Chapter 998: The Great Collapse of the Bernius Rift Settlement
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 998: The Great Collapse of the Bernius Rift Settlement
"Tsk... just a bunch of nobodies who don't know a damn thing."
After finishing my search of their memories, I opened my eyes and clicked my tongue in annoyance.
Their so-called "Big Boss" wasn't even the one who dealt with these men directly. The task had been passed down through several layers of subordinates, and these guys had only acted on rumors they’d managed to overhear. They didn't even know if the person in charge was a man or a woman.
Their only job was to blockade the access tunnels to this sector and report back immediately if anyone intruded.
But now, they would never be sending that report.
After a moment’s thought, I retrieved a communication device from the only man whose corpse was still intact. I opened my mouth and spoke, but the voice that came out was entirely different from my own—it was the voice of the man they called "Boss."
Following his memories, I transmitted a message back.
Using his voice and a tone laced with a hint of sycophancy, I reported that someone had arrived but had broken through before they could stop them. The person on the other end didn't suspect a thing, merely barking a few curses before hanging up.
Once the call ended, I dropped the communicator and crushed it under my heel.
Hmm... I’m starting to feel quite a bit like a villain.
Regardless, the news that "someone has arrived" had been successfully delivered. As for what would happen next, that remained to be seen.
I continued deeper into the facility, no longer maintaining my previous appearance. I had only used that look to avoid trouble from ignorant pests; now that the area was cleared, there was no need to inconvenience myself.
As I walked, I toyed with a material pixel I had pried from a worn section of the wall.
I had to admit, a product influenced by the permanent effects of [Transcendent Knowledge] was undoubtedly the greatest "cheat" in this world. A subterranean city of this magnitude had been built without any regard for foundations or load-bearing structures. Instead, countless complex engineering problems had been reduced to the simple task of stacking blocks.
It reminded me once again of what the Rebel Witch had told me regarding the power of the Terminal of Myriad Worlds and its major breakthroughs in basic materials.
"I presume you are the Calamity Witch who performed that miracle at the Igesuo Surface City?"
While I was idling away the time playing with the material pixel, a voice rang out. I pinpointed the speaker's location the moment they spoke, and a moment later, a figure stepped out from the shadows with a flourish.
I narrowed my eyes. The being before me wasn't a person, but... a game character.
"Oh? So you're the current old geezer in charge of the Real Protection Association, Monroe? How cautious of you—meeting me with a game character. This must be a banned account, isn't it? I’m honored you’d waste such a strategic resource just to see me."
My opening remark caught him off guard, but he was an old fox. He chose to ignore the "old geezer" comment entirely.
"A meeting with the Calamity Witch is naturally worth the price. Though even I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. The Igesuo Surface City is... quite a distance from here." Monroe’s tone was confident, yet he couldn't hide his surprise at my efficiency.
"That’s because you chose this dump. Since we’re meeting via a banned account anyway, wouldn't it have been more convenient to just come to my city? Besides, your pathetic association is a nightmare to manage. Now you’re even trying to use my strength just to maintain the status quo."
"Does the Calamity Witch mean to say... that my branch association can offer you no assistance?"
"A collection of bodies so frail I could crush them with one hand, a work ethic so lazy they do nothing but deflect responsibility, and a greed that demands everything for nothing—what kind of 'assistance' could a group like that possibly give me?"
"Then I truly apologize."
"I suppose I’ll grudgingly accept your apology. Try to have a better attitude next time," I shot back.
Every word I spoke was a deliberate jab, my tone dripping with arrogance and disdain. This wasn't an accident; I was targeting him specifically.
I didn't know what he was plotting, but I could sense something wrong with the material space here. It felt as though the space had been reinforced by some special means, making ordinary spatial magic difficult to cast.
Moreover... the technique felt familiar.
It was very similar to the spatial lock used back at the Qunluosen Wasteland.
It felt like witchcraft.
An ambush?
Yet, even with my perception, I couldn't find any hidden traces. Even if this was just a clone, I shouldn't be this blind, right?
"I'm not sure where I've offended you. This is our first meeting, is it not? Your tone, Miss Calamity Witch, makes it sound as if I’ve done you some great grievance. I admit this meeting was a bit abrupt, but—"
"Wait, old geezer..." I interrupted him, signaling for silence.
"Is there something you wish to point out?" Monroe asked, his temper finally fraying after being insulted repeatedly.
"Listen."
"Listen?" Monroe looked confused.
As we fell silent, an unusual sound began to echo through the area.
It was the sound of the earth splitting.
A low, bone-chilling crack-crack resonated from all directions.
My expression instantly darkened.
The material pixel I had been playing with was suddenly emitting faint fluctuations of dissipating energy!
This object was a product of the Terminal of Myriad Worlds, created through [Transcendent Knowledge]. It was on the same power level as a Great Spellbook. The power of a Great Spellbook is eternal and self-sustaining, derived from the fundamental rules of the Void itself. How could its energy possibly dissipate?
A moment later, I squeezed. The square pixel shattered in my hand.
But it didn't break into smaller pixel cubes. It crumbled into irregular dust.
My pupils contracted violently.
Before I could even look up at Monroe, I felt a sudden, sickening shift in gravity. My body instinctively sank.
"It seems you've noticed," Monroe’s voice drifted over, tinged with a hint of triumph.
But before he could say another word, a powerful, abnormal gravitational field crushed the entire area!
Accompanied by an earth-shattering roar of collapse, the air was filled with the screams and wails of countless people.
The first large-scale collapse of an Underground District in the history of the game world had begun.
Dust billowed. Structures failed. Agony echoed!
One side of the Bernius Rift Settlement buckled as if the heavens themselves were falling. Under the vertical pressure of the abnormal gravity field, massive debris rained down with lethal certainty. Even the outskirts of the neighboring Gantango Ground City began to sink.
The continental tremors caused by the catastrophe were so violent that the residents of the surface city thought a massive earthquake had struck.
However, when the shaking stopped and they saw that their homes showed no signs of cracking or collapse, they went back to their business, assuming everything was fine. Most people lacked the common sense to even understand the concept of an earthquake. Their education had taught them that their homes were indestructible fortresses; if danger struck, they were told to hide inside.
The "common sense" of a world dictates how its people react to the unexpected.
The residents of Gantango Ground City likely had no idea that in the underdeveloped zone right on their doorstep, a massive Underground District had just been buried alive.
* * *
High in the night sky.
Several figures hovered in the air, unsupported by any visible means. They watched the carnage below as if admiring a grand piece of performance art.
"I bet that Calamity Witch never imagined she’d end like this."
"After all our preparation, we finally got to see a grand finale. That little witch should feel honored to have so many people buried with her."
"Honored indeed!"
"Does this mean our mission is complete?"
"That was too easy! I’m already starting to think about where to build my wizard tower. It’s going to be in the Main World!"
From their conversation, it was clear they were the ones responsible. These were the wizard apprentices who had remained in the game world.
It seemed they hadn't yet received the latest news from the Main World. They didn't realize that the "little witch" they had just "hunted" in this game world was merely a clone.
"The operation was a bit rushed. I didn't expect her to get here so fast."
"So what? She just rushed here to die."
"Do you think she could still be alive?" one apprentice asked cautiously.
"Relax! Didn't you read her file? She’s only been in contact with the transcendent for about two years. She hasn't even touched the level of immortality. There’s no way she survives being buried like that."
"Exactly! Do you think I set up that Super-Gravity Field Witch Array for nothing?"
"And my Spatial Lock Witch Array provided the assist! There’s no way she could have used spatial magic to teleport out. I can just imagine her despair, facing a collapse of that scale and realizing she was trapped! Jiejiejie!"
The wizards chatted away, boasting about their contributions as if they were currency.
The reason they could cause such a massive collapse was due to temporary permissions granted by the Supreme Council. They had utilized the functions of the "Building Demolitionist"—a branch of the Architect class—which gave them the authority to strip building materials of their special properties.
The result was this catastrophic collapse.
After the Calamity Witch had repeatedly demonstrated her ability to threaten the Supreme Council, the councilors had finally realized how terrifying she was.
First, it was her overwhelming combat power. Then, it was her occupation of the Igesuo Surface City. Then, it was the eerie method she used to make both characters and players vanish into thin air.
The final straw that broke the camel's back was her intrusion into the Terminal of Myriad Worlds.
She had seized their supreme authority!
They had to kill her, by any means necessary.
Through negotiations with these wizard apprentices, this cruel plan was born.
The Supreme Council had long since stopped viewing the people at the bottom as human. To them, their foundation rested on the surface cities and high-end gaming talent. Everyone else was just a "rice worm," a drain on resources kept around only to prevent riots.
Granted, geniuses occasionally emerged from the Chaos Areas and settlements, but those rare individuals didn't change the inherent value—or lack thereof—of those regions.
In the game world, the one thing they never lacked was people.
The resource they plundered most was soul essence, which had led to a population explosion. Periodic "population clearing" was, in their eyes, a necessity.
Yes... a single sentence—"population clearing is a necessity"—had decided the fate of countless lives.
Absolute power, absolute authority, and absolute status had given the Supreme Council an unshakeable, tyrannical mandate. They even had the power to erase the memory of the Bernius Rift Settlement disaster from the world. Their absolute control over the media and the network gave them that confidence.
"By the way, what was the name of that guy we saved?"
"Monroe. Head of the Real Protection Association."
"Right, that guy. Is he still useful? Or should we just slaughter him?"
"Keep him. The Real Protection Association is a great way to keep the bored resistance factions under our thumb. It keeps them right where we can see them. We already decided to make him a dog for one of the councilors. Killing him would sour our relationship with the Supreme Council. He’s still useful."
"What a shame."
"Don't be. Come on, let's finish this. We need to find the little witch's body. We have to see her dead with our own eyes."
"Is that really necessary?" one apprentice asked dismissively.
"It never hurts to be cautious. We need a record. When we get to the Main World, we’ll need direct evidence to claim the bounty. It’ll save us from any bureaucratic headaches later. This involves our wizard towers after we promote to the transcendent level... isn't that worth a little caution?"
"True. And don't forget, we need to ensure her death is so absolute that even a Resurrection Spell can't bring her back."
* * *
Meanwhile.
In an unremarkable peripheral district of a surface city adjacent to Igesuo.
Inside a nondescript, crowded apartment complex.
Monroe stared in terror through the transparent display of his head-mounted game terminal at the girl who had hoisted him into the air.
Terrified words reached his lips, but he couldn't make a sound. He wanted to scream for help, but his voice failed him.
"This is our actual first meeting, old geezer." I stared into Monroe’s eyes, my gaze full of mockery.
Coming before me as a player... who gave you that kind of confidence?
"I called you an old geezer, and you really lived up to it. At first, I thought that as the spiritual leader of the Real Protection Association, you might be one of those 'great men' born of necessity."
"But... you really don't deserve it."
I didn't give him a chance to argue. I would find all his explanations in his memories. Memories don't lie; and if I missed something, I could always just resurrect him and try again.
After a brief dive into his mind, I snapped my eyes open.
I realized this man... couldn't die yet. At least, this identity couldn't die.
I hadn't expected him to be a worshiper of the transcendent, a dog for the wizard apprentices... Heh.
I looked at Monroe, who was now lying motionless on the floor. I decided that using my own Disguise Spell to take his place would be much more convenient.
After all... I was supposed to be "dead," wasn't I?