Chapter 88: The Day Oheyo Fell
The facility shook violently.
Stone cracked.
Glass shattered.
Machines exploded.
Magic circles ruptured one after another.
The entire underground laboratory seemed to be tearing itself apart.
"GO!"
Brennan shouted.
Nobody moved.
Alice couldn't.
Her legs refused.
"Brennan!"
The circuits across his body burned brighter.
The glow had become painful to look at.
Like staring directly into the sun.
"Brennan, come with us!"
Raj shouted.
Brennan laughed.
"If I could, don't you think I would?"
The answer hit harder than any attack.
Because everyone immediately understood.
There was no saving him.
Not anymore.
Whatever they had done to his body—
Whatever modifications Vaan had forced upon him—
The damage was already done.
The circuits weren't merely attached to him.
They were part of him.
Integrated.
Permanent.
The laboratory trembled again.
This time harder.
Chunks of the ceiling crashed down.
Vaan finally moved.
His calm expression remained.
But his eyes had sharpened.
"Brennan."
The Emperor sighed.
"This is disappointing."
Brennan grinned.
"Good."
The floor beneath him exploded.
A wave of magical energy erupted outward.
Vaan raised one hand.
A barrier appeared instantly.
The collision shook the entire room.
And for the first time—
The group witnessed something terrifying.
Vaan didn't chant.
Didn't cast.
Didn't prepare.
Magic simply obeyed him.
Alice's eyes widened.
Even after years of studying magic—
She couldn't understand what she had just seen.
"RUN!"
Brennan shouted again.
This time Taai moved.
He grabbed Alice.
"No!"
"ALICE!"
Raj yelled.
The ceiling cracked above them.
A massive beam fell.
Taai pulled her away moments before impact.
The corridor behind them opened.
Their escape route.
And Brennan smiled.
Satisfied.
They were finally moving.
The group ran.
Not because they wanted to.
But because Brennan had forced them to.
The corridor shook as they sprinted.
Alarms began ringing.
Red lights illuminated the hallways.
Warning messages echoed throughout the facility.
"Containment breach detected."
"Containment breach detected."
"Containment breach detected."
The words repeated endlessly.
As if the city itself had begun panicking.
Behind them—
Another explosion erupted.
The shockwave nearly knocked everyone off their feet.
Alice looked back.
Just once.
She saw Brennan.
Standing alone.
Facing Vaan.
And then another corridor separated them.
The view vanished.
"ALICE!"
Taai shouted.
She turned.
And kept running.
Because there was nothing else she could do.
The group pushed deeper into the facility.
Upward.
Toward the surface.
Toward freedom.
Toward survival.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody wanted to.
Because they all knew what was happening behind them.
And none of them wanted to acknowledge it.
Several minutes passed.
Then they reached a large maintenance junction.
A crossroads.
And suddenly—
Metal bars slammed down.
Separating the group.
The sound echoed violently.
Everyone froze.
"What?!"
Raj shouted.
The emergency barriers had activated.
And they hadn't all made it through.
Alice.
Raj.
Taai.
On one side.
Akari.
Chocomint.
On the other.
For a second—
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then Alice rushed forward.
"No!"
She grabbed the bars.
Pulled.
Nothing.
The barriers didn't budge.
Akari stepped forward.
For the first time—
There was actual fear on her face.
"Alice."
"No."
Alice whispered.
"We'll find another route."
The facility shook again.
Another explosion.
Louder this time.
Much louder.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
Akari immediately understood.
There wasn't time.
"Alice."
The normally cheerful girl smiled.
A small smile.
A reassuring smile.
The same smile she had back in the village.
"We'll find another way out."
Chocomint nodded quickly.
"Y-Yeah."
"We'll catch up."
Alice stared.
Refusing to believe it.
Refusing to accept it.
Because she had heard those words before.
We'll catch up.
We'll meet again.
We'll be fine.
They were always lies.
But this time—
She wanted to believe them.
Just this once.
Taai grabbed her shoulder.
"We need to move."
Alice clenched her fists.
Then slowly nodded.
Akari smiled.
Chocomint waved awkwardly.
And then the group separated.
For what none of them knew—
Would be the last time.
The three continued running.
Upward.
Toward the surface.
Toward Oheyo.
And then—
Everything changed.
A deafening horn echoed across the city.
Not from the laboratory.
Not from security.
From outside.
Far above.
A sound so loud that even underground—
They could hear it.
Everyone stopped.
Confused.
Then another sound followed.
Screaming.
Thousands of voices.
Thousands.
The surface had erupted into chaos.
"What now?"
Raj whispered.
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
The group finally reached the exit.
And emerged into Oheyo.
The moment they stepped outside—
Their eyes widened.
The city was burning.
Smoke rose from every direction.
Buildings were collapsing.
People were running.
Soldiers were fighting.
And above all of it—
A symbol hung in the sky.
A massive magic circle.
Dark.
Twisted.
Wrong.
Alice felt her stomach drop.
Because she recognized it immediately.
Not from experience.
But from rumors.
From whispers.
From stories.
The group nobody thought truly existed.
The group everyone hoped was only a myth.
The Cult of Azathoth.
And Oheyo—
The greatest city in the world—
Had just become a battlefield.