As every force united to kill Enigma, two of the strongest Shadow Guardians were confronting her.
Rudolf stood in distance. He didn't attack Enigma. As a peak level 9 awakener, he was stronger than her. For now.
But even then, he couldn't raise his fist against her. Even with closed eyes, he could still remember the day when he went into the high dungeon with his teammates.
They were caught off guard by an unexpected magic beast. His teammates betrayed and sacrificed him to escape.
He fought the monster and killed it. But with the injuries he received, he would be joining the create to hell. No potion could save him. No doctor could heal him.
As he sprawled in a pool of blood, with a minced and broken body, a cold voice sounded in his mind.
"Do you regret it?"
He thought he was going to die. Maybe that voice was from Heaven itself. Maybe it was his soul. He didn't know, but he answered.
"I regret not dying on the battlefield."
"Don't you regret trusting them?"
"I do. But, maybe this is karma.
I should've killed that corrupt bastard before he leeched off that poor mother. I should've killed the Xander young master for raping a girl in the guild. I should've stopped the bombings on the planetoid instead of playing it safe.
I could've saved a lot of lives. I let them die." As he said those words, the wounds on his body split open spilling blood.
The warm liquid spewed out of his mouth and in the process, jolted him for one last time. With that final jolt, he opened his eyes and stared at the grey sky.
"And now dying I am. A glorious level 9 awakener losing a life on desolate ground like an abandoned dog.
My body will be eaten by some monsters. My words will be forgotten. My deeds will be a drop in the ocean. Nothing will remain of me in this world.
I regret living such an insignificant life." In the end, he didn't know why, but tears streamed down his cheeks.
At that moment, he heard footsteps and a woman covered in black clothes appeared in his sight.
Her eyes were the most beautiful he had ever seen. Shining in red, blue, and yellow, they burned with a fire he had long lost.
"Then live a better life. A life without regret." She said and snapped her fingers.
"W-What are yo—" Before he could finish his words, a potion appeared above him and the liquid dropped into his mouth.
His injuries started to itch and his pain rose by many folds.
"Argghh!" He couldn't bear it and almost fainted. But the pain kept him awake and after an hour of torture, he stood up in shock.
"T-This…what the hell?" Touching the places where injuries used to be, he muttered in wonder.
Right then, he also sensed a feeling welling up inside him. He could rise from mid-level 9 to high level 9!
The bottleneck, which would've taken a decade loosened.
Rudolf wanted to yell in ecstasy, but he controlled himself and looked at the woman in front.
With fear and anticipation, he asked. "What do I need to do?"
She squinted her eyes. "Kill the traitors. Destroy the Order. Fight the Abyssals."
"This…this is much better than my insignificant life. I will have an impact on this world. I will join!" He said with great enthusiasm.
Then tapping his forehead, he asked. "What's the name of the organization?"
She looked at him in the eye and lightly said the two words that'd become extremely important in the solar system.
"Shadow Guardians."
That was a year ago. Things changed so much in a year.
Rudolf snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Enigma with a complicated gaze.
Turning against the one that saved him…his conscience was being eaten away.
At the same time, Enigma slashed her sword at Xia.
The sword burst into a blue light and breaking the sonic banner, it reached the woman.
BOOM!
Xia used the lightning disk she condensed as a shield. So, when the sword struck the disk, the resultant collision nearly shook the secret realm.
With them as the center, fifty miles of land caved in like it was pressed down.
The disk was mostly unharmed, except for a few cracks.
Yet, Xia's eyes dangerously narrowed as her gaze alternated between the cracks and Enigma.
"As expected of you…if I give you more time, you'll reach level 9. Your progress is too fast. Even the ones with miracle potions can't compare with you. Is this your alien technology?" Xia questioned.
Enigma raised a brow. "Nothing will stop you from believing I am against humans, right?"
Xia's face was contorted as she clenched her fists. "I really respect everything you did for humanity. But…you have the power to bring a disaster to humans, even our extinction. That's why, either you will reveal everything and stay under my supervision for the rest of your life or die."
Enigma's eyes turned indifferent. "Because of you, I do question sometimes, are humans really worth saving?"
"Enough!" Xia roared and condensed a lightning spear.
"You know you can't stop me." Enigma shook her head mockingly.
Far away, Rudolf sighed. Of course, Enigma had a peculiar treasure. She could teleport away from anywhere.
Even when she faced the Abyss Archduke, her treasure allowed her to escape intact.
Xia was considerably weaker than the Archduke. There was really no hope in catching Enigma.
"Are you sure you want to go?" Xia's lips curled up into a distorted smile and before Enigma could understand what she meant, Xia threw her lightning spear.
Shuaa!
The lightning spear painted the secret realm in golden. Every member in the realm looked up and saw a blinding golden light in the sky.
It was as if the sun had descended.
The temperature of everything in the hundred-mile radius skyrocketed. Lakes evaporated, trees burnt and metals heated to bright reds.
The thunderous rumbling drowned all shouts, be it the normal members in the far distance or Blue Flash near Enigma.
This attack was capable of obliterating any existence below level 9. Enigma was no exception.
But fear was her last response.
Shaking her head lightly, Enigma was about to teleport.
But right then, the spear buzzed and changed course.
It went right at Blue Flash.