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Chapter 047: Showing Force

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The West Gate was annihilated and the survivors were routed. Although the City Lord's Mansion and the nearby areas are safe, the after-blast of Siva's Longhorn Assault still leveled the vegetation and all nearby highland locations near the mansion.

Brown replaced the once verdant green.

There were rubbles everywhere and people's cries of pain and agony strung the hearts witnessing the very scene.

The world was astounded.

Siva had done it again —he'd surprised them once more of his shocking display of his ruthlessness.

To those new to him or his name, this was one way to uniquely give away his impression to his identity.

Even all those who've heard his name the longest even cringed at the recollection of that alias he'd given people before ...before the event in Dragona that revealed his name to the world.

Before then, everybody who knew his face knew him by his other name —The Destroyer.

This scene they're seeing, Siva "The Destroyer" is finally, officially, making his name known for all the world to see ...with a loud bang!

No one knew where this video was taking place but it was sure to be one of those cities under attack in another of RPG: Terroa's unknown game events.

And so a hunt commenced.

Siva's enemies —those who's game careers have been either trampled or affected with, and all those jealous types and greedy third and fourth parties aiming to get a piece of his pie; they all, without fail began to assemble their forces and march off and search for clues and leads to his whereabouts.

They want Siva's head, they want his Grand Quest.

Although some deemed themselves ghosts as they took off silently and as secretly as they can, there are still those who were smart enough and knew a thing or two to what they're gonna do.

Over a quarter of a million in over a hundred million gamers launched their own campaigns against him.

It was a massive offensive departure in many parts and locations in Terroa.

Meanwhile...

A white coloured warship cruised over leisurely in the seas 300km from the coast of the West Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of the Western Territory of the continent of Zenturo.

This part of the ocean was still the territory of the Kingdom of Jeremiah but the Council of Elders did not put much attention to this place because of two very good reasons; the first is because there were no 'useful' strategic resources here and secondly, the place was actually an abandoned area. Only a select few people whose sense of adventure was high would actually go here.

—all because, just like the Pacific Ocean over the East Side of the continent, the Atlantic Ocean was filled with swarming monsters.

There are islands here and there but most of them are inhabitable small islands that submerges at any one time in a year (or any number of year) cycle.

——or they were nests for monsters.

This particular Warship, however, was just 3km away from the nearest island and when using the secret codes provided by their secret organization, they can locate this secret island and enter it.

It was the —now— secret base of the organization founded by Pioneers: [Atropos].

And if Thorn could only see this warship, he'd be shocked and surprise to discover that this ship had a striking resemblance with his own Archangel, but only purely white without the striking red and blue that gave the Archangel that mysteriously "warm" kind of feeling when looking at it.

Still, at the portside of this pure white warship was the name had a connection to Thorn's Archangel.

[Michael]

This was this Warship's name.

On the main bridge, Stark, the nominated Leader of Atropos, stood in front of the table hologram of events that's happening in Terroa right now. On the focus, in fact, was the event where Siva had just obliterated the entire quadrant of red-cloaked cultists that took over the City Lord's Mansion.

"Have we got the filters ready?" Stark was talking with his Battle-AI, the mafia dwarf smoking a 1966 on his mouth.

[Filters are active, relax. I got the team prep up for the sniffs. All possible clues are being monitored.]

"We don't have time. You know it."

The dwarf was still dismissive, [I know what to do, chief, you know we share the same goals.]

"Alright."

At this point, one of the Battle-AIs, the kid hugging a teddy bear in a corner, shyly alerted, [A keyword was used just now on a forum post.]

It has only been a few seconds since Siva dealt the destruction to the West Gate and so searching for specific keywords —or just the idea, what more is the ability to do it— was an ingenious notion from Stark's Atropos.

Stark glanced sharply at her, "Display the post." It was a look in his face that told everyone else's of his Atropos... desperation. One could only see the level of desperation, of deep longing and yearning they have within this mission of theirs.

The girl pointed at the table and the feed of the actual conversation appeared to hover above it. On their visions now lay the "keyword" highlighted in pale blue amongst the string of words.

>>l Guys, I can't teleport to Walled City of .

Stark and the rest of the Pioneers present became serious looking at the city highlighted.

But within that seriousness lay excitement and joy.

—finally, a lead!

Everyone thought.

There are only a select few cities that the players have been given access to. The rest are still secret as they are yet to be visited by any pioneer that will discover their connections to any quest or mission.

And right now, since all available connections were yet to be connected, nobody—not even the members of Atropos—could visit these uncharted cities for these cities will only appear on the list of all available flights on the commercial planes once a player visited them for the first time.

What more, just like discovering new Terran Races out there this feat will be announced for all to hear!

Not too long after the message was displayed, the forum post's comment section was update with its first comment.

>>l I can't teleport either!

After that, the string of comments began. It didn't have to be specific, with some even trolling about and spouting jokes to the post. But majority of the people were experiencing the same situation.

Although this was already telling enough, Stark was still making sure that when they move, it will not be wasted.

Then, Stark looked at their Navigator. "Prep for the jump. Destination... Maria!"

The Navigator quickly tapped on his console only to frown a moment later.

"Sir I can't seem to lock into the airspace of Maria."

The [Dwarf Battle-AI] commented, [It might be that the space in Maria had been locked... just like what happened in Alexandria.]

The [Treant Battle-AI] followed, [Siva won the fight against the Blue Car Legion. After the duel, there's something mysterious that happened in that city. A few people said that a True God descended and had attacked Siva... but there came another man who protected him and ended the entire conflict.]

Stark motioned for him, "Wasn't there videos of it?"

[None.] the Treant said, [Or at least, none exists of it anymore because it was part of the 'things' that got deleted by that world-wide scan. I only got a memory of its impression but not the exact things that had happened in there.]

The [Dwarf] followed, [And even having that kind of 'impression' is a task already since that deep scan is very thorough. I had to build the impression from scraps of files on my memory archives.]

(AN: the deep memory scan happened in Volume 6 Chapter 20 while the event they're talking about is that battle where Gabriel saved Siva from being killed by Sefirah at the end of Volume 5)

The [Timid Girl Battle-AI] also spoke, [But there is a conversation in Terroa Day Today that hinted of it a few real-world days ago.]

While they were relaying their inputs, Stark did not pull his eyes off the conversation.

At this point in time, the people experiencing the same thing had already reached a thousand and the forum post had already reached the hot topic label with stars highlighting its importance.

Then, while the comments and reactions came one by one at eye-rending speeds, the forum stopped as a comment was highlighted in gold by the Timid Girl Battle-AI.

[I found our lead.]

Her small voices resounded.

She motioned er hand and the flowing froze and rolled back to the part.

>>l I just escaped . is in ! He's...

The keywords were highlighted. As soon as Stark saw this, he didn't waste time and quickly gave the command.

"Jump into the nearest city from Maria now!"

"The closest city in Maria is Dakar!"

"Do it!"

"Commencing [Hyperjump Procedures]... Initiating Hyperdrive sequence...jumping in ten seconds...!"

Stark added, "Contact all Atropos units... tell them to meet us in Dakar in ten seconds!"

[[[Template used. Message Sent]]]

"Hyperjump Initiated!!"

*****

Dakar.

FlowerLord had just gotten in contact with the local office of their Illuminati Circle of Elites and greeted the local office holder.

"You mean to say that there's not an incident of that happening in this city?"

Perhaps it was all standard, but aside from the big office of the Illuminati Circle in Loire Magic City, all local affiliated offices of the circle on the other cities were all refined people with a unique bearing akin to those noble bloods of yore.

Sleek suits and tie over coloured apparel, they all carry themselves with dignity while radiating that bold sense of confidence and sophistication.

The man in front of her wasn't different from all the others she had met before.

He shook his head, "Not one case. This I even get a little jittery of. As you may already know, the hold of The Union within their people is really tight. All orders were given with strict confidentiality that the NPCs affiliated to them were even scared of the Union of Six Federations as a whole. Imagine that."

FlowerLord frowned. Didn't this mean her visit in this place was wasted?

"Thank you. If there's something that happens, can I rely on you to contact me immediately?"

The refined man smiled warmly, "Of course. For a VIP with a rank like yours, it's one of your rights and privileges."

FlowerLord wasn't used to these refined man talk and stance so she nodded and escaped the office.

On the lounge, there were a lot of people, with a few names even appearing on some forum posts quite a few times a week.

When she escaped, she met two people that put a rare smile at her.

"Of all the places we'd meet." FlowerLord's voice was loud enough to catch the attention of all the people in the lounge, including the people she'd wanted them to hear it.

The two people she was talking about were two beautiful and 'bountiful' young women.

It was the famous pair of Koreans, Paak and Waan.

Like her, they were also VIP-level in The Circle.

"Efel!"

"OMG! I can't believe I'm looking at you right now."

The three came running to one another to share a tight embrace. None of them minded the eyes that looked lasciviously at them —especially to the two Korean Players. With the size of their bumpers, it was a sin not to look at them... and all the more an impossible task to ignore them.

But the two were used to these eyes and since this was a game world with their faces different, there was no sense in hiding these assets since it was part of their arsenal of weapons when completing their missions.

The three sat on a corner of the circle and chatted to catch up.

"What, you've chased Julia here in Dakar?"

FlowerLord was actually surprised to hear this. Did Amanda just told them earlier that Julia restarted her career and named herself Julian, and requests to be employed by Siva?

She wanted to tell them these but she also recalled that Amanda seem to like Julian's sincerity.

After a few considerations thru their conversations in the topic, FlowerLord learned how frustrated the twins are for that unsuccessful mission.

"Did you see her body?" she asked.

"We didn't." said Paak. "But we thought that she's already dead since she received all those injuries as well as well that last desperation attack."

Waan followed, "Besides, we also followed the direction where she escaped and knew that she'd escaped thru a Monster Den in the dessert. Those Dessert Monsters are all at least A-Ranked and all of the hunting parties around the dessert have not seen someone with the guy's features anywhere."

FlowerLord turned silent.

At that point, Paak and Waan simultaneously turned silent as they both looked somewhere in front of them —an action when a player is looking at a notif window that suddenly popped up in their visions.

As the thought entered her mind, she also saw the change in the twin's completions. There were joy, tears, excitement, and an unfamiliar level of life any person would notice from someone who was about to see a loved one after a very long time.

Noticing FlowerLord's look, the twins coughed and then stood up, about to escape.

"Where are you two going?"

The twins wore a look of regret and then Paak, who bit her lips, grabbed her hand.

"Efel.... what would you feel if I told you that there exists a world within this world that will make you experience what it truly means to live in a fantasy universe?"

Waan added, "Efel, would you like to come with us and try to......go back to that place... with us?"

FlowerLord was confused, "What's happening to you guys? Wha—why are you acting as if you're two different people all of a sudden?"

The twins exchanged looks and made a long sigh.

Paak spoke, "Efel, you're out dear friend and you are like a sister to us. So I..."

Waan interrupted, "She is our sister." Paak nodded and looked at FlowerLord. Now, the twins' eyes are ladened with tears, "Efel, I really want you to see a world we once saw and experienced. It was a world different from here."

Paak grabbed her other hand, "Efel, do you trust us?"

FlowerLord, still confused, firmed her expression.

"Of course I trust you two. We've been through all those missions together, thru thick and thin... thru all kinds of challenges... we're sisters! I trust you, but I don't have an idea what you're talking about."

Paak and Waan looked at each other and then put effort into pulling FlowerLord in silence, away from this place.

FlowerLord silently followed the two and then they went into the streets where the twins began to run at full speeds.

"Where are we going?" she yelled as she followed.

At the moment her voice echoed, two little animals; one rabbit and one raccoon, perched themselves on the twins' shoulders.

FlowerLord almost tipped to her heels.

Battle-AIs! These are Battle-AI's...!!

"There's something we didn't tell you, Efel." said Paak and Waan finished, "We're actually Pioneers."

FlowerLord was shocked.... utterly so.

Although she herself had been playing the game since its inception, but the title of "Pioneer" was a title given only to those select few who actually had the chance —and luck— to get their hands on that rare Battle-AI series released only during the first months of the game.

Alice wasn't someone lucky.

But before she could even begin to speak, Paak and Waan turned into darting figures as they both dashed forth into the nearest center of the West Quadrant of the Walled City.

And there, much to FlowerLord's surprise, was a large pure white ship that resembled a Warship she was actually very familiar with.

"Is that the Archangel?"

Paak and Waan, running in front of them in full speed, yelped in surprise and almost stopped as the two looked back at her.

"You can actually keep up with us?"

"Efel, how high is your Speed Stats?"

"Eh?"

FlowerLord wasn't even tired, nor was she panting to catch her breath. And much to her surprise, the scene around them was changing at rapid speed.

They were running very fast that the people were surprised by the tailwind they were generating.

Her mind worked, this was a mistake to her part.

Should she explain that Siva made her bath naked in a True Dragon's Blood?

FlowerLord was silent for a moment before she looked at the two, "Well, you might not believe it, but I actually bought my stats."

—it was an excuse everyone in The Company had prepared to tell their friends that's not part of it if their stats were ever to be discovered by mistake.

They stopped just a few hundred meters away from the large Warship hovering hundreds of meters high up in the airspace of Dakar.

And then, the twins turned to her, "How did you buy them?"

"The Company."

The twins' eyes lit up and lunged at her in joy, with their voices asking at the same time: ""WHAT?!""

Paak broke off, "Is it Siva's company?"

FlowerLord was getting something but she nodded weakly as a reply.

Waan yelped happily, "How do you contact him?!"

FlowerLord felt something is really odd with their reactions but because they're her friends, she just took a step back and told them, "Before I answer that, what are the two of you doing here? And what is that... is that even Archangel? Why is it different from the Archangel I know?"

The twins exchanged glances and nodded.

"It's better if you'd come with us to meet the leader and maybe, he'd give you a lot of cash for any kind of information about Siva."

FlowerLord narrowed her eyes.

She smells something is definitely in here. This trip to Dakar wasn't a waste after all.

'Alright." she nodded, then smiled at the two, "But you two better tell me what's going on here and you also tell me what the heck was that earlier."

The twins hugged FlowerLord like a real sister.

"Of course! You're gonna love it."

"That thing we saw before, no words can describe how magical it was. It was totally a different life!"

"Aye! Although we were separated, I still managed to live at least a hundred thousand years before I died from an ambush."

"Pity... I died when I was 80,000 years old."

"Guys!"

""Ehehehe...""

The twins chuckled and told her the story while the three of them flew up from an unknown Magic that the twins sported. The more she heard, the more her goosebumps rose.

Was it a coincidence? She thought.

Because she was familiar with this story—

—wasn't this the same fantasy world Siva talked to us about before?

*****

"Attack."

Upon his command, the BM-Puppets practically all threw themselves towards their enemies head on.

Aside from the [Gunslinger], all of them are melee fighters —the core discipline of the Mechromancer Project, aside from the select few with the specific kind of settings for specific purposes.

But it was only Siva who knew this is not the end of the Mechromancer Project.