Chapter 836: Hero And Death

After the short meeting with the senior officials, Varian returned to his quarters to rest.

He'd need two or three hours to recharge. Thankfully, he already took down fifteen out of the thirty fallen planetoids.

So, the human army was already advancing into the planetoids Varian cleaned up and was in the middle of finishing off the remaining Abyssal army.

Now, Humans more or less have fifteen more planetoids under control. Excluding the current planetoid, it's equal compared to the Abyssals.

Of course, the human army sent to occupy these fifteen planetoids was not as strong as the one on these fallen planetoids.

Varian could easily kill them because his strength was already hitting the peak of level 8.

But for a normal army whose strongest awakener was a level 7, these armies would be a nightmare.

So, the human army wisely didn't poke them and instead prepared their defenses in case of an invasion. They were confident in stalling the enemy for three whole days.

And the Senior Mars officials who agreed to this mobilization obviously had Varian in mind.

If things really went south, then Varian could solve it as long as he had three days.

But there was also another intention.

If the Abyssal army from these fallen planetoids wanted to invade another planetoid that's split between Humans and Abyssals, they'd need to board their spaceships and take their fleet on a journey of invasion.

Then, the human armies on these planetoids would play guerilla warfare—hit and run—in a bid to exhaust them.

The invading Abyssals would still make it to their target planetoid, but by then, they'd have sustained significant losses and blow to morale.

In short, Varian wouldn't have to rush right upon hearing Abyssals dispatched a new batch of reinforcements.

— — —

"What are you doing here?" Varian muttered at the person sleeping on his bed.

He couldn't see her face since she covered herself with a blanket, but from the familiar long silver hair sprawling outside, he could tell her identity right away.

No response came.

Varian heard the weak breathing and sighed.

'She's also running around the planetoids assisting the level 9s...'

Since she deserved a good rest, Varian turned around to exit the room before he suddenly stopped. 'But why is she in my bedroom?'

The military should give her good and safe quarters. Even with all his achievements, without Enigma holding back the level 9s, Mars would've faced destruction.

A cute little ghost appeared beside Varian at some point. Seeing its master's confusion, Boo realized his dilemma and put on a profound expression, resembling a wise sage as it said."Master, in the novels that Boo read, when a woman sleeps in the same bed as a man, then it means she's inviting him to—"

"No." Varian blocked Boo's mouth in time and glanced at the sleeping woman with caution.

"Mff!" Boo protested against the tyranny. It wanted freedom! It wanted to spread the way! It wanted to—

Varian sent it back to the ghostship and put an end to the shortest revolution against tyranny.

'If Sia hears that, I'll be in for an earful. You're deliberately trying to screw me up, aren't you?' Varian experienced a bitter betrayal.

'...'

In the Ghostship, Boo whistled nonchalantly. The little ghost wanted to create a drama and failed.

Varian vowed to punish this troublemaker one day before walking toward the door.

The real reason Enigma slept here was that she couldn't bring herself to trust the human army.

If before, she wouldn't even come to a military camp with people stronger than her. But after the last incident where she was severely injured and fainted until Varian found her, she realized she couldn't risk her life like that.

But this was the best trust she could give them now.

Because even though she's more powerful, Varian commanded far more awe and respect across the military. No sane person in the army would want to piss off such a man.

So, there wouldn't be secret traps to get samples of DNA or aura for experiments.

As Varian was about to exit, his legs grew slightly heavy and a tired voice called him out. "Don't go."

He turned around to the sounds of rustling blankets and Enigma sitting up in the bed.

She had a ghastly pale face and disheveled hair. Her eyes were strained and weak. She looked like a patient suffering from a terrible fever.

Varian was stunned for a moment. "What the fuck happened?"

"Fighting at my full strength for a whole day, what else could happen?" Enigma rolled her eyes and gave him a strange look. "I should be the one asking, how are you fine after running around for a whole day?"

"I'm built differently." Varian shrugged before waving his hand and about to exit. "I'll need a short rest to recharge though I can still fight. I'll see after a short sleep."

"They're trying to kill you!" Enigma's weak voice was raised an octave. It was like she was trying to speak her loudest even though her voice wasn't supporting her.

"I know. They're always trying to kill me."

"Not that. You know what exactly I mean. All the level 9 Abyssals I fought from the other side, they told me you'd die soon. They're completely confident, almost like it's inevitable." Enigma clenched the bedsheet as she looked at Varian's back with worry.

Varian sighed deeply and shook his head. "They have a plan. I know that."

"Then—"

"But I still need to go," Varian said. "I have to see through this war. At least on Mars. I screwed up this planet. So, I have to fix it."

"You!" As the sound of heavy breathing filled the room, Enigma staggered out of the bed and dragged her fatigued body in front of Varian.

She stared him in the eye and gritted her teeth. Her eyes shone with a million emotions. Anger. Helplessness. Fear. Worry.

Seeing her, Varian wanted to slap himself for once thinking Enigma was emotionless. She was always full of emotions. But they weren't in her gestures or facial expression like everyone else.

It was her eyes. They showed everything.

"You can call this silly, but I have a bad premonition." Enigma clenched her fists at her sides as she said in a weak voice. "Please. You might really die."

Varian was about to shake his head when Enigma continued.

"If you die, what will happen to Sia? To Sarah? When you're clearly targeted, why should you throw away your own life? You saved a lot of lives of people you don't even know. So, save yours for the people who you know and love."

Hearing the heavy emotions from the woman who was mostly indifferent, Varian finally sighed. "Just one day. I will sort this mess out from Mars. And then I'll retreat until the war is over."

Enigma struggled for a few seconds but nodded. "Fine. But I'll be with you."

"But the level 9 Abyssals?"

"Why do you think I'm so exhausted? They won't cause any trouble for a day. They can't."

Enigma's confident reply came relieved him and Varian once again turned to exit the room. "Alright. I'll go there after three hours. See you s—hey!"

Varian yelled in surprise as Enigma's gravity power placed him on the bed.

Enigma laid down on the other side of the bed and closed her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" Varian asked in confusion.

Enigma answered without opening her eyes. "You lied to Sia and Sarah during the vacation. I can't trust that you won't go to the planetoids without me. So, rest here for three hours. I have to rest too anyway. I am keeping my mind sense locked on you. If you exit the room, I'll know. It's all for your safety. See you after three hours."

Saying so, Enigma drifted off to sleep.

Bewildered and utterly confused, Varian could only mutter. "I wasn't lying this time though."

As they said, a single lie could ruin trust. And unfortunately, his small lie caused a change so big that Enigma had to keep surveillance on him even when she slept.

If it was Sia or Sarah, Varian was still confident in convincing them. But Enigma, he didn't really know.

'But my death...' Varian stared at the ceiling in deep thought.

'Because my life is under threat, I am backing off from this war. Morally, this is as pathetic as it gets. But I don't really want to risk my life.

Yes, I am patriotic. Yes, I can do a lot for my race.

But dying...'

Varian shook his head. He had a lot to do in life. With his potential, he could grow quickly and see the wonders of this universe. But would that mean it's okay for a person to die if they don't have this kind of potential?

Did he really care about his race or was he just trying to play Hero?

Under the lens of death, an intense inner debate ravaged Varian's mind.

Not a single time did he choose between dying for humanity's future.

Confronted with his own answers, Varian had a feeling of disillusionment.

During this wartime, his achievements gained him a lot of fame, worship, and respect.

He was called a Hero.

Even though he didn't say much about it, he was happy, proud, and excited.

But all those emotions were sidelined now, replaced by a sobering calmness.

He wasn't any hero.

He never was.