Genesis Code: The Genetic Awakening-Chapter 91: Why Not? (2)

"I-I wasn’t the only one who saw that, right?"

Commander Eric muttered after coming out of his reverie. He glanced at his companions and noticed they were just as shocked.

"..."

The commander could only sigh as even Fred was left speechless by what he saw. What Caleb did was more than just executing a flight spell. It was way too fast and explosive—it was simply impressive.

’Just who the hell is that person...?’ Eric made a silent vow to find out everything he could about Caleb. ’Crippling a noble, clearing a Tier 3 dungeon...’ The commander recalled the little bit he knew of Caleb, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

"Here."

Eric was snapped out of his thoughts when Fred offered one of the vials to him and Oliver.

"Thanks."

He received the vial and stared at it for several seconds. While his mana core urged him to take it, he was still on the fence. Glancing over, he saw Fred gulp down the whole thing.

To the surprise of Eric and Oliver, the effects were instantaneous. A sudden gust of mana rippled out of Fred the moment he took the potion. Moreover, some of his injuries healed under the effects of the potion.

"Amazing..." Fred couldn’t help but mutter with wide eyes. "M-my mana core is already full!" The commander instantly got to his feet, surprised at how effective the potion was.

Eric and Oliver couldn’t believe their eyes. They looked back at the vial in their hands and without hesitation, gulped down the whole vial.

The feeling they got from the potion was unlike anything they had ever tasted. The only thing they could compare the potion to was pure and untainted mana.

’Just who in the world is that person? Is he even a native of this continent?’

Now more than ever their curiosity was peaked. But for now, they had to return to the Palace. And after taking time to process what they just digested, they turned to the direction where one of their comrades lay... lifeless.

.....

"Urgh..."

Axel was on his knees, using his sword buried in the ground for support. The commander bled all over the ground, his injuries looking severe. He and two of his colleagues had battled it out with the demon general but quickly realized they were no match.

The rest of the commanders joined once they secured the life of the Royal Commander and the brave knights who tried to save him.

Their fight had been intense, shaking the entire forest and bringing down the surrounding trees for several hundreds of meters. They exchanged physical attacks, spells (both short-ranged and long-ranged) and even tried playing dirty.

Yet the demon general was mostly unscathed. The wounds they had managed to inflict on the demon general would heal in no time. They were helpless and also running out of mana.

Lifting his head, Axel looked around and saw his colleagues sprawled across the ground, lying in craters and in a pool of their own blood. They had come this close to losing a member of their group.

"You guys were great."

Axel heard the demon general say. He turned his head to see the demon slowly approach him with its war mace over his shoulders.

Thorex came to stand about 30 meters away from Axel. The soft and victorious smirk on his face couldn’t be hidden. He enjoyed seeing the commanders on their knees and at the end of their ropes.

"W-why...?"

Axel managed to direct a question at the demon.

"Huh...?" Thorex tilted his head in confusion. "What are you on about?" He found the commander’s unwillingness amusing.

"Why are you doing this?!" Axel shouted with the little bit of strength he had left. "And how the hell did generals become this powerful?!"

Anyone in his situation would have felt the same. For many years, the strength of commanders and demon generals was almost equal. They were the deterrents—the ones who backed the armies to ensure no one too powerful interfered in the battles at the frontlines.

"Hahaha....!" Thorex laughed his heart out. "Hah... Oh poor you. How sad... Did you really think we were as stale as you humans? You morons were growing too comfortable with the measly strength you had!

"It was time you guys woke up to the reality of what’s happening out there." The demon general shook his head in disappointment. "This should be more than enough for a wake-up call..."

Axel was taken aback by the demon’s response. He didn’t quite understand what the demon meant, but one thing was for certain: they were done for.

’We grew conceited...’ The commander closed his eyes in regret. ’Now, we must pay the price...’ It was a difficult pill to swallow but he knew the demon was right.

It was time for their lives to come to an end. Perhaps the future generation will do better... if they somehow survive this, of course.

"I’ve wasted enough time here... Kolga is probably having all the fun." Thorex swung his war mace around and lowered his centre of gravity. "This isn’t personal, human. It’s just the way things are..."

In a flash, the demon general appeared before the commander, his war mace poised to deliver a crushing blow to the head.

And as the war mace descended, the demon general’s instincts warned him of danger. Moreover, this warning came with a crackling boom from above.

’Hm?’

Thorex tried to direct his gaze upwards when a projectile suddenly crushed into the ground, right in the middle of his swing and the knight commander.

BOOM...!!!

"Urgh...!"

The impact generated a devastating shockwave that sent Axel and the demon flying. The commander helplessly stumbled across the destroyed grounds until he came to a stop in one of the many craters.

Thorex on the other hand managed to regain control over his body, coming to a sliding halt several meters away.

"What the..."

The demon looked towards the site of impact where the dust continued to rise and debris fell. The resulting crater made it difficult for the demon to tell what fell from the sky.

’The sky.’

The demon quickly looked up and spotted the cause of the interruption. High above him was a human floating in the sky with both hands in his pocket, looking down as if all lifeform were beneath him.

The assailant’s coat fluttered under the strong winds, his eyes glowing a menacing and deep turquoise blue. For a moment, the demon general was speechless.

"A human?" Thorex muttered but quickly shook his head. "No, they won’t send one of theirs all the way here..."

"Why not?"

Thorex’s eyes widened in horror, his attention snapping back to the man in the sky. He thought the human couldn’t hear him from all the way up there.

Caleb wasn’t sure what the demon meant and didn’t particularly care. His view from above gave him all the information he needed to know about the current situation.

’Even seven commanders weren’t enough to take down a demon general...’ This observation got him curious. ’How the hell has the kingdom survived this long?’ He came to realize there was still a lot he didn’t know.

Being a small-time adventurer in a small town meant the former Caleb was not very knowledgeable about the bigger world. Putting those thoughts aside, Caleb slowly descended to the ground.

The demon general observed him closely, his guard raised more than before. He wasn’t sure why such a person came here, but this meant his mission just got a whole lot harder.

"Ugh..."

A groan from the crater got Thorex’s attention. While making sure the guest wouldn’t make any sudden moves, he shifted his gaze to the crater.

"K-Kolga...?"

Thorex was once more left astounded. Here he was thinking his partner was on the verge of completing the mission.

"You..."

He instantly knew the new human was behind this. Thorex glared in Caleb’s direction, but it seemed the person himself was not paying attention to him.

Kolga heard his name being called once he climbed all the way to the edge of the crater. The demon general recognized that voice and realized what that strange human had done.

A shiver ran down his spine just from remembering his brutal punches. He couldn’t get his head straight from all the wind rushing past him to even attempt to use his abilities. It was only after crushing into the ground did the blows came to an end.

Caleb arrived before the injured commanders and carried them off the battlefield. He signalled some of the knights over, passing the commanders to them.

"Give this to them." He instructed, passing vials containing liquified mana. "It will recover their mana and stamina."

"Eh... who are you...?" The knights couldn’t help but ask him.

They knew he was the reason the commanders were still alive, but they knew nothing about him. The knights didn’t want to seem ungrateful and untrustworthy. Still...

"The one who’s going to get you home," Caleb said, turning around to face the demons. "You’d be wise to clear the area." The knights silently watched as Caleb walked towards the demons.

"Let’s do as he says..." Reeder said. "This could get really messy."

"Yes."

Caleb came to a stop some 90 meters away from the demons, patiently waiting for Thorex to help his fellow general. The demon made sure the being he was seeing wasn’t some form of trap.

Once Thorex ensured this wasn’t a trap, he and Kolga directed their attention to Caleb, their expressions a mask of seriousness.

"Good... I have your attention."