[1] Sacrifice

<9:31pm>I'm currently in my office at my house, beside the seashore somewhere in Japan, working on my company's paperwork. The moonlight was shining upon me as I sat with my back facing the window from which the light comes.

Moreover, this place also has a good field that lets me train my martial arts freely. With only a large plain field and not a single tree around, I can play around with the sword without having to worry about cutting down the trees due to the release of my ki which is pretty...Monstrous, if I say so myself. I was suddenly reminded of a certain past mission overseas 3 years ago when I was still 15. That time there was a corrupt organization of mercenaries that I was chasing down, however, I was a little late and they were already on a ship, fleeing to who knows where. When I saw them slipping through my hands, I suddenly came up with a pretty outrageous idea. I drew out the katana with me and I raised it above my head with my right hand. After a second, I started gathering huge amounts of my ki into my sword, and when I felt that it was enough, I swung it down so hard that the energy outburst caused the sea in front of me to be split in half. The intense wave of ki that erupted from my sword eventually hit the huge ship which was already tens of thousands of meters away from the coastline and blew it up to smithereens.

No one on the ship was left alive. Those who managed to survive the blast with severe wounds were eaten up by the dangers lurking in the oceans. I was surprised for the first time in 7 years, as I never thought I was that powerful already.

At that moment I also tried the test my punch and kicks. I tested my punch by hitting the land beneath me, and as I expected... An all-out punch from me infused with ki caused a 7.4 magnitude earthquake throughout the entire country. I tried out my legs by doing a sprint in danyang-kunshan and I was able to cross it in just 5 seconds. it was all too powerful to the point where I started to think if this was all just a dream. You may think that the professional fighters that you watch on TV are already the peak of humanity in terms of fighting prowess, but their skills aren't even worth a single strand of hair of a true martial arts practitioner.

Ki is the internal energy generated by the body that can only be used after training hard for several years, if a child starts training at the age of 6, the earliest he can manipulate his ki on a beginner level is at least after 24 years, worst case scenario, you may die of old age without even learning it, Ki manipulation enables the user to do hundreds of supernatural things that a normal human can't, although not on the same level as magic from those fantasy novels since Ki manipulation is mainly used for body strengthening, that's why many practitioners wants to master the Ki arts, someone that can learn ki manipulation in just 18 years can already be considered as a once in a millennia genius. But strangely, after I started learning it when I was 8 years old, I was able to manipulate it on a virtuoso level at the age of 10, and then I was able to fully master it at the age of 14. And the cost of it was a multitude of my ability to express emotions.

Because of all the hellish experiences I went through. I subconsciously sealed away my emotions deep within me, I guess it’s something like an automated defense mechanism in order to keep me from losing myself. It's not like they're gone completely, it's just that it was hard for me to express them even if I want to.

ring*

The alarm at my table rang as I dozed off. it looks like my mind wandered around as I reminisced about my past. I looked at the clock and found out it was already 10:30pm.

"Time sure flies fast huh." I muttered to myself as I organized the documents and hid them away in the drawer.

I stood up and was about to head to the bedroom when I felt a strange yet familiar presence from the shore. This person seems to exude a powerful and hostile aura. I arranged my clothes which is just a simple business suit which I wear on a day-to-day basis. I grabbed the sword beside me and went out of my house.

I proceeded to walk out of my house to the shore in a leisurely manner.

There, I saw the familiar figure of a blonde man. He wore a white tuxedo with an evil grin on his face. If not for that disgusting expression on his face, he can be considered as handsome, at least at the level of High-class celebrities. However, despite his looks, he's not young anymore, he's already 62 years old, and he was only able to retain his youthful look using Ki manipulation.

I opened my mouth and said these words to the figure in front of me.

"You shouldn't barge in my property at night like a paparazzi, Jon Lewis."

"Good evening, Lucas. You're still as arrogant as ever I see."

"I'm not really arrogant, you're just far too weak compared to me. So? what's your business with me? want to kill me?"

"I came here to send you to the afterlife! You've always been a huge obstacle to the Atlantica alliance, so today, we decided to erase you from this world. Someone like you does not belong here!"

"You really think someone like you can kill me? I stand at the pinnacle of this world, whether it be martial arts, business, politics, and military. And you're just someone with a little ability in fighting, you can't even draw out half of my fighting prowess, and you expect to kill me? How ludicrous."

"Hahahaha, did you really think that I came here without a plan? I admit that I'm inferior to you in all of the fields you mentioned, but I'm still the 3rd strongest martial artist, and I hold a significant amount of authority. That's why I advise you to not look down on me or the entire Atlantica alliance!"

Jon shouted at me with a pissed-off face. It looks like the fact that a young like me is superior to him, a 62-year-old is still hurting his pride as a martial artist.

However, I couldn't careless about his situation. Working hard won't take you that far, that's why you also have to make use of your brain and everything around you.

"Don't tell me you're gonna mow down this country by using nuclear bombs? Will your alliance be able to bear the consequences of destroying an entire country, along with its innocent inhabitants? The entire Asia won't let you off if you do that. And also, you might be forgetting this, but nuclear bombs don't affect me anymore, even if you blast me with hundreds of them, I can still emerge unscathed."

It's true that nuclear bombs cannot affect me anymore because at my level of mastery of the Ki arts, I can strengthen myself to the point where my body can withstand huge explosions and nullify the radiations around my body. Basically, this makes me close to being an immortal.

"Enough with this chit-chat. Come at me you monster!"

At the drop of his words, both Jon and I disappeared from our positions instantaneously. He went at me at a speed faster than sound and likewise I came at him with the same speed. We aimed at each other's fist and…

Bang!*

The shockwave from the collision of our fist sent all the sand around us flying away. After the collision, I heard a bloodcurdling scream from him as he flew away and finally landing with his back. Jon coughed out lots of blood and his entire right arm was now gone.

“I guess I put in too much force in that attack”

I thought to myself as I watched Jon struggle as he slowly stood up with an expression of despair.

It looked like he saw a demon with that expression. I mean, I can't really complain since the strength of that punch was more than what I usually use.

"Y-you... how were you able to improve this much in just a year!? This is impossible! for you to become this powerful! j-just what are you!?"

It looks like I really scared him this time, he's trembling too much, like a child who saw a ghost for the first time.

The winds howled and made my silver-white hair flutter. I walked closer to him. With every step I took, the temperature around us went colder and colder. Jon who was known as the third strongest human is now slumped in the ground, shaking in fear. His youthful face suddenly looked older than before.

"S-Stop, don't kill me! I-if you do, this entire country will be erased from the face of the earth!"Frowning at his words, I stared at his eyes as I asked him in a deep voice, sounding like the devil.

"What do you mean?"

"I-it's as you said, we knew that nuclear bombs won't work on a monster like you, that's why we prepared another weapon made to erase your entire existence. You still have a chance though, if you come over to our side, I can talk to the higher-ups for you!"

"A new weapon?"

I asked, I pondered over his words for a bit but still didn't come up with an answer. While I was wondering, Jon's mouth revealed a nasty grin albeit still shaking. And it finally dawned on me. My pupils constricted and a sweat ran down my face. The weapon that he was talking about was...

"Yes, what you're thinking right now is correct, hahahaha!"

He laughed maniacally while looking at me as if I'm a mouse caught in a trap.

"The antimatter bomb", I said in a low voice.

"But how did this happen? how was the Atlantica alliance able to build one in a short time? My information network is not so weak to the point where it can't even sniff out your activities."

To be honest, I was surprised, the technology and knowledge needed were not something that the Atlantica can easily get their hands on. Yet, he's saying that they have managed to create one and are now preparing to annihilate me using it. Nuclear bombs may not be able to kill me, but we're talking about antimatter here, if it touches me, even my ki won't be able to protect me. In other words, it's instant death. Moreover, if it hits Japan, I'm sure that this entire country will really be wiped out from the map. If they can really mobilize such a weapon, then maybe an outside factor was involved. A certain neutral faction that has a quarrel with me.

"I know just how much you try to protect this country, which is why we're confident that you won't run away and leave just for your life. I told you years ago, this weakness of yours will bring about your doom. A person with a colossal amount of wealth, authority of the highest level, and even most of the world's martial arts has been mastered by you. You are everyone's pride, the symbol of peace and power. hahaha! some people even treat you as a God! You were born with everything! But too bad, your very existence has been hindering our progress, making us suffer. But now, it will all end, because you're going to perish right here!"

I could feel Jon's immense hatred. But there's one thing that he said which is far from the truth."I was born with everything? yes, I was indeed born into a well-off and happy family, but what of it? For a moment, I had everything a child could ever wish for, and then poof, everything disappeared in the blink of an eye. I was no different from a child born in the slums. Everyone treated me like the plague, my relatives refused to take me in, they stole the inheritance that my parents gave me, and they even tried to kill me hundreds of times, just because a cursed child like me has their blood running through my veins. And yet despite all of that, I survived, I persevered, and I have risen to the top. And now, do you know what happened to those relatives of mine?" I asked.

"They're dead. I wiped them out of existence. It's as simple as that."

When Jon heard my words he was surprised for a moment and then he asked me."What do you mean? aren't you someone who achieved all these achievements through the help and support of your family? We already did a background research on you, you're the scion of a wealthy clan. Everything you have now was all because of your family!"

"That was just a cover I set up for myself. I don't care about how you think I was able to get to where I am right now. But let me tell you this, I obtained everything by myself and with the support of my subordinates."

After I spoke an alarm sounded from Jon's pocket, he took out his phone and smiled at it.

"It looks like the bomb has been dropped right at this location, Hahahaha! Don't worry Lucas, I'll make sure to accompany you in hell!! hahahaha! A ki wave from your sword won't even be able to destroy it since the distance is too far and the ki will slowly dissipate. Right now, it's high up above the atmosphere, but once it passes through the clouds, this entire country is already done for. That is how powerful the new weapon is!"

"If you didn't come here then you wouldn't have to die with me, why?" I asked him as I stared above the skies.

Jon was momentarily surprised by my question, then he pointed his finger at me.

"I promised myself to only die at the hands of someone I deem to be stronger than me. And also, after this mission is over, I knew that the entire Atlantica alliance will only dispose of me like a used tool. That's why, I thought this would be the best death I could ever ask for."

"So kill me, I have no reason to live anymore. Even as a puppet, I have lived my life the way I wanted."

After hearing his words I unsheathed my sword and walked towards him. My eyes staring at him like a hunter about to kill his prey.

I stabbed his heart with my blade, but since he's also a Ki practitioner and the third strongest human on top of that, his vitality is much more huge than an average person. It'll take about 3 minutes for him to die due to a stab in the heart.

After that, I looked up in the skies as I thought of another crazy idea. If I could jump high enough through the clouds, enough for the bomb to enter the effective range of my sword slash, then I can destroy the entire bomb and protect everyone. But the cost of it will be...My life.

"Let's do this.", I said to myself as I bent my knees and held the sword tightly in my right hand.When Jon saw my posture, he was shocked. He knew what I was gonna do. He knew that I won't run away from this predicament, but he didn't expect that I was crazy enough to give my life away for the sake of people whose names I didn’t even know. A look of admiration appeared in his dying eyes as he muttered his last words tears forming in his eyes. The hatred that he felt for me slowly fades away as he realized something.

"I really can't match up to you huh? As much as it pains me to admit it, you really deserve this position. Right now, the only thing I see in front of me is the image of a true ruler. A true God, much more real than those mentioned in the books and different religious cultures."

Ignoring those words, I gathered 50% of my strength in my legs and jumped toward the skies.

 Jon gathered the remaining strength he has and knelt with one knee towards my figure.

"I'm glad to have lived and witness the prowess and the noble end of a God of war. Thank you.”

and with that, his remaining life disappeared, but his body remained kneeling.

After getting close to the bomb enough to hit it with a ki outburst from my sword, I gathered my remaining strength and swung the sword vertically with all my might. The clouds in front of me disappeared as the Ki wave from my sword flew out to the bomb at a speed exceeding sound. after 3 seconds, the wave hit the bomb and it blew up.

The explosion gradually swallowed me, I could see my sword disappearing without a trace. At that moment, I didn't feel any regret. I only felt at peace, knowing that I protected my country till my last breath. And with that, my body slowly disappeared into thin air.

...

[wake up... wake up]

I heard a voice ringing in my head. I slowly opened my eyes.White. I can only see a familiar white space around me. I looked around this familiar place that I always dreamt of whenever I sleep. I started dreaming of this place after the death of my parents, but I just ignored it thinking that it was just me having weird dreams due to the loss. After looking around, I found her again. The woman in white clothes with long pink hair, her back is always facing me whenever I see her.

It was the first time I heard her voice, I was entranced by it. It gives me a feeling of serenity. Like a calm and beautiful ocean. I tried to approach her again like what I have always done in the past, but...

[Wake up...]

On the third time she tried to wake me up, My dreaming self slowly lost consciousness and woke up immediately.

"Wait, didn't I die? Where am I?" I asked myself feeling a bit surprised to find myself alive and breathing.

At that moment, a man's voice rang from behind me.

"Would you mind telling me your name?" the man asked with a smile on his face as he gazed upon me who is sitting on the grass.

He looked like someone in his early twenties, with yellow hair and white clothes. A ruler's aura was oozing out from him, it looks like he was trying to pressure me by giving off an intimidating aura. But too bad, he's facing me, it can't even tickle me, much less make me feel intimidated.

"It’s Lucas, mind telling me where I am?" I asked with a straight face. as I look around and find myself to be situated in a rather strange place.

He was shocked momentarily by my response. It looks like he didn't expect to receive a calm response from me. He managed to regain his former expression, as he reached out his hand to me to help me get up.

I received his help out of courtesy and slowly stood up. He then walked in front of me and onto a huge gate made of what seems to be gold. He slowly turns around and faces me.

"Allow me to welcome you, Lucas, my name is Gabriel. The God of Wisdom. And welcome, to the Realm of the Gods."