In that moment, a chilling realization struck Link.
The human race, though seemingly holding the upper hand on the surface, was in far more precarious shape than it appeared.
The external war raged on—but within, traitors had already wormed their way into the upper echelons of leadership.
With enemies both inside and out, it was no longer unthinkable that humanity might actually be headed toward extinction.
Just thirty minutes later—
The war machine had already crossed the borders of Velmoria's territory.
Link, feeling a little exhausted, leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes to rest.
But just as he was drifting off, a thunderous explosion suddenly shook the ground from beneath them!
BOOM!
The entire vehicle rocked violently. A moment later, it was as if the whole world had turned upside down.
The massive war machine… had been blown into the air!
"We're under attack!"
The burly Honor Guard's face turned grim, and he instinctively drew his sword.
But almost simultaneously—
The supposedly impenetrable shell of the war machine, said to withstand even the full-force strike of a T9 esper, cracked down the middle as if it were made of papier-mâché!
In just a few heartbeats, the war machine was completely wrecked!
Without a word, the soldier grabbed Link by the collar and leapt out of the burning wreckage.
"Esteemed elixirist, I'm taking you to the safe zone!"
As he spoke, his entire body shot off like a cannonball, a sharp whoosh echoing through the air.
Link was still dangling from his grip, barely able to keep his eyes open from the furious wind pressure.
But even through the chaos, his gaze caught sight of a terrifying scene.
Up in the sky—
A semi-transparent greatsword had appeared out of nowhere, slicing the war machine clean in two, the blade even carving deep into the ground below—dozens of meters deep!
What kind of terrifying power was this?!
A chill ran down Link's spine.
And then, the Honor Guard's flight came to an abrupt stop.
A figure had silently appeared in front of them.
A masked figure.
"So, you're the genius elixirist?" the man said, his voice low and mocking. "Looks like your luck just ran out."
The Honor Guard's face turned dark, nearly storm-black.
"Who are you?" he growled. "Why is a monster like you lurking in our rear lines? Don't tell me you're the leader of the Moon Worship Sect?"
The masked figure let out a disdainful laugh.
"Don't compare me to that idiot, Dark Moon. He's not even qualified to be mentioned in the same breath."
The Honor Guard's expression twisted further.
Without drawing attention to his movement, he discreetly handed Link a metallic, gleaming orb.
"This is a spiritual powers armor sphere. It can withstand a single attack from a T8 esper."
"It might not make much difference… but I still hope you survive this."
"We're very close to the Satellite City near the capital. Reinforcements should be arriving any moment. If you can reach them, you'll be safe."
"I'll hold him off as long as I can."
The masked figure sneered again.
"You, a mere T8 esper, think you can talk big in front of me?"
"You clearly have no idea who you're up against."
But the Honor Guard had no interest in exchanging words. With a sudden motion, he shoved Link away with all his strength.
"Run!"
Almost at the same time, he pulled out a vial filled with deep red liquid from his combat uniform—
And poured it straight into his mouth.
"Bloodburn potion?"
The masked figure narrowed his eyes. "You've got guts. I'll give you that. But you've made a fatal mistake…"
"You've misjudged the battlefield."
"And now, you'll pay the price for your foolish defiance!"
As his words fell, a monstrous wave of spiritual powers erupted from the masked figure's body—
Roaring like a tsunami, it flooded the surroundings with sheer pressure.
In his hand, countless threads of spiritual powers gathered and compressed—
So dense, they almost turned tangible.
The Honor Guard's eyes widened in shock.
"You… you can compress spiritual powers?!"
"You're a Transcendent-tier esper?! You're actually beyond the T-levels?!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Who the hell are you?!"
But the masked figure offered no answer.
He simply raised a hand—
And with a light flick, the greatsword formed from compressed energy sliced the Honor Guard cleanly in half.
As for Link, he didn't even get the chance to resist.
The spiritual powers armor disintegrated like wet tissue paper.
And then came the pain—
A searing, soul-rending pain as if his entire body had been cleaved apart.
Link's vision went black.
Consciousness… slipped away.
But right as darkness enveloped him—
A new notification appeared in his mind.
[SSS-Tier Talent Acquired: Spiritual Powers Manipulation]
Link's eyes snapped open.
The agony from being split in half still lingered, threatening to tear his mind apart.
But maybe because he had died so many times already, Link somehow managed to withstand it.
Barely.
He turned his gaze to the window.
The sky had already begun to brighten—it was morning.
If everything had gone as before, he would've been heading to the Goldrolyn Auction House right now.
He looked down at the formulas he had written on the table, hesitating for a moment—
Then tore up two of them without hesitation.
This time… he couldn't afford to expose himself so early.
The recent encounter had made one thing crystal clear:
The moment he acted at the Goldrolyn Auction House, he would be exposed.
More terrifyingly, it wouldn't just catch the attention of the Moon Worship Sect.
It would also attract the gaze of a traitor hiding within the human race's top leadership.
There was no doubt now—
Humanity was compromised.
That masked figure's image resurfaced in Link's mind.
A monster of such power that he couldn't even fathom it.
A Transcendent-tier esper—how strong was that, really?
Until just a few hours ago, Link had never even heard of such a realm.
And yet, he had already died by one's hand.
Worse—
That monster was a human traitor.
Just thinking about it sent icy dread down his spine.
It was a chilling reminder that even with an incredible talent, even with Lib's support, he couldn't afford to let his guard down—
He could never expose his true capabilities lightly.
Sure, he had the cheat-like power of Death Rewind, but…
That didn't make him invincible.
For example, he could currently rewind time up to twelve hours.
But if someone decided to assassinate him before that window, no amount of rewinding would help.
He wouldn't even have the chance to fight back.
After dying multiple times, his spiritual powers would be depleted, and then—
Death would be permanent.
So yes, Link had Death Rewind.
But he couldn't be reckless.
He had to become stronger—strong enough to survive without relying on it.
Still…
He couldn't just keep running and hiding forever.
Eventually, he'd have to dig out the traitor lurking within the human race.
Of course, for now, that felt like a distant dream.
Right now, he had more pressing matters to attend to:
Survive.
And rebuild.