Chapter 168 : Chapter 168
Chapter 168 : Chaos
“Ugh…….”
Injuries at a level where there was no place on my body that didn't hurt.
No, it was an injury severe enough that it wouldn't have been strange at all if I had died at any moment.
After resting for a while in that state, the Orb of Water, which had recovered its power before I knew it, began to heal my body.
[‘Orb of Water’ heals the user.]
My body, which was full of all sorts of wounds along with burns and frostbite, began to heal little by little as the power of the Orb of Water imbued it.
Since the wounds were severe, it would take quite a long time to recover, but still, it didn't take that long to reach a level where I could move my body.
It was time to go down.
“You finally came down. I wondered if you had died.”
As I went down below the pierced roof, Conlan, who was waiting there, welcomed me.
“Useless worry.”
“Thought so, right?”
Conlan laughed heartily.
“Vell, are you okay?”
Next, Alicia looked at me with a worried face.
“I'm fine.”
“But your body…….”
“It would be better to worry about yourselves first rather than me.”
As said, unlike me who was gradually recovering due to the Orb of Water, the only treatment the special task force members had done was applying medicine to their bodies and wrapping bandages.
I had no choice but to squeeze out the remaining power in the Orb of Water.
[‘Orb of Water’ activates its power according to the wearer's will.]
[‘Orb of Water’ deploys ‘Restorative Waters’.]
A faint water mist spread from the Orb of Water and began to heal the wounds of those nearby.
“Ohh, this has been a while. Now I feel like I can live.”
“Hmph. Not that I particularly need it, but if you insist on bestowing it.”
“……Thank you.”
Only then did the condition of the special task force members, who looked like they were dying, also improve gradually, albeit a little.
Of course, since the Orb of Water's power was already at its limit, the power of the Orb of Water ran out before long.
[‘Orb of Water’ power has reached its limit, power is temporarily deactivated.]
Although the power of Restorative Waters disappeared, the complexion of the special task force members became much better since their condition was much improved compared to before.
“Do you intend to return now?”
“I should. We can't stay here forever.”
“Ah, it seems like chaos has broken out outside right now. Thanks to that, no one seems to care about this place, so I guess we should call it fortunate.”
As Conlan said, the scenery revealed beyond the sky seemed to have come as a very huge shock not only to the players but also to the natives of this world.
“By the way Vell, do you happen to know what that is up in the sky? I don't know for sure, but it seems like something unusual has happened.”
There was only one thing I could say to them about that.
“Well. I don't know well either.”
“Really? I thought you would know something, that's unexpected. Would the Captain know?”
Conlan tilted his head.
I have no intention of telling them the truth, but even if I had to, I hope they won't get swept up in the fight that will happen in the future.
Because the fight that will happen from now on is a fight completely unrelated to them.
‘No…… it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the war with the Eastern Union right now happened because of players.’
Are the natives of this world truly humans like us?
Some consider them merely game NPCs, but having spent a not-short time with them, I know they are humans like me.
Just humans who lived in a different world from us.
At least I believe so.
“You, do you really not know anything?”
Albino, who was quick-witted, looked at me and said.
“Yeah. I don't know.”
“Hmph, what a ridiculous thing to say.”
“Even if I knew, sometimes not knowing is a good thing, Albino.”
“You should have said that bullshit before we came here.”
For some reason, Albino's sharp words stuck heavily in my heart.
“Maybe I should have.”
Many things will change in the future.
My relationship with them will also be so.
“Let's go back.”
It was time to return to Winter Castle.
***
An atmosphere of chaos and fear hovered over the Imperial Capital of Arkendale.
“Kyaaaak!”
“Save, save me……!”
“Where do you think you're running!”
The once peaceful streets were now filled with the screams of terrified people.
Black smoke rose between the buildings on the street, and blood was splattered on the stone walls.
Turning my gaze to the street, crushed carriages and carcasses of horses were rolling around.
Terrified people were scattered and running around on the streets, women were hugging children and wailing, and merchants were busy hurriedly packing their goods and running away.
“Mom! Where are you Mom!”
“Hand it over, you bastard!”
“Guards! Where are the guards! People are dying right now!”
It was chaos.
Far too massive chaos.
“What? Why is this happening?”
“……No wonder it was noisy outside, so this kind of thing was happening.”
“…….”
The expressions of Conlan, Albino, and Alicia hardened stiffly.
Truly great chaos was occurring in the Imperial Capital of Arkendale.
“The Goddess of Punishment is punishing the sinners! Everyone repent and believe!”
If the end of the world were to happen, what would happen?
There were countless similar cases in human history, and what happened then eventually resulted in the same thing.
Murder, robbery, looting.
The Imperial Capital of Arkendale, which once blossomed with civilization, no longer existed.
‘It's probably not just because something like that appeared in the sky.’
As the Supreme King's magic circles were forcibly activated, the magic of human sacrifice must have unfolded in the cities of the Eastern Union.
The Imperial Capital of Arkendale would not have been an exception.
As evidence of that, the number of people on the streets was noticeably reduced compared to what I saw before.
‘Other cities in the Eastern Union wouldn't be much different from this.’
In many ways, it wasn't an exaggeration to say the Eastern Union was finished now.
Because the Supreme King, who was the center of the Eastern Union, is now dead, and each city would also no longer be able to function as a city.
“…….”
Blankly watching all this scenery, I suddenly had such a thought.
Perhaps, I didn't cause all of this?
If I hadn't gone to find the Supreme King, wouldn't such a scene not have happened either?
‘What nonsense.’
The mind of the Postponer of Ruin did not allow me even the slightest wavering in this situation.
It feels new again, but facing such moments, I even felt like I had ceased to be human.
I know too.
If I hadn't stopped the Supreme King, the Supreme King would have fully activated the magic of human sacrifice instead of activating it incompletely like now.
If that had happened, even chaos like this wouldn't have occurred.
Because everything would have disappeared.
“Vell, are you okay? Your expression is not good.”
Alicia looked at me with anxious eyes.
“I'm fine.”
“You always say that.”
“Because I am fine.”
“No, you're not.”
Alicia was persistent today.
“I said I'm fine.”
“Tell me, what is it?”
Normally, I would have said nothing was wrong and I was fine as always.
So this is a whim.
A very small whim.
“Strictly speaking, this situation right now happened because of the magic the Supreme King used as he died.”
“……What?”
“And the one who killed the Supreme King can effectively be seen as me.”
“That…….”
“Well, that's the story.”
Alicia looked at me with an expression mixed with bewilderment and shock.
Of course, what I would say next was already decided.
“If you have nothing more to ask, let's hurry then.”
“……Ah, yes.”
Alicia also nodded and moved her steps.
If chaos like this is happening throughout the Eastern Union, the way back will absolutely not be easy.
‘And it won't be just the natives running wild in this chaos.’
There was a high possibility that players were also facing the current chaos in their own ways.
No one could guarantee that there wouldn't be anyone among them trying to make a big fortune taking advantage of this opportunity.
‘No…… rather, there would be many.’
Reasons to hurry increased.
***
The process of escaping the Imperial Capital of Arkendale was not easy.
Groups that might be bandits or whatever blocked us in between.
“Everyone halt. If you want to live, obediently hand over everything you have and get lost.”
Of course, there was no way we would submit to such pathetic banditry.
“What are they saying? Vell, what shall we do?”
“What do you mean what. Crush them all.”
“An answer I like!”
Only after going through such skirmishes a few times were the special task force and I able to grab a few horses from a stable and finally escape the Imperial Capital.
Leaving the Imperial Capital, a long procession of refugees trying to escape the Imperial Capital continued on the road.
However, since the chaos had infected this place as well as a terrible contagious disease, large and small disturbances were occurring here and there.
“Ha, hand it over! This is mine!”
“Bullshit. Where is yours or mine in this situation? Finders keepers! If you don't get lost right now, I'll kill you.”
“Someone, someone help!”
“Help my ass.”
Chaos continues.
Leaving that chaos behind and finally going outside the Imperial Capital, the special task force members each let out a sigh of relief.
“……Really, there is no chaos like this chaos.”
“I agree.”
As we barely got a moment to catch our breath, I immediately turned on the Anonymous Bulletin Board.
Because in a situation like now, it was necessary to grasp the players' public opinion or thoughts.
[Connecting to the Anonymous Bulletin Board.]
As soon as I connected to the Anonymous Bulletin Board, I saw posts being updated at a very fast speed.
-That thing in the sky, it is Earth, right?
-It's really Earth? Fr?
-What on earth happened? Why is Earth suddenly visible from the sky?
-Fcking crazy...
Questions, questions, and more questions.
Even among the countless players on the Anonymous Bulletin Board, there weren't many who understood the meaning of the scenery revealed in that sky.
Of course, not many didn't mean there were none, so some users were accurately grasping what happened just now.
-Doesn't this seem like it happened because of the pillars of light that rose from the Eastern Union side?
└Same opinion here.
└This seems right.
-That looks like Earth for sure.
-But no matter how I look, I don't see the Great Wall of China, is it really Earth?
└Seeing the Great Wall of China with the naked eye from space is a myth... It's not actually visible.
└Fr? First time knowing that
It didn't take that long for the Anonymous Bulletin Board users to grasp the fact that the star visible beyond there was indeed Earth.
The appearance of Earth seen from space was already known through various media, so recognizing Earth's features wasn't that difficult.
What is beyond the sky is Earth.
Why on earth is Earth visible?
And if it really is Earth…….
-We... can we perhaps really return to Earth?
Since the situation was like that, a certain hope naturally began to grow on the Anonymous Bulletin Board.
Perhaps, a hope that might be far too dangerous.