Chapter 216: The Super Assembly, Azure Sky
"Boss! Roland's spirit... it's gone!"
A woman in a white onmyoji robe, her fair face a rare picture of panic, flew directly over the estate's garden, carried by a swarm of shikigami insects, and into the [Garden].
The man in floral-print swim trunks, lounging under a parasol, sat up, putting down the contraband novel he was reading.
The woman, seeing his lack of reaction, thought he hadn't heard.
"Roland's soul has completely vanished! I just tried to call him. This time, it wasn't 'cannot be reached'... it was 'cannot be found!' His soul... it doesn't exist anymore, Boss!"
As she spoke, her eyes blurred with tears.
The man's expression was calm. He just "hmph"-ed and lay back down.
"That was his destiny."
"Roland was a fool. I told him not to get involved with the [God of the Abyss]'s causality. He insisted he had to 'land one blow for Guts.' Heh..."
The man recalled the naive young man and shook his head, seemingly just in mild regret.
The woman bit her lip, disappointed in her boss. But if even he couldn't do anything, she couldn't imagine who in the Nexus could save Roland.
If even [The Miracle] himself denied the possibility, then Roland's fate was sealed.
The woman dissolved into a stream of white information and vanished.
After she left, the man's calm expression instantly broke. He grabbed a white jade teacup from the table and smashed it on the ground.
Boom!
The entire ten-hectare estate sank, the white jade ground shattering.
Even the adjoining beach was blasted, sandstorms kicking up, and the sea itself forming a reverse-tsunami.
"Fuck the [God of the Abyss]! Fuck [Causality]! And fuck [Fatalism]!"
"Fuck, fuck, fuck... FUCK!"
The man was raging, all traces of his calm demeanor gone. His face was pale, and the sky of their massive Assembly Space twisted and darkened with his mood, as if the apocalypse had come.
"Whoa, whoa, Boss! Calm down!"
A man with silver-white hair appeared in the collapsing estate. He held out his hand, and a powerful force-field stabilized the grounds, preventing the 10,000-DP Assembly Space from being completely destroyed.
A knight, encased in black armor, appeared at the same time. Her voice was cold.
"If you were this angry, why did you pretend to be so indifferent? [Loman] is probably going to go cry for a long time."
The man in the floral trunks was breathing heavily. He raised his hand to smash something else, but the armored woman caught his arm.
His face was red with fury.
"If I didn't act like that, [Loman] would have gotten ideas and ended up tangled with the [God of the Abyss] too!"
"I'm not letting another one of my people fall into that bastard's schemes! Dammit!"
The man cursed, showing none of the cold detachment of a top-tier Reincarnator.
On the beach, a long-haired woman with black-framed glasses (The Professor) looked on in terror. This was the first time she had seen the ruler of [Azure Sky] this angry.
As one of the most powerful and mysterious Reincarnators in the Nexus, the Master of [Azure Sky] was rumored to be a [Transcendent], one of the few who could mediate the conflict between the [Transcendent] of [Virtuality's Throne] and the [Transcendent] of [Destiny].
It was he who had brought peace back to the East District after two months of turmoil.
[The Professor] turned her head, looking at the Titled Reincarnator [God's Dream, One-Sword: Morika], who was floating in the air and thus unaffected by the "earthquake."
[Morika] was in a bikini, her skin snow-white, her figure flat. The Professor wasn't sure if it was her Avatar or her real body.
She looked down at The Professor's shocked expression and waved.
"It's fine. The Boss is just like that. In his words: 'I'm strong, so I don't need to internalize. If I feel it, I let it out. Even if I go crazy, everyone else just has to deal with it.'"
The Professor, not quite understanding, just resettled on her lounge chair.
[Azure Sky]'s power was undeniable. This absurdly vast space, which didn't look like it was in the Nexus, proved they were wealthy enough for this kind of extravagance.
It was a special Assembly, built on the principle of "small and elite." It had no subordinate teams. Almost every member was a veteran who had crossed the [First Ladder].
Aside from new recruits like [The Professor], everyone was incredibly strong.
[Azure Sky] members rarely partied up. Most had their own teams, but those teams were not part of the [Azure Sky] Assembly.
It was a special club, one that only allowed new members who were unanimously approved.
The Professor lay back down, thinking about the intel she'd just received. None of the seniors here seemed to care.
"Sister Morika... that last mission deployment... it seems like something big happened."
"A large number of 1st and 2nd-Ladder Reincarnators all entered a One Piece world, and a brutal team battle broke out. It seems less than a fifth of them made it back."
"[Flame Fiend] and [The Glazier]... two guys a lot of 'big shots' were betting on to reach 'Titled' rank... they're both dead."
Morika, her sunglasses on, wasn't surprised. She knew [The Professor] was a special Reincarnator, one of "The Chosen," and had an unparalleled advantage in gathering intel.
"Oh? Is that so. Well, if they're dead, I guess those 'big shots' bet on the wrong horses."
Morika didn't care about 2nd-Ladder "celebrities." After all, she was one of the "big shots" they talked about.
The Professor, realizing their difference in perspective, tried a different angle.
"That Mercenary Tao... he survived. Do you think he has... the 'quality'?"
The Professor had more intel. He hadn't just survived... he had profited.
The [Critical Snipe] team, who had also made it back, were now trying to gather info on him. From the signs, she guessed Mercenary Tao had successfully killed their team member, [Rouge].
She was in a daze. How long had it been since the Demon Slayer world? That monster who had tortured Muzan... was he already strong enough to defeat the best of the 2nd-Ladder?!
Morika had heard of him, but she didn't like those bloodthirsty types. "A psycho like that? Who knows."
The Professor nodded, silent for a moment, then probed:
"It seems... a member of the [Black King's Assembly] also entered that world... and the [Black King's Assembly] and our [Azure Sky]..."
Morika suddenly held up a finger. The Professor's heart seized, her breath catching. It wasn't an attack, just a killing intent so condensed it made her forget to breathe.
Morika landed. "Professor. Some things, it's fine if you know them. But don't say them. And don't tell me."
As The Professor watched Morika hurry away, she knew: [Black King's Assembly] and [Azure Sky] were connected. And something had happened to cause a rift.
She lay on the beach, feeling that the Nexus was far from peaceful, even with the [Transcendent] conflict over.
The old-guard [Titled] Reincarnators were already at each other's throats. And now, the lower-tier Reincarnators were being reshuffled.
The "big shots" who had bet on Flame Fiend and The Glazier had lost their investment; now they would be scrambling to back new horses. And a rapidly rising star like Mercenary Tao would only stir up more blood.
And... The Professor didn't believe for a second that the [Transcendent] conflict was truly over. Would [The Final Day] really accept defeat?
The Professor frowned, her sense of urgency growing. She thought for a moment, then left the Assembly Space.
[Black Butler] watched Critical Point's team leave, his expression blank. He pinched the bridge of his nose. His life was about to get difficult again.
No one in the Nexus wanted to be targeted by a killer like [Critical Point]. If he found your real-world identity, you'd be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.
But... he was, for some reason, even more afraid of that red-faced Mercenary Tao.
That man was a pure beast. The moment he smelled weakness, he would tear you apart.
And, from multiple intel sources... that One Piece world had been a disaster. Even [Flame Fiend] and [The Glazier], two 2nd-Ladder experts known for their survivability, had died there.
And if he wasn't mistaken... Mercenary Tao had been in that world.
As he was thinking, his vision blurred. The familiar, ugly red face appeared, a woman in a half-mask behind him.
Black Butler hurried forward.
"You've offended [Critical Snipe]?"
Black Butler was smart. Since he had chosen Kaito over them, he had to let Kaito know. He couldn't take that risk for free.
Kaito Shirogane's mind was sharp. He understood. He smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. Killed one of theirs. A woman with a sword."
"Hm... She was pretty good."
Kaito recalled her final, desperate attack and self-destruction. She was a Reincarnator with an unbroken will.
"[Rouge]? You killed [Rouge]?"
Black Butler finally understood why they were so angry. And... [Rouge] had been a notorious killer in her own right. For Kaito to kill her while she was with her team...
The dread of being targeted by [Critical Point] suddenly lessened.
Kaito saw his change of heart. "If you're so scared, why not find Critical Point's real-world info?"
"Don't worry. I won't charge you for taking him out."
Black Butler looked at the cruel smile on that ugly red face and felt... a rare sense of relief. Having this beast on his side... it was... surprisingly secure.
Only then did Black Butler notice the woman behind Kaito. He wasn't the type to make friends.
"And this is...?"
"Oh, her? This is [Eclipse]. She said she wanted to be my dog."
Lee Chae-rin's (Moon Fiend's) chest heaved, but she calmed herself. Beneath the mask, her eyes were low. It wasn't just Flame Fiend. The "Moon Fiend" she had been... was dead.
"That's right. I am [Eclipse]."
(End of Chapter)