Everyone watched as the crescent shot towards the whirlwind.
BOOOM!
The crescent exploded into a shower of lasers, burning holes in the ground as far as the eye could see.
Everything was too bright, and nobody could tell whether or not the attack had hit.
Did they get it?
Everyone looked on in anxiety.
The light vanished.
Nick took a deep breath.
In the next moments, red pieces of brain fell to the ground.
Nick saw the crescent hitting the Envious Researcher head-on.
It had been a perfect shot.
It landed exactly on the brain of the Envious Researcher, and when it hit, Nick couldn't see the Envious Researcher anymore.
If Nick were just looking with his eyes or his Zephyx sense, there would be a possibility that the Envious Researcher was still alive.
However, Nick's ability worked by using an enemy's perception to his advantage.
If the Envious Researcher survived, it wouldn't suddenly shut off all its senses and look away.
Nick would have felt it retreating.
Additionally, he noticed something else as well.
Several Hatchlings had appeared out of nowhere around Aegis' headquarters.
The death of a powerful Adversary would increase the density of Prephyx significantly, creating more Hatchlings.
All the signs pointed towards the Envious Researcher's demise.
It was dead.
It was actually dead!
"I hit it head-on," the Champion confirmed.
Subconsciously, the Technician and the Left Arm threw a glance at Nick.
Nick had said that they got it, but was he just going along with some kind of deceit that the Champion was trying to pull?
Nick just looked at them.
And when they saw his eyes, they understood.
It was actually dead!
There was a chance that the Champion would try to mask his failure since he was technically working with the Envious Researcher.
But Nick wasn't working for the Specters.
The Technician fell onto his butt in shock.
They had actually done it?!
The Envious Researcher was dead?
Even the Left Arm had an expression of shock on her face.
The Envious Researcher was dead!
This was the first Adversary Aegis had ever killed, and it was a significant one at that!
Killing the Envious Researcher was a bigger accomplishment than killing Famine, Pestilence, or War!
It was a bigger accomplishment than killing all of the Corruptors!
The Envious Researcher had had a gigantic impact on humanity's development.
And now, it was dead!
While the others tried to come to terms with this new development, Nick was analyzing the situation.
'Except for Death, nobody is looking at us,' Nick thought.
'The Sun has already looked at me once, which means the aliens can use it to look at Earth.'
'One of their primary suppression factors was killed by humanity, at the hand of their double agent.'
'And yet, they are not even looking at what happens.'
'If I were them, I would program the Sun to send an alarm when the Envious Researcher dies.'
'This is the biggest achievement of this era…'
'And the aliens are not even looking to check what happened.'
Nick's eyes narrowed.
'This was planned.'
'The Envious Researcher was supposed to die today.'
'Was this why the Sun looked at me?'
'Did the Champion talk to the Sun and argued that increasing humanity's power would be a good idea?'
'Most likely, he told the Sun that I could sense the Envious Researcher and the aliens got curious, which made them look at me.'
Nick looked at the Champion, who gazed at the pieces of brain with pride.
Then, he looked at the Left Arm.
It was not the Champion who had killed the Envious Researcher.
Technically, yes, he had killed the Envious Researcher, but he was not the reason why it was dead.
The Champion didn't want to kill the Envious Researcher, but the Left Arm managed to convince him.
She had played with the Champion like he was a puppet and made him do her bidding.
She managed to convince the Champion to plead their case in front of his superior.
'There's a good reason why she was the Left Arm of the old Champion.'
'In general, the right arm of the ruler is viewed as their representative. The right arm speaks for the ruler and acts on their behalf. The right arm is the public face of the ruler.' ᚱ𝒶ꞐȮβƐṦ
'Yet, the left arm stays in the shadows. They do all the dirty work and control things from the shadows. They are dealing with all of the hidden threats so that the right arm can posture in public.'
'While the old Champion was asleep, she essentially ran all of Aegis. The Right Arm was busy in the field, hunting and threatening the powerful Specters.'
'The Left Arm is the true ruler of Aegis, and the appearance of a new Champion has not changed that.'
'She decides who lives and dies.'
Back in Crimson City, Nick had thought a lot about Aegis.
A global organization that worked for the good of mankind.
Back then, he didn't know how Aegis worked and who made the decisions.
How could all the Protectors work for the good of mankind without being corrupt?
Now, Nick knew.
The Left Arm gave the orders, and she also controlled almost all of the Protectors.
The Protectors all reported to her directly, and even the other Shields all reported to her.
She controlled everything.
The Champion was not the reason why Aegis was so powerful.
The Champion was simply a weapon meant for deterrence.
It was almost never used.
'At this point, I have to question something.'
'Is she always in Aegis' headquarters to protect the Champion from Death, or is the Champion there to protect her?'
'If the Left Arm died, it would be worse than if the Champion died.'
Nick looked at the Left Arm, and he saw her cutting off the long hair that had grown while she had been using her ability.
The hair had turned completely white, and Nick could see some weakness in her eyes.
There were also some new wrinkles around her eyes.
He was reminded of the powerful Suppressor who had suppressed the Crimson Sea.
From what he had heard, that Suppressor had to pay a dear price whenever he used his primary ability.
The Left Arm had used her full power in this fight, and while she wasn't dead yet, it was clear that she had also paid a dear price.
'The Left Arm is ancient. She won't be here forever.'
At that point, Nick looked at the Champion, and his eyebrows rose.
The Champion looked with discomfort at the Left Arm.
'Or is this just another trick? Did she deliberately show her true age to stop the Champion from pursuing her?'
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