The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

The battle became manageable after Danny and Mark created magic by eliminating ten of their most dangerous and harrowing foes.

Even Kay's plan to kill two more Tier 10s was halted by his two friends, who had significantly changed the shape of the battle.

Kathy aided Hanna and Lulu in killing the Tier 10 they were fighting. Afterward, they went after the Tier 9 monsters, which was easy for them, considering they had just survived the Tier 10s.

This gave their friends, who were dealing with the Tier 8s and 9s, some breathing space.

The battle went on for another hour until the last ant was brought to its knees.

It was a daunting battle, but thanks to the two, who were now comatose, they managed to pull through. However, it wasn't as simple and easy as they made it look in the last minutes of the battle.

Most of them were hurt in more than one place, with only a few, like Lucy, Anna, and Yasmin, still looking clean and okay despite the battle lasting close to four hours.

Matt and Linda did most of the killing, using elemental bending techniques to harness lightning and fire.

Aside from them, Asha also did a remarkable job, using her overpowered ants against her opponents.

The ant queen and her two subordinates, who saw this, could tell that she indeed wasn't using the two ant queens as breeding machines.

Every last ant that fought under her command was a soldier in its own right. Klaus planned on individually upgrading them.

This was to ensure that if they evolved, they would do so individually, gaining unique strengths. He didn't want to limit them by making them inherit their evolution from their queen.

Aside from them, there was also Nadia, who, after Danny killed all six Tier 9s she was battling, had to prove once again to everyone that puppeteers were indeed powerful.

She also managed to gather enough souls for her first summoning ritual.

Klaus wasted no effort in encasing them in his immortal ice while the devouring ice consumed the ants and transferred the energy back to them.

After an hour, their flesh wounds had healed, and they were now seated in ice chairs made from the same ice.

Klaus was giving them the best treatment, considering they were his team, and he wouldn't deny them that.

"So, how was the battle?" Klaus asked, hovering before them.

"It was dangerous," Lily said. "I came this close to dying if not for Mason coming to my rescue in time."

"We would have missed you if he hadn't made it in time. But since you're in one piece, we can only thank our lucky stars." Klaus smiled, making Lily shoot him a piercing gaze.

He just smiled. "But what she said was indeed true. Most of you came this close to dying, but you didn't, and it was thanks to your teamwork.

Now, before you get cocky despite defeating Overlord-level threats, know that if the true army of over sixty Tier 10s had faced you, none of you would be alive right now.

I made it easy for you today as a starter for the dangers you will be facing soon." His smile remained, making Lily move with the wind, trying to land a punch on his handsome face.

"You call that easy..." She punched, but Klaus deftly caught her hand, and before she could wiggle her way out of his grip, his other hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"No need to be a crybaby, Lily. The worst is yet to come, and despite you being my woman, I won't have pity on you." He kissed her cheek, making her sisters look at her with envious gazes.

She instantly melted in his arms, placing her head on his shoulder.

"You once asked me to train you, to turn you into monsters capable of going against the odds. I am doing that now. So yes, this is cheap, for the worst is yet to come.

But just as you survived this, you will survive that, too. Of course, you will come close to death's door, and some of you will actually die but don't worry, I will bring you back."

He smiled, but his friends and women weren't smiling.

Why?

Because whenever Klaus was being serious, he would smile. And right now, despite making it sound like he wasn't serious, they knew he meant every last word.

[Brat, you have yet to enter purgatory and awaken your death energy, so stop playing with their lives,] the senior said, also sensing that the Paragon meant every word he said.

Klaus indeed wasn't joking, which begged the question— 'what awaited them in Monsterland?'

They all broke into cold chills, looking back at the brat who was still smiling at them.

"Okay..." Klaus sighed. "I take back the death part. But the next set of battles will bring you close to death's door, with some of you actually reaching the half-dead stage."

"That doesn't make it any better, Klaus," Miriam said, already plotting with her sister on how best to handle him in the bedroom.

"You all should relax. Death is not as scary as it sounds. You will understand after tasting it at least once."

After spending a few minutes scaring the shit out of his friends and women, he sent them away to rest for the next few days.

The last ant was killed, leaving only the Ant Queen, Linx, Jinx, and her seven cocoons. This made them alert, for their last line of resistance was destroyed, leaving them vulnerable.

Though Klaus had said he wouldn't come against them because they had become allies, she knew things wouldn't be calm until everything was finalized, and that involved signing a contract of mutual benefits.

Three days after the battle, Klaus took Asha to meet the queen to get things done.

Naturally, this was the stage where, if any betrayal was involved, they wouldn't sign and would instead handle their deaths by taking a few of Klaus's friends with them.

Linx wasn't in the meeting, but Klaus knew where she was hiding. He even sent a clone to give her a bottle of water while he and Asha met with the queen and Jinx.