Evil MC's NTR Harem - Chapter 1033

1033: Chapter 1033 Champion 1033: Chapter 1033 Champion “You bend time again,” Althea murmured softly when he passed near her, her lips curving into a knowing smile.

Ross only smiled back.  “It’s the least I can do,” he replied.  “After all, no amount of power means anything if I can’t spend it on those I care for.” Her heart warmed at his words, and for a brief moment, she reached out to touch his hand.  “You always say the right things,” she whispered.

“Only because they’re true,” he said simply.

And so the night continued, a night that stretched far beyond the limits of ordinary time.  Within the sanctuary, the hours moved like a gentle current-slow, calm, and eternal.

Outside, the stars still shone over a quiet world, unaware that deep below, a man who had conquered heaven and earth was choosing, once again, to conquer something even greater-love, devotion, and the fragile beauty of human connection.

Ross Oakley, master of time, savior of his people, and ruler of realms and the multiverse, was at peace.  And for that one long, endless night, the world stood still just for him.

*** One week had passed, and the world was unrecognizable.  Cities that had once thrived with life now lay in ruin, streets littered with abandoned cars, overturned debris, and the unmistakable signs of panic.  Millions of people had already fallen to the plague, their deaths only marking the beginning of the nightmare, for they rose again as mindless, ravenous zombies.

There was no real defense against them.  Ordinary citizens did not go about their daily lives armed with guns or combat training.  Even if they tried to fight, one scratch or bite was enough to seal their fate, spreading the infection almost instantaneously.  Entire neighborhoods could fall in hours, and the few who survived lived in constant terror, always moving, always hiding.

The heart stones had granted some people extraordinary abilities, creating what could be called superhumans.  But these gifts were far from a universal solution.

Not every power was suited to the chaos of combat.  Some could see through walls or sense danger from miles away, while others could emit light from their hands like a walking lantern.  None of this helped when a horde of zombies swarmed through a narrow alley, teeth bared and claws ready.  Many abilities were clever but impractical in direct confrontation, leaving their wielders exposed to the relentless threat.

Even the military, the police forces, and elite squads of soldiers found themselves stretched impossibly thin.  A single battalion could hold one street, one city block, at most-but there were countless others under siege at the same time.  Commanders were forced to make impossible choices, prioritizing areas that could be defended while abandoning zones that were already lost.  Rescue missions became near-constant operations, teams running themselves ragged to pull civilians from doomed zones before they fell prey to the horde.

Many of these rescue teams had consumed heart stones themselves, gaining enhanced abilities to increase their chances of survival.  They could leap over burning cars, track enemies by heat signatures, or even manipulate small amounts of energy.  Yet even with such powers, the hordes seemed infinite.  For every zombie they killed, dozens more emerged from shadows, from buildings, from underground tunnels.  The ground itself seemed to pulse with death, and every victory was temporary, fleeting, and far too small against the scale of the apocalypse.

The death toll continued to rise, day after day, the numbers climbing into the millions with terrifying speed.  Families were torn apart, entire cities emptied, and despair settled over the living like a thick, suffocating fog.  The world had become a battlefield unlike any other, a test not of strength or skill but of endurance, wit, and sheer willpower.  Humanity was no longer the dominant force on Earth-it was prey, struggling against an enemy that seemed to multiply faster than it could be contained.

Even those who survived the first week knew the days ahead would only grow more desperate.  Food and clean water were becoming scarce.

Shelters were falling to relentless attacks.  Communications were breaking down, and the once-cohesive response of governments was now fractured and chaotic.  In the midst of this, rumors of pockets of resistance and secret safe zones circulated, but they were few and far between.  The world had changed, and the survivors were forced to confront a harsh truth: civilization as they had known it was gone, replaced by a new, brutal reality where survival alone was the only law that mattered.

Still, that was not Ross’s concern.  He always took care of his own, and the fate of the rest of humanity was a problem for them, not him.  He had no desire to involve himself in every struggle, every disaster that befell the masses.  Humans were resilient creatures, he reminded himself.  No matter how dire the situation, they always found ways to survive, to push forward through storms that would crush lesser beings.  Of course, there were always a few who would give up too quickly, surrendering to despair, letting fear or exhaustion swallow them whole.  But most-most clung stubbornly to life, even when every circumstance seemed stacked against them.  It was a trait etched deep into their DNA, a mark left by countless generations of ancestors who had survived famine, war, disease, and every other calamity.  Humans survived-or they died trying.

Ross observed quietly from his vantage point, detached yet calculating.  He didn’t need to worry about the general survival of humanity; he had other priorities, matters far closer to him and far more pressing.  His gaze settled on a figure that had caught his attention-a woman of extraordinary beauty.  Her features were soft yet striking, framed by dark hair that fell loosely over her shoulders.  Despite her composure, there was a flicker of distress in her eyes, a weight of worry she could not entirely mask.  And yet, she continued typing on her phone, absorbed in some private world of messages and distractions, as though the excitement surrounding her could never touch her.