episode_0250

Beautiful statues of young women lined every street. The stark gray streets seemed to brighten slightly.

The true identity of the statues was us, the Violets.

“It’s the Violet Statue Park!”

I’ve died many times before, but this was the first time dying by turning into a statue. It’s admirable to see how the monsters’ killing methods are gradually evolving creatively.

“I’m broken again!”

From the perspective of observing within the Violet network, becoming a statue seemed quite amusing. There was no pain, and seeing the other Violets frozen in place looked extremely funny.

Of course, the fun was short-lived. Violets turned to stone every time they were grazed by a ray of light flying from the void.

The source of the problem must be over there.

“What is that?!”

I raised my head and looked at the sky. As I focused my magic on my vision, an unknown magic spell formation unfolded high above me came into view.

It was so unfamiliar and complex that I couldn’t even begin to describe it.

The magic spell formations we normally use are like computer circuits. Although they bear the name “magic,” their foundation operates on rules and logic. Even the spell formation that Polaris’s former director unfolded when he unleashed solar rays from the sky, though massive and complex, was ultimately a combination of basic spell formations. It was within the scope of human understanding.

I’ve never seen such a spell formation before. The formation before my eyes resembled the neural network of a living organism. Lines and symbols, strangely intertwined, as if alive and moving. New patterns appeared every time I tried to grasp their hidden meaning. Order within disorder.

“It’s dizzying!”

“It’s strange…my head hurts!”

We, within the network, felt headaches and dizziness from the incomprehensible shape.

“Command says! Interpret it later. Retreat for now!”

It was obvious why Sophieel Unnie was temporarily held back. It was due to the combination of the unknown magic unfolded here and the monster horde. Given her skill, it wasn’t that she couldn’t escape, but she would need time.

“Unnie, I’ll rescue you right away!” I said, pulling out my staff.

There were two main ways to dispel a spell formation. One was to unravel it by reverse calculation. The other was to crush it with an overwhelming amount of magic.

“Fusion Beam ready!”

Violet raised her staff. The hidden memory stored within the network was loaded.

Whoosh!

Three dazzling beams of light sliced through the street and the air. A gap wide enough for a person to pass through opened amidst the wave of monsters, and the complex spell formation shattered into pieces before the high-output magic beams.

“Let’s go!”

“Alright!”

The moment we seized the monsters’ hesitation to escape, the torn spell formation began to restore itself at a rapid pace.

‘Oh, no! It’s regenerating!’

Violets fell, their legs frozen solid. Before the monsters could charge again, I quickly made a decision.

“Run!”

-Boom!

While several Violets self-destructed to buy time, we quickly escaped the area. After shaking off the monsters’ pursuit, we finally caught our breath in a corner of a building.

“Escape successful!”

A warm, soft hand stroked the crown of the excited Unit 2011.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to get out easily without wasting any more time.”

We rested and shared our experiences with each other. There was truly a lot to talk about.

“So, the entire convention center fell here, right?”

“Yes, I heard outside that this place is called Asteria. It’s an ancient ruined city.”

At my words, Unnie nodded as if she had expected it. When I then mentioned that there might be monster commanders, her expression darkened even further.

“I see. There was a reason the monsters’ reaction speed was on a different level. Considering how they swarmed us within minutes of opening our eyes. While monsters are good at finding humans, they don’t usually move with such cunning and agility.”

Hmm, indeed, combining all the circumstances so far, the incident we were embroiled in was by no means trivial. Sensing the gravity of the situation, I quickly began to assess the current status.

“When do the tanks and helicopters arrive? What about the technicals?”

“They’re almost here…but the Federal Army is spread all over the vicinity.”

Armored unit deployment is on hold for now. We could crush the outer outposts and encirclement and rush into the barrier, but we’ll save that option for later.

“Let’s start producing clones!”

The current number of Violet consciousnesses is approximately two thousand. Considering the number of hibernating Violets stored in various places, it seems more than half can be immediately summoned.

“Will clones alone be enough? Let’s make other preparations too!”

“Firepower! Weapons!”

The Artillery Violets headed to a secluded, deserted open space. Then, they took out field artillery, mortar, and rocket launcher parts from their inventory, assembled them, and planted aiming stakes into the ground. This alone wasn’t enough. It was doubtful whether those things shooting strange petrification rays could be killed by physical force alone.

Fortunately, the items our Violets could use were very close by.

“Artifact Exhibition!”

Perhaps due to the shock of the exhibition hall falling entirely into the eroded zone, or perhaps due to the monsters that could attack at any moment, people’s attention was entirely focused outwards. Thus, the artifacts were left unguarded.

For the sake of peace, I should requisition them under the name of our Ariel Group.

“Take everything that looks useful!”

First, starting with the Heart of Sunset. Besides that, everything that looked useful as a weapon or expensive was requisitioned.

I also picked up a pair of artifact sunglasses that could share vision with others and secretly put them into my inventory.

“For peace!”

After gathering the artifacts and various other miscellaneous items, the other Violets found a spot where there were no people.

Soon, Violets began to multiply throughout the city. Quietly, very quietly.

The Violets at command oversaw all operations and reconstructed the tactical map. Unit 2 drew a long line straight down the middle of the map, dividing it in half. One side was the area where people who had fallen into the other world were. The opposite side was the dangerous zone swarming with monsters.

Small search parties scoured both areas, tracking Levi’s whereabouts.

“Hm…?”

Somewhere in the city, I felt a place where magic was strangely fluctuating. What could this be?

**

In a monastery in Asteria, which Violet had classified as a dangerous zone, ominous work was underway.

Although now in a state of decay, the Holy Heart Monastery, once a prosperous holy site, was filled with temples of all sizes.

The architectural style of the monastery focused on securing vast spaces to accommodate the worship of numerous devotees gathered from various regions. Thanks to this, the chapel was as wide as a plaza.

In the hall where God had departed, a bizarre service was underway.

The devotees had their eyes closed, seemingly in ecstasy, while a man and a woman spoke with somber expressions.

“We missed them. They would have been quite useful if we had captured them. Perhaps I should have intervened directly.”

Faint regret was evident in the woman’s muttered words. Through the monsters’ vision, a single adult female and a unit of masked, armed girls fleeing desperately had been caught.

“Just to capture one of them? There’s no need for that. We have many tasks to do. What about troop preparations?”

The woman muttered in response to the man’s question.

“There have been minor skirmishes, but the monsters’ gathering is proceeding smoothly. By the time the Federal Army and Restraid’s hunters arrive, all preparations will be complete.”

The man nodded. They felt no unease.

This place was far removed from external laws. It was an environment extremely familiar and comfortable to them. Using their abilities freely was not difficult.

“The ritual will not be disturbed.”

The woman’s gaze turned to a dazzling object placed on the altar. Awe filled the eyes of both the man and the woman as they looked at it. This was a part of the power left behind by the Great Overlord in this world. Even wielding it as it was would be powerful enough, but they had found ways to use its power more efficiently by exploiting the blind faith of those ignorant human devotees.

There were two things they needed to do.

One was to open a passage.

“We succeeded in manipulating space. Then we should be able to open a passage as well.”

A little while ago, through a small experiment, they had confirmed that the faith of brainwashed humans could summon a religious sanctuary submerged in another dimension into reality. What if, under their coordination, they gathered more servants and were given time? They might be able to create a new passage, ignoring the terrible obstacles between dimensions.

“Directing His Majesty’s gaze here, or bringing over other beings, is a matter for later. First, let’s summon the soldiers. There’s no need to rush.”

At the man’s firm words, the woman nodded in agreement.

“I agree. Even if we fail, there’s nothing to lose. If we succeed, we can establish second and third fronts.”

There were many small exits opened in Trist, but these alone were insufficient to bring over the great beings. It was humiliating, but to ignore this planet’s natural laws, which functioned like an immune system, and cross over directly, a larger gateway and complex work were required.

“However, if our experiment succeeds…”

“Observation is over.”

It would be an unexpected thunderbolt for these barbaric creatures who daily showered the Great Gate of the North Pole with inferior killing weapons, disrupting the ritual.

They would be able to draw an ineffable power into the heart of this city, which held the hopes and future of humanity.

The woman, who had been manipulating the monsters, directing the devotees, and coordinating various tasks, brought up another topic. It was time to discuss the second task they were preparing.

“How is its production coming along? I’d like to be able to use it as soon as possible.”

“There are still many shortcomings.” The man unexpectedly hesitated.

“Manipulating and creating something by borrowing authority is not my domain. Spreading it isn’t a problem, but the crucial elements need to be manipulated directly with this.”

He pointed to the solid crystal he held in his hand. The woman expressed doubt.

“Hmm, wasn’t the original intention a pathogen? This is like…a curse.”

“Creating the servant form we desire requires complex work. We’ve been manipulating them through direct contact until now, but to manipulate a group before improved methods emerge, we must use this method.”

Regret was evident in the man’s expression.

“Competent ones will show high resistance. It will take time to infiltrate. I apologize for not meeting expectations.”

As he, unusually, tried to apologize with an embarrassed expression, the woman stopped him.

“It works on bugs that can’t use magic, doesn’t it? That’s enough. We can use it in our ritual, and even if it’s interrupted, it can cause chaos in that society.”

The man nodded with an expressionless face.

“Now, let’s begin.”

With indifferent steps, they approached the prisoners bound behind the altar. Poor victims who had been left behind during the erosion zone transition. Their physical condition was fine, but they were trembling with fear, having been abducted by the monsters.

“Ugh, aah…”

As the man raised his hand, a grotesquely shaped solid crystal floated from his palm. Eerie colored lights bloomed from his fingertips within the crystal. They shimmered in the air, like a school of jellyfish swimming in the ocean.

“Excellent,” the woman muttered, as if evaluating.

Without a word, the man extended his hand and launched the bizarre substances at the prisoners. The jellyfish-shaped entities moved swiftly, like predators charging directly at their prey.

“Oh, aah. No!”

“Aaaargh!”

They burrowed into the heads of the screaming prisoners and then vanished without a trace. A moment later, the prisoners stared blankly into the air.

The man indifferently rummaged through their minds. The bewildered humans raised their heads and looked around.

“Wh-where is this…?”

Some of the worshipers stood up and drove them outside. Before they could even collect themselves, a nearby group of monsters approached, growling.

The woman gestured towards the monsters lurking nearby. The monsters bared their teeth and cleared a path.

“Once those bugs start making contact with their kind,” the woman muttered coldly.

“…the seeds we planted will spread.”

The man’s voice was devoid of emotion.

With impassive faces, they gazed at the ruins outside the building, beneath the hazy sky. Even if they failed, there would be no loss. No matter what happened, they stood to gain much.

However, even with the smooth progress of their schedule, the woman could not shake off an uncomfortable feeling.

“I don’t know why you’ve been like this for a while. Was losing that human really that regrettable?”

When the man asked, the woman revealed a very slight uneasy feeling.

“No, those soldiers from a little while ago. I felt a familiar wave.”

The woman transmitted a thought wave, and the man recalled the strange soldiers who had recently infiltrated their territory and been repelled. Human Awakened ones, possessing the same nature, moving in perfect unison.

“Interesting, a familiar wave?”

“At the time, I just thought they were one of the highly resistant humans, so I stopped the capture.”

The woman frowned and muttered.

“But, through the senses of my servants, I detected a familiar wave surrounding them.”

“Among humans, oddities sometimes appear.”

The woman fell into thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Then, I’ll try to capture them.”

As soon as the decision was made, the monsters, having received their orders, swiftly vanished into the shadows.

Interestingly, at the same time, the girl they were seeking also made the same decision.

“Shall I try getting abducted?”

“Let’s do it!”

It was a strange coincidence.