My Talent's Name Is Generator Chapter 732: Watched

Amid the surviving platforms of the core region, I positioned myself firmly, with bits of demolished edifices lazily floating in our surroundings. The once-fierce battlefield had fallen into deep silence.

Notifications from the system continued to hum faintly at the borders of my consciousness.

I released a long breath, permitting them to emerge fully at last.

Beginning with the most recent alert.

[Rift Closed – Grade 4

Merit Points Awarded: 10,000 ]

Right after that came the next one, appearing in quick succession.

[Major Enemy Forces Disrupted

Phantoms Eliminated

Merit Points Awarded: 5,000]

For a brief instant, I gazed at those figures, then waved them away with little feeling. Sure, merit points held value, yet they seemed oddly insignificant against the vastness of the recent chaos.

I delved deeper into the log.

[Warning: Eternal Race Entity Detected

Warning: Eternal Race Entity Engaged]

Followed by yet another.

[Advisory Issued: Capture Recommended. Termination Not Recommended.]

My gaze sharpened just a touch.

Numerous additional warnings piled up in sequence. Notices regarding domain seals. Notices on reinforcement gateways. Notices concerning disastrous law instabilities. The system had been blaring urgently during my combat.

Yet the majority read: [Advisory Issued: Capture Recommended. Termination Not Recommended.]

I shut down the interface, welcoming back the quiet.

Capture advised, elimination discouraged.

That notion hung persistently.

Why would the system concern itself with an Eternal's survival or demise? Sentiment played no role in it. Never had. This implied some crucial aspect to them existed. An element destroyed by death, yet retained through seizure.

Knowledge. Principles. Or perhaps something profounder.

I tucked the idea aside for future reflection.

Essence rippled nearby.

Knight, Steve, and the rest materialized.

Steve advanced and extended a modest bundle of crystals.

"Memory crystals," he explained. "Instructions. Anchors. All the tools they employed to manipulate minds."

I accepted them and stored them within my ring.

Then I faced Primus. "Have you gotten your quest yet?"

He denied it with a shake. "Not yet."

"Fine," I responded. "We'll handle it afterward."

The void stirred once more.

Saleos emerged, his armor bearing dark stains. He scanned the area briefly before locking eyes on me.

"I've dispatched the message," he stated. "Reinforcements are en route. Demon officials too. They'll recover whatever's possible from this site."

I inclined my head. "Good."

He paused momentarily, then continued, "The rift's sealing has been noted already."

I shot him a look. "Ensure one detail stands out."

His brow arched faintly.

"The Order of Absolute was present."

A gradual grin crossed his features.

"No need to fret over that," Saleos assured. "I'll manage it."

I turned to Knight. "What became of the leftover traitors?"

"Vanished," he answered curtly.

Saleos observed me briefly before resuming. "Do you intend to depart?"

"Yes. We're heading to Dragos," I confirmed.

He dipped his head once, then suggested, "Why not join me? I must report too. This counts as a grand success. A feast awaits in Dragos, where the Order of Absolute could serve as honored visitors."

I regarded him, weighing the proposal. It held no flaws. Progressing toward the heart was essential regardless, and a brief respite following the turmoil seemed appealing.

"Very well," I agreed. "But when do we set off?"

"Upon the officials' arrival," Saleos answered. "Then we proceed. Rael and Dravon will oversee the lingering troops as I submit the account."

I acknowledged with a nod.

"Incidentally," I remarked after a short lull, "are you familiar with Zerathul?"

Saleos's face altered subtly. "What prompts the question?"

I eyed Primus briefly, then pressed on. "Suffice to say, he might harbor ill will toward us."

Saleos glanced from me to Primus prior to replying. "Zerathul ranks as an upper transcendent, like myself. And... I suspect he's a betrayer."

"Truly?" Steve inquired, evidently taken aback.

"I do suspect it," Saleos affirmed. "Though proof always eluded us. If conflict arises with him, proceed cautiously. Still, he lacks the power for direct confrontation."

I nodded. "Understood. So we could encounter him in Dragos?"

"Likely," Saleos said. "Barring assignment elsewhere."

He expressed further gratitude to those assembled, then pivoted and vanished swiftly into the void.

I drew in a measured breath and surveyed the scene.

Ragnar sat in meditative pose close by, reverted to human shape, his broad grin unwavering as though the clash had invigorated rather than exhausted him.

"Why the joy?" I queried, settling next to him.

"I relish this," he declared promptly. "Such fierce, utterly boundless combat. To me, that's true existence."

"Indeed," I murmured. "It appears thrilling."

Yet my mind wandered to other matters. The suspended remains. The fractured levels. The countless souls sacrificed to enable such thrill.

"Exhaustion claims me," Silver declared.

He reclined on the ground, fully human once more. His wings had vanished, as if never there.

"I overexerted," he went on. "That transformation drained excessive Essence and vitality from me."

"Yet it was splendid," Ragnar chuckled. "In a single strike, you eradicated more horrors than Aurora and I together."

I shifted my attention to Aurora.

She lingered separate from us, wordless, gazing into the emptiness where the rift had stood.

"Aurora?" I summoned.

She pivoted, her look grave.

"What occurred?" I pressed.

"As the rift sealed," she articulated deliberately, "I sensed observation upon us."

I blinked in surprise.

"Observation?" I echoed.

My instincts were reliable. Surely I'd detect such a presence.

"Yes," she confirmed. "I'm certain."

"I did as well," Knight stated.

"Same here," Lyrate chimed in.

My features tightened.

"You sensed nothing?" Knight directed at me.

I negated with a head shake.

A weighty quiet descended on the assembly, denser than battle's echo.

"Merely intuition?" North wondered, her eyes scanning my allies. "Every one of you?"

"Not me," Ragnar countered at once.

"Nor I," Silver supplemented, rising a bit.

"Curious," North whispered.

I remained silent, my mind racing ahead.

Perhaps a remnant from the Eternal faction. A delayed withdrawal of some aura. Or an unrelated force. The Fallen. An outsider peering from afar. The System proper, or its proxy.

Each option spelled danger.

But the deepest unease stemmed from another angle.

I'd detected absolutely nothing.

No ripple. No warp. No strain on void, Essence, or law. Zero hint grazing my awareness.

That disturbed me beyond mere surveillance.

For if it proved real, then this entity had concealed itself flawlessly...

Or positioned itself beyond my current grasp.