6 6: Pride

6: Pride

Explosions, blasts, and booms, thunderous impacts followed by screams.

Everything distorted in the cacophony of sounds that was the battlefield.

Thousands of soldiers surrounded a single spot, their hands trembling, sweat dripping from his forehead.

Mark accelerated, everything in his path turned to debris, his body pierced through the strongest alloys with ease, his fists broke bodies as if they weren't even there.

Wherever his shadow was seen, only rubble remained.

"Woaa!!!" he shouted as his fist met what could only be described as a 5-meter tall metal giant.

The giant's chest caved in, the sonic blast sent uncontrollable gusts of air that sent hundreds of Flaxan soldiers flying.

The enormous metal body crashed to the ground, creating a crater several meters deep. Mark shook his somewhat numb hand and looked around. Thousands of eyes filled with anger, fear, desperation, and hatred stared at him from all directions.

Some of the excitement he had been feeling faded away. He spat saliva and blood onto the ground, wiped the corner of his mouth, and took a deep breath. How much time had passed?

He looked at the sky, it wasn't blue, it was a dark reddish color that made it difficult to keep track of the days. He touched his chin; the stubble told him that at least a few weeks must have passed.

He clenched his fists; his strength had grown too. He couldn't calculate how much, being in a constant state of battle made it difficult to take the time for it.

As he stood there, a rain of thousands of red energy projectiles began to travel towards him from all directions.

Mark watched them coming but did nothing to dodge. In less than a second, the whole place was engulfed in a red light, the ground exploded, the air shifted, and a huge cloud of dust rose.

The Flaxans watched from their position with fear and hope, hope of having defeated one of the two Demon Gods that had been plaguing their world.

That hope shattered when the dust cloud was forcefully cleared, Mark emerged from it unscathed, without a scratch beyond his suit, which had long gone.

With slow steps, he approached the one he identified as the commander of these soldiers. The Flaxan tried to step back, run and flee, hide behind his men.

But that was impossible, before he could blink, Mark's figure blurred and arrived in front of him, leaving behind only a residual image.

The Flaxan commander's eyes widened with fear. Mark leaned close to his ear and whispered.

"Boo~"

It was as if all the green color drained from his face, he became so pale that Mark would have thought his natural color was white.

His body trembled for a moment, then his eyes dulled as if he were a statue and fell lifelessly to the ground.

He had died of fear.

The nearby Flaxan soldiers paled, they recoiled unable to believe what they had witnessed. Mark's eyes met theirs; he didn't have to say anything, in a second, they were all running. They dropped their weapons, turned their vehicles around, and fled without looking back.

As Mark watched them leave, he simply sighed, stretched his body, and searched among the corpses left behind until he found one wearing pants roughly his size.

Robbing the dead of their clothes wasn't something he would ever boast about.

"You let them go" Nolan descended from the sky, his suit still impeccable, no sign of battle on his body, perhaps the only difference in him was the beard that was beginning to grow on his face.

Mark put on the pants and looked at him. At first, he thought his father would ravage the planet once they arrived, but he didn't.

Instead, he took care of key points, destroyed the most important bases and the most problematic armed forces, then simply left him to fight alone.

Without explanation, without saying anything, he just flew away and left him at the mercy of hundreds of thousands of bloodthirsty Flaxan soldiers.

Needless to say, in the first few days, he had to run several times.

"Enjoyed your vacation? How are the alien beaches? Are there beautiful green women in space bikinis?"

The obvious sarcasm in Mark's voice was evident to Nolan.

Omniman sighed, knowing his son would be somewhat upset with him for leaving him alone during this time.

But it was necessary, he needed to see him, he needed to know that Mark had what it takes.

"Why did you let them go, Mark?"

Mark clenched his fists, looked at his father, more precisely at his eyes, those eyes that tried to judge him, as if he were about to scold him for doing something wrong.

"This fight is over, Dad, they can't hurt me anymore"

Nolan furrowed his brows.

Mark continued speaking.

"Those weren't soldiers anymore, I killed all their soldiers days ago, those were just civilians wearing uniforms that barely fit them and carrying weapons they can barely hold in a fight they can't win, this fight is over"

He emphasized the last word.

Mark wasn't a genocidal maniac, he never planned to destroy all the Flaxans. While fighting was something he had come to enjoy, that was only when his opponent faced him without fear.

But destroying their cities? Killing their women and children? Killing civilians?

There was a line Mark wasn't willing to cross; he wasn't a hero, but he wasn't a monster either, and he wasn't going to change that just because his life was different now.

If he changed who he was, if he destroyed his values and morals, would he still be him? Would this still be a life worth fighting for?

Nolan sighed and shook his head.

"Listen, Mark, this fight isn't over, their government is still standing, their cities are still producing weaponry, their scientists are still trying to find a way to kill you. They won't stop until they understand, Mark, until they learn their place"

His words made Mark furrow his brows.

"Their place? And exactly how would I show them that?"

Nolan didn't notice the harsh tone in his son's voice; instead, he smiled.

It was time to show Mark how things were done in Viltrum.

"Look at me"

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Nell Zaxal sat on his throne, his body trembling as the entire palace shook, dust and debris falling everywhere. His advisors and the Flaxan nobles had long fled, his soldiers had long perished.

What was once the grand capital of the Flaxan empire had long turned into ruins.

He embraced his pregnant wife, lamenting that their children would never see the glorious Flaxan empire; instead, all that would remain for them would be ruins.

Suddenly, a crash made King Nell Zaxal look forward; the entire front of the royal hall collapsed, smoke rose, and then a figure flew out of the rubble, rolling and crashing to the ground in front of the royal couple.

As he stood up with his back facing them, Nell recognized him; fear, anger, panic, and a myriad of other emotions ran through him instantly.

It was one of the two demon gods that had come to their world.

Their end had come; he and his wife would die, their unborn children would not even see the light of day.

Countless laments flooded his mind, but at the same time, he noticed something strange; the demon god wasn't looking at them, in fact, it seemed like all his attention was elsewhere.

He was looking at the sky; it was then that Nell Zaxal looked up and saw him, the other one, the one who had attacked first, the one who had destroyed Flaxan's most important military bases and decimated the best warriors of his army in less than an hour.

And he was angry, very angry, but that anger wasn't directed at them. Nell lowered his gaze again and observed more closely the one who had crashed into the royal hall.

He was injured, blood trickled down his face, and anger was also present on his face. Mutually, both demon gods looked at each other with clear rage.

Nell's eyes widened; an unexpected revelation came to his mind.

They... were fighting each other?

"It's not too late yet, Mark"

His tongue was strange, but the Flaxan empire had long mastered the language they spoke, although the king couldn't speak it completely, he could still understand it.

The so-called Mark wiped the blood from his face and laughed, his laughter contained indifference and some reluctance.

"You're wrong, I should be telling you that, you don't need to do this, dad, these people, this world, don't deserve that"

The one flying seemed even angrier.

"You're taking their side?! Of these insects?! Seriously, you'll fight against me for them? They attacked Earth, Mark! They killed people! What does it matter if they die? What does it matter if I burn their world until there's nothing left?!"

Mark shook his head.

"The ones who did that are already dead; what you want to do isn't for revenge, it's not for Earth, you just want to kill them because they're in your way, because they're a nuisance"

Mark clenched his fists.

"And I won't let you do it"

Nell Zaxal watched the events in front of him in amazement; never in his two hundred years would he have expected such a thing, he never imagined that luck would smile at him one last time.

This was it; this was his chance.

Even if he died here, if they could seize this opportunity, if he could create a future for Flaxan, for his children...

Thinking of the last unfinished project hidden deep in the royal palace, Nell Zaxal made a decision. He looked at his wife; they didn't exchange words; it wasn't necessary. She could see her husband's will in his eyes; she could see his intentions clearly, and she could understand them.

She cried, tears streamed down her face, she covered her mouth, and silently left the royal hall.

After seeing his wife leave, Nell watched the demon gods about to fight; he only had one chance, he had to make the most of it.

He pressed a button hidden in the armrest of his throne; silently, an advanced mechanism activated, the throne began to descend into a hidden chamber. From the beginning until now, those who had destroyed his empire and ravaged his world hadn't paid him any attention.

From the beginning of everything, they didn't even look at him; that was okay, Nell would show them why that was a mistake; he would show them the price of their arrogance.

Before his figure disappeared, he could glimpse as both faced each other, their voices still clear in his ears.

"Then try to stop me" The older one's voice contained fury and rage, but also mockery.

"Fine..."

Then both flew at great speed towards each other, and Nell Zaxal lost sight of them.

There was a crash, a shockwave that swept through the entire royal hall and sent tremors throughout the city; the fight had begun.

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(thirty minutes before)

Mark followed Nolan through the sky; he didn't exactly know what he wanted to do, but he knew it wasn't anything good.

When he brought him to this world, he hoped for more time; somehow, he hoped things would turn out better, that he could train more, become stronger.

And he had become stronger, but not in the way he expected. Fighting against the Flaxan army had helped him a lot, but it had also left him with no time for anything else.

Day and night, he was besieged by Flaxan soldiers. It wasn't until their weapons stopped hurting him that he could catch a break, and it was at that moment that Nolan decided to return.

If his father decided it was time to determine this, that Flaxan no longer interested him, that he wanted to return to Earth, Mark didn't know how he could stop him; he still didn't feel strong enough.

"Look closely, Mark. This is what happens to those who try to conquer Earth, this is what awaits them for their insolence"

Before Mark could react, Omniman accelerated—no, acceleration was an understatement; it was as if space folded, the air shattered, and the atmosphere burned.

In an instant, his figure went from being next to him to becoming a blurry image he couldn't keep up with.

The air in Flaxan exploded, the sky burned. Like a red line of imminent death, Omniman burst at full speed towards a large Flaxan city. Mark could only watch as that line passed through the city in an instant, almost seeming to divide it in two.

Then everything exploded; the buildings, the carts, every part of the city was engulfed in a plasma explosion that destroyed everything in its path. Every inch of the city was disintegrated by the extreme heat; the shockwave produced came after, sweeping beyond the city limits, cracking the earth and leaving visible fissures even from space.

A black cloud of smoke rose thousands of meters into the air, reaching the atmosphere and darkening the sky.

It was like watching the end of the world.

Mark stood still, looking at the vast crater hundreds of kilometers wide; what was once a great and prosperous city had been reduced to dust and ashes.

Omniman flew back and stood in front of Mark, smiling from ear to ear.

"What do you think? Want me to show you how to do it?"

Mark tried to say something, but the words seemed unwilling to come out of his mouth. He bit the inside of his cheek until blood flooded his mouth, but still, his mind seemed to be at war with his body.

He closed his eyes; images and memories that weren't his passed through his mind, imprinting on his brain.

Images of his father, images of his family, images of Earth, of Omniman, how he saved people, how he protected humans, how he was the hero, the hero he wished to be.

Then he opened his eyes and saw death and destruction he had caused in Flaxan.

The contradiction between the two was astonishing and left him perplexed.

He looked at his father and couldn't help but let his true feelings come to light.

"You... you're a monster"

Nolan's smile vanished; his eyes looked at him seriously.

"No, I'm your father"

He approached him and tried to put his hand on his shoulder, but Mark backed away.

He didn't know why, but Mark felt worse about this than he expected; was it because of the memories of the original Mark? Were these his feelings?

"You, how, how could you do this?" He didn't know why he asked, he shouldn't even be asking, but after the words came out, he knew.

He wasn't asking for himself; it wasn't him who wanted to know. This, this was the original Mark seeking answers.

More precisely, the remnant of the original Mark within him, the one who saw Omniman as his father, the one who remembered and cherished moments with his family.

The one who believed Omniman was a hero.

"This is what must be done, Mark. This world, its people, are a threat to Earth; our duty is to protect it. We cannot allow anything or anyone to threaten it"

Mark laughed; he laughed at how absurd it sounded. Protect the Earth? If he truly wanted to protect Earth, then why was he still here?

No, it wasn't because he cared about Earth; it was only because he didn't want anyone else besides Viltrum to have it.

"Listen, son, I know you've grown up sheltered, blind to the true threats in the world, but you must understand that things aren't as simple as hitting the bad guys and going home afterward. Sometimes we must do whatever it takes to ensure the greater good, to keep Earth safe. And if we have to get our hands dirty for that... well, that's what we're here for"

Mark wanted to simply nod, to agree, and let him think he had won.

That he had convinced him, to do what he said, but he couldn't do it.

This wasn't Earth; these weren't his people. What did it matter if they died? But if he let him kill them, if he let him destroy Flaxan... it felt like losing.

Like allowing himself to bend, to kneel before someone stronger just out of fear, as if he were giving up something more important than his life.

Then he realized, if he bowed his head now, if he looked away, if he yielded.

Then he would give up his Pride.

He clenched his fists; Nolan seemed to notice a change. When Mark raised his head, he could see something in him that he hadn't seen before. Was that... defiance?

"No..."

It was almost a whisper; Nolan furrowed his brows.

"What?"

"I said No!" Mark said aloud and firmly.

"I won't let you destroy them"

Nolan looked into his son's eyes; their gazes met for what seemed like hours.

Then he laughed, he laughed heartily.

"Very well, it seems you're still too stubborn. That's my mistake; I didn't educate you as I should have, I let you live too long without worries. I must correct that"

Nolan's gaze became dangerous.

"Let me show you how Viltrumites handle things"

Mark barely had time to blink before Nolan's fist met his face; blood splattered, and the shockwave generated a noise that could be heard hundreds of kilometers away.

Mark was sent flying uncontrollably towards Flaxan's main city.

Nolan watched him go; his stern gaze wavered; he looked at the blood on his fist with doubt.

What was he doing?

He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes; something inside him fought, fought to know what to do.

He sighed, and his stern gaze returned.

Mark needed to learn; he needed to teach him properly.

He needed to see that his path was the right one, that he only did what was best for both of them.

He looked at Flaxan's red planet; this was a good place to teach him. Others might not feel it, but someone who had lived as long as him did.

Time here was different for them; Nolan, who had learned to count the passage of time using nothing but his mind, knew how many days had passed since their arrival.

Even so, his body seemed to age much more slowly

than it should. He could feel it; it was something that Viltrumites came to understand as they aged, how their bodies slowly stopped aging.

And now his body had stopped aging much more than it should have.

Taking that into account and what he had observed from the invasion on Earth, Nolan deduced that, just as the Flaxans aged faster in their dimension, it was the opposite for those who came from Earth.

One second on Earth could be hours or days for Flaxan people, and hours and days on Flaxan were barely seconds for people from Earth.

In this dimension, a normal human could live for hundreds or even thousands of years.

That was good; he had all the time he needed to teach Mark, to make him understand which was the right path. He also decided it was time for Mark to learn his true mission on Earth; it was time to prepare him to join the empire.

Here in Flaxan, Nolan was sure, one way or another, his son would understand.

He would make him understand...

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Note:

Things continue to progress, I want to thank everyone for the support this has had. I would like to write more, but my schedule is tight. I don't know when, and I don't have a schedule for the release of chapters, I simply write, edit, translate into English, and then publish.

With that being said, I want to make a disclaimer: English is not my first language, so I apologize for any errors there might be, hahaha.

Well, see you when there's another chapter, which will be... whenever it needs to be.

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