Violet and Cassandra stood in front of what used to be Throne’s City. Violet’s demon ship rested in the air. Thousands of demons stood around the two Voyagers. All the locals in this world were gone, but that didn't mean Violet could lay down her guard. If anything, it meant she had to be more careful.

“Jean and Blink should be here soon.” Violet stated quietly.

But Cassandra wasn’t worried about Jean and Blink.

“What should we do about Adam?”

This question received no response from Violet.

Ever since two weeks ago, Adam has gone off the grid. Violet tried every way she could to contact him, but nothing came back. This didn't make any sense. All the locals were gone. Almost all the Voyagers were gone. She suspected Jean and Blink might’ve done something to Adam, but she quickly decided it was impossible. Perhaps the two Voyagers had the power to take out Adam, but they would never be able to do it so swiftly that someone as powerful as Adam couldn’t even send out a single cry for help.

Her demonic army didn't see Adam either as they swept across the Empire of the Moon.

Suddenly, a demon came running.

“Violet, the other two human females are here.”

His words were the outside of polite. Demons talk in a straightforward manner, just like their battle styles.

“Very well. Bring them here.”

Jean and Blink walked across lines and lines of demons without breaking a sweat. Perhaps the demons have been invincible killing machines to the local soldiers, but for the Voyagers, they were just a matter of one strike or two. Plus, Jean had armies of Wardens and Purifiers inside her watch. She estimated the average demon to have a CAS of 80. That was above a Swordguard and a S-2, but below a Cruiseguard and a F-1. If Violet wanted to do some good old backstabbing, Jean would teach her a lesson with her starships, her fleet, and waves and waves of endless machines.

Finally, the four Voyagers met up. Blink and Cassandra stood behind Jean and Violet.

“Will Adam be joining us?” Jean looked around. She expected Adam to be present at a time like this. There wasn’t anything else in this world to plunder.

Violet gave out a reassuring smile. She never told Jean Adam was lost.

“No. We should start without him.”

“Fair enough.”

Violet tapped her watch.

“City of the Voyagers. This is Voyager Violet of the Voyager Corps at Dimension EZ2943448. Please inform Captain Gregor of the Fifth Legion of the Protector Corps that we have completed his mission.”

As far as Jean knew, there was a set of AI that controlled the mechanics within the City of the Voyagers, including the transportation of personnel to different parts of the Infinite Realms. It also acted as a communicator in situations like this. There might be a way for a single Voyager to make contact with a Protector directly through her watch, but Captain Gregor obviously didn't bother with that.

In half a second, a figure in white armor appeared above the 4 Voyagers.

Protector Captain Gregor. The Protector who assigned the extermination mission to the Voyagers. The man who ordered the death of an entire world.

The demons on the ground hissed. All of them took a few steps back. Even they could sense the danger coming off of the Protector. Captain Gregor, on the other hand, didn't seem to be fazed by the legion below. In fact, he looked at neither the demons nor the Wardens. To him, these pawns didn't deserve his gaze.

Only the Voyagers were somewhat worthy of his time, and that was because they did a job for him.

“Store your pawns into your watches.”

The Protector’s words were short and concise.

Jean and Violet quickly complied.

As the last demon was returned to Violet’s watch, Gregor snapped his finger, and the next moment, Jean found himself standing above the planet. She wasn’t in a starship or anything. She was literally above the planet.

An invisible layer was all around them, keeping the vacuum and the radiations out.

Standing beside her, aside from the original crew, was Adam.

But anyone who knew Adam could see something was wrong with him. The man’s Voyager armor was completely shut. The helmet fully covered his face. He showed no intention to communicate with the rest of the Voyagers.

Jean’s eyes landed on something in Adam’s hand.

A broken piece of red lance.

It belonged to the Empress. Reforged by the energy of faith when the altar was activated, the lance was turned from a normal royal weapon to a weapon deadly to even the Voyagers. In fact, it alone has claimed the lives of at least a dozen Voyagers. When the Empress perished, the rogue energy tore the lance into two. The upper half was lost in one piece while the bottom half was completely reduced to ashes.

Why would Adam be holding onto the Empress’s weapon? Unless…

But the actions of the Protector quickly dragged Jean’s attention away from Adam.

The Protector held his hand out. At first Jean didn't realize it, but slowly, the planet below was condensing. All sorts of physical materials were mushed together. Soil. Rock. Mountains and trees. City remains. Corpses. The planet kept on growing smaller and smaller until it was the size of Jean’s fist.

The entirety of a dimension, reduced to the size of a human fist.

At this point, all resemblance of physical presence was gone. The very concept of space was twisted. Everything in dimension EZ2943448 was returned to its original status: pure indigo colored energy.

Gregor waved his hand gently, and the ball of energy landed on his palm.

The Voyagers were slightly taken back. They could sense the immense power from that small body of energy. Without doubt, if they weren’t protected by Protector Gregor, they would all be evaporated in an instant. Neither their Voyager armor nor their special powers could save them if they were to be exposed to such a powerful energy source. On the other hand, the Voyagers realized the potentials. If Gregor wanted to use this ball of energy as reward for the mission, then they might see their power scales boost significantly.

Adam was the most thrilled. Jean could see him holding onto his lance tightly.

Gregor turned back to the five Voyagers, the indigo ball of energy still in his hand. It took him a single moment to see what the Voyagers want.

Surprisingly, he shook his head.

“All of you are way too fragile. If I give this to you, the best you can do is seal them in your watch. If you try to absorb them, you will die. Actually, you can’t even store them in your watch. At this level, your watches can’t store anything of this power. Giving it to you will only lead to your death.”

The Protector might not see the Voyagers as his equal, but his power came with a numerous, almost sickening, sense of pride. As a member of the dominant race in the Infinite Realms, he felt like lying, especially to a handful of weaklings, was a disgrace to the very name of the Protectors. The Voyagers completed his job for him, and it was only right for him to carry out his side of the bargain.

Only the weak use tricks to move closer to their goals. The Protectors have gone way beyond that point. If they wanted to kill someone, they would straight up do it.

Gregor suddenly closed his fist. Just like that, the ball of energy, the combination of everything in Dimension EZ2943448, was gone.

Destroyed.

Erased.

Jean saw a sense of sadness in Adam’s eyes.

Five watches appeared in front of each Voyager.

“I expected more of you to survive the missions. Nonetheless, the reward I prepared are stored in these watches, divided into five parts according to your powers.” He saw the concern on all the Voyagers’ face. “Before you are worried, I didn't look into your watches. I just divided them according to what I saw.”

No Voyager would be happy to see their privacy intruded.

He pointed at Jean and Violet.

“You two are commanders. You’ve got an army of machines, and you’ve got a race of bloodthirsty animals. In addition to the basic crystals, I split all the rewards for commanders between you two. I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.”

As Jean and Violet grabbed onto the watches, he turned to Blink.

“You are an assassin. I prepared the reward for twenty assassins. Now, they’re all yours.”

Cassandra.

“Telekinesis and...something else. Either way, I’ve got something for you.”

As the two girls checked the watches, Gregor turned to Adam, the only male within the five Voyager survivors. The sexism is real here.

“You...you major in melee with a minor in soul manipulation. But there’s something else…” Gregor tilted his head, slightly intrigued. “You’re a special one. I packed your watches with something...unique.”

Adam didn't take the watch. He held onto the broken lance tightly while staring at Gregor. Maybe Gregor sensed something, maybe not, but he quickly turned to the rest of the Voyagers.

“You will be teleported back to the City of the Voyagers immediately.”

As she was transported back, Jean faintly saw Adam finally taking the watch and claiming the reward.

---

The City of Voyagers didn't look any different to Jean after spending months in the now doomed dimension. After all, time works differently between the City and other dimensions. Jean checked and realized it has barely been two hours in the City.

Violet and Cassandra departed quietly. Blink left as well, but Jean could still contact all of them through her watch if she needed to.

Jean had a high regard for Blink. She might not have started strong, but after processing the reward from Protector Gregor, she would no doubt be a different Voyager than she used to be. Jean herself just took a brief glance at what she got, and she had to admit she was more than satisfied.

Plus, Blink has shown that she was fine with following orders. That was a rare quality among the mercenary-like Voyagers.

Adam was about to leave when Jean approached him. Seeing the female Voyager, Adam merely glanced at her coldly. His helmet was still fully concealed.

“You never could’ve saved her. They were doomed to die from the moment they raised arms against the Protectors.”

Adam frowned behind his mask.

“You know who I am?”

“I know you are the same person who willingly joined the Empire of the Sun with the will to protect them, not destroy them.” Jean stared straight into Adam’s mask. She could tell the man wasn’t so calm behind the layer of black. “What happened?”

Adam sighed.

“Adam, the real one, underestimated me. He thought I was down, broken by his words, but I wasn’t. I was stronger than he expected. Truth to be told, I don’t know what exactly happened, but I was able to use his overconfidence and overpower his soul and take his body. Right now, he is still lurking in this body, but not for long.”

This was great news, but Adam wasn’t exactly excited.

“What do you mean?”

“I looked into my rewards. One of the things the Protector gave me had the power to create a mental prison to trap and slowly chip away alternate souls.”

“He knows. He knows about what happened to you.”

“He knows a lot more than that.” Adam groaned. His frustration was obvious as he removed his mask, revealing his face and his red eyes. “He knows I hate the way the Voyagers and the Protectors act. He knows I want to jam her lance into his back.”

Her lance. The Empress’s lance.

It was the last legacy of Dimension EZ2943448. Everything else, from the planet itself to a piece of stone, was gone, erased by the Protector. Aside from the few records about the foolish dimension that dared stand against the inevitable and paid a price for it, the shattered lance was the only testament of the struggle an entire world has had against an invincible enemy.

Adam continued.

“But you know what’s the worst? Gregor did nothing. Nothing! After all, why should he? I’m a puppet designed to carry out a job who happened to be lucky enough just to have a body! He is a god. A god! He can erase a world with the snap of a finger!”

“You’re powerless.” Jean concluded. “And this makes you angry.”

“Yes.” Adam smirked mockingly. That mockery was toward himself. “I am powerless. I am too powerless to protect the woman I admire. I am too powerless to even lay a wound on my enemy. And I will be forever powerless...”

His eyes suddenly turned fierce.

“...until I have the power to bring an end to everything.”

“Everything?” Jean’s tone was perfectly emotionless.

“Everything. The Voyagers. The Protectors. As long as I live, I swear I will see this city burn down around me!” Adam threw his hands up.

Jean tilted her head at Adam’s outcry.

“I wouldn’t say that out loud if I were you.”

She quietly turned around and left the room.

She has learned enough.