World's Best Protagonist [BL]

The moment the word ’father’ left Jade’s lips, silence followed. Silence as thick and suffocating as the dark smoke above, even amid the chaotic battlefield.

His team turned to him, their expressions ranging from shock to outright disbelief. But there was no time for questions or even explanations. Jade ignored the stares and focused on his father.

Sergio’s lips twisted into a cruel smirk.

"It already began, son. And I definitely won’t let you stop it," he warned before his expression turned vicious. He glanced at his minions and shouted, "Kill them all!"

At his command, his remaining forces lunged forward. Their killing intent increased, and their eyes changed as if they were being controlled. Jade knew the reason; thus, he shared it with his comrades as he moved out of the way since Claude and Lexie stepped forward.

"So, we shouldn’t kill them?" Lexie asked.

Jade shrugged his shoulders. Truthfully, he didn’t care about those minions’ lives. If it was up to him, he would not even bother to inform them, but he was aware that some of his team did not like killings, sinners or not.

"What’s the punishment for members of the evil UAO?" Jade asked instead.

"What do you mean by that?" Terrius came forward.

Jade pointed at his father standing behind his lackeys, next to him was Diego whose left hand was cut off, his blood soaking the cloth he wrapped on it.

"I just found out my father was one of the seven lords of that underworld organization. They were conducting forced awakenings to humans and forcing them to follow him in this new empire he’s building."

"What..." Etienne murmured in disbelief. "What happened to those humans? And where is Noir? He went with you, right?"

Jade nodded. "He’s probably with them. If he’s alive, then he must have reported everything to the NSA."

"That guy won’t die, Etienne. Don’t worry," Allen chimed in. The cards above his shoulders were more than when they raided the abysmal maelstrom before. Then, he answered Jade’s question, "Death penalty."

Jade noticed Allen’s condition, and he couldn’t help but express a bit of worry. He hesitated to reach out and provide a short counseling, to lower Allen’s dark energy at least, even though his mind still could not accept the truth. Part of him was hoping the monster wouldn’t chase him...

"Wait, the boss monster—!"

The moment he said that the ground trembled beneath them. There was the monster—half of its body was frozen in thick ice which had already begun melting. It let out a guttural roar, and steam came out of its mouth, as it repeatedly struck the frozen part of its body.

Kenneth barked orders. "We’ll handle the boss, Vanderheinz! You take care of them!"

His team moved swiftly, fanning out in perfect synchronization. Their abilities flared to life, weapons drawn, while the volcanic beast roared once more, its molten core glowing ominously.

After team Alpha-02 charged, the rest of the team Alpha-03 jumped in the fight as well.

Allen maintained the barrier to everyone fighting the boss monster. Etienne was prepared to provide non-contact healing to anyone who suffered grave injury.

Meanwhile, Claude faced off with Sergio. Sensing the old man’s slight fear, he realized what was happening. Turning to Jade who was fighting a one-on-one battle with one of Sergio’s minions, he said, "Don’t waste your energy, Jade. I’m confident I can win even without your support."

"Sure," Jade did not hesitate. He released Sergio as one of his targets, then he turned to Lexie and Terrius, "Should I release them too?"

Terrius nodded. Lexie smirked and replied, "What’s a one-armed guy can do anyway?"

Diego’s face twisted in agony and rage from the loss of his left hand which was severed cleanly by Claude. His eyes blazed even darker when he heard Lexie’s words.

Furious, he charged forward despite his injury. His remaining hand clenched into a fist, veins bulging as his enhanced strength fueled his every move.

The moment Jade followed Claude’s request, fire erupted from Sergio’s hands, and Claude leaped back just in time to avoid a ball of flames aimed at his face.

A twisted chuckle escaped Sergio. He glanced at Jade. "You made a mistake, son."

Jade wondered about that. He eyed Claude, and seeing his restrained rage, he sighed, shaking his head.

Claude spun his blade in response. "Be grateful for that. I merely wanted to see how powerful those self-proclaimed kings of the underworld are."

He charged. Sergio surrounded himself with fire, but Claude covered the two of them with an impenetrable, cold fog. The sudden drop in temperature caused steam to rise where the mist met Sergio’s flames.

With the two of them inside that mist field, Claude created, no one could see what was happening inside.

On the other side of the battlefield, Diego’s furious charge had been intercepted by Lexie. The two clashed. Diego’s enhanced speed and strength made him a dangerous opponent, but Lexie was a master of weapons, and each time Diego’s fist came close to landing, a newly formed blade was already blocking the strike.

Diego snarled. "How long do you think you can follow with my speed?" His remaining hand lashed out like a whip, his speed increasing mid-strike. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Lexie twisted, barely evading the hit while she pulled a spear out of the air, forcing Diego back. "You’re strong," she admitted, twirling the weapon expertly. "But brute force alone won’t save you."

Diego growled, muscles tensing before he lunged again. Lexie and him were caught in an intense short-range combat battle.

Meanwhile, Terrius easily handled the rest of Sergio’s minions.

Everyone in the team was busy fighting and cooperating, while Jade, after throwing the one lackey he was punching to Terrius, had left with nothing to do. Therefore, he decided to spring in action.

He approached Allen from behind, busy monitoring the fortresses he built around the Seekers, and without saying anything, held him by the shoulders.

Allen was startled. He glanced over his shoulder, ready to strike, but then Jade’s awkward smiling face came into his vision. "What are you doing?"

"Just let me help like this," Jade replied.

However, Allen was clearly displeased. He stepped forward, leaving Jade’s hands in the air. Jade looked at him, his brows knitting in confusion.

"If you’re going to do what you did last time, stop. I’m not at the verge of collapsing. Don’t worry," Allen remarked.

Jade scratched the back of his head after getting shot down. He grumbled, "Why is everyone refusing my help? If you don’t want to, I’ll go help Etienne."

"I told you, you don’t have to do it."

"I heard you. But I’m not going to do it until I lose consciousness, alright? Etienne’s doing his best. All of you too. Why am I getting treated like I’m some fragile porcelain vase here? I can use my power without exhausting myself too much. That time was just different because you went berserk!" Jade puffed out a frustrated sigh and walked away from Allen.

However, he hadn’t walked far when he heard Allen murmur.

"I’m just bothered you’d turn not to me but to someone else for help."

Jade paused. He turned around, his eyes meeting Allen’s green eyes. The seriousness in those emerald orbs caught his frivolous reply in his throat. The intensity brought him discomfort, so he averted his eyes instantly.

Despite that, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"You know what will happen if you counsel us. You’ll experience the same thing you did at the island. It might not be that intense, but who knows? I simply don’t want to see you in the worst case possible."

"And by the ’worst case’, you mean?" Jade asked slowly, almost by syllable, because his ears could not believe what Allen was saying.

Allen stared at him intently. "You know what I mean, Jade."

Jade shuddered. His face distorted. He was having an internal struggle about being a Minder or a Seeker, but Allen seemed to paint him as the former already. He rubbed his forehead. He knew what he meant, but he’d like to think the worst case scenario was different.

"Don’t worry. It won’t come to the point where I have to cut myself to release contaminated energy."

Allen’s eyes narrowed at him, slightly annoyed at Jade acting dumb. He thought that, given the guy’s personality, he would rather bleed than do shameful acts.

But Jade stood his ground, meeting Allen’s gaze with determination this time.

After a few seconds of contemplating, Allen finally stepped forward and approached Jade. He stopped just a foot away from him. Then, he grabbed Jade’s arms and placed his hands on his shoulders firmly.

Without letting go of Jade’s arms, he spoke, "Then, start with me."

Jade was a bit taken aback at the sudden closeness. After regaining his composure, he frowned at Allen while he began absorbing the guy’s dark energy. As he did, he said, "You can let go of my arms now."

However, Allen ignored Jade’s words. Instead, his hands slid on Jade’s wrists, wrapping them in the warmth of his palms, while his gaze never left his face.