Lord of Annihilation

Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

The journey to the Alliance HQ was rather uneventful, with Alex finding himself be bored out of his mind. His days consisted of sleeping, eating, playing card games with the crew aboard the spaceship, staring outside into the deep, dark space, and sleeping once again.

After leaving Deatov's atmosphere, Reyna had left her seat and shut herself inside her assigned room. Other than leaving her room for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, she was never seen inside the spaceship.

Alex had also noticed that her interactions with others had been in a steady decline with her showing signs of becoming reclusive and silent. Whenever he tried to talk to her, she always replied with the same words-I'm fine. Thanks for your concern'.

'Then stop shutting yourself! Come out and properly talk with other people!' Alex felt depressed.

Throughout his life, Alex had always been a straightforward person. He always spoke what was in his mind, not caring about the political sensitivity or nuances in the other person's speech. Most of all, he hated interacting with other kids his age, especially ones that belonged to influential families.

Their words always contained a hidden meaning which was concealed below layers upon layers of lies and deceit. Some meaning, which Alex always failed to understand.

Orders on the other hand were something that Alex loved. Instructions which were clear cut and direct, he loved to follow but also loved to lead. This was one of the key reasons for him joining the military.

Seeing Reyna, who was a precious friend and little sister of his, currently, be dejected. He was unsure of how to comfort her. Especially when the other party was adamant that she was fine.

The only thing which relieved his boredom and made his journey slightly exciting was the practice of his newly awakened soul.

While Alex had been a firm believer of science, like any teenager who has gone through the process of childhood, he had once dreamt about awakening special powers and becoming a superhero.

While this excitement had waned with his increase in age, a small part within his heart had always secretly wished for his dreams to come true.

With the ascension of mankind and the realization of his dreams, Alex's excitement was off-the-charts.

'With the powers of The Dark Flame Dragon, sealed within my... NO! STOP IT! STOP IT!'

Of course, with the rise in his excitement, also came a wave of black history, which Alex had thought to have sealed within the depths of his mind.

'Although I have to say. With my soul being the [Ruler Of Flames], maybe there is some hope in this direction?' There is freedom in dreaming. A man can dream, can't he?

Anyways, getting back to the topic.

The spaceship finally arrived at the Alliance HQ after 14 days of warp travel. Alex pressed his face against the circular window and gazed at the large natural satellite with awe.

That's right. A natural satellite.

Not a huge Star-Level ship that floats through the galaxy. Not a huge manmade planet, that houses the latest Planetary-Level Cannon.

A simple natural planet, which is not that different from our very own moon. As for the reason why the Alliance HQ was located on this natural satellite. It was because this was the first piece of land which mankind colonized, upon leaving its original solar system.

Man is often a reminiscent creature. One that loves to look back at its achievements and take pride in its milestones. Such being the case, the Earth Alliance had also decided to construct its HQ on this very piece of space rock, after its establishment.

Of course, while the sentiment behind its establishment is old, its technology on the other hand was anything but old.

This being his first time visiting the Alliance HQ, Alex was feeling very excited. He was a person who loved the Alliance and everything that led up to its existence. Looking at the large wheel-shaped structure, surrounding this satellite, Alex couldn't wait to get off the spaceship and feel the ground underneath his legs.

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The spaceship took almost an hour to finish its docking. The door finally opened and Alex who stood at the head of the line, exited the spaceship first.

Directly jumping off the ship and landing onto the firm ground with his feet, Alex inhaled a large amount of air. The fresh air of the highest quality rushed into his nostrils and filled his lungs.

Although its effects could nowhere compare to the effects of Spiritual Energy present in planets that had undergone ascension, something was inherently different about this air.

A large smile appeared on his roguishly handsome face. Alex's excitement had increased by a factor of 'n' and he couldn't wait to run around the entire base. Mankind's glorious achievement filled every inch of this space and Alex wanted to experience all of it.

Just as his rashness was about to take control of his body, Alex saw the arrival of a group of sharply dressed men and women. All of them wore military overalls and the badges on their chest revealed their dignified ranks. Recognizing their aura of authority, Alex managed to reel himself in and contain his excitement.

Similar to the other soldiers around him, he immediately assumed a stance of perfect attention and saluted. With a senior soldier leading, all of the military personnel standing in the docking station immediately bellowed.

"We greet the High Commanders!"

A chorus of voices repeated the above statement. "We greet the High Commanders!"

"At ease." one of the older commanders who seemed to be the leader of this group, instructed.

His eyes scanned around the people who had exited the spaceship and silently evaluated them. Looking through the crowd, his gaze landed on a beautiful, blonde-haired young woman.

"Reyna Snowden" he called in a deep and majestic voice.

"Yes, High Commander!" Reyna stiffly spoke.

Hearing her voice, the old general's expression softened by a large margin as he softly spoke.

"Your Father is anxiously waiting for your return. Quickly run into the base and meet him. If I hold you here any longer, that guy is going to hold a grudge against me till death."

Reyna's eyes dazed for a moment before she hurriedly bowed.

"Thank you, High Commander." she thanked the old commander before rushing into the base. Unlike Alex, Reyna had already been to the Alliance HQ multiple times.

She was very familiar with the layout and the various people who inhabited the base. Most of them treated her kindly, just like the old commander.

After she left, the gaze on the old commander's eyes sharpened once again. His intense gaze peered into the bodies of every single person present on the scene.

Some of the weaker willed scientists felt their knees grow weak. An intangible pressure descended onto their bodies, as they felt their every thought being laid bare in front of his gaze.

After a few moments of intense silence, the voice of the old general sounded out once again.

"Who is Lucius? Step Forward!" his voice resounded like the gong of a bell, resounding throughout the entire scene.

There was no movement in the crowd before him.

The brows of the old commander furrowed as he gravely sounded out once again.

"I said step forward! Are you disobey my order, student!" the old commander intensified the mental pressure he was exerting on the crowd.

Once again, there was no movement.

An awkward silence descended into the already suffocating atmosphere.

The gazes of the old commander and his colleagues turned confused at this lack of reply.

'Is he too shy? Or perhaps he's scared?' the thought echoed within their minds. Just as they were about to speak once more, an awkward-sounding cough interrupted their attempt.

"Cough, cough! Requesting permission to speak, High Commander!" Alex finally stepped out.

"Permission granted." the old man cooly replied.

"Student Lucius isn't present here, Sir," Alex stated.

The old commander was confused at his answer.

"Isn't present here? Where is he then? Did he not receive the order to report at the Alliance HQ?" he questioned.

Alex was unsure of how to reply to this question. Hesitating with his words for a moment, he decided to directly speak the truth.

"He did receive the order, Sir. But he decided to ignore it and headed elsewhere. As for his current location or destination, I'm unsure."

The old commander, his colleagues, and every single person present on the scene who heard Alex's voice were equally stunned. Well, dumbfounded is a better word.

Every single person was dumbfounded without question.

"...such audacity." one of the younger soldiers involuntarily mumbled in a low voice.

Alex completely understood their reaction. For he had reacted the same way when he first heard the news.

'That guy holds no regard for the Alliance. What else was I supposed to say here?' he inwardly thought to himself.

The old commander stood blankly for a second, before recovering.

"What's your name soldier!" he questioned Alex.

"Alex Hellwig, Sir." Alex performed a salute in response and replied.

Hearing the name Hellwig, the expression on the old commander's face turned bitter. In fact, the expressions on the faces of all the High Commander's turned bitter.

"Young man, are you Grant's son?" the old general hesitated for a moment, before sighing.

Hearing the question, Alex felt an ominous premonition birth in his heart.

"...yes, Sir?"

Receiving his confirmation, the old general sighed with a heavy heart before saying.

"...young man, it's about your father..."

"The Supreme General..... has gone missing."