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A suffocating atmosphere enveloped the entire base after Manuela unleashed that dark red flame.
The pungent smell, a mixture of ozone and unknown charred substances, aggressively filled everyone's nostrils.
The giant plant monster, that mobile mountain integrated with Javier, stopped its rampant movements for the first time.
Its massive body stood rigid in the setting sun, and the pathological smile on Javier's face, at the top of the main trunk, completely froze.
His gaze locked onto Manuela's right arm, which was still radiating residual heat and flickering with an ominous red glow. For the first time, a hint of... fear appeared in his eyes.
Manuela collapsed into Leon's arms, gasping for air, as if that single strike had drained all her vitality.
She looked at the being who was both her father and a monster with eyes that had been washed by tears and were filled with immense complexity.
In this eerie silence, Javier's surprise was finally replaced by an even greater surge of anger and jealousy!
"No!"
"It shouldn't be like this!"
"Only I! Only I am perfect!"
The monster let out an earth-shattering roar, filled with pure madness and a desire for destruction.
"I will crush all of you!"
The moment his voice fell, the entire ground trembled violently!
Two gigantic tentacles, thicker than any before, with even bony spikes growing on their surface, descended like two demonic Dragons extending from the abyss of Hell. One left, one right, they smashed down ferociously towards Noah and Krauser's positions, accompanied by a shriek that seemed to tear space itself!
Javier had completely lost his mind; he wanted to erase all "imperfect" beings present from this world!
"Krauser!" Leon's shout was distorted by the immense rush of wind.
Krauser suddenly awoke from his dazed state.
However, the colossal shadow had already enveloped him, and the aura of death rushed at him, making the hairs on his entire body stand on end.
He roared, his leg muscles exploding as he rolled and lunged to the side with all his might!
"Boom—!!!"
The tentacle slammed heavily into the spot where he had just stood, creating a deep crater in the sturdy concrete helipad. A violent shockwave, mixed with gravel, sprayed outwards like shrapnel.
Although Krauser narrowly avoided the fatal crush, he still felt a tearing pain in his left arm as he rolled.
"Pfft!"
A sharp bone spike protruding from the side of the tentacle fiercely grazed his left arm as he dodged.
His tactical uniform was easily torn open, and a deep, bone-visible wound instantly appeared on his forearm, gushing blood.
"Ugh!" Krauser grunted, falling heavily to the ground, but he ignored his injuries, simply staring intently at the raging monster.
On the other side, facing an equally thunderous attack, Noah made a completely different choice.
Just as the enormous shadow was about to engulf him, his center of gravity suddenly sank downwards.
His feet were firmly planted on the ground, and the concrete beneath him emitted a faint cracking sound, unable to withstand the sudden downward force.
The next second, the tentacle crashed down with immense power.
Noah did not dodge to the side. Instead, facing the fierce wind that could almost crush a person into paste, he slightly tilted his body, narrowly avoiding the thickest main part of the tentacle at an unbelievable angle.
The giant tentacle almost grazed his body as it slammed heavily onto the ground beside him!
"Rumble—!"
Another terrifying giant pit.
But Noah, using the moment of impact, suddenly leaped up.
He was like a falling leaf caught in a strong wind, lightly landing on the mountain-like tentacle that had just crashed to the ground and had not yet fully lifted.
Beneath his feet were slippery, twisted vines and faintly pulsating flesh and blood tissue.
Without the slightest pause, he pushed off the uneven surface with his feet, and along the thick tentacle, he sprinted towards the monster's main body!
Mucus was thrown up by his speed, leaving two white streaks behind him.
This crazy and daring sight left Leon and Krauser, who had just managed to get up in the distance, utterly dumbfounded.
Running on such a massive and moving monster, what terrifying balance and courage that required!
"Come on!"
Noah roared in his heart.
The scorching energy surging within him finally found its outlet! It furiously converged into his right arm, following his running trajectory!
He leaped high, covering the last distance, and landed on the back of the giant plant's main trunk, the core area where flesh and vines were most densely intertwined!
Javier's upper body was not far ahead. He felt the threat from behind and tried to make the monster turn its body.
But it was too late.
Noah landed steadily, sinking his body, twisting his waist, rotating his hips, and sending his shoulder forward!
Every movement was filled with an unstoppable, mountain-shattering, powerful aura.
All the power in his body, along with the violent energy of T-Veronica that had Awakened from the depths of his Bloodline, at this moment, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, all converged upon his raised right fist!
"Boom—!!!"
The moment his right hand swung out, it erupted with an indescribably intense, dazzling, dark red light!
The blinding light instantly swallowed everything, and the entire base, at this moment, became as bright as day.
Leon, Krauser, Manuela, everyone felt a scorching white light in front of their eyes. They instinctively closed their eyes, raising their hands to shield their faces, and even the giant monster let out a painful roar, stimulated by the intense light.
The light came and went quickly.
When they could finally adapt to the light and slowly opened their eyes again.
The sight before them made everyone stop breathing.
A dark red sea of fire, like the fires of Hell.
Javier's mountain-like giant plant body was now completely enveloped by that eerie dark red flame.
The flames burned silently, with no thick smoke, no explosions, only a deadly stillness that decomposed and annihilated all things.
Those tough vines, that resilient flesh, those menacing bone spikes, were as fragile as paper before this flame, peeling off piece by piece, vaporizing, and finally turning into nothingness.
"Aww—ahhh—!!!"
Javier let out the most painful and despairing scream of his life.
The sound no longer came from all directions but clearly from the human upper body enveloped in flames.
He could feel his life, his consciousness, and all the connections he had established with this monster being ruthlessly incinerated by this power that did not belong to this world.
His massive, deformed body could no longer support itself and crashed backward, slamming heavily onto the ground, making the entire earth wail.
The flames burned brighter and brighter.
And from within the raging, hellish inferno, a tall figure slowly walked towards them.
His shirt had been reduced to ashes in the previous energy burst, revealing his muscular and well-defined upper body.
His right arm, from elbow to fingertip, was charred black, as if it had been forged by intense fire, with cracked skin revealing the fresh red flesh beneath.
But strangely, beneath the charred flesh, new tissue was rapidly growing, wriggling, and repairing itself at a visible rate.
The terrifying burn was slowly healing.
He walked through the sea of fire, past the monster's body turning to ash, his face devoid of any expression.
From the flames, Javier's final, intermittent wails came, filled with endless regret and pain.
"Manuela... I'm... I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry for what I did to you... and to... your mother..."
"Forgive... me..."
The voice abruptly ceased.
The massive, once arrogant monster, along with the madman, was completely incinerated in the dark red flames, finally turning into a pile of black ashes scattered by the wind.
The base returned to silence, with only the sparse sound of the wind.
"Waa... waaaah..."
Manuela's long-suppressed sobs finally broke free.
Leaning in Leon's embrace, she watched the ashes being scattered by the wind, tears streaming down, unable to speak through her sobs.
It was all over.
Noah didn't disturb them. He silently walked to the other side, where Krauser was leaning against a large concrete chunk, pressing his hand tightly against his profusely bleeding left arm.
Noah crouched down, took out a medical surgical kit from his Tactical Backpack, and retrieved gauze and disinfectant.
Krauser looked up, staring at Noah with an incredibly complex gaze, at his slowly healing charred arm. His lips moved, but he said nothing.
Noah ignored his gaze, simply skillfully tore open his sleeve, cleaned the deep, bone-visible wound with disinfectant, and after stitching it, carefully bandaged it layer by layer with gauze.
Throughout the entire process, neither of them spoke.
Only after Noah tied the last sturdy knot did he slowly raise his head, looking at Krauser's eyes, which were filled with confusion and longing, and calmly asked:
"If you had this power, what would you do?"
Krauser was stunned by the question.
What would he do?
He didn't know.
In his mind, there was only that dark red flame that incinerated everything, that god-like power.
He craved it, he was obsessed with it, but he had never thought about what he would do with it once he obtained it.
Destruction? Conquest? Or... he was lost.
After a long while, he hoarsely retorted, "What about you? What would you do?"
Noah looked at him, the cold killing intent on his face slowly dissipating, and a very gentle smile, tinged with a hint of helplessness and indulgence, appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Me?"
He smiled faintly: "I hope to go back quickly and spend more time with my wife."
This answer was so simple, so plain, so... unexpected.
Krauser was stunned.
Leon and Manuela were also stunned.
They looked at Noah's sincere smile, at this man who had just been like a god of destruction, but now seemed like an ordinary husband who just wanted to go home.
"Pfft..."
Someone couldn't help but laugh first.
Immediately after, Krauser's stern face also twitched at the corner of his mouth, letting out a low chuckle.
Even Manuela, who was still crying, couldn't help but be infected by the sudden relaxed atmosphere, a hint of a smile appearing amidst her tears.
Leon even burst out laughing and cursing, "You guy... you really are..."
The extreme tension and despair were completely washed away at this moment by this simple answer and the laughter that followed.
Their hoarse, yet incredibly genuine laughter echoed through the base, laughter of those who had survived a catastrophe.
And where they couldn't see, on a hidden cliff several hundred meters away.
A man in a black trench coat slowly lowered the high-powered binoculars in his hand, then put on his sunglasses.
There was no trace of a smile on his face.
Through the lenses, he had clearly seen everything that had just happened.
Whether it was Manuela's veronica Fire or Noah's final, even purer destructive energy that incinerated everything.
His face, which always carried a hint of disdain and playfulness, was now filled with solemnity.
He took a deep look at the laughing figures below, his gaze lingering on Noah for several seconds.
Then, without a word, he put away his binoculars, and his tall figure quickly disappeared into the shadows of the jungle.
(Operation Javier, end)