A great distance from the city wall of Rorgh City, the High Priest used binoculars and witnessed Noid's terrifying power with his own eyes. He stood in a daze, muttering,
"Could it be that I was wrong?"
He had switched sides simply because he wanted to live. The High Priest knew humanity had no chance of winning this war. Noid's appearance lit a spark of hope within him. But it was quickly extinguished when he remembered the chilling aura of that other existence. Furthermore, would humanity ever accept someone like him?
"Toriel, Garfeild, disperse. Those who want to run, run. Those who want to hide, hide. Those who want to return, return. You are no longer needed here."
"Whoever wants to be the next High Priest, they can. I am no longer involved."
Toriel immediately left without a moment's hesitation, while Garfeild stayed put. Garfeild had joined the Doom Cult because of the High Priest; wherever the High Priest went, he would follow.
"Sir Orcok, why give up now? You clearly..."
"Garfeild, I'm just facing reality. If humanity can win, we will live like ghosts in this new world. If the doom destroy everything, I will return and sit in this position once again. It's all... about survival."
"I understand."
Henry and Garfeild left together. That same day, a civil war broke out within the Doom Cult over the position of High Priest. The three ringleaders of the cult disappeared, leaving behind a group of greedy followers who failed to recognize the situation. Instead of running, they began to fight for power.
As expected, what awaited them was not the position of High Priest. Instead, it was twelve cyborgs and several thousand soldiers surrounding them. All of them were captured. It was a pity that the High Priest had already escaped.
The cleanup and reconstruction efforts took about a month, which also served as preparation for the trip to defense line 1. During this time, Noid was not idle. He trained with Sasha, in armor of course, and honed his own skills. He also went to eliminate doom in various other places. His reputation had spread throughout all of humanity. Fortunately, the army restricted the public, so his life wasn't too heavily affected.
It was just that the coffee shop was packed with people whenever it opened. Some people just wanted to get a glimpse of him, others thanked him for saving their lives that day, and there were many different reasons.
"Everyone, you don't need to give me gifts; a thank you is enough."
Noid watched the last customer leave. He sighed in relief. The revenue this month had skyrocketed, even though he didn't accept gifts. But he was so busy every day that even his 0.9 physique felt a little tired.
Sasha approached, informing him that it was time to go. Noid closed the shop and followed Sasha to the military base.
An airplane was already waiting there. Besides the two pilots, there was only the High Council commissioner, her assistant, the commander, and Sasha and Noid. The flight was scheduled to land at dusk, and the meeting would take place the next day.
The sun began to set, and in the twilight, Noid saw the magnificent city wall of Lysandra City. With countless patrolling soldiers and defensive fortifications, Lysandra City lived up to its reputation as humanity's strongest fortress.
"Sasha, have you ever been here before?"
"Once, right after I became a cyborg. It didn't leave much of an impression."
The plane landed. They were all taken to a very comfortable resting area. The commissioner and her assistant left, reminding everyone not to be late the next day. The commander just smiled at Noid and Sasha, then left as well, giving the two of them some privacy.
However, the two didn't act like a young couple in the early stages of dating. There was no awkwardness; they naturally went out to eat, walked around, and chatted together.
His reputation had, of course, also spread to Lysandra City. But unlike in Rorgh City, almost no one here knew his real face; they only knew of his achievements and the appearance of his armor from videos. So Noid and Sasha were not disturbed by anyone all evening.
"Noid, eat this."
"Noid, this one's good too."
"Noid, and this one."
The two of them were surprised to find a night market here. In high spirits, Sasha dragged him from stall to stall, filling both their stomachs. Noid also ate enthusiastically; it had been a long time since he had tried this kind of street food.
Late at night, the streets were empty. Noid and Sasha sat together on a long bench. He found some ingredients and brewed a cup of coffee for each of them.
"Noid... will things get better? Will we win?"
"Yes, I promise."
Sasha and Noid clinked their cups, gazing at the night sky. It was the same as the first night he woke up in her house.
They both sat close together, not saying another word. Perhaps their relationship had already gone a step beyond, but because of the circumstances, because of the war, no one had broken the silence. It was enough to be sitting together, to be with each other. They didn't dare to wish for a certain future.
...
In the morning, Noid and Sasha were driven to the city center in a military vehicle. The location was a large, heavily guarded headquarters. The two of them entered the designated meeting room.
It was more of a small auditorium than a meeting room. The only difference was that there was no stage, just a small empty space at the front.
Seated at the front were ten members of the High Council, including the commissioner. All of them rushed to their feet to express their gratitude upon seeing Noid. He could feel that their thanks were genuine and not for social or political reasons. In particular, a middle-aged man who wasn't old but had completely white hair shakily took Noid's hand and started to cry, which made him very flustered. He was later told that this person was one of the most intelligent minds in human history still alive.
He was also one of the crew members of the Mars exploration mission that year, and the one who had discovered the surviving ruins of a destroyed civilization.
The event that followed haunted him and made him feel the most remorse out of everyone there. From then on, he threw himself into research and development, in his words, to atone for his mistakes by any means necessary. The armor and cyborg projects were the results that followed.
Sasha and Noid arrived quite early, so no other commanders or representative cyborgs were in the room yet. It was a few minutes later that people started to trickle in. Everyone was extremely serious, barely saying a word. They only spoke to report to the council or out of curiosity about Noid.
Time passed, and all seventeen commanders and seventeen representative cyborgs had arrived.
"Mr. Commissioner, how will we hold the meeting?"
A cyborg made the suggestion. The High Council members did not answer, only pointing to the front, indicating that everyone would find out shortly.
Noid turned his head to look at the small empty space. Suddenly, rays of light appeared in the air, forming an irregular cloud, like a nebula.
Even more terrifyingly, a voice came from the cloud, or rather, the cloud itself was speaking.
"This is likely the first time we've met, humanity."