freenovelworld Chapter 332: The Golden Aftermath
Chapter 332: The Golden Aftermath
[Some Minutes Later.]
[Somewhere in Brooklyn.]
The suffocating, chaotic noise of the apocalypse had suddenly ceased. The constant shrieks, the heavy tremors of giant beasts, and the oppressive hum of corrupted energies were completely replaced by an eerie, profound silence.
"Are they gone?" Andrew asked, his voice barely a whisper as he was peeping out from a ruined brick corner, his eyes frantically scanning the destroyed, empty streets of Brooklyn. There were no corpses, no blood trails, no signs of retreat.
"All the monsters vanished?" He asked himself in genuine surprised, lowering his shattered weapon.
"No, they were all erased." Jessica said, slowly opening her eyes. She leaned against a crumbling wall, her body still aching from the residual energy that had hijacked her core.
Andrew and the remaining nine students turned to her in deep confusion, their minds struggling to comprehend the scale of such magic: "Erased? How?" He asked, knowing that even their strongest combined attacks only left charred remains.
"Can’t you feel the energy in the air? Look at the clouds." Jessica said, raising her arm and pointing a trembling finger at the sky.
The group looked at one another, their combat senses finally recalibrating, and slowly raised their heads to the sky. They stood in awe, watching as the thick, toxic black ash clouds slowly moved out, physically pushed away by a lingering, conceptual golden energy, revealing a darkening, natural evening sky for the first time.
"You mean?" Honky was shocked, the realization hitting him like a physical blow. The absolute disparity in power was staggering.
Jessica slowly nodded her head, her face a mask of bitter acceptance mixed with profound relief: "Yes, the Dragon team completed the third objective." She pushed herself off the wall, forcing her legs to steady as she stood up. The role of a captain demanded she keep them focused on survival.
"We should all place this in our minds, we already lost this competition, we should try our best to get the second position." She said, her voice stripped of its former arrogance, and walked out of the dark alley, staring up at the clearing sky with a calculating gaze:
"The fourth round is a battle Royale... There are no teammates here, everyone will fight their own battles, the last academy students standing wins. But I don’t know if the rules will change this time. Remember, if you encounter Mirabella, don’t fight her... Simply surrender." She said, delivering the harshest, yet most vital order of her command, and walked away down the silent street.
The nine survivors looked at one another, the weight of their near-annihilation fresh in their minds, and silently nodded their heads in understanding.
Nirvana, however, lingered behind. She stared at the golden residual light in the sky, her teeth grinding together. ’Why! I pray to meet her! I want to see what that girl can do with my own eyes!’ Nirvana thought with clenched fists, her stubborn ambition completely blinding her to the godly threshold Mirabella had just crossed.
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[New York University.]
The atmosphere at the heavily fortified campus was electric. Chief Commander Reed, Carl, Grace, and all the surviving members of the Dragon team stood still, completely mesmerized as they stared at the thick ash in the sky, which slowly dispersed to reveal the setting sun.
"Senior sister did it!!" Grace yelled with a bright, tearful smile, jumping up and down.
"Wow! We have fought with these monsters for months, but one single soul not only save survivors, she also saved the whole New York state." Reed muttered, taking off her military cap, her hardened eyes filled with absolute awesome. The logistical nightmare of the gateways had been solved by a single student.
"Finally! The city is safe!!" The exhausted soldiers yelled, dropping their heavy rifles as some started openly crying in joy, embracing each other.
"I can’t remember the last time I saw the sky." Britney muttered, wiping a streak of dirt from her cheek, staring longingly at the natural clouds.
"Captain is going further away from us... Although we improved greatly in this world, we still can’t catch up to her." Austin said, a complex mix of reverence and inadequacy in his voice. He was reflexively rising his hand to his neck, the pain flaring as he could still remember exactly how the Void Calamity separated his head from his neck.
"There are more enemies ahead, we just need to continue growing." Hitachi said stoically, his blade resting on his lap as he was sitting on the front stairway of the main building, his sharp red gaze fixed on the celebrating soldiers, refusing to let the victory dull his edge.
"I have a question to ask."
The nine core members all turned to Carl, who stood formally before them, his expression deeply serious.
"You heard what that creature said, and we all know there are more worlds ahead... Will you all stay with Big Sister still then?" He asked, bringing the reality of their world to the forefront.
"The Third World? With the time duration, it will open in ten years, and merged with our world, just like the first merged with the second... By then, we should be able to protect ourselves." Rose said, holding her jaw, piecing together the timeline.
".....?!"
The group blinked in shock:
"How did you know such a thing?" David asked in deep surprised.
"I saw it in my Dad’s files." Rose answered casually, and continued to drop the bombshell:
"And it seems the academy isn’t the only place to study. After we graduate, we will move to the second level, this level is located in the center of the empires." She revealed, exposing the terrifying vastness of the Second World’s true infrastructure.
".....?!"
Everyone was completely dumbfounded, their eyes wide in pure disbelief. They thought they were at the pinnacle of human potential, only to realize they were still in the tutorial phase.
"Only the best of the best will be moved there, so we have to get stronger... I read it’s also very dangerous there." She added, her tone sobering the celebratory mood.
"When will that happen?" Aurelia asked in disbelief, subconsciously moving close to Hitachi, whose gaze was now fixed sharply ahead.
"I don’t know." Rose lightly shook her head, her classified knowledge reaching its limit.
"The Third World will merge with the second world in one year, it’s no longer ten years."
".....?!"
The voice descended from above, carrying the weight of an absolute ruler. They all rapidly raised their heads to the sky, seeing Mirabella gracefully descending from the heavens like a goddess of war, her aura unconsciously warping the light around her, with Cupcake comfortably sitting on her shoulder.
"One year?!!" Rose exclaimed in sheer terror, her father’s timeline completely shattered by this new variable.
"Yes... I knew this secret from the third dragon’s memories, the Third World uses humans are slaves, and plan to catch the second world off-guard." She spoke calmly as she effortlessly landed on the ground, the concrete remaining perfectly intact beneath her boots. She bypassed the pleasantries and turned directly to Hitachi and her core team:
"I am planning on building a force to face them, but I need loyal members who will stay with me to the very end... You should think about it, and meet me after the Competition is over." She added, formally extending an invitation to join the vanguard of humanity’s true defense.
Before anyone could process the monumental offer, Chief Commander Reed stepped forward, her posture rigid with utmost military respect.
"Thank you, Captain Mirabella!" Reed said, sharply saluting Mirabella.
"You helped America and claim back New York City!! I will stick to our arrangements, Manhattan is now yours!" She said loudly, her voice carrying across the courtyard. The military had honored the contract; the entire borough, and all the resources within it, now belonged solely to the Beast Empress.