CHAPTER 521

  SANCTUM'S END (VIII)

  Eldon didn't think as he threw himself, still tightly holding Alana, into the vehicle . Reli, as well as another pair of arms from the inside, helped him up as she flung the doors closed behind him, shouting right after .

  "Go! Go! Go!!" the engine revved and the tires screeched as the ancient vehicle turned and began moving .

  After settling somewhat, Eldon looked around and realized that there were quite a few folks besides Reli inside —— three more to be precise, two men and a woman . The latter was of similar appearance to Reli, and though Eldon never met her in person, he quickly realized it was her younger sister, Elta .

  Though he didn't recognize the other two men, it wasn't important; one was in charge of the wheel up front while the other was the one that helped him get inside .

  "——how?" Eldon asked, the tiredness finally overcoming him as he began drawing short breaths .

  "We went to your apartment complex, but you weren't there," Reli explained . "We spotted you on accident as we turned around . "

  " . . . " though Eldon had many questions to ask, he had no strength to do so . Alana wiggled out of his embrace and sat up, fixing her disheveled hair, angrily glancing at her father .

  "Where are we headed?" she took the role of the questioner as Reli giggled lightly . She'd only met the girl once or twice, yet that fierceness still remained intact . "To the research facility nearby," Reli replied . "One of my close friends works there and has contacted me, saying there are several operational ships . " though she spoke with a certain sense of calmness, it was impossible to miss the shock and terror inside her gaze . While the world around them was collapsing, they hung onto the last straw of hope .

  "——can . . . can we escape, even with that?" Alana asked with a somewhat lowered tone .

  " . . . I don't know," Reli replied honestly, sighing . "But . . . what other choice do we have?"

  That was true . Adur was headed to the collapse —— not a figurative one, but the literal one . The planet would cease to exist . The atmosphere had already begun collapsing slowly, meaning that even if, by some miracle, the body held together, every living organism on the surface would die from exposure within a year at most .

  However, chances were that before that transpired, they would be flung into the open void and left to the cold and desolate destitute of infinity .

  Eldon managed to recover somewhat, sitting up and inspecting the insides once more; the vehicle had two compartments, the front, and the back . Elta and the driver sat up front, the latter furiously spinning the wheel as the world in front of him continued collapsing .

  The backside also had seats, but also some room in-between that seemed to have been used for some minuscule storage . The other man and Eldon sat on that opening, both leaned on the doors, while Alana and Reli sat on the leather seats .

  Gathering some strength and courage, Eldon lifted himself up with a grunt and looked outside the window . Something immediately got stuck inside his throat; the massive behemoths were collapsing into ruin, flayed like the tiny houses of cards . The debris rained upon the world, most of it infernal, as fires bellowed out from all sides . He didn't even understand how the driver was operating through this hell .

  " . . . thank you . " Eldon mumbled faintly as he sat back down, glancing toward Reli . "You . . . didn't have to . . . "

  " . . . I couldn't have just let you die, now could I?" Reli replied, smiling strangely . "Ah, these two lads are also family —— the driver is Elta's fiance, Artur, and this serious-looking fella is his brother, Itor . I myself lucked out quite a bit since the three decided to visit me today due to some wedding plans . . . "

  " . . . what happened?" Eldon asked . "To our defenses, I mean . Did . . . did they really destroy everything?"

  " . . . yeah," Reli's expression sank as she thought back to a few hours ago when their vanguard met with the strange creatures . It wasn't a fight, not really . It was similar to what was happening right now . "They didn't even pause . I don't know what those things are . . . but they're definitely supernatural . "

  " . . . " everyone fell into silence, as there was little else to say . Right now, they hung onto the last hope; chances are, they wouldn't make it out alive . They'd be buried with the rest of their world . Forever forgotten .

  Ataxia and Lino watched the vehicle flying through the inferno, floating somewhat above it . Ataxia had a remorseful, pained expression, while even Lino was unable to stand indifferent . After all, he was witnessing the collapse of an entire world . An entire planet, one much larger than Noterra, with the population being at the very least a hundredfold . Though true they didn't have Qi like the people of Noterra, they had technology that surpassed even the Humans of Earth .

  Pondering for a moment, Lino realized that something similar could have also happened there . But . . . why? What was the point of all this? If he projected why people warred from the surface onto the cosmos, it had to do with conquering resources and land . But, that clearly wasn't the objective, otherwise they wouldn't simply destroy everything without saying a word . At the very least, Lino expected them to take slaves . Yet, not even that . They killed everyone without even a hint of remorse .

  " . . . this is bigger than I imagined," Lino mumbled as Ataxia glanced at him . "Are they really just doing it for the hell of it?"

  " . . . I don't think so," Ataxia replied . "Though my time with the Edifice was short-lived, it did say something about the galactic conflicts . Perhaps this was simply one of them . "

  "No, I get the warring part," Lino said . "Think about it . If the Emperors from Noterra had the ability, wouldn't they do to other planets what they did to the other nations? Just bring them under their banner, no?"

  " . . . " Ataxia nodded after brief thought .

  "But, this isn't really warring or conquering," Lino said . "If the point was to simply destroy, why bother waiting for so long? Why even wait for life to spring out? No, wait——that's it . "

  "What?" Ataxia asked as he spotted the glimmer of realization in Lino's eyes . The latter suddenly laughed strangely, shaking his head .

  "Goddamn, the entire fuckin' cosmos is fucked up . "

  "What?" Ataxia asked again, curiosity swelling within him .

  "Aren't they doing what I do as well?"

  "Hm?"

  "Killing to absorb Vitality?" Ataxia's eyes also lit up at that moment as his entire body shuddered . "If we look at it like that, it makes sense . It makes sense why they left you alone, why they suddenly attacked, and why they didn't leave anyone alive . "

  " . . . so . . . you're trying to say that all the people of Adur . . . were like the livestock to them?" Ataxia asked as anger surged through in his voice . It has been eons since he last felt this emotion, yet he couldn't help himself . At the very least, all this while, he believed there was some higher purpose to his home being destroyed like this .

  "I imagine it's not the only world like it," Lino said, his eyes growing more resentful . "If I really had gone mad and started murdering everyone, I imagine my strength would eclipse the boundary of even what I'm capable of doing now . It's not hard to assume that someone else in the cosmos —— nay, many others —— have developed similar ways of empowering themselves . However . . . " he added, his brows crumpling into a frown . "I feel like there's something more to it . If the point was to simply raise lifeforms as livestock, wouldn't it be simpler to literally grow it? Instead of scouting the entire cosmos and hoping you run across a world inhabited by the living? Or the world with a mere potential of being inhabited sometime in the future and waiting for it?"

  " . . . " Ataxia also relented to the last part of Lino's conclusion, entering deep thought for a moment . "Wouldn't it be easier if you asked the Edifice?"

  "——it already used up its reserves by making me its Agent," Lino said, stroking his chin . "Looks like you were right —— I'll really have to rebuild it . "

  " . . . aren't you a bit frustrated?" Ataxia asked as a cheeky smiled fluttered on his face .

  "Hm?" Lino glanced at him, tilting his head .

  "You always despised being used as a puppet, yet, lo and behold . "

  " . . . it's different," Lino said, smiling faintly . "You were simply an Agent-in-making, and I imagine the last resort . "

  " . . . ugh . " Ataxia grumbled, yet couldn't retort .

  "It's difficult to explain, but my autonomy hasn't been compromised . If anything, it increased since I no longer have you regulating me . I inherited all your functions, and though it will take time to unlock them, it shouldn't take that long . However, I don't have the restrictions you had . I don't need a vessel, nor do I need to use insane amounts of Chaos Qi to manifest myself into a body, or use shitty means like Alladin to form the body . "

  " . . . ah . So you already figured out how I became my own bearer . " Ataxia chuckled . It seemed like Lino had acquired far more during the brief moment he became the Agent than he let on at first . "How strong are you anyway? The moment you became the Agent, I couldn't read anything about you anymore . "

  " . . . hmm, fairly strong," Lino chuckled, glancing at him . "A few tiers above you, actually . "

  "Me?" Ataxia tilted his head in confusion . Did he misspeak? After all, as far as Ataxia was concerned, even if he didn't die, he'd at most just regain his mortal body from before he became the Writ .

  "I didn't rob you of everything, old relic," Lino rolled his eyes . "I already figured some shittery will unfold, so why would I lower the number of people who could help me? Hmm, if I assist you for a bit, I suppose you should reach roughly Ella's level . After that, however, it's up to you to work out . "

  " . . . you . . . you can fucking do that?" Lino glanced at the shock Ataxia and realized something, causing his eyes to turn into slits . Was . . . was this the first time this idiot cursed? Fuck! I should have recorded it . . . aaiii, why do good things always happen to the unprepared? Shit . . .