Chapter 93
Sudden emergency sirens blared through the control tower of the French Intelligence Agency's Dream World division. Agents rushed about in a frenzy, the air filled with shouts and the frantic clatter of keyboards.
"Damn it, what the hell is going on? Check the situation now!"
"Report! A magnitude 6.0+ earthquake has been detected in Paris, France!"
"What? Have you pinpointed the epicenter?"
"We're contacting nearby observatories. News reports should be out soon."
"Update just came in!"
"Th-this...!"
At that moment, the director burst into the office, flinging the door wide open.
"What the hell happened?! What's with this shaking?"
"D-Director! A magnitude 6.0+ earthquake has struck, centered around the fierce battlefield with Libra. Local players are assessing the details!"
The director's head throbbed. His already thinning hair felt like it might all fall out. If Paris were to vanish... the aftermath would be unimaginable. France itself might enter a state of semi-permanent ruin.
"Mobilize every available piece of equipment to figure out what's happening! Connect with the players on site too."
As everyone scrambled to their positions, an agent who had been liaising with players shouted out.
"Director! Just got an additional report from a Lumiere Guild member."
"Speak."
The director crossed his arms, forcing a calm tone. Cold sweat poured down his forehead like rain.
"They report tectonic uplift in the surrounding ground. The terrain is continuously expanding."
"What? Is a volcano about to erupt?"
Unlikely, but impossible all the same. Paris wasn't on a volcanic zone. No one was mad enough to build a capital under one.
"Further report! Buildings near the epicenter are collapsing due to rapid ground shifts!"
"Exact cause?"
"Sorry, we haven't identified it yet."
The director bit his lip hard. 'Damn it all, what the hell is going on?'
The world-shaking rumble dragged us deep into the endless earth. The expanding space built another world, like an inflating universe. How far down does this go? The cavern had widened to the point where no end was in sight. The ash that had formed Libra's body seeped into the ground and vanished.
"Hm..."
I scanned our surroundings with cautious eyes, staying alert. Elena gripped her rapier tightly, her gaze uneasy. She looked ready to thrust at anything that popped out without hesitation.
"Wh-what's happening? This feels ominous."
"The mana composing this entire space is restructuring. From the refined flow... it's probably moving according to Libra's will."
My mouth felt bitter. Not a good situation at all. This vibration I felt now—it was definitely a real-world change. Yet here in the dream, we could sense it vividly.
"The boundary between reality and dream... somewhere around there."
In other words, dying in the dream meant dying for real. Probably some application of sub-space mana.
"Pretty nasty trick."
The ancient tree with golden leaves withered rapidly, heavy bookshelves sank into the floor. The table and flasks atop it had long vanished. Quarrrrumble! With a deafening roar, walls surged up like waves from all sides.
"Watch out!"
Elena cried out, but I just watched silently. 'It's not attacking us.'
The black walls, textured like metal plates, molded like clay into brick houses. Cute potted plants and greenery appeared, along with street stalls. Stone paving covered the wide streets, and crowds of people materialized.
Knight in full plate armor of metal, commoners in faded cloth garb, merchants hawking wares, blacksmith with a massive hammer, robed mage clutching a staff in one hand. Oxen pulling carts, proud warhorses in gleaming armor, even stray dogs and cats without homes.
What manifested was a grand capital city. Or rather...
"...!"
A capital engulfed in crimson flames. The castle with its golden roofs and white walls had lost its luster, reduced to rubble. Faint clashes of steel echoed from somewhere—battle raging. Desperate screams mingled with the roar of explosions, tearing through the air. Each breath filled my lungs with acrid smoke.
"What is this...?"
The horrific scene choked me just looking at it. As I instinctively stepped back, my heel bumped something. A corpse with pallid skin. Dozens—no, hundreds—littered the street.
In that instant, a violent headache struck like lightning.
"Ugh...!"
I clutched my head. My brain burned like fire. My heart pumped thick, hot blood through my veins. The metallic tang of blood and stench of gore filled my mouth. My breathing grew ragged, like a dying patient's, refusing to stop.
-Fear...
Emotions surged. But my mind couldn't comprehend. 'Why?'
Dreaming this nightmare a second time made it clear. This was Pandela. A place not in my memories, perhaps from another timeline. Unfamiliar sights, people, locations. All alien.
'Then why... am I feeling such intense fear?'
At that moment, footsteps echoed from the far end of the corpse-strewn boulevard. Thud. Thud. Someone approached through the thick smoke. Attire utterly foreign to Pandela's style. Human-like, but not upon closer inspection—an unknown entity. The moment I saw it, terror twisted into inexplicable rage.
Crunch— My fist clenched, blood welling at my knuckles. Then, a voice rang in my head.
-You didn't have to go this far.
Elena was utterly confused by the situation. 'Where the hell is this? Is it even Earth?'
Libra's ability recreated the target's worst memory. But this place... it was hard to call it Earth.
Ah, right. Sertina came from another world. So this memory must be her past.
And Elena had never seen Sertina so terrified. No one else had, either.
"She looks... in pain."
She writhed like someone haunted by forbidden memories. Her tiny body trembled, sweat beading on her skin. Elena wondered.
'What could this memory be...?'
She knew the lore: Sertina had half-shattered another dimension, claiming half its lives.
"Could it be related to that?"
Elena murmured unwittingly. If so, this memory might be key to unraveling Sertina's secrets.
'Better to watch a bit longer.'
But... watching her suffer like poison was taking effect was heartbreaking. Clutching her head, breathing unsteady like a flickering candle. For such a fragile-looking girl to endure this...
'This feels wrong. How can I just stand by? But... she's a World Boss.'
Two values clashed in Elena's heart. Help the World Boss who took everything from her? Or aid the innocent girl who came to save France?
'Think rationally, Elena.'
Reason cooled her head, clarifying her choice. No being that slaughtered half a world's lives would look this tormented.
'I don't know why she's suffering, but... yeah, let's help. I trust my judgment!'
Elena swallowed dryly and reached for Sertina. The next instant—
BOOOOM—!
"Kyaa!"
Mana erupted from Sertina's body, forcing Elena to yank her hand back and retreat.
"Wh-what?!"
Killing intent and pressure made her legs buckle. Even at this distance, goosebumps prickled her skin. Shivering, arms wrapped around herself as chill swept over her.
"Her aura... changed?"
Rooooar— Destructive energy howled like a typhoon. At the boulevard's end loomed an indistinct, unidentified being. Humanoid, yet not. The moment it appeared, Sertina transformed.
'Could this nightmare be linked to that thing...?'
As Elena's eyes narrowed—
"Ahahaha! You... you're quite the interesting one, aren't you? I thought you were unique, but to have such fascinating memories!"
The Dream Witch's wicked voice dominated the space. Sertina stood motionless, unshaken.
"So dense and pure. Primal. I love it. You're perfect as my test subject!"
Shhwick— Ripples warped the space to Sertina's right, and the Dream Witch emerged, red eyes blazing, fully prepared for battle.
"You think you can beat me in my own dream... Mmph! Mmph!"
"...!"
It happened in a blink. The Dream Witch's face seized, legs kicking pathetically. Elena clamped her hands over her mouth in shock.
'Even Libra was insanely strong, but one-handed takedown...?'
Sertina's eyes burned with unseen fury, warping the space around them.
"Hey."
A chilling word. She tightened her grip. Crunch—
"Mmph! Grrgh!"
Bones and flesh seemed to grind as Libra thrashed wildly.
"Shut up. Before I kill you."
The Dream Witch Libra. Devourer of fears. Terror now frosted her eyes.