Downfall of Castle and Country
Midori followed behind Higashino Makoto through the third-floor corridor of the Olympus core area.
The walls on both sides are made of silver-white metal with a smooth, mirror-like surface, and no seams are visible.
Every so often, a pale blue band of light would emerge from the wall, linger in the air for a few seconds, and then dissipate, like some kind of operational detection system.
What are you going to do with all this stuff?
Cui asked.
"Study, then replicate."
Higashino Makoto stopped in front of a door and placed his hand on the door panel.
The door was unlocked and slid open automatically to both sides, revealing a spacious storage area.
Inside were piles of various objects she couldn't name, some resembling flattened metal spheres with fine grooves on their surfaces;
Some are long and narrow, with a dark red crystal embedded at one end, and a faint light flowing inside the crystal.
"This is the materials warehouse, mainly containing spare parts and energy cores for the repair of the Machine Gods."
Higashino Makoto walked in, took a fist-sized metal ball from the shelf, and casually weighed it in his hand.
"Take this back and let the guardians take a look. Copy what can be copied, and keep what can't be copied for reference. You can never have too many good things."
To be honest, he seems to have some of that collecting obsession that Ainz Ooal Gown had.
He wanted to collect some good things, regardless of whether he would ever need them.
Midori stood at the doorway, watching Higashino Makoto move quickly through the warehouse.
He took various components from the shelf, some as tall as half a person, others only as thick as a finger. After carefully examining each one, he put them into his spatial backpack.
The movements were swift and decisive, without any unnecessary pauses.
Over the next three days, they traversed most of the warehouse districts of Olympus City.
Those maintenance passages and spare warehouses that were normally only accessible to Machine Gods were all pried open by Higashino Makoto using spatial magic.
He packed everything that looked useful into his backpack, just like shopping in a supermarket.
On the afternoon of the third day, Midori stood atop a tall tower, watching Higashino Makoto do a final inventory of the supplies in his spatial backpack. He said...
"That's about enough. If Chaos really does descend and cause the world's destruction, at least I'll have enough to study."
Cui nodded.
She didn't ask what Chaos was, because she already had a general idea of the situation from their previous conversation.
The Dyson Sphere Mothership hidden in the void, once it realizes that its parts are being taken away, will likely directly invade this universe.
On the morning of the fourth day, the sky cracked open.
A massive rift stretched out from the depths of the clouds, its edges burning with dark golden flames.
Something is slowly emerging from the crack, first as a blurry outline, then gradually becoming clearer.
It was a huge, indescribable red sphere, its surface covered with flowing, dark red veins that radiated outwards from the center like blood vessels.
Chaos.
It has arrived.
Higashino Makoto stood atop the tower, looking up at the enormous, eyeball-shaped object that was emerging from the crack.
His fingers clenched slightly at his sides.
"Cui, do it."
Cui has already equipped herself with that cheongsam-shaped World Item.
Her Downfall of Castle and Country unfolded, transforming into a soft, golden dragon.
She aimed it at the sphere in the crack in the sky.
The golden dragon silently extended towards the crevice, touching the surface of the black sphere.
Chaos paused for a moment, then continued moving.
"How about it?"
Higashino Makoto asked.
"It's working, but very slowly."
Cui's voice didn't reveal any obvious emotional fluctuations.
"It's too big; my control range can't cover it completely. I can probably control its direction of movement, but I can't stop it completely."
How long will it take to fully control it?
"Based on estimates, at least two years, if output can be maintained."
Higashino Makoto was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Two years is fine, I suppose."
He turned around, drew an arc in the air with his hand, and a spatial rift silently opened up beside Cui.
The combination of the gate and teleportation power allowed him to directly enter the other's world through the tunnel left by Chaos.
On the other side of the rift lies a vast, empty universe—the world where the Machine Gods reside.
"Take this with you. Go there first, find a place to stay, and I'll send supplies over regularly."
He took a silver badge out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"I'm sorry, your next task is to completely control Chaos. I will compensate you afterward."
Cui took the badge, glanced at it, and then put it in her pocket.
"Hmph, who wants your compensation?"
She didn't ask any more questions, nor did she hesitate. She turned around, stepped into the crevice, and then the crevice closed behind her.
Higashino Makoto turned around and faced the black sphere that was slowly emerging from the crack.
Chaos, already affected by the Downfall of Castle and Country, no longer attacks proactively, but simply hovers quietly at the rift's entrance.
He stood atop the Olympus, drawing out a miniature world from within his body, which then enveloped the interstellar city.
He began to gather them up.
Olympus gradually disappeared from his sight, slowly receding from the edges, like a map being rolled up.
The mechanical structure emitted a low, resonant sound as it moved through space, like the resonance of a large device starting up.
The eastern region disappeared first, followed by the energy pipelines in the south.
One by one, the stone slabs of the central square turned into specks of light and vanished, along with the surrounding buildings, shrinking into the void.
Zeus stood at the edge of the central square and did not stop them.
He simply watched, quietly observing as the architectural structures he had protected for thousands of years were being moved away inch by inch, as if witnessing the end of an era.
Kirschtaria stood on the edge of the city, watching Higashino Makoto walk towards her.
He sat on a stone platform that hadn't been moved, holding something in his hand, slowly turning it between his fingertips, as if he were thinking.
He paused for a moment when he saw Higashino Makoto's figure appear at the end of the corridor.
I thought you would fight me.
Higashino Makoto said.
"It's unnecessary."
Kirschtaria said.
"You intend to take this world with you, not destroy it."
"Yes, I'll move it to the small world, along with the Fantasy Tree."
He paused for a moment.
"You can come over if you'd like."
Kirschtaria was silent for a moment, then stood up.
"No."
Higashino Makoto looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
"I stayed here only to confirm if this path was viable. Now you've proven there's another way."
Kirschtaria said.
"Then my mission is over."
After he finished speaking, he didn't look at Higashino Makoto again and walked straight to the other end of the corridor.
Higashino Makoto stood there, watching Kirschtaria's figure disappear around the corner at the end of the corridor, before turning his gaze away.
He continued his work.
The small world began to retract the last piece of Olympus, and a muffled tremor came from the depths of the earth, like the entire city breathing, before gradually dissipating into the air.