"You may be stronger than most of us, but even you two can't take on multiple S-Class awakened at once!"
Baltor roared as the seven S-Tiers opened another portal, taking both leaders away from the hall. This may be a forceful removal operation, but they couldn't destroy the entire planet for it, especially when it was the symbolic power of the empire.
Turning around, Baltor floated out of his seat and came to face the other members of the council. All those who were not part of the operation were surrounded, their hands raised to show their surrounder.
"Good choice," Baltor said with a soft grin. "Perhaps all hope is not lost."
The councilman was beginning to feel glad he made this choice, despite how things played out. In all honesty, he didn't want to resort to this plan, but he had to.
Baltor was sick and tired of watching grown men act like servants to a little child with a bit of power. So what if Alexander could seal veil tears and fight those creatures?
The only reason he could do that was because of his ability to use void energy — nothing more, nothing less. Maybe Alex would be angry his puppets got removed from office, but what was he going to do?
Kill them all?
He didn't think so. Baltor believed Alex had no understanding of the sacrifice and pain it took to lead the masses. It wasn't something you could do just because you were powerful.
"This will be over soon…" Baltor added.
"Definitely." A response came from one of the council members on the opposing side.
"Lucas…" Baltor narrowed his eyes. "What are you on about?" Lucas had his hands up but there was no trace of fear in his eyes or demeanor.
It even looked like he was directing a scornful look his way, something that rubbed Baltor the wrong way.
"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?" Lucas sneered with a playful glint in his eyes. "This little rebellion of yours is nothing but a child throwing tantrums, crying for toys that don't belong to him."
"Watch your tone, councilman." Baltor growled, not liking the way Lucas described their operations. "In case you've forgotten, your life is in my hands now."
"Is that so…" Lucas chuckled as he shook his head. "Well then, let's see how this plays out…" He left those words lingering in the quiet chambers, sitting back to relax.
Baltor furrowed his brows, his gaze shifting to those on Lucas' side. He noticed the same carefree demeanour in the way they raised their hands.
There was no panic, no fear and no attempt to resist the hunters surrounding them. This observation began making the leader anxious. He didn't like this feeling one bit.
'Those S-Class better fulfill their mission. We didn't spend all those resources just so you could fail…'
...
Basso and Jaseph were brought to outer space and out of Titan's star system. The seven hunters were instructed to neutralize the leaders without causing damage to the star system.
Without delay, the seven hunters made their move.
However, before all that could happen, Basso and Jaseph switched their perception of time, instantly making everything around them move at an incredibly slow pace — they were in other words, moving at speeds the hunters could not perceive yet.
"I didn't think the morons would really go through with it." Bassa said, surprise in his tone. "Is their greed for power and resources that high?"
"Why are you even asking that question?" Jaseph shook his head. "You and I both know we were like that once upon a time — even Zara. The only difference is that we realized the futility of it all when we connected with Alexander.
"What we need to concern ourselves with is how we're going to deal with this… this farce." Jaseph looked at the hardened expressions on the hunters' faces and sighed.
"That's not all…" Basso added. "It's clear some members and their house seek independence. The universe is a lot safer than it was, teeming with life and resources beyond anything we could have imagined.
"It's not all that surprising some people would want to leave and carve out a piece for themselves. Everyone wants to be at the top."
"..."
This was a concern they had to address. Jaseph understood the words of his colleague. His gaze shifted to the backdrop of the universe as he pondered on the issue.
The leaders could see where this would eventually take them. It felt like they were regressing to their old ways. Humans would begin living apart from one another until they eventually become strangers.
A few generations and evolution later, they'd become different races with different ideals, fighting throughout the cosmos for any new discovery or treasure that would give one group an advantage over the other.
It would be chaotic.
Only this time, there would be no common enemies to redirect their focus. They would still be void creatures, but they would be reduced to nothing but scavengers roaming the vast universe.
'This isn't the first something like this has happened.' The two suddenly heard Alex's voice again. 'This is the nature of all sentient beings in the universe. It can't be helped.'
'Is-isn't there a way to put an end to all this?' Jaseph asked anxiously. 'Right now, it's only the upper echelons itching for independence. Eventually, it will reach the people as well.'
His input was spot on.
Maybe not now or even for another thousand years, but it will definitely come. Learning from history rarely ever worked in these situations — not when our drive was what pushed us forward.
'There is…' The reply came. 'However, it isn't that simple. To take away that nature, I'll have to change every living being's core drive — those alive and those to come.
'I don't want to do that because…'
'Because it will make us stagnant. Taking that away is the same as turning us into puppets. With no drive, no desire, there would be no growth.' Basso added, already seeing the outcome of such an act. 'This is crazy…'
'Regardless, this is not the time for human greed to rear its head.' Alex put the topic aside. 'This will happen again in the future, but for now…put a stop to it.'
'Yes.'