Chapter 1080: Destruction of the Ekatoe City: Across the time

The architectural style of the houses around Alice was unfamiliar, starkly different from anything she had seen before.

Suddenly, the scenery shifted once more. Alice found herself standing inside a house. She looked down to find the floor was made of aged wood, and the dim light in the hallway cast long shadows, giving the space an eerie, almost haunting atmosphere.

"Where am I?" Alice muttered under her breath, her eyes scanning the darkened surroundings.

Sob... Sob...

A faint sound of crying reached her ears. Drawn by the noise, Alice walked toward a door and peered inside. What she saw made her heart tighten.

Inside the room, a woman sat on the floor, cradling a child in her arms, her body wracked with sobs. Bruises marred her face, arms, and legs, evidence of a violent assault.

"I... I'm sorry..." The woman's voice trembled, her words muffled by her sobs as she clung to the child.

The child, a young boy, sat in her lap. His face was eerily expressionless, unmoved by the woman's grief. He stared ahead, his gaze distant, as if he couldn't-or wouldn't- acknowledge the tears of the mother who wept before him.

"I'm sorry, Souta... Your sister is..." The woman continued to sob, her voice breaking with every word.

"Huh?" Alice's breath caught as she heard the woman's words. The language was unfamiliar, yet the name was unmistakable.

Souta...? Alice's mind raced, confusion swirling in her thoughts. What was happening? Why was this boy-why was this place-connected to Souta?

She stared at the young boy in the woman's embrace, her heart pounding. His blank, distant expression seemed to say everything yet nothing at all.

If this was real, then-

A sudden noise from below interrupted her train of thought. The unmistakable sound of footsteps echoed through the house, causing the woman to freeze. She quickly wiped the tears from her face, her hand trembling slightly.

She looked at the boy, her expression softening for a moment before she forced a smile. "Your father is here... I have to go now." Her voice was shaky, as though every word was an effort.

The boy, Souta, didn't respond. He just continued to stare at the woman, his gaze cold and unyielding, as if he didn't care whether she stayed or left.

The woman, seemingly trying to muster some semblance of normalcy, patted the boy's head gently. With one last glance at him, she turned and hurried downstairs.

Alice watched the woman's retreating figure until she disappeared downstairs. Then her gaze turned back to the boy, Souta. He stood there, looking down at his feet, his small fists tightly clenched in an expression of silent anguish.

"I'm in Souta's mind, so this must be his memory... Or perhaps a product of his imagination." Alice murmured softly to herself. "But I don't think he would strongly desire a memory like this to manifest. So, there's a high chance that this is something from his past."

If this was indeed a memory, then the child standing before her had to be Souta. Past life?

Alice's thoughts raced. If this was a memory, then Souta should have remembered his past life. Such a scene wouldn't have appeared in his mind if he hadn't already been aware of it.

A weight pressed heavily against Alice's chest as she realized the significance of this. She looked at the boy-Souta-and a deep sadness swelled in her heart. She wanted to say something, anything, to comfort him, but no words came. Instead, she turned and walked downstairs, her mind still reeling from the revelation.

Bang!!

The sound of a violent impact made Alice freeze. She rushed into the room just in time to see the man-Souta's father, perhaps-strike the woman from earlier. The force of the punch sent her crashing into a nearby table, knocking over everything that had been placed on top of it.

The man glared at her, his face twisted in a mix of anger and contempt.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Huh?!" The man shouted, his voice harsh and filled with fury.

"I'll do it..." The woman muttered weakly as she struggled to rise, her face a mask of pain. Alice couldn't understand their words-the language was foreign to her-but the violence in their actions spoke volumes. From their behavior, she could tell they were all ordinary people, trapped in a cycle of abuse.

"A sub-world... This isn't in the Mother Universe. It's probably from a lower dimension." Alice analyzed the situation, her sharp mind piecing together the details. "There's no mana in the air, and the laws and concepts are too fragile to be of the same realm. It's different... weak."

Alice stayed in the shadows, observing as time passed, but the scenes of abuse never stopped. Day after day, she witnessed Souta's father tormenting the woman, his cruelty relentless and unforgiving.

Her chest tightened with each passing day, the hopelessness weighing on her heart. Then, one day, Alice saw something that made her stomach turn violently. Her blood boiled with disgust as a cold wave of killing intent washed over her.

The father returned to the house, accompanied by several of his friends. The man exchanged words with them, their conversation laced with laughter. They handed him something- drugs, perhaps—and then they moved toward the woman's room.

The father's laughter echoed through the house, a sound that made Alice's blood run cold. He savored whatever it was he had obtained, his voice thick with satisfaction as the sounds of groaning and crying seeped through the walls from the woman's room.

"Haha, stop resisting! We paid for it, so your gonna satisfy us tonight!" One of the men sneered as he roughly grabbed the woman's hands, forcing himself on her.

"N-No...!!" The mother's voice cracked, filled with pain and terror.

Alice's eyes snapped shut, her fists clenching so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. Every fiber of her being wanted to stop this-to end their lives for what they were doing-but she was powerless here. She couldn't intervene in this twisted, cruel memory.

This was worse than she had ever imagined. No man should ever do this to his wife, to anyone.

Her heart screamed for justice, but she was trapped in this memory, forced to witness this torment without the ability to act. The rage burned in her chest, but she was powerless to act on it in this form. The disgust twisted her insides.

The next day, the abuse continued.

The father, drunk with power and violence, swung at the woman with all his might. He punched her hard in the stomach, causing her to gasp for air before slamming a bottle into her

head.

Bang!!

The sound of the bottle breaking echoed through the house as the mother collapsed to the ground, her body going limp. Blood poured from the wound in her head, pooling around her like a dark testament to her suffering.

"Serves you right," the father said, his voice dripping with malice as he casually sank into the couch. "I told you to shut up."

Alice turned her head, her heart aching as she saw Souta standing there, staring at his mother with an empty, hollow expression. His face betrayed nothing-no anger, no fear, just a complete absence of emotion.

"Hey, brat! Give me a glass of water. I'm tired here, you know?" The father barely glanced at him as he spoke, dismissing him like he was nothing more than an errand boy.

Tsk!

The father clicked his tongue in annoyance when Souta didn't respond quickly enough. He picked up a remote and turned on the television, his back to the child.

A moment later, Souta returned, silently offering his father a glass of water. The father took the glass without sparing a second glance at him.

But then, something unexpected happened.

A sharp, agonizing pain shot through the father's neck. He groaned, his hand instinctively

reaching to his throat. His vision blurred, and he staggered back, clutching the source of the pain. His eyes went wide as he realized what had happened. There was a knife lodged in his neck, blood dripping from the wound and staining his clothes.

"Y-You...!!" The father's eyes narrowed into a venomous glare, a mix of rage and disbelief. He turned, his fists clenched in fury, and pounced at Souta.

With terrifying force, he began to throw punch after punch, landing blow after blow with

savage brutality, not holding back in the slightest.

Ugh!! Souta staggered with each hit, his body unable to protect him from the relentless

assault.

Bang! Bang!

As the punches continued, the father's strength began to fade. His strikes grew weaker, his body slowing, and the fury in his eyes turned into confusion. His limbs trembled, and his

vision began to blur.

"Y-You... dumb child..."

With a final groan, the father crumpled to the floor, his body twitching as the darkness

overtook him.

Alice watched the scene unfold, her eyes narrowing as she saw the cold, empty gaze in Souta's

eyes. It was a look she knew all too well-the same chilling expression she'd seen countless times before, just before he ended a life. The sudden, brutal calmness before the storm.

The police arrived shortly afterward, their uniforms swarming the scene. They began investigating, taking photos of the bloodstained floor and the two bodies. The air was thick with the scent of death, but the officers were professional, their movements quick and

precise.

Alice observed the chaos, her gaze drifting over the scene. It was almost surreal-no one seemed to notice the young boy standing in the corner. Souta stood there, unmoving, his figure blending into the shadows of the room as if he was invisible.

It was strange. She was sure she could see him, but no one else did. The officers worked

around him without a second glance, their eyes gliding right over him as though he wasn't

even there.

Does he have an ability? Alice wondered. She scanned the area, but there was no sign of energy emanating from Souta. No mana, no aura, nothing that indicated a power or force of any kind.

Impossible... No one here had mana. The world around them was devoid of the magical essence she was so familiar with. So how was it possible for Souta to be so invisible to them?

Alice's mind raced with questions as she continued to observe the scene unfold. "Does he have an ability?" she mused. "A tiny release of energy will be all it needed for

everyone here to perish."

Just as Alice was deep in thought, the door creaked open.

An old man entered the house, his presence startling in its suddenness. He moved silently,

and just like Souta, no one seemed to notice him. The officers continued their work, oblivious

to the new arrival.

The old man knelt in front of Souta, his eyes studying the boy with an almost knowing look.

"Do you have any relatives?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle.

Souta looked up at him, his expression blank. "I don't know."

The old man's gaze never wavered. "What's your name?"

"Souta Yamazaki."

The old man continued to ask various questions, each one met with simple, unremarkable

answers from Souta. But there was something strange about the way the old man's eyes never left the boy, a knowing glint in them, as if he already understood everything. After a few moments, the old man stretched his hand toward Souta. "You will forget everything that happened here," he said in a low, comforting tone. "From now on, you are my

grandson."

Souta's eyes fluttered, and with a soft gasp, he fainted, collapsing into the old man's arms. The old man stood up, cradling the unconscious boy as though he weighed nothing. As the old man turned to leave, his gaze suddenly shifted. His eyes locked onto Alice's.

For a brief moment, the world around Alice seemed to still. Her heart skipped a beat. The old man wasn't looking at the officers or the room-he was looking directly at her.

She could feel the weight of his stare, a silent recognition that sent a chill crawling down her

spine.

'He knows I'm here.'

Alice's pulse quickened, and a sense of unease settled over her. The old man's expression didn't change, but something in his gaze told her that he wasn't just some bystander. He was

aware of her, and that could only mean one thing-he was far more than he appeared.

This can't be...

If that's the case then this old man is...

"Yeah, I'm a God..." The old man's voice, calm and matter-of-fact, confirmed what Alice had

feared.

The weight of his words sunk in, and Alice stood frozen, processing the implications. Alice had always known that gods existed beyond the realm of ordinary mortals, but to

encounter one who was aware of her presence in this fractured world of memories-it was something else entirely.

The old man narrowed his eyes, as though seeing through her, his gaze penetrating. "You're looking through my grandson's memory, and you didn't expect to see me here." He spoke as though this was just an inconvenient interruption. "You didn't come from this timeline, but from the future. It seems my grandson will really arrive there."

The old man's voice grew colder, his expression hardening as he continued, "What are you

doing here? For you, this is only a product of going through my grandson's memory, but for me, this is real."

His words sent a shiver down Alice's spine. This wasn't just a memory she was looking through; this was a living, breathing reality for the old man. He existed here, in this space, as

much as she did.

Alice took a deep breath and forced herself to steady her nerves. She could sense that this

situation was spiraling into uncharted territory, one that could easily break her concentration

if she didn't keep a clear mind.

"I'm Alice—no, Alicia Remeri Lucifer," she said, bowing slightly in respect, though the

weight of the situation pressed heavily on her. "I'm Souta's friend..." "Lucifer...? Someone from the Demon Race?" The old man slightly turned his head.

"Yes, Sir. I'm here because Souta is in a dire situation. He lost control of himself, so I had to enter his mind to pull him out of it," Alice replied politely.

"Lost control..." The old man raised his eyebrows as he glanced at the child in his arms. He stretched out his hand and flicked his finger. After a moment, he narrowed his eyes and muttered, "It seems that it's already happening... I can't see what's beyond, not even a tiny bit."

Alice looked at the old man with a confused expression. Noticing Alice's look, the old man said, "Well, I'll explain it to you since I need to ask you something. You see, I'm Kryvon leshi, the Patriarch of the leshi Clan."

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