LoRG 3

Nodding Randidly kept his emerald eyes fixed on Ileot It was clear that he was carefully using the Aether he had harvested to restore some of his lucidity And Lady Iellaya Lord Miln

Lord Miln was right next to the Nether King when Ileot attacked I think heÆs dead As for Lady Iellaya VuallaÆs face knitted into a frown Randidly was surprised to notice that for a brief moment an expression of guilt flashed across her face it seems like she is having some internal troubles controlling part of her image

RandidlyÆs eyes flashed So thatÆs why that darkness in the sky was gone when I woke up did it invade Lady IellayaÆs body

Vualla leaned forward and spoke pleadingly to him before his musings could continue any further Randidly I donÆt mean to be paranoid but if there is a voice in your head that talks about how important karma is I want you to tell me right now

Randidly opened his mouth to deny that such a voice existed then hesitated Well itÆs not exactly a voice in my head but otherwise Lucretia probably fits that description ItÆs just that sheÆs not just a voice any longer But I wonder how the acclimation to Nether is going in the Alpha Cosmos

Witnessing RandidlyÆs hesitation Vualla gripped his arm Karma doesnÆt mean anything No matter what that voice tells you itÆs just bullshit

But Lucretia isnÆt telling me to do anything at all Randidly wanted to roll his eyes but he suppressed that impulse After all he was confused by VuallaÆs words Bullshit Karma is a pretty legitimate force ItÆs just one that only works if you give power to it by believing in it After all itÆs the patterns that make sense to you that end up affecting you Of course you donÆt have the leisure to choose it in the moment your karma is the thing youÆve been slowly choosing your entire life

Almost subconsciously RandidlyÆs hand fell to the key at his waist ThatÆs why every decision you make is important Every step you have taken forms your Path

What Vualla said

But before the discussion could continue Ileot surged forward his entire body covered in white lightning His chest was heaving And for the first time since his ominous words earlier he spoke This time his voice was heavy with emotion Karma IÆll destroy all your bullshit karma

Rather deadpan Randidly pointed out toward IleotÆs approaching figure Should I be worried that you share an opinion on karma with this psychopathic monster

Only if I should be worried that you handle Nether just as well as that obnoxious noise machine Vualla cracked a smile and pointed toward the Nether KingÆs cloud

Then both their faces turned serious

I have one big attack Big enough that I think it could stop Ileot Randidly said shortly

Vualla nodded and took a step forward Then IÆll open up a path

Chapter 1221

The more than Randidly used Skills that were fueled solely on his own pure Aether the more he marveled at the difference in fidelity that he felt during the activation of the Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality transformed the power in his muscles to a ridiculous degree It also seemed like his Control that had reached over one thousand became an even more useful tool when his image blended so seamlessly with the energy he utilized to create it

It was all Randidly could do to resist the urge to give in to the instincts of the Grim Chimera to raise its head and roar

But despite the intoxicating feeling of power RandidlyÆs expression was serious as he followed closely behind Vualla in the charge toward Ileot Despite the fact that Ileot had needed to cannibalize several of his own Skills in order to salvage Aether Randidly didnÆt dare underestimate this ancient man Even from the simple act of hovering there in the Great RIft IleotÆs powerful image corroded the surrounding Nether simply by existing

The energy that Ileot possessed was diminished but he was not weak

Of all his significant advantages those potent images that Ileot possessed were what made Randidly the most cautious Even though Ileot had only barely managed to reach an amount of Aether to maintain his body his terrible image allowed him to utilize scraps of Aether to strike with enough strength to rival Randidly at his best Randidly frowned toward VuallaÆs back as they both shot forward but ultimately remained silent

Sometimes what you need to do is trust Worrying further has no purpose

For several seconds Randidly and Vualla flew rather noiselessly forward through the Great Rift Ileot simply watched them approach with narrowed eyes No white flames flickered to life around him His Aether remained almost inert swirling calmly in IleotÆs chest in RandidlyÆs Aether Detection vision

RandidlyÆs eyes slid to VuallaÆs back and he couldnÆt resist allowing a single wish to manifest from his unease be safe All we need is a path If you buy me time IÆll take care of the rest

Then Vualla surged forward across an invisible line and Ileot finally reacted His hairless fingers twitched and there was a strange chime that echoed out into the surrounding area The amount of Aether in his chest immediately diminished But two glowing white duplicates of Ileot appeared crackling with lightning as they surged forward toward Vualla

Suddenly VuallaÆs movements sharpened and Randidly felt the warmth flowing between the two of them become almost scalding Aether began to rush into VuallaÆs body She took a step and it was such a condensed and efficient use of energy that she surged forward ahead of Randidly to arrive at the left avatar that Ileot had created

Her body seemed to pause in front of that foe as it cut at her with the heel of its glowing right hand And then Vualla punched her body calmly flowing through the well practiced motions of punching She stepped forward her momentum flowed through her hips and her shoulders slowly rotated as she thrust her fist forward without any aggressive movements It was a perfectly average punch

Her fist met the avatarÆs karate chop

Both figures trembled as both of their momentums were abruptly halted but neither gave up any ground The attacks were almost completely equal in strength Vualla twisted and brought her other arm around in a hook that the avatar quickly ducked under It raised its hands and unleashed a blast of electricity but Vualla stoically endured the energy discharge without comment Her azure hair flashed as she pivoted once more and unleashed another average punch at a speed that Randidly couldnÆt believe

That tightly condensed image continued to slowly rise in strength

However before Vualla could complete her motion the other avatar finally arrived and smashed its palm toward Vualla With an unhurried grace Vualla raised her arm and knocked away the other avatarÆs attack with her non punching arm Abandoning her previous punch her gaze turned to the new foe

A split second later while Vualla was still pushing away the palm strike of the right avatar Randidly arrived with Acri raised The huge lance began to hum as its three entwined heads that formed the tip of the lance vibrated with increasingly frequency VuallaÆs hand twisted and seized the wrist of the avatar who attacked her

Molten Fang of the Pariah RandidlyÆs eyes burned as AcriÆs huge five meter form began to glow red

The avatar attempted to pull back but VuallaÆs grip held fast to its arm Even when white electricity discharged into her hand Vualla didnÆt even blink Her azure eyes were clear and focused RandidlyÆs attack surged forward and the desperate avatar could only use its free arm to try and block the blow

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has grown to Level 201

With RandidlyÆs Skils empowered by his pure Aether the shockwave rippled outward through even the substance of the Great Rift But Randidly felt a bone in his right hand fracture painfully as his attack as jarred by the guard of the avatar Even with the extra power that Acri provided Randidly was on the losing end of the exchange Seems like IÆm still a little bit short huh

Shoving away the avatar that was still off balance from RandidlyÆs strike Vualla twisted back to face its companion who had conjured two of those same flame beams Randidly had dealt with earlier that stole energy She easily dodged them and arrived before that avatar to unleash another routine punch

Yes thatÆs the word Routine SheÆs slowly coding in this excellence in fighting into her body as routine That sort of mental discipline is admirable

Meanwhile Randidly spun around mid air turning his back on the rapidly recovering avatar to hammer SulfurÆs huge fist toward it in a backhand blow Although it easily blocked the attack it was still flung to the side directly toward VuallaÆs position

VuallaÆs punch forced the avatar in front of her to retreat backward and she had plenty of time to smoothly transition into sending a calm punch toward the avatar that Randidly had sent her way It recovered enough to block again but even Randidly shivered at how sharp and incisive the image of VuallaÆs punch was becoming

Her fist had held all the same naked threat that a spear thrust would possess The piercing purity of her attack was horrifying

Yet Grim Intuition surged to life with a hurried warning as the avatar that Vualla was punching at exploded in a wave of almost one hundred of those thing blasts of white fire The avatar vanished and left in its place an artillery strike that aimed for all of VuallaÆs vital points with a buzzing intensity Instantly her gaze sharpened Twisting sideways to present a smaller target VuallaÆs left arm flicked out left and right Her jabs were so strangely sharp and delicate that she managed to harmlessly guide dozens of these lightning blasts away from her body

Activating Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes Randidly accelerated forward and smashed into the side of the other avatar who was attempting to move and strike at VuallaÆs back The avatar reacted in time to blow the strike but after it absorbed the momentum of the lance AcriÆs tip split open into its three heads and entangled the avatarÆs limbs

Yet even with her masterful reactions and without having to worry about the other avatar Vualla wasnÆt able to dodge all of the blasts Nine ripped through the remnants of her ragged armor and cut into her flesh RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed as he watched those blasts veer around him and head back toward Ileot himself

Not sending them to attack again huh Just taking it for yourself And you didnÆt blow this one up on me because youÆve already seen how I can take my own Aether back from your blasts

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 180

Randidly felt a small shiver of fear as those blasts were reabsorbed into IleotÆs body His available Aether surged upward immediately becoming almost double the amount with which he had started this portion of the battle Then he snapped his fingers again and conjured two more avatars next to him dropping down to almost exactly as much Aether as he possessed when this started

Now with the aid of three of those dangerous avatars

Vualla for her part didnÆt respond at all to the dozen or so small holes the blasts opened up in her body She simply punched at the avatar that Randidly had entangled with Acri triggering it to explode in another explosion of white fire beams But this time Vualla was ready Although the power of her attacks wasnÆt improving much at all anymore Randidly could clearly see that the sharpness and the speed of her punches was growing

This time all of the beams were knocked away not a single one scratched Vualla

Immediately afterward Randidly and Vualla exchanged a glance Both accelerated toward Ileot at the same time as those two new avatars came downward to meet them Gradually the distance between them and Ileot was narrowing The drop of condensed Aether that Randidly held in his chest continued to slowly pulse with power He flexed his right hand feeling the fractured bone itch as it settled back into place

Again Vualla led the way Her speed shot upward as she applied that strange image of sharpness she used in her attacks to her movements Perhaps it was because she was in an area governed by Nether but she pierced through distance in a physically impossible way Grinning Randidly allowed her to shoot forward and once more wove together the Nether Ritual to create a World Tree that would function the same as those blue veins

From the way that IleotÆs eyes tightened he recognized what Randidly was doing almost immediately For the first time in a while almost twenty white flames flickered to life around him and then shot downward to Randidly to try and distract him from his Nether Ritual But with the experience that Randidly had from his previous use of the ritual he completed the working much more quickly After only a few seconds Yggdrasil reappeared and spread its branches and roots throughout the surrounding area

In an instant Randidly flickered and appeared far to the left nearer to Ileot but not so close that Ileot could pounce toward him before he could react Perhaps responding to his emotions the drop of liquid Aether shivered in anticipation

All I need is one shot Randidly narrowed his eyes Vualla continued to accelerate forward somehow slipping past the first avatar and unleashing a sharp punch at the second It leaned backward but very smoothly Vualla shot upward and stomped on its shoulder The avatar tumbled downward back toward some of the debris from the old battlefield

Like an azure comet Vualla surged upward her eyes intent on Ileot Swacc

Chapter 1222

Randidly released a light breath and let his focus settle around that mysterious drop of violet liquid in his chest Especially after seeing her adjustments so far Randidly trusted Vualla So now it was a matter of determining how he would strike out at Ileot Swacc While he was weak they needed to act decisively and take advantage of the situation

If he could get close enough to place his hand on Ileot again and use Cursed Appetite of a Wraith and get rid of IleotÆs remaining Aether that would be for the best But Randidly somehow doubted that he would be able to close the distance enough to touch Ileot without exposing himself to extreme danger And Randidly was even more nervous that Ileot would not be nearly as passive as he had been in the past when he didnÆt understand RandidlyÆs ability to steal his Aether

No considering IleotÆs physical abilities getting too close wasnÆt an intelligent choice And since Randidly wasnÆt sure exactly how to strike a blow against Ileot he quickly made his decision he would use All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth

Although the general goal of wounding Ileot would probably mean the strain from using the Skill would be high the effect of the liquid Aether would probably mean that the attack would still be quite powerful That power would mean that Randidly likely would be able to eat the cost of such a reaching wish while using the Skill

Honestly using a drop of liquid Aether seems to have an effect quite similar to the Skill Inspiration The effect of Inspiration is obviously a knock off version but still Might be fair to say that as a last resort I can also use Inspiration if I need to

Time suddenly seem to skitter and slow rapidly down RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed Vualla pierced forward with enough speed to send ripples spreading outward through the Great Rift continuing to push toward Ileot Everything seemed fine Then his eyes landed on Ileot himself and Randidly gasped Vualla

The Aether in IleotÆs body was surging upward rapidly rising Within a split second all of the Aether constructs in IleotÆs body that had been fading rapidly surged back to life A tremor ran through his stiff posture Immediately the surrounding Nether in the air seemed to curdle as he no longer had an issue of forcefully suppressing his energy expenditure

The sudden change in IleotÆs presence became a powerful suppression that spread out over the surrounding area Another tremor ran through his body and then his muscles gradually began to relax

Vualla noticed the sudden change but it was difficult for her to suddenly adjust all the momentum she had built up in a short time And now that his body was continually strengthening itself with Aether after it had been depleted for so long Ileot wouldnÆt miss this chance

His fingertips flicked forward a huge pillar of white lightning roaring down toward Vualla The river of lightning was so thick that even two of VuallaÆs stacked on top of each other wouldnÆt be able to stretch a pink outside of its diameter

Damnit why now Was he hiding his strength the entire time In that space of time between his heartbeats Randidly stared across the Great Rift at VuallaÆs small form before that pillar of twitching and thundering light As his emotions became increasingly chaotic the liquid Aether began to pulse with increasing frequency along with his frantic fear The sudden change doesnÆt make sense Why

Randidly stilled somewhat as he flicked to IleotÆs face The man was crying black tears that coursed down his cheeks and the throbbing veins in his forehead darkened to the point that it appeared that oil was pumping through his veins His gaze was almost blank as it fixed single mindedly on Vualla

Roaring Randidly tore his eyes away from Ileot and looked at the position of the branches and roots of the World Tree Although they surged to life according to his will they were too far away from Vualla and that horrible river of white lightning to make much of a difference They seemed to be inching along like caterpillars through the Nether of the Great Rift to reach Vualla

Despite having no useful option Randidly gritted his teeth and teleported to a spot only a dozen meters away from Vualla He raised Acri and prepared to activate Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes to shoot across the intervening distance and knock Vualla out of the path of the river of lightning

As though she knew exactly what Randidly was thinking Vualla glanced sideways toward him Azure eyes met emerald ones Her opinion was clear if you save me who will save you

VuallaÆs aura surged upward and her piercing image seemed to manifest around her body but the white lightning was so bright and overwhelming that it had already drowned out VuallaÆs aura as it neared her

Randidly felt numb His arms twitched as he felt the impulse to use his drop of liquid Aether to assist Vualla but then acknowledge that there was very little that he could do even with the boost he would receive from the liquid Aether The hesitation from VuallaÆs firm denial had made Randidly miss the chance

So Randidly stood frozen as IleotÆs image smothered everything in the surrounding area The river of white lightning reached Vualla Randidly couldnÆt breathe

Randidly watched VuallaÆs face twist in determined agony as she punched forward but everything was steadily devoured by the white lightning

Vualla is going to die For the first time in a long time Randidly completely froze The thought was accompanied by such a wave of horror and fear that his processing ability stuttered to a stop White noise replaced his ability to react He became a mute spectator

His face was slack as that river of white lightning covered VuallaÆs arms

An enormous shadow smashed into the side of the river of white lightning deflecting a small portion of its power Yet suddenly there was an avenue where there had been none before Sneezing and smoking Vualla was pulled away by the same shadow as both figures were knocked backward away from the huge attack that Ileot unleashed

Those figures spun away almost helplessly Finally Randidly thawed out His heart beat again accelerating rapidly Gritting his teeth Randidly reached out and touched the branch of the World Tree next to him to teleport in the path of the two charred figures With gentle hands Randidly reached out and slowed them both

thank you Randidly said solemnly taking in Lady IellayaÆs rather miserable figure His hands were trembling so badly he hid them behind his back Aside from most of her skin showing signs of burn Randidly didnÆt miss that it looked like Lady IellayaÆs wings had been amputated from her back

Jesus I almost died Vualla blinked and patted her singed clothes But what happened How did Ileot get so much strength all of a sudden I thought he was wounded from his fight with the Nether King

Randidly opened his mouth as he remembered those dark tears on IleotÆs face but then he suppressed the impulse and glanced at Lady Iellaya

As he expected it seemed like she knew understood something The arrival of her and IleotÆs power wasnÆt a coincidence Lady IellayaÆs face curled into a scowl that would be my fault I believe I believe that he absorbed whatever power I was relying on to match the Nether King previously I was forced to cut that power out of me

Neither of the other two figures resisted as Randidly reached out and seized both the womenÆs wrists Ileot had released another huge river of white lightning and right before it arrived the three of them they vanished But IleotÆs face that was stained by black tears just sneered River after river of white lightning forked and flowed throughout the surrounding area Seemingly no longer caring about how much Aether he was spending he forced Randidly to repeatedly activate his Nether Ritual to move them out of the way of the destructive blasts of energy

These attacks arenÆt nearly as strong as they look but the image within is brutal And all this energy

Finally Lady Iellaya shook off RandidlyÆs hand and drifted back away from him Although the dominant expression on her face was grief she still jabbed her finger determinedly down toward Ileot Swacc We cannot dodge forever We need to attack

Gritting his teeth Randidly reached out and grabbed onto Lady Iellaya once more In the next instant another river of white lightning rushed through the location where they had just been standing This time however Randidly willingly let go of Lady IellayaÆs arm as it became clear that Ileot had given up on trying to hit them with his horrifying rivers of white lightning Instead he simply began to unleash barrage after barrage to hit RandidlyÆs image directly

The first directly blast shocked Randidly so much that he almost lost all of it Yggdrasil flickered ominously before he had gathered control of the situation quickly understanding the way to make all of the connections redundant and not reliant on a core area to make the Nether Ritual work So even as Ileot methodically carved out huge portions of the World TreeÆs trunk Randidly maintained the ritual Which at least gave them time to talk

Vualla cut in first If my guess is correct that source of energy is actually another version of myself The original copy of me who gathered up all the energy of death from across the battlefield right now ThatÆs the energy that heÆs now slowly receiving

Randidly frowned toward Vualla but Lady Iellaya already leaned forward and began speaking with obvious wariness in her voice He tried to avoid looking at the stumps of torn flesh on her back All the more reason we need to strike quickly before he recovers his energy These huge blasts might be powerful but we can avoid them If we combine forces

HeÆs using those powerful but predictable blasts to buy time Randidly said slowly as he looked toward Ileot His frown deepened as he examined the Aether in the DuplicatorÆs chest Basically all of the Aether constructs that formed Ileot Swacc were once more back online Every second he absorbs more of that energy By the time we finish planning he will back to full power And then

So we strike now Lady Iellaya said again This time she turned her focus to Vualla SheÆs your duplication huh Well sheÆs damned fucked up about how she treats people Do you know her weakness As long as we can strike her and cut her off from Ileot he will lose his access to energy

probably pointless to point out that this Vualla duplication was the greatest energy utilization genius in the history of the System Randidly felt very cold Even if she had a weakness we

While VuallaÆs face creased in thought a final blast of white lightning shattered the protective image of the World Tree around them The tear stained face of Ileot slowly swiveled to look up toward their current position Once more the black veins on his forehead bulged and Ileot sneered

After a brief hesitation Vualla said sheÆs definitely mentally weak And both of them are so obsessed with karma so I think that if we use me as a distraction to establish contact you two will have an opening to strike

VuallaÆs confidence returned as she smiled brightly toward Randidly In her expression there was so much trust that Randidly felt a deep fear that he would leave Vualla disappointed Lightly she said I told you I would open up a path after all

Left unsaid was the realization that Vualla had almost died before and Randidly had not acted in time to save her RandidlyÆs hands continued to tremble behind his back His palms were sweaty

Then we strike to crush them both Lady Iellaya said as she pounded her fists together He wonÆt let us live and we arenÆt able to escape the only thing we can do is fight our way out of here

that might not actually be true With that terrible chilling pessimism Randidly met IleotÆs gaze Crying black tears he looked like a child who had discovered mascara for the first time The effect was comical in a horrifying way But as Randidly looked down at Ileot he admitted in his heart that he couldnÆt beat Ileot in power even with a distraction And certainly it seemed like talking about karma would only incense him

The whole of IleotÆs capabilities seemed to have now returned He was an ancient existence who could somehow create world sized projections and nurture duplications Even with a miracle even with a drop of liquid Aether and Inspiration even with the perfect weapon that he could find with All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth Randidly couldnÆt see a way to win

But he had learned his lesson from Azriel in the past Assuming you had to win in every situation left you ignorant to other avenues of escape Which had been drawn into even sharper focus when Vualla had mentioned karma and Lady Iellaya reminded the group that Ileot wouldnÆt let them escape

is that really the case

Lady Iellaya’s determination was admirable but Randidly knew that there were things in this world that couldn’t be overcome solely with determination He looked now at Ileot’s black eyes and saw that baleful wall So with slow movements Randidly draw the PhilosopherÆs Key from his belt

Even if the only path forward Lady Iellaya could see was through destruction Randidly had the capability to open a door

Chapter 1223

Randidly’s grip on the heavy golden key was extremely light Just his fingertips were touching the warm surface Raising the key Randidly felt the strange lines of karma spreading out throughout the Great Rift around them resonating with the tip of the key Which did confirm that karma was a force present everywhere but Randidly didn’t examine the situation too closely at the moment

Not when Ileot is glaring up at us like that

Instead his Grim Intuition spread slowly outward passing by Lady Iellaya and Vualla and their complicated situations Then Randidly felt the lines of slowly dispersing karma from the huge area of land that had been reclaimed by the Great Rift Feeling somewhat overmatched Randidly sensed the powerful lines of dormant karma that were slowly coming back to life as the Great Rift once more ruled the area

No matter how this ended the Nether had won a battle in the ancient war against Aether

As he slowly slid the key forward through the air Randidly also felt the strange karma of the Nether King He could feel its pain and agony but also there was a confusing swirl of pulsing emotions that kept the impressions shallow and capricious Almost like the determined and obnoxious presence of commercials on television And Randidly turned increasingly solemn as he saw the way that there seemed to be two types of Nether present in the Nether King The first was the substance of the Nether King but around it

Quite like the System was based heavily on Nether Rituals whatever was wrapped tightly around the Nether King seemed to be based on Aether It created a tight weave of Nether based upon Aether principles giving shape to the Nether King’s wild emotions But it also functioned as a natural break preventing the Nether KingÆs emotions from spinning out of control

Perhaps thatÆs what grants the Nether King itÆs intelligence

Shaking his head Randidly focused toward his main target Ileot Swacc The black veins that covered his face had only grown more pronounced in the past thirty seconds At this point they were long oily serpents that stretched across his head and down his bulging neck The whites of Ileot’s eyes looked very pale as those black tears stained the area surrounding his eyes

Small amounts of that blackness spread to the eyes themselves staining slowly outward like ink in water

“Are you afraid Randidly Ghosthound ” Lady Iellaya asked quietly when it had become clear that Randidly didn’t intend to go along with her plan to fight against Ileot Swacc Despite the casual delivery of the question her stiff spine hinted at her hidden fury Randidly for his part grew only more sure of his decision to avoid a confrontation as he finally sensed the lines of karma that led to Ileot’s core

As Randidly touched that core of that manÆs karma he suddenly saw how the strange knots that had troubled him were slowly connected with each other With a small frown Randidly followed the karma from Ileot to the surrounding area to the Vualla standing beside Randidly and the Vualla riding within her and then to the Vualla that now became a part of Ileot Swacc himself Randidly also traced the karma out to the unconscious body of a duplicated Eliot who was likely hidden in one of the nearby pieces of stone debris by Vualla

Unwilling to let the issue go Lady Iellaya continued to speak as Ileot’s aura continued unceasingly to rise “Inactivity is a choice Life will not wait for you to seize the chances it provides for you “

“Trust him ” Vualla interrupted She raised her hand and put it on Randidly’s shoulder that was covered by a bulging Sulfur pauldron “Randidly is just saying this isn’t something that we can fight our way out of We aren’t that strong But do either of us seem like weÆve given up There are other ways to survive this “

After a long glance both women turned to look toward the ominous form of Ileot Swacc At this point the thick rivers of white lightning had wrapped themselves together to create a flowing circle of energy that spun around him Small wisps of flames sparked outward and then hung in the area around Ileot rapidly creating almost a hundred of those passive white lightning blasts just while they watched

More were created every second

Meanwhile Randidly’s mind was rapidly following his instincts The sudden decision of Ileot to ambush Randidly was too quick even for a powerful and decisive individual raised in the SystemÆs bloodthirsty manner Whatever has happened today had clearly pushed Ileot into an unusual emotional state Most likely because he was tainted by the same problematic opinions on karma that Vualla had mentioned before

and based on what I can see that opinion on karma came from the other version of Vualla that is riding as a passenger in her body right now Wielding the Philosopher’s Key Randidly rapidly attempted to sort through the dense karma extending out from Ileot Swacc And it seems like that passenger is actually the original

For a short time Randidly followed that maze of karma down the rabbit hole to try and understand the different versions of Vualla He saw that the original was wounded and then was saved by Eliot who sustained a mortal blow while protecting her The original dearly wished to be able to save her brother that saved her but was unwilling or unable to do so in that frantic moment

At the same time Eliot activated his duplication ability and ironically the first duplicated Vualla was that cold darkness that took the original Eliot’s life And much of Ileot’s current fear was that this would be a repeat of that situation that had taken his original life But the complicating factor was that as a result his fear wasnÆt tied into the Nether King but that first Vualla duplication

Congratulations Your Fate The Philosopher’s Key has grown to Level 87

Ileot began to stir to action His gaze focused on the three of them who floated uneasily in a tight clump above him More and more tiny white flames hopped off of that ring around him to float ominously in a steadily growing stockpile of blasts

“You better hurry ” Lady Iellaya said with forced calmness I refuse to die here

If you need to run away weÆd understand IÆm sure Ileot would kill us before chasing after you Vualla said playfully If he hadnÆt been frantically combing through the karma in the area to understand how they could escape this Randidly would have rolled his eyes

But to his surprise Lady Iellaya responded very seriously I donÆt forget the debts I owe As long as you might need my help IÆll be here

Randidly bit his lip and ignored the rest of the conversation to focus on his own understanding Lady Iellaya’s idea about targeting the Vualla duplication that was currently latched onto Ileot was probably the right idea but hell if I know how to target her in the short term If there a way to stall for time

Then Randidly smiled Even as Ileot began to raise his hands toward the trio Randidly pushed forward with his key until it settled into a groove of karma The Philosopher the shy boy who so quietly watched the people around him change and decide that the world was a certain sort of way and that truth would never change the boy who had been on the brink of losing his spark of wonder before the System arrived glanced casually toward Lady Iellaya The spark of possibilities danced across his gaze “Be ready to throw up something to keep us safe “

Lady Iellaya pursed her lips “If I could block Ileot’s attacks we wouldn’t be in this situation now would we “

“Ileot isn’t what you need to block ” Randidly said lightly But he turned his attention back to the key in his hand without clarifying For all that Lady Iellaya was in an extremely pessimistic mood she would still act appropriately when the time came Randidly released the key and held his palm over it The key didn’t waver seemingly fixed in the air Karma became concrete before his key

Before him was the solid wall of power that threatened to force them to die Randidly’s emerald eyes flashed as he pressed his will against the PhilosopherÆs Key “Open “

Congratulations Your Fate Philosopher’s Key has grown to Level 88

There was an extremely strong resistance at first but then the Philosopher’s Key in Randidly’s hand slowly turned The weave of Nether that was created based on the principles of Aether strained for a second to keep itself together but then it ripped to shreds

The Nether KingÆs core was freed

An ominous and very familiar noise spread outward as whatever strange substance that bound the Nether KingÆs remaining strength was ripped away The Nether in the surrounding area instantly became tumultuous and acidic The remaining pieces of stone floating in the Great Rift shrunk at a visible rate Even Ileot nearing the peak of his power by being fueled with the energy the duplicate Vualla prepared went pale and was forced to turn toward the wounded remnants of the Nether King

Randidly’s hand twitched painfully as the powerful reverberations the Nether King released resonated with his Philosopher’s Key Gritting his teeth Randidly used his trembling limbs to remove his key from its spot within the Nether King’s karma Every second that his hand was clenched around the golden key agony forked up his arm By the time that Randidly managed to tear it away blood dripped from his lips from the gash his teeth made in his cheek

Jesus that was horrible Randidly released a shaky breath

“Did you ” Lady Iellaya hissed but before Randidly could even respond the Nether King’s fury seemed to have realized that it was no longer bound Its energy ballooned upward

The Nether in the area seemed to slowly begin to rotate as the Nether King imposed his will on his domain The Great Rift shivered in recognition of its power Ileot who had just been maliciously eyeing Randidly Lady Iellaya and Vualla now glared furiously at the revived Nether King Lady Iellaya’s image of the serpent that had ripped off its own raven wings wound its way around the trio insulating them from the worst of the damage

“I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU ” Ileot bellowed The wriggling black veins in his head slowly tightened as madness consumed Ileot’s gaze Soon it looked like a black cage covered the skin of his face

Although Randidly already gave a lot of his forcefully recovered mental strength drained to open up the weave around the Nether King he still paused to spread out his Nether Gatekeeper bubble and superimpose it on Lady Iellaya’s image Together only the smallest portion of the damage seeped through And although none of them were capable of rivaling the forces that now clashed once more also none of them were weak

What we need is time Randidly thought calmly to himself Or rather I desperately needed time to figure this out The Nether King seemed to have been deeply wounded and was slowly depleting his own strength previously But this way the Nether King’s remaining strength will be depleted more quickly and spent to distract Ileot Admittedly there is a small chance that Ileot is overcome and the rest of us will need to now fight the Nether King but our prior situation was one with a powerful entity determined to kill us anyway the consequences of failing this gamble were the same as us doing nothing

Of course Ileot certainly won’t want to discuss whether he should kill us after this Randidly winced lightly then shook his head

Vualla squeezed his shoulder in encouragement and Randidly flashed her a smile Then he closed his eyes and focused

Randidly had only experienced the briefest contact with the duplicated Vualla the one that was now fueling IleotÆs rampage At the time he had assumed the Vualla he sensed in his mind was one of his own imagination It was only after he had felt that strange familiar shadow in the remaking of Lady IellayaÆs Class that it had occurred to Randidly that whatever he felt was more concrete than momentary speculation

Hers was a life that was defined by the decision to not go and speak with her father Or at least that was what Randidly had assumed at the time when he had listened to Ileot slander her But the karma that Randidly now felt as he stretched out the unadorned PhilosopherÆs Key was more complicated than that There wasnÆt a single instance that curdled her life it was a series of decisions that repeated that unfortunate point that would eventually define her

She was raised by the duplicated Ileot who was desperate to gain strength She had learned from his repeated lessons how terrible the price of failure was IleotÆs brush with death was conveyed to Vualla in its entirety and she learned never to face that fear

To her Ileot was the father she never spoke to despite his obvious pain So from observation Vualla learned that pain should be eternalized and forged into a sharp blade Through her every action she couldnÆt escape the shadow of death Everything was to avoid that tragedy All fear was ignored until it could be smelted into something violent and useful

She adhered to those principles so strictly that she never reached out to anyone When she returned to the real world from the projection she had absorbed EliotÆs life without even thinking about it And if she realized the enormity of what she had done later she ignored it until it could become power

In every fight the duplicated Vualla was all alone She drowned in her own darkness as her own ignored emotions piled up faster than her power could grow

Most interesting to Randidly in both the situation with the original Vualla and with Ileot now she didnÆt act independently She didnÆt have the will for it any longer All of her desire had been buried She could only provide that power she so desperately sought It was by becoming entirely a source of power that Vualla could avoid facing the ignored emotions

In a way the duplicated Vualla had pursued power so long that she no longer knew what she wanted

well I can help with that Randidly light touched the drop of liquid Aether in his chest He might not need it to affect Ileot and the duplicated Vualla but he couldnÆt take the risk of failing on the first attempt Besides just glancing beyond the barrier of the serpent image and RandidlyÆs rather fragile bubble revealed how minuscule RandidlyÆs power was here He was an adrift sailor as the darkness of a night time sea threated to drown them all Storm clouds were heavy overhead

Seven huge veins of white lightning smashed aside a huge wave of caustic Nether The titanic collision jarred Randidly teeth even through their defenses Strange twisted masses of grey putty the size of small houses were produced as the two types of energy were forced into close proximity Just as quickly as they formed the swirling Nether eradicated that putty by devouring it in small rapid bites Weird currents of Nether gathered to force the river of white lightning backward but IleotÆs power continued to climb

All the while the Nether KingÆs keening cry continued

Three of the riverlike veins of Aether spun together and smashed apart another wave of thick Nether that the Nether KingÆs cry had created Then two more rivers forced its way forward attempting to cut through the extremely dense Nether directly around the Nether King that continued to shroud its body from view Ileot wielded them like massive whips to viciously dismantle the Nether KingÆs defense

IleotÆs eyes were completely blank now as the strange side effects of hosting the duplicated Vualla continually stained him Those terrible emotions that the duplicated couldnÆt handle slowly overwhelmed his reason His attacks hadnÆt the slightest hint of artifice at this point Ileot simply used ferocity to smash its weapons forward and bludgeon the foe

Perfect All I need now Randidly narrowed his gaze then blinked as Vualla turned him to face her directly Her eyes were shocking azure

The corner of her mouth quirked up as they gazed at each other You donÆt need to handle everything yourself You still need a path opened up

Apparently Randidly didnÆt hide his hesitation as well as he thought because Vualla rolled her eyes at his response Relax I wonÆt be doing it alone isnÆt that right Will you help me make this choice

Lady Iellaya frowned as Vualla just looked down at her own feet while asking the question Me

But Randidly immediately understood that Vualla hadnÆt aimed the question at Lady Iellaya Instead Randidly could feel the other Vualla the original Vualla stir within his VuallaÆs chest

The original Vualla hesitated Vualla simply smiled shyly at the ground and waited Outside of their little alcove Aether and Nether howled its eternal fury and ripped into each other Nether and Aether grasped and ripped at each other in desperate struggle The original Vualla sighed and seemed to ask Vualla a question

I trust you because we are the same person Vualla spared Randidly a glance and because no matter what happened in the past we would make the same decisions about our future Those decisions are how we earn our karma

As Randidly felt the other Vualla slowly agree Randidly returned his golden key to his belt

Ready Randidly asked lightly

Ready Vualla responded and Randidly could sense the difference in her voice In fact he abruptly realized that the Vualla he interacted with earlier in the day hadnÆt been the usual Vualla

which explains her strange words when I kissed her earlier Randidly thought But he dismissed that thought as less important than the current crisis

Sighing Lady Iellaya shook her head Even if most of the front is destroyed IÆm still the highest ranking soldier remaining yet why do I feel like you two are ignoring me

Yet despite Lady IellayaÆs complaints she lowered her image at the same time that Randidly pulled back his Nether Gatekeeper bubble Instantly the three were buffeted by the roaring discharge that washed outward from the struggle between the two powerful figures below them In that moment of hesitation Vualla stepped forward with such unassuming and determined movements that she cut cleanly through the unpredictable energy

First one punch and then a second the original Vualla paved a pathway down toward IleotÆs back With his Grim Intuition Randidly felt the way that the skin from VuallaÆs knuckles bubbled and then was torn off revealing cartilage and bone Flecks of blood dribbled down her fingers but Vualla didnÆt slow in the slightest

Each punch cut open the wave of energy but there were so many waves that each punch only freed up a single step So Vualla took another step forward and punched again perfecting that image of sharpness to keep abreast with the increasing frequency of the energy waves as they neared Ileot Swacc

RandidlyÆs Willpower tightened around the thrumming drop of liquid Aether in his chest It was as though it knew that its time would soon come and it was trembling excitedly It was the last bet that Randidly was going to make and the one that might see him quite dead if it failed

But there is more than enough fear present here already I wonÆt waver Ten more meters

JUST DIE ALREADY Ileot roared with enough volume to briefly suppress the groaning sound of the Nether King But just as quickly the Nether King continued to steadily grind at the surrounding individuals with its powerful and monotonous song

Randidly reached back and seized Lady IellayaÆs wrist In a low voice he whispered DonÆt look when I produce this light But after the light ceases grab Vualla and me and pull us back as quickly as you can Flee right back to your fort Hopefully my plan will take care of Ileot and then we can wait out the Nether King

After nodding Lady Iellaya gave Randidly a somewhat helpless look while inclining her head toward Vualla Both tried to not look as Vualla in front of them wavered from the constant barrage of energy No matter how much her image improved she still couldnÆt improve the body she currently possessed And that body had begun to fail But Vualla quickly took another step forward and continued to chew through the intervening distance

Five more meters

They were nearing IleotÆs back now so when he screamed in fury Randidly could see over his shoulder to the black drool that extended in ropey clumps from his mouth and drip across his torso The quantity of Aether in his body was almost blinding to look at with his Aether Detection There seemed to be no limit to his power as the horrible speed of the rivers of white lightning increased Two or three smashed down against the Nether KingÆs defenses every second The reverberations became increasingly violent as Ileot steady beat the Nether King back

Two meters

Vualla threw punch after punch The bones of her left had been almost completely exposed along her knuckles and now smoked ominously For every one punch of her left hand she threw five with her right Yet because of the disparity the flesh on her right hand was quickly suffering a similar fate

One meter But this is VuallaÆs limit

You are gonna need to push me Randidly began but before he had even finished his thought Lady Iellaya grunted with exertion and forced him forward Vualla glanced sideways as he was moving forward but she graciously stepped to the side as he passed

Give me a chance to gather myself Randidly thought with an aggrieved expression as he dove headfirst into the chaotic energy in front of him Even with his the Nether Gatekeeper physique that Randidly possessed submerging himself in that sea of dense Nether was like diving into an artic stream The energy chilled him to his bones

But still Randidly was a half meter short So he groaned from the exertion and forced himself to dive a small distance deeper into the Nether His limbs flailed but he managed to cross the important distance He had arrived close enough that the powerful energies around Ileot SwaccÆs body began to ease the pressure that Randidly was under

Finally the drop of liquid Aether ignited RandidlyÆs power surged upward He wasnÆt close enough to reach out and touch Ileot but he was only a few short inches farther than that

Hey Ileot Vualla

More instinct than reason drove Ileot to twist around in suspicion His black eyes locked onto RandidlyÆs figure

Randidly smiled sadly as he looked at those pitch black tears He thought about the woman who imagined herself as a miasma hanging over a battlefield then as wings that were so large and heavy they functioned as an anchor to bind someone to the ground and then settled on horrible tears Even though he thought he already knew the answer Randidly still asked the question he needed in order to touch on the duplicated VuallaÆs weakness

Why are you doing this

Reflect Vualla Just for a single second Look at who youÆve become

His liquid Aether burned through the Lantern of Harsh Truths vastly increasing its power The passive effect became an active one as he forced the Skill to pulse with power His eyes began to glow until it seemed like emerald beams of light were shining out of his irises

Congratulations Your Skill the Lantern of Harsh Truths « has grown to Level 50

Congratulations Your Skill the Lantern of Harsh Truths « has grown to Level 82

Almost immediately the tears stopped from IleotÆs eyes Something vital in the duplicated Vualla fell to pieces Vualla looked at herself and faced a truth she had run away from for most of her life Probably since the moment she had used EliotÆs life to seize power

The air seemed to whisper the answer that the entire battlefield could hear Nether didnÆt obscure the words in the least

I hate myself

Chapter 1224

Randidly had burned the drop of liquid Aether in his chest without any hesitation Every ounce of his remaining mental strength was thrown behind the image of the Skill the Lantern of Harsh Truths It wasnÆt actually related to any of RandidlyÆs three created images but was rather a Skill he received directly because of his Class the Lord of the Baleful Wood

Still Lantern of Harsh Truths was clearly pretty closely related to the partially evolved Ignition Essence image So when he activated it Randidly could clearly feel the depression and helplessness that filled IllymÆs heart surging outward through his limbs Perhaps that heavy weight of emotion was exactly why Randidly could clearly feel the duplicated Vualla riding with Ileot fall to pieces

Those similar emotions became a bridge and that bridge became a blade If the duplicated Vualla was a marionette all of its strings had just been cut

Not that Randidly fared particularly well either He had likely missed it when using the liquid Aether the first time perhaps due to his groggy state but burning liquid Aether forced away other Aether in the surrounding area Even RandidlyÆs own pure Aether in its most basic form was forced away Which resulted in a split second of immense weakness before RandidlyÆs Aether Crossroads rapidly recharged his energy

That side effect probably why Ileot was in such a weakened state earlier itÆs rough not having your own Aether Crossroads

The current Ileot blinked his eyes when faced with the brilliant emerald light seemingly too lost in his own emotions to be affected by the Lantern of Harsh Truths But almost immediately the black tears ceased oozing out of the pores around his eyes IleotÆs eyeballs appeared to still be stained by the inky tears that were already cried but as he blinked more and more of his original eyes were revealed

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 181

Randidly didnÆt resist as Lady Iellaya followed his earlier instructions and seized his waist as IleotÆs eyes narrowed in fury Even if Ileot SwaccÆs emotional state had shielded him from the same sort of disastrous realization that the duplicated Vualla had received it seemed RandidlyÆs lantern was potent enough to shock him back to something close to clarity

Yet the mission had accomplished its goal for the moment Randidly didnÆt miss the way that there was no longer any Aether flooding to fuel IleotÆs rapid Aether expenditure Not that meant much There was still more than enough burning Aether in IleotÆs chest for him to squash Randidly like a bug And gradually the resolve in IleotÆs eyes formed

Randidly didnÆt look away as he was pulled backward Wavy reverberations of Nether framed IleotÆs body in a nova of darkness Almost gently the huge whips of white lightning twined there way back to IleotÆs side as he switched his targets to the arrogant Randidly Ghosthound who had struck at the duplicated Vualla

Can he sense how important this decision is for him Randidly wondered wearily After using the Skill most of his mental fortitude drained out of him If Ileot would strike there wasnÆt much he could do to resist Is he coherent enough to understand what IÆve done or is he simply furious

The moment seemed to stretch as though IleotÆs anger were a physical force that mired Randidly in the surrounding space You really could kill me and I wouldnÆt be able to stop you And now that youÆve reclaimed most of your reason you are planning to do just that But you know

it might have been more dangerous for me if you actually were exposed to the Lantern of Harsh Truths RandidlyÆs gaze slid past Ileot to the pulsing maelstrom of Nether behind him Because you might have glimpsed the flaw at your core that will now get you killed

The Nether King took advantage of the drawn out second of inaction from Ileot and rapidly reassembled its defenses The dense Nether that had been slowly beaten back by the assault by the enormous whips of white lightning now flooded back outward pushing back the inert weapons of Ileot Swacc In addition the Nether KingÆs roar unleashed several dense ripples of Nether that harmonized strangely with each other and strengthened the final wave that thrust toward IleotÆs exposed back

FUCK Ileot bellowed as the huge attack of Nether caught him by surprise and immediately devoured a portion of IleotÆs limited amount of Aether with a sizzle Randidly watched the whole thing calmly as he was pulled back through the Great Rift as pain seized IleotÆs attention inflammatory surged forward once more across his face and completely blinded him to the surrounding situation

The threat of Randidly was forgotten Ileot didnÆt know or care about the fact his Aether was once more limited The duplicated Vualla had fallen almost completely inert now With a growl Ileot unleashed attack after attack once more trying to smash his way forward to slay the Nether King

If you saw the lantern you would likely have understood that it was your own fear and guilt that have made your life miserable for the last three thousand years if you could just let your fear go

With the Vualla in his body somehow broken by what she saw in the lantern Ileot could only frantically burn away the Aether he had received already For him the afterward had been forgotten before the demanding needs of the now He transformed into a monster of instinct and desire

Which to be fair was quite effective As Lady Iellaya pulled Randidly and Vualla back across to the area controlled by Aether Ileot had managed to once more force his way forward and could attack the Nether King directly Where grace failed him persistence and ferocity simply trampled the defenses of the Nether King

Yet to RandidlyÆs eyes his direct attacks were ultimately ineffective Because with Ileot striking away the dense Nether in his wrathful onslaught Randidly finally saw the pure form of the Nether King it was an esoteric shape at the core of all that Nether that pulsed with power Rather than a soul it looked more like a floor plan of a very small house filled with short intersecting lines

Randidly wiggled his bare toes as the trio finally settled down back on true ground He narrowed his eyes That does make it seem like the weave I opened up earlier was the component that gave the Nether King intelligence but why does it then seem like this pure symbol is so much scarier than an intelligent foe

Before his thoughts could go much further Randidly felt lightheaded and swayed It seemed like the significant strain of utilizing the PhilosopherÆs Key and then burning a drop of liquid Aether abruptly caught up to him If Vualla had stepped behind him and supported him Randidly probably would have just collapsed into a heap

You need a nap Vualla chuckled

Gritting his teeth Randidly pushed himself back to a standing position Maybe but I donÆt think we can afford to take a break now Depending on which one of them wins this fight

Really Lady Iellaya gave Randidly a strange look Then she gestured out to the echoing fight in front of them Is there really anything we can do to interfere in that It seems like your Skill worked Ileot is definitely weakening As long as the Nether King can survive the attacks Well letÆs just hope the Nether King needs to take a nap afterward as well

Ileot shrieked like a banshee and flayed Nether away from the Nether King with his huge whips of white lightning Randidly wasnÆt sure if it was his imagination or not but it appeared that the whips were becoming slightly thinner and dimmer Yet each of those strikes sent out powerful reverberations that shook the ground underneath RandidlyÆs feet In fact Randidly was eventually forced to take several steps backward as the concussive blasts from the battle caused more and more stone at the edge of the Aether territory to crack and fall off into the Great Rift

As the fight continued Ileot seemed to devolve even more directly into a frantic devil The whips of white lightning danced and cracked like they were IleotÆs own fingers Nether was blasted away to create a larger and larger opening on the Nether KingÆs strange symbol But when Ileot finally smashed against that strange symbol at the core of the Nether King it failed to damage it seriously

Although the symbol was warped it rapidly healed and then began to create more powerful Nether that swirled around ominously

Just Just die Ileot spat out his words His sweat was rapidly washing away the blank tears he had cried earlier He continued to burn his Aether with reckless abandon It seemed like the duplicated Vualla had completely folded in on herself vanishing completely after she had admitted that she hated herself

Despite the current trajectory of the fight that seemed to support Lady IellayaÆs wait and see attitude Randidly couldnÆt simply watch After huffing out a deep breath he once more drew the PhilosopherÆs Key Instantly Randidly was struck with a vicious headache but Randidly ignored the pain and extended the key toward the encroaching edge of the Great Rift The plain gold exterior gleamed dully as he sensed the karma in the surrounding area

Mostly Randidly was deeply suspicious of what was going on with the duplicated Vualla But he did find her still attached to Ileot Swacc Her figure was thin and waifish as though she was only a young girl who was clinging to her older brother She leaned against his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his neck Her eyes were half open seemingly numb to the chaos occurring in front of her

White lightning and Nether crashed against each other Strange warped byproducts of grey matter were produced and annihilated in almost the same moment As though he didnÆt notice that his attacks werenÆt effective Ileot continued to smash his huge whips against that symbol that formed the Nether King

Bit by bit Ileot burned through the Aether that the duplicated Vualla had provided to him His eyes slowly came back into focus but Ileot didnÆt cease his bestial onslaught

Randidly watched as the darkness VuallaÆs eyelids flickered DonÆt you think itÆs time to rest HavenÆt we struggled for long enough LetÆs just let it all go

Spittle and rage were expelled from IleotÆs chest in his heaving breaths More and more Randidly felt an irrational fear seizing control of Ileot As his fury gave way to consciousness his psyche had more and more cracks that allowed fear to seem through Randidly solemnly watched the duplicated Vualla tighten her arms around IleotÆs neck

With a sigh Randidly carefully replaced his key at his belt with trembling hands Then slightly reassured Randidly allowed himself to topple over sideways and be smothered by a well needed rest As though she had expected it Vualla caught him and laid him gently down onto the ground She smiled down at him and Randidly smiled back as darkness claimed him

Of course RandidlyÆs expression quickly turned sour as a familiar sense of falling whisked him away from the frontlines of the battlefield and took him to the edge of a vast forest He looked up and saw the familiar form of Kharon hanging over him

Randidly wanted to pull out his hair Really The Eidolon Crucible activated now Usually it has a more convenient timing

Yet then Randidly paused because the sensation in the air was different than the usual Eidolon Crucible Images didn’t surge forward to assault him immediately He could feel the people of Kharon around him a surprisingly large number A number that was probably double that of the last time the Skill activated But Randidly felt how the new blood had diluted the image he had left

There was a big recruitment Randidly pursed his lips and looked up toward the mobile city that he had created And there is something else Something happened Is it the final Zone appearing on Earth No that wouldnÆt cause this it also doesnÆt feel like someone else died

One thing was clear Kharon was now hesitating The hesitation seemed to ask Randidly if the path that it was taking was necessary

How long have I been away in Earth time It feels like eight months I suppose that is plenty of time for my lessons to fade from memory Necessity is as easily forgotten as convenience is adopted

As if to punctuate the question the sky was split as a huge blast of energy descended nearby and annihilated most of the tranquil forest Based on what Randidly had learned from Earth previously that was the weapon of Zone 1 Mjolnir Waves of force ripped tree trunks out of the ground and ignited them with pure energy These flaming tree crashed to the ground nearby spreading the destruction even further

Repressing the urge to sigh Randidly chuckled Do you think the future thatÆs coming will be an easy one This is the last gentle reminder that IÆm going to give you If you stay in Kharon you can never step back in the face of duty There is still so much more to do

Randidly felt the surrounding images considering that But Randidly also knew that he could offer the most compelling proof of the need for Kharon by demonstrating his current power Unfortunate that IÆm already so exhausted better make this quick It will probably mean this wonÆt be a great rest but still

Reaching to his belt Randidly calmly produced the PhilosopherÆs Key Although in the real world it was just a dull gold color it was a beacon of light in this mental world Now let me teach you a bit about how scary an image can really be

Chapter 1225

Lord Miln gradually returned to consciousness through a haze of pain His side ached and Lord Miln could distantly tell that he was missing parts of his lower body Everything pulsed and ached Still at least he was still alive With every breath more of his senses returned to him He found himself laying on a rough and unforgiving stone ground with the familiar sensation of Aether on his skin

Really thatÆs all that important As long as I still live IÆll have another chance

For a while Lord Miln simply lay there and savored the sluggish wind on his face It was warm and reassuring in a way It seemed like the world was glad to see Lord Miln return to the fold It was almost like Aether itself was bending so closely over Lord Miln to watch over him that it was breathing on him

I wonder what happened with the Nether King Since we are all not dead Ileot must have taken care of it dammit if it wasnÆt for that attack of his but no matter If the Nether King is dead things havenÆt reached a point where I cannot recover Yes I just need to make it back to my headquarters

Ah but it was all annihilated

After sighing Lord MilnÆs mood fell There was a sour taste on his tongue after all the elaborate Aether constructs he had designed had been annihilated by the casual power of the Nether King But Lord Miln didnÆt let him stay depressed for long As his body slowly recovered his optimistic mood returned to him

Starting over just means I can do it better at the very least IÆll prevent anything like the situation that happened with Randidly Ghosthound from happening again

Yet when Lord Miln opened his eyes his pupils dilated all of his optimism shriveled and died as he looked upward He was staring at the source of that breath that Lord Miln had felt on his face Lady Iellaya smiled down at him with dark and gleaming eyes

As soon as Lord Miln recognized the situation that he was in Lady Iellaya didnÆt hesitate any longer She raised her heavy leather boot and stomped on the gore y hole that she had opened in his side with her wing earlier The blood that had since dried since he had initially been wounded now cracked and oozed Groaning helplessly Lord Miln simply closed his eyes once more and attempted to endure the pain

a as long as I donÆt die

You know IÆve been thinking about it for a while Lady Iellaya said casually She twisted her heel on Lord MilnÆs side grinding the vulnerable flesh around the wound into mush I really donÆt understand karma It was just never something I bothered with on my own world You ate or were eaten that was life Yet suddenly I find myself surrounded by fools who speak so authoritatively about karma

Gasping Lord Miln pressed his eyes closed and endured the steady painful grinding of Lady IellayaÆs boot on his wound After quickly scanning his situation his outlook became even grimmer Lord Miln could tell immediately that most of his images were injured and he had several Skills that had fractured into pieces from IleotÆs Swacc attack

Although he had recovered most of his Stamina his physical body was nowhere near healed Rather than Vitality Lord Miln had put most of his Stats into Endurance

Ileot Swacc I hope your fate is one thousand times worse than mine If I get out of here

Lady Iellaya continued to speak leaning over so her nose was very close to Lord Miln Her weight pressed more and more painfully onto the oozing wound They say karma is a destiny that cannot be avoided That itÆs a powerful weapon that can cut and maim That itÆs a record of everything youÆve ever done IsnÆt it ridiculous Do they really expect me to believe that it can be all of these things at once

Then Lady Iellaya straightened She removed her foot from Lord MilnÆs wound finally allowing him to catch his breath but it clearly exists I think of them all I like RandidlyÆs definition the best that karma is the choices you are making with your every action every moment of your life And I I choose to walk to the Path I promised Abiodun I would take That I will one day rule an entire world and be able to protect my people there

Sighing Lady raised her hand and looked at it Because Lord Miln was on the ground underneath her Lady IellayaÆs entire face was covered in shadow as he looked fearfully up at her and I have to admit that taking revenge on you now for so stupidly endangering us all would harm that Path It would be so easy for it to be discovered that I was the culprit no matter my contributions in this battle Being found out would mean I lose everything

Although Lord Miln kept his breathing even he inwardly sneered Heh getting cold feet Lady Iellaya Typical Oh IÆll certainly take my time getting my revenge but now that weÆve had this discussion do you think I can let you live

But then Lady IellayaÆs face changed Her lips curled into a smile that could be seen even though the rest of her face was in darkness With a soft voice she said but I suppose I canÆt find it in me to really care Abiodun was my dearest he was my pillar And because you took that away from me I need to repay the favor no matter what the consequences are Fuck the karma involved

Lady Iellaya reached down and pressed her hand over Lord MilnÆs face Panicking Lord Miln began two twist side to side But he was simply still too weak Horrified he looked up through Lady IellayaÆs fingers and saw that her face was covered in scarlet lines that seemed to glow Her hand tightened on his face

A brown scaled serpent with crimson lines crisscrossing its body licked its lips

When Lady Iellaya pulled her hand away Lord MilnÆs life fluttered away through her fingers

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 201

With a groan Randidly sat up and rubbed his forehead with his right hand Then he released a breath and relaxed back into a laying position savoring the sensation of simply laying in the warm tent For a few seconds Randidly was almost completely at ease

Looks like the fight between Ileot and the Nether King resolved itself one way or another Randidly looked around at the unfamiliar tent Unless this is an elaborate trap where I walk outside the tent and Ileot begins to torture me or could this even be a projected world I shouldnÆt discount that possibility even if Grim Intuition didnÆt trigger while I was in the Eidolon Crucible

Randidly mobilized his Grim Intuition Instantly he could sense the tent and then the rather busy camp that sprawled around him From the messy campfires and hastily made tents it was clear that this was more of a refugee camp than a base consistent with what Randidly would have expected after the huge confrontation between Aether and Nether at the frontline As his perception spread out Randidly felt the presence of both Salazar and Zauna helping with the cooking fires and passing out food to the bedraggled column of soldiers that was patiently waiting for their meal

Grimacing Randidly attempted not to dwell on how many of the soldiers bore heavy wounds in the surrounding area Most of the surviving soldiers had missing limbs that were only now starting to heal and RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition could clearly detect that their images hadnÆt escaped the carnage Of the large army of about eighty thousand that had begun the battle there were only about fourteen thousand people milling about the camp

RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition expanded outward finally finding the familiar figures of Vualla and Lady Iellaya as well as Nadia and Kailm the two powerful individuals who guarded the Fate armory Surrounding those individuals Randidly sensed another few dozen forces but other than that it appeared there were no survivors from the battle

There were no other refugee camps

RandidlyÆs hands clenched as he spread his Grim Intuition out even farther eventually observing the battlefield directly Much of the area they had previously been stationed aside from the notable exception of Lady IellayaÆs fort had cracked and fallen into the Great Rift Even the rocky outcropping of headquarter appeared to have collapsed into that sparse darkness

But RandidlyÆs focus was inevitably drawn to the corpses They were twisted and dusty bloody and horrified tear stained and smelling of shit Nether Beast and Aether soldier lay together locked into a distorted embrace Some seemed filled with rage as though they hadnÆt even noticed that death came to them Others were crying their faces covered in salt and panic

So many people died Randidly could only sigh Even though he felt so inadequate it was hard to know what else he could have done There are no perfect paths only appropriate ends

After a minute of letting the horror of war sink in Randidly pulled back his focus and turned his attention to one last check to make sure he wasnÆt currently in a projection world made by Ileot Swacc

He pulled the PhilosopherÆs Key and felt the karma of the air He thrust the key forward and aimed for the karma of the battlefield where Ileot and the Nether King had fought No matter if his senses could be fooled by the projection Randidly believed it would be almost impossible to hide the karma of the battlefield And if this wasnÆt the true battlefield Randidly was confident that the PhilosopherÆs Key would be able to open a path to that location

Luckily Randidly found nothing even after several minutes of searching Feeling a deep relief he returned the PhilosopherÆs Key to his belt ThereÆs the possibility that Ileot could disguise even this but it seems unlikely considering how rabid he was toward the end Seriously though this Fate is quite useful No real offensive power but it terms of utility I couldnÆt have asked for anything more

Considering that he had been left alone Randidly quickly inspected his own situation Finding himself well rested he chewed on his lip for a few seconds then decided to try and help the surrounding wounded So Randidly turned his focus inward and began to refine a drop of liquid Aether that he could use with Yggdrasil to spread a general aura of healing With the boost of liquid Aether the process would be much less time consuming

An hour and a half later an exhausted Randidly stared at the glowing violet drop of liquid that floated above his palm

Looks like condensing liquid Aether is harder than I thought RandidlyÆs mouth twisted It also requires that the Aether have the opportunity to soak up my image then be bound together by my emotions Most of the older Aether I possessed that fit that criteria was used to make the first two drops of liquid Aether while the rest was used to make this one I can obviously flood myself with more Aether but IÆll need to let my image settle into it before I can refine more

With my images growing more potent it shouldnÆt take that long to shape the Aether sufficiently But still my access to liquid Aether will be much more restricted than I had thought no wonder that people relying on System Aether have such difficulty creating liquid Aether

For several minutes Randidly struggled with the decision over whether to save this drop But eventually he could only shake his head sadly It was a selfish thought but part of being a ruler was making the hard decisions not to casually use his resources to help unaffiliated individuals For now Randidly would keep the drop of liquid Aether in reserve

Besides RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition had also sensed the presence of the dormant Nether King just beyond the edge of the Great Rift Likely in the same spot where it had been while under the attacks of Ileot Just in case they would once more need to fight the Nether King Randidly planned on holding the liquid Aether back

Therefore Randidly got up twisted side to side to crack his back and then walked out into the refugee camp to begin healing the surrounding people the old fashioned way

Chapter 1226

Congratulations Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 190

Congratulations Your Skill the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 199

Wiping the blood on his hands off on his leather apron Randidly nodded to the gracious patient and turned to face the figure that walked into the medical tent Randidly had set up on the outskirts of the refugee camp and hadnÆt made a secret of his location so he had honestly been expecting someone much earlier Kailm the father of Illym and one of the two individuals who guarded the Fate armory regarded Randidly solemnly in the well lit tent

He clearly came on official business

Randidly beckoned Zauna and then nodded toward the entrance For a bit donÆt let anyone else into the clinic IÆll let you know when IÆm ready to continue

Zauna gave Randidly a look like she wished he would take a longer break to recover and Randidly could only smile awkwardly in response he had been working to heal the bodies and images of the fourteen thousand survivors for almost thirty hours straight since he had awoken in that tent But despite her thoughts Zauna kept her mouth shut and walked out of the tent

Which is why I picked her as an assistant instead of Salazar

Sighing Randidly walked over to a basin of water and washed the remainder of blood off of his hands It wasnÆt even that Randidly was particularly knowledgeable about medicine With the System Randidly really didnÆt have to me But with his Skill Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Randidly could rapidly heal wounds to images Which was a feat that no other could manage at the scale he could handle

For physical wounds Randidly simply provided some of his own diluted blood as a powerful source of energy that the patientÆs body could break down and use as fuel The process made Randidly nervous at first as the most common previous use for his blood was to make metal more structurally powerful but after several patients ingested his blood without any negative side effects Randidly just accepted it as a very versatile liquid

Still actions like this are a good way to imbue my image into my Aether to prepare to create more liquid Aether Randidly reflected Then he dried his hands almost instantly by conjuring a flash of emerald fire and turned to face Kailm IÆm glad you made it out alive I lost your position after the initial stages of the battle

Unspoken was the fact that Illym KailmÆs daughter had become an integral part of RandidlyÆs Ignition Essence image For a second Kailm seemed to struggle with that same truth Yet in the end both men remained silent

When he finally spoke Kailm simply looked tired it was chaotic I got caught in the initial noises of the Nether King and then had to retreat But anyway while you were working here Lady Iellaya as acting Supreme Commander of the frontlines was able to establish communications with the military checkpoint and make a full report Your work here is obviously important but you should come to meet the messenger from headquarters Although they are technically just a messenger an Admiral of the Xyrt Brigade was dispatched Which means either punishment or promotions are coming for all of us

Randidly clicked his tongue Admiral of the Xyrt Brigade

ItÆs basically the equivalent of a Commander on a frontline Kailm shook his head But also all Admirals possess power thatÆs not at all weaker than a Supreme Commander ThatÆs why the Xyrt Brigade possesses basically unmatched influence in the Nexus

Keeping his thoughts to himself Randidly followed Kailm outside of the tent Both men relied on their powerful bodies and images to leap up and cleanly escape the limits of the refugee camp leaving the long line of injured behind them When they landed Kailm made a beeline for the Great Rift

Perhaps became of the fact that Randidly had used the Skill Golden Roots of Yggdrasil fueled by a drop of liquid Aether at the location Lady IellayaÆs camp continued to stubbornly stand It jutted out over the edge of the Great Rift even as the surrounding ground was weakened and destroyed by the influence of Nether

Looks like a great base for a mad scientist Randidly thought idly as the two approached it from the front Precarious balance on the edge of a cliff that could collapse at any moment hanging before a vast darkness filled with strange blue veins constantly filled with the sounds of the ominous groaning of the ground beneath your feet and the humming of the mysterious sleep of the Nether King

Randidly had made some quiet inquiries while he was healing patients and also mobilized his own Grim Intuition to study the remains of the Nether King But after its energy had overwhelmed the weakened Ileot Swacc it had been continued to continually summon more and denser Nether to create a cocoon around itself

Some worried that this was just a prelude to another offensive when the Nether King had recovered which was why the refugee camp had been moved quite a distance back away from the edge of the Great Rift But at least for the moment there was no aggression from the Nether King

Very quickly the two walked into the central courtyard and found several figures waiting for them there When they arrived Kailm split off from Randidly and joined Nadia against the far wall Nadia nodded politely toward Randidly and then brought her focus back around the to central three figures

Lady Iellaya stood on the right with her arms folded across her chest When he entered she instantly gave Randidly a pointed look that told him to behave His lip curling upward Randidly glanced casually at the figure on the left it was a man who was vaguely familiar After studying him for a while Randidly belated realized he was the leader of Lord MilnÆs expert troop Honestly Randidly was somewhat surprised that he had survived Those troops had been right next to the Nether King when it had released the most damaging of its noises

Finally RandidlyÆs eyes settled on the middle figure His skin was bright red and he possessed two tusks jutting out of his mouth His uniform was black with silver trim including several glimmering medals across his chest Aside from that it was the muscular manÆs other teeth that caught RandidlyÆs attention They were extremely large and blocky As he smiled Randidly could only see about four huge teeth both on the top and bottom of his jaw

And you must be the Xyrt Brigade Admiral Well he certainly makes my Grim Intuition tingle dangerously Randidly rubbed his chin and glanced around Then he walked over to join Vualla and the four other surviving Commanders who stood in a small group in front of the central three figures Some of the other second in commands were scattered against the walls like Kailm and Nadia intently focused on the Admiral of the Xyrt Brigade

If everyone is here letÆs begin The Admiral spoke in a deep rumbling voice He flicked his hand and an ornate scroll manifested there With extreme gentleness he unfurled the scroll and began to read After studying the various reports and memorandums filed the Nexus Imperial Command has decided on the following resolutions to deal with the aftermath of the attack by the Nether King on the Forefather Frontline

Number one having given his life for the Nexus Lord Erron Miln as represented of all the deceased will be honored as a hero Over the next hundred years his homeworld will receive a triple tithe of Aether

Even as the Admiral continued to speak RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition didnÆt miss the way that Lady Iellaya abruptly became completely still As though she was forcefully suppressing the urge to flinch Shaking his head at the injustice Randidly turned back to idly listen to the rest of the scroll

Thankfully there were only eight resolutions so the reading didnÆt last very long Most of it had to do with the restructuring of the forces here at the frontlines Randidly was rather gratified when he heard resolution six that Lady Jesse Iellaya be named Supreme Commander of this battlefront

However the next two resolutions left RandidlyÆs face creased in a worried frown

Number seven in reward of their exemplary performance in the above mentioned battle the following individuals are promoted to Commander Davis Sala Quea Szah and Randidly Ghosthound Per Nexus regulations for ad hoc battlefield promotions all of their remaining sentences at the frontlines will be adjusted to five years regardless of their current duty

Number eight Vualla Meteo will be transferred from this the Forefathers Frontline to the Inverted Spire to receive probationary training for the Xyrt Brigade And if there is nothing further you are all dismissed

Without waiting for any answer the Admiral left Lord MilnÆs second followed soon after seemingly pleased A few of the other Commanders that had previously never given Randidly the time of day walked over to him and offered him their congratulations He received them politely but kept giving Lady Iellaya sidelong glares

This is NOT what we agreed on spending five more years here Even if it would greatly strengthen my images the Earth will definitely encounter its first Calamity by then

But Randidly could tell from Lady IellayaÆs expression that there was more going on that met the eye So Randidly kept silent about his true feelings until the rest of the individuals who had been present in the courtyard departed A half hour after the eight resolutions had been read aloud to the remaining powerful individuals on the front line Lady Iellaya Vualla and Randidly were alone in the fort Without having to say anything all three walked up the rickety wooden stairs to the still slightly lopsided battlement

For several seconds after they arrived all three eyed the drifting blue veins suspiciously Then they followed the movements of the Xyrt Brigade Admiral as he cautiously flew out into the Great Rift to investigate the strange swirling Nether around the inert Nether King

Finally Randidly coughed lightly

To his surprise it was Vualla that sighed this oneÆs my fault sorry Randidly But I truly think it will be worth it

Frowning Randidly asked What do you mean

This time Lady Iellaya spoke up Your girlfriend wanted to keep the body of Ileot Swacc HeÆs not dead simply well you should take a look at it later Heh the duplicated Vualla really did a number on him But the headquarters certainly doesnÆt believe that we donÆt know where the body of Ileot is So using a battlefield promotion to lock us into five years of mandatory service can be considered our punishment

Then Lady Iellaya gestured to Vualla Of course the real irony is that Vualla here is under no suspicion whatsoever She wasnÆt seen heading to the final battlefield like both of us were So sheÆs even being groomed to be a member of the Xyrt Brigade

but I canÆt serve this term Randidly said blankly I need to get back to Earth as quickly as possible Maybe I could stay here for a few more months but beyond that Lady Iellaya can you use your authority to do something about it

Relax I wonÆt let it come to that Vualla reached out and squeezed RandidlyÆs hand The whole reason that I need IleotÆs body is so that I can replace the original VuallaÆs body at the core of the overlay System Once sheÆs freed she will be able to dismiss us from military service directly It shouldnÆt take more than six months to handle the transition

Randidly blinked slowly as he began to unpack what that would mean Freeing up the original Vualla

But before he came to grips with that news Lady Iellaya chuckled Besides youÆre a Commander now Randidly Ghosthound did you think you couldnÆt take a vacation

Chapter 1227

A week after the trioÆs talk on the edge of Lady IellayaÆs fortifications Randidly Ghosthound kneeled next to the still breathing corpse of Ileot Swacc and sighed Of the original three Lady Iellaya was not present occupied as she now constantly was by re establishing a semblance of command on the frontline

Only a half meter away from Randidly IleotÆs face was twisted into a grimace and his eyes were squinting with the strain of making out a distant object His own hands were at his throat the fingers tense with the strain of squeezing his own windpipe shut The hairless skin of IleotÆs neck was sweat and red

The most ominous detail of the strange posture was that the tips of IleotÆs fingers were almost completely covered in a black substance The latex like covering of the duplicated Vualla had seized control of his hands and used them to wrestle Ileot into eternal submission Thick bulging black veins wound their way up from IleotÆs fingers to his arms showing the extent of the influence that the duplicated Vualla wielded against him

I guess this too is karma Randidly thought as he studied the scene Even with his windpipe almost entirely shut Ileot still released whisper like breaths And Randidly couldnÆt extinguish the fear in his heart that Ileot would manage someday to revive himself just like the original Vualla had

Vualla says the original assured her that it was only because of the energy that I donated to Vualla that she was awakened and it was only because of the very direct connection between the original and the array on the frontlines that she siphoned off enough energy to eventually manifest in VuallaÆs body RandidlyÆs emerald eyes were chillingly cold as he looked toward IleotÆs helpless form Even those though events are positively impossible to be duplicated as long as Eliot still lives

Eliot the duplicated version of the original Ileot had not awoken yet from the coma he was sent into from his experience near the Nether King Randidly knew that the safest choice was to kill Eliot but also knew that wasnÆt really an option Especially when it seemed like EliotÆs life would flicker out at any moment all on its own

Yet Randidly also knew that letting Eliot live was the choice he needed to make Because justifying the death of an innocent in order to save others later reminded Randidly of LyraÆs arguments about working with the Creature

ItÆs almost creepy Randidly said softly to distract himself from his line of thoughts Vualla unsteepled her fingers and nodded in agreement With both of her hands Vualla gathered up the waterfall of her azure hair and tied it back into a ponytail barring her neck and jaw

They were in a small stone alcove some distance in the opposite direction of the Great Rift away from the refugee camp Until Vualla was ready to head back to the Nexus proper and make the switch between the original VuallaÆs body and lleotÆs this was where she stored the breathing corpse With the refugee camp largely healed and regrouped Randidly finally found the time to come out and see what remained of the foe that could duplicate entire worlds

As he suspected Randidly felt no comfort in seeing Ileot so restrained If anything it made him more wary of a comeback Still putting to bed his worry about Ileot wasnÆt the main reason Randidly had come out here

Standing casually Randidly glanced at Vualla and asked When are you leaving for the Inverted Spire

Vualla raised her arms over her head and cracked her knuckles Another week Lady IellayaÆs been telling me as much information as she can about the Xyrt Brigade but there just isnÆt that much that is known Then Vualla shook her head in exasperation They launch offensiveÆs into the core realms of Nether but there never is any concrete result from those offensives In addition one of the Xyrt BrigadeÆs claims to fame is the very low fatality rate but how important can these missions be if so few people perish while deep in the Great Rift ItÆs not called the Safe Rift for a reason

Even though Randidly wanted to ask Vualla not to go he kept his mouth shut and just smiled Her departing worried him more than Ileot did But Randidly couldnÆt decide if it were his instincts giving him that worry or his own possessiveness trying to keep his crush near him With the PhilosopherÆs Key and the Aether connection itÆs not like distance means that much But this last week has been nice Sparring here spending time together

Instead of vocalizing the confusing longing in his chest Randidly opened his mouth and said The Xyrt Brigade would have you believe that is simply because of how powerful they are

Vualla rolled her eyes While the original Vualla was controlling me to stop IleotÆs plan I killed a representative from the Xyrt Brigade ThatÆs why we had to do those repeated rounds of interviews yesterday they were looking for clues on his disappearance and I mean he was strong stronger than I am now but the original Vualla could just rip

Abruptly Vualla fell silent as er face grew slightly green She pressed her eyes closed It was only after she took an extra second to gather herself and shake her head that she continued speaking he definitely wasnÆt as strong as Lady Iellaya And he was apparently a Squad Leader He wasnÆt just rank and file They are definitely stronger than most but they arenÆt that invincible ItÆs suspicious

And of course you are someone who runs directly toward the suspicious things and I cannot deny I would do the same if it wasnÆt for the threat against the Earth

Almost unbidden RandidlyÆs fingers drifted down to touch the cool gold of the PhilosopherÆs Key Instantly complex lines of karma crisscrossed in RandidlyÆs vision He couldnÆt truly parse apart the karma to somehow understand people but he could use the vision to detect what was connected to what

Which was a very effective way of telling if the original Vualla was present inside of the Vualla that Randidly had first met To his relief she was not she must be managing other preparations for recovering her physical body He and Vualla were truly alone Not that Randidly didnÆt trust the original Vualla But some of the originalÆs silence during their earlier discussions about the Great Rift reminded Randidly of the attitude of a faux oblivious parent while children talked about a subject they werenÆt quite ready to understand yet

Being alone like this was probably why Vualla was taking the opportunity to bring these things up

Well Randidly glanced sideways at the twisted fingers of Ileot Swacc Alone might be a stretch But I donÆt think either of them cares very much about our suspicions

if you are saying that the Xyrt Brigade is hiding something I agree Because of that it seems dangerous for you to just walk into their training center Considering your identity and their earlier planned cooperation with Ileot Swacc it is practically guaranteed that they know who you are At the last moment Randidly switched from saying whatÆ to whoÆ You are definitely the one who has grown the most on the frontlines but it worries me that you were the only one singled out to join the Xyrt Brigade

Are you saying I should go then She asked lightly Her eyes flashed and she tilted her head to the side Her heavy ponytail swung gently side to side

Of course I want you not to go But Randidly couldnÆt bring himself to ask Vualla not to go It wasnÆt fair of him After all what would Vualla do if she didnÆt go to the Xyrt Brigade training ground Simply wait here on the frontlines for Randidly After all Randidly planned on spending six months observing the situation on Earth She wasnÆt an attendant that would just accompany him his entire life

That wasnÆt the sort of woman that Vualla was That was exactly the reason that Randidly felt so connected with her

VuallaÆs mouth tightened stubbornly and Randidly knew that she could see the spinning wheels of his thoughts behind the hesitation But instead of acknowledging it she ignored it Because a part of her had already decided that she needed to put herself at risk to understand the secret of the Xyrt Brigade

We are both so hard headed The corner of RandidlyÆs mouth quirked upward without humor I suppose we deserve each other After all I wonÆt discuss putting off my extended return to Earth either we both have things we believe we need to do

Have you been able to sense what the Xyrt Brigade Squad is doing to the Nether King Vualla asked to bring the subject back to the original topic

After nodding Randidly reached up and rubbed his chin Yea and youÆre right thatÆs most of the reason that I think your suspicions are correct The Xyrt Brigade isnÆt trying to harm the Nether King as far as I can tell They are weaving something around its dormant form

If not to injure to suppress it Perhaps its something like Lord Miln harvested the Nether Prince A Nether King is likely more valuable Vualla frowned over at Randidly

For a few seconds Randidly hesitated For the past week the Nether King continued to be basically unmoving only humming softly as it continued to refine Nether around it into a complex flow In a way the gradual increase in density in the area would eventually become a problem for the frontline but they had already lost most of the original base and pulled back to their current position The threat was one that wouldnÆt manifest in the short term and therefore didnÆt seem like it should draw the immediate attention of the Xyrt Brigade

But after the Xyrt Brigade Squad arrived four days ago they had immediately begun working weaving something around the Nether Something extremely familiar Even the interviews regarding the disappearance of the Squad Leader from the Xyrt Brigade had waited until they had the initial perimeter set up around the Nether King

I canÆt tell for sure but the weave they are creating looks very similar to how the Nether King originally was They might be attempting to restore the Nether King to its previous form Where the engine in its chest was restrained Randidly spoke slowly His language underplayed the truth that he saw but it was pretty clear that the weave was exactly the same as the one Randidly remembered openingÆ to distract Ileot

But despite his ambiguous statement VuallaÆs eyes narrowed in understanding As if the original Nether King we fought had already been treated by the Xyrt Brigade As if it is an artificial construct

Yes Sighing Randidly stood and rolled his shoulders Even now his left arm ached slightly Sulfur hummed apologetically and Randidly used his right hand to pat the armor that still covered his left arm IÆll need to make another left arm when I have time IÆve gotten quite a bit better at Engraving since incorporating the Akashic Records into Yggdrasil so I should be able to create a pretty good replacement limb

But while Randidly was distracted VuallaÆs sharp mind continued to cut at the issue at hand You also said that you gained quite a few Levels fighting against the Nether Beasts correct Just like most soldiers can Level up their Great Fates by fighting against the creatures of Nether if the two energies were as incompatible as they make it seem where does the experience we get come from

Vualla experience has always been a rather nebulous concept Randidly began to caution but she already worked up quite a bit of momentum

You are the perfect example both Aether and Nether mix freely in your body and your growth is positively explosive Heh do you know how much I need to work to stay ahead of you in terms of strength Using both Aether and Nether seems like a secret thatÆs been purposefully kept from us Quite convenient then that there is an eternal war between the two energies And when a Nether King is wounded the Xyrt Brigade arrives to weave something around it

ItÆs definitely suspicious Randidly repeated But then he reached out and squeezed VuallaÆs arm They simply had too little information ThereÆs definitely a secret there But thereÆs one fact you are ignoring right now the war against Nether was going on in the life of the original Vualla even before the Xyrt Brigade was founded So the war was probably originally real

And the easiest way to find the truth is to rise in the ranks of the Xyrt Brigade Vualla said quietly Her azure eyes were bright as she looked over toward Randidly All of her energy disappeared and she simply stared at him

I have to do this Randidly Ghosthound DonÆt try to stop me

Just because you have to do it doesnÆt mean I have to like it Vualla Meteo

They didnÆt speak but they didnÆt have to At almost the same moment both of their eyes softened With a sigh Vualla leaned forward and pressed her head against RandidlyÆs left shoulder Randidly rolled his eyes at her weird fixation with overly large limbs but didnÆt say anything about it

For a few minutes they simply were near each other

IÆll be safe Vualla said as she straightened When Randidly gave her a suspicious look she laughed and elaborated Safer than you ArenÆt you worried you have your own ancient Nexus citizen active on your home planet

Honestly IÆm pretty sure she predates Nexus citizenship Randidly admitted while thinking about the Creature But yea ItÆs hard for me to believe sheÆs going to let things end like this after I banished her from my Alpha Cosmos

At the mention of the Alpha Cosmos VuallaÆs smiled I still need to visit the world that lives inside your body Hopefully the Xyrt Brigade has vacations too

After exchanging a few more light pleasantries Randidly left and returned to his tent But when he arrived at the drab canvas he immediately brightened to see that there was a familiar animal looking soldier waiting outside of his tent holding a scroll As Randidly pondered what the manÆs name was he walked up and smiled

That for me

The soldier nodded met RandidlyÆs eyes flushed looked at the ground and then offered Randidly the scroll But the strange reaction triggered something in RandidlyÆs brain After a brief frown RandidlyÆs expression cleared up Your name is Heiffal right

Yes sir The soldier said with his gaze still on the ground

Inwardly Randidly sighed as he took the scroll from Heiffal and unrolled it This young man was one of the duplicated individuals that had managed to survive IleotÆs strange mental attack due to the stabilizing influence of Salazar Which was obviously a blessing but the situation of the duplicated individuals grew increasingly complicated during the Xyrt BrigadeÆs investigations

After all the didnÆt report to any of the original Commanders that were on the frontlines If they used their actual identities it was unclear how high command would respond During the rebuilding phase it was rather simple for the group that only numbered about eight hundred to slip under the radar Especially with Lady IellayaÆs assistance But Lady Iellaya had quite the headache trying to figure out what to do with them

If Randidly hadnÆt been planning on taking a vacation from his place at the frontline he actually planned on helping them They could be transferred to his newly created Commandership and probably slip under the radar

But based on what they went through they will need a lot of support theyÆve dealt with a lot of shocks recently Without me or Salazar there grounding them some of those mental wounds will resurface And even some of them have already

For a brief second Randidly pressed his eyes closed It was something of an open secret that there had been originally twelve hundred or so duplicated survivors Yet every night the guards would turn a blind eye to the East gate and allow soldiers to walk alone out from the refugee camp toward the Great Rift

Despite the bitter plight of the duplicated individuals RandidlyÆs mood improved as he read the scroll His request for a vacation had been approved by high command Upon the first of the month Randidly would be free for six months of vacation leave He wasnÆt quite sure where they currently were on the Nexus calendar but Randidly was under the impression that meant he would only need to be here for a little under three weeks

When Randidly lowered the scroll to thank Heiffal Heiffal instead spoke and interrupted him Sir Can I ask you a favor

What is it Randidly asked HeiffalÆs anxious voice made him cautious

After another hesitation Heiffal quickly said Well we understand that you are going on vacation And we a lot of us donÆt want to be here anymore On the front lines And no one will miss us when we are gone So we hope we hope you can take us with you

Randidly blinked He hadnÆt even thought to try and smuggle all the duplicated individuals out For other people it would be almost impossible But for Randidly

Randidly Ghosthound smiled

Chapter 1228

The day Vualla left for her training was a strained moment for Randidly They met alone on the edges of the old supply track and looked at each other for a long time Those same unsaid conversations from IleotÆs alcove hung between them Both were awkward about saying goodbyes so neither gave breath to the anxieties that they each felt Even though Randidly was almost furiously determined not to simply let her go without saying anything reality proved that some issues couldnÆt be overcome even with Stats

They hugged they kissed and then she was gone taking the IleotÆs corpse with her to free up the original Vualla before she proceeded to report to the Xyrt Brigade

Randidly had watched Vualla leave and thought of all the things he could have said Even then watching her departing back very few things came to his mind But Randidly could tell from the sweat on his palms that he should have said something more

Turning away Randidly tried to comfort himself ItÆs not like this is the last time I see her And Vualla is strong Strong enough to overpower the original VuallaÆs attempt at possessing her Even if there are dangers in the Xyrt Brigade she can handle them After all compared to me her image is extremely powerful

The week of sparring had actually been quite eye opening for Randidly True reaching the Nether Gatekeeper density made it extremely difficult for Vualla to injure his physical body but she routinely overpowered his image Leveraging his advantage in terms of Mana efficient Skills could distract Vualla enough for Randidly to take the initiative but all of his images paled in comparison to VuallaÆs rapidly developing image of physical motion

That explosive destruction that could be produced by a body seemed to be constantly improving It bruised the Grim Chimera extinguished the flames of Ignition Essence and blasted away the bark of Yggdrasil

VuallaÆs finally tapping into her potential and making full use of her advantages I might have more advantages but IÆm still trying to find the perfect way to utilize each of them Plus IÆm working on three images at once Despite the resulting existential dread it might be nice to have a duplicated version of myself that could give me some pointers about making more better images

Jokes aside her performance in the spars made Randidly increasingly focused on growing stronger After watching Vualla stride confidently off toward the military checkpoint Randidly returned to the gathering area that he had agreed on with Heiffal When he arrived there were almost seven hundred individuals carrying leather backpacks and gripping their weapons in white knuckled fists Zauna and Salazar were there as well which had Randidly raising his eyebrows at his two direct subordinates

Because shock immediately surfaced in his heart upon seeing them the duo had recovered their bodies Considering the fact that most of Lord MilnÆs headquarters had been ransacked and destroyed Randidly began to suspect that it wasnÆt Nether Beasts that so perfectly annihilated Lord MilnÆs research

Randidly tried his best to smile innocently If they didnÆt want to bring up recovering their bodies Randidly wasnÆt going to grill them over it Is being my assistants such a bad job that you’re pledging your services to Heiffal here

W w we w would like to c come as well Salazar mumbled when he felt RandidlyÆs amused stare

Randidly could only shake his head helplessly It was already a gamble to create so many Aether connections Even adding two more made him hesitate The whole reason IÆm sending this bunch to Earth ahead of me is so that none of the Xyrt Brigade notice missing troops The final reports on casualty numbers are due next week So they need to be gone as soon as possible

W we can be d d d d d d d d

Sighing Randidly waved Salazar to stop so he wouldnÆt be eternally struck on the inauspicious word deadÆ But IÆve already reported both of you alive ItÆs not that I donÆt value everything that youÆve done for me itÆs just that youÆll likely be pursued

SalazarÆs scaly face fell but Zauna stepped forward and passed Randidly a bit of paper After scanning it Randidly could only chuckle bitterly It was a form detailing that Lady Iellaya Supreme Commander of the Forefather Frontline had honorably discharged Zuana and Salazar due to their exemplary behavior in the wake of the Nether KingÆs attack There were several paragraphs detailing their contribution to the forces of Aether but Randidly didnÆt bother to read them closely

Guess this solves the mystery of what happened to Lord MilnÆs base Must be nice not to have your activities catch the notice of military high command Grimacing Randidly rubbed the growing stubble on his cheeks I know that Lady Iellaya said that the increase in our service time was a punishment for the disappearance of ileotÆs body but in light of that IÆm surprised Lady IellayaÆs request to pardon the rest of these twoÆs service time went through without a hitch After all they are my direct subordinates

is this some kind of trap

But perhaps it was just as simple as Lady Iellaya had stated it was they had been punished so afterward the high command didnÆt really concern themselves with unrelatedÆ parties Obtaining the service of four powerful individuals for a few more years was benefit enough for the high command to consider the issue resolved

well either way I suspect you two will head out with me later Lady Iellaya had a good point I should be seen passing through the military checkpoint before I disappear rather than letting them know I can build a bridge from everywhere So bad news Heiffal youÆll still be in charge for the next few weeks Do you remember your orders

Heiffal nodded seriously Proceed directly to Kharon looking for Helen Naffur or Tatiana They will establish our identity in Kharon and let us know the situation in the surrounding area Afterward help train the people of Kharon and the Order Ducis to use images Assist them but only handle only minor problems or those that appear too powerful to normally appear on a world that hasnÆt yet experienced a Calamity

Cool Randidly said lightly Then he pulled the PhilosopherÆs Key from his belt and pushed it forward When he found the line of karma that led to the Earth Randidly turned the key and opened a hanging portal in the air in front of him

Congratulations Your Fate the PhilosopherÆs Key has grown to Level 91

Getting close to a hundred I wonder what sort of item IÆll get next Then RandidlyÆs lips twisted Still these last nine Levels will probably be the most difficult Also I wonder how long it takes most people to finish Leveling their Fate up to 100

In case there was currently someone from the Xyrt Brigade keeping track of RandidlyÆs position he didnÆt dare step through the portal So instead he stood right at the edge and allowed his Grim Intuition to flow outward into the surrounding area on the Earth side He felt the activity of the Order Ducis suppressing Raid Bosses and a small village nearby Randidly also felt the swirling activity around Kharon

As he had sensed in the Eidolon Crucible about a week ago it appeared that the number of people present in Kharon had almost doubled since Kharon had begun its journey The moving city seemed to be functioning at something close to its maximum population capacity For whatever reason there had been a large influx of people into Kharon recently This caused Randidly to frown slightly because his directives he had left for Tatiana were exactly to avoid this kind of thing Due precisely to the worry that the image would waver when too many new people were mixed into the population at once

Still Randidly trusted Tatiana enough that he didnÆt bother to find out right now what had happened to cause this he would hear the reason in a few weeks when he returned to Earth Instead he simply let his Grim Intuition spread out and tasted the image that was present above the moving city animated by his living Engraving

Randidly closed his eyes and felt the effect his Eidolon Crucible had on correcting the image of Kharon

The hesitation was still there but Randidly was able to sense more details of the situation There had been a loss recently Well not a loss But something that had made all of Kharon acknowledge the ugly truth that even with all of their capability it wasnÆt enough So after building itself up that image of success in the hearts of the people of Kharon they had failed and been devastated by that

Randidly knew that sorrow and sense of helplessness intimately He struggled against it himself in the previous battle between Ileot Swacc and the Nether King But after the Eidolon Crucible he felt the thoughts of the people of Kharon slowly shifting

So what if we failed We are not proud because we always succeed No the reason we are proud is because of the work weÆve put into bettering our world Regardless of the result the effort will not go to waste as long as we keep trying

We arenÆt doing enoughÆ is never a reason to cease our activities ItÆs the reminder we need to reinforce our resolve

Releasing a breath Randidly stood to the side and allowed Heiffal and the other duplicated individuals who agreed to follow Randidly walk through to Earth Afterward he calmly closed the portal and returned to his tent

In the days before his vacation would begin Randidly divided his time between training with the new versions of Acri and Sulfur working on his images and understanding his Fate Time quickly passed as he busied himself As he expected through two weeks of dedicated work Randidly only received one more Level to his Fate bringing him to 92

But after one of the days of training his image Randidly sensed two individuals approach to his tent So he released the handful of his Ignition Essence that he cradled in his hand and walked to the door to the tent to look out

He wasnÆt surprised to see the wistful faces of Nadia and Kailm when he left his tent They greeted him politely but it was clear that what led the couple here was not the desire to converse with Randidly but rather because they were drawn here by the familiar remnants of Illym that now suffused RandidlyÆs Ignition Essence image

Very quickly the couple turned to go but some trace of bitterness in RandidlyÆs heart compelled him to vocalize a question that had been bothering him for a while Nadia Kailm if you donÆt mind me asking why didnÆt you use the liquid Aether of the Fate armory to help defend the front line

The two exchanged a glance then Kailm slowly spoke Two reasons The first is more selfish I suppose Using liquid Aether that someone else refined can be dangerous The image inside of the liquid Aether if it’s sufficiently different from your own will warp your Skills and images ItÆs akin to starting a fire in the middle of your living room to try and warm the house it will work but there will consequences depending on whether your home was designed for such a thing

And secondly Kailm glanced at Nadia His wife looked at Kailm with tired eyes secondly we might be able to manipulate the liquid Aether but it does not belong to us it comes directly from the Nexus And in the NexusÆ eyes that liquid Aether is more valuable than all our lives put together Being the caretaker of the Aether now is a result of us going deep in the NexusÆ debt as we tried to help our daughters We are bound to protect the Aether even at the cost of our lives

WasnÆt the Fate armory almost destroyed Randidly asked in confusion

Finally Nadia spoke Nether Kings are frightful but they are nothing compared to the Nexus that designed this System Never forget that Randidly Ghosthound Please protect the remnants of our daughter

Chapter 1229

Theodora Greyman the elected President of Zone 1 current Chairperson of the New Earth Council and probably the most politically powerful individual on Earth smiled out at the thousands of people that gathered at the newly constructed System Remembrance monument in the outskirts of the Orchard to attend the grand opening ceremony

Not the ideal location but there are always concessions to be made before everyone falls in line As the Senator from the Orchard Senator Firefly wields too much influence at the moment But patience is the most important virtue Theodora let the previous announcement of her speech hang in the air allowing the carefully selected words to sink into the watching audience Then for good measure Theodora Greyman repeated those words again

This is an era that needs heroes ThatÆs why the Hero Tithe is so critical to our future development ItÆs why every Zone has agreed to enact the Hero Initiative and support the New Earth Councils administration of the program Those that have the power to protect our world should be rewarded I donÆt think any of us can claim that they would have made it this far if not for the brave individuals who delved into the dangerous Raid Dungeons of each Zone We stand on the shoulders of giants And it is outdated and simplistic thinking to expect such heroes to expend themselves solely out of the generosity of their hearts

Of course the Order Ducis still refuses to acknowledge the Hero Initiative proposal But even if Randidly Ghosthound understands what IÆm planning there should be no reason for him to stop it Enticing high Level individuals to register by offering a stipend depending on their strength shouldnÆt attract his attention until itÆs too late

A ripple went through the audience as Theodora talked about the current people standing on the shoulders of giants Saying Randidly GhosthoundÆs name directly was dangerous but it was equally dangerous not to acknowledge him and his ilk altogether Although they were part of the previous era of political power in New Earth the group of individuals led by Randidly Ghosthound still held far reaching influence

Especially because the Order Ducis was practically sprinting through the newly opened up Wildlands on that moving city of theirs proselytizing all the recently released population to worship the Ghosthound And initial estimates put the number of people in the Wildlands at almost ten times the population of all the freed up Zones combined

Almost fifty percent of those people die before they can be rescued but that still means there is a group of people five times our current population indebted to the Order Ducis And as those people flow toward the established Zones

President GreymanÆs gaze slid side to side over the sea of people They were currently digesting the term Hero Tithe and Hero Initiative but simply giving them exposure to it was enough right now Time for the speech to proceed to the next topic

Further details regarding the Hero Tithe have already been shared with the leadership in each of the Zones if you possess the requisite strength and the generous spirit to work for the good of our world I encourage you to register Those with strength will be rewarded thatÆs the only way to build a better world Those who live safely should know the names of those they need to thank for their prosperity

There was polite applause likely started by some of her agents who were standing amongst the crowd and using their Skills to monitor the emotions surrounding them TheodoraÆs smile widened as the polite applause caught on and the larger crowd joined into the clapping with enthusiasm to spare

She took a moment to glance down at her notes Wireless InternetÆs return Sports Entertainment Channel Thank the donors for the monument

Theodora casually looked up past the spacious green lawn that had been entirely obscured by the standing human bodies and toward the monument at the other end of the green It was a clock toward frozen eternally at the time believed to have been the last minute that Earth experienced without the NexusÆ influence 11 56 Although the mechanism of the clock continued to tick as the gears whirled forward the brass hands of the clock remained entirely frozen in that minute

More than just a statue the monument was actually a small museum Visitors could go within the clock tower and see quite a bit of information about the Earth before the System arrived The first floor was dedicated to maps and flags of all the different countries on the original Earth The second floor was dedicated to the EarthÆs rich history although DonnytonÆs delegation had convinced the builders to include mythological books on that same floor

The third floor was a small art museum including reproductions of famous paintings currently considered lost in the initialization including the Mona Lisa A Starry Night and the Girl with the Pearl Earing The fourth and fifth floors were dedicated to pop culture and fiction including movies and novels that had been particularly popular as well as viewing rooms so anyone could stop and enjoy the materials

Perhaps the most overlooked benefit of the System is the unification of all languages Certainly makes global politics much simpler

After letting the crowd quiet down President Greyman continued to speak And there is one last thing before the grand opening of the Remembrance Monument IÆm happy to announce that with the expansion of the rail system we have finally implemented a previous promise of this administration All areas serviced by the manatech trains will from this day forward have access to wireless internet courtesy of the New Earth Council Although vast amounts of information were lost from our old world we are happy to announce that some of your favorite old Earth sports will be coming back with the benefit of the System to spice

Theodora Greyman paused and looked up at the clock tower opposite her as it rung its bells at an almost deafening volume Its hands remained stubbornly at 11 56 A brief glance at her own interspatial watch confirmed that it was already noon It was a beautiful day the perfect day to deliver the speech

Smiling like a bemused aunt at a nephewÆs dinner faux pas Theodora waited for the ringing to cease Perhaps we shouldnÆt have made the remaining mechanisms of the clocktower still function ItÆs certainly rather ominous that it continues to ring every hour despite the hands never changing Still the populace needs to support the Hero Initiative and that will only happen if people are afraid

Sacrificing citizens is a depressing business but we might need to slacken the patrols at the border and let some Raid Bosses into the interior

Taking another glance at her notes President Greyman prepared to continue with her speech as the crowd muttered uneasily to each other Flashing a smile she said It appears that IÆve been a little long winded the monument itself is losing its patience

The crowd broke into nervous laughter their attention slowly pooled within TheodoraÆs hands Their focus was soft and supple easy to manipulate Her smile became much more confident and she once more determinedly resumed her speech As I was saying

A ripple ran through the crowd as several individuals exploded into motion Those individuals forcefully leapt upward all of them dashing from the stretch of greenery toward the edges and into the surrounding streets A strange feeling descended on the area as most of the surrounding people focused on the sudden movements

A second later Theodora GreymanÆs danger sense tingled Her eyes went back to the clock tower and the extremely eye catching six story tall humanoid figure that had suddenly ballooned upward next to the Remembrance Memorial Its body was an unblemished scarlet its entire being seemed to have been sculpted from fresh blood Compared to the two and three story buildings surrounding the greenery its figure couldnÆt be overlooked

A bloodbeast Here For a split second Theodora was so confused that her thoughts seized and refused to proceed forward But she wasnÆt the President of an entire Zone just because of her political acumen Very quickly her sharp mind made some connections So it seems that murder from the new Zone hasnÆt quite been stopped yet even if the murders ceased Still this size

As the bloodbeast began to raise its arm an arm that was the size of two city buses connected end to end many of the individuals in the crowd with weaker danger detection Skills twisted around to look at the towering bloodbeast Its crimson body was a stark contrast against the clear blue sky It towered up above the surrounding buildings an intimidating monolith

One person screamed and then the lawn erupted into chaos

Those with higher physical Stats simply barreled over those who got in their way as the crowd surged to escape Everyone was trying to vacate the area between the bloodbeast and President Greyman but the small side streets connecting to the corner of the greenery couldnÆt accommodate so much foot traffic Very quickly the rapid exodus mired into a swamp of struggling humans

Theodora watched as many weaker individuals were knocked to the ground and trampled Some members of the police were stationed around the perimeter of the speech but they couldnÆt fight against the explosive flow of bodies out of the path of the bloodbeast Some were buoyed away by the determined crowd rapidly overpowered by the mass

You will die today The huge bloodbeast rumbled its arms pointing across the clearing lawn toward Theodora Greyman There could be no doubt that this was an attack perhaps the first assassination attempt since the System had arrived

But who is it Still that lone murderer Or have the Nemesai finally revealed themselves Either way TheodoraÆs face split into a sly smile True we cannot wield Mjolnir with so many innocents in the area But did you really think that was the only trump card that Zone 1 possesses Heh itÆs a bit early but this is also a good chance to remind the population why they need us

The huge arm of the bloodbeast folded outward and revealed a dense sphere covered in a strange series of runes Even as about half of the crowd was still struggling to get out of the way the bloodbleast released a blast of white light from the orb that surged forward President GreymanÆs mouth pressed into a thin line as the people remaining on the green were knocked off their feet as the blast of energy passed above them Figures spun like pinwheels through the air as they were whipped helplessly off of their feet

Even though President Greyman trusted the reports given to her by East ProvidenceÆs research team as the strength of her bodyguard she still felt her heart tremble before the approaching attack But she refused to move Sometimes half of the result was simply due to attitude So long as she remained confident

There was an approaching flap of wings The blast of light surged forward Theodora GreymanÆs nerves distorted her perception of time

There was a flickering shadow and the head of President GreymanÆs security detail superimposed himself between the President and the blast of energy He was the most balanced of the genetic experiments that combined the physical strength of a Raid Boss with the growth potential of a human mind Rather than fusing them into one being these experiments bred symbiotic organisms that possessed the traits of both

The reports stated that the guard was invincible against foes under Level 70 and could fight evenly with monsters that hadnÆt yet reached the tipping point of Level 90 The researchers were cautiously optimistic that if three such experiments were successful Randidly Ghosthound wouldnÆt be able to claim to be invincible on Earth any longer

Which had certainly caught President GreymanÆs attention Just like the rest of the Earth no one could avoid measuring their strength against the mysterious Randidly Ghosthound

The blast of white light hit her guard There was another flap of wings and then Theodora grunted as an arm seized her waist and pulled her to the side There was a terrible roar a blast of heat and Theodora instinctively activated her best defensive Skill Mana Body Armor to protect her from the sudden threat

The grip on her waist tightened and the energy body armor shattered before it had even formed

Whoever had grabbed Theodora apparently lost their grip because all of a sudden Theodora found herself tumbling freely to the side The air smelled like charcoal and sulfur but her combat training instantly surged to the forefront of her mind After rolling a little bit further away Theodora sprung to her feet When she saw the person who had flung her to the side TheodoraÆs eyes narrowed

Alana Donal President Greyman said cautiously Is Donnyton moving against me But Alana should have been missing for several months To what do I owe this pleasure

Alana snorted and pointed with her spear Saving your life

President Greyman opened her mouth to retort but the words died on her lips as she saw how far she had been thrown from her initial position The head of her security detail collapsed forward a huge smoldering hole through his chest The stage and podium that President Greyman had been delivering her speech from was now an inferno surrounding a pool of molten stone The aides and police officers that were near the epicenter of the blast lay unmoving on the ground covered in burns

Theodora GreymanÆs Human Insight Skill informed her that they had died almost immediately their organs boiling within their own bodies

The stage had been built at the edge of the green so that it took up the street and was pressed up against the houses surrounding the green area And those houses were now hollowed out and collapsed fires beginning to lick up the walls Had she not been moved President Greyman would be no more Erased just like that without ever understanding how foolish she was

Chapter 1230

The sudden reminder of how dangerous Earth had become was a harsh lesson but one that Theodora swore she would take to heart After all it could be seen by Randidly Ghosthound that the only way to truly maintain political power is to possess personal power to back it up

But it was just all a little much at the moment as Theodora instinctively sucked in a breath and tasted the scent of charred human flesh

Do you what TheodoraÆs mind for the second time in a minute stuttered to a stop Her invulnerable under Level 70Æ shriveled like a plastic cup thrown on top of the coals of a campfire as the fires on the stage grew higher and more fierce WhatÆs going on

ArenÆt you the one being targeted How should I know Alana rolled her eyes as she slowly began to spin her spear Twenty meters away the wooden stage that Theodora had been standing on groaned and then collapsed inward on itself

Theodora was left rather stumped at how to respond to AlanaÆs question but it seemed that Theodora GreymanÆs senses finally caught up with her as she noticed some other details Her eyes widened as she fixated on the huge crystalline body on which Alana was riding Its flesh was white blue and almost translucent like its entire body was composed entirely of ice It had huge wings that flapped lightly spreading chilling breezes through the surrounding area

It was only as its long scaly neck slithered sideways to consider Theodora Greyman that she recognized it it was the first and most dangerous of the three monsters that escaped from the Epic Dungeon

Wivanya the Dragon Broodmother Lvl 89

But Theodora immediately became confused This dragon is large but it’s much smaller than the reports about the Dragon Broodmother This is the size of a smaller plane while the Dragon Brood Mother was said to resemble a jumbo jet And while the sapphire eyes are the same as the reports its body was supposed to be a dark blue grey Yet his monster seems to be made of ice

Plus its name

Only the first assistance is free Alana said lightly She tapped her heels against the sides of the Dragon Broodmother and it reared up For the rest of this you are on your own

So you do know whatÆs going on Theodora said sharply She took a step forward but then was forced to take several hurried steps backward as the Dragon Broodmother beat its wings and sent waves of cold air outward Frost began to form on TheodoraÆs pants suit but also slowed the spread of fire along the ground surrounding the collapsed stage

Alana gave Theodora a pitying look Then she flexed her hand and summoned her iconic helmet and placed it upon her head ThatÆs the problem with people like you and the justice you preach You are always asking the wrong questions The letter of the law has become too important to you YouÆve forgotten about the spirit of these things

What are you talking about Theodora mumbled But she could almost sense it There was a golden light suffusing the air around Alana that had started gathering ever since she had put on her helmet This was a hero A true hero Who fought simply because she had the power and if she did not fight more people would die

Unless this is all a setup Theodora Greywind wavered as she watched the golden figure of Alana Donal

Theodora sensed that some of the survivors from her team were scrambling forward to her side out of the collapsing refreshment tent next to the stage They came with buzzing reconnaissance drones shaped like dragonflies and with normal guards who were over Level 60 But they seemed like such a flimsy shield as the bloodbeast roared again and readjusted its aim By this point most of the crowd had managed to escape Aside from the corpses President Greyman felt curiously alone

IÆm talking about my own truth Alana said simply Then she raised her spear and it burned with bright golden fire The Dragon Broodmother she was riding raised its head and screeched With two huge beats of its wings it threw its body up into the sky

Madam President you cannot stay here TheodoraÆs assistant Douglas whined as he gripped onto her sleeve and extinguished a few floating embers that had landed on her The surrounding six guards nervously eyed the monster at the other end of the green as it ponderously moved The OrchardÆs defense forces are responding but considering the size of the thing

Another blast of white light shot out of the bloodbeastÆs arm directly toward President GreymanÆs position It seemed it had been serious when it had said she would die today This time her mind immediately recognized the danger as that terrible light surged toward them With a vice grip on DouglasÆ wrist she hurried back toward the nearest sidestreet as quickly as she could go without seeming like she was fleeing in a panic

As the group sluggishly surged to follow her TheodoraÆs eyes caught on human shaped hunks of charcoal that covered the smoldering green around the stage How many died in that initial attack I wonder is this a message Forcing us to experience what it is like to receive a blast from Mjolnir But who

A huge roar made Theodora twist and glance over her shoulder Above her head the Dragon Broodmother opened its mouth and unleashed a blast of frost that smashed into the white beam the bloodbeast unleashed However it was immediately clear that the Dragon Broodmother could only deflect the blast from the bloodbeast it couldnÆt overpower it And that white light fractured into shards that positively shredded the surrounding area So the President of Zone 1 had to cast aside her image and leap to the side still dragging Douglas behind her

Not that heÆs irreplaceable but finding someone so discreet and detail oriented isnÆt easy either

The thinner blasts of heat scythed behind them ripping away the ground and sending the duo sprawling As Theodora regained her balance she saw that only two of her guard detail were now staggering groggily to their feet A deep trench of fire had been burned into the location that they were previously standing Another portion of that terrible white light had been deflected into the surrounding houses and transformed them into squat torches

My leg Douglas squealed looking down at the blackened bone of his ankle that was sticking out from the charred and oozing burns around his knee My

Now is not the time Douglas Theodora slapped him across the face shocking him into silence Her hand tingled from the sensation of hitting him as her heart pounded in yr chest As long as you are alive it can regrow Now letÆs move I donÆt care if it hurts IÆm not carrying you

Above them Alana raised her spear and threw a javelin of golden fire toward the bloodbeast before it could change its aim and charge up another blast To TheodoraÆs disappointment the golden fire was almost immediately extinguished as it crashed into the bloodbeastÆs shoulder although the monster dig stagger backward and roar

Despite the fact she knew it was a mistake Theodora couldnÆt help but slow as she tried to understand the fight The bloodbeastÆs eyes began to darken ominously as the bloodbeastÆs focus switched to the gliding figure of Alana Do not interfere The Red Revival cannot be stopped Why do you fools wish to save this sick world

Immediately TheodoraÆs ears sharpened Despite the fact that Douglas was tugging nervously on her arm she ceased jogging toward the edges of the Orchard and focused on the words rumbling above them Red Revival Where have I heard this term before

However Alana didnÆt respond to the bloodbeastÆs words True to her reputation as a no nonsense warrior Alana simply summoned more golden fire around her body The wings on her helmet seemed to grow longer and more resplendent as the Dragon Broodmother carried her forward toward the bloodbeast

Madam President We cannot delay Douglas screamed and Theodora could only grit her teeth and turn away from the battle The remaining four individuals avoided the growing flames around the stage and followed her West It galled Theodora to no end that she was supposed to be the most politically powerful individual on New Earth yet she was completely powerless and confused by the confrontation

Yet she could only lower her head as the whole neighborhood to her left began to go up in flames Certainly not an auspicious arrival in the Orchard

A oft imagined emerald eyed silhouette appeared in TheodoraÆs mindÆs eye as they finally escape from the green and made it to the sidestreets Envy swirled poisonously in her heart whispering words of weakness What other secrets have you hidden from us Randidly Ghosthound If you would just work with me

No Wait DouglasÆ voice once more dragged TheodoraÆs attention back to the task at hand The duo were sprinting along a cobblestone road toward one of the OrchardÆs outer security checkpoints Already the smell of smoke had become so heavy in the air that the fireÆs from the bloodbeastÆs attack must have already spread to this point

Perhaps that was why the OrchardÆs security personal were activating its enormous defensive array right in front of them Most of Zone 1Æs scientists were completely mystified by the array it was invented by one of the youngsters that Senator Firefly had recruited with his Lottery So as the President and her party rushed forward hexagonal scales of energy were slowly forming down through the air accelerating like a garage door about to fall shut

Quickly predicting the outcome Theodora Greyman slowed they would not make it in time Instead she narrowed her eyes and considered the individuals activating the ritual circle for the array here After all they must have seen their party coming

Three women and three men stood in a small circle with their heads down all their concentration going into the activation for the array But the captain was a grey haired woman that clearly say President Greyman coming and recognizing who she was The weakness of the array was that it was incredibly resource intensive to maintain and took a good ten seconds to activate

Seemingly without a care for the prestige of a member of the presidential entourage Douglas hobbled forward using the exposed bone of his ankle and pounded his fist against the OrchardÆs defensive array that settled into place in front of him Quick Open up Your foolishness had left Madam President in grave danger Open up the array immediately

The grey haired captain looked at Theodora and then pressed her eyes shut I have my orders maÆam I apologize

Who would dare order the door to be shut on me You should have had time to see me coming Theodora Greyman said coldly But as the captain continued to look toward the ground Theodora certainly didnÆt expect someone else to answer

Me And I reckonÆ from your attitude that it was the right decision

President Greyman tried to keep her expression neutral as she spared a sidelong look for a man leaning casually in the shadow of a building nearby When he saw her gaze he tipped her hat to her The growing fire made his shadow dance strangely on the wall behind him Despite the situation his expression as he scrutinized her was completely calm

Recognizing the man Theodora felt a headache brewing Seemed like some of the conspicuous low key individuals from the past few years were now crawling out of the woodwork and making themselves known Hank Howard I hadnÆt realized

But the rest of TheodoraÆs words were drowned out as a blast of white light smashed into the hexagonal barrier above them and liquid fire seemed to rain down over the group

Chapter 1231

As soon as he walked through the portal Heiffal winced and straightened His hand went instinctively up to his chest despite the fact that the pain was just a general ache that seeped out from every inch of HeiffalÆs body Every breath he took of the air of Earth made his lungs spasm painfully His muscles tightened like leaves dying and curling inward in fall and his bones felt hollow and rotten

Even though his body desperately begged him to stop taking the deep breaths that exposed him to such pain Heiffal mastered that impulse and continued to breathe The rejection steadily escalated The ache worsened Although it was difficult Heiffal managed to keep his breaths even The physical pain was falling away gradually being replaced by something even more intimidating

He could feel the very Aether of his existence responding strangely to the Aether present in the surrounding world he never should be allowed to descend to this place according to the Nexus

Per the GhosthoundÆs orders Heiffal ignored that certainty and mechanically took several steps forward He refused to simply seize up and topple over as the agony ran rampant across the surface of his body After all if he were incapacitated no one would be able to move the other inevitable victims of the pain Which would force the Ghosthound to keep the portal open for longer than he had expected to wait for them to recover And that would certainly not create a good first impression on the Ghosthound

You already died once Heiffal bared his teeth toward the clear blue sky that was so different than the terrible orange and black vista of the frontlines Compared to that this is nothing

Heiffal took one step and then another As the hammer strikes of pain against HeiffalÆs psyche continued he hobbled out of the threshold of the portal The pain continued to grow as the Aether in HeiffalÆs body slowly seemed to awaken to what was occurring But then the connection that the Ghosthound had established in HeiffalÆs chest stirred It was slow at first but as the pain became an all consuming thunder the flow of energy accelerated Aether swirled in HeiffalÆs chest

From what he had heard from the Ghosthound there were protections in place to prevent individuals from higher Cohorts descending to lower ones The Aether constructs of the System were equipped with certain mechanisms that recorded the initial level in the Nexus where an individual started and monitored the surrounding Aether at every moment to determine where the individual was now

Heiffal didnÆt understand the details but in essence the Ghosthound planned to fool the mechanism by providing a constant flow of Aether past the sensor that would hide their current location Aether began to rotate silently in HeiffalÆs body stalling the terrible pain out Gasping Heiffal could only wait and press his eyes closed

Everything ached as that horrible sensor signaled that his entire spiritual existence should come to pieces for daring to step here His heart pounded with the pain But as that energy flowed out of the GhosthoundÆs connection it gradually confused the mechanism The pain began slowly to recede The Aether in HeiffalÆs body gradually righted itself

It took about a minute for Heiffal to recover enough to move but by that time almost a dozen other people had dutifully marched out through the portal But the reason that so few had been able to make it was that about half of those first dozen had collapsed almost immediately gradually creating a roadblock of bodies

Still weak as his body gradually adjusted to the weird current of Aether that now sustained him Heiffal began to shift the shivering soldiers and allow more to proceed through

Shifloo his second in command and the individual who followed Heiffal first through the portal seemed to stay upright purely out of spite She gritted her teeth hard enough to grind stones to dust and hunched her shoulders like she had a heavy bucket of water in each hand About a minute after Heiffal recovered she began to move with him and sort through the weakened bodies

The price of reaching the promised land eh Shifloo coughed and shivered From her low and raspy voice Heiffal could sense that she had been much closer to completely collapsing that he had been Her hands were still trembling from the strain

It was only after the entirety of the group who had decided to follow the Ghosthound passed through the portal that Heiffal allowed himself to relax Yet he couldnÆt let his guard down all the way Despite the fact that the GhosthoundÆs Aether continued to flow and confuse the constructs in his body there was a constant low beat of discomfort that ran through Heiffal with every heartbeat

It will be worth it Heiffal said simply as he clapped Shifloo on the back Yet as she opened her mouth to respond both froze As one their gazes shifted toward the Northeast

by the way Heiffal IÆve been meaning to ask you Shifloo said casually She moved her jaw a little bit as though trying to dislodge the scratchiness in her throat What does it mean that we are only supposed to intervene in fights where something more powerful than should be on a world before the Calamity is involved Does whatever is making that image count

Frowning Heiffal continued to use his senses to best gauge the limits of the echoing image that spread across the world Certainly he would have originally assumed that the source of this was one that was more powerful than should be present on Earth the image he felt was almost as powerful as HeiffalÆs own image if a little murky in the details

Heiffal considered carefully for two reasons First because this was the world that birthed Randidly Ghosthound It would be foolish to judge the Earth using normal metrics But also there were currently two images nearby to that echoing image that were close to it in strength And it was clear that the duo was intent on destroying the more powerful image

It means we judge it situation by situation This seems fine Heiffal turned away from the distant image and surveyed the surrounding area They appeared to be standing on a low hill above a dense and humid jungle Level 56 Flesh Eating Macaws sat on the branches of nearby trees and watched the new arrivals curiously

But a little to the West Heiffal could see a large area where the trees had been leveled as though some vast vehicle had recently passed that way Anyway we donÆt understand the forces at play in this world Best to first find Kharon and then make any necessary decisions

YouÆre the boss Shifloo said with obvious relish She spat out a large wad of phlegm and finally seemed to find her voice again Then she began urging the surrounding soldiers to their feet

Hank HowardÆs eyes narrowed as President Greyman and her entourage screamed and leapt back away from the molten slag that rained down from the bloodbeastÆs artillery Despite the fact that one of the group appeared to have had their foot melted earlier the whole group scrambled a safe distance away from the OrchardÆs barrier

Thankfully the blast was aimed higher nÆ us by a fair bit

Yet it wasnÆt the people that concerned him the most And to HankÆs great relief the barrier held against the powerful blast Some of the hexagonal energy barriers seemed to waver but as more energy was drawn from other sides of the array they stabilized The six individuals directly opposite on the other side of the barrier were bloodless and pale but they hadnÆt buckled The captain of the group hovered around like a nervous dragonfly but couldnÆt assist without interrupting the ritual

Above AlanaÆs Dragon Broodmother mount screamed as the duo accelerated toward the giant bloodbeast Below Hank nodded in satisfaction and turned away from the PresidentÆs near death experience Staying away from politicians made for a happy life and Hank had no reason to linger Alana should distract the bastard for a bit Give me time to

But just as Hank was about to turn his full attention to how to ambush the main bloodbeast he saw out of the corner of his eye that whatever residue remained from bloodbeastÆs blast began to stir A split second later HankÆs palm was on the cool metal and kevlar butt of his repeater as he pivoted on one foot and brought the pistol to bear on the blood spawn

Hank raised an eyebrow as he took aim someone else moved before he pulled the trigger The footless secretary thrust his palm forward and unleashed a basketball sized arcane orb at the three figures that forced themselves up out of the rust colored slag The orb wasnÆt the most powerful that Hank had ever seen but it was clear that the secretary spent plenty of time increasing the Level of the Skill

Still Hank ignored the image less attack and focused his will After all the murder wouldnÆt have been so horrifying if normal Skills could slow him and his bloodbeasts down A terrible image of lethality crawled its way into the heavy handmade bullets that filled the repeaterÆs cartridge It was a lethality of metal smoke and lonely justice that believed it had the right to judge even a god He aimed calmly down the barrel

Then Hank pulled the trigger four times

The arcane orb blasted one of the oozy humanoid figures backward and it fell to its knees But its eyes quickly began to glow blood red and it regained its footing Just as its mouth began to yaw widely open in rage one of HankÆs bullets pierced into the side of its cranium and instantly extinguished the blood red light coming from its eyes It collapsed as two of HankÆs other bullets found the heart and forehead of the second ooze and similarly finished it off immediately

For the third ooze Hank blew away an oozeÆs back leg and it began to shift and lean backward As it flailed its heavy arm and flung drops of molten metal around it the ooze fell backward and pressed against the OrchardÆs defense system With its body sizzling the ooze attempted to manipulate its ungainly limbs and push itself back to standing

Satisfied that the blood oozeÆs leg that he shot didnÆt begin to reform Hank fired another bullet and killed the third ooze The pool of rust colored slag began to harden into a jello like substance somewhere between clotted blood and metal as the animating energy was put to rest Looks like the traininÆ with Alana worked Heh letÆs see how far this image of mine can go

How can you kill an ooze creature with a single bullet What Skill did you use President Greyman asked sharply

Hank shrugged lazily as he made his repeater dance across his fingers He could practically smell the trail that he had been chasing for eight months he wasnÆt willing to waste time here talking to Greyman

Besides she wouldnÆt believe the truth Even he had been almost unconsciously influenced by Zone 1Æs unwillingness to take images seriously It was only after several months of fruitless pursuit of the murderer that Hank had seen the light It was only after he had found the traces of Ezekiel and AceÆs fight against the murder that he had been willing to hone his particular image Uncanny Marksmanship maÆam Now if you will excuse me

Too bad that bugger of a secretary reacted fast enough to get off an attack if he hadnÆt so obviously failed to inflict damage I could have just said they are mite weak

One more thing what is the Red Revival The president asked as she walked calmly over toward Hank

Hank pursed his lips This was why he stayed away from politicians they were already asking questions that should be obvious Plus Hank didnÆt like to be the one to point fingers when it was hard to say how this bloodbeast was involved with the Red Revival Yet he knew that the quickest way out of the situation would be to just answer her He already heard the mournful cry of the ballad that his Soulskill would make of this day Soon it would be his moment to strike

As if to punctuate the importance of hurrying to join the battle a plume of fire erupted across the battlefield AlanaÆs golden flames cut through the worst of it but many of the houses in the immediate area the clash began to slowly smolder Ice blasted out of the dragon broodmother but it was clear that the two werenÆt the bloodbeastÆs match

Time for somethinÆ a bit special then

Very purposefully Hank holstered his repeater and pulled out his silver revolver With a flick of the wrist he slid out the cylinder and carefully slid a single bullet into one of the six slots Then he flicked the edge of the cylinder and forced the mechanism to whir

The Red Revival A group of extreme individuals who were initially suspected of being a cult but then vanished from the spotlight several months ago They grabbed attention by claiming they had a method to use a weird ritual to return to an Earth before the System

For a second she was confused but then the PresidentÆs eyes widened The Group founded by DonnytonÆs Decklan Hyde

Hank just smiled and tipped his hat toward the woman Then he turned away and walked toward his date with destiny Hank simply listened to the whir of the mechanism When the time was right he flicked his wrist again and snapped the cylinder into place

Chapter 1232

The houses below her quickly began to collapse as the giant bloodbeast adjusted its footing and ripped right through the wooden walls nearby With the hand it had used to launch the blasts now largely ravaged by golden fire the bloodbeastÆs other arm began to twitch and split into three long scythe like appendages

Alana pressed her thighs against WivanyaÆs cool scales The Dragon Broodmother responded instantly pulling her crystalline wings closer to her body and rolling to the side as one the bloodbeastÆs newly split limbs cut through the location that they had just vacated Gliding sharply downward they spiraled closer to the bloodbeast and rotating around its body as its sharp limbs gave chase

They were moving so quickly that the wind howled in her ears at a volume able to drown out the roar of the fires below Alana was already marshaling her own image as she tapped her heels twice against WivanyaÆs sides to signal an abrupt ascent

With acceleration that forced even Alana to grit her teeth WivanyaÆs violent wing beats flung the duo rapidly upward in a swirling pillar of snow The bloodbeast roared as they ascended rapidly past its torso The fleshy bloody body soon warped as several new clumsy arms forced their way out of its body and grasped at the flying pest as it shot upward

It was only as they had created a buffer of about twenty meters of space above the bloodbeast that Alana allowed herself the luxury of circling calmly above the enemy With twelve extra hands still grasping upward toward them the bloodbeast glared its fury out of its glowing red eyes Do not test my patience

Ignoring the bloodbeast Alana sent Hank a message You ready This one is strong

Patience darlinÆ almost in position

The golden fire around Alana flared upward at HankÆs message Alana allowed herself a pointed smile at WivanyaÆs scales during their trainings Hank had mysteriously stopped referring to her as darling after she had very thoroughly beaten him into the ground every time he dared to do so The fact that he had so quickly reverted back to his teasing drawl proved that he hadnÆt been nearly as cowed as she had assumed

Still his bravery was probably for the best this was not a foe that Alana wanted to fight with a coward on her side But that didnÆt mean she planned on making things easy for the man after things were resolved here Plus a little prodding now was a way to keep his escapades from escalating during future operations

So Alana squeezed her thighs again and Wivanya dutifully pressed her wings against her sides They dropped like a rock heading directly for the large crimson blob with its dozens of grasping limbs Its eyes warped with hatred With the backdrop of collapsing homes it certainly seemed like the personification of ruin

HankÆs message came almost immediately as Alana image began to ripple outward and cover the surrounding area Now hold your horses It will take me a minute or two to get a good angle

I hope I donÆt die in the meantime Alana deadpanned And even though it was mostly a joke AlanaÆs eyes were extremely serious as the accelerated downward to the bloodbeast Its arms seemed to bulge and then launch themselves upward as more blood was used to fuel them As the whirling image of golden fire around Alana intensified a light smoke began to drift out of the corners of her eyes The wings that grew from AlanaÆs helmet grew longer and the white color of the feathers grew increasingly clear

Was this what Randidly felt with his image when he faced me

As six grasping hands of blood thrust themselves forward AlanaÆs image of a valkyrie descended a resplendent rider of righteous flames Her spear was was a shimmering inferno that hammered downward and smashed back the six enormous hands that grabbed at her The power of her image and body almost perfectly overlapped

Wivanya growled in warning as the other six blood red palms smashed around at Alana from both sides But AlanaÆs image was a paragon of power right now With feathers as white as snow the ValkyrieÆs wings spread outward and deflected the blows from the other limbs Moving with the ease of long practice Alana pulled back her spear released a whistling breath and then thrust forward with another Sun Strike that was empowered by her image

The deflected hands twisted and bulged as more blood was pumped into them They quickly returned to attack again and Alana once more burned brightly to force them back Each attacking palm was about the size of AlanaÆs torso so what forced the hands back wasnÆt pure strength but rather the burning image of AlanaÆs fire The strain made Alana wince but she forced her image to burn even brighter

When her image empowered attack landed a ripple ran through the enormous bloodbeast The hands that tried to seize Alana began to curdle and bubble the redness of the blood of its body slowly darkening toward black as her image crashed against the image animating the bloodbeast

Alana quickly sent Hank a message That image is here resisting me Take it out

Ignoring the curses that Hank sent back Alana focused on the sensation of her image crashing against the vast sea of blood that surged up from the monster she fought The waves of it lapped against her valkyrie attempting to stain the creature of pure fire and justice And when it initially failed to corrupt her it wasnÆt disappointed at all if anything more and more waves of blood surged upward to taint Alana

AlanaÆs eyes were glowing golden and the smoke drifting upward from them became thicker What sort of life have you lived to create an image like this I suppose there will be time to beat the answers out of your body later

The two images smashed into each other with a metaphysical crunch For several long seconds they strained AlanaÆs fire burning the oncoming waves of blood Yet slowly Alana began to tremble She would not be able to hold out against this image for long

The noise was small in the violent clash between the two images surrounded by the spreading fires in the houses below but Alana smiled joyfully A small bullet spun upward and pierced without resistance into the side of the gargantuan monster of blood

For a second nothing happened But then Alana felt the images that were attacking her falter Her golden fire gushed forward and overwhelmed the distracted image The bloodbeastÆs side began to bulge outward like someone was driving their first directly out the side of the bloodbeastÆs stomach from within The bloodbeast roared in fury shaking the surrounding area with its volume Alana ignored the noise and patted WivanyaÆs side at the agreed upon signal WivanyaÆs wings began to glow white

With a single flap of her vast wings frost and snow raced across the exposed surface of the bloodbeast where its image had been burned away by golden fire With the majority of its image distracted by the sudden frost and dealing with the troublesome bullet attempting to extinguish its life Alana raised her spear above her head once more

Solar Flare Sun Strike

The heavy image of the flaming spear crashed downward shattering the stuttering blood limbs that had stopped her previously The bulge in the bloodbeastÆs side grew larger as the whole of its body continued to darken as though the blood that built the monster was rapidly rotting

Perhaps sensing its fate the bloodbeast turned its wrathful gaze on Alana as she slammed her spear into its shoulder Despite its earlier power the image within the bloodbeast began to flag it had been struck from too many angles The bulge in the bloodbeastÆs side finally exploded outward sending hundreds of basketball sized globes of rotten blood across the neighborhood below it The blood fell on the fires and sizzled ominously

Yet it seemed that the bloodbeast was finished Its mouth opened and a figure wrapped in a crimson cloak stepped cleanly out of the collapsing beastÆs head Although Alana couldnÆt see the face of the individual inside the cloak she felt his sharp gaze on her Then the figure turned away leaping off of the bloodbeast and attempting to flee

The bloodbeast was collapsing sideways like a carnival tent with the central pole removed But Alana twitched her hips and Wivanya carried them in quick pursuit Do you really think you can escape after youÆve done all this Holy Judgment

Time stuttered strangely the figure in the red cloak stretching out in a leap off of the bloodbeastÆs shoulder to a roof below It was like a polaroid photo that was slowly spat out immortalizing the moment As AlanaÆs eyes narrowed the contrast of this frozen world was turned sharply up The shadows became pitch black and every source of light became blinding There was a dull sound of impact against vulnerable flesh as the Holy Judgment landed and then the world was in motion again

When the figure in the cloak hit the roof he stumbled and crashed to the ground almost immediately But he quickly rolled and got back to his feet holding his shoulder Alana released a breath and swayed as almost all of her remaining Stamina and Mana was drained by using that Skill But she then tightened her knees on Wivanya and continued to pursue

Infuriatingly the cloaked figure continued to accelerate toward the edge of the roof and adroitly hopped to drop down into the alley below Still cursing the waiting Hank flipped open the cylinder of his revolver and pressed another bullet into one of the grooves with such slippery grace that even chasing Alana was impressed Then he spun the cylinder before flicking it back into place

As the cloaked figure landed on the ground of the ash and smoke filled alley his gaze whipped around and locked onto Hank As Hank straightened his arm and aimed his revolver the cloaked figure conjured a fist of blood and smashed the nearby wall sending splinters in every direction The building groaned ominously already weakened by the greedy flames But instead of running into the opening to escape the hand of blood seized a young woman who was likely hiding within the house and pulled her out to block his body

Eyes smoking with fury Alana leapt off of WivanyaÆs back and shot down from above toward the cloaked figureÆs back

With the young woman in his way Hank could only twist his mouth and remove his finger from the trigger of his revolver With a spare moment the cloaked figure melted and the red blood sluiced down through a drainage grate along the wall of the alley

At AlanaÆs insistence by message Hank hurried forward though the thick black smoke and swept the young woman off of her feet Without slowing he hurried toward the edge of the alley the young woman coughing weakly against his chest from the lack of oxygen in the air Although it was much harder to die of asphyxiation in a post System world it wasnÆt impossible if you werenÆt a high Level

Alana more burning spear than human smashed into the part of the alley near the grate and forced her way to the sewer below The weakened house gratefully collapsed around her sealing the entrance that she had used almost immediately But when Alana looked around she found almost a dozen smaller bloodbeasts crouching in wait for her They wore shapes like birds and insects and wolves but as Alana scanned the surrounding area the cloaked figure had already slithered away

Golden fire wreathed AlanaÆs limbs as she raised her spear Do you really think you can escape so easily

Chapter 1233

Obyrn Myyr leader of the ogres that had defected from the world connected to Earth through the Ogre Gorge and staunch ally of Donnyton narrowed his eyes and scanned the surrounding underbrush His three meter tall and six hundred pounds of muscle frame was standing in a clearing surrounded by low bushes and leafy trees His gaze was sharp as he examined the terrain as though his eyes alone could dissect the obstructions and find his quarry

Feigning a casual attitude Obyrn raised a spit of juicy meat to his lips He took a deep bite ripping a large stip of flesh with obvious relish as he waited for his quarry to reveal itself As he chewed grease ran down his chin and dripped on the heavy leather of his vest Mm Good meat

A breeze rustled across the clearing filling the area with the soft creaks and groans of branches shifting and waving Yet among those noises the sound of the release of a long held breath reached ObyrnÆs ears Instantly his face twisted into a bloodthirsty grin Tossing the meat to the side Obyrn began to stride forward

Heh foolish human IÆve found you now And when I catch you I will rend your flesh and crunch your bones

Like a freight train Obyrn accelerated simply barreled into the nearby trees without any finesse With his huge frame it was childÆs play to rip the trees out by their roots and casually throwing them to the side But just as quickly as Obyrn moved his prey moved even quicker Making use of her smaller size the human twisted among the thick tree trunks and sprinted ahead

The pitter patter of bare feet on dirt only had about a ten meter advantage on Obyrn and with his long strides he rapidly closed that distance With narrowed eyes he ignored the branches that lashed against his face as he charged forward His hands moved rapidly to smash apart anything in his path His breath huffed out through his nose in two huge streams

Yet Obyrn didnÆt let down his guard against his prey He was intimately familiar with the quickness of the foe in front of him and immediately understood that he was being led into a trap An indulgent smile crossed ObyrnÆs face Do you think you can do anything but delay the inevitable Fine then let me crush all of your petty tricks

No sooner had he spoken than Obyrn felt his foot rip through a strained rope Immediately a sharpened log shot upward out of a spring loaded trap The honed point was stained with dried blood probably from another monster that had been unlucky enough to stumble across it in the past

Obyrn smashed the trap to pieces with the palm of his hand and then stomped his foot into the ground to give him a burst of acceleration The thick oak trees in his way splintered to pieces and Obyrn eradicated the distance to the shadow in front of him almost immediately His hand shot down like a falconÆs claw but his target twisted to the side and avoided it

With an unnatural grace the shadowy target leapt back and bounded off a nearby tree to shoot past ObyrnÆs side and land on one of the trees that he had ripped apart while rushing forward Roaring Obyrn planted his foot and flexed the muscles of his legs After a strained moment his momentum completely shifted and he shot after the shadow in pursuit

Obyrn didnÆt miss the three small darts that were sticking out of his arm as he shot forward His body had already begun to tingle as the poison spread through his body He ignored that for now and smashed the drifting tree trunk with his fist But of course the shadow scurried around the trunk with the unnatural quickness of a spider and jumped down toward the ground before Obyrn could catch her

Yet Obyrn chuckled as the small shadow headed back toward the ground ThatÆs a mistake

Activating Earthen Stomp Obyrn brought his foot down on the ground and created up a wide stone pillar that smashed into the shadow before she expected it Still twisting and shooting three more darts toward ObyrnÆs legs the shadow was caught by surprise and squealed in pain Before she could recover Obyrn pinned her to the ground with one of his large hands

Now itÆs time With a bloodthirsty look in his eyes ObyrnÆs fingers tightened around the small human in his grasp The muscles of his arms bulged as he leered down at the small girl with short brown hair For a little snack

Uncle Obii thatÆs so dumb A villain wouldnÆt say that The child shrieked gleefully as she wiggled in his grasp

Using about half of his strength Obyrn twisted and physically launched the young human child he had pinned to the ground directly up into the air The human child spun in a circle gracefully twisting midair as she righted herself giggling all the while Due to the strength of his throw she probably passed thirty meters up in the air before she began to fall back downward

Obyrn took several strides forward to be under the girl when she landed and gently caught Delilah before she smashed into the ground Due to the distance she traveled it was actually pretty important that he diffuse her momentum slowly so she didnÆt damage her growing body But with ObyrnÆs strength it was a relatively straightforward process

When she landed the young human girl produced a poisoned dagger with a loud Eat this knave and stabbed toward ObyrnÆs face With an evil sounding laugh Obyrn bit the dagger and crushed it with his teeth Hiding a wince as he cut his gums Obyrn spat the metal chunks to the side and mercilessly tickled Delilah as she twisted helplessly in his hands

After thoroughly tickling the laughing girl Obyrn sat Delilah on the ground and patted her head This is your loss child I caught you Time to return to the city

Delilah whose time in low Level Dungeons probably put her at about five years old pouted up toward Obyrn She was perhaps one seventh of his height You cheated Just you wait Uncle Obi When I can get a Class IÆll be the one tickling you

Despite how ridiculous the claim was Obyrn could only nod seriously The daughter of Annie and Dozer was already displaying some extremely abnormal characteristics despite not even reaching her fifth birthday and having no Class to her name It didnÆt seem that unreasonable that this girl would seize the strength to reverse their current situation someday

Even the ogres who were around her age were rather timid around Delilah when she wanted to play a game After spending most of her childhood playing hide and seek or tag with Annie and Dozer anyone would have a skewed perception of a normal amount of physical capability Obyrn wasnÆt sure what sort of Skills Delilah had but they definitely were starting to creep up toward Skill Level fifty

But for now she was just a precocious child So Obyrn ignored her muttered complaints and lifted to set her on his shoulder Yet very quickly Delilah began to squirm

If you want to play hero and villains with me in the future you need to get better at saying evil things Delilah said seriously A villain wouldnÆt say something like now itÆs time for a little snackÆ they would throw out a fireball and then yell IÆm going to pillage and rape you Æ

Pillage and Obyrn froze for a split second then he continued to walk evenly forward through the destroyed forest due to their game of heroes and villains A strange sense of unease emerged in his chest As a creature raised in the brutal and bloody ogre world he had lived and breathed abhorrent acts Yet to hear this bright child casually say rape made him slightly uncomfortable Delilah among humans those are very bad words You cannot say such things

I know they are bad Delilah poked Obyrn in the shoulder ThatÆs why a villain would say them

Would the me of several years ago recognize who I have become after coming to Earth That me might use a large stone to smash open my skull and see what has gone wrong with my logic Shaking his head Obyrn instead asked Where did you hear those words

Old Man Madder Delilah said seriously Then she smiled brightly Oh He told me that he would tell me even worse Ogre swear words for my birthday

Old Man Madder probably meant Madarnol the grizzled old man that ran the one inn the ogre settlement possessed The reason he had gotten that job was simply because he was one of the more social of the ogres that had snuck across to join the growing country Of course he enjoyed nothing more than telling stories about his vicious past as a bandit Obyrn had no doubt that Maddarnol quite enjoyed DelilahÆs innocent attention and would have very willingly explained the gory details of the exploits of his younger years

Of course DelilahÆs avid attention was exactly why she was so extremely popular in the ogre settlement She was the one human that would walk up to the ogres and start a conversation out of the blue that didnÆt involve buying or selling she was just curious about their lives In a world that was not theirs her direct brightness did a lot to help the transplanted ogres feel at home

Feeling extremely resigned Obyrn did his best to lecture the young human child that began to scuttle across his torso like a bug as he explained why she shouldnÆt say certain words Even though she nodded dutifully when Obyrn prompted her he knew that Delilah had basically concluded that Obyrn would never really punish her and was therefore rather ambivalent about the lecture

The worst part of it was she was right The young human had wormed her way into ObyrnÆs heart and it made the fearsome ogre somewhat helpless

By the end of his rambling lecture all Obyrn really managed to accomplish was to depress himself Because the real tragedy will be if she says rape in front of Annie That woman wonÆt hesitate to level half of the ogre settlement to emphasize how seriously we should take her daughterÆs education

Very quickly the duo approached the outdoor market that was sprawled around the main road into the ogre settlement Lively banners fluttered in the wind as ogres humans and the monster people mixed freely in commerce Delilah waved spiritedly to many people that she recognized but Obyrn sharply denied her requests to stop and stayed on the main road Very soon they spotted the high stone walls and wide open gates of their destination

But when Obyrn arrived in front of the three story gate to get into the main city of the Ogre settlement Faldurs he found his two headed warlock friend Duual leaning against the outer wall in wait for him Immediately Obyrn gaze turned heavy and violent in a way that it hadnÆt during the earlier play with Delilah But Duual slightly shook his head and flashed Obyrn a hand signal

Talk later

Hello phlegm Duual said fondly as he both of his heads grinned at Delilah

She rolled across ObyrnÆs broad shoulder and waved lazily at Duual Dewy you old skin flute

But before Delilah could continue her ears twitched and her eyes suddenly widened as though she had seen a ghost A chill so heavy that everyone in the surrounding area felt it smashed downward With the same remarkable quickness she showed running from Obyrn through the forest Delilah twisted and launched herself sideways off from the road on a beeline into the forest But before she had scampered into the trees a long sigh echoed out across the abruptly silent gate

Dozer stepped out from the gate and stood next to Duual He folded his arms and looked at Delilah with something like pity Running will only make it worse

Heh donÆt act so aggrieved IÆve always played nice with you hubby With all the grace of a cat Annie hopped down off of the high walls and landed without a sound Her hand curled protecting over the extremely prominent bulge of her second pregnancy as she sauntered toward Delilah Honey why are you running I just want to talk about some of the words youÆve been learning when we let you wander around Faldurs alone

As Annie walked past Obyrn she shot him a venomous glance that informed him that his involvement had not been forgotten but she had bigger fish to fry Or rather smaller and more precious AnnieÆs vicious brown eyes cut back to Delilah

The girl shivered Mommy I

I guess youÆve thought IÆve been too busy getting ready for your new little brother but IÆve been wondering lately Still with one hand curled protectively around her stomach Annie produced a thin bone from her interspatial ring Why donÆt the two of us play heroes and villains We should take some quality time to talk about your behavior recently

Delilah seemed to hesitate her young mind missing the dread inducing smile on her motherÆs face I okay mommy YouÆll be hero so go hide and I

Oh no Annie smiled sweetly down at her daughter as she cracked the bone whip Today IÆll be playing the villain

Seeming to finally realize that the situation had turned for the worse Delilah spun and rushed away into the woods Chuckling lightly Annie turned back to Obyrn Immediately most of the maliciousness on her face fell away In a gentle tone that surprised Obyrn she said Whatever happens Donnyton has your back

Then she turned away and disappeared into the underbrush almost immediately without making the slightest sound The White Hunter prowled through the forest around Faldurs stalking her daughter with a detached precision that Obyrn couldnÆt help but be impressed by

But with Annie gone Obyrn quickly turned to Duual and Dozer who flanked the gates So I assume something must have happened

Dozer looked to Duual One of DuualÆs faces was worriedly glancing side to side while the other was creased in a deep frown It seems like the peace weÆve enjoyed for the last few months should be over Other than that well itÆs best that you see it for yourself

So Obyrn followed the two through the crowded streets of Faldurs Since it wasnÆt a day where a train came up to Faldurs it was mostly just ogres filling the interior streets They sold large haunches of meat and argued over the price of bits of armor and leather Through the entire journey to the Protectorate’s Residence all three of the individuals were silent

When they finally walked inside Obyrn looked around in confusion his office was completely clean He had braced himself for a strange corpse or a wounded subordinate but all he found was the usually heavy wood and tall windows of the seat of the Protectorate Yet after a heavy glance from Duual ObyrnÆs eyes finally settled on a scroll sitting in the middle of his desk

ItÆs this Obyrn asked as he picked up the scroll

Duual nodded ItÆs a letter From Nordawn the ancestral home of the ogres They wish to inform us that they will be coming to visit Faldurs ItÆs finally time for the real monsters to crawl out of the darkness

Chapter 1234

Mrs Hamilton looked out the window and watched Donny in the clearing below rub his temples as he tried his best to suppress his growing headache It had become quite the problem recently that forced him to spend a few hours each day sleeping The combination of business image training and stress from political issues was slowly gnawing at his sanity

But very quickly one of the laborers that was laying the foundations for the competition grounds walked over to Donny and he was forced to raise his head and reveal a smile They spoke for several minutes Donny solving whatever problem the laborer presented and sending him on his way

Shaking her head Mrs Hamilton turned away from the window and walked back to her desk Although he always knew that would be his role to see things get to this point

To be fair they were all quite exhausted currently Despite everyoneÆs boosted Vitality the leaders of Donnyton had been working tirelessly for the past month to prepare for the twice a year Donnyton Trials In the two years since they were instituted the original four competitions combat tactics knowledge and production had been expanded to seven One of the new inclusions was a more formal split and expansion of the two original production competition process and piece Another was a formal performance and entertainment competition

The final inclusion was the one that had given DonnytonÆs leadership the communal headache It was effectively an all star competition that would occur on the last day featuring the individuals with the top 32 point totals from the previous competitions There would be five rounds of randomized events and making sure no particular competition winner would have an unfair advantage was a nightmare

Mrs Hamilton opened her eyes Still most of our work is done Meanwhile Donny

Mrs Hamilton sat down at her desk and picked up the pea green porcelain teacup that Regina Northwind had given Mrs Hamilton for her birthday last year She took a sip and sighed in pleasure truly the coffee farms Southwest of Franksburg were really coming in nicely

Yet just like Donny as soon as she felt a shred of peace of mind there was a knock at the door After taking another sip of coffee Mrs Hamilton called out Come in

The door pivoted inward and revealed DanielÆs disheveled form He walked briskly forward carrying a thick clipboard His fingers were stained with ink and he too looked rather the worse for wear Mrs HamiltonÆs eyes narrowed slightly there was something else at play here Something was bothering Daniel

As she predicted Daniel didnÆt immediately offer Mrs Hamilton any information or ask a question Instead Daniel regarded Mrs Hamilton nervously for several seconds before he opened his mouth Who did it Was it one of ours

Really it is about this Some part of Mrs Hamilton wanted to chide Daniel for how easily spooked he was but she also knew that he was one of the people that functioned best when everyone around him ignored his flaws So she held her tongue and steepled her fingers It was not us If IÆm not mistaken it should have been Lucifer and his group from Franksburg that cleared the Danger Zone

DanielÆs face flushed his face red and sweaty with worry Mrs Hamilton took another sip of the smoky coffee to channel her emotions in an ambiguous enough way that Daniel wouldnÆt spend the rest of their meeting overwhelmed with anxiety Then she set her pea green teacup down on her desk and let her eyes close for a few moments

At least I wonÆt need to give twenty speeches over the next week Mrs Hamilton consoled herself Then she flexed her fingers and prepared herself to deal with Daniel

As the face of Donnyton DonnyÆs work had really only begun And when she had looked out the window at Donny he looked more zombie than human Still he was young Mrs Hamilton didnÆt doubt that he would use the excitement and festivities as a means to rally himself

Is this okay WeÆve only cleared one Danger Zone ourselves Daniel spoke hesitantly If the perception of the Squads of Donnyton as the strongest on Earth starts to slip

It wonÆt Mrs Hamilton smiled sweetly at Daniel to placate him You have to remember Franksburg is our ally this is a good thing In addition you saw the notification LuciferÆs group chose to split the experience benefit with everyone ThatÆs another boost to DonnytonÆs growth DonÆt worry needlessly

Mrs HamiltonÆs gaze fell back to the three reports on her desk It was the second was the one that had Daniel all riled up and in Mrs HamiltonÆs mind it was the least important of the news that arrived today It was a transcript of the notification that had appeared before everyone on Earth along with a few of Mrs HamiltonÆs thoughts on what it meant Idly Mrs Hamilton looked over the notification once more

Congratulations people of New Earth The Danger Zone Acid Volcano has been cleared The clearer has elected to share the benefit with the entire world All individuals of New Earth will experience a slight boost in gathering experience

Congratulations This is the third Danger Zone where the clearer selected the worldwide award Clearing two more Danger Zones and selecting the worldwide reward before the arrival of the First Calamity will result in the New Earth receiving a special bonus

The first Danger Zone cleared had been the Ogre Gorge After that was the World Crater and then Zone SevenÆs Brass Dollhouse Perhaps the real reason that Daniel was so nervous was that the details of the second Danger Zone remained mysterious to this day and the third Danger Zone was only accomplished after Zone Seven allied with several of DonnytonÆs Squads to clear it

But this fourth Danger Zone had not involved in Donnyton at all Franksburg had done it all on its own Which in Mrs HamiltonÆs mind only proved that Lucifer hadnÆt been slacking off while avoiding any attention grabbing activities in the past year

The issue of DonnytonÆs pride is a small thing Mrs Hamilton stretched her right pointer finger out and tapped the secondary message But the fact that it is dangling a special bonus in front of us After all when has the System given us presents that werenÆt lined with fish hooks

Because it wasnÆt that Donnyton didnÆt possess the requisite power to clear Danger Zones that it hadnÆt accomplished anything in the past year And with the Order Valorum taking over more and more of the patrols in the borderlands to handle Raid Bosses Donnyton actually had a surplus of manpower at the moment

Yet the reason that Mrs Hamilton Donny and Regina agreed to wait to challenge more Danger Zones was because much of their strongest individuals were currently deployed to cap the already cleared Danger Zones Because each clear resulted in another world that had been starved of Aether being connected to Earth

Daniel squirmed uncomfortably but he didnÆt say anything more Shaking her head Mrs Hamilton glanced at the third report she had made today It was definitely the strangest It was a letter that they had received from the sister village of Donnyton Whatever force had previously cut off communication between the two worlds was now gone The letter informed Donnyton that a delegation would come through in three days to discuss the resuscitation of trade between the villages

Resuscitation such a word choice Perhaps a fluke of the System translation

It was likely an opportunity but this report also gave Mrs Hamilton pause Never before had the communication between the villages been so formal Had the previous owners of DonnytonÆs sister Village been defeated and replaced with another force

Drawing as though by magnetism Mrs HamiltonÆs eyes went to the first report detailing the happenings in Orchard earlier that day Knowing that the combined forces of Alana and Hank could only defeat the giant avatar and force the culprit to retreat was disturbing to say the least As was the report that the giant blood beast had brought up the taboo term of the Red RevivalÆ while attacking President and Chairperson of the World Council Theodora Greyman

Perhaps sensing that Mrs HamiltonÆs gaze shifted Daniel asked Has Decklan really betrayed us

This time Mrs Hamilton didnÆt attempt to hide her sharp annoyance Daniel IÆm quite shocked that I should have to warn you of all people to speak more conscientiously And even if Decklan was involved IÆm not going to paint him as a villain until I understand the situation

It obviously reflects badly on us Daniel insisted Everyone knows that Donnyton was against the Hero Initiative What if they assume that we were involved

Mrs Hamilton shook her head slightly and then allowed her nascent image to manifest in the vaulted ceilings of her office The corners became heavy with wedding and several heavy shadows seemed to watch down on the discussion happening below As the webbing gently fluttered above Daniel froze below

A single grey spider the size of a quarter slowly spun a long thread to allow itself to settle onto DanielÆs shoulder It crawled across his shoulder until it rested one of its thin threads against the delicate flesh of his neck

Is something wrong Daniel Mrs HamiltonÆs voice was ice Even to her own ears her words sounded strange and distant As though it wasnÆt her human mouth that spoke but the spiders above that whispered with manipulating her human body You are quite high in the hierarchy of us here at Donnyton but your status as head librarian comes with a certain set of responsibilities Your current behavior is disturbing Did something happen

For a second Daniel bit his lip Then he nodded slowly Mrs Hamilton felt a flash of relief Regardless of whether it was a sufficient justification Mrs Hamilton was at least willing to listen to his explanation

Daniel kept his voice low but his shoulders were still frozen as the grey spider rested a foot against his neck Yes ItÆs not that something happened but Well rather you you were right the expansion of the Wildlands couldnÆt continue like this We received word that the second theory that you had turned out to be accurate The term that people are using is bubble cities

Immediately Mrs HamiltonÆs gaze sharpened She pulled open the drawer to her desk and retrieved several pieces of paper and a pen When it rains it pours Looks like IÆll be writing four reports today I assume Kharon encountered one

or if they werenÆt the first to find one they were the first one to survive Daniel licked his lips nervously It was apparently the entire southside of Chicago We arenÆt sure of the details but that area wasnÆt put as part of a Zone but operated in isolation for a similar amount of time to us Periodically monsters would attack the isolated area but it was a relatively safe existence So when Kharon encountered them there was already an established political entity in operation

Whatever the population originally was it had been reduced to half And about nine tenths of those people were forced to wear iron collars and support the ChosenÆ who had obtained Classes The leader the reports are gruesome of the state of the compound where the Chosen stayed It was so bad that Helen took it upon herself to eradicate the rot

Daniel spread his arms wide This is why IÆm worried Our main advantage was that we were one of the first to connect to New Earth and definitely the most advanced in System knowledge Daniel continued But our population has always held us back Without the constant influx of population from the Wildlands if most of the population now remains in these bubble cities

Feeling profoundly tired Mrs Hamilton let her image fall away Sensing the change in the air DanielÆs nervous rant stumbled to a stop It wasnÆt that Daniel was wrong just that he couldnÆt really conceptualize how small of a threat these bubble cities were in the short term In a week that was supposed to be a celebration there were several more imminent existential threats looming on the horizon

Mrs Hamilton picked up her pea green cup and took another sip she winced when her coffee had gone cold Then she lightly said Daniel if you donÆt believe in Donnyton please leave But while you make that decision please leave my office I have work to do

Chapter 1235

Roy sat sharply up his every instinct screaming that something was very wrong with the surrounding situation A dull computer screen stared back at him currently showing an excel sheet filled with meaningless numbers With his left hand he rubbed the bridge of his nose and ignored the dull trill of telephones in the surrounding area Beyond that the low voices of several dozen people using their phone voiceÆ formed a rather harmless soundscape around Roy

The nearby ringing incessantly continued After several bleary blinks he surreptitiously wiped a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth he had fallen asleep in his cubicle at work and the harsh ring of a nearby phone had served as his alarm clock His head foggy Roy pivoted in his seat and leaned back in the swivel chair to peer down the inoffensive walkway of tan carpet

He saw numerous identical black swivel chairs holding numerous workers wearing the same expression of boredom Slowly RoyÆs gaze wandered past them toward the window sitting proudly at the end of the long aisle of cubicles

A drizzling rain spat against the window It was a chilly day in early March Roy belatedly remembered Walking from the parking lot to the building had been hell It was a day like every other day Because nothing in RoyÆs life ever changed At this point it was hard to remember how long he had been stuck here

You fall asleep again Roy Yanno If you donÆt like this job you can just find another one

Suppressing his unease Roy turned to face his manager Carla He contorted his face until his expression settled into something like a greasy smile I I think IÆm just running a bit of a fever I was just pressing my forehead against the table to cool it off a bit

IÆm sure Carla folded her arms and shifted her copious weight Then Carla jabbed her finger at RoyÆs desk And what are those

Still feeling profoundly confused and out of touch Roy turned to look at his desk Then he flinched when he saw the scattered post its sitting prominently on top of his workbook Perhaps due to his own inner perfectionist Roy had clearly taken the time to arrange the thirty six odd post its in six rows of six Each post it was almost perfectly spaced from its fellows evidencing the significant amount of time Roy must have dedicated to the project

The horror he felt as he realized what was happening was a chilled bucket of ice water dumped over his head Because the post its were for the comic that Roy was working on Perhaps because he had been comparing concept art all of the small comics he made during work were arrayed in a neat grid on his desk