Lord of Annihilation

Hearing Lucius' words, those who did not understand his personality would misinterpret it as an insult. However, Ka'lor'ah knew, his words were in fact a form of encouragement.

'He actually has such a high evaluation of Alex. Not considering him a insignificant bug, or calling him a measly worm.' Ka'lor;ah inwardly thought to herself.

Outside, the students who were watching these two young men interact were already dumbfounded.

Looking at the usually stoic and arrogant Alex grabbing the collar of an other student in anger, they weren't surprised. Such a sight was common.

Alex was the type of guy who would talk with his fists, rather than with his mouth. His arrogant nature only served to intensify his conflicts.

The real shock came when, Alex suddenly retreated his hands and used it to smoothen out the creases on that unknown student's uniform, all while wearing a fawning smile on his face.

They then saw his trying to say something to mend the tense atmosphere, only for the stranger to complete ignore him.

While they could not hear the contents of their conversation, the fact that Alex had somehow curbed his arrogance was shocking enough.

Looking at Lucius as if he was a strange new specimen. All of their heads contained the same thought.

'What is happening? Who is this guy?'

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Looking at Alex's punch coming at him, Lucius did not panic.

Rather he was calmly evaluating the strength behind it, the flow of soul power, the intent behind it, etc.

Needless to say, Lucius was disappointed.

'His swing is too wide, leaving too much space for dodging. The wastage of soul power is too great and there is no substantial intent behind it.'

'His rage has completely blinded his combat sense.' Lucius concluded.

A Stage 0 trying to bring down a Stage 1, was similar to a single ant trying to defeat an elephant. It was simply nonsensical.

The difference between both of them, excluding physique and experience, was as vast as the distance between the Heavens and the earth.

This was purely comparing their respective amounts and quality of soul energy, flowing in their bodies.

Alex's soul power had not consolidated and simply resembled clouds. Lucius however was simply a step away from Stage 1 Mid level. The Liquid Phase.

His soul power had already been accumulated and compacted to certain level. Taking a glance into his mindspace, one can notice that the previously vague reddish-black clouds now looked similar to flowing water. It was tangible and formless, similar to water.

Lucius' control and flow had also reached Mid level, with him simply requiring some time to breakthrough.

With the most minimalistic movements, Lucius evaded Alex's punch by a hair's margin. Using his index finger, he channeled a tiny bit of his soul power, before tapping at a certain point in his arm.

Alex's power filled arm suddenly dropped lifelessly.

Lucius then proceeded to land an ordinary punch in Alex's abdomen.

A low Bam was heard.

Alex's eyes widened in disbelief. He sincerely believed that he might catch Lucius' off-guard and successfully land that hit. Reality however was different.

Alex used his other hand to support the lifelessly hanging one and dropped to the ground powerlessly. Hanging his head, he spoke with a weak voice.

"How did you do that?"

Lucius, who was standing perfectly upright, replied blandly.

"I blocked the pathway of your soul power with mine, resulting in this situation. If you had paid attention to your pathway and changed it effectively when you noticed my finger approaching, then you could have easily prevented this."

"I see." a powerless voice replied.

Suddenly, Lucius crouched down and held Alex's face with his hands. He stared into his dim, defeat filled eyes and asked.

"Why do you want to become stronger?"

Alex was mildly surprised. He then replied in a faint tone.

"Because I want to save mankind."

"And why do you want to save mankind?" Lucius inquired.

"Because..... Ka'lor'ah told me too?" Alex replied unsure of his own answer.

The idea of becoming stronger, was to save humanity. This was what he had heard from Ka'lor'ah. She had told him that, this was his future. His destiny.

"So you want to save mankind because someone told you that this was your destiny?" Lucius asked understanding the crux of the point.

Without giving Alex a chance to reply, he continued.

"How pathetic. A weakling like you, wants to protect other weaklings. For what?"

"Simply because you're one of them?"

"I..-" Alex tried to intervene but Lucius did not give him an opportunity.

"The powerful prevail, while the weak die. This is the law of survival. Why bother wasting your power on protecting these trash?" Lucius spoke with contempt while lifting his head to stare at the other students in the room.

"Look at them. Seeing one of their own kind in trouble, they do not move in to assist. Simply being content on watching you get beat up."

Forcing Alex's head to look at the others, he continued.

"Is this what you want to protect? If so, then I laugh at your ideals."

He then released his hold on Alex's face and stood up. Looking down upon Alex, he shook his head and spoke.

"I believed you to be different. Someone better than these worms around us."

"Alas, I am disappointed. Seems like you are also an insignificant bug, holding on to your useless pride and arrogance. A bully who fears the strong and bullies the weak. A bug like them, meant to be stepped upon by powerful beings like me." the disappointment in his words were plain to see.

Leaving behind these words, Lucius turned to leave. He no longer wanted to stay in this place, surrounded by such invertebrate worms.

Just as Lucius had taken his first step, a strong voice was heard from behind.

"You are wrong!" Alex spoke. His voiced laced with strength and determination.

"Oh. How was I wrong?" Lucius asked, faking curiosity.

"I am not a insignificant bug!" Alex slowly rose his head to stare at Lucius' back. His voice also rose by a few notches.

"And Humanity is not a weak insect to be stepped upon by the likes of you!", his voice thundered.

"Mere words cannot change reality." Lucius calmly spoke, still not turning back to look at Alex.

"THEN I WILL PROVE IT WITH MY FISTS!" he bellowed.

"The same fists that were beaten a few moments ago?" Lucius questioned and Alex flinched.

Still he immediately recovered and spoke with resolve.

"Indeed, my fists are weaker than yours, but that is only for now! I will become stronger and personally beat you!"

Pausing for a second, he then spoke out.

"Plus unlike you, I'm not alone! Mankind will stand on my side!"

"The very same mankind, you look down upon!"

"Heh." Lucius gave a light chuckle but did not speak. He simply turned around to face Alex and spoke a single line.

"Then let me see, if that resolve of your's hold true after you experience hell."

Taking a deep breath he spoke.

"What true power looks like."

Saying so, Lucius did not clarify any further and simply walked to the corner of the carfeteria. Finding a spot away from the lights, he lightly leaned into the wall and closed his eyes.

Nobody could see his face nor that small smile that had formed upon it.

Ka'lor'ah who had silently watched the proceeding, finally spoke.

"You think he's motivated enough?"

"His weakness and strength, is his pride and love for humanity. This was also the reason he died so early in his previous life."

"By exploiting this point and painting myself as the enemy, I planted enough resolve in him to work harder. At least this time, he will not be caught unaware." not specifying what he meant.

Looking at Alex, who stood in the distance, staring at his fists with a determined expression, Lucius thought to himself.

'I really look forward for his growth.'

Comprehending his plans, Ka'lor'ah finally understood. But then , she hesitated for a moment before speaking once again.

"Aren't you isolating yourself then. By becoming the enemy of the 'Great Commander', you are setting yourself to be ostracized and condemned."

Hearing her concern Lucius simply laughed.

"What do I care about a bunch of worms thinking badly about me? As for loneliness, I am far too used to that." His voice did not contain any of the joy in that laughter. It was cold and mechanical.

Ka'lor'ah simply sighed to herself at his response.

'His thinking is too pragmatic. He no longer seeks the company of others and rejects them. He isolating himself to avoid being hurt once again.'

'Oh, Lucius. Why do you not get it?'

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The other students who watched this entire sequence of events were very confused.

They did not understand what Alex and Lucius were talking about, but grasped something else.

That unknown student, referred to them as insects and worms. He thoroughly looked down upon all of them and did not place him in their eyes.

This fact had irked their pride and earned him their ire.

Each and everyone of them were from a influential family and a genius is their own right. Having a student similar to their age look down upon them, was too infuriating.

In fact, some of them had already began making plans to get back at him later.

'You dare look down upon us? Alright, no matter who you are, we shall make your life a living hell.'

'Plus you provoked someone like Alex Hellwig. Do you really think you can get away without any consequence?'

They snickered at Lucius, while staring at him with dark gazes.

One gaze among them however was far too dark.

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Alex had recovered the strength in his hands and also stared at Lucius with a dark expression. However, his thoughts weren't as hostile as the other students.

'So what if you are Stage 1? You think I can't overtake you and become even stronger?' he thought to himself.

Suddenly a loud voice interrupted this hostile atmosphere.

"SORRY FOR BEING LATE! WE GOT SIDETRACKED AND FORGOT ABOUT THE TIME!", a clear and pleasant voice sounded.

Immediately upon hearing this voice, creases formed upon Lucius' forehead.

"You gotta be kidding me." he growled.