Chapter 419: Goodbye Nouvelle Vague (3)  

The Nouvelle Vague volcano has erupted.

A tremendous explosion. The momentum was such that it seemed as if the entire sea was being lifted up with it.

The pillar of fire that blew away the Gate of Good and Evil immediately turned blue, then doubled, tripled, quadrupled... hundreds of times in thickness and size.

As the pillar of fire soared, secondary and tertiary currents formed around it, and a gigantic column of water rose up to envelop it.

A tsunami so powerful that it has never been seen before in human history.

It was a major tectonic shift that would have devastating effects on the sea and all life on earth.

* * *

A few minutes before the Nouvelle Vague crater erupted.

Vikir saw Nouvelle Vague's iconic Gate of Good and Evil blown away.

The power of the explosion was evident in the way the massive mass of alloy blew off like a bottle cap.

'... But that won't be the end of it.'

Soon, a second, third, fourth, and hundreds of shock waves will hit this place one after another.

And then it's all over.

'I hope Aiyen is safe.'

Vikir glanced back.

The gulper eel was already out of sight.

The strong current created by Orca pushed its back, so it probably drifted to a safe place.

He could only hope so.

Finished with his thoughts, Vikir turned his head again.

...uleuleung! kwakwang!

Lightning was raging at the bottom of the deep sea.

Tsunamis raging on a scale that could easily destroy a country.

In the face of this vast maelstrom of chaos, humans were nothing more than insignificant grains of sand.

Then.

togtog-

A hand tapped Vikir on the shoulder.

It was the Marquis de Sade, looking into Vikir's eyes as if to ask him what he would do.

Vikir tried to think of a way to survive in this extreme situation.

Soon there was a tremendous explosion.

It will be followed by a massive upward current that will sweep away everything here.

Then.

"...!"

Suddenly, something caught Vikir's eye.

The Gate of Good and Evil.

A giant disc, the symbol of Nouvelle Vague.

It had been struck by the full force of Poseidon's power, and yet it remained unbroken.

It was dented in the center, but not cracked.

It just bounced off because all the chains around it were broken.

Vikir recalled the vault of the Bourgeois in his mind.

The one Belial had crafted, too, forged from mythril and orharcon alloy.

Despite its size, it had withstood an attack by the entire Pitbull Knights for two hours.

But what about the Gate of Good and Evil?

The strongest gate that no one has ever been able to break through.

Even Poseidon's first blast had only managed to make a small dent.

Vikir moved instinctively.

'Uhh, come with me!'

The Marquis de Sade flailed his limbs in a frenzy and followed Vikir's lead.

Then, reaching the frantic, shaking ground, Vikir landed on the Gate of Good and Evil that hung over the walls of Nouvelle Vague.

Beside him, the pillar of fire grew blue.

It will soon rise in power and engulf everything here, sweeping everything upward.

Vikir intended to stay close to this Gate of Good and Evil then.

Like a cork on a gushing stem of champagne, he planned to cling to it and get out to the surface. 'Are you insane?'

Even the Marquis de Sade's mouth dropped open in disbelief.

But there was no other option.

The oxygen would soon run out, and there was no other way to get to the surface from 10,000 meters below.

'We have to find a way to stay alive.'

Of course, the chances of survival are less than 1%, less than 0.001%.

But it's better than zero. You have to try anything you can, right?

Vikir made his way to the hollow in the center of the Gate of Good and Evil and took a seat.

He imbued Decarabia with mana.

[...human].

Dekarabia realized Vikir's plan.

He would hold the Gate of Good and Evil like a surfboard at the top of the blast.

'You hold the pressure from above.'

Vikir's strategy was simple.

Like a sandwich, the pressure would be minimized by spreading out the Gates of Good and Evil on the bottom and the protective shield of Decarabira on top.

The dome-shaped shield of Decarabia should be able to withstand the terrifying pressure from above.

The problem is, Vikir doesn't have enough mana to maintain that level of defense.

'If that's the problem, I can help.'

Marquis de Sade said quickly from the side.

He seemed worried that Vikir would leave him behind.

'I wonder how much more interesting things would be on the ground. Please take me with you!'

Marquis de Sade took Vikir's hand and begged.

Vikir nodded, feeling the purity and quality of mana flowing through their clasped hands.

But even so, their chances of survival were slim.

Decarabia's defenses were reliable, but even with Vikir and Marquis de Sade's combined mana, there was no telling how long they could hold out.

...Just then.

Thud.

A palm came up over the edge of the Gate of Good and Evil.

Black webbed feet can be seen between the thick fingers that are imbued with strong power.

'...Take me.'

A bloodied old man sprawled his upper body across the disc.

He stared at Vikir with his one eye, which had just burst from the impact.

Marquis de Sade asked in disbelief.

'Are you insane? Did you forget we were just fighting?'

'I am sane. I remember clearly.'

With that, Orca no longer looked at Marquis de Sade.

His gaze was fixed solely on Vikir.

'I cannot die here.'

'....'

Vikir felt the strong, unyielding determination in Orca's gaze.

'Oh no! I don't think I'd be able to carry that old man!'

'I would be far more trustworthy than a heinous criminal.'

Marquis de Sade and Major General Orca were still arguing sharply, even through their bloodied bodies.

Vikir looked at them and thought of the original history.

'... Causality has been twisted.'

Marquis de Sade escaped from prison much later, during the latter stages of the War of Destruction.

Sady, who has gathered forces from outside, uses the three works she had infiltrated in Nouvelle Vague to open the Gate of Good and Evil and rescue his grandfather, Marquis de Sade.

Intrigued by the news that the land is in flames and that the age of war has arrived, Marquis de Sade kills BDISSEM and incites all the prisoners to start a massive riot.

Orca and the guards, who were distracted by the demonic army that was coming in from outside at the time, missed Marquis de Sade's prison escape.

Nouvelle Vague is about to fall to the demons, and the worst prisoner escapes just in time.

Faced with the possibility of defeating the demon army and allowing Sade to escape at the same time, Orca is forced to make an extreme choice.

He activates the Poseidon he's been studying since discovering it during the construction of Level Ten.

In the process, Orca triggered the great eruption of the Nouvelle Vague, annihilating countless demonic forces and Marquis de Sade before ascending to the surface and joining the Human Alliance.

And now, Orca, covered in blood, was begging Vikir for mercy.

'Believe me. This world has turned into hell. It's barely a shadow of its former self, and I've seen it.'

Orca begged Vikir, banging his head on the Gate of Good and Evil.

'Save me. And take me with you. I will definitely be helpful in dealing with monsters.'

Vikir stared at Orca for a long moment.

And then.

'...Ok.' He nodded with a short reply.

The words were barely out of his mouth before Orca was on top of the Gate of Good and Evil.

'Ew, it's narrow as hell, and the old distracted man is a...'

Marquis de Sade grunted in disapproval, but Major General Orca shrugged it off and took his place beside Vikir.

Vikir, Night Hound.

Marquis de Sade of the 47 Man Riot.

Orca, Warden of Nouvelle Vague.

As the three of them stood together, a red inverted pentagram was drawn above them.

Decarabia materializes in the form of a hemisphere and brings the tips of its five legs to the Gate of Good and Evil.

'If the Gate of Good and Evil cannot hold, we will all die. If the mana that fuels Decarabia runs out, we all die.'

At Vikir's words, both Marquis de Sade and Major General Orca, who had been infusing mana into each of his shoulders, nodded stiffly.

The symbol of Nouvelle Vague, the Gate of Good and Evil.

The only thing indestructible in this great chaos.

Vikir used it as the base, and the Wailing Dome of Decarabia as the ceiling and walls.

And now, the time of judgment has come.

o-ooooo...

The space around them began to warp and scream.

The heavy energy felt from the ground, and before they know it, it speeds up and rushes towards them.

Directly below, towards the soles of their feet!

kkwakwang!

The first explosion, an eardrum-splitting blast, was heard by everyone.

...! ...! ...! ...!

The second and third explosions that followed were so far beyond the range of human hearing that they seemed merely static.

Both the Marquis de Sade and Major General Orca were perplexed.

Anxiety, crisis, tension, nervousness, excitement, and climax like nothing they had ever felt before, even after a lifetime of life of gambling and war.

It was truly an unreasonable number that they haven't seen in a long time.

And then.

The Gate of Good and Evil floated upward.

A single coin of insignificant value was swept away by a strong wind, casually and unceremoniously.

But the three people on it were literally experiencing hell.

"...!"

"...!"

"...!"

The pressure felt like his body was being crushed, the sensation of being turned alive into paste.

Vikir poured all of the mana that Marquis de Sade and Major General Orca were pumping into him into Decarabia's shields.

At the same time, Beelzebub squeezed the basilisk's regenerative powers to the limit.

udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug-udeudeug...!

The bones, flesh, muscles, and blood of the entire body were being pressed to their limits by a terrifying pressure that would make even a danger level S-rank monster scream.

[...Human!]

[...Up!]

[...Here we go!]

The sound of Decarabia's shouts echoed faintly in his ears amidst the inaudible but unmistakable roar.

Suddenly, a voice sticks in Vikir's mind.

He doesn't know why, but the words he'd spoken when he was promoted to Major suddenly came back to him.

'I'm going to put everything I have on the line, and I'm going to transform Nouvelle Vague.'

A plan he'd had since he walked into Nouvelle Vague.

It was realized perfectly. It really has made a huge difference.

"...."

Vikir drew a faint arc around the corner of his mouth.

It's called (Do your best to wait for destiny).

He had done all he could as a human being.

He's done his best, done it perfectly.

All that remains is for the heavens to decide.

And so Vikir goes to meet the heavens.

He is shooting out to ask Sky(Heaven), whom he has not seen for nearly four years, about the future and His accomplishment.

...Toward the ground, 10,000 meters above!