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[POV – Rito]
The crater was still smoking, as if the planet had just swallowed a star and spat out ashes. Rocks trembled, the air vibrated in waves of heat, and at the center of it all stood him: Gid Lucione Deviluke, the King. The so-called "supreme commander of the universe."
He had just knocked out the blonde woman who dared attack me seconds earlier. One strike and she hit the ground like a puppet with cut strings. The ground roared — BAAAM! — and a cloud of dust rose, covering half the field.
Gid lifted his chin, proud.
— Hmph. You still dare to face me, boy? — he said, with that kingly air that expected everyone to kneel.
But I just breathed in, unhurried. His aura was strong, yes. Heavy, even. But compared to what I had already felt inside myself… it was only a shadow pretending to be the sun.
I smirked.
— Dare? I just don't have time to play scared.
His brows furrowed. A murmur rippled across the field, like thunder hiding in clouds. But I didn't back down.
I stepped forward, firm. TUM. The ground shook, not from him, but from me.
— You may be king, Gid. You may have the whole universe bowing before your name. But here, in front of me, you're not the one who decides the weight of destiny.
The silence stretched. Even Lala stopped smiling for a moment, surprised. And Gid… oh, he didn't retreat, but he didn't advance either. He just measured me with his eyes, curious.
— Hmph. Interesting. — He laughed. HA-HA-HA! — Maybe you really are not a mere human.
— I'm not. — I replied without hesitation.
[POV – Ex-Lady Astaroth]
I watched from the shadows.
I had never seen him before, this Gid Deviluke. The universe whispered his name as if he were a storm made flesh. And there he was, in the middle of a crater, power pouring out like liquid fire.
But to my surprise… what chilled me wasn't Gid.
It was the boy before him.
Yuuki Rito.
My heart tightened. I, who no longer had anything — no husband, no son, no title — watched the scene as if seeing both the end and the beginning.
That boy didn't bow. Didn't tremble. Didn't beg for mercy. He looked at the King Deviluke as if he were nothing more than an annoying neighbor.
And Gid, the almighty, couldn't draw a single sign of weakness from him.
I clenched my fists.
"Who are you, Yuuki Rito? A disaster… or the salvation of something I don't even know exists anymore?"
[POV – Rito]
The wind blew hard, throwing dust everywhere. The sky itself seemed to pause just to listen to us.
Gid narrowed his eyes.
— You dare place yourself above me?
I folded my arms, calm.
— I don't dare. I simply am.
VUUUUSH! In an instant, he moved, fast as thunder crashing down. To anyone else, it would've been impossible to follow. But when Gid reappeared behind me… I was already there, turning my head and facing him straight on.
— Try again. — I said, almost bored.
He froze for a second. Just one. But enough for the universe to notice.
Lala shouted, nervous:
— Dad, don't hurt Rito!
But Gid didn't answer. He only stepped back, his smile curling.
— So that's how it is… you're more than you appear.
I let out a short laugh.
— You don't even know half of it.
[POV – Ex-Lady Astaroth]
My eyes followed, hypnotized.
So this was it. The king, the giant, the monster… halted before a boy who should've been nothing.
And yet, that boy made him hesitate.
I had never known Gid, but I had heard enough legends to know he never backed down. Ever. What in the hell was happening here?
"It's not Gid who holds the universe in his hands now. It's him… Yuuki Rito."
A shiver crawled down my spine. Part fear, part… hope?
[POV – Rito]
I looked at Lala. She smiled nervously, trying to hide it. Her tail swayed in the air, but her eyes told me what her mouth didn't: "I trust you."
And I smiled back, confident.
— Don't worry, Lala. Your father's not as scary as he looks.
— What?! — Gid snarled, his aura bursting into red sparks all around. CRACK-CRACK! Stones lifted, crushed by the gravity of his power.
But I didn't move. Didn't need to. I simply stretched my hand and… FUUUUSH!… his aura scattered like smoke in the wind.
The silence was deafening.
— This can't be… — Gid muttered.
I tilted my head, relaxed.
— Don't underestimate what you don't understand.
[POV – Ex-Lady Astaroth]
It was like watching the impossible unfold.
Gid, terror of entire planets, silenced by a boy who… smiled.
My legs trembled. Not from weakness, but from realizing that the very logic holding the universe together might have just collapsed.
"He's not human. He's not a king. He's… something else."
[POV – Rito]
The king sighed. Lowered his arms.
— Maybe… you really are worthy of my daughter.
Lala beamed.
— See, Rito? He approved of you!
But I knew. It wasn't approval. It was just reluctant acknowledgment.
— Worthy? — I shook my head. — I don't need anyone to tell me what I am or not. I already know.
Gid's eyes narrowed again, but this time not in anger. In respect. Maybe even… fear.
[POV – Ex-Lady Astaroth]
I stepped away from the edge of the ruins.
Now I knew. It wasn't Gid I had to watch. It was Yuuki Rito.
I, who had lost everything, needed to understand this boy who rose beyond kings and crowns.
And a crooked smile escaped my lips.
— So it's you… who can destroy or save everything left.
[POV – Rito]
When the dust finally settled, only one feeling remained: something had changed.
Gid was still king. The universe was still vast. But deep down, I knew there was no one above me.
Because I wasn't just Rito Yuuki.
I was The Presence.
And sooner or later, everyone — Gid, Lady Astaroth, or anyone else who crossed my path — would have to accept that truth.
— Come on, Rito! — Lala tugged my arm, laughing, innocent as always. — We still have class tomorrow!
I smiled back.
— Class, wars, kings… bring it all. I can take it.
And the wind howled strong, as if the entire universe had heard my words.