Post-Apocalyptic Dispatch Society

"Xuna?" The Lerni Emperor tried his best to maintain his composure, but his eyes couldn't help but dart towards the broken ceiling from which Xuna and Rhizen had sauntered in.

"What's the situation in the Fornol Empire, Xuna?" A minister took charge to question them. He was the one maintaining the intelligence circle, having personally trained all the spies, including Xuna.

So, even though he hadn't seen her for a decade, he could still recognise her, asking, "What happened to the rest of our spies? Everyone went dark in the past month."

"They have all been captured, interrogated, and killed." Xuna sighed as she said, "I only managed to barely escape, and that's only thanks to him beside me."

The minister looked at Rhizen in response, feeling his heart rate accelerate automatically in the process, for there was an air of power emanating from him.

Of course, even if he just stood plainly, Rhizen's countenance would overwhelm the average person unless he tried to conceal himself.

The reason for this was simple: his experience.

Once, he was Host to the Coincidental Luck System, hunted by dozens of Systems loop after loop. But even through everything, Rhizen had schemed to eventually outwit his foes and become free, also gaining independence for his world from the control of the Systems, becoming the first in history to do that.

Moreover, he had even stolen a priceless treasure of the Systems in the process and now was developing to openly oppose one of their Grade 3 Systems.

He was the head of the PADS, an organisation that now controlled three worlds. So, as the head of an intergalactic society, the sheer presence he exuded was on a whole other level.

All in all, the minister was terrified of the other party. Though, only he was like this, the rest of the people in the court, including the Emperor weren't able to sense anything.

This was because, as a retired spy, and as someone that controlled intelligence and trained the next generation of spies, the ability to peer into details further than what a human normally caught on was the essence of being a spy.

And having been in the field for many decades, it had become his second nature. This was why he realised one thing while staring at Rhizen.

Terrifying!

He could sense that a single thought from Rhizen would decide the fate of the Lerni Empire, unable to control himself as he asked with a trembling voice, shocking everyone else of the contents as he looked at Rhizen, "A-Are you…God?"

"I'm not." Rhizen shook his head, "I'm only human."

He then looked at everyone, pointing at Xuna as he said, "Xuna too is a human. Or rather, after inheriting my power, she has become a Horned Human. Horned Humans are the only ones that can face the Blight Humans of the Fornol Empire."

"Choose," His voice boomed, "You too would be able to inherit this power should you side with me."

"If you don't…" He shrugged, "You won't receive my protection when the Fornol Empire's Blight Humans invade your Empire in large numbers."

"Is this true?" The Emperor looked at Xuna, "How strong are these…Blight Humans? Are they something my canons can't destroy?"

"Can I show them?" In response, Xuna looked at Rhizen, asking for permission.

Upon seeing him nod, Xuna condensed her power, switching to the canon state as she pointed at the ground, pressing the trigger as an elongated sphere of Nacre blasted out, resulting in a rumble as a large crater, two metres in diameter was created on the hard ground, stunning everyone.

Panting a little, Xuna observed the stupefied expression of everyone, saying, "I've only just become a Horned Human, so my power is still weak. But a month later, I'll be a lot stronger than this. And a few months later…"

She looked at the Emperor, "None of our Empire's canons would be able to harm me."

"This is true for the Blight Humans too."

Hiss!

Everyone inhaled sharply in response, their eyes staring at the crater that had formed in shock before realisation finally hit them.

The world was changing!

And if they failed to adapt, they would be left behind in the changing times. There was only one option as the Lerni Emperor, being the cunning man he was, submitted to the change.

'That was simple.' Rhizen smiled in response as his wings flapped, bringing him out of the palace as he hovered above the expansive palace grounds, muttering as he extended his hand, "This place seems good enough."

Apocalyptic Arts—Dust Wave (IX)!

A large crater was created in the ground, one spanning a radius of thirty metres and a depth of ten metres.

He transformed into the Whale, opening his mouth as all the plants in the vicinity were sucked into it, rapidly digested in the whale body before ejected out as poop.

The Homing Feathers carried large slabs of Whale poop and mixed it with the dust created by digging the crater in the ground.

A large sludge was created as Rhizen unleashed his Apocalyptic Art of Static Force, compressing the sludge to the limit to create a pillar.

He then planted the pillar into the ground, bordering the crater that he had created, nodding in praise before erecting a dozen pillars in total, covering the perimeter of the crater.

He then used the same means to erect a dome that covered the entirety of the crater, acting as a form of protection for the Tower of Purification.

Following that, Rhizen arrived in the centre of the crater, inhaling a deep breath as he closed his eyes, sensing the location of the Pearl Buck as he raised his hand in its direction, clenching it into a fist.

Apocalyptic Arts—Thieving Heaven (VIII)!

Thieving Heaven was a spatial ability that allowed him to steal a variety of things. But, it also allowed him to intrude into enclosed places, the means he used to enter the portal in an instant to chase after Yulna to this world.

That was also what he used at the battle of Yonka City where he stole all corruption from a region of thirty kilometres surrounding it. Of course, he unleashed Devouring Heaven instead of Stealing Heaven to rapidly convert the stolen corruption into Nacre.

Thanks to the power of Thieving Heaven, his Pearl Buck vanished from its original location and was implanted in the centre of the crater. This way, he didn't have to deactivate it, which might prove risky considering how the Astral Network might take the chance to reconnect with the world.

The Pearl Buck was transplanted successfully as it began to absorb nutrients from the ground and generate Nacre slowly.

The generated Nacre spread out before seeping into the dome that he had created, slowly reinforcing it. This was for the dome to act as a final layer of defence against any attacks aimed at the Pearl Buck.

It also made defending the place easier for the Horned Humans that would appear next so that he could focus fully on chasing after Yulna.

That wasn't all, a couple of seconds later, the Pearl Buck whirred with Nacre before erecting the safe zone. And this time, as there wasn't any corruption to hinder it, the safe zone spread out to encompass the entire capital city.

Of course, he could make it bigger if he wished, but that would stretch its defences too thin. After all, the barrier protecting the safe zone too needed Nacre to maintain itself. And once the Horned Humans begin to appear, their horns too would absorb the produced Nacre.

This would mean that the Nacre production would become strained further. So, the bigger the safe zone was, the greater the strain. And as Nacre production was naturally slow here, he calculated its size, keeping it small, only encompassing the capital city.

By the time the Emperor, the ministers, and Xuna arrived at the training grounds, he was done with all preparations, watching them stare agape at the large dome-like structure that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Rhizen was just that fast in setting everything up.

"Come in." He said, opening the doors to the dome as he allowed everyone to enter, pointing at the fruits hanging from the branches of the Pearl Buck as he said, "Consume one of them each. You'll become a Horned Human once you do that."

…

Fornol Empire palace basement, the four guards were sweating profusely, having just seen Rhizen arrive and leave in a matter of seconds.

But as Blight Humans, they were able to sense a vast amount of power from him, akin to an ocean, capable enough to drown their world, causing them to despair.

A couple of minutes later, they were startled to hear rumbling sounds behind them, turning around to see the Tower of Corruption regrowing as Yulna's figure appeared, sighing as she wiped her sweat, "I was almost caught by him."

In the past month, she had been digging underground tunnels to escape through the moment she detected Rhizen's approach.

As to how she detected his approach? It was through Mental Energy of the Blight Humans that were posted sentry throughout the place.

The moment they noticed any mysterious entity, through the Mental Energy—from their thoughts—they generated, Yulna would learn of his arrival. Following that, she would escape from the place along with her Tower of Corruption, returning only after confirming his absence.

"G-God Mother…" One of the four royal guards meant to protect her muttered in shock, "Is t-that…"

"Yep, that's my enemy, Rhizen." Yulna nodded, sighing as she looked at their terrified expressions, "He's strong, right?"

"Can he even be killed?" One of the royal guards asked, barely reigning in his despair.

'If it were easy, why else would I be having so much trouble?' Yulna sighed, feeling a headache, "He's one damn lucky bastard that can be considered the embodiment of luck itself."

"But," Her expression turned serious, expressing killing intent as she emanated a dense stream of corruption, "He must be killed, no matter what."

"And he will be."