[🚨 Milestone Reached: Chapter 100 COMPLETE! 🚨
Yes, you read that right. Chapter 100 is done—and Arc 5 comes to a close. But don't worry: this isn't the end.
Nero Angelo has said goodbye to everything he knew and stepped into a new world. A world of magic, swords, and chaos. A world that has no idea what's coming.
Arc 5 ends, but Nero's journey? It's just beginning. And I'm still building the path forward, so there's plenty more story coming for everyone who's following along.
💀 Protector at his side.💀 Oblivion on his back.💀 And one man walking into a world that can't even imagine him.
Chapter 100 is here. Arc 6 starts soon. Stay ready.]
As Nomad rumbled steadily northward, the base behind it churned with controlled chaos. Soldiers shouted orders across the compound, directing the evacuation with practiced urgency. Supplies were being hauled into transports.
Civilians were grouped, briefed, and pushed toward safety. Fear clung to the air, but so did resolve. They were moving—because they had no other choice. Staying meant dying.
Inside the research wing, Dr. Elias Grant strode through the corridors, clutching a secured case packed with notes and delicate instruments. He had scraped together everything he could from his lab—samples, logs, even a few prototypes he had once planned to show Angelo. Now there was no time for any of that.
His steps carried him to the civilian quarters.
The guards outside Angelo's family room straightened the moment they saw him.
"Dr. Grant," one said, saluting. "Need anything, sir?"
Grant nodded briskly. "At ease. I'm here to speak with the family."
His eyes narrowed a fraction. "Weren't there only two of you before?"
"Yes, sir. The General doubled the detail around them. As a precaution."
"Smart," Grant muttered. "We'll need every precaution we can get."
One guard slipped inside. Moments later, Angelo's family stepped out—James, Olivia, Alex, Emma, and Sophia. Olivia clutched a go-bag, her eyes still red. Emma stayed close, fists tight around her backpack strap, while Sophia rested a steady hand on her shoulder, calm but watchful.
Grant wasted no time.
"We don't have long, so I'll keep this brief. I'm Dr. Elias Grant. I worked closely with Angelo."
James stepped forward. "Where is he? He said he was going away. Is he alright?"
"He's alright," Grant said. "He left less than an hour ago. Headed north."
Olivia gasped. "Why? Why would he go alone?"
"He's not alone. We sent two soldiers with him." Grant's voice lowered. "He's trying to pull the monsters away from the base. Using himself as bait. It's our best shot at buying enough time to evacuate."
Alex scoffed, jaw tightening. "Tch. Took him long enough. Honestly… he should've stayed out there. All this—" he gestured to the panicked evacuation "—is because of him."
"Alex, enough," James snapped.
But it was too late.
Grant's expression had already sharpened into something cold.
His voice dropped. "What did you say?"
Alex didn't flinch. Bitterness dripped from every word. "I said that monster should've stayed out there."
Before anyone could react, Grant stepped past the others and seized Alex's collar, nearly lifting him off his feet. Emma cried out instantly, bursting into tears. Olivia shouted, "Let him go!" James lunged forward, but the guards blocked him, weapons raised.
"Step away from the Doctor!"
Sophia pulled Emma close, shielding her.
Grant didn't spare any of them a glance. His grip tightened, eyes burning into Alex's.
"Do you have any idea what that boy has been through?" Grant hissed, voice shaking with restrained fury. "He went through training that would kill a normal soldier. He fought the Watchers even after his arms burned down to the bone—blackened from the fire. He was pinned to the ground like an insect by the Angels. Swords and spears driven through his arms, legs, his torso."
Everyone recoiled at the image.
Sophia went pale.
James's fists clenched until his knuckles whitened.
Olivia trembled in place.
But Alex still didn't look away.
Grant finally released him. Alex staggered back.
"I've met plenty of stubborn fools," Grant said, voice low. "But you…"
His anger flared anew.
"He put his life on the line every damn time we asked—without hesitation—just to keep this world standing. And this is how you repay him?"
Alex snapped back, voice cracking with frustration. "What do you want me to say? He's not the Angelo I knew! He's not even human anymore. And it's not like he'll die—he heals through everything!"
Grant cut him off, shouting over him.
"Not anymore."
The room froze.
Everyone went still. Even the guards lowered their weapons, glancing between Grant and Alex in disbelief.
Alex's voice came out small, shaken.
"What do you mean… he can't?"
Grant drew a long breath. Some of the fury bled out of him, leaving a quieter, heavier edge.
"He lost his powers," he said. "He can't even stop a small cut from bleeding. Every movement sends pain shooting through his body. And despite that… he still walked to you. Just to make sure you were all safe. Just to say goodbye."
A tremor ran through Grant's hand as he continued.
"His body's a wreck, and he still chose to leave. Not for glory. Not to prove anything. But to save you—to save all of us."
He swallowed.
"And before he left, he asked me for one thing."
Everyone's eyes fixed on him.
Grant's voice softened, cracking at the edges.
"He asked me to keep you safe. All of you. And he told me to tell you something."
The room tightened around the silence.
"He said he's sorry. For everything."
The words landed like a blow.
Olivia's lips quivered before the first tear slid down her cheek.
Emma bit down hard on her lip, trying not to cry.
Sophia's voice broke the stillness, low and fragile.
"…How did it get like this?"
James drew his family close, one steady arm around Olivia.
Sophia held Emma a little tighter—standing slightly apart, not family by blood, but protective in a way that made it clear she had chosen them. Chosen Angelo.
Alex… said nothing.
Grant looked at the family, then back at him.
"Did you know he looks up to you?" Grant asked quietly. "He said you were his hero. His god."
The silence hit harder than any shout.
Alex froze, eyes wide, everything inside him collapsing at once.
"You don't deserve that kind of faith," Grant whispered. "But he still gives it to you."
Alex's knees buckled. He fell to the floor, staring at his trembling hands as if seeing them for the first time.
Grant turned, fury restrained but still burning beneath the surface. He stepped toward the guards.
"Protect them," he said. "With your lives."
"Yes, sir," they answered, standing straighter.
Grant didn't look back. He walked into the river of evacuating personnel, disappearing in seconds—leaving behind a hollow, breathless quiet.
Alex knelt there, hands shaking, tears finally forming. His breathing came uneven, desperate.
James sank beside him, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
Alex looked up, tears sliding down his face. "I didn't mean it, Dad… any of it."
James tightened his grip.
"The next time you see Angelo," he said, voice low, steady, "you apologize. Understood?"
Alex covered his face with both hands as the tears broke through.
He didn't answer with words.
But he nodded.
Slowly.
Brokenly.