Chapter 252 The Despair List of Each World!
The sports festival was cut short halfway through due to an unexpected disturbance.
Everyone gathered in the cafeteria during the lunch break, the air thick with solemnity and unease.
"Then, if I may be so presumptuous, I will deduce the current situation."
Demiurge broke the silence, having mostly organized the information from the past two days.
After habitually pushing up his glasses, his tone was full of the composure of someone with a clear grasp of the situation.
"The invading individual that attacked yesterday, the mobile fortress destroyer, came from the world of Kazuma and his companions."
Arthur nodded and added, "The location was behind the school building. There was a void barrier at the time, which only dissipated after the destroyer was dealt with."
Demiurge tapped the table lightly with his finger, the crisp sound like a beat for his thoughts.
He recalled everything that happened on the sports field today and stated with certainty.
"The two monsters that invaded the school's main gate today, the White Whale and the Poison Slime, came from Kazuma's world and Natsuki Subaru's world, respectively."
"The biggest difference from yesterday, besides the number, is that their actions were unrestricted. The intent of the mastermind is clear—to encircle us."
Hearing this analysis, Finn looked around.
Even though they had only been in this alternate dimension for a short time, they could easily see the vast differences among this group of classmates.
"Five groups of people, but so far, monsters from only two worlds have appeared."
His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"I suggest everyone prepare for the worst."
Kazuma ran his hands through his hair in distress, "Even if you say that… we've already had the destroyer and the slime from our side, can there be any more troublesome Bosses?"
Aqua, huddled in the corner, mumbled, "Yes, that Headless Knight."
The expression on Kazuma's face instantly froze. He suddenly raised his hand, angrily pointing at the useless goddess who brought up an inconvenient topic.
"Don't you know what 'setting a flag' means! If the Headless Knight really appears, I'll be the first to throw you out as bait!"
Aqua snorted disdainfully and shrank further behind Darkness.
In her opinion, with Arthur and Reinhardt here, and even that ridiculously strong undead skeleton she disliked, there was nothing to be afraid of.
On the other side of the dining table, after carefully inquiring about the situation from all parties, Demiurge raised his hand and conjured a simple light screen in the air using magic.
"Considering that everyone's world environments are different, the types of monsters to watch out for also vary greatly. This list can only serve as a reference."
The murmuring among the crowd ceased abruptly, and their gazes collectively turned to the ominous light screen.
[Kazuma's Group: mobile fortress destroyer, Poison Slime, Headless Knight (doubtful), Demon Lord (doubtful)]
[Natsuki Subaru's Group: White Whale, Great Rabbit (doubtful), Black Serpent (doubtful), Sin Archbishops (doubtful)]
[Loki's Group: Dungeon Floor Bosses, Dark Faction, New Species of Filth Spirit, Evil God (doubtful)]
[Nazarick's Group: Slane Theocracy, Argland Council State, Re-Estize Kingdom (doubtful)]
[Tanya's Group: Allied Army, Grand Duchy Army, Federation Army]
Even without knowing the details of each other's worlds, the mere names of these enemies conveyed a suffocating sense of oppression.
The atmosphere in the cafeteria, as each name was listed on the light screen, sank into complete silence.
It wasn't just a simple list of enemies.
It was the embodiment of the deepest despair from each of their worlds, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.
The mobile fortress destroyer, the White Whale, the Poison Slime… these were merely appetizers.
What truly made it hard to breathe were the words "doubtful" marked in red.
Demon Lord, Sin Archbishops, Evil God…
Behind each term, there could be a disaster capable of overturning the world.
"Now… this isn't funny at all…"
Kazuma clutched his head, his face ashen, his voice trembling.
"Just the Demon Lord's Army Executivess are tough enough; if the Demon Lord himself comes, what's the point of fighting! Let's just surrender!"
Natsuki Subaru, beside him, also had an extremely grim expression.
The White Whale's resurrection had already sent a chill down his spine, and the Great Rabbit on the list instantly rekindled his fear of being dominated by death and despair.
"It seems we've all been drawn into a rather unfortunate scenario."
Finn broke the silence with a steady voice that belied his youthful appearance.
He looked around at everyone, his gaze finally resting on Arthur and Reinhardt.
"The situation is quite clear: the enemy is probing us in batches and with premeditation, and the intensity is gradually increasing."
Demiurge took over, his eyes behind his glasses glinting sharply.
"I agree with Finn's assessment. From yesterday's isolated attack to today's coordinated operation, this indicates that the manipulator behind the scenes is adjusting its tactics based on our responses."
"Its ultimate goal is clearly to wipe us all out."
Ainz's soul fire flickered slightly in his eye sockets. He tapped the table with a boney finger and said in a deep voice.
"Passive defense will only put us in a worse position, Demiurge."
The demon, whose name was called, understood immediately, stepped forward, and bowed in response.
"Lord Ainz, I suggest actively dividing the alert areas, with the strongest members of each group responsible for rapid support at critical nodes."
This pragmatic suggestion was immediately approved by everyone, and soon, a temporary defensive deployment quickly took shape.
Arthur and Reinhardt, as the recognized ceiling of combat power, had no fixed defense areas and roamed the entire campus, ready to respond to the most urgent situations.
Ainz and his Guardians were stationed in the main school building, serving as the command and long-range firepower hub.
Finn, Riveria, and others of the Loki Familia were responsible for the open sports field side, which was most suitable for group combat.
The rest were also assigned to different positions according to their abilities, and a defensive network covering the entire campus was thus spread out.
With the discussion concluded, everyone quickly sprang into action, the oppressive atmosphere shattered by the sounds of decisive movement.
Just as Arthur was about to leave to go to a high vantage point to observe the overall situation, a lazy yet cunning voice called out to him.
"Hey, kid, wait a minute."
Arthur turned around; Loki was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, a playful smile on her face.
"You didn't say a word just now, but now you have something to tell me?"
"Nothing big, just a little curious."
Loki walked over to him with light steps, walking beside him, her narrow red eyes seeming to scrutinize something.
"I know you have excellent intuition, so I want to hear your opinion. On that 'Despair List,' what do you think is most likely to appear from our side?"
Arthur didn't stop walking, his voice as calm as if stating a known fact.
"Floor Bosses are limited by the Dungeon environment, so their appearance here is unlikely. The Dark Faction is just a disorganized rabble, and while the Filth Spirit is troublesome, it's not to be feared."
He paused, then turned his face to meet Loki's inquisitive gaze.
"As for the Evil God… if I can kill him once, I can kill him a second time."
Loki's smile slowly faded. She narrowed her eyes, and a fox-like glint flickered in her red pupils.
"Then what else could you call 'real trouble'?"
"The One-Eyed Black Dragon."
The four words Arthur uttered made the surrounding air still.
"Just as I thought."
Loki's voice was extremely low, as if uttering an ancient curse.
"That thing isn't a monster that can be described as 'strong'; it's the manifestation of the earth's resentment towards the gods, a walking black nightmare. To be honest, I can't deal with it."
As she said this, Loki still had a smile on her face, showing no sign of helplessness, but the gravity in her words was undeniable.
If even a "final Boss" representing the ultimate power of a world could be summoned to this space…
Then the mastermind's purpose and power had already exceeded everyone's imagination.
"It's only immune to divine power." Arthur's expression remained calm, as if this name, which could make even gods change color, was nothing more than that. "I'll handle it."
Watching Arthur's retreating figure, Loki's smile completely vanished. She stood rooted to the spot, unmoving for a long time.
After a long while, she let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"Ha… could it be that I haven't taken action in so long that I've become a coward?"
…
At the same time.
At an alternate dimension connection point, an unobserved fault dimension.
There was no sky or ground here, only an endless, chaotic flow of pure malice.
A solitary black peak stood abruptly in the center of this void.
"Beep."
A faint electronic sound rang out, and the black-robed figure, recently decapitated by Arthur in the destroyer's control room, appeared silently at the foot of the mountain.
Assistant-san had changed into a new body, her cold mechanical prosthetic eye flashing with data streams.
She looked up, gazing at the majestic black peak, like the spine of a giant beast.
"Mission report."
A cold, emotionless electronic synthetic voice emanated from beneath the black robe.
"Target individual [Arthur], combat power assessment exceeds expectations. Possesses high-level anti-barrier weaponry, capable of instantly destroying the 'destroyer's' outer shell and internal structure."
"Target individual [Reinhardt], suspected of possessing world-class divine protection, extremely strong causality interference ability, threat level temporarily set as equal to [Arthur]."
"Other high-value targets are currently being analyzed…"
Assistant-san, like the most loyal servant, reported all the information she had gathered.
Her response was the shaking of the entire black mountain!
Rumble—!
The mountain slowly awakened, countless loose rocks tumbling down.
At its peak, within a shadow deeper and purer than the surrounding Darkness, an unimaginably huge eye slowly opened!
The color of that vertical pupil was a mesmerizing scarlet, burning with the hellfire of karma!
Just the opening of this eye caused the malicious energy of the entire fault dimension to boil wildly, emitting screams like ghosts wailing and gods howling!
[The body… has reached its limit…].
A pure will of destruction echoed directly in Assistant-san and the Black Dragon's minds.
[The tiny insect… cannot accept more energy…].
Assistant-san remained unresponsive, simply waiting for instructions.
The scarlet single eye slowly rotated, its gaze seemingly piercing through layers of space, seeing the school enveloped by the barrier, seeing the vibrant "prey" within the campus.
[…The probing, ends here. Go… and execute the final phase.]
"Understood."
A data stream flashed in Assistant-san's mechanical eye, and her figure disappeared without a trace in a few swift movements.
In the fault dimension, only the awakened black mountain remained.
The One-Eyed Black Dragon lowered its head, painfully absorbing the chaotic malice flowing beneath its feet.
That power was frantically gnawing at its indestructible dragon body, bringing endless torment.
It wasn't enough; it needed to find a more perfect vessel.