Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Australian Continent
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Australian Continent
The most luxurious hotel in downtown Seoul.
Thud.
Lee Sang-hyun, who had returned to Korea from Brazil, lay on the bed to rest. The reason was that his meeting with the hero Jack Roar had left his mind in a tangled mess.
Staring up at the ceiling, Lee Sang-hyun thought to himself.
"...Jack Roar was a hero who cared more about humanity than anyone. Of course, as a real-world hero rather than one from a comic, he didn't harbor impossible dreams of saving everyone... but he was still someone worthy of the title."
Up until now, Lee Sang-hyun had believed that even if he couldn't kill the players contracted to those 'demons' masquerading as constellations, he had to at least take them down.
Among them, the Strongest 7 were targets he absolutely had to defeat—'enemies' he saw as must-be-vanquished foes.
Because their constellations were the ringleaders of the vile demons that had led Rune to ruin.
But... seeing Jack Roar made him think maybe they didn't all need to be taken down.
"...Come to think of it, just because a constellation is a demon doesn't mean the human contracted to it is one too. If anything, it's the opposite. More people contract because they believe the constellation is benevolent."
Take Jack Roar, whom he'd met just yesterday—he was a superhero fighting for 'humanity' and 'Earth.'
Jack Roar was a hero who gave his all for America and world peace.
Kang Mu-hyuk of Korea... He might be obsessed with power and ambition, but he was clearly nothing like Death Lord Arhim, who wished for humanity's extinction and Earth's destruction.
Otherwise, how could Korea be the safest country in the world?
Even now, as the nation's highest authority—the president—he roamed the country tackling Towers, which proved his nature was utterly different from Arhim's.
Aria, Italy's saint and pope, bore the title Guardian of Justice.
In Europe, she was little short of a messiah, and she was the sole member of the Strongest 7 looking after Africa—the so-called Third World—and the Middle East, tangled in religious strife.
Her achievements alone could fill a sleepless night.
Beyond them, there were countless players fighting for humanity: the Knight of Radiance under the Thousand Knights contracted to a 5th-tier constellation, the Monster Hunter, Green Guardian, Verdant Healer, Demon Slayer, and more. Groups like America's Justice risked it all for 'humanity.'
Of course, there were plenty on the opposite side, but it was undeniable that many devoted themselves to humanity and Earth.
So it wouldn't be right to blanket-label them as enemies.
Just as there had been people in fallen Rune who truly wanted to save the world.
"...Of course, I can't judge too hastily. No one knows what the future holds."
Putting his tangled thoughts aside, Lee Sang-hyun closed his eyes. Thanks to the elixir, his body wasn't fatigued, but sleepiness still washed over him gently.
Seoul, Korea.
It was the dead of night, when everyone slept, and only the dim streetlights cast a melancholy glow.
Ruuuuumble...!!
It was an earthquake rumbling through the sleeping city. Fortunately, the magnitude wasn't high—just enough to make buildings sway uneasily and wake the slumbering residents.
Nothing like an underground Tower exploding, splitting the earth with massive cracks, or buildings collapsing in heaps of rubble.
Ruuuuumble...
Deep sleepers might have slept right through it, so there was no need for panic... but no one took this quake lightly.
Aside from those already awake, nearly everyone bolted upright in bed and shouted.
"E-earthquake!!"
"What's this chaos in the middle of the night...?"
"G-get up now!! We need to evacuate!! Something's off!!"
"Could it be an underground Tower exploding...? No, it can't be. Absolutely not."
"Ugh... I'm exhausted..."
"M-monster Wave...!!"
"...Head to the shelter first. Just in case."
"There was no quake forecast, right? So this must be...!"
In the old days, when safety apathy reigned, maybe they'd ignore it. But 12 years after Towers appeared, even the slightest anomaly was taken seriously.
"...This is bad. Feels off."
"...Don't worry for nothing. We've got Kang Mu-hyuk, one of the Strongest 7."
"...You know where the shelter is, right? Yeah, get ready. If signs show, run."
"...I'll save my own skin."
"W-what the hell?! Hunter Net says quakes hit other countries too?!"
"What? A global quake?"
"Oh my God!!"
"This... feels like big trouble..."
The quake didn't strike only Korea. Astonishingly, it hit every country on Earth simultaneously.
Predictably, pandemonium ensued—crossing regions, races, religions, day or night.
"Oh! A revelation! The holy revelation has come!!"
"The prophet's words were true!!"
"The end times are upon us!! Foolish humans!! Awaken from ignorance!!"
"Judgment Day has arrived!!"
"Black God! Save us!!"
"Follow the great prophet!!"
"Faith is the only path to salvation! Believe, and live; disbelieve, and perish!!"
Cults that had stirred chaos preaching an eventual 'Judgment Day' seized the moment for their festival. On the world's largest player network, Hunter Net, speculations and fake news ran rampant.
Leaders worldwide called emergency summits.
Especially the Strongest 7: America's Jack Roar, Korea's Kang Mu-hyuk, China's Ryu O-shin, Italy's Aria, and others—they didn't take this lightly.
Jack Roar anticipated a new monster's emergence.
"Something beyond a giant beast... maybe a colossal titan monster. Giant beasts alone can't destroy Earth anymore."
It wasn't far-fetched. Given Earth's recent events, it was plausible.
Kang Mu-hyuk suspected a massive Monster Wave.
"...Humanity has held back the Towers so far. But giant beasts changed that—we couldn't contain them anymore. People fled, nations were abandoned, Towers left unchecked. Erosion rates must have spiked... This quake could herald a colossal Wave."
His rational, realistic judgment was close to the truth.
Ryu O-shin saw the old world collapsing entirely.
"...This quake is proof the world is changing, just like when Towers first appeared. This rotten world ends, and a new one—a new world—unfolds!!"
Ryu O-shin dreamed of a player-led new world.
A brutal survival-of-the-fittest realm where the weak perish and only the strong endure—that was his ideal.
Aria prayed to 'God' with her people—an unprecedented act.
For the unflappable woman, who never lost her smile in any crisis, was now on her knees in prayer.
"...Have mercy on us, forgive our wrongs and folly."
Whatever came next, it was clear: a trial beyond human strength loomed.
Amid the global chaos, one place remained serene: with Lee Sang-hyun.
"........."
On the plush bed, he stayed silent, waiting for the quake to end.
Ruuuuumble...
As the shaking ceased, something new appeared.
The new phenomenon: Babel Towers.
The very towers that had spewed ashen clouds dooming Rune... had now revealed themselves.
Among the sites—Canada, Australia, India, Mongolia, Egypt, the UK, and Korea—Nameless had pointed to Australia.
"Australia... a forsaken land."
Since Towers emerged, Australia had been on a steady decline. Its vast territory—6th largest worldwide—was mismatched by its sparse population, meaning few players.
Even calls arose to join the superpower America.
Even if players cleared Towers, bigger ones sprouted... Hiring foreign mercenaries wasn't optional; it was survival.
Naturally, panicked politicians and the wealthy fled first, followed by foreigners and citizens.
Then the giant beast Rakiel appeared, utterly crushing Sydney.
"Australia... it's done."
"...No hope left here."
"...America or Korea it is."
"Italy's not bad either. Europe's guardian is there."
"Hate leaving home, but... better than dying. If alive, anything's possible."
"Damn it! Just settled here..."
"What the hell has the Australian government done?! How did it come to this?!"
"...Let's leave, quick."
After Rakiel, Australians abandoned their nation for elsewhere. The government effectively disbanded, absorbed by America and Europe.
[Australia vanishes into history's shadows]
[Australia's fall]
[The inevitable fate of weak nations]
[Country stolen by monsters]
Australia's collapse shocked the world—a developed nation crumbling so easily was unthinkable.
No longer a nation, it became a place even vile criminals shunned.
Now treated as uninhabitable dead land, abandoned by the international community...
And Nameless had indicated it.
'Korea's will be handled by Kang Mu-hyuk—no worries. Canada's Jack Roar, India and Mongolia by Ryu O-shin or Vladimir. Egypt and UK are near Italy, so Aria will take them.'
Logically, Australia made sense. Unlike the others, it was forsaken.
"Guess I have to go to Australia."
Decision made, Lee Sang-hyun opened a portal.
Vmmm!!
The location: Darwin, central city of the Northern Territory.