The dust from Saint Malachi's erasure hadn't even settled before I turned my attention to the remaining 3,000,000 tickets.
"A king without a throne is just a wanderer," I murmured, watching the terrified onlookers in the distance through the [Eye of Sauron]. "And the Cain family estate is too small for what I have planned."
I looked at the map of the city. At the center of the bay sat an abandoned artificial island—originally meant to be a secondary Association hub before they ran out of funding. It was a skeletal ruin of steel and concrete. To the world, it was an eyesore. To me, it was a blank canvas.
"GTAS. Tactical Base-Building Draw. Filter for: Impenetrable, Self-Sustaining, and Conceptual."
[Confirmed. Consuming 3,000,000 Fear Tickets for 'Sovereign Territory' Gacha...] [King of Fortune (Rank EX) active... Resulting in a 'World-Class' Build...]
[Draw Result: The Labyrinth of Nazarick (Modified)]
Structure: A 10-floor subterranean fortress that exists in a pocket dimension. The entrance on the artificial island is merely a portal.
Defense: [Absolute Interference Field] – No System-based surveillance or teleportation can penetrate the walls.
Facility: [The Fear Refinery] – Automatically converts the worldwide 'Primordial Fear' into pure Mana and System-XP for Michael and his Legion.
Guardians: [The Automated Sentinels] – Level 100 golems designed to repel Rank 10 intruders.
"Integrate," I commanded.
The earth didn't just shake; it groaned. In the middle of the bay, the abandoned island began to twist. Massive black spires shot up from the water, carved from the same obsidian as my [Shadow Legion]. Within seconds, a dark, majestic fortress stood where the ruins had been. A shroud of violet mist settled over the water, hiding the island from everything but my own eyes.
"Leo," I said, my voice echoing with the authority of the [Throne]. "Move all Cain assets, the Underworld bosses, and their families to the 'Dark Shore.' This is our new world."
The Association didn't attack.
For three days after the death of Saint Malachi, the "Centurion Spire" was silent. No patrols, no broadcasts, no "Purge." The world was holding its breath. Every time the public looked toward the bay and saw the black spires of my new fortress, the ticket counter in my mind ticked up.
[Current Fear Tickets: 15,200,000]
I sat in the heart of the 10th floor—the Throne Room. It was a chamber of endless shadows, lit only by the golden glow of my eyes.
"They're terrified, Master Michael," Boss Gallo said, kneeling at the base of the stairs. He looked different now—sharper, colder. The [Fear Refinery] had leaked some of its energy into my lieutenants, boosting their systems to Rank 9. "The Association's Chairman hasn't been seen in public. Rumor has it he's calling back the 'Original Five'—the ones who founded the System itself."
"Let them call back the dead for all I care," I said, looking at the [Death Note] resting on my lap. "Gallo, how is the public reacting to the 'Nightmare' broadcasts?"
"They've started building shrines, sir. Not for the Heroes. For the 'Apex.' They're praying to you so they don't become your targets."
I chuckled. The psychology of humans was so predictable. Give them a god that saves them, and they'll forget him in a week. Give them a god that can erase them with a pen, and they'll worship him for a lifetime.
Suddenly, a notification flashed in red across my vision.
[Emergency Alert: Dimensional Breach Detected.] [The Association has triggered 'The Final Protocol': Total System Reset.]
My eyes narrowed. "A reset? They want to wipe the world's systems just to get rid of me?"
"Leo! Status report!"
"Master Michael! The sky... it's turning into code! They're deleting the reality of the city!"
I stood up, the [Saitama Passive] making the air crackle with my mere movement. They were getting desperate. If they couldn't kill the monster, they were going to burn the house down with everyone inside.
"They think the System belongs to them," I growled, walking toward the portal. "It's time to show them that I don't just use the System. I own the fear that fuels it."
The sky above the newly risen Dark Shore didn't just flicker; it began to peel. Long strips of reality, looking like burnt film, drifted upward into a void of pure white. The Association's "Final Protocol" was no longer a threat—it was a countdown to non-existence.
Inside the Labyrinth of Nazarick, the air was deathly still.
"They are trying to delete the save file because they can't beat the boss," I whispered, my fingers tracing the obsidian armrest of my throne. The [Saitama Passive] kept my heart beating at a steady, rhythmic pace, even as the world around me dissolved into code.
I turned my gaze to the [Fear Refinery] glowing in the center of the hall. It was humming with a frantic, high-pitched energy.
[System Warning: Reality Integrity at 64%.] [The 'Source Code' of the World is being overwritten by the Association Chairman.]
"GTAS," I called out, my voice echoing through the ten floors of the labyrinth. "If they want to play with the code, let's give them a virus they can't delete. Spend the remaining 7,000,000 tickets on the 'Base Expansion: Outer Domain' and 'Conceptual Hardening.'"
[Confirmed. Consuming 7,000,000 Fear Tickets.] [King of Fortune (Rank EX) Triggered: 'Miracle' Result achieved.]
[Draw Result: The Void Anchor]
Effect: Pins the Labyrinth and its surrounding territory (The Dark Shore) to a fixed point in the Multiverse. It is now independent of the "World System."
Expansion: The Sea of Shadows – The water surrounding the island is replaced with a liquid fear that dissolves any "System-based" entity that touches it.
A massive, ethereal anchor—larger than the Spire itself—slammed down from the heavens, piercing through the white "Reset" sky and anchoring my fortress into the fabric of space-time. The island stopped shaking. The peeling sky above my territory froze, held in place by my sheer will and the power of the Gacha.
I stood up, adjusting the [Bulletproof Overcoat] that now glowed with the faint, iridescent light of a God.
"Gallo! Leo!" I commanded.
They appeared at the base of the throne, their Rank 9 systems now fully stabilized by the fortress's energy.
"The Chairman thinks he can hide in the 'Source Code' while the world disappears," I said, pulling the [High-Frequency Vibrating Blade] from its sheath. The black steel hummed with a hunger it hadn't felt before. "He's forgotten one thing. Fear isn't a part of the System. The System was built to contain the fear. And I am the one who holds the key."
I walked toward the portal at the end of the hall. Through the shimmering blue gate, I could see the city outside. It was a wasteland of white light and disappearing buildings. People were screaming, their very bodies turning into pixelated dust as the "Reset" took hold.
[System Notification: Fear Tickets +2,000,000 (Global Panic at Maximum)]
"He's giving me more power with every person he deletes," I laughed, a sound that would have made the old Michael's blood run cold. "He's literally feeding the monster he's trying to kill."
I stepped through the portal, leaving the safety of my fortress and entering the crumbling reality of the city. My feet didn't touch the ground; I stood on the air itself, my [Saitama Passive] allowing me to ignore the lack of "Physics" in the disappearing world.
I looked toward the Centurion Spire. It was the only thing left standing in a sea of white void—the Chairman's final bunker.
"I'm coming, Chairman," I whispered into the windless void. "And I brought a contract with me."