044. Fag Death with posure
As times ged, the teology of the Azure Star regressed tinuously. The governors' appearances became increasingly ordinary. They re-adopted prosthetic teology, repg their bones with titanium alloys and their lungs with carbon fibers, trying to extend their lives, but it was to no avail. The governors were repced geion after geion, always with the eldest son of Gamos iing the position.
The Grand Duke of Gamos gradually stopped dispying affe towards his children. Initially, he would casually pce his hand on the governor's shoulder, but ter he sat with his hands behind his back. Eventually, he stopped appearing altogether. His expression, like his worsening physical dition, grew increasingly haggard. His body became visibly hunched and decayed, his muscles began to atrophy, and his eyes grew incredibly cloudy.
Three hundred years passed, with many ges in people and affairs, but only the Grand Duke of Gamos g to life, always trolling the kingdom from behind his sons. Later, he even stopped ing himself with state affairs, turning io bowing and scraping before the people of the Frost-Pted Republic, using more and more devices made by them.
His seemingly immortal life, like that of an emperor, was sustained by the blood and sweat of the people of Grant and its civilians.
Alexia stood before the final door. The Grand Duke’s guards retreated behind it, preparing to make their st stand.
"This is the pce, Fme King's Hall," Amanda said. "In aimes, kings deliberated state affairs here, leading the kingdom to prosperity. Gamos destroyed it all, erasing even the just deeds of the wise kings, turning it into his mouthpiece for absolute rule."
Her words were filled with rese. The people of Grant had endured 300 years of suffering. No matter how they fought or struggled, they could never obtaireatment they deserved. The ey was in dee, with no industrial system of their own. Everything they worked hard to earn was exploited by the outsiders from the Frost-Pted Republic.
This era should end.
"You go and secure the pace."
"What do you mean by this, Miss Alexia—"
"I hahe enemies inside by myself," Alexia calmly and frankly said. "Instead of wasting manpower here, it’s better to go clear out the dangers in Sulut Pace. To be ho—in the face of a Gamma Tier, you would just be throwing your lives away."
Amanda was left speechless. She had seen Alexia’s power, easily killing two Law III agents that she herself couldn’t even begin to approach, without even breaking a sweat.
Besides, Miss Alexia was indeed a very straightforward and sincere person. Although her words were somewhat hurtful, Amanda and the others exged gnces and had no choice but to acquiesce.
They could also sehe murderous aura faintly emanating from within the Fme King’s Hall. That power seemed capable of awakening a primal fear of a natural enemy buried deep in their genes, coupled with a certain stirring of the soul. Some people couldn’t help but tremble just standing outside the door.
Moreover, not long ago, Bermudes had unched an airborne assault, attempting to assassihe Grand Duke, and that team was pletely wiped out, including several Alpha Tier warriors. pared to those suicide squads, they couldn’t even cim to be stronger.
To say they weren’t afraid would be a lie.
Alexia actually gave them an excuse to back down, and several of the Alpha Tier assassination teams subsciously breathed a sigh of relief. They had e this far, and although they weren’t afraid of death, when fag a Gamma Tier, the physiological disfort that arose was something no human willpower or psychology could overe.
The warriors of Bermudes felt a bit ashamed, aware of their own weakness and frailty, and for a moment, they didn’t dare to look Alexia in the eye.
"Please be careful," Amanda said kindly. She didn’t want her people to die in vain.
Although Alexia had greatly helped the people of Grant, she was still an outsider. Everyohat pared to a fellow citizen, an outsider was different.
The people of Grant had already sacrificed too mu their struggle against the Grand Duke. Many families were broken, and many lives were lost. Amanda couldn’t bear to see her team members die anymore, especially in such a meaningless pce.
"Don’t worry."
Alexia picked up the unicator, indig that Li Aozi would act with her.
Only then did Amanda rex, leading her Alpha Tier warriors to scatter and clear out the enemies in Sulut Pace.
Once Amanda’s figure had disappeared, Alexia still deyed activating the unicator to call Li Aozi.
Acc to the pn, she should have tacted Li Aozi to coordiheir as.
But she could sense aremely terrifying force behind this door. Even in the old days of the Yamiryoko Federation, su aura was something that stood above all else, at the pinnacle of the food , causing the entire federation to feel threatened.
Just the slightest sense of it made her tremble all over, sending a chill down her spihe closer she was to that level, the more clearly Alexia uood the terror of su existence.
'...This battle inally had nothing to do with you. I admire you, Alex—Ellie.'
Li Aozi’s words echoed in her ears.
Alexia’s gaze shifted, and she murmured softly:
"This has everything to do with me, Aozi."
Although the handsome groom was very nid seemed powerful, he still cked the ability to step into this battle.
On the trary, if he ehis realm, he would surely be crushed by the Grand Duke’s life level.
As someone close to this level, Alexia knew all too well how terrifying the so-called 'Gamma Tier' was. Even this p couldn’t strain or tolerate su existence.
Li Aozi, and even these Alpha Tier team members, had no power to face su enemy.
'Although I 't defeat him, taking him down with me is still within reach.'
In this world, maiful things had vanished, but hope had emerged as well. People couldn’t see the suhey still yearned for happiness and light, and idealists tio strive for it.
She had already seen the se five hundred years into the future and reized the new groom—a well-groomed, extraordinarily charming youy.
Five hundred years ago, the leaders and stists of Yamiryoko had told her, 'Alexia, you are too excellent; no one in this era is worthy of you.'
They left behind a seleeism called the "Yellow Rhododendron Blood tract," a plex set of tests that included ideological depth, political stance, intelligeesting, psychological profiling, and more, in an attempt to find the most patible match for her, the 'Bride from the Past.'
As for the purpose—there wasn’t much of ohe federation believed that every citizen should have the most suitable partner, so they could live happily and harmoniously, making society more stable.
Unfortunately, five hundred years ter, pared to him, Alexia felt she was no longer worthy.
If she was too inexperienced, her actual age was too old, carrying outdated thoughts, far from youthful and radiant; if she was too old, her mind wasn’t mature enough, uo bear the heavy responsibilities of being a wife.
Alexia’s mi was very calm.
Her homend had already been buried in the long river of history, and her heart had died with it. Only the harsh words like oppression and injustice reignited her faith and anger, making Alexia determio tinue fighting in this terrible era five hundred years ter.
She had witnessed how the Grand Duke of Gamos, a fellow ghost of the old times, had deteriorated, being utterly numb—and Alexia knew very well that she wasn’t far from the Gamma Tier either.
Just as well, if she were to bee such a walking corpse, painfully living on, Alexia would rather exit this era with her homend, leaving everything to the people of today.
As long as, iime that remained, she could use her st life to pass on the spirit of Yamiryoko—no, not the spirit of Yamiryoko, but the deeply ingrained human desire for a new world.
She put down the unicator and chose not to call Li Aozi.
'Sorry, Li Aozi, you should find a better, prettier bride who fits this era.'
Alexia raised her head, pced her hand on the door, and slowly pushed it open.
"Here we go."
Creak—
The door slowly opened, and six Beta Tier guards of the Grand Duke immediately looked up and unched an assault on her.
FAL
