Chapter 133: Man vs Journey's End

Chapter 133: Man vs Journey's End

It could take a lifetime to make friends and an instant to lose them.

Basil had seen many people come and go in his life. His parents, Ren, childhood companions he lost sight of when he moved to France The apocalypse only added to this count. Orcine, Kuikui, even Benjamin. Basil would have wished to spend more time with each of them.

The friends Basil was losing today wouldnt die, so there was always hope they would meet again but something in his heart told him it wouldnt be so simple.

This is not farewell, Little Nessia told him with the kind of earnest smile only young children could manage. Its just goodbye.

I doubt that, Basil thought. He was wise enough not to say it out loud. I hope we can visit you one day.

Aww, Im so sad, Bugsy complained. Your world sounds like such a beautiful place, Miss Nessia.

You can come with us! Little Nessia turned to Cassandra. What do you say, Aunt Cass? Im sure Dad would like them.

There is no guarantee the portals will remain open after this rituals completion, Cassandra warned the Bohens. The risk was why all of Earths visitors had decided to return home at once. We would gladly welcome you to our home, but you must understand that this risks becoming a permanent stay.

My daughter has better places to be, Branio said while rubbing his nails together. Namely, her new winter palace.

Vasi suppressed a chuckle. Youve built me a winter palace?

The architects should complete it just in time for your birthday, my dear, her father replied, his voice as sweet as honey. Alongside the beach resort.

Whoa, weve never tried those! Shellgirl grinned at the proposal. A pity well have to delay.

Her words tug at Basils heartstrings. Considering the risks involved in letting the Avatars fuse, he had offered his party to retreat to Outremonde for their own safety. None of them took him up on it.

Well, Sir, its been an honor treating your ills. Zachariel then turned to his favorite patient on the team. Mr. Plato, I am very pleased to tell you that your agnostic cancer is now fully cured.

Swallowing a goddess helped, the feline replied with a deadpan tone.

I would appreciate it if you did not make a habit of it. That kind of nutritive therapy tends to have a high death rate. The angel nodded to himself. Still, I am pleased to leave you all in good health. This is every professionals dream.

Youre not going to charge us more? Vasi asked in skepticism. No insurance package to go along with the medical expenses?

As strange as it may sound to you, Lady Yaga, Heaven cares about satisfying believers first and expanding its customer base second. Zachariel shrugged. In your case, I believe any karma insurance package would be redundant. You are solidly on the good side of the fence.

Eyes turned in Rosemarines direction, who giggled to herself. When I go to heaven, I will eat everyone who did not believe in me!

You will fit right in with the Righteous Wrath department, Zachariel said, taking her comment in stride.

It pleased Basil greatly to hear an angel confirm he would go to heaven if he died though he wasnt sure if he would fit in Outremondes version of it.

Who am I kidding? Basil glanced at his other allies across the Parthenons plaza. Troops had set up a security perimeter around the two Avatars, waiting for them to fuse. If this fails, well spend our afterlife in a Neurotowers core.

And even if the plan succeeded it would be a jump into the unknown. Basil couldnt help but stare at Bugsy, Shellgirl, Rosemarine, and all his monster allies. Their very existence was intrinsically tied to the Trimurti System. What would happen to them if Kalki and Padma succeeded in rolling it back?

His worries must have shown on his face, for Branio immediately sneered in contempt. If these gods of yours are half as powerful as ours, it should be childs play to make an exception for your group after all youve done for them.

Outremonde was already connected to Earth before the Trimurti System arrived, so well keep a backdoor open, Vasi reassured Basil. We can also escape to Walters shop if the worst comes to pass.

We could watch the end of Major Chicken while youre playing B&C with Walter! Bugsy suggested joyfully.

Vasi scowled. Ill pass for the B&C part.

I admit the last battle was enough for a lifetime. The memory drew a smile on Basils face. Yes, he was being too negative. He had plenty of allies and escape routes. It was nice.

It was a disaster, Vasi countered while rolling her eyes. You promised me that wouldnt happen again, remember?

Neria Elissalde chose this moment to rejoin the group, with Ronald hopping behind her. Were ready, she warned. Well begin the ritual in fifteen minutes.

Guild strong and hungry, Ronald added. What are orders, chief?

Basil clenched his jaw. He hated what he was about to do, but he had to. You will evacuate to Outremonde.

Ronald gazed at him in confusion. Evacuate?

I have discussed this with our allies, and there is a high chance that Apocalypse Force remnants will try to escape to other worlds when they realize whats about to happen. Outremondes dragon ruler also asked that Unity defectors be handed to him, and they require an escort.

That wasnt a lie. Apocalypse Force warriors would certainly try to escape from Earth, and Vainqueur asked for Unity survivors to be transferred to his custody so he could enlighten them into the proper dragon way. Basil doubted reforming these fascistic lizards would work, but at least Outremonde would have the infrastructure required to deal with them.

While our party secures the Avatars, the rest of the Guild will help our allies contain these invaders, Basil explained. We must make sure that they never threaten the multiverse again.

Ronald shall tenderize them all. The burger monster heedlessly raised an arm in a parody of a military salute. Ready for deployment.

Dont forget to sell wares to Outremonde locals while youre at it! Shellgirl said cheerfully. Unlike Bugsy, who shifted in place uncomfortably, her smile appeared genuine. Were going multiversal, baby!

Well be in touch, Ronald, Basil said before opening his status management screen. Im teleporting you all.

The burger vanished from Earth with a flash of red light and resolute words. Ronald wont disappoint!

Basil nodded sharply as he read his Guilds ledger. Everyone currently registered in it had their name registered there. The list went on and on and on.

Have we grown so much while I wasnt looking? Besides his team, Basil could recognize half a dozen names on the list. That leech Varney, the vampire they met in Romania; the goblin Cafaimal and his cohort, who had been the Bohens neighbors a lifetime ago; and the mimics they recruited in Paris. Basil had almost forgotten them. Otherwise, the list included Gearsmen recruited by Shellgirl, undead, wolfmen, and countless creatures he had yet to meet in person. So many people I never got to know.

This only reinforced Basils resolve. He was no general, drafting young soldiers as if they were a statistic and then throwing them off into the meat grinder. He simply couldnt live with the guilt if anything happened to his guildmates.

Basil swiped one name after another off the list, sending them through the otherworldly pathways currently connecting Earth to its neighbors. He received warnings that their dungeons were now unoccupied, but he cared little.

Neria hugged Little Nessia. Goodbye, little griffin rider, the former policewoman whispered to the child. Ill visit you if I can.

I can see the future, silly, Little Nessia replied with a sad smile. Im sure we will.

That was a lie, but like a good spell, no one opened their mouth to dispel it away.

Good. Neria kissed the girl on her forehead before shaking Cassandras hand. Please take care of her. Shes a handful, but braver than men twice their age.

The apple didnt fall far from the tree, the other woman replied with a smirk. There will always be a place for you on our ship, if you ever decide to sail with us.

Ill think about it. Neria smiled at Zachariel next. What do you say, Zach? Up to putting back the band together if the opportunity presents itself?

Of course, Neria, the angel replied, his tone strangely subdued. Always.

Basil remembered that these three had become good friends while in Bordeaux, even forming a party. While he tried to keep a straight face, Bugsy teared up a little at the scene. They werent the only ones saying farewell today.

You are about to disband the [Homeowners Revenge Association] Guild. Are you certain of your choice? This action cannot be undone.You have disbanded the [Homeowners Revenge Association] Guild. Items in the Guild inventory will be transferred to individual accounts or liquidated if this cannot be arranged.Your weak [Soul] affinity has transformed into a strong one! You have gained resistance to [Soul] and unlocked the [Necromancer], [Blackguard], [Soulknife], and [Spiritualist] classes!

I am. Kalki inhaled sharply. One, two, three

All held their breaths as the couple raised a hand at each other. Time slowed down, or so it seemed to Basil. The moment of truth was upon them.

The Avatars fingers touched, and the world came to an end.

All across the world, the System shuddered.

From guards protecting a clock tower in London to a gentle cat helping flee the void encroaching upon Tunisia, everyone on Earths surface sensed the end approach before it happened. An overwhelming sensation of danger filled their hearts. An overwhelming pressure fell upon their entire world, whose every molecule was now beholden to the Trimurti Systems influence.

In the heart of a thousand dungeons, Neurotowers lit up like candles; for the time of awakening was close at hand. The castles, caves, and other fortresses they had built around themselves were nothing but eggshells, a protective layer meant to shield them from danger while they gathered nutrients for the harvest. They had grown fat on the souls of many like the many roots of a great tree.

Whether they had been claimed by a Faction or remained independent, they were all parts of a single network in the end. A single organism whose influence had reshaped the land, the sky, and the very laws of physics. A parasitic being that had gestated inside reality the way a maggots egg incubated inside juicy flesh. It had taken a long time and many tries, but the moment had finally come for the flower to bloom.

Dis awakened.

The dungeons collapsed all at once, as swiftly as they had come into being. Their auroras flared one last time, irradiating all creatures unlucky enough to be caught inside their radius. All movements, from the lowest monsters growl to the strongest Players sword swing, came to an abrupt halt.

The particles making up the dungeons swirled around the exposed Neurotowers. The pillars of steel grew like the fingers of a great beast, piercing through the clouds. Their tips touched the circuit of stars connecting Earth to the infinite worlds.

The apocalypses roots spread across the cosmos.

A necromancer shuddered in the house of the undead.

His shop was his lair, his domain, a pocket dimension floating in the void between his world and countless others. It was beholden to his will alone. No intervention nor teleportation could happen in this place without his explicit authorization. The door was locked, so to say.

Yet something slithered through the keyhole. Something vile and unnatural, something that filled his unflappable heart with unease and disgust the way a disease horrified the healthy. A foul force smashed through his defenses like a tidal wave, riding the System connection on which his multiversal business relied.

Chief?! Hagen had immediately summoned his mace. A useless gesture, but a brave one. Do you feel that?

Walter Tye did not respond with words. Instead, he looked through his shops window and gazed into the black void that surrounded it.

Tentacles of steel reached out of the darkness.

Nessia shrieked so loudly that Cassandras eardrums almost ruptured.

Nessia?! Cassandra grabbed the girl by the shoulder, forcing her to look into her eyes. Nessia, whats happening?!

Her niece did not even seem to register her presence. She screamed until all color drained from her face. Her eyes were turning upside down as if her pupils sought to gaze into her own brain. Her body shook and convulsed, to the point Cassandra had to struggle to prevent the child from harming herself.

Cassandra, as an experienced heroine and demigoddess, was no stranger to such episodes. Her niece was an oracle, a seer connected to the Fate System that ruled their world. Many times she observed a terrible omen.

But Cassandra had never seen such terror written on her face.

Then she felt the same thing her dear niece did, and Cassandra understood.

Their ship trembled as fearsome waves battered upon its hull. Home was within sight, only for a dark shadow to blanket the sea and land alike; a darkness had spread across their world in an instant, its venom touching all souls within it.

Cassandra looked up at the portal linking her world to a distant Earth.

The clouds had vanished behind a steel curtain.

Friend Victor? Atop a great castle in the middle of lake of fire, a great dragon deity pointed a finger claw pointing at the sun. Is this normal?

The god of minions, father to demons and grandfather to witches, gazed up at a sky that used to be clear and cloudless a few seconds ago. His son Branio stood at his side, having come in person to ask for his support.

The sun and the golden moon alike had vanished. A sea of tendrils and circuits observed them both and spread through the heavens like a dark cloud of metal. The phenomenon appeared made of blackened steel, yet the deitys enhanced senses identified them for what they were: an anomaly in the very fabric of reality. His mind perceived it as circuits because it was the closest frame of reference it could come up with.

A System screen manifested before his eyes, and alarmed messages soon flooded it.

Warning! System infection detected!WARNING! SYSTEM INFECTION DETECTED!

No, Your Majesty, the god of minions said. Thats not normal at all.

A shrieking tower of steel shattered the Parthenon.

It surged from below and emerged from under Kalki and Padma, the resulting shockwave unleashing a stone tsunami in all directions. Basil instinctively activated double-jump as the ground collapsed beneath his feet and the earth swallowed people by the dozens.

Basil! Vasi took flight at his side, as did Bugsy. Plato and Shellgirl hastily jumped at Steve like mice instinctively seeking refuge on a sinking ship.

Grab every Basil screamed as a flood of messages swallowed his vision and intruded upon his brain.

Menu options disabled! Inventory feature disabled! [God-Field] negated! [Stasis] stopped by ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR

Close, close, close! It took Basil his willpower to banish the flood of messages from his mind. When he regained consciousness, he was falling off the Parthenon alongside familiar faces. Neria! General!

Neither of these two answered. They didnt even scream or call for help. Both were paralyzed like the Unitys petrified victims, their expressions frozen into a look of fear and shock.

Acting on instinct, Basil dived to catch the two. He noticed Bugsy doing the same with Simeon, while Vasi went after Kalki. Rosemarine shed her nymph guise to assume her true dragon form, her roots catching Steve before the Steamobile and its passengers could crash into Athens below.

Basil grabbed Neria and Leblanc, jumped around falling rocks, and landed atop what remained of an Athenian house a few hundred meters away from the Parthenon. Bugsy joined him with his own catch as a colossal Neurotower taller than Mount Olympus emerged from under the monument.

A throne of steel fit for gods.

Kalki and Padma were united at last. They had grown larger than Rosemarine, their flesh, and bones now intermingled steel. The two sides of the coin, man and woman, had become a single entity: a two-faced, four-armed statue of metal sitting in meditation atop the immense Neurotower. Their eyes and mouth were shut, their ears heedless to the suffering of mortals. The entity radiated a golden light marred by foul black particles, like clear water infected with foul poison. This searing radiance pushed back Vasi when she tried to approach the statue, forcing her back.

Basil cursed. Weve been had, Bugsy.

He knew Maxwell was a snake, and he still let him bite them.

I know, Boss. Bugsy gently dropped Simeon to the ground. The brave Paladin was as still as the others, unable to move an inch. Is this the final Incursion?

Basil wasnt so sure. He looked around as Rosemarine landed nearby alongside the others, and witnessed colossal Neurotowers rise from the void consuming their world. Though the one on which Kalki and Padma sat was as tall as a mountain, the others reached all the way to the star circuit in the sky. The most worrying part about them was also the most subtle.

Namely, Monster Insight triggered.

Dis, System ApocalypseLevel []Faction:

The Neurotowers

The Neurotowers were alive.

How unexpected, a familiar voice cut through the noise of quakes and falling rocks. It seems the godly essence protected you, and a foreign power did the same with your girlfriend.

The Bohens looked at Kalkis steel throne.

Someone emerged from the metal like a pustule growing out of a piece of skin. His feet vertically walked along the Neurotowers surface in flagrant violation of the laws of gravity.

Welcome to the end of all things, my honored guests. Anton Maxwells smile morphed into rows of metal teeth. Welcome to Dis.