Royt continued, "My strength back then spoke for itself! Here, if not for that damned Ander..."
"A real hero doesn't dwell on past glories," Old Johnny interrupted his complaints. "When you start reminiscing about how glorious your past was, it only proves how miserable you are now."
The light in Royt's eyes gradually dimmed.
He looked at the gray sky and let out a long sigh. "Come to think of it... I've been quite a failure. I never avenged my son, or Manderson and Janice... I wanted to fight my way back to the previous Safe Zone for revenge, only to die just as the Evolutionary Sequence Domain changed."
"Even if you hadn't died, you couldn't have beaten Chen Xiao'en, Liu Xiaofa, and the others. They've had twelve more years to develop than you. What could you possibly fight them with?"
"As long as they're still at Origin Sequence Level Five, I'd have a fighting chance. If they've made other breakthroughs... then I don't know."
"Stop dreaming," Old Johnny said. "You can't even beat us, let alone the people in the previous Safe Zone."
"Fine. Perhaps you have a point."
"Anything else you want to say?" Old Johnny asked. "Any last words for those two families behind you?"
"No. Jerry, whom I put the most effort into training, is dead, and Manderson, whom I knew best, is dead too. The two people who mattered most to me are gone. The others don't mean that much to me."
"I don't know whether to call you devoted or heartless. But you certainly deserve to die."
Just then, the corners of Royt's mouth suddenly lifted into a mocking smile. "But don't celebrate too soon. Beating me doesn't mean you'll get to live in peace."
"Prepare yourselves... for the plague that will follow my