Chapter 49: What's Left

Anchorage Coast.

The sea breeze carried a salty tang as waves incessantly gnawed at the eroded coastline, forming holes.

A colossal shadow emerged in the deep blue ocean.

The Lanternfish Monster rose from the sea with its massive antenna lantern on top of its head. It broke the surface with a splash, revealing a mouth filled with irregularly arranged sharp teeth, exuding air from the depths of its throat.

A diamond-shaped black shell, slightly larger than a human, was spat out by the monster and fell onto the shore.

The Lanternfish Monster let out a roar and quickly dived back into the sea, gradually disappearing into the depths.

The diamond-shaped black shell rustled and suddenly split into two halves as Sylvia kicked her way out.

"H'el, I'm back!" Sylvia, wearing a black bandeau top and square-cut shorts, stood up from the diamond-shaped shell and raised her hands high, shouting with excitement.

Unfortunately, the first response wasn't from H'el.

"Welcome back," Jupiter said, her lips curved into a smile. She wore black glasses and a smart, professional office attire. With a flash, she appeared in front of Sylvia.

Sylvia looked puzzled at Jupiter.

Honestly, although they served under H'el, they had never really interacted or even met each other.

Sylvia's assessment of Jupiter: someone who's hard to read.

Jupiter's assessment of Sylvia: a brainless fool who's only good for staying in the lab.

Seeing Jupiter as the first person here, Sylvia realized something unusual must have happened or that H'el had something planned before his departure.

"Did H'el send you to pick me up?" Sylvia grinned widely, standing confidently with her hands on her hips.

She quickly realized it didn't matter what might be happening; as long as she followed H'el's lead, everything would be fine.

Jupiter's gaze behind her glasses shifted oddly. The smile on her lips carried a deeper meaning.

"Sort of," she replied.

Jupiter placed her hand on Syl's smooth shoulder.

In the next moment, the two of them disappeared from this location, reappearing in H'el's palace.

The grand hall was vast, its pillars adorned with magnificent depictions of world cultures and breathtaking landscapes. The towering dome above shifted like the night sky, truly majestic.

H'el leaned against his throne, tilting his head slightly as he looked calmly at Sylvia and Jupiter appearing in the grand hall.

In an instant, they had traveled from Anchorage Coast to H'el's grand hall.

Without much time to take in the grandeur of the hall, Sylvia's eyes locked onto H'el's figure. She was about to greet him with excitement, but she quickly composed herself, standing quietly beside Jupiter.

Jupiter's heart sank slightly.

Even when she brought Sylvia with her, he still showed no reaction.

Even a hint of surprise or curiosity from H'el would have made Jupiter feel better. But his consistent calmness and composure were like that night in the sewer when it seemed like he had everything under control.

"My Emperor, it seems you're not surprised by my actions," Jupiter suppressed the faint unease in her heart and gracefully bowed to H'el.

"Hmm," H'el hummed a reply from his nostrils, his gaze fixed on Jupiter as if waiting to see what she would do.

With H'el's one-word response, Jupiter couldn't help but feel a surge of confidence. She reverted to the self-assured controller of seven billion people, painting a confident smile on her face.

"Allow me to demonstrate, my Emperor, the superpower that concerns your life and death," Jupiter said, bowing elegantly before her shimmering.

She moved instantaneously, appearing and disappearing within the grand hall.

The human visual nervous system conducts signals at a speed similar to electrical signals. To the naked eye, this rapid appearance and disappearance created residual illusions. In that split second, multiple Jupiters appeared in the grand hall.

"Teleportation," Jupiter spoke amidst the residual images she created. "My innate superpower is teleportation."

"At first, I thought it was particle recombination, but it's not that simple."

"It's space, the creation of spatial wormholes."

"I establish three-dimensional coordinates in space, marking every point. I can instantly teleport to any of these coordinates."

However, there was also a danger. If she accidentally teleported to a point on a wall, for instance, she would merge with it instantly, resulting in her immediate demise. Of course, there was no need to showcase this curious weakness.

"I can teleport myself instantly, and with constant use day and night, I've become skilled enough to make objects teleport as well."

Jupiter paused her teleportation, her face displaying a confident and stern expression. Between her delicate fingers, she held a shiny coin in front of her face.

The light refracted through her glasses, making her appear exceptionally cold and ruthless.

"No matter how rigid or elastic the material is, no matter how dense its atomic structure, as long as it's placed inside another substance, the particles within it will rupture and be destroyed."

The shiny coin Jupiter was holding disappeared between her slender fingers.

In the next moment, the coin quietly embedded itself into the armrest of the throne, right in the center of a blue diamond, as if they were originally a single piece, showing no signs of alteration.

Then, the blue diamond cracked, and the carbon atoms within it, forming its internal structure, were shattered by the coin.

H'el gently brushed his hand over the exposed surface of the coin, causing the cracks in the blue diamond to expand. The diamond shattered into tiny blue fragments, falling onto the throne. As for the coin embedded in the blue diamond, it also broke apart into iron powder.

H'el could grasp the principle behind this phenomenon. The sudden appearance of two different types of atoms, their collision, and the disruption of their original magnetic field equilibrium caused both to lose balance and collapse individually.

Space, indeed, was as mysterious as the fundamental force of the universe.

"My Emperor, I'm sure someone as clever as you can understand," Jupiter said.

"Even with your steel body and steel brain, you couldn't withstand the instantaneous teleportation of a coin."

Jupiter flipped her hand, and once again, a coin appeared between her slender fingers, and she smiled.

Teleportation was invincible.

Any substance, including the physical body, couldn't endure the presence of a coin within it. The collision of particles would instantly rupture the continuity, coherence, and stability of the original particles, resulting in destruction.

She, who possessed teleportation, who could make objects teleport, was invincible.

"My Emperor, if you want this coin to not appear inside your brain, just keep yourself on Earth and sit on your throne as usual," Jupiter said confidently and calmly, as she twirled the coin between her fingers. She added with a hint of amusement, "After all, it's a small token of goodwill."

Upon hearing Jupiter's words, H'el stood up from the throne, towering over her, extending his arms, and began to stride down the steps towards her. His imposing presence, as the ruler of the world, exuded immense pressure that rushed towards Jupiter.

The projection of the starry sky on the dome above turned into the backdrop behind him. He seemed like a god descending from the heavens, carrying the cosmos with him.

Jupiter's smirking lips froze in place. In that moment, it was as if she saw a colossal giant rising, emanating suffocating power, slowly approaching her.

Her slender fingers stiffly held the coin, and her gaze remained locked, unable to move.

Attack him?

No!

I can't resort to violence.

For the sake of humanity.

Yes, for the sake of human peace.

H'el's reputation and invincibility among humans were established from the very beginning.

The figure that emerged from those three nuclear explosions, the explosive display of nuclear-level power with bare hands, the night that brought the strongest nation, the United States, to its knees, the slaughter of eight million criminals, and the establishment of an invincible symbol within 24 hours—all of these contributed to his unwavering support among Earth's entire human population.

H'el couldn't die, he couldn't disappear, he couldn't leave.

No human could ever take H'el's place and do a better job.

"Are you looking for an excuse?" H'el asked as he approached, his eyes cold, reflecting his contempt for Jupiter.

She had never earned H'el's respect.

Whether it was the actions of the Human Rescue Association that she organized against him, the maintenance of his empire, or her recent display of superpowers, it all seemed like a clown's performance to him.

"Aren't you afraid to die?" he questioned.

"As long as you sit on the throne, you'll have everything!"

"The support and admiration of humanity, power over an entire planet, access to resources—anything you desire!"

"Even women of various races, any woman, a harem of three thousand, thirty thousand, three hundred million—even me, willingly! I would willingly offer myself!"

"Why?!"

"Why are you leaving Earth?!"

Jupiter's trembling fingers clutched the coin, her face contorted in a hint of anger. As she spoke, her voice grew hoarse and desperate from the depths of her throat.

Her trembling fingers clutched the coin, shaking violently. In the depths of her heart, fear had driven her heartbeat into a frenzy, and it felt like her blood carried the emotion of fear, coursing through every vein.

The sweat that had seeped out from her trembling stuck to her white innerwear, tightly hugging her graceful figure, yet providing no warmth.

In the end, she lacked the courage to act.

She could only tremble.

H'el lowered his hands and walked past Jupiter, heading towards the exit of the grand hall.

"Cowardice, clinging to me out of fear, living under my authority. How could you ever have the courage to strike against me?" H'el was deeply disappointed in her.

She possessed the ability to see through the essence of the universe.

But she hadn't displayed the same determination as Gaia, who had fused with Earth's magnetic field to forget her original purpose of opposing him.

Nor had she shown the same dedication as the Molecular Man, who entered the microcosmic world to create a microcivilization for humanity.

She hadn't even come close to Edward, who, in his dreams, sought to imprison and kill himself in dimensions he hadn't noticed.

Even back when a journalist named Kevin attempted to use public morality to manipulate him, his actions were more remarkable than what Jupiter had attempted now.

H'el slowly walked out of the grand hall, dissolving into points of light under the sunlight.

Accompanied by this, Sylvia also dissolved into points of light.

Jupiter's legs gave way, and she fell to the smooth ground. Her glasses fell off, revealing her dazed and lifeless pupils.

The coin she had been clenching tightly still trembled in her hand.

She remained there, dazed, like a frog, for a long, long time before realizing that H'el had left Earth, taking Sylvia with him.

But the humans of Earth remained.

Humanity... still needed her.

"Dawn, are you still there?" Jupiter inquired.

"Yes."

"Has He left?"

"Yes, He has."

"Is that so! It's just the two of us now."

"No, not really. After He left, the task He assigned to me was to continue recording superpowers, not to help humanity. I'm just His tool. It's just you, Jupiter Annisadora."

"Hahaha... Hahahahaha..."

°°°

A/N: Last chapter of this arc. Next chapter we go back to DC.

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