244. The Bell Ringer
Bang!
[White Knight] kicked open the hydraulic door with one swift kick, swept his blade in a broad arc, and tore through space, slicing straight through the distant powered armor. Its nuclear-powered engine triggered a chain explosion, unleashing searing thermal rays and scattering radioactive dust across the entire tunnel.
"Is he really here? It looked like an ordinary Outside World settlement, but it's hiding plenty of weapons and gear."
[White Knight] muttered. With a flick of his fingertips, toxic etheric blood spread rapidly. Dragging his blade, he strolled leisurely forward. The mortals who hadn't escaped in time were felled by the poisonous ether, collapsing in dense swaths.
"Not one of them can put up a fight—pathetic."
"Don't let your guard down, White Shark."
[Bell Ringer] Horst followed closely behind, appearing from who knows where. He glanced at the pocket watch in his hand; its hands shifted constantly, displaying a coded script only he could decipher. With a snap of its chain, he tucked the watch away and pointed to a large lathe in the distance, issuing an order:
"Take it apart."
Without a word, White Shark raised his blade and wiped it along the back of his hand.
[Sharpening Fangs]
[Sharpening Fangs]
[Sharpening Fangs]
Whish!
Sword light burst forth, instantly consuming and flattening the huge lathe with searing brilliance. A fierce burst of radioactive wind howled through, yanking out a humanoid figure hidden in the machine and slamming it harshly onto the ground.
"Cough, cough…"
The blonde-haired, blue-eyed man pulled from the wreck lay face down, coughing violently. Water trickled from his nose and mouth, quickly flushing out the radioactive dust he'd inhaled.
"Damn, this body is too weak…"
As he struggled to lift his frail body, the white knight's sword clanged into the ground before him.
"Yah~yah~yah~, it's been a long time, dear elder. I heard that five thousand years ago, you fought alongside the [Scholar] Councilor and even witnessed Leozi's fall. So you're an old member of the secret jury, huh?"
White Shark pressed his foot onto the man's shoulder, mocking him without hiding his contempt:
"What's wrong, Igorai Matthew?"
He lifted his blade, using its spine to push aside Igorai Matthew's hair, revealing his exhausted, weakened face, and continued to taunt:
"You, the so-called [Sailor]—once having undergone seven reforgings...which is about Sigma-tier (18) strength in Star Abyss—are now being stepped on by me, who's only been reforged once. That's what happens when you betray [Society]. Your crime is terminal and unforgivable!"
"Heh heh…"
Igorai Matthew gave a sneering grin and replied:
"If someone as lowly as you can take on the mantle of [White Knight]…then [Secret Society] is truly beyond saving."
"Hmph, all you can do is talk tough—look at your body."
White Shark feigned pity as he mocked him:
"Once you enter Star Abyss, even the outermost [Layered Abyss] places a curse on us citizens of [Society]: no matter how powerful you are, if you still exist physically, you cannot surpass the limits of planets and the universe. Any being exceeding those limits that refuses to submerge deeper will gradually be eroded by the Layered Abyss and degenerate."
"At what was basically Sigma-tier (18), living on Azure Star, which only accommodates Gamma-tier (3), for over forty years has long since reduced you to someone even weaker than Gamma-tier (3)."
"See, you sacrificed so much to blend into this world, but the Layered Abyss isn't welcoming at all."
Ignoring White Shark's derision, Igorai Matthew looked over at [Bell Ringer] Horst and calmly asked:
"I'm just a member of the jury. You two were sent here by Gaia—surely not just to look for me?"
"You're still quite useful to us. Don't sell yourself short, old soldier."
"Who the hell is your 'comrade'?!"
"Then let me change it—fellow countryman."
Horst spoke flatly:
"[Secret Society] has been divided for a long time. [Collector] departed and went into hiding, indifferent to worldly matters. [Scholar] believes the Star Abyss curse has ruined our traditional plan of Devouring, so he wants to coexist with the narrative-level civilizations. We, on the other hand, represent the faction of [Emperor]—the core, the most orthodox, the most loyal to Mother Gaia."
Igorai Matthew didn't blink, replying quickly:
"You want…to rebuild the Hidden Council? And reconnect with Gaia."
"Exactly. At this point, only Mother Gaia's return can unify the will of [Society]."
[Bell Ringer] Horst said calmly:
"You know it too, my [Sailor] friend. Without the mother-body of [Society], we cells that broke off have no place in this Star Abyss universe. We must make a choice."
"Either declare war on the entire Star Abyss, launching an unprecedented battle to devour all civilizations;"
"Or continue to coexist in smaller parts, little by little, using drawn-out tactics to gradually erode them."
"Let me tell you something," Igorai Matthew said coldly. "[Society] is a cancer on the universe; it shouldn't even exist. Gaia and the rest of [Society] have devoured countless innocent civilizations, and the casualties are horrifying. We are the cancer of this cosmos!"
"How dramatic. Without [Society], do you really think Star Abyss would be at peace?"
[Bell Ringer] Horst answered slyly:
"Long before the Destroyer stepped foot into the six-layered Star Abyss, civilizations were already suppressing, outcompeting, and slaughtering each other. The differences between civilizations are even greater than those between [Society] and them."
"What makes you think colonizers are necessarily worse than rulers? The civilizations we devour enjoy equality, justice, kindness, sustenance, and comfort, which they could never have hoped for in their old societies."
"As I see it, being devoured by [Society] isn't so bad. They have to work hard to survive anyway, and even then, might never see their true worth realized. We, on the other hand, can fully utilize it."
"But they lose their freedom and their lives."
Igorai Matthew clenched his fists, speaking in a low voice:
"Once you're devoured by [Society], if you ever leave it, you become nothing."
"But if you leave civilization, you're nothing as well." White Shark hoisted his blade and laughed wildly. "Old man, you're as rigid as they come. Indeed, we have every reason to haul you back and assimilate you back into Society…"
"Kid, I used to be like you, believing that welcoming [Society] would destroy all that's horrible, that wiping out the world I came from would grant true liberation and absolute freedom."
Igorai Matthew took a deep breath and spoke gravely:
"But it didn't."