Novel's Extra: I Awakened The Strongest Physique From The Start

CHAPTER 148 - Finally Over?

The battlefield lay silent, save for the faint crackling of dissipating violet energy. The air was thick and heavy with the stench of scorched earth and ozone.

A dull haze of smoke curled lazily into the darkening sky, and the acrid smell of destruction stung the nose like a bitter memory. The once-vibrant clearing was now a desolate wasteland, a vast crater carved into the earth, its jagged edges glowing faintly from residual heat.

Alex lay motionless on the edge of the devastation, his body slack and trembling. The violet energy that had once roared through him had faded, leaving only faint wisps of light curling from his skin. He was unconscious. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

On the far side of the battlefield, Zahara's fiery form flickered with exhaustion, her breaths ragged and uneven as she faced the lone remaining assassin. The air around her shimmered with heat waves, distorting the edges of her silhouette, yet her red eyes remained sharp and focused.

'Just a little more,' she thought.

The assassins, who seemed unkillable from the start, suddenly stopped moving. The only one who remained standing was the Star Connection realm assassin, and unlike before, he too seemed to be getting tired.

Zahara was certain that she could finish it soon. She was confident about it, and it should be something to celebrate.

But something was wrong.

She couldn't help but let go of this strange feeling clawing at her heart.

Zahara's fiery eyes kept glancing at Alex, and although he seemed to be in pain, he didn't seem to be in any immediate danger.

Then she saw it.

From the shadows cast by the remaining haze, a faint movement stirred—a figure dragging itself forward with a will that defied reason.

Number 10. His body was broken, shattered beyond recognition, yet he clung to life with the ferocity of a cornered animal. His left side was nearly gone, dissolved by the destruction energy, leaving a grotesque trail of blackened flesh and exposed bone.

And yet, he crawled.

His remaining hand clutched a dagger that pulsed with a sickly green light as he stared at Alex lying some distance away.

Number 10's breaths came in wet, gurgling gasps, but his eyes burned with a singular purpose. His voice was barely a whisper, rasping against the thick tension. "The mission... must not fail..."

Those words kept repeating in his head like a broken tape recorder. He was on his deathbed—barely surviving by summoning a portal to shield himself from the destruction breath yet unable to protect himself.

Those words, however, didn't care about his situation. It was as if his soul couldn't go against those words.

Time slowed. And Zahara's eyes widened.

Sophie's frantic voice rang in Zahara's mind, sharp and urgent. [You need to kill him! Alex can't move. He's unconscious in both dream space and the real world.]

[The backlash from using that destructive power didn't come without a cost!] Sophie explained it all in one breath as she urged Zahara, [You need to protect him.]

Zahara's heart leaped into her throat, her gaze snapping to Alex's still form. The realization hit her like a punch to the gut: Alex was defenseless. Vulnerable.

What was more, she had seen Sophie panic this much for the first time.

Zahara clenched the locket in her fist. 'Maybe it was because I have the protection that rightfully belongs to him,' she muttered inwardly.

Her gaze returned to the assassin in front of her. He seemed to have noticed it as well, and he didn't seem to have any intention of letting Zahara go.

She tried to move, to surge forward, but the star-connection assassin before her lunged, blocking her path with a flurry of precise strikes. Her flames flared angrily, but the assassin danced around them, forcing her backstep by agonizing step.

"Out of my way!" Zahara roared, but her opponent grinned, sensing her desperation.

Meanwhile, Number 10's crawl turned into a pitiful shuffle. His dagger gleamed malevolently, reflecting the dim light of the battlefield. Each agonizing inch felt like an eternity as he closed the distance to Alex.

"No!!!" Zahara's frustration boiled over. Her flames surged outward in a desperate attempt to break through, but the assassin countered with cruel precision, exploiting her panic.

And then... a breeze.

It came suddenly, unnaturally, cutting through the heavy, oppressive air like a whisper. The smoke and ash seemed to part, and with it came a voice—soft yet sharp, like the edge of a blade.

"Nuh-uh."

The words echoed eerily, carrying an undeniable authority that froze everything in its wake. Zahara's flames flickered and dimmed as her eyes widened. Even the assassin before Zahara hesitated, his blade faltering mid-swing.

From the shadows, she appeared.

Kaira Strakler.

She moved like the wind—silent, fluid, and impossibly fast. Dressed in a pitch-black assassin's garb that seemed to drink in the surrounding light, she was a vision of lethal grace. Her raven hair flowed behind her like a shadow, and her piercing eyes locked onto Number 10 with an intensity that made the air itself shiver.

Number 10's dagger hovered inches from Alex's chest, trembling in his unsteady grasp. His eyes flickered upward just in time to see Kaira descending upon him, her own dagger glinting like a shard of the night sky.

Time seemed to stop entirely.

Kaira's dagger found its way to Number 10's skull, burying itself to the hilt. For a fleeting moment, his body spasmed, his hand dropping the poisoned blade mere millimeters from Alex's chest.

Then, silence.

Kaira withdrew her dagger in one smooth motion, letting Number 10's lifeless body collapse to the ground in a heap of ash and ruin. She turned to Alex, her expression unreadable as she knelt beside him, her movements careful yet swift.

"Only the ones who love you can hurt you," she muttered, a soft smile panting her face as she sighed. "I'm glad I wasn't late."

Kaira had heard of the news about Alex's eighteenth birthday, and she had known that there would be assassination attempts, so she had used all of her manpower to keep an eye on any strange movement in the human region, unlike the empire, which solely focused on its security.

That was how she came to know of this place, situated far off in the wilderness that the barbarians control.

She had to make sure that no harm came Alex's way. After all...

'I love you so much,' Kaira grinned, her fingers tracing Alex's cheeks.

"Who're you?!" A shout was heard, cutting the soft atmosphere between Kaira and Alex. It was Zahara. She had finally broken free from her opponent; her flames had consumed the assassin in one last burst of fury.

She was exhausted, and she was thankful for Kaira, but she couldn't let the girl stay closer to Alex for longer than this.

Kaira seemed dangerous to her.

Kaira glanced up at her approach, frowning a bit as she wondered, 'Should I kill her? She's been getting way too close to my lover.'

She pulled her dagger out of Number 10's skull, clenching it hard as a cold light flashed past her eyes, but before she could move...

Woosh!

Another breeze—fiercer than the one she came along with—blew, and a man wearing clothes similar to hers appeared behind her.

The tension remained, but above them, the smoke cleared by the breeze, revealing a sky painted with the fading hues of twilight. The battlefield was still, the echoes of destruction replaced by an uneasy calm.

Kaira frowned harder, her gaze fixed on Alex as she muttered, "I told you that I would handle it, didn't I?"

"People stronger than me would be arriving soon." The man spoke, his voice distorted.

"They formed the magic circle already?" Kaira questioned in surprise and shock, to which the man just nodded, pointing at the locket on Zahara's neck. "It seems that activating the defensive artifact made it easier for them."

Kaira remained silent, her expression unreadable, but there was a sharpness in her eyes that hinted at unspoken thoughts.

"This isn't over," she said softly, almost to herself, before disappearing into the shadows as suddenly as she had come.

Zahara sighed in relief as she had prepared to do whatever it took to ensure Alex's safety, but it seemed it wasn't needed anymore.

"Alex..." She limped toward Alex, her gaze heavy with tiredness as the fatigue caught up to her as well, and as soon as she reached Alex, her body fell next to him with a thud. Her palm right above Alex, clenched hard as she went unconscious as well.

A bright light shone right after, brightening the area before three women appeared at a corner of the battlefield.

It was Vanessa, Alenia, and Beatrice. It seems like they were able to recreate the magic circle and use it to come here.