a deep breath once again, Wei Jun stepped forward, fully stepping into the room. As he walked forward, he could see the giant beating heart. It was as tall as a building and as wide as tens of them.

The heartbeat was sending shivers down his spine, the thumping of the heart shaking his entire being.

“The heart will complete you, my lord.” Guardian’s words rang in his ears as he looked at the giant heart, Wei Jun’s entire being resonating along with the heartbeat.

“A heart is the life of a dragon,” Guardian said as Wei Jun looked at him, “But to a human, a heart is what completes them. Your being will be completed when you devour my heart. You will gain what you were supposed to gain from my body.”

Wei Jun nodded, fully taking in what Guardian had to say before he knelt down, shaking the entire cave, but the risk wasn’t that great as Guardian said, “Finally, my lord. It was an honor meeting you, despite it being such a short time. I, one of the first of my kind, Azreal Reinheart, named Guardian by the lord I severed, greet you and say farewell. May your heart be full of kindness, my lord.”

“It sure will be,” Wei Jun said as he extended his hand to touch the dragon heart before him. Guardian’s final words resonated in his ears, evoking something in his heart that had been buried ever since he was a child. Something he had forced to be buried because the world didn’t deserve such a thing.

However, now he knew. What he never was able to show was very easy to show.

The Death Qi in his hands began to seep into the heart as the heart began to break down into particles. The particles didn’t enter him right away. It took a while before the entire heart had turned into shining but dark particles.

And then, those particles simply rushed…

‘What the…’ Wei Jun was overwhelmed when the particles began to enter the right side of his chest.

[Formation of the second heart has begun]

[Estimated chances of survival: 10%]

[Good luck]

And those were the final words of the monotonous system before only one thing remained…

Pain.

“Aaaahhh!!!!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep