The first invader
At the same time Maxime looked at them slightly, frowning, but didn't linger long as he didn't care much for either of them.
"I hope from now on you'll have a deeper understanding of the power of money, and above all you'll be careful in the future about how you use your savings," Riva concluded glumly.
The slideshow behind her now displayed a GIF of Karyl the western warlord with his palm turned skywards.
On that palm, a gold coin was spinning in circles.
"In this world, someone who knows how to handle money is bound to become a strong person," she continued with a hint of firmness.
"Oh, by the way, the director asked me to tell you that a mock exam for superhuman combat universities will take place in 1 month. Only watch owners will be eligible."
This provoked much discussion in the class as Riva began to put her things away, signalling the end of the course.
However, a shrill noise erupted, followed by a huge shock wave shattering the windows and slightly injuring a few students.
"Shit, the invaders are here!" Riva shouted angrily, waking up most of the students who were still stunned.
At the same time, she took off running down the corridor, leaving the students in confusion and her belongings on the desk.
"Invaders huh..." murmured Maxime with a burst of fear surging in his heart.
He hadn't been the least bit impacted thanks to his current physique, but emotionally he was deeply troubled.
Then various alarms rang out one after the other in the city, simultaneously a powerful voice resounded through the city's loudspeakers.
"Dear citizens, the Omega sector is currently under attack by invaders but don't worry several mercenary groups are already present and the Juggernaut mercenary group is on its way!"
"Please join the security shelters!"
The students finally regained their composure and began to chat.
"This is already the third attack in just 2 years..."
"Yeah, it looks like the Western Federation is having trouble containing the invader attacks."
"I lost my brother to those damn invaders in the Delta sector during the last attack, I just hope there won't be too many deaths this year."
"Hey Maxime, isn't the Omega sector where you live?" asked Samuel with a worried expression.
Maxime suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"No! Mom, Dad, little brother!" he shouted in a panicked voice as he rose from his seat and hurried out of the classroom.
Samuel's silhouette could be seen following Maxime's.
"Haha that's called karma, good for you," Winny murmured cheerfully.
Yet he also stood up and shouted to his comrades:
"Everyone with a watch, come with me, we're going to help defend the Omega sector!"
"That was the plan, Winny, stop yelling like that!" replied one of his friends dressed as a nobleman as he gently rose from his chair.
Other similarly dressed students also stood up in response to Winny's call.
Seeing this scene Winny nodded with an air of satisfaction then ordered:
"Let's not waste time, follow me."
Soon all the smartly dressed students were out of the classroom.
What was rather surprising was that most of them were much faster than Maxime!
Of course, the majority had stayed in the classroom, even though many of them had a watch.
Their strength simply wasn't enough to take on the invaders.
Maxime arrived not far from his house after a few minutes of running at full speed.
Several flying cars, some partially damaged, some destroyed, some on fire, could be seen in the street where he lived.
Emergency vehicles and several doctors and firemen could be seen at work.
Some houses had part of their wall collapsed, revealing part of the house to anyone on the street.
The scene seemed surreal, but it was a fairly common occurrence in this world.
Walking along, Maxime arrived in front of his house, where he could let out a sigh of relief.
Andréa was having her ankle bandaged by a doctor, but apart from a little blood, it was nothing serious.
Maxime's little brother could be seen clinging to Andréa as he held back the tears contained in his eyes red with anger and bitterness.
He looked very much like Maxime, both in terms of his face and his long, blond hair.
And just like his brother, he had tied his hair back in a ponytail.
He was simply a miniature 9-10 year-old version of Maxime.
Andréa saw Maxime arrive and said:
"Maxime, you came."
"Maxime nodded with a small smile.
Noticing a familiar voice, the little brother left his mother and ran towards Maxime, shouting:
"Big brother, the invaders have come and completely destroyed the street and our house!"
"As long as you're okay Jona, everything's fine it doesn't matter," Maxime replied in a soft voice and gave his tearful little brother a gentle hug.
"Hum! It's a good thing a pretty lady mercenary came by and repelled all the invaders, otherwise we might not be alive anymore, big brother!"
Hearing this, Maxime looked surprised and broke out in a cold sweat.
"It's not as bad as all that; the special forces also came through shortly afterwards," Andréa reassured him in a gentle voice.
"As soon as I manage to put some money aside, we'll move to a sector closer to the center of Nancoy, even if that means living in an apartment. The Omega sector is far too dangerous," Maxime asserted firmly.
At the same time, the doctor finished his treatment:
"That's it, madame, avoid straining your ankle for 15 days and it should heal naturally."
"Thank you very much, young man", Andréa thanked him with a pretty smile on her wrinkled face.
"At your service." he replied before leaving to help his colleagues.
At the same moment, however, an explosion erupted from the house across the street from his family's, attracting curious but also fearful glances from everyone on the street.
A figure emerged from the burning house as it collapsed in on itself.
Soon everyone had a full view of the individual.
It was a humanoid being, the only differences it had with humans being its skin tending strongly towards red and its pointed ears.
This frightened most of those present, especially as everyone could see what he was holding in his right hand.
It was the head of Madame Jolie, the neighbor living opposite the Valdreuve family, Maxime's family.
Her expression was still that of the moment of her death, full of fear and disbelief.
"The intruder smiled playfully as a soft crack erupted from his right hand.
Madame Jolie's skull was completely exploded, scattering fat and blood everywhere, much to the intruder's delight.
Maxime trembled with fear in the face of such an individual.
He had thought he could easily fight them off after his experience in Eternity.
But he had realized that facing death in Eternity and death in reality were two completely different concepts.
Not to mention that here, he was dealing with a veritable monster, his natural predator.
Invaders were killing millions of people around the world every year, simply a plague.
However, a man in the street slowly stepped forward towards the intruder.
An armor covering his body and a sword in his right hand appeared.
This was one of the watch's functionalities.
With a simple thought, you could instantly equip yourself with the armor and weapon you'd decided on while in Eternity.
"Run away, all of you! I'll take care of delaying this abomination until help arrives!" he shouted in a powerful voice.
His voice had an electroshock effect, awakening everyone on the street from their stupor however few were able to run with their legs shaking.
"Just you?" asked the intruder with a mocking smile as he watched the man in front of him move slowly forward.
In response, the brave man ran quickly and swung his sword.
"Take my sword and we'll talk later!"
However, the intruder conjured up an axe in his right hand and easily blocked the attack with the axe handle.
"It's ridiculous," laughed the intruder as he punched the courageous man with his left hand.
Cracking sounds were heard from the brave man's abdomen as he was sent flying 3 metres, spitting blood.
Everyone was startled by the difference in strength.
"It was Monsieur Lorgne, at every neighbor's party he boasted of having been a baron's general, capable of killing dozens of enemies on a battlefield," whispered a woman in disbelief.
Everyone knew this man, and especially his ability to boast.
Yet he still had a slight ability to back up his words, and that's what frightened everyone.
Everyone's legs were shaking, whether they owned a watch or not.
But someone else had to get up to stall for reinforcements.
As long as someone stood up and delayed time by a few seconds, it increased the chances of everyone surviving.
No one dared stand up, however, and everyone simply watched as the demon swept his gaze over them, as if choosing who would be the next victim.
It amused him to see these people plunged into fear, not even daring to look up.
Believing that if they avoided his gaze, they'd be spared.
"How laughable, but coming from an inferior species like yours, I suppose it's normal," the demon scoffed, but no one dared contradict him.
It was in this situation that another man stood up and stepped forward.
The intruder looked at him curiously with a playful smile.
Hearing footsteps, everyone looked up.
His golden hair was easily recognizable.
Especially by Andréa and Jona.
"Maxime?"
"Big brother?"
The man paused slightly, then continued on his way until there were less than 5 meters separating him from his adversary.
"That's what's so surprising about your race: there are always a few who differ from the rest," said the demon.
"Yet the outcome will always be the same," he continued with obvious contempt.
This seemed obvious to everyone, especially as he was also equipped with armor and a sword.
But the latter seemed unperturbed, as he announced:
"Today, I have decided that I will kill my first invader."