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Chapter 42

Alpha and Omega

Nari and Noah raced through the streets of Elestri. Chaos reigned in the city. Explosions were heard here and there, dust was rising, smoke obscured their path. People in panic were trying to flee the streets, to hide, to run as far away from the Arena as possible. Shouts, children's cries, and the sounds of gunfire and struggle filled the city. Nari was still trying to make sense of everything that was happening here and now. Noah held her hand tightly.

Ayris ran towards them at the gates of the Arena.

– Toneri has completely lost it! – he shouted nervously through the noise and gunfire, – we need to get out of here!

– We have to stop him!!!

– Nari, – Ayris grabbed her by the arms, – I know your sense of justice is strong and unstoppable! But we can’t do anything!!! The Alpha squad will be here soon, and a real slaughter will begin between Toneri's men and those under Adelson! Regardless of who wins, the Omegas won't survive! New purges will start! We won’t make it! We need to run!!!

– But the Tree!..

– Nari, Ayris is right, – Noah touched her shoulder.

– How can you not!.. aa.. what?! You agree with me? – the golden-haired boy was stunned, – seriously?

– Get Leo, take Nari! – Noah said, – get them to a safe place! I'll deal with this madman.

– You can't get to him! – Ayris pointed to the Arena, – he's on the balcony! Watching this show from above! There are about fifty zombified Alphas there! This is madness! No, of course, it's very brave! But still, this bravery borders on idiocy!!!

– Noah, I'm going with you! – Nari grabbed his hand, – we will go together!

– Nari, – Noah pulled her close and kissed her, – I will definitely find you!

His roar was so sharp that even Ayris stumbled. Nari's body fell into his arms; he touched her forehead with his lips one last time and carefully handed her over to Ayris.

– Promise to take care of her, – he said quietly.

– Promise to come back! – Ayris tapped him on the shoulder, – she can't lose you too.

– I will return. And I will find her, – Noah nodded.

And vanished.

***

Noah fought his way through zombified Alphas. Blows rained down, and he tried with all his might not to injure anyone. He understood that they were not aware of what they were doing. But this made it even harder. He had already taken many hits, more scratches and bruises appeared on his skin. Someone's fist broke his lip. At some point, Noah thought it was a very reckless decision to plunge into the crowd of Alphas and try to push through to Toneri. At the very least, he needed to leave all this crowd to the Alphas clearing the perimeter of other Sigma fighters.

Even being a dominant Alpha, he was not omnipotent. The odds were clearly not in his favor. In a moment, he was knocked off his feet. His roar did not work, especially since he could not use it as intended. In his thoughts was only Nari's face, how she cried when he did not return. Noah closed his eyes for a moment. But suddenly, a strong hand yanked him from the crowd of zombified Alphas.

– Decided to die here?! – he heard Mai's irritated voice.

– Thank you, Mai, – Noah got to his feet.

– You look like a ragged rat, – the girl smiled.

– You're not much better, – the young man assessed her with a measuring glance.

Mai had also rushed here from the battlefield. Her clothes were torn and dirty, her face was slightly scratched, and her knuckles were bruised. She was breathing heavily, exhausted. Still, Nari had not completely healed her after the beating Noah took under Toneri's control.

– Go on, – Mai said, – I'll stay here.

– You can’t handle it alone! – Noah tried to protest.

– I'm not alone, – the girl shrugged, – I just need to hold on until Kae arrives.

– But Kae!..

– I know! – Mai interrupted him, – I know. But don’t underestimate him. He is equal in strength to your father! Besides, he vowed not to die until he tells Nari the truth.

– So it's true about him?

– Are we discussing this now or are you actually going to try to save the world, Adelson?! – the girl yelled at him, – quicker! Move!!!

Noah nodded to her and ran on. On his path, Sigma fighters still met him. The betas who knew him had already figured out what was happening. They did not stand in his way. The zombified Alphas waiting for him ahead were Toneri's personal guards. He had chosen them himself and always kept them close. One from the Yomiya clan, fire Chris, and the other – from the Izir clan; Noah only knew that his call was highly regarded even in the Adelson family.

Bursting onto the balcony where Toneri sat, Noah immediately realized it wasn't going to be easy. He was met by two unfriendly Alphas. Toneri himself lazily turned to him.

– Mmm… Noah, my boy, you are here after all, – he smiled predatorily, – you don’t look well. Maybe you should take a rest?

– We'll all rest in hell, – Noah smiled, – disable the bombs, Toneri. And I will spare your life!

– Alphas… – the Sigma leader drawled, – Chris, Al, grab him.

A pillar of fire was instantly directed at the younger Adelson. Barely dodging, Noah crashed into the raised stone wall. The roar of Al revealed itself to be linked to materialization. At the same time, they lunged at the young man. He barely managed to dodge the blows and block them. The first hit came from Chris's fire, searing his arm; the sleeve of his jacket caught fire, and while he tried to shake it off, Al caught him in a stone trap.

Noah had always considered himself strong enough to stand up for himself. But he never thought of himself as omnipotent. Every hit resonated painfully in his body. A bloody haze flooded his right eye; he could no longer resist. And what was he even counting on? A broken, imperfect dominant Alpha, who had never had a battle roar and relied only on his own physical strength and fighting skills. What could he do against all those Alphas? Against these two? What could he? Nari... would probably cry bitterly.

– Watch closely, Noah, – Toneri lifted his head by the hair, – look! Do you see all this?! Alphas, omegas, betas… with weapons in hand, they are all equal.

– It's a slaughter… – Noah spat blood, – just slaughter. What do you hope to achieve with this…

– This is justice! – Toneri smiled, – look here!

He jerked the boy's hair, turning his face towards the Tree, which was wilting and dying before his eyes. The leaves were falling, the flowers were losing their color, even the air became heavy around them.

– This Tree… that demanded our blood, will now wither! Turn to dust! And when the deity dies, every Alpha will feel that despair we felt every day! You don't know what that is? To fall asleep not knowing if tomorrow will be your last day or not? You don’t know what it’s like to tremble when the lists for the Arena are announced? You don’t know how it is… to live in fear for your own life. Now you all will know…

– But from the fog, the omegas will die too… – Noah croaked.

– The strong will live! – Toneri screamed like a madman, – the strong always survive! Omegas have something that Alphas do not. The energy of life! Now we no longer need to give it to the Tree! Which means we will survive no matter what!

– You planned from the start… to destroy the Tree… – Noah felt himself losing consciousness.

– Yes, Noah, – Toneri removed his hand from him, – throw him, guys. He’ll hardly get up again.

Noah was thrown onto the marble floor of the balcony; Chris followed the order wholeheartedly, kicking him hard in the ribs. Noah nearly howled from the pain.

– Prepare for the uprooting of the roots, – Toneri commanded.

– What to do with this?

– Finish him off before he recovers, – the leader dismissed carelessly.

– With pleasure, – Chris hissed, raising his hand with a formed fiery charge.

– Forgive me, Nari…

– Noah!!!