Leo had met Alice in her previous life on different occasions. Having the title, ’last man standing’ and a lot of coincidence that allowed her to survive despite others who were far more powerful than her dying, made it evident that her title was in effect.

She would be the last man standing at the end, so he approached her.

Titles weren’t given to specific Awakeneds on Leo’s directive. The system seemed to see a person’s deep potential and read their fate when they get attached to them.

So, that title was basically their fate whether they liked it or not.

The first time Leo approached Alice was when she lost Devon.

On that day, when she was to be a member of the Snow Guild, there was an ambush. A monster ambush. It was apparently being led by someone, and his guess was the demons, but they did not come out of the shadows.

The damage done was so great that even Devon, who was an S-class awakened, lost his life. When something like that happened, and to the guy Alice had given her heart to for the first time, she lost her mind.

It was the second time she was witnessing the death of someone she held so dear and this time, there wasn’t even a body for her to hold on to while she wept.

Even with her system, she felt she was very powerless. She was pathetic.

The second calamity came in waves. And while the skies were dyed red and there was a gigantic white status that covered the entire sky, it did not attack.

Rather, multiple red gates were opening up and releasing different sorts of monsters.

But Alice had only gone into one of those gates, where she got the heavenly hammer.

She had been dragged in there with others while Devon had been out taking care of other high-level monsters. She became the few to survive from that gate, coming out with a heavenly weapon that had chosen her as its owner.

But even with this, she was not able to do anything.

As she wept, her body glowed golden. Since the saint’s sacrifice had been activated, if a person died next to her, whether by choice or not, she would inherit their powers.

So, she inherited all the powers of the people who had been crushed to bits by the incredibly strong monster that was ready to devour the world.

Her eyes rained tears as she shook her head, refusing to take the power and end up fighting.

She just wanted to die. She wanted to give up. She didn’t want to do it anymore.

But then she felt Devon’s warmth flow through her. She could feel his power and that made her even more miserable.

She didn’t ask for any of that. She didn’t ask to be the only one to survive.

"Why is this happening to me? Why me?!"

Her cries echoed with pain and agony mixed together and it would’ve torn anyone’s heart just hearing it.

Leo could remember how she begged for her life to end while he stood a few feet away from her. He was in spirit form, so she couldn’t see him, but the way she begged with her head on the floor, it felt like she was begging him to end her misery.

But he couldn’t do that. She had been chosen.

All he could do was watch her and replay the most beautiful words of her dearest in her head.

"I want you to stay alive and like your life with a smile, no matter what happens."

It was cruel but he could not think of anything else to do to keep her from taking her own life. Those cruel words that he had said to her seemed selfish since she would have to live without him, yet he still wanted her to smile.

Smile and live like the burning flames that surrounded her were harmless dandelions.

Dance in it, smile, and never give up.

Those were the words he wished he could tell her directly but he did not have that privilege. He felt for this child but what had to be done had to be done.

Thankfully, he was able to stop her from ending it all there; if not, the monsters and demons would’ve won.

Now, that expression that cursed Alice’s very soul at that time, she had nearly all of it on her face as she stared at him, telling him she was scared that he would leave her.

A noble sacrifice?

How was she so accurate? She had no idea what was to come since she had not recalled the memory of the second calamity clearly, but when that time came, if there was nothing she, with her overpowered stats, could do, they would have no choice but to resort to the saint’s sacrifice.

Or better still... Allure of men.

Whichever worked out for them.

"It’s alright." He patted her back. "I’m right here. So, let’s go to sleep now."

"When I wake up, will you be here?" She asked as they lay on the bed, but he shook his head, swiping her hair out of her face.

"Since there’s so much for me to do, I’ll have to remain in your thoughts,, so my body may not manifest." He said and smiled softly at her. "Have fun tomorrow, okay? Tell Diane I said hi and..." He recalled Micheal. "Be a little more careful around, Micheal, alright?"

"Yes," she nodded and he kissed her forehead.

"Alright, go to sleep now. I’ll hold on to you till you fall asleep." He drew her closer and wrapped his arms around her.

"Will you sleep like that with your sportswear?" She asked him in a mutter as she was sleepy drifting into sleep.

"Does it matter?" He asked her. "I’ll put it in my personal closet, don’t worry." He said and she chuckled.

"And since when did you get a personal closet?" She asked softly.

"Well, where do you think I keep my clothes when I snap my fingers and change into whatever I want?" He chuckled. "I have one, in my mind. But don’t worry about me. I’ll pick out something you can wear out tomorrow." He whispered in her ear. "So, make sure to wear it when you go out to meet Diane, okay?"

"Mmm."

"And don’t forget to wear your jacket as well. Remember it’s a high defense item."

"I know, I know." Alice muttered with a sleepy breath. "Don’t nag me when it’s time to sleep. I..." She yawned. "Don’t have the energy."

"Yes, I know." He stroked her hair till she fell asleep.

Alice was precious. And if it hadn’t been for the apocalypse, he was certain that she would’ve lived a very happy life with her mother.

Maybe she would’ve been an athlete. She tried so hard to deny that she was interested in sports, but he could see it in her eyes when she watched them play in the fields.

Or maybe she would’ve been a professional chef. Who could tell, right?

An unknown future held endless possibilities.

Thinking of that, his face fell sadly. Endless possibilities, eh?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com