354 The Boys: Annie's Promise, Stan Edgar on the Edge of Death, Last Life and An Unexpected Intruder.

Once through the portal, Alice found herself in Allen's apartment living room, the safest place now that Allen was indisposed; it was literally a fortress.

Alice looked around the familiar space and felt somewhat better. However, she noticed neither her sisters nor Allen was present.

She turned to Annie, who held her in her arms, the girl looking worried. "Sister Annie, where's big brother?"

Alice had suffered emotional damage, and Annie thought she was seeking him as a defense against the pain. Annie bit her lip.

"Your brother is okay, he'll be back soon..." Annie forced a smile, but Alice didn't seem entirely convinced. Annie suspected Alice's father's betrayal had made it hard for her to trust others.

Alice blinked and without saying a word, leaned against Annie as if seeking comfort. Annie felt bad and nearly cried but restrained herself; she was the elder sister and shouldn't be comforted by the little girl.

"Alice!" Eve, Alice's mother, rushed out of a nearby room, nearly stumbling.

After Allen learned of Alice's kidnapping, he arranged for Eve and the little girl's aunt to stay in his apartment in case they were in danger too.

"Mom!"

Annie handed Alice over to Eve, who practically leaped into her mother's arms; by now, Eve already knew what had happened.

She understood why Alex had done this, but even though their marriage wasn't going well, she never believed he would use their own daughter like this.

Annie didn't want to interrupt but needed to return to the battlefield quickly.

Eve smiled warmly and nodded; Annie thanked her, and Timcampy flew to her shoulder.

"Meow~ (Thank you)"

Annie smiled; she didn't need Timcampy to translate what the cat had said. With that settled, Annie headed for the door.

"Sister!" Alice called out with a worried voice.

"Alice?"

"Will they come back?"

Annie didn't want to show any weakness to Alice, so she smiled confidently. "Yes, we will all come back, so wait for us, and we'll play late into the night!"

"Yes..." Alice smiled too.

Annie stepped through the door, and Alice started crying, her mother holding her tightly.

...

(Poor Alice, but you have to look to the future a future where everyone is happy 🍷🗿)

...

Cate kicked open the door to the ninetieth-floor entrance, where Stan Edgar's current office was located.

"Is this it?" Kimiko asked as she followed Cate, her gaze sharp, scanning every corner.

"Yes, seven employees and ten guards confirmed Stan Edgar was on this floor."

Cate looked at her hand; she had used her abilities on many people, yet there was no trace of guilt. In her mind, there was only the determination to help Allen. With that thought, with that purpose alone, she could live even if she became a monster.

"Everything will be fine~"

Kimiko placed her hand on Cate's shoulder, and when Cate turned, she was met with Kimiko's cute smile. Cate returned the smile.

"Sister Kimiko..."

"Yes?~"

"Your hand is stained with a lot of blood..."

Both girls laughed before facing the last boss.

Kimiko's suit allowed her to be shot with armor-piercing ammunition without being injured and she subdued several guards along the way without killing them, allowing Cate to "convince" them to help them.

Both girls gradually took down all the guards and reached Stan Edgar's office.

Cate prepared to kick the door down, but before she could, Kimiko grabbed her hand and pulled her aside.

The door shattered into pieces...

Three guards who followed Cate were thrown against the wall.

"I know you're there and I also know why you came... I can't leave yet, not yet..."

Behind the wall, both girls were in shock Stan Edgar had injected Compound V!

The Chat was focused on Allen's battle and paid no attention to anything else. However, the revelation that Stan Edgar had injected himself with Compound V was too shocking. Many couldn't help but pay attention.

Kimiko and Cate took cover while Stan Edgar, with bloodshot eyes. He was a mess, his suit and face stained with blood and sweat, but he had survived.

Stan lowered his hand and leaned on the desk, his nose bleeding, perhaps from exerting his newly acquired ability.

...

Behind the wall next to the door, Cate pulled out a mirror and observed Stan Edgar's condition. Seeing how exhausted he was, she looked at Kimiko, who nodded.

Kimiko stood up and ran towards Stan Edgar now that he was a super; the risk of capturing him alive increased, so Kimiko decided to kill him.

Stan Edgar received an enhancement in his senses, so he saw Kimiko approaching and reacted.

Stan Edgar's expression changed. A shockwave came out of his eyes. Kimiko was pushed back out of the office.

"Kimiko!"

Cate ran to help her. Kimiko got up a bit dazed; she was fine and had only been thrown out of the office.

Kimiko silently checked her body and joints. "It's... like being hit by... compressed air," she explained the effect of Stan Edgar's power, as little as she could understand it.

Cate sighed with relief that it wasn't a more powerful ability, or perhaps it was, but Stan Edgar couldn't control it yet. It might not be dangerous for both girls, but it was a problem, especially now that they were out of time.

...

Allen and Void stood silently facing each other, with only three lives left. The games were over; a single mistake meant death. Even though Void enjoyed fighting, it didn't mean he would give up victory.

But there was a problem: they both had various ways to heal themselves, from cursed energy and magic to regeneration through skills. And as "Sentry" and "Void," they were immortal, so they would only die from attacks powerful enough to kill immortals.

Like a Hakai from a god of destruction...

A five-dimensional space collapse...

Attacks that defy all logic, like retroactive death sentences...

A sword capable of cutting through anything...

The power of the Angel of Death...

Total atomic annihilation...

Complete soul destruction...

Cutting through the beginning and the end...

Aside from such absurdities, any attack would only weaken them or distract them from the real danger.

Allen was cautious of Void, especially since he had shown he could use "Blanco." Allen wouldn't underestimate him; who knew what technique or power Void might surprise him with?

...

Allen's fist stopped an inch from Void for a moment before continuing its path to strike. Void had implemented a version of the Infinity mixed with time slowdown to increase his power.

In response, Allen canceled neutral spacetime's infinity with a Domain Amplification for infinity, and if Void slowed time, Allen simply sped it up to negate both effects.

Void smiled at the punch in the face that broke his nose. Allen clenched his other fist and struck again. Void covered himself with both arms, taking Allen's blow without complaint, which broke his arm but healed it immediately along with his nose.

Void grabbed Allen's arm to prevent him from getting away. Allen used his foot to kick Void, but Void stopped it with his knee and placed his other hand on Allen's abdomen.

"Damn..."

"Heh," Void chuckled.

A purple light appeared in Void's hand. Allen opened his eyes as a massive purple formed on both Void's hands, which would hit Allen at point-blank range while also neutralizing his infinity and the three shields he created with haki, ki, and energy.

"Kuhh!" Allen gritted his teeth, annoyed by this, and prepared to receive a serious wound. However, Clown Crown didn't abandon Allen and covered him with his superhero suit.

Void frowned.

A massive explosion occurred, and Allen moved away; he was fine, although Clown Crown had been slightly broken by receiving the attack, but it quickly restored itself.

Void appeared in front of Allen and grabbed his face before slamming it into the ground. Void dragged Allen thousands of miles in an instant. Allen protected himself from the friction and kicked Void in the abdomen, sending him flying.

Allen teleported and appeared behind Void, hammering him to the ground with both hands shaped like hammers.

Void fell, creating a massive crater. Allen raised his hand and created a ki sphere the size of a galaxy; the sphere was white, the natural color of Allen's ki without the power of hakai or the ki of a god of destruction.

Allen lowered his hand as the massive energy fell to the ground, crushing Void before exploding.

Void emerged from the explosion, smoke rising from his clothes; his wounds had already healed. A red sphere appeared in his hand; Void's ki color was red when he didn't mix his powers and nature of darkness or the power of destruction.

Void fired the sphere, which warped space in its path. Allen disappeared, dodging the ki attack; he appeared in another direction and fired an energy burst.

The exchange was limited to ki attacks for a while before they returned to high-speed blows, causing shockwaves everywhere. The speed was such that the current system struggled to keep up with the fight's pace, and only impacts were visible for a while.

The entire fight was even until Void stopped and started bleeding from his mouth; he had been hit in the past.

Allen seized the opportunity and summoned Crown Saber. He didn't hesitate to attack Void, but his arm was severed before he could reach him, not in the present but in the past.

Allen regenerated his arm, and Void healed his internal wound instantly.

Allen expelled more ki from his body, covering himself in a white aura; Void did the same with a red aura. The power of both was shaking this whole strange world.

Both disappeared and collided, fragmenting reality, but this time not with techniques but with pure power.

Void took a blow to the stomach that made him lose his breath.

"Ahh!"

Allen took a blow to the face that broke a couple of teeth.

"Urgh!"

Both exchanged blows, with one in every hundred landing on their opponent with enough force to destroy the entire universe.

Time passed, and the equivalent exchange had to break at some point.

Allen kicked Void in the chest, sending him flying through the air. Immediately, he followed up with a punch to his face, shattering it. Allen shouted and gathered enough ki in his hand to replicate the Big Bang, crashing it into Void's body.

"ALLEN!" Void screamed as his body disintegrated; however, he didn't fall alone. He grabbed Allen by the neck and, using his last breath, self-destructed.

"Damn it..." Allen was engulfed in an explosion of immeasurable size as both were destroyed.

...

Allen and Void used another Save Point.

There was no pause this time; both would continue their attacks once again. This time, they harnessed ki along with the massive energy from Sentry and Dark Sentry.

The intensity of the fight increased once more.

Every blow resonated through time, space, and reality. Both wore angry expressions; there were no more jokes or calmness, both clung to victory.

Allen knew he had to do something; at this rate, they could both end up dead. He decided to gamble on a trick, but he had to be patient...

Dozens of energy and ki attacks later... more patience...

Hundreds of attacks later... even more patience...

Void was a bloodthirsty monster at this point, intent only on killing Allen.

Allen dodged a ki blast, but it began to track him. He created an energy sphere to destroy the attack, but it split into smaller blasts and attacked from all sides.

Allen formed a shield, but Void appeared behind him and neutralized it. The attacks struck Allen, and Void seized the opportunity to penetrate Allen's abdomen and grab his soul to destroy it.

A cruel smile spread across Void's face, but a smile also appeared on Allen's.

"The resonance of creation, the connection of all things, the line that binds fantasy to reality... Dimension: White."

"Allen!!"

Both Allen and Void were trapped in five-dimensional space—not six dimensions. Allen has managed to upgrade the technique once again!

Void tried to escape but couldn't. He looked at Allen, who was also trapped.

"You're insane! You'll die too?!"

Allen scoffed, "You look scared; you seemed like someone who wouldn't fear death, but now that it's close, you're backing down?"

Void gritted his teeth, filled with rage; however, nothing could stop the detonation.

Allen collapsed the technique with both inside...

...

"Tsk..." Void reappeared and looked at Allen.

"Oh hahaha." Void was angry, but when he saw Allen's condition, he laughed.

"Ah..." Allen hadn't died, but half of his body had vanished.

Void smiled with extreme malice, "Just a moment ago, you faked a double suicide, but you really planned to survive... You used a second white around you to withstand the collapse; however, a five-dimensional white didn't protect you enough from one of six..."

Allen lamented it was a good plan; he even pretended to die so that Void wouldn't try to escape. But as Void explained, Allen lost his risky bet, and although he didn't die, he wasn't in any condition to fight.

Allen used his penultimate life...

The moment he did, he felt a chill like no other. Void smiled in a way he hadn't before.

A dark spear appeared in his hand; Allen felt he had to let himself be hit by it, no matter the cost...

"Allen... you're an incredible man... even if I mocked you many times, I realize that despite your unpleasant personality, I enjoyed fighting you... now die..."

"...!"

The spear Void held in his hand was not just any spear; it was the purest incarnation of death, and not just any death, but Allen's death.

Everything must die; even immortal beings have perished when the universes they inhabit are destroyed, which is why fate exists—perhaps an alternate timeline or a past reincarnation where a person experiences death.

Allen remembered once having a conversation with Gwen...

(flashback)

"Allen, are you reading novels again? If you don't study, you're going to suffer on the exam..."

"I'm a simple man; I like to enjoy my life as much as I'm forced to fulfill my responsibilities."

"Excuses! What are you reading? 'In my past life, I was a waste'? What kind of story is that? Reincarnation is just a fantasy for those who couldn't fulfill their dreams in this life."

"Hey, don't say that! In many cultures, they believe in reincarnation!"

"Fine! I'm sure in your past life, you were a sloth..."

Gwen upset Allen and it took two home lunches for Allen to forgive her.

(End of flashback)

Allen opened his eyes and carefully observed the spear, and despite feeling chills, there was a sense of nostalgia as if he had already been killed by it before.

Nostalgia for a past death? Or Nostalgia for a past life?

'I see... the reincarnation exists...' were Allen's last thoughts before he surrendered. That spear would take away his last Save Point.

Allen closed his eyes; however, the pain did not come...

"Tsk, stupid doll..." Void growled with disdain at the unexpected guest.

"What?!" Allen opened his eyes in disbelief.

...

Outside, things were no better. Stan felt his life was in danger, and in this situation, he made a risky decision.

He grabbed a transmitter and brought the drone closer to Allen. Artoria observed this and wanted to stop it, but metal threads prevented her. She cut through them, but they were easily reconstructed.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty; I can't allow you to go..."

Walter had an ability that allowed him to control metal and its state at will.

"Damn it!" Artoria lost all nobility for a moment and she cursed Walter with hatred, then looked up at her sister. "ESDEATH!"

"...!!!" The azure-haired girl immediately launched an iceberg to destroy Stan Edgar's drone.

"Malchemical Protocol Zero!"

The drone was destroyed, but something happened... all the girls, whether in the world, in the chat, or the dolls, felt a terrible chill.

Behind Esdeath, an invisible mass with a chilling presence appeared and moved at great speed to kill Allen.

"Ma..." Esdeath tried to stop time, but she wouldn't manage to use her technique in time and halted her words.

Esdeath moved instinctively at the fastest speed she could, cutting and freezing the creature, but she only managed to catch half of it. That thing was liquid, gas, plasma, and solid all at once, so it didn't stop.

"STOP!!!" Esdeath shouted.

"MOVE!" Artoria used all her power and severed Walter's arm.

Bocchi couldn't even react... as the spear-shaped creature created a lance and pierced Bocchi's aura toward Allen's head.

Allen was in mortal danger on both sides!

...

===

A/N: Now we are in the epilogue... part one 🗿

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