Parallel Memory

-SHHUUSSSHHHH!

A sword pierced and came out of Solomon's chest. 

[ " Shattering Flower Style: Lotus Explosion " ]

-SLASH!

" W..h …at? "

Solomon fell down as he was pierced in his heart and then his whole chest area was cut off with an Art.

Before Warren, Before Diego, the one to land the final blow on Solomon was no other than Eleonore. 

"Hah Hah Hah…"

Eleonore panted and fell as she was nervous the whole time. She didn't think her attack would work but considering the state Solomon was in, her attack seems to be more than enough to finish Solomon.

Eleonore was pushed aside before Zero confronted Solomon by himself. She could only look at the frightening scene from a distance.

First, she saw the unbelievable power of Zero. Zero showed abilities beyond her wildest imagination.

She already considered Zero freezing multiple enemies at Rank-C, to be his best. 

But turns out he is able to churn out even more power. Even when his Ice Wall or Dark Ice wall was unable to stop the Rank-A + Solomon but it did slow him down.

He even managed to survive the attack of Solomon. It was utterly unbelievable that the person she bullied for so long would be so strong.

It also reinforces her misunderstanding that Zero is a perverted Masochist. she thought that he was very well capable of resisting her but chose to not do it because he loves getting beaten by her.

Anyway, the boy she knew for so long was no longer the same as she knew. It was like the person she knew had suddenly changed. 

Solomon didn't retreat and again tried to attack Zero. Her dad and Warren were still not there.

This time Zero was really in no condition to resist. If Solomon attacks him once more, she knew he would be killed.

She went to do a sneak attack on him. Solomon would be likely to suffer serious injury if he was attacked right now as he was not paying attention to his environment.

It was like Solomon became obsessed with Zero or something and couldn't see anything else.

She waited for Solomon to let his guard down. She knew he would have the weakest guard when he was about to attack Zero. 

When Solomon did that, She took the chance and stabbed her sword in his heart.

After that, She used her Art to make the sword stronger and cut into his flesh deeper, and cut off his chest area.

Solomon at that moment could not believe how his life ended. His revenge was left unfulfilled and he ended up dying at the hands of a young unknown girl.

At the last moment, he saw Zero who was very much alive. He was one second away from taking his life.

It was Solomon's end.

*****

"Zero!" 

Warren and Diego came towards them. Warren was happy to see that his son was still alive.

Diego was also relieved to see his daughter and Zero alive. They took a final look at Solomon who was dead at last.

Who could have imagined that the local boss and a person who is feared by many and enjoyed fame would one day be dead in this little guild?

He managed to shallow many guilds in the past few months and now all of his efforts are gone because of one stupid decision.

Zero's dad and Diego immediately went to other places to help the other guests who were still fighting with other Devil Contractors.

They took out many Rank-B Devil Contracts, making it easier for others to fight.

The other Devil Contractors tried to betray their other companion and run away but they were easily caught by Warren and Diego. The massacre of Devil Contractors started from then on.

While they were away, Eleonore was responsible for protecting Zero. Though Eleonore wanted to decline but taking Zero's condition into consideration, she could only comply.

She was waiting for their moms to arrive. Since the battle is coming to an end, Zero's mom will surely come here to heal Zero.

Though Zero took some health potions, he was severely injured to be healed in one go by a mere low-level potion.

Zero laid there thanking his luck once again for saving him. He was one shot away from dying this time and it was not like the situation in the Exam dungeon where you won't die even if you are killed.

"So you became strong, huh!"

Eleonore said to Zero. 

"Yeah, I guess so!"

Zero answered.

( Looking back. It was a short but productive journey. I never expected to become this strong. )

Zero started reminiscing about his past. From the day he got Parallel Memory, he was always busy. Training to be even a little bit stronger. 

The days became busier as he established a company but he liked it more compared to his dull and boring life before.

He even tried to activate his Parallel Memory again but he didn't gain new knowledge. 

Whether it was the limit of the skill or it might have been that he didn't have the capacity to activate it again. Either way, he couldn't get new knowledge.

He could only know all the details of his skill if he purchased an SS-Rank identification scroll. Previously, he used a Rank-E identification scroll which is clearly not enough to know all the details of the Rank-SS skill.

Zero could only wait until he gets a Rank-SS identification scroll to know all the details of his skill.

"How did you do that?"

Eleonore asked as she pointed to shattered Dark Ice. She clearly felt two different energies when Zero used his skill.

"That? I used my Art. It is an Ice Magic."

Zero said as he tried to pretend to not know what she was asking.

A frown appeared on Eleonore's eyebrow. She knows that Zero was clearly giving her the wrong answer. However, she didn't persuade him further because everyone had a secret and it was their right whether to share it or not.

"Ahhmmm. Sister Eleonore"

" Yes?"

"Thank you for your help. If it was not for your timely action, I would have surely gone to heaven. If you ever want something from me just say it, I will do my best to achieve it."

( Heaven? You would have gone straight to the lowest floor of hell. )

Eleonore thought. Zero might have become strong but in Eleonore's eyes, it was just a transition from pervert to strong pervert.

"No nee… Actually, I do want you to do something for me in the future. At that time, I hope you keep your words."

Eleonore said as she looked at Zero with a sinister smile.

Zero failed to notice that. He was not in a position to move too much and could only talk while lying on the ground.

"Sister Eleonore, I promise I will keep my words. Whether it's to hike the blade mountains or to enter the sea of flames, I, Zero Elea, will not hesitate at all."

Zero, was filled with gratitude towards Eleonore who saved his life. He said he would do everything without thinking it was Eleonore he was talking to. 

It took some time but all the Devil Contractors were taken care of. Their dads returned to them with Zero's mother and Misha and her mother.

"ZERO!"

Zero's mother, Madison, quickly rushed towards Zero. Her eyes were reddened due to her overflowing emotion. Her son was all wounded with blood splattered everywhere.

"Starry Form: Hands of Blessing" 

Madison quickly used her spell to heal Zero. The injury was not that fatal but Zero was suffering from throbbing pain in his stomach area.

The healing spell did ease his pain a little but it was not possible for him to recover immediately unless he drank an Epic rarity health potion.

"Mom, I am fine!"

Zero said as he was worried about his mom getting too worried. 

In fact, this pain was nothing compared to when he first used his Dual Art and collapsed. 

At that time, he didn't even have health potions or some healing spell, so he definitely suffered much more during that time.

He assured his mom and told her to look at him. He tried to stand and walk, only to fail and fall down.

"ZERO!" 

Zero was carefully taken on a stretcher to his room. Zero's dad called the doctor to check on Zero.

"For the most part, he is currently out of danger but it will take some time for him to recover his damaged bone. I suggest you let your wife heal him at least twice a day to speed up his recovery."

The doctor said solemnly and then gave some prescriptions to dad and left the place.

"Baby, rest well! I will make a delicious soup for you." 

*****

The fight caused quite a stir. This was the third-largest attack of Devil Contractors this year. The media covered the story quite extensively and also praised Zero's dad and Misha's dad for successfully protecting the citizens and defeating the Devil Contractors.

The media and the people all thought that the Devil Contractors were acting too strange this year. They never attacked this much before.

The media concluded that they were planning something big and that The Authority should take appropriate measures to stop them.

The Shadow Guild was once again busy with all the media trying to barge into their headquarters and asking for a meeting with Warren. 

The number of Devil Contractors found dead was so huge that even the Gold graded guild would have been in trouble if they were careless.

Shadow Genesis being able to defeat them means that their power was not to be underestimated.

The powerhouse of the City was changing!