Hiding A Logistics Center In The Apocalypse Chapter 222

Hiding the Logistics Center in the Apocalypse Episode 222

Headquarters (2)

Shuhwaaaaah!

We continued to break through the curtain.

It felt like peeling an onion, but strangely enough, the inside didn't feel cramped at all.

There was only one thing that stood out.

The image of the floating cubes is gradually becoming clearer.

Some rolled on the floor, while others flew up and down in the sky as if hanging from ropes.

'······toy?'

That was my impression of seeing the transparent cubes.

A sphere with embroidery like a ball, a cube with writing on it.

When you go in a little further, you can easily find things shaped like animals, such as birds or horses.

Boom. Boom.

Meanwhile, bodies continued to be discovered.

The corpses of wizards are being spat out one by one by a translucent curtain.

Perhaps because of the cute cubes, the corpses looked even more gruesome.

Shuhwaaaaah!

The wind grew stronger and I lowered my head.

A state of holding tightly to the bones of the Bone Dragon.

I turned my head slightly and saw Buendia, whose hair and beard were also fluttering.

“Why are the wizards dead? These guys must have been part of the Reformist faction or something.”

“There must have been factions among them. I guess they were on good terms until they entered <headquarters>.”

They were originally grouped together under the name of Chamber of Commerce.

Not only was the division into moderates and reformists not enough, but there was internal strife once more.

Even though the number of enemies had been reduced by more than half, it felt like we were dealing with increasingly more difficult enemies rather than easier ones.

Chaengchaeng. Swoosh!

Once again, we broke through several layers of curtains.

As transparent cubes flew straight at him, one after another, Lee Yong-soo had to turn the steering wheel abruptly.

Knock knock!

Crackle! Crackle!

The handle made from the bones of a real dragon made a pleasant bone-crunching sound.

The pressure transmitted through the curve made the cochlea vibrate, and Kim Sol formed a new defensive barrier around herself.

And since when······.

'What could it be?'

I couldn't take my eyes off the cubes.

It's not particularly interesting, nor is it familiar.

But I felt a strange sense of foreboding from those transparent objects.

The feeling of encountering something you already knew in another form.

Feeling that strange sensation, we continued to move forward.

Meanwhile······.

“Shhh! Stop for a moment!”

Buendia raised his fist.

Yongsu Lee stopped the dragon by pulling the reins, but the floor was filled with the largest number of wizard corpses he had ever seen.

I asked in a small voice.

“Why are you doing that?”

“There are a lot of wizards gathered over here. I can feel Gradiva’s energy… I think it would be better to go in after assessing the situation in advance.”

“Is this the center?”

“Hmm… That can’t be right. The space itself seems to extend beyond here. They’re just gathered in front of here.”

It's been a while since I've flown here.

And yet we haven't reached the center yet.

I once again realized the monstrous size of the <headquarters> space.

One way or another, the situation was that we were facing the enemy right in front of us.

As Buendia said, it would be better to first assess the situation rather than immediately attracting attention with the Bone Dragon.

Maybe I could exploit their weakness first.

"then······."

Just making one hole was enough.

Kim Sol herself came forward and formed a large defensive barrier the size of a fist.

Then, he neutralized the translucent curtain and created several small holes.

We each focused our gaze on the hole.

Arcane wizards wearing white robes and ties.

Among the reformists, those who seized the final power were right here.

At the center of it all is······.

'······Count Franco.'

The one who stole the Holy Blood and started all these incidents.

He was also located at <headquarters>, the final location.

As if he only now understood, Buendia spoke in a low voice.

“I see······. The only ones left are the wizards of the Franco family.”

There was no internal strife.

Count Franco expelled other reformist forces.

It meant that the Franco family had a separate purpose, different from that of the reformists.

I wish I had figured out their intentions first.

It must have something to do with the Gradiva inside this <headquarters>.

I might die, but······.

“Let’s send a blood test.”

I decided to send the count's disciple first.

***

Hurrruk!

Blue flames rose.

A fire lit by magic, not a physical fire.

Count Franco and the Arcane wizards gathered around it.

At that moment, the wizards standing guard shouted in an urgent voice.

-Intruder!

-Get inside! Grab it!

Phew! Phew!

Several magic missiles flew in.

Whether or not he was working on an important task, he did not use any magic that was stronger than that.

Flutter!

Thanks to this, the intruder with pitch-black wings was able to dig inside without difficulty.

“Haha, this is true.”

Count Franco laughed heartily.

Then he raised his hand and ordered the wizards to stop attacking.

The blood demon, with its black wings folded, walked towards the count who had suddenly sat up.

“Who is this······. Is this you, Hyeolgyeom?”

The count didn't seem particularly surprised by the appearance of the blood demon.

Rather, he just smiled faintly as if he had been waiting.

“······.”

Instead of answering, Hyeolgyeom slowly observed his surroundings.

As Buendia said, this was not the center yet.

There was still a translucent curtain surrounding the interior.

But there were many other things worth noting as well.

In particular, the transparent cubes had quite specific shapes.

A bird-shaped object floating in the sky like a mobile, a flat, blurry rainbow-shaped object, and a necktie-shaped object hanging in the air······.

'That······?'

We were sharing Hyeol-gyeom's gaze through <Tracking Mirror>.

Only when I looked at the transparently carved objects could I recognize their true identity.

I said to the group who were looking into the mirror together.

“These are all the things written on the tombstone.”

“You mean the black law?”

“Yes, it’s the stele that the reformists were trying to spread, and the one they stole from the count. It’s strange that the content is different on that one······.”

"aha······!"

Buendia nodded.

It was also Buendia who deciphered the contents.

I found it strange because it contained content that sounded like a child's diary.

But this time, the content was made into transparent pieces and filled the interior of <Headquarters>.

That wasn't all that Hyeolgyeom discovered.

A large blue magic circle drawn, and in the middle of it······.

'······cradle?'

There was a small cradle there, looking like it might hold a newborn baby.

“Blood poison.”

As Count Franco came closer, Hyeol-gyeom looked away silently.

Unlike Hyeol-gyeom, who was very tense, the count leisurely patted Hyeol-gyeom on the shoulder.

“I knew someone was coming in here. I was worried there might be some remnants of the moderates left, and it turns out it’s you. How on earth did you get here?”

“I came through the portal. The one with striped colors······.”

I had nothing else to say, so I just talked around.

Nevertheless, the count nodded as if he understood a hundred times over and answered.

“I see. It would be natural for you to do so. <Headquarters> is a place that holds the secrets of the multidimensional origin. You must have wanted to face the truth of the world, right? More than being obsessed with petty blood ties.”

The Count remembers the appearance of Hyeolgyeom at the Human Resources Development Institute.

He was kind enough to even make up a reason for it, but he was particularly emphatic about the 'small blood relationship'.

It was a silent warning that if anyone said anything like revenge for the blood oath, he would take their life immediately.

“I’ll give you one last lesson. I think you’ll be satisfied with that.”

Count Franco added softly.

.

.

.

Knock! Knock!

The blue flame burned out.

The wizards brought the chair.

Hyul-gyeom sat across from the fire and listened to Count Franco's story.

The 'last lesson' heard at <Headquarters>, the center of multidimensionality.

The count, who had been staring blankly at the fire for a moment, continued speaking slowly.

“<Headquarters> is known as the place where the first Gradiva slept, and therefore the place where the Blessing of Awakening first blossomed. It is the primordial space that formed the multidimensional world behind the physical world, and through it gave birth to the Awakened······. However, not many people acknowledge the fact that the true heir of this space was Arcane.”

“······Are you saying that magic precedes awakening ability? Historically.”

“You’re quick to understand. To be exact, it’s not magic as a whole, but the beginning of the Franco family.”

“Family······?”

It was something that was completely difficult to understand.

Because I was comparing the beginning of the family to the beginning of the world.

The count continued speaking with a sly smile, as if such a reaction were natural.

“The multidimensional world began with just two things. The first was an empty space isolated from the outside world, and the other was objects that moved on their own. The inner space formed thoughts. And the thoughts formed in this way led to the movement of objects that excluded human relationships. Like the magic we use, and the awakening ability.”

Hyeolgyeom looked around.

Isolated spaces and moving objects.

That would be talking about this <headquarters> and the floating cubes.

The count nodded to Hyeolgyeom, who had returned his gaze.

“Yes, the inner reasoning that moves things······, the Franco family has inherited the power of that <headquarters> as close to the original as possible. Through the visionary magic of psychic movement.”

That was the reason why the other forces of the reformist faction were eliminated.

Other dimensions and races, as well as other Houses of Arcane.

Because Franco, who could use <psychic powers>, was the only family qualified to inherit the <headquarters>.

In other words, it also meant that the bloodthirsty monsters who invaded here could not be left alive.

Rattling.

The count was the first to rise from his chair.

He moved towards the cradle placed in the magic circle, and the blood sword followed him.

The Count opened his mouth as he walked ahead, step by step.

“By now, you’ve probably solved all your questions about the origins of the world. In fact, whenever I see you passionately diving into wisdom… I often think of my son who died unjustly. He was such an inquisitive child, if he had grown up like that, he would have become a passionate student like you.”

A son who died unjustly.

A cradle placed on top of a magic circle.

Even transparent cubes that look like toys.

Only then could we fathom Count Franco's true intentions.

'······The resurrection of the dead son.'

It was for an unexpected reason.

Because we were now on the verge of the end of the world.

Hyeolgyeom approached the cradle, but the count did not stop him.

He just stares blankly at the cradle with sad eyes.

Kukuku······.

A baby was lying in the cradle.

An imperfect shape covered in blue energy.

I could intuitively tell that the identity was the last remaining Gradiva.

Perhaps the only thing the Count wished for was the resurrection of his dead son.

Not the crazy ‘purification’ of the world that the reformists advocated.

“······Master.”

Hyeolgyeom barely opened his mouth.

But soon, with a gasp, he put his voice in.

Jii······.

A corner of the blue glowing magic circle.

Because right there, old men in white robes were standing upright.

They were left dead, their powers drained by the magic circle, their entire bodies turned into skeletons.

Hyeolgyeom asked with a trembling voice.

Then I quickly turned my gaze to the cradle.

“If this child wakes up······what will happen to the world?”

“That’s an unusual question for you. If you look back at the long history of the Chamber of Commerce, you’ll know enough. The new world is always······.”

The count answered with a grin.

“It started with excitement, blood and violence.”