With her speed and stamina as a peak 2nd class, it didn’t take long for Elena to reach the school. Looking at the large two-story building once again made her reminisce, but she shook off her thoughts and headed inside.
She was about an hour late to the reunion and hadn’t bothered to dress up, wearing a simple shirt and jeans, but she still gathered a great deal of attention when she walked in.
It was to be expected from someone who could objectively be titled as one of the most beautiful women on earth.
Still, Elena didn’t pay them any attention. She simply grabbed some food for herself and walked to a corner, silently looking out for the only person she came to meet.
On her way, she heard the usual conversations about occupations and how people’s lives went after they graduated, but it was different from a normal reunion. After all, their main topics were classes and levels, and also their lives working for Asgard and other smaller organizations that were under it.
But Elena could feel it in the air. None of these people truly cared about how the others were doing, they were just here to brag.
While Elena attempted to mind her own business, it didn’t quite work out for her. Slowly but surely, a group of people formed around her, most of them being men.
“Hey, did you know that I’m in the top 100 of the hero ranking?”
The guys tried to brag, but Elena disdained them all. The hero ranking was true to its name, it ranked all active heroes based on their power levels and contribution. But the true experts of society didn’t care about these.
Elena was one of them, so obviously she knew this.
And it wasn’t just the one guy trying to impress her, rather they were all competing for who was the coolest among them, making them look like a group of fools.
The gathering of people attracted others and the group became more diverse, with everyone speaking of their rankings or the current news about Niflheim until one man started making his way over.
This man was leagues above the others in terms of appearance, and a single smile from him made most of the girls turn red.
He walked to the front of the group with confidence as he flashed a smile. “How have you been, Elena?”
“Bryce,” Elena responded with a dull tone. She wasn’t impressed in the slightest nor did she want to continue interacting with him. Bryce was one of the main culprits of Damien’s bullying in the past, and he had never ceased trying to make moves on her.
He was basically the second coming of Jin, and it was clear how that ended.
“How has your life been? I’m sure you’ve been missing me since we last talked,” Bryce said with a wink. The insinuation he was making made plenty of single women angry, but he didn’t seem to notice.
But Elena didn’t care to play his games. “We haven’t even talked once since high school ended. Not to mention that even in high school you just followed me like a dog no matter how much I tried to get rid of you.”
Bryce’s face twitched, but he kept his smile. “Come on, don’t be like that. Don’t you know that I’m a top-ranking hero now? They call me SilverFlash. How could you not like me after all these years?”
As if he got a sudden idea, Bryce’s face lit up. “Ah! Could it be that you’re still caught up on that trash? He’s dead now anyway, so why do you even care so much?”
The mention of Damien made the whole crowd start whispering to each other. News of his “death” had been published in many newspapers, but nobody seemed to care because of Jin’s status. Naturally, these classmates of his had seen those articles.
“Ah, that lame kid! I was wondering if he died off or something, and it turns out I was right!”
“Yeah, totally. Even seeing that trash breathe next to me was disgusting.”
Elena was slightly stunned. She didn’t know how the vileness of these classmates was exposed simply at the mention of Damien. It’s like they all dropped their facades and talked trash about him at any opportunity they could get.
Bryce smiled at this. He was influential enough to spread rumors and information that people would take at face value, not bothering to investigate deeper. Out of sheer spite for that kid who had taken the attention of the woman he wanted, he spread some dirt on Damien’s name.
The classmates continued to talk trash, unaware of the monster they were awakening. That is, until, a suffocating pressure exploded from Elena’s body.
Her deep blue eyes became midnight black, devoid of any feeling. “Talk like that about him one more time. I dare you.”
Bryce, who was nearest to her, suffered the worst from the pressure. He had only recently become a 2nd class, and his position in Asgard was not earned but bought. He coughed blood, struggling to keep his consciousness from collapsing.
He felt humiliated, and couldn’t stop himself from trying to get the last laugh. “Cough…No matter what you do…it doesn’t change the fact…that he’s dead.”
He laughed seeing the rage on Elena’s face. He truly felt good putting her down like this. But his smile froze in the next instant.
Swish!
It took a moment to process, but by the time it did, the event was already over. Blood spurted wildly and a severed arm dropped to the floor.
“Let’s call this arm as compensation. Never talk like you are above me again.”
Potions strong enough to regrow limbs didn’t exist on earth yet. The advent of hero society had brought potions enough to heal flesh wounds, but earth still needed time to develop anything more complex.
Without another word, Elena walked off. The crowd parted for her as she left, everyone seemingly in fear of what she’d do next.
As Elena walked away, she finally spotted Alison in the corner. Smiling lightly, she walked over to have a much-needed reunion.
Back within the crowd, Bryce was furious. The pain helped him keep his head clear, but even in a clear-headed state, his thoughts were maddening. ‘I’ll make that bitch pay!’
Hours passed as Elena chatted with Alison, the other partygoers avoiding her like the plague. They talked about how their lives had been and their plans for the future, and many other things.
When Damien was brought up, Alison learned about Elena’s irrational belief that he was still alive, but she was powerless to do anything about it. All she could do was wish Elena well, hoping her mental state would recover.
Suddenly, someone rushed into the venue with a panicked look on their face. “Turn a TV on right now! It doesn’t matter what channel, just do it now!”
There was indeed a tv in the hall, but nobody had paid it much mind before. However, hearing the urgency in the man’s voice, they did as he said.
Every channel was showing the same news.
“Breaking news! In the skies above Los Angeles, a massive gate has appeared! Its rating has been determined as SSS rank! This is an emergency situation, and Asgard is calling for the evacuation of all civilians in the city! Heroes are being requested to rendezvous at the site no matter their rank!”
A massive gate was shown on the screen. However, there was a major difference between it and any other gate that had appeared before. It was entirely purple on its edges, while the middle was an abyssal black.
Ba-dum! Ba-dum!
Elena didn’t know why, but her heart started racing. Her breathing quickened as she felt that ethereal string become slightly thicker than before.
‘Is it him?’
Without another thought, she rushed to the scene. She was followed by all the other heroes within the class, as an Asgard summon wasn’t something they could reject. Even the now single-armed Bryce was making his way over.
They were relatively close to the center of the city, and they could see the massive gate from where they stood. It was around the diameter of a soccer stadium. The ominous portal floating in the air, combined with the sight of countless civilians fleeing for their lives truly painted an apocalyptic picture.
It wasn’t long before Elena reached the area near the gate. Since she wasn’t part of Asgard, she could watch from nearby without being noticed.
Countless heroes had gathered in the square. Elena could even see Jin standing at the forefront with a valiant look on his face. She snorted at this and turned her attention back to the gate.
And slowly, she witnessed it open. Along with the other 500 or so heroes who had responded to Asgard’s call, Elena saw something insane.
A huge body taller than many 4 story buildings and with length to match, a pair of beautiful wings that eclipsed the sun, forcing those below into darkness, and a pair of piercing golden eyes that looked down upon them in disdain.
It was the biggest beast any of them had ever seen, and its aura was just as suffocating as the leaders of Asgard and Niflheim. The massive wolf was the only thing that emerged from the gate; with it closing directly after the wolf descended.
But this didn’t bring any solace to those on the ground. They could feel that even alone, this beast could raze the city and kill them without batting an eye.
In their fear of the beast, the mass of heroes failed to notice another detail. But Elena didn’t. She was on high alert for the faint possibility that her dreams would come true.
And so she saw it. Standing atop the beast was a tall man that completely contrasted the figure she remembered so well. Yet, she knew without a shadow of a doubt.
Damien had returned.