novelnext Chapter 254 : The One Who Built the Empire
Chapter 254 : The One Who Built the Empire
Two hundred years ago, disaster descended upon this world.Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, Oceania, Antarctica...
On every continent that existed upon the Earth, unbelievable events began to unfold.
Dimensions twisted, and monsters born from humanity's imagination, fear, and primal instincts—the beings known as [Mystics]—mercilessly destroyed human civilization.
Of the more than two hundred countries around the world, most had fallen within less than a year after the catastrophe began.
Even military superpowers such as the United States, China, and Russia failed to endure for very long.
Europe was reduced to ashes almost instantly by a Dragon's Breath.
The vast rainforests of South America underwent Otherworld Transformation, permanently altering Earth's atmosphere itself.
Asia and North America became lands where not even humans could survive, let alone Mystics, after the nuclear weapons launched by nations such as the United States, Russia, China, and North Korea devastated them.
Thus...
In less than twenty years, the world had become nothing but ruins.
The system of nations disappeared.
People scattered in every direction, struggling only for their own survival.
Hundreds of millions searched desperately for lands not yet occupied by Mystics.
And they killed one another for a tiny patch of refuge.
It was truly a catastrophe.
Humanity collapsed helplessly before those monsters.
To such an extent that one could understand why doomsday believers called the Mystics 'the messengers of God.'
Yet...
Hope still remained.
For in chaotic times, heroes are born.
Someone planted a flag firmly into the devastated earth where nothing remained but drifting ashes.
Declaring that this place would become humanity's true home...
The man ended every battle and made that proclamation.
That...
Was the beginning of New Valhalla City.
And the appearance of the Emperor—
Drake Stingray.
“Lady Kallia, do you still believe Chairman Drake Stingray built this city entirely by himself?”
“What...!”
Kallia unconsciously raised her voice.
Chairman Drake Stingray?
The manner in which they referred to him was unbelievably disrespectful.
That only made it harder for her to accept the sudden change in the presidents' attitudes.
Until now, they had always respectfully addressed her father as 'Chairman.'
So why were they suddenly speaking like this?
And what exactly did they mean?
Did she believe the Chairman built the city alone?
Well...
It wasn't as though something like,
[Chairman Stingray murmured, 'Let there be light,' and the neon signs of New Valhalla City came into existence. And He saw that it was good.]
had actually happened.
He had been the one making the decisions.
The people who physically constructed the city walls and erected the buildings had naturally been someone else.
Of course he hadn't literally built everything by himself.
But...
That clearly wasn't the point they were trying to make.
Kallia narrowed her eyes.
“......You speak as though someone other than Father was the true founder of this city?”
As she asked, Kallia attempted to read the presidents' minds.
And at that instant—
An image flashed across her consciousness.
It was...
A gigantic eye.
Located in the middle of an endless pitch-black void...
Its pupil was long and vertically slit like that of a great feline predator—
No.
More accurately...
It resembled the eye of a reptile.
The moment that eye looked directly at her—
She could no longer breathe.
It was merely a mental image she had read.
Yet Kallia was overwhelmed by absolute terror.
It felt as though she were a mouse bitten by a venomous snake, every muscle in her body becoming paralyzed.
She immediately released her mind-reading ability.
Cold sweat poured down her face as she glared at the presidents once more.
Meanwhile...
They spoke calmly, as though nothing had happened.
“Of course, the greatest contributor to building this city was Chairman Stingray.”
“Our grandparents and parents participated in that project.”
The presidents were, for the most part, descendants of those who had founded the city.
Incidentally, many of the heroes of that era had either died or retired during the Corporate Wars and political struggles.
“To deny Chairman Stingray's achievements is something only those ignorant fools down at the bottom would do.”
“Yes.”
“The same vermin who enjoy the blessings of this city built through the blood and sweat of our parents and grandparents, yet know nothing of gratitude.”
“They're nothing more than sewer rats stealing the crops others worked so hard to harvest.”
“President Nakamoto.”
“Ah, my apologies.”
“I became a little emotional.”
“But the point I'm trying to make is this.”
“The Chairman's achievements undeniably exist.”
“Creating a haven like this upon barren wasteland was only possible because of his charisma, leadership, and foresight.”
“However...”
A twisted smile appeared on President Nakamoto's lips.
“Before constructing a building upon someone's land...”
“Shouldn't you first obtain the landowner's permission?”
“You make a contract with the owner.”
“And even after the building is completed, it's still managed under the government's authority.”
“This city is no different.”
“......What exactly are you trying to say?”
“The same was true for Chairman Stingray.”
“Before he and our ancestors built this city...”
“They first had to obtain the permission of a Great Being.”
That eye.
The reptilian eye Kallia had seen moments ago surfaced in her mind again.
Instantly...
The scattered puzzle pieces began fitting together.
The reptilian eye.
The presidents' strange behavior.
The mysterious pill.
Chairman Drake Stingray.
The Black Dragon Gang.
The Dragon ruling the underworld.
Many pieces were still missing.
Yet...
She could already see the image the entire puzzle depicted.
The presidents noticed the realization in Kallia's expression as well.
Apparently deciding that further explanation was unnecessary, they once again extended the pill toward her.
“Now then, Lady Kallia.”
“You people...!”
“You wish to become the next Emperor, don't you?”
Kallia's eyes blazed with anger—
But only briefly.
Soon...
Her gaze fell upon the pill once more.
“I...!”
The Emperor.
Power...
Great enough that she would no longer have to fear either Aaron or her father...
Kallia swallowed hard.
“Reinforcements! We need reinforcements!”
“You bastards! Kill them all!”
“Aaaaargh!”
With the alliance of the Four Great Organizations declaring war against the Kim Cheolsu Faction, Sector E descended into utter chaos.
The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and clashing blades echoed without pause.
Corpses piled high throughout the streets.
Blood flowing from them formed small streams that ran into the sewers.
Terrified of becoming caught in the conflict, civilians locked their doors and trembled beneath their beds.
But...
That wasn't enough to save them.
The gangs fired bombs and guns without the slightest concern for civilian casualties.
Many innocent people died after being caught in explosions or struck by stray bullets.
Conversely...
Those connected—or merely suspected of being connected—to criminal organizations were dragged into the streets and purged in large numbers.
Normally, dragging ordinary civilians into gang conflicts was an unwritten rule strictly avoided within the underworld.
But this time...
That rule meant absolutely nothing.
As time passed, the tide of battle gradually shifted in favor of the Four Great Organizations Alliance.
The first reason was that the Kim Cheolsu Faction had been caught completely off guard.
The second...
Their internal cohesion simply wasn't strong enough.
No matter how loyal the members were to Kim Cheolsu...
An organization less than a month old had its limits.
It could never truly stand on equal footing with organizations that had ruled Sector E for years—or even decades.
As a result...
The Kim Cheolsu Faction steadily collapsed.
At this point, reversing the war seemed virtually impossible.
To make matters worse...
No one knew where Kim Cheolsu himself—the man who should have been commanding his organization—had disappeared to.
“Where's your Boss!? Tell us where he is!”
“Damn it! We don't know either!”
“Bring us his head yourselves!”
“If you do, we'll spare your lives!”
“Kuhahahahaha!”
In barely two hours...
The Kim Cheolsu Faction had been pushed to the brink of annihilation.
It wasn't even an exaggeration to say everyone could finish this war and still make it back in time for lunch.
In fact...
Everyone involved secretly hoped Kim Cheolsu would surrender quickly so this entire situation could end.
Especially the elite combat agents tasked with assassinating Kim Cheolsu.
They could barely contain themselves.
“Damn it! I raised my Replacement Rate this high, and I haven't even had a proper fight!”
“Find those bastards!”
“It'd be a complete waste if I don't get to test the new Modules I just received!”
Having greatly increased their Combat Strength through the Nanomachine Ampoules and Combat Modules gifted by Kallia to the Four Great Organizations Alliance...
They were desperate to test their newfound power.
No matter how many insignificant thugs they slaughtered in the streets...
They didn't even need to use half their strength.
It was driving them crazy.
Fortunately...
Or perhaps unfortunately—
Kim Cheolsu's location was finally discovered.
The moment the war began, someone exposed the location of the secret hideout where he had taken refuge.
The leaders of the Four Great Organizations immediately issued their orders.
Whoever personally claimed the enemy commander's head would undoubtedly gain greater rewards after the war.
“Deploy the men immediately!”
“We have to get there first!”
“Move quickly—but cautiously.”
“Forget collateral damage.”
“Destroy the entire place.”
“Everything sacrificed today will become nourishment for expanding our rights.”
Upon receiving their orders, the elite forces of all four organizations converged on a single location.
A residential district near the Fallen Sector.
It was an area filled with narrow, confusing alleyways caused by reckless urban development.
The perfect terrain for an ambush.
Therefore...
The combat agents remained vigilant.
They carefully secured each area one by one.
Beginning from the outskirts, they eliminated every possible threat before gradually advancing deeper.
Then—
Some time later—
A radio transmission reached the leaders of the Four Great Organizations.
“......!”
“What did you say!? Repeat that!”
“It's a trap! A trap!”
“Everyone, run—!”
Before the transmission could even finish—
A deafening explosion erupted.
The leaders had been commanding the battle from deep inside underground bunkers prepared for emergencies.
Yet...
Even there...
The shockwave reached them.
The entire bunker shook violently beneath their feet.
They instinctively grabbed onto the tables to keep from falling.
The moment the tremors subsided...
They hurriedly attempted to contact their subordinates.
Fortunately...
Communication was established.
More precisely...
Cyberwatch's Overseer immediately hacked into the network and shared the visual feed of one of the survivors.
However—
Even after seeing the footage...
No one could understand what they were looking at.
Because the scene displayed was utterly bizarre.
The place where they had deployed their men had originally been an enormous residential district spanning the size of several football fields.
Yet...
The footage showed nothing but a vast plain.
At first...
None of them even recognized the location.
No matter how experienced these rulers of the underworld were...
None of them could have imagined the landscape itself changing.
The only recognizable landmark was the distant city wall.
The wall protecting humanity from the monsters still stood intact.
But...
Everything surrounding it had vanished.
People.
Buildings.
Everything.
As though none of it had ever existed.
If an explosion had caused the destruction, there should at least have been debris.
Yet...
There wasn't even that.
“W-What... happened?”
Marcello asked in a voice rarely touched by panic.
The survivor stammered in response.
“O-One...!”
“What!?”
“One man...”
“He... alone...”
“Speak properly!”
“He erased...”
“Everything that existed...”
“That one man...!”
Perhaps because he had fallen into complete panic...
Nothing he said made any sense.
The Overseer finally lost his patience and was about to terminate the connection.
Just then—
Someone appeared in the footage.
A man was walking toward them from the distance.
A tall man wearing a black suit and a mask.
Half a step behind him...
Was the very man they had been hunting.
Kim Cheolsu.
Behind those two...
Countless subordinates followed in formation.
The moment they saw that scene...
They understood.
The war...
Had not ended.
No.
It had only just begun.