Transcendent Gene-Chapter 307: Savior [1]

Gio didn’t do anything to ease the two into the situation. He didn’t have the time to do so, and since they were older students, he expected them to adapt quickly.

They were supposed to be equipped for the outside world already. They had to be able to respond.

"You’re Asher Pryceton, correct?"

He addressed the purple-haired boy, who received his words while shaking his head to regain clarity.

"That’s...my name, yeah. Who are you?"

"My name is Gio, but that doesn’t matter. Look around."

Gio motioned to the world around them, making both boys pan their eyes across the room with increasingly befuddled expressions.

"Someone attacked the academy."

That single second snapped them back to reality.

"What? An attack? Where?!"

Asher immediately let out a flurry of questions, which Gio promptly answered.

"In a minute at most, a beast tide will hit this place. Everyone is in danger. It will be an absolute massacre, because this tide is controlled by humans. It isn’t random."

"What?!"

Gio shook his head, refusing to elaborate.

"There’s no time to speak. Asher, you’ve done practical training before, right?"

Asher nodded, his eyes turning solemn.

"I’ve done field training. I’m prepared for real combat."

"Good. Your fortress ability is absolutely vital right now."

Asher Pryceton was a fourth-year student with an immense gift. He could manifest an enormous fortress complete with its own defense mechanisms and summoned army.

The only caveat of the ability was the sheer amount of energy necessary to maintain it. Using his own supply, Asher could only keep it up for five minutes at most.

’But his trait can absorb energy from others if they provide it willingly.’

The fortress needed to be operated by an army. If Asher had people acting as his energy supplies, he could theoretically keep his defenses manifested infinitely.

"I need you to head west," Gio said, pointing to the right.

"The first and second years are in that direction. I don’t know how many injuries or deaths have accumulated over there, but they’ll be wiped out if you don’t help protect them."

Gio put his hand on Asher’s shoulder as he looked to the west.

"Use their energy as your fuel source. That’s the only way they can be useful right now."

The moment he heard that line, he frowned and nodded.

"You’re right."

He didn’t completely understand what was happening, but he knew that Gio wanted to save people. For that reason, he chose to trust the boy in front of him.

"Gustav, I’m going that way. Are you coming, too?" He asked, finally addressing the white-haired boy.

"He’s not," Gio answered.

"I need him to do something equally important. I’ll have to split the two of you up for now."

Asher furrowed his brows in displeasure, but didn’t say anything against it. He nodded at Gio and gave a meaningful look to Gustav before rushing in the direction Gio pointed.

’He looks clumsy, but I can trust him. He’s a proper fourth-year who’ll become an active Sequencer in half a year. And, he’s one of the strongest people at the academy outside the staff.’

Gio refocused his attention on Gustav.

"Peter Rikonen, part of the Special Operations Division at the Mercy Guild," he said.

The white-haired man’s eyes instantly widened.

"You were sent here to befriend Asher and naturally join the guild with him, securing him to your faction. You’re doing it solely to get ahead of the competition, and I know you don’t have malicious intent, so I’m not going to say anything about it."

He only revealed the man’s true identity to establish power over him.

"As long as you do what I say for now, I’ll keep your identity a secret. Nobody will ever find out about your allegiances."

Gustav, or, rather, Peter, frowned.

"And if I don’t...?"

Gio didn’t have time for such hypotheticals. He bluntly told the frowning Peter exactly how his life would be ruined if he made that decision.

"Haa..."

In five seconds, his expression crumpled, and he gave up.

"Fine. I don’t have to argue, anyway. He’s already signed, and this is good PR. What do you need me to do?"

"Simple. Opposite direction Asher went. The third and fourth year wings were mostly clear of students, but those who are there are being protected by the teachers. The entire area is covered by a barrier to keep the teachers in. Gather some people and attack it. Get in and free them. That’s your job."

"Ha! That’s not as easy as you make it sound, you know?"

"I don’t care."

Gio didn’t entertain the man’s joke.

"Understand that this is for the future of humanity. If I learn that you failed because of carelessness or personal stupidity..."

Gio flared his aura menacingly. At most, Peter was only a few levels higher than him. Gio was used to fighting a few levels higher.

"...I’ll end you."

Peter wasn’t afraid of his aura, but he was wary of the killing intent masked within.

"...fine. I get it."

Finally, Peter gave up. He allowed Gio to give him extra orders about who to gather or who to give other tasks to before leaving.

Gio watched him go and nodded.

’Good. That’s about a minute...’

OOOOOOOOOH!

Perfectly on time, an aurora of red, black, and white light flew into the air from a circular platform that rose out of the ground in the distance.

Runes on its surface lit up one after the other, and all of a sudden, the world was drowned in the howls and roars of beasts.

’It’s starting.’

Gio left the room and returned the way he came, checking on the students in the rubble.

The scene surprised him. They looked much better off than he expected. There were still bodies everywhere that they were trying to ignore. There were still people being treated all around the open area that the building had become.

’How did this...?’

He took a moment to understand that it was the effect of his own actions.

’The ones from the clouds...’

His expression settled as he located someone sitting on a broken pillar some distance away.

Boom!

Starry blue light shot him into the air, allowing him to reach the man in an instant.

"And you are?"

The man responded calmly despite the sudden intrusion.

"It doesn’t matter who I am. Your identity is more important."

Gio was mildly surprised that the man didn’t know him, but he didn’t get hung up on it.

"Brennan Wynncrest. Your influence is enough to bring everyone together, and I know the leadership role is one you want."

"And?" Brennan replied with a glare.

"Take the leadership role," Gio responded, quelling his hostility.

"You’re the only one here who’s calm enough to act. I’ll tell you exactly what’s happening, so turn this group into an army. Have you seen the beast tide?"

Brennan squinted his eyes, scanning Gio for a moment before nodding.

"I saw it. What about it?"

He was acting calm, but Gio knew that he wasn’t as stable as he made himself appear.

"Everyone here will die if all of you don’t join forces. That’s even true for you, because you can’t get out of this alone. If you want to survive, become someone who deserves survival."

"Become someone worthy of survival...?" Brennan repeated with a frown.

"I’m already someone like that."

He stood up. He and Gio were the same height, so their gazes met perfectly.

"Tell me what I need to know."

Brennan had prepared himself to fight until he died, even if death was the only option. He was a warrior to his core who had already noticed the large barrier covering the sky.

But it was different if he knew how to fight. It was different if he had an army by his side.

He saw the surprisingly healthy state of the students all around the middle chunk of the academy. The serums Gio provided were the same ones being used to save everyone.

They were exactly what healed Brennan’s own injuries.

He had his pride, but he listened to Gio’s explanation about the Apocalypse Church and the beast control array with utmost seriousness.

And when Gio finished explaining, Brennan immediately moved to fulfill his duties.

’Okay.’ Gio thought to himself.

’All three sides should be more secure now. If Asher and Peter can do their jobs properly, I can even save people who were destined to be collateral.’

"ATTENTION!"

As Gio prepared to leave the rubble and head into the forest beyond, a booming voice filled the sky, drowning out the vague echoes of the Apocalypse Church’s manifesto.

"EVERYONE, GATHER TOGETHER! REMEMBER WHO WE ARE!"

Brennan knew what his job was. Rallying the crowd and bringing them mental stability was more important than telling them exactly what was happening.

Gio nodded, gaining some more confidence as he stepped off the academy grounds and into the world below.

His every move was witnessed by several eyes. Not all of them saw everything, but their stories together formed a complete timeline of what Gio had done since stepping into the academy.

Those who knew his name wondered how he became someone so insane, while those who were unaware of his existence noted him as a hero they had to thank in the future. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

However, Gio left without paying any mind to them. He used his own valiant image to boost their morale as he disappeared into the forest.

’There’s only one thing to confirm. Depending on the answer to that question, this will either be very easy or very difficult.’

When he raided the prototype site with the Blue Steel Squadron, they learned that the array had to be powered from below ground, where a facility housing massive energy tanks was located.

Destroying the tanks got rid of the array’s energy supply, and cutting the connections in that facility disabled its ability to function properly.

The Blue Steel Squadron was officially pronounced dead and had already changed its identity. If the Apocalypse Church felt assured that the information they discovered could never leak, they’d have no reason to change the design so close to their deadline.

Unless their Pope was an absolute perfectionist, he knew how to take the array out.

’What’s left once the array is gone is a beast tide. Foiling the Apocalypse Church is the easy part.’

Well, that was his assumption.

He rushed through the world below Celestelle as a bolt of blue lightning. His eyes scanned the world, looking for hidden objects that could be found through eyes that saw change.

There was a lot of information for him to sift through, especially with the beasts moving only a few meters away, but he eventually managed to find it.

He approached a tree ten meters from the clearing where the entrance ceremony started and slammed his fist into it.

Bang!

The wood splintered into shards that flew in every direction as the majority of the tree trunk fell in the opposite direction.

Gio jumped into the hollow inside of that very trunk and stomped his foot on the ground, sending pure white energy into the metal slab beneath his feet.

Voom!

Hekat formed a bubble of change that melted the metal away and turned it into paper. A trail of smoke rose into the air as the excess material was burned away.

As Gio looked down, the paper tore away, dropping him into a long, dark pit with metal walls.

’If it didn’t already start, it’ll start now. The beast tide must’ve hit the school.’

The short timeframe made it hard to do much, especially when Gio couldn’t prepare properly for the attack.

Nevertheless, if everything went well, many more students would survive than history showed.

And even if some things fell apart, it was fine as long as Peter managed to deliver the messages he gave him.

Whoosh!

The thoughts racing through his mind only became more plentiful as he descended through the pit.

Virtual energy appeared at his feet and acted as steps, allowing him to quietly descend without attracting attention.

’If they knew about this, maybe a large portion of the tragedy could have been avoided.’

However, in the past, the Blue Steel Squadron was wiped out in the prototype facility, and nobody lived to use what they found to their advantage.

Gio was the single factor that changed everything, and he was the one who bore their torch. He landed softly on the ground at the bottom of the pit and hugged the side wall, sending his senses into the facility beyond.

This time, he didn’t have help from the Sequencers of the Blue Steel Squadron. Natalia, Amaya, Jax, Jason, Ulver, Alice, Mirei, and Raymond...

He remembered their eyes when they returned to the zephyr after the incident last time.

Now that he was back in the same kind of facility several years later, he would correct the flaws of the past.

He wouldn’t let anyone die. He wouldn’t let them abandon the world because of others’ selfish desires.

Everything would end as soon as it began.

He gave his word about that.