Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday

With Country C's safe zone successfully fortified, the race to collect high-level Spirit Stones became more urgent for the remaining four countries in the Great Alliance.

The world was falling deeper into chaos as time was passing. Shadow Beasts were evolving, and their numbers were growing at an alarming rate. It was almost as if when they weren't attacking humans, they were busy producing of their kinds.

Also, the environment was also turning worse, making it harder for general public, especially the ones without superpowers, to breathe.

The situation was clear - If the other four safe zones weren't fortified soon, millions would perish.

And so, for the next two months, Grace barely had time to rest.

Country R had been struggling more than the rest. Their safe zone was smaller than Country C's, barely half the size of Starfall Isle. Their resources were running low, and their forces had suffered significant losses fighting Spirit Beasts in their attempts to gather stones.

Yet, by the end of the third week, they were the second country that finally managed to collect enough high-level Spirit Stones for Grace to set up a barrier.

Their collection included:

One Level Seven Blue Spirit Stone, Two Level Six Green Spirit Stones, Three Level Six Yellow Spirit Stones, Four Level Five Red Spirit Stones, and over a hundred Spirit Stones below Level Five.

It wasn't the strongest set, but it was actually more than enough.

Once again, Grace boarded her private jet, accompanied by Davian and some of her team members. They reached Country R within two hours, and without wasting time, she began the barrier formation process.

This time, she gave her all to create the most powerful barrier that she could, adding elixirs, spells, and poisons, along with the stones.

Creating barrier the size of the safe zone of Countrt R should have taken her less time than what she spent in Country C, but because she was trying to make it perfect in one single attempt, it ended up taking four hours extra compared to the six hours of Country C.

By the end, she collapsed into Davian's arms once again, and her vision blackened out from overexertion.

When she woke up hours later, she found herself in a makeshift infirmary while Davian was sitting beside her, holding her hand.

"You keep doing this," he said quietly, clearly not impressed with her continuously ignoring his reminders . "Pushing yourself too far."

Grace gave him a weak smile. She understood his worry, and always felt guilty for putting him through so much because of her. But she didn't have the luxury to take thing slowly.

She squeezed his hand as she spoke, "I will love to take things slowly, but you know that can't happen. I feel that burden, Davian... the one where I carry the weight of protecting this world."

She inhaled deeply before continuing. "This was never my plan... to get involved in the mission of saving the entire world. But as I'm growing and getting a view of the situation, I can't help but try my best to save what should be saved. After all, the world won't be able to continue with just a handful of people by my side and the planet in ruins."

He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his silver hair. "But at this rate, you'll collapse before we even finish the rest."

She smiled at him. "Then you'll have to keep catching me."

He looked at her for a long moment before sighing, and then, he pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead.

- - -

As the weeks passed, the remaining three countries of the Great Alliance managed to gather their Spirit Stones, though each faced unique struggles.

Country A was on the verge of collapse by the time Grace arrived.

Their warriors had suffered massive casualties, and their safe zone was under constant attack from the infected and Spirit Beasts. If she had delayed even a few days, half the survivors would have been wiped out.

As soon as her jet landed, she barely had time to gather her team before they were forced into battle.

Shadow Beasts were swarming the outer walls. There were hundreds of them, more than she had encountered in previous locations.

Without hesitation, she jumped into the fight, wielding her Spirit-infused daggers. Beside her, Davian and the rest of her team fought with unwavering ferocity, cutting through the monsters.

It took them nearly four hours to push back the onslaught.

Only then did she finally start the barrier formation.

With the Spirit Stones provided - two Level Seven Yellow Spirit Stones, one Level Seven Blue Spirit Stone, three Level Six Red Spirit Stones, and two Level Five Green Spirit Stones - she constructed the most durable defense possible, ensuring that Country A wouldn't fall anytime soon.

But by the time she finished, she was too exhausted to stand.

For the first time, she blacked out for a full day. Davian stayed by her side, and while he was worried about her as usual, this time he didn't lecture her at all. Instead, he just pampered her until she was back on her feet in full form.

Her next stop was Country S. But unlike the others, Country S's leaders were hesitant to hand over their collected Spirit Stones.

They were skeptical of her, reluctant to entrust something so valuable to an outsider. Some within their ranks even plotted to intercept the stones before she could use them.

But Grace wasn't easily deceived.

"I came here to protect your people," she told them, eyes gleaming with unspoken warning. "But if you would rather gamble with their lives for your own greed, I can leave right now."

The leaders paled at her cold words. They had heard about how she had set up barriers around the other safe zones, and she was their only hope. Keeping this in mind, they finally handed over their entire stock of Stones to her.

By the end of the day, Grace had the Spirit Stones in her hands, and by midnight, the barrier was set in place.

Unlike the last few times, she didn't collapse because her power of creating barriers had actually leveled up by 45%.

Still, Davian forced her to rest, keeping a close eye on her for the next twenty-four hours before they finally departed for their last stop.