Hope Arrives in Different Forms

(2 days before the Summit)

Within the mansion sat five people as they were talking within the huge main hall. They were laughing and chatting amiably. One person among them however was impatient as she bit her nails angrily. Noticing them chatter for long, she was unable to control herself as she stood up and looked towards them.

"Can we talk about when I get to kill that man already?" Selna smiled at her granddaughter and patter her head softly.

The light atmosphere now turned serious and dark. Maria, who was seated across Luna, Selna and Luther decided to take the initiative and explained her plan in full detail.

Having heard her plan, Luna's frown turned to that of a beautiful smile. A smile so beautiful and yet cruel. However, Maria's next words caused her eyes to be widened in surprise.

"No-No way. He is at the peak of Cosmic realm?" She felt like she was hanging on the edge of the cliff, ready to fall. Her hopes of crushing him simply felt like a distant dream. It was then her grandmother's words awoke her from her stupor.

"So what if he is at the peak of Cosmic realm? Luna darling, have you forgotten how strong your grandfather and I have gotten now?" Luna turned towards her grandmother remembered both her grandparents were at the mid-level of Cosmic realm.

"But grandmother, you and grandfather are only at the mid Cosmic-" She was interrupted by her grandfather this time.

"That was before we took the Dem-Potion. After having ingested it, we are now at the peak of Cosmic Realm. After centuries of hard work, we were only able to remain at mid stage. However, all of this changed ten years ago when we visited the Mortal realm in search for power.

It was then we met the woman in front of us and gave us the Dem-Potion which broke our bottleneck and allowed us to advance towards the peak of Cosmic realm." Luna listened to Luther intently as she stood up in joy and hugged both her grandparents.

"Silly child, do not fret. With both of us here, we will cripple the man and destroy his cultivation. Once he is on the floor begging to spare his life, he is all yours. If you want to keep him as your pet, torture him or kill him, the choice is all yours."

"Thank you grandmother, I will make sure to show him the torture of his life." Luna replied firmly, with all her previous worries gone.

"I would urge you however, to remain cautious. We are talking about a man who has decades of battle experience. Based on the information my subordinate gave me when she was a spy in Golden Enterprises, he even survived space." Maria warned them.

She had a feeling Indra might have gotten stronger. However, she immediately shook her head in denial. So far, she hadn't seen anyone ascend beyond Cosmic realm. It was not impossible, but the chances were simply too slim.

"You do not need to worry about that Ms. Maria. We know what to do, and he would not be able to beat both of us combined.' Hearing Selna's reply Maria smiled.

This smelled like yet another opportunity. Should these two succeed and kill Indra, then she would eventually have stronger allies. Should they fail, she would absorb their energies and feed it to Daemon. In the end, to her, only Daemon's revival and Indra's downfall was all that mattered to her.

--

(Present day)

People screamed as the huge demon in front of the plaza punched forward, destroying the entrance in one go. With saliva dripping down, the demon snarled as it entered the main hall of the plaza. Soon, it was surrounded by security guards as they surrounded the demon with guns in their hands.

The guards were terrified upon witnessing this creature. They wanted to run away to their families and yet, they were ordered by the higher ups as various important people were stuck in this building.

"Fire!" Upon the chief security guard's orders, the men fired as many bullets as possible they had in their pistols. The creature remained still as it took bullets head on.

The security guards trembled as they notice the bullets ricochet off the demon. Arching its head sideways, the demon rushed towards one of the guards and punched him with much force.

The guard was immediately sent flying as crashed into a wall with blood dripping down mouth. He laid lifelessly inside the broken wall as the bones in his body were shattered and his internal organs were turned into pulp.

Simply put, he was dead. Before either of them could run away, the demon rushed towards the remaining guards and crushed their bodies mercilessly.

The creature at King's realm roared loudly as it made its way towards the remaining people within the plaza. Upon seeing the empty place, the creature walked forwards as it heard slight noises underneath it's legs. Raising both its arms and clenching them into a fist, it fiercely punched the ground beneath it.

Multiple floors immediately shattered bringing the creature down all the way towards several floors above where everyone were gathered inside a sheltered place. Despite jumping from such height, the creature simply stood up effortlessly and searched around using its sensitive eyes and sound.

Within the huge, sheltered place, many people were seen as they all had looks of fear and anxiety. After witnessing a creature of true malevolence, none had the confidence to refute Alice.

They had so many questions as to who Alice was and how she knew about this so-called monster. More than their questions, their lives took a greater importance as the questions can come after they survived.

Alice stood close to the door as she scanned the entire floor and a few floors above. The floors above them were still fine, as the people were still dining and talking to each other. Sher had to go and protect, or many will perish.

Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she decided to bring back as many people to the shelter as she could. She was nervous herself. A healer fighting in the frontlines was nothing but suicide. Just as she was about to give up, a person came up in her thoughts.

The man who not only saved many people, but also a man who was kind to everyone. His strength not only came from his power but also his ability to save those no matter how strong they were.

'Boss…' Alice clenched her fists as she turned around towards the people who were waiting to get out of this place safely. Just as she was about to leave, the entire floor shook as everyone felt the vibrations coming several floors from above.

Things have gotten worse. The people above her had now no chance of living. If she were to leave, she might be able to kill the monster by using her anti-healing spells. However, she needed to find the right time to attack the demonic creature. One wrong step and she would be killed.

The only flaw of being a healer was the person's physique. Alice's physique was only at the late stages of guardian's realm. Even though her power increase along with her intelligence and vitality, physique was the only exception.

Should she enter the Cosmic realm, then her physique would once again receive a slight boost.

Being aware of her shortcomings, Alice dedicated her remaining time throughout her life, practicing martial arts so that she does not fall under the pressure when faced by stronger opponents.

There little to no time, soon the creature would start killing people from each floor. Resolving herself, she opened the door and was ready to head out when she noticed the monster's aura completely disappeared, surprising Alice.

The continuous trembling ceased, and silence permeated once again, stunning everyone.

It was then she noticed a very familiar signature heading towards her at full speed. Smiling, she opened the door and was greeted by a figure whom she never expected to appear.

"Ricardo?"

"Yo, Alice. It seems like I've arrived just on time." Noticing his smile, Alice sighed in relief as she realized things turned out to be the opposite of what she had thought it would.

Hope certainly arrives in various forms.