The situation had already gone beyond anything humanity had ever witnessed.
The Earth, which had once seemed so vast to mankind, now looked almost insignificant beneath the overwhelming presence of that mysterious man.
Akuma stood helplessly beneath him.
His body was exhausted. His breathing was heavy, and yet he refused to lower his head.
For a moment, it seemed as though there was no one left who could stand beside him.
Then—
A distant light appeared in the sky.
Akuma slowly raised his head.
At first, it was only one light.
Then another.
And another.
Within moments, the sky was filled with countless figures.
Akuma's eyes widened.
People were coming.
Not dozens.
Not hundreds.
Thousands.
And then the number continued to grow.
From China, countless Immortals were rushing toward him.
Many of them were flying through the sky on their swords, their robes and hair moving violently against the wind. Some of the stronger Immortals didn't even need swords beneath their feet. They simply moved through the air as if gravity itself had stopped applying to them.
Their expressions were serious.
They weren't coming to watch.
They were coming to fight.
Akuma stared at them in disbelief.
Then he saw more people approaching from another direction.
India.
Hundreds upon hundreds of Immortals were moving through the sky.
Behind them came even more.
From America.
From Europe.
From other parts of Asia.
From countries that had once been separated by thousands of kilometres, languages, cultures and borders.
But none of those things mattered anymore.
Because at that moment, humanity had only one enemy.
And everyone understood it.
More and more figures appeared on the horizon.
Millions of people were moving toward the same destination.
And above the heads of every one of them was the same strange symbol.
Hallow.
The mark that had once divided humanity had now become something else.
A symbol of resistance.
Akuma looked at the countless people approaching him.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, something changed inside his eyes.
Hope.
A very small hope.
But it was there.
Maybe...
Akuma clenched his fists.
Maybe we can still win.
He looked at the countless Immortals approaching from every direction.
People he didn't know.
People who had never met him.
People who had nothing personally to gain from protecting him.
And yet—
They had come.
For him.
Akuma's exhausted expression slowly changed.
Perhaps humanity hadn't abandoned him after all.
Perhaps there was still a chance.
Perhaps this nightmare could finally end.
One of the Immortals from the front shouted,
"Akuma!"
Akuma looked toward him.
"Hold on!"
Another voice followed.
"We're coming!"
More voices echoed through the sky.
"Don't give up!"
"Stay alive!"
"We'll help you!"
The voices continued spreading through the enormous army.
For the first time, Akuma wasn't standing alone.
His eyes became slightly wet.
He didn't know who these people were.
He didn't know whether they could actually defeat the enemy standing before him.
But their arrival alone had given him something he had almost forgotten.
Hope.
He looked at the people approaching him and quietly whispered,
"Thank you..."
But then—
A laugh echoed through the sky.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Everyone became silent.
The mysterious man looked at the approaching army.
There was no fear in his eyes.
Not even the slightest hesitation.
Instead, he seemed amused.
He laughed louder.
"Are these idiots seriously coming here to stop me?"
His voice spread across the battlefield.
The Immortals continued moving forward.
The mysterious man simply watched them.
Then he smiled.
"You people still haven't understood, have you?"
He glanced at Akuma.
"Your strongest person already came."
His smile widened.
"And he couldn't even leave a scratch on me."
The mysterious man looked back toward the approaching army.
"So what exactly do you think you are going to accomplish?"
Nobody answered.
But they continued coming.
Thousands became tens of thousands.
Tens of thousands became hundreds of thousands.
Humanity's forces continued gathering.
The mysterious man shook his head.
"Come."
His voice became almost casual.
"Come as many as you want."
He spread his arms slightly.
"It'll only save me the trouble of finding you later."
Akuma's expression changed.
He understood what the man was implying.
The mysterious man wasn't afraid of them.
He was looking at the entire army as though it were nothing more than an inconvenience.
Then his gaze returned to Akuma.
"So tell me, Honor Akuma..."
He slowly walked toward him.
"Do you really believe these insects can do anything to me?"
Akuma didn't answer.
The mysterious man grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.
Akuma's feet immediately left the ground.
His hands instinctively moved toward the man's arm.
The mysterious man's grip tightened.
Akuma struggled to breathe.
"Look at them."
The mysterious man forced Akuma's attention toward the approaching army.
"Millions of them."
He gave a cold laugh.
"And you actually believe they can save you?"
Akuma's eyes remained fixed on the distant figures.
They were still coming.
Even though they knew the difference in power.
Even though they had seen what had happened to the strongest person on Earth.
They were still coming.
Akuma clenched his teeth.
He refused to answer.
The mysterious man tightened his grip again.
"Answer me."
Akuma's vision began to blur.
But then—
He noticed something.
The man's hand.
Akuma suddenly bit down on it with all the strength he had left.
The mysterious man looked at him.
For a moment, everything became silent.
Then he glanced at his hand.
There wasn't even a mark.
The mysterious man looked back at Akuma.
"That's it?"
Akuma stared at him.
The mysterious man laughed.
"You really are desperate."
He suddenly threw Akuma away.
BOOM!
Akuma's body flew across the sky at an incredible speed.
The Earth disappeared behind him.
The darkness of space surrounded him.
And before he could even regain control of his body—
CRASH!
Akuma collided with the surface of the Moon.
The impact sent him sliding across the lunar surface for several miles before he finally came to a stop.
For a moment, he couldn't move.
His entire body felt as though it had been shattered by the impact.
But somewhere in the distance—
The mysterious man remained standing.
He slowly turned his head.
The army of Immortals had now moved beyond Earth's atmosphere.
They were entering space.
And they were coming directly toward the Moon.
The mysterious man watched them approach.
One after another, countless figures appeared in the darkness of space.
China.
India.
America.
Europe.
And countless other nations.
Humanity had crossed the boundary of Earth.
They were coming for Akuma.
The mysterious man looked at the approaching army.
Then he smiled.
Not because he was afraid.
But because, in his eyes, the real battle was finally about to begin.
His gaze shifted toward the distant figure of Akuma lying on the Moon.
"Interesting..."
He whispered.
"Let's see how long your hope survives."
And the countless Immortals continued moving toward the Moon.