Healing System

[Kevin's POV]

Kevin, this is me, Michael. The one in front of me is a demon. I need you to evacuate the civilians while I stall it.

'Telepathy?' Kevin widened his eyes in surprise. However, he noticed that Elizabeth and Chloe had similar reactions, except they were a bit more startled than him.

It was not his first time seeing telepathy after all.

As the seconds passed, he finally processed what had been said, completely ignoring the fact that Michael used telepathy.

Kevin immediately acted, summoning a bunch of shadow soldiers—ones he had collected over a few dozen battles thus far, some of which he had even acquired in secret.

He was able to make the shadow soldiers carry the civilians away at a decently fast pace, taking them out a fair distance away from the arena.

It was not all smooth sailing, as he noticed a few of his shadow soldiers disappearing from time to time. Upon taking a closer look at the situation, he saw a few white-haired individuals running around and killing people.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

'Evangelists...' His face soured as he switched places with one of his shadow soldiers, the one closest to a group of the Evangelists.

Immediately, he sent out a wave of shadow from his fingertips, acting as a blade and severing the necks of a few of them.

Despite that, the rest did not even react to him killing their companions. In fact, they did not even turn to look at him. Instead, they continued killing the surrounding people, who were by now all in a panic.

Kevin swiftly dealt with the remaining ones at his side and took a glance toward the right. Chloe and Elizabeth seemed to be going through exactly what he was currently.

As he gazed down at Michael and Jax, who were talking about something and lightheartedly fighting, he suddenly got a bad feeling.

In the very next moment, his eyes locked with Jax's, and immediately, Kevin felt a shiver run down his spine.

It was not because of the gaze. Instead, it was because of what was right above them: a small purple dot that radiated enough mana to engulf them, and yet, it was still only the size of a fist.

Nonetheless, it was growing at a pace that would become troublesome very quickly.

'The Violet Cataclysm... I didn't think I would see it again.' Kevin looked on with a serious expression.

It was the signature skill of demons. It was incredibly powerful; however, it was a one-time use because, right after usage, their bodies got obliterated and their demonic core exploded.

Due to that amount of damage, they were unable to create another body in any world until they were healed, which usually took a few years to even decades.

However, since it was a skill used solely for destruction, it was relatively easy to stop for anyone at least in the middle part of Tier 3. The problem was, no one in this world, aside from a select few individuals, had reached that power level.

Simply because it was impossible. Even back in the past, he had only managed to reach Tier 2 before hitting a bottleneck and having to switch worlds. It was inevitable.

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But the problem was, this event had not happened in the past; there should have been a dungeon break instead. Yet now, there was an even bigger issue.

Kevin still had a bad feeling in his chest. However, he could not do anything about it. He was way too weak; he did not even have a mana core yet.

'Good luck, Mic—' His thoughts were interrupted by yet another voice inside his mind. It was the same one from earlier.

Change of plans. Get out and take the rest of the group with you. The people can't be saved from an attack of this caliber, and I can't stop it either.

Kevin's heart dropped immediately upon hearing those words. It meant that Michael could not stop The Violet Cataclysm. He had held some hope that he might be able to, but it was too much to ask after all.

"Elizabeth! Chloe! We need to go!" he shouted and got their attention. They too had grave expressions on their faces.

Kevin began transporting the people at a much faster rate while also taking a glance at the arena. There, he noticed Michael using his signature sword skill. However, he could not even see it being cast. In just a moment, it was able to kill the demon who could have wiped out the entire city on his own.

And yet, once he saw Michael fly up into the sky and right in front of the now slightly larger purple ball, attempting to do something, it did not work.

Kevin watched as the purple blob kept being enveloped with golden mana, yet nothing worked in the end.

And then he saw Michael's expression. It was one of pure hopelessness.

'Yeah... fuck. It is time to go.' Kevin decided and glanced around. Chloe seemed to listen to the advice, but Elizabeth, as per usual, seemed to be acting like an idiot, not recognizing the actual danger of the situation.

Thankfully, he was still nearby, and unlike last time, he was prepared for a catastrophic situation such as this one.

Switching places with his shadow and appearing right behind Elizabeth, he embraced her and immediately sunk back into his shadow.

He had set a few of them to be on standby a few kilometers away from the city, so no matter what happened, the two would be safe.

After all... 'I don't want to lose you again...'

He had thought his feelings for her had disappeared after all the time that had passed. However, the incident in Vivum had brought them all back again.

The two of them emerged from the shadows, and he could see the angry, pouting expression plastered all over Elizabeth's face, as if blaming him for taking her away.

"Why? Did you not see what was happening there!?" she shouted at him with her usual stubbornness and tried heading back to the city that was in the distance.

However, Kevin merely stared at her. He could feel the demonic mana in the air, and it was growing denser. He did not even want to imagine what the arena—or, in fact, the entire city—looked like.

He had seen the effects of the Violet Cataclysm firsthand, and each time it came into contact with something, it never failed to cause destruction.

A true cataclysm, much like its name.

Suddenly, the dense mana disappeared. For a moment, he even thought Michael had managed to stop it. However, the next thing he saw made his expression even more grim.

A massive purple mushroom cloud emerged as it reached the sky, covering it in its color.

Just as he remembered, the following purple raindrops fell onto the ground, causing even further mayhem.

After roughly half a minute, he was able to feel the earth shaking and an extremely dense gust of wind shooting past him, nearly knocking both him and Elizabeth off balance.

It felt as if his skin was being pricked by needles, ones completely made out of that disgusting demonic mana he remembered oh so well.

Kevin turned toward Elizabeth and noticed her shaking, just like that time back then. But this time, it was even more serious. If he had not been there, she would have died.

He was relieved. However, at the same time, he was angry—angry at the fact that the demons had stooped so low as to cooperate with the Evangelists and even destroy a city full of people.

"Elizabeth... let's go..." He pinched her arm, trying to get her attention, but once again, she was lost in thought, completely ignoring him.

Kevin sighed and glanced back at the city. He might have imagined it, but a certain part of the sky held an oddly bright golden light. Nonetheless, he still gave his condolences.

But there was one more matter at hand, one that he had faced himself in the past. It was regret for something he was unable to control.

'I hope you don't blame yourself for this, Michael...' Kevin tapped Elizabeth on the shoulder again, but she was still frozen, whether it was in fear or denial, he was not sure.

The city and the people inside it did not matter to him in the slightest, he only cared for those closest to him. That was why he was not as affected as her.

So if he had no choice but to escape, he would do so in a heartbeat, just like he did mere moments ago.

Therefore, letting out a deep sigh, he apologized inwardly and picked her up by the collar; it was time for him to begin traveling to a place he had not been to in a while.

The same place where he had spent the most time before finally leaving for the other worlds.

Elizabeth seemed to snap out of it for a moment as she began trying to kick him playfully, but he simply ignored her antics. She was still in a bit of shock, after all.

'I hope we cross paths in the future, Michael...'