Just then, a figure slowly emerged before the two children.
He tapped the void with his index finger. Faint ripples spread through the air. The mutated giant python in front of them suddenly froze, terror and struggle flashing in its serpentine eyes.
Before it could make any move at all, a strange black sphere appeared in the air and then rapidly swelled. Dim black arcs of lightning writhed inside it. Even the surrounding magnetic field began to distort, and space itself seemed to warp.
"Wuu—"
In the next instant, accompanied by a miserable wail, the massive body of the mutated white python began to shatter and come apart, finally breaking down into countless chunks of flesh that rained across the ground, while a bloody drizzle scattered from the sky.
Brandon White's gaze remained placid. He paid no mind to the commotion he'd caused. He only looked toward the little boy holding his sister in his arms.
"An intense metal-element aptitude—and even in danger, he's still thinking of protecting his little sister."
"He really is a bit like him."
Brandon took a Snow Mastiff Armor summoner and an energy crystal from his spatial ring and, under the boy's puzzled stare, placed them in his hands.
"Don't betray the power in this."
"Grow up as fast as you can. The world ahead won't be peaceful."
After speaking, he glanced from the corner of his eye at the little girl behind the boy. Her water-element aptitude was in no way inferior to her brother's. No wonder the mutated white python had been so greedy.
Humans can speed up their growth by eating the meat of mutant beasts. Naturally, mutant beasts can strengthen themselves by eating human flesh as well.
Compared to the small proportion of beasts that mutated, nearly all humans had awakened abilities—only their strength differed.
So, in a mutant beast's eyes, every human was food rich in spiritual essence: some tasted better, some less so.
For a creature already aligned with Water, such a powerful water-element aptitude would be an exquisitely delicious meal for the mutated white python—perhaps even enough to trigger an evolution in its own aptitude.
And yet a talent like hers had not earned the Black Rhino Armor's recognition. Was it a matter of mindset?
Perhaps. Compared to her brother, she was still a bit soft.
But that should be the mind of a child at this age. If anything, the brother's temperament was outstanding to the point of excess.
No wonder the Snow Mastiff Armor summoner had chosen him at such a young age.
Even so, the Snow Mastiff Armor isn't the Emperor Armor. No one will step in to fight in his place. At this age, he can't even withstand transforming. If he wants to grow, he has a long road ahead—and the future won't wait for anyone.
Brandon gave a small shake of his head. A black hole opened in the air before him. He stepped forward once, and his figure vanished completely from everyone's sight.
He had come here for one person and one person only. Since the Snow Mastiff Armor had chosen the boy, it would be too great a waste if he died so soon.
But this would be the only time.
Next time, it would depend on the boy himself.
With the mutated white python dead and Brandon White gone, the fleeing pedestrians and the members of the Bureau of Spiritual Energy around them all stared, dazed.
"Just now… was that the White Emperor—Brandon White?"
"Dragon Emperor, Ice Emperor, Flame Emperor, White Emperor—those are the four powerhouses the authorities publicized back then. And the White Emperor is widely acknowledged as the strongest—because the other three Emperors, and even the authorities, have all said the White Emperor's strength is beyond their imagination."
"At first I didn't buy it. The videos never made him look stronger than the others. But now I do. If I'm not mistaken, he just raised a single finger, right? And then the mutated white python died?"
"When he left, the black hole he showed—could his ability be space-type?"
"Is no one going to talk about what the White Emperor gave that little boy at the end? Maybe I was too far away to see clearly, but it really looked like the Snow Mastiff Armor summoner from Armor Heroes I watched as a kid."
"There were rumors that, when Skyler Quinn—the Dragon Emperor—destroyed the beast tide at the Imperial Capital, he was wearing a suit of armor almost identical to the Flame Dragon Armor. And lately, there've been more than a few people online claiming Devil Fruits have appeared in reality—and that they were lucky enough to eat one."
"Dimensions breaking into reality. Could it be…?"
More than a few eyes burned as they stared at the Snow Mastiff Armor summoner in the boy's hands. But by now the members of the Bureau of Spiritual Energy had already placed the two children under protection. No matter how covetous anyone might be, no one dared make a move.
"Xiao Zhao! Bingbing! Wuu-wuu-wuu…"
From the crowd, a middle-aged couple, a man and a woman, rushed forward. After the Bureau confirmed their identities, they swept the children into their arms. Tears streamed from their eyes.
Relief showed on the man's face as well. The crowd had been too packed; they'd gotten separated from the kids. Thank heavens the two of them were unharmed—otherwise, he had no idea how he'd go on living.
"Mama…"
Xiao Zhao patted his mother's shoulder, as if to comfort her, but his eyes were fixed on the spot where Brandon White had disappeared. Then he looked down at the Snow Mastiff Armor summoner in his hands.
That big brother from just now felt so familiar.
The Vantora City Bureau of Spiritual Energy hadn't just let the civilians watch. The moment Brandon made his move, they patched the footage straight through to the Bureau's headquarters in the Imperial Capital.
"That was… weird. The white python got one-shot just like that?"
"What's weird is if it didn't get one-shot. Don't forget what his ability is."
"That mutated white python was only so-so. Comrade Skyler Quinn or Comrade Firewing could have dealt with it easily. A one-shot wouldn't be difficult for them either."
"In truth, what we should be concerned about isn't his strength, but why he moved at all."
A man in military uniform with a stern face addressed the people below him, his tone grave.
"Brandon White is a god—or, rather, after awakening the Authority of Nature, he's already begun the shift from human to god. His thinking, his strength, his very state are leaping toward a higher plane."
"A great platform that can communicate with the Myriad Worlds. An unknown existence that can meet, converse with, and even trade with anime characters. And an unbelievable power that can materialize items from anime worlds into reality."
"Comrade Skyler Quinn's Flame Dragon Armor. Comrade Firewing's Flame-Flame Fruit. Comrade Chris Frost's Demonic Manifestation · Essence of the Devil. Comrade William Mecham's Hand of God. And, as shown in that video, the Snow Mastiff Armor summoner Brandon White gave that little boy…"
"And then there's that creature called a Pokémon: a simple temperament, powerful Electric-type abilities, and even an art style different from ours. I don't think anyone will continue doubting the accuracy of the information Brandon White has revealed to us."
He swept his gaze across the room and spoke solemnly.
"The Myriad Worlds hold far too many impossibilities."
"The anime our world creates may themselves be worlds—but that doesn't mean those worlds exist only as anime."
(End of chapter)
Please Give me Power Stones support me on Patreon @ patreon(dot)com/SorenEclipse : Read 15 Chapters Ahead on Patreon