Ch.116Extinction Device (1)

# Chapter 116: Extinction Device (1)

As soon as I saw the event message, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

‘Extinction Device?’

Thanks to the automatic pause that occurs when event messages appear, I had enough time to gather my thoughts.

But no matter how much I thought about it, the confusion in my mind wouldn’t go away.

‘Something seems off. Did anything like this appear in the Gray Nightmare event?’

Despite racking my brain, I couldn’t recall anything about this massive fortress(?). Perhaps I was becoming senile.

To be precise… it wasn’t that I couldn’t remember anything at all.

Even if nano-machines were like water fleas, there should be some source that produces the nano-machines themselves.

But the source of nano-machines that I remembered… was definitely not this heavily fortified structure.

‘It wasn’t completely without weapons… but it certainly wasn’t anything like this.’

Thinking about it, something was definitely strange.

‘A nano-machine fleet… building a fortress?’

Originally, those things would infest planets and create fleets.

They wouldn’t build massive planetary fortresses right after arriving, like what I was seeing now.

With that in mind, I looked at the event message again.

[Event: The Maddening Extinction Device]

[You have finally come face to face with the perpetrator—no, the perpetrator star—that planned to cover the entire galaxy with nano-machines.]

My suspicion deepened at these incomprehensible words.

‘This is truly strange. Something’s wrong with this structure.’

Thinking about it, there were numerous questions.

Basically, the Gray Nightmare event that I remembered was…

‘A mysterious warp gate opens, and if Gray doesn’t come out, the Gray Nightmare fleet appears.’

But for a gate that our empire created to suddenly connect to the Gray Nightmare’s domain?

It’s been 16 years, so my memory is a bit hazy… but a user-created gate connecting to an event gate?

No matter how I looked at it, such an event wouldn’t exist in either the original game or any mod.

‘What the hell is this?’

Moreover, that planetary fortress out there was clearly not something that should appear at this stage of the game.

‘Now that I look at it… why is that appearing now?’

As I mentioned earlier, it’s been over 16 years since I saw it in the game.

Although my memory is a bit fuzzy, the “planetary fortress” before my eyes was absolutely something that shouldn’t appear now.

That’s because it’s the instigator of an event far more dangerous than the Warlord, the Gray Fleet, or even the AI rebellion that supposedly happened before I was born.

‘The prerequisite events for this to appear haven’t even occurred yet?’

As my thoughts indicated, this entity was absurdly out of place in the current game progression.

‘Extinction Device, or was it Extinction Protocol System?’

I couldn’t remember the exact name, but one thing was certain.

This was one of the final bosses from the late game, known for its extreme difficulty.

And realizing this, I finally understood why the Precursors had come all the way to our empire in such a panic.

‘With something like that sealed away, it’s essentially been unleashed in the current era. No wonder they were desperate.’

Of course, I decided to stop questioning how our gate had suddenly connected to this.

‘Well, in life, gates can connect or not connect. That’s just how it is.’

As for Ash, perhaps this event was originally meant to come to us.

But because it connected too early, maybe Ash was trying to help us.

‘…Am I being too sentimental?’

Anyway, all these problems led to that planetary fortress, which we found by following the nano-machine signals.

And as the signal from Ash detected inside suggests.

I just need to end this situation, meet Ash, and calmly hear what happened.

With that thought, I released the pause and leaned back on the throne.

[Pause Released]

“Alright, then we need to prepare to infiltrate that unknown planet—”

“Ah, could you wait a moment, Minister?”

Well, I tried to say that.

But Levia, who suddenly interrupted me, showed an emotion of “bewilderment” for the first time since we met.

I stepped back in confusion and asked.

“…What’s the matter, Levia?”

“Actually, I’m detecting a core with specifications and energy similar to mine from that planetary fortress in front of us.”

“Is that true?”

Hearing that, I expressed even more bewilderment.

‘A core in the Extinction Protocol System, or rather, the Extinction Device?’

Of course, it wasn’t strange that there would be a core or source somewhere.

But the core of the Extinction Device should be a fortified cybernetic core surrounded by powerful fleets and defensive weapons.

There’s no way it could be a biological core like Levia standing before us.

How could a living being exist in that bizarre planet made of nano-machines?

As I was thinking this, Levia, who had been squinting at the mechanical planet in the distance, turned to us and said.

“I’m certain. It’s definitely a core with the same specifications as mine.”

“Hmm… I see.”

But after hearing that, I wondered what significance it had.

‘Just because they have the same specifications… what does that mean in the current situation?’

And it seemed others had the same thought.

Among them, Riel stepped forward and voiced my exact thoughts to Levia.

“I’m curious, but what does that have to do with our current situation?”

In response to Ricacola’s blunt question, Levia tilted her head for a moment…

*Tap*

As if she had realized something, she hit her palm with her fist and explained to us in her characteristically monotone voice.

“When I say I have the same specifications as the core inside, it means I have access and command authority over that planetary fortress’s system.”

Levia had just uttered something incredibly important and remarkable.

But her tone was so calm and flat.

Reminiscent of a certain Japanese politician’s circular logic from a past life, her statement was so calm and emotionless.

It took us a while to properly react to Levia’s words.

————————-

A little later.

“Alright, so Levia, what exactly is the extent of your authority?”

After emerging from confusion.

I decided that in the current situation, I had no choice but to trust Levia’s words.

“I’m currently compiling the available permissions within the system… but you can assume I have access to most commands.”

“Hmm.”

While this was interesting, such a vague explanation was hard for a computer illiterate like me to understand.

Fortunately, there was someone in the room who was well-versed in complex electronic language, unlike me.

“Oh my, does that mean we could potentially attack the fortress without being attacked in return?”

After her stealth equipment had melted like taffy.

In response to Minister Vermut’s question, who had been idle, Levia shook her head and said.

“Even so, if we attack, there’s a possibility that they could forcibly block my command authority.”

“I see.”

“However, I should be able to bypass the fortress’s detection radar or sensors, or make it ignore this ship.”

We asked if it was possible to prevent the fortress from attacking our ship, but…

“The fortress’s defense batteries operate on a completely independent system, so external authorities like me can’t manipulate them.”

Seeing Levia’s assertive stance, I was about to nod in agreement.

But right after.

[Pause]

[Event: Entering the Extinction Device]

[Thanks to the biological core of Leviathan accompanying you, it’s now possible to enter the massive fortress protecting the core of the Extinction Device.]

[However, even if Levia, as a biological core, has identical authority, no one knows what will happen once inside.]

[Option 1: Enter as is (Continue linked event)]

[Option 2: Try to shut down the fortress through external access (Continue linked event)]

Seeing another event message appear before my eyes.

I began to suspect that this cursed event was trying to give me decision paralysis.