(What now…)

Aron activated his sense ability.

At once, he saw all his clones, half of their bodies buried in the ground, still alive but immobilized.

Not only that, even his car, Nule, was half-buried as well.

Aron sighed.

"Nule, open the car roof."

Cheinzzzz...

With a mechanical noise, the car roof opened.

Boom!

Aron stepped on the car floor and launched himself through the opening, shooting straight into the sky.

---

A few streets away, in a two-story mansion that looked like it had seen better (and less zombie-infested) days, half a dozen zombies were similarly stuck waist-deep in the ground, their heads caved in.

On the top floor, a woman in a short singlet and underwear sat sweating under the heat.

A cat lounged lazily around her neck as she peered through a telescope pointed toward the outside, though from outside, the glass looked completely opaque.

"Meow."

"Yes, you did it, Nani!" the woman said excitedly, her eyes sparkling as she watched.

"Let's go! I bet we'll get lots of goodies and fuel to power the generator. The person looks loaded!"

But as she took her first triumphant step forward

Boom!!!

The roof above her collapsed, sending chunks of stone and a cloud of dust tumbling down.

She screamed, throwing her arms up to shield her face.

"Cough! Cough...! Ugh!"

Her eyes stung as dust filled the room.

She stumbled backward, waving one arm wildly to clear her view while the cat hissed and meowed furiously, fur bristling at a certain direction.

When the dust finally settled, she froze.

Standing calmly in the center of the ruined room was a man, around her age, absurdly handsome with an unbelievably smooth skin, looking completely uninterested.

His casual clothes made him look more like a guy on vacation than someone who'd just crashed through a ceiling.

He stood there silently, gazing at her and her cat with an unreadable expression.

***

[Name: Amelia Von]

Rank: Ascender

Talent: Unawakened

[Name: Nani Von (Cat)]

Rank: Ascender

Talent: Earth Control - Manipulate earth at will. Mana cost varies.

****

Aron raised an eyebrow.

A cat pet with a talent, now that was new. But that was the extent of his surprise.

Seeing the woman simply gawking at him.

"So," he said coolly, "what punishment should I give you for trapping me and trying to steal from me?"

"Meow! Meow!"

The cat meowed furiously at him, tail puffed up like a brush.

Amelia tightened her grip on Nani after hearing his cold tone.

She knew this man was far beyond her level.

He wasn't someone she could afford to trifle with.

Ever since the apocalypse began, there hadn't been anyone her almighty cat couldn't trap or kill.

But before this man, even Nani's ability seemed useless.

The ground beneath Aron's feet had turned muddy, yet instead of sinking, a thin layer of clear water supported him, thanks to his Water Manipulation.

"W-We're sorry!" Amelia stammered. "We didn't mean it like that! We only wanted to ask for help, I swear! You can check your security escorts as proof! I made sure not to harm any of them! I swear!"

Aron knew she was telling the truth. That was the only reason she was still breathing after all.

None of his clones were dead, merely trapped.

They had been caught off guard, unable to use his abilities.

His clones had no talents of their own, only strength equal to a peak Enlightened.

Their only real use was providing extra hands and helping him gather experience, though even that was nearly pointless.

They could only kill beings below his level, earning a few scraps of exp at best.

Still, Aron was sure that even if she tried, Amelia wouldn't have been able to kill any of his clones. She was only an early-stage Ascender while her cat was at the peak, after all.

He wasn't planning to let her go that easily thou.

These days, he believed in the old saying: an eye for an eye.

Every time he'd shown kindness, it had been mistaken for weakness, and exploited.

Aron stared at her coldly.

Trapping me just to "ask for help"? That was nonsense.

If she'd succeeded in trapping him inside the car, who would've needed whose help then?

And from the way she talked, he could tell she was pretending to be the ability user, not the cat.

Not planning to waste any more time...

Amelia blinked, and suddenly Aron wasn't there.

When she realized what had happened, the cat was gone from her neck.

He reappeared right before her, holding Nani by the scruff.

"Meow! Meow!" The once-mighty cat flailed helplessly, claws slashing at air, eyes wide with terror, as it tried to claw its way free.

"Please spare my cat!" Amelia cried, dropping to her knees. "She's the only family I have left! Please, I can't lose her too!"

She trembled as she looked up.

She knew she couldn't fight someone like this, someone whose mere presence made her cat, a peak Ascender, look like a helpless kitten.

Aron ignored her plea.

[Claimable Ability Detected: Earth Control]

His cold gaze met the cat's terrified eyes.

The meowing stopped, replaced by pure, animal dread.

"I know you were following orders," he said quietly.

"That's the only reason you won't die. But punishment is still due."

Crack.

"Meow…!!"

Crack.

"Meow!!!"

Crack. Crack.

Amelia's scream joined the cat's as Aron methodically twisted all four of Nani's legs in unnatural angles.

The cat cries filled the room as he tossed the limp body carelessly to the side.

"Meow… meow…"

Amelia tried to rush to her cat's side...

"Kneel."

Aron's cold voice made her freeze mid-step.

Her legs gave way instantly as she knelt again, trembling.

When she looked up, the man's beautiful face now looked less appealing and more like a demon's.

"For having no intention to kill," Aron said, "I'll give you two options."

...

..

.

Hey guys! I'm really sorry... 🙏 my phone was stolen yesterday, so I had to completely rewrite this chapter from scratch.

Right now, I'm borrowing a friend's phone just to post this update.

Because of that, chapter releases might not always be on time every day, but I promise I'll still write and upload daily.

Some days might just be later than usual.

I just wanted to let you know so no one thinks I'm dropping the book, lol.

Thanks so much for understanding and for sticking with me through all this! ❤️

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

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