Soul of Searing Steel
chapter-153

Chapter 153: The Sign of the End of the World

“This is not a common phenomenon.”

Not long after, gravity was restored. Clyre who was slighty afloat because she was heavier, landed back on the ground. She adjusted her body a little to stabilize herself on the ground. Then she shook her head and spoke to Joshua and the others, “This occurrence has nothing to do with the land’s elemental power or whatsoever. Balanced gravity is one of the fundamental requirements of an existing world. Its changes could indicate that the world is coming to an end.”

Looking regretful as she shook her head again and again, this elven druid then looked at the small world. She was using a tone so soft as if she was breathing. “In the books of the elves, a few signs would emerge before a world is going to be destroyed. The first sign would be the extinguishing of the Initial Flame.

“Deep down in each of the worlds, there would always be an Initial Flame shining on it, providing it with the power to exist. When the Initial Flame goes out, it proves that the world is going to be utterly destroyed. Otherwise, even if heaven and earth were overturned, the world would only rebirth again.

“The second sign is that the oceans would freeze or evaporate. The circulation of water in the world would disappear. Countless space cracks would appear all over the place.

“The third sign is that the atmosphere will be filled with poisonous gas and the energy is depleted. Spells would completely lose their effects. Meanwhile, Combat Auras would gradually be lost… Everything that is natural would be destroyed. Living beings would be extinct.

“The fourth sign would be the overturn of the earth. Gravity would no longer exist. Everything would collapse.

“The existence of fire, water and space, the energy in the air and the material of the earth… the depletion of all of that means that the world collapsing. Currently, the steel rain is occurring much more frequently than before. This has proven that the world is heading towards its destruction.”

After her explanation, Clyre took a look around her. She then looked at Joshua grimly spoke in a rare solemn tone, “We need to leave this world as soon as possible as the dimensional passage might lose its function real soon. We would be devoured by the destruction of this world. If we can’t make it back to our world, at least we need to try teleporting ourselves out of this world. Even if we are to arrive at some other unknown worlds, it will still be better than getting wiped out of existence together with this world. It will be much better than staying here.”

“But the problem is that, according to this artificial intelligence, regardless of which dimensional rift, there will definitely be a lair of Aragami nearby.” The old dwarf subconsciously gritted his teeth and he frowned, “It was already more than a hundred years since you last saw an Aragami. Meanwhile, I can see their appearances every time I lift my head. Their numbers and the horrors they could bring are kept in my mind until this very moment. If we’re just talking about one lair, maybe the situation is still not that bad. However, not every dimensional rift will lead us back to Mycroft. That being said, we will need to destroy a few Aragami’s lairs before we can find a dimensional passage that can lead us back to Mycroft.

Upon saying that, Moreila shook his head and said, “This is difficult.”

Meanwhile, at the side, Joshua asked 03 straight away, “How many Aragami are there in each lair?”

“Their number is not that great actually. There will be tens of thousands at the least while there will be millions at most.” 03 answered in detail. “The vast majority of the Aragami are not very strong. However, there are a few of them being enormously huge like the size of a mountain. These Aragami are extremely powerful and difficult to deal with. Even I will need to go around them. It’d be wise not to encounter them.”

As she was explaining, she also projected the appearances of the Aragami for Joshua and the others to see.

Joshua raised his eyebrows a little. With a simple glance, he could tell that the Aragami that the A.I said to be extremely powerful were the same species as the Supreme-tier Aragami that appeared at the dimensional rift by Moldova. It might also be possible that it was the same Aragami! Joshua clenched his fist and said, “There must be one dimensional rift that can lead us back to Mycroft. Or else, it will not appear right there… 03, how many of these powerful Aragami are there in the nearby land?”

“There’s only one across the entire flatland.”

“Then it is confirmed that there is only one dimensional rift that can lead us back to Mycroft.”

The logic was simple. The locations that Aragami gathered were just nearby a dimensional rift. Meanwhile, the fact that the warrior was transported over to this flatland means that link between Mycroft and Karlis should be near the flatland. Meanwhile, only one Supreme-tier Aragami appeared on the flatland, which appeared to be the same Supreme-tier Aragami that appeared back at Moldova. Currently, all they needed to do was to locate that Supreme-tier Aragami in order to find the dimensional passage that could lead them back to Mycroft.

Regardless of whether the rift had been sealed or not, at least Joshua and the others would stand a better chance of locating the rift rather than just blindly searching around.

“Very well. Please, do tell me more if there are other information.”

Joshua was well-aware that there was no need for him to say much to this A.I. Even though 03 had awareness, her existence was unlike any normal human beings in the entire world. After all, her logic was odd to begin with. So it would be wiser to just ask any question or request straight away. She did not understand courtesy and politeness anyway.

The reason for the rush was because there was no water or food in the forsaken flatland. Hence, they needed to search for any suitable supplies to replenish their supplies as soon as they could. Meanwhile, when they arrived at the Ecological Cycle Area in the pyramid, Joshua was actually feeling a little bit relieved. There was water and food—the skins and roots of the plant were counted as food as well. And so, they no longer need to hustle as they had more time now. According to his knowledge from his previous life, with Clyre’s aid who was a spellcaster and 03, it would not be hard to create a small dimensional rift if they just spend some time on it.

However, based on Clyre’s words, the world was about to come to an end. That would not be a good time to spend time in creating a dimensional rift. After all, a stable method would always require a certain amount of time to prepare.

“Tens of thousands of Aragami… at least.”

Upon hearing what Ling said, Moreila stared at Joshua while frowning. “If it’s a small-scale lair, we might still be able to try breaking through the horde of Aragami with the strength of three Gold-tier champions combined. Joshua, you’re a Chaos Guardian. You can stall the Aragami while Clyre and I will support you from the rear. It will not be hard to crush them all. However, if we are to face more of them, then we’ll be in much more danger.”

“Can we get around them? Or can we infiltrate through the lair and avoid encountering the Aragami?”

Clyre came up with a suggestion. “We don’t have to battle the Aragami head on. I know enhanced spells to disguise ourselves, making ourselves invisible. At least we can try.”

“That’s impossible.”

Joshua shook his head. He looked at the detailed map given by 03 and said, “Look, most of the dimensional rifts are right in the center of an Aragami’s Lair. Although they are merely mindless monsters in the wilderness, they could still easily smell us and discover our presence. As for the concealment spells… well, these Aragami have no eyes to begin with. They rely on their senses to feel the presence of Order energies. So the spells will do no good for us at all.”

At the same time, 03 was watching the three of them discussing among themselves. Suddenly, she cut in halfway and said, “You want to go to the Aragami’s lair?’

The artificial intelligence seemed to be showing a little interest in that regard. “There’s no need for that. If you want to see Aragami, they’ll arrive shortly. Every time the gravity fails, there will be many Aragami coming forth to attack the fortress. Based on the estimated time, they’ll be here real fast.”

“… 03, you should inform us about such information much earlier next time.”

Joshua paused for a brief moment. Then he sighed out loud. After that, he turned his head over to look at Moreila and Clyre who obviously had no weapon or whatsoever that they could use for battle. He felt helpless in seeing all that. So he quickly asked, “Do you have any weapons here?”

“Yes.”

Joshua asked in a direct and rough manner. Meanwhile, 03 answered the warrior in an ever more straightforward manner. She adjusted the magic power of the fortress instantly and pulled out a white spear and a brown staff out of nowhere, suspending the two weapons in mid-air with magic power. After that, she passed the weapons over to Joshua. “Ever since the Evil God came down to earth, all of the weapons used to fight the Aragami had been sealed up. Only a small number of weapons are left for people to use. These two weapons are actually the better ones.”

Joshua took them over. Then he passed the sharp spear over to Moreila and passed the brown staff over to Clyre. Meanwhile, the old dwarf waved the spear around and shook his head. “No hammer or battle axe… nevermind, I can still make use of this.”

On the other hand, the elven druid did not say anything. She just shook the staff in her hands a little. A green light appeared on top of her and illuminated the appearance of a Nepenthes plant, then into the appearance of a man-eating tree. Clyre seemed contented with the staff. “It’s surprisingly good.”

Meanwhile, right by the side of Joshua, Ling was kicking his feet as he spoke to the warrior gently, “These weapons have the same presence. However, there are still quite a number of Divine Armaments with much more thicker presence all around the place…”

Speaking halfway, this young Divine Armament seemed to have something else on his mind. After that, he shrugged and remained silent. According to 03. it was completely normal that there were quite a number of Divine Armaments around. After all, that was because the storage room was just nearby. Meanwhile, it had been over a thousand years. It was considered not bad that the artificial intelligence could still provide two decent weapons. He could tell that the Artificial Intelligence had put all her efforts on maintaining the weapons.

“Different from you, these prototypes of Divine Armament cannot resist the erosion of the Evil God’s pressure. So they are not suitable to be used. It’s really rare to see the type of Divine Armaments that can ignore the Evil God’s pressure.”

Right after Ling spoke, Joshua moved his arms and legs around for a little

“From the looks of it, do you guys intend to help me?”

03 still looked emotionless on her face. She looked very calm. She shook her head and said, “It is not necessary. Normal Aragami will not be able to break through the automated defense facilities of the fortress. Meanwhile, those that can break through should…”

“Don’t get me wrong, 03.”

Upon interrupting 03, Joshua laughed out loud. “I’m just feeling a little itch in my hands. So we’re just helping you because it’s convenient.”

Upon saying that, he looked at Ling and asked, “Is your status good? This will be your first battle.”

“I’m looking forward to it, Master.”

With a chuckle, he shared a smile similar to his Master’s. “Can’t wait for it.”

“…”

Meanwhile, 03 who was interrupted remained silent. After a brief moment of silent, 03 continued to speak, “Warrior who possesses the power of Order, the structure of your weapon is actually very similar to the weapons forged by the Karlisi. However, there are some differences in the runes and magic loops. Nonetheless, all of them are being forged with the crystal essences left behind by the Aragami.”

The flow of magic power around this artificial intelligence appeared a little distorted. She seemed to be observing closely. “Infusing an artificial soul into the weapon, bestowing the weapon to have the resistance against the erosion of the Evil God… this is something much more advanced than what the Karlisi can offer. However, there are still a few parts of him incomplete. After we push back the Aragami, I will pass you some of the related information about it. By then, you should be able to improve your weapon to perfection.”

“Thank you very much… You can just call me Joshua.”

Upon showing his gratitude, Joshua had finally noticed that he had not told 03 his name. Right after that, he quickly introduced the rest of his comrades to 03.

“… The pronunciations for your names are really special and odd.”

After repeating the full name of Moreila, Clyre, and Ling, 03 shook her head like a human. After a moment of silence, she continued to speak, “The Aragami are about to attack now. You really want to go out and have a look at the outside world? I must warn you, Aragami are extremely dangerous.”

“Of course.”

This time, Joshua was not the one who opened his mouth and said those words. It was Moreila’s heavy voice. This old dwarf looked grim. “If we do not know how powerful the Aragami in this outer world are, how can we raid the Aragami’s lair then? We must at least gather some information about them before we do that.”

Since Joshua and his friends had already made up their minds, 03 decided not to persuade them out of it anymore. She leaned back a little and her projection dispersed into thin air. However, the calm voice of hers was still echoed right before Joshua and the others. “So, I will not be stopping you anymore… there’s an emergency passage right at the left side. You can get to the outside straight away through there. I’ve given you the same clearance to this place.”

03’s projection vanished without a trace. After Joshua and the others looked at each other, they did not say a word. Along with the roar of a machine and the sounds of running gears, a passage was opened up at the left side of the Ecological Cycle Area.

“Come on. Let’s get back up there.”

Joshua led the others and walked towards the passage. Meanwhile, the others were following behind him closely.

Passing through the spacious and silent passage built from steel, sensing the magic power was reducing steeply as they moved forward, none of them say a word. They just remained silent as they moved forward.

Soon after, they had arrived at the exit of that passage.

Upon crossing out from the passage, they arrived at the outside area, which was no longer the area under the fortress’s protection. A wave of violent wind along with black mist blew past the place. Joshua quickly charged his Combat Aura up all around him, isolating himself from his surroundings.

He stood above a platform made of steel as he looked into the distance.

The rumbling violent winds swept across the land. At the end of the warrior’s field of vision, an inexplicable light rose from the ground and turned into a beam of light shining on the horizon. However, the chaotic clouds were brewing strong, stirring the sky into a black whirlpool, converting everything into dull shadows.

Sound was heard echoing across the heaven and earth. Meanwhile, everything in the surroundings was beginning to tremble strangely, along with fierce winds that seemed like sighing, setting off endless dust across the vast wilderness. Meanwhile, the dark red lines were invading the ground along with darkness and shadows. They were invading, spreading, leaping, and forming into vein-like lines all across the ground.

It was like the flesh and blood of the Evil God himself.

Upon seeing that scene, Joshua clenched his fist. On the other hand, Clyre was holding on the ring and the brown staff that Joshua gave her while the old dwarf was charging up the white spear with a layer of golden Combat Aura, Moreila’s Combat Aura.

Ling seemed a little nervous when he was the black lines far in the distance. Then he reminded gently, “Master, they’re coming!”

The ground that was covered in black lines began to tremble violently. Numerous cracks were opening up across the surface of the ground. Black mist gushed out of the cracks like leaking gases. Meanwhile, countless Aragami were formed from the black mist just like that. They were gathering into large groups. After that, they began to charge towards the huge fortress that rivaled the summit of the mountain lying right before them. The Aragami were charging towards the fortress like a black tidal wave that could destroy everything.

Meanwhile, Joshua had scanned his eyes across the army of Aragami that was gathering into a huge black tidal wave. At the same time, he seemed to have recalled on something in his memories.

“This is really a big scene that I’ve not seen for a long time.”

He opened his mouth and revealed two rows of white teeth.