System Nemesis

However, this time, something different occurred. While waiting for the end of the fight, floating into nothingness, a small gray orb appeared and drifted towards him.

"Hmmm?"

He was in his subconscious, so he highly doubted that it was nefarious. He moved in its direction and immediately grabbed it, trying to inspect it.

*BOOM*

The moment he seized it, a surge of power invaded his body and a harsh voice resounded around him. He had absolutely no clue about its origin or to whom it belonged, but its authority seemed absolute at this very instant.

"This… is… a… new… power… Be… cautious… when… you… use… it… Its… burden… is… very… heavy...."

Right when the sentence ended, the gray orb sucked in Thomas, and he re-entered his body. But… he was still in his Berserker mode!

He was currently laying down in a small crater, battered. However, his injuries were already quickly healing, and he felt the new power gorging every muscle of his body, reinforcing it.

This had never happened before, even when training with Derrick. He still couldn"t control his body, but he could see everything now and his thoughts were apparently influencing the indomitable force that drove it forward. It seemed that the previously irrational being now gained a new ace up its sleeve.

He lifted his head from the ground and saw Gor, petrified by Thomas"s new and tyrannic aura. It appeared that his opponent was tougher than expected, to the point where he was forced to unlock this new power.

From what he saw, it wasn"t only Gor, but all his surroundings that were under his influence, petrified. He felt sorry for Moira and her group, but it wasn"t like it was hurting them and even if he wanted to reign it in, he had no clue how or if he even could.

He got up from his hole, and started walking in Gor"s direction. The bulk of a man even started s.h.i.+vering in fear, unable to control himself. He clearly didn"t want to, but his body recognized the danger it was in.

When Thomas reached him, he grabbed his throat and lifted him up like a twig, ready to break him in half.

Thomas couldn"t believe his current strength! It was simply beyond his wildest dreams. Before he could think of anything, his mouth opened and a slurry sentence came out.

"You… mocked… me… Now… It"s… my… turn…"

***

Gor"s expression became even more bleak and before he could muster an answer, he was smashed in the ground, still grabbed by the neck.

The impact was so violent that his already wounded organs became critically injured, hurting so much that he simply wanted a quick death.

The Berserker didn"t let go and repeatedly crushed him in the ground before throwing him away like a rag doll. Gor"s body crashed and sc.r.a.ped the ground inelegantly, unable to recuperate a proper landing position.

When his momentum finally stopped, Gor was barely conscious, a.s.sessing the damage he had just taken. His injuries were so severe that he couldn"t move a single inch of his body. He tried faintly speaking, but only a mouthful of blood came out of his mouth. The biggest takeaway, however, was that he wasn"t on the verge of dying, yet.

Thomas"s victory made the already despairing soldiers fall to the ground lifelessly, unable to accept the result. This was their leader… The person they admired most and thought to be invincible. Gor losing was simply unfathomable.

With the fight over, Thomas"s aura started receding and his body, shrinking. What he didn"t expect was the immediate backlash. The sheer amount of pain submerging him was so overwhelming that he almost lost consciousness. Instead, he let out a shriek that sent s.h.i.+vers through everyone"s body, almost making them feel his pain.

Every remaining injury he had healed and when the process finally ended, he fell to his knees, unable to move. This was what the voice referred to… He complained in his head about the lax description of what he had just gone through.

With his aura gone, everyone could move once again, and the first reaction of Oleo"s soldiers were to a.s.sist Gor, who still laid pitifully on the ground. They quickly a.s.sessed his injuries and asked for the best healers to come and begin treatment. They didn"t want him to have permanent damage from this fight.

Once the orders were given, they turned around and once again faced their opponents.

Moira was doing the same thing, which was treating the injuries of John, Terry and Henry. Thomas finally managed to get off the ground and walk in their direction, joining their rank.

"I don"t know how to thank you for what you did… You saved our honor…"

John was the first to express his thanks, which were soon followed by Terry"s and Henry"s. If Moira had ended up in the same state as them, they couldn"t live with their failure.

"It"s nothing much. In fact, I have to apologize to you three for not coming to your aid sooner. My orders limited me from intervening"

Even though he was victorious, Thomas still felt bitter in his heart. The past few months had fundamentally changed him and his previously meaningless life was way past him. He was part of this new family, the army, and seeing his fellows get hurt pained his heart.

When he noticed the reformed defensive formation of his adversaries, his blood boiled once again. Unable to control himself, he roared at them.

"Can"t you see you"ve lost?! What is this pointless charade? We"ve only come here to negotiate the migration of your people to a city that will give you better lives, and your first reaction is to treat us like sc.u.m from the Empire?! SHAMELESS"

The posturing soldiers kept their weapons raised, but threw looks at each others, unsure of what to do. They were ready to give their lives to avenge their leader"s defeat, but it seemed he had been spared on purpose.

Finally, the supervisor, who had been at the origin of it all, spoke.

"How can you prove your words? We"ve yet to see real evidence of what you claim to represent"

This was the best approach he came up with. After seeing the absurd strength displayed by the opposing party, he didn"t want to send soldiers to their deaths. He had to be cautious and try to salvage the situation.

Thomas was pleased with the answer and thought about could prove their ident.i.ties. Akata didn"t have any official doc.u.ments, and its population was ever expanding. After a few seconds of reflection, a bright smile came on his exhausted face, and he asked Moira for an iron coin.

His clothes were in tatters from the fight and his crazy expansion, making him lose most of his belongings.

The woman nodded and took one out from a leather pouch still at her waist. Thomas took it and threw it near the feet of the man, who took it.

The coin had a pattern he had never seen before, and it was exquisite. He was sure it wasn"t made by the Krakow Empire, or at least it wasn"t while he was still living there.

"We make these in Akata. Are you finally interested in talking?"

The man was shocked and pondered, before leaving the front of the formation to go to Gor"s location at its back. The colossus was still being heavily treated by a few healers who seemed already exhausted by the work they were given.

It took a minute before the man came back to the front.

"We will hear out your proposition"