Spearbound Ch. 58

Curious about the wall’s material, Kade poked it with his [Soulrend]. He had been walking for several minutes with no changes in his surroundings, and was already antsy.

The metallic clink when the [Soulrend]’s tip met the wall was confusing. Though the wall looked and felt like stone, the [Soulrend]’s contact with it produced a metal-like sound.

Kade wasn’t sure what the point of this place was. It was now clear that the area effects were all last gasp attempts from the rift zone to survive.

The initial aim of the effects was to give the natives better chances of rebuilding the pillars, although the ‘invaders’ also benefited unintentionally. Now that both pillars were repaired, it looked like all the attention was turned to them.

Kade would have thought the imminent extermination would make him nervous, but he was somehow comforted by knowing it was coming.

It was a strange feeling, and one he couldn’t fully explain, even to himself.

Survive for 7 days (5/7)

Area Effect removed.

Kade didn’t react to the message, expecting its arrival since his transport. He continued to walk at a steady pace and waited for the next area effect.

As much as it might be detrimental, it would hopefully change the monotonous, cramped path he was forced to be in.

Area Effect: Nexus activated in holding space

Kade wondered how this was an area effect. It was more like a status update than anything else.

Survive for 7 days (6/7)

He scratched his head when the pattern didn’t hold. Along with the supposed day that he survived, the area effect should also have been removed.

Kade looked around to see if anything changed, but it didn’t seem like it. He was surprisingly unphased for how close he was to the end of the objective, and understandably so.

What qualified as ‘days’ was arbitrary to him, even if it might make perfect sense to the natives of the rift zone. Since he couldn’t make any sense of it, it was best to ignore it and keep his focus on what he could see.

“Invader, would you like to make a deal?”

Kade immediately raised his [Soulrend], ready to jump into battle at a moment’s notice.

He quickly checked the interface to see if there was any message explaining the strange voice. There wasn’t.

“The System will have no answers for you. No need to waste time hoping for one.”

The second instance made Kade realize he had heard this voice before, only in an unrecognizable language. It was in the underground chambers.

“What deal?” Kade asked, still looking around for an ambush.

“Join us, and this world will offer you its full support.”

He wasn’t expecting that. He didn’t even know that was an option to be had.

Kade was blunt with his reply. “Why would I want to choose to get hunted? I’m fine where I’m at.”

Even if he wanted to be foolishly self-destructive, this was not the way to go about it. Dying in a blaze of glory that would be left in the minds of the all humans was strangely appealing, but what was the point in doing so for some random world that had no connection to him.

 “I apologize for the misunderstanding. This is not a negotiation. Join us, or die.”

A puff of air escaped Kade’s mouth before he could get his amusement under control. He never thought he would get the most cliché of ultimatums directed at him in his lifetime, but here he was.

He would have been close to death a few times if Eliza hadn’t been there to back him up. This time, his luck might be up.

Kade would not roll over, but he rapidly accepted the dire situation for what it was.

“System, you must have a failsafe against this,” Kade said, getting no response. He had no expectations, but he had to try it.

“Unless the administrator sends a custodian, you have no escape.”

Kade didn’t expect the voice to know about the intricacies of the System, but given that this was a corrupted world, it should have been obvious. He tried to buy some time, just in case an opportunity somehow appears.

“How do you know what a custodian is?”

“What else could completely sever me from the collective? No more questions. What is your answer?”

It was personally severed from the collective?

Kade had assumed this voice was the leader of the karnathis. Now it implied it was the rift zone itself speaking to him.

His hand clenched uselessly around his [Soulrend]. There was a small bit of hope when he thought he would need to fight against a physical being. Something as abstract as an entire world wanting him dead left him at a loss on how to proceed—even more so than he already was.

“Disappointing. I shall take this as a refusal.”

Kade prepared himself was whatever was about to be thrown at him. He made a mental checklist of [Abilities] on hand and when they should be used to increase his survival percentage, though he still assumed it would be pathetic.

“Perhaps your companion can convince you.”

“You’re going to threaten a baby bird? He was part of your—” Kade cut himself off when a familiar figure appeared in front of him. It wasn’t Hellion.

“Eliza?” Kade asked in confusion. He looked her over and found that she looked mostly the same, but her stance somehow displayed more… arrogance. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, nor did he understand how he could tell, but the change was there.

“There’s no reason to choose death voluntarily, Kade. Let’s just go with the flow and see where it takes us. It would be nice to not be alone.”

Kade narrowed his eyes as he took in her words. It seemed like something she would say, and it actually helped him believe this wasn’t a trick.

“You can abandon everyone on Earth this easily?” Kade asked.

“Just like you, I had no choice. This way, I at least see Earth again if I get strong enough.”

That made sense on the surface, but it still rubbed him wrong. Kade wasn’t a fan of thinking too deeply about things that made him queasy. If his gut feeling told him it was wrong, then so be it.

“You won’t change your mind?” Kade stared at Eliza’s expression, trying to see if he noticed something.

“It’s final.”

… He noticed nothing.

Kade sighed. “Accepting would make us traitors to the human race. We are the ones that will fight for everyone’s survival.”

Eliza didn’t deny his statement.

“I’ve never been too patriotic, but being a traitor to our kind feels off, doesn’t it?” Eliza looked to say something, but he continued. “I might still accept it, but do you think the System will let us go that easily?”

Kade suddenly thrust his [Soulrend] into Eliza’s face, wanting to end her life quickly out of mercy. He blinked when the tip disappeared into Eliza without affecting her whatsoever.

He stared into Eliza’s unaffected eyes before looking to the sky, wanting an answer from the disembodied voice. He got his wish.

“How heartless. My patience has run out. You received the blood of countless living beings of my world, and I will ensure its use. With, or without, your acceptance.”

Eliza’s form disappeared. Kade realized she had never been there. He really intended to kill her, but he was thankful it was just a fake in the end.

Kade took a second to grasp what was said. “Those monster waves were sent on purpose?”

Instead of a reply, the world shimmered, melting away the endless walls. A familiar pillar phased into existence, surrounded by barren land.

The familiar sight comforted Kade, mostly happy that he was out of the wall-filled prison.

He half-expected more waves of monsters to be thrown at him, as the voice had implied it had already done before. Chains sprang from the ground and wrapped around his legs, catching him off guard.

Kade immediately tried to escape their grasp, but the hold was strong enough to prevent him from moving an inch. He instinctively tried to break apart a chain with his [Soulrend] and gasped at the result.

The reliable weapon shattered, choosing the worst time possible to fail in a spectacular matter. Summoning it after destruction was too much of a burden, especially when it seemed to be useless.

Kade tried to activate [Ethereal Glide] and slumped when even that failed.

More chains whipped from the pillar towards him, wrapping around his body to completely immobilize him.

Kade's struggled was futile as he was pulled toward the pillar. He had thought coming across the Infernal Patriarch was the peak of his bad luck, but he had somehow chosen a rift zone that was sentient.

“System! Doesn’t this deserve a class change? How can a mere Class D Rift Zone have a literal fight against a world?” Kade yelled in hopes of a miracle rescue.

He grunted when his back slammed against the pillar. He was starting to suspect the System wasn’t paying attention to him at the moment, leaving him with only the basic features available.

It mentioned that was a possibility due to possessing a limited amount of processing power. The other option was that he was considered a write off, like a bad debt that wasn’t worth pursuing.

“I have elevated your power to an acceptable level to isolate myself from additional invaders for a few centuries. It’s a pity you will have to die for it. You can put a stop to this before the end by submitting.”

Kade grunted when he felt something stab into his neck. His blood was getting sucked out of his body, though he doubted that was the target. He could feel the mana inside his body roiling as if it was getting ready to escape.