Arknights, But Terra is Caged Chapter 37

055. Heart of the Corrupted Skadi descended from the great sea.

Kal'tsit fell into linguistic confusion.

It wasn't due to CPU overload, but rather because reality itself was too absurd.

Just a few minutes ago, she had exchanged critical information with another version of herself, learning that she had two years left to prepare for the apocalypse.

In those few minutes, Kal'tsit had been in a brainstorming frenzy, desperately seeking a way to save the world, thinking about how to avoid repeating past mistakes and prevent the Sea Creatures from destroying the world again—

And then Heart of the Corrupted Skadi simply said, "I'll call them home for dinner," and... that solved it?

This made the Sea Creatures' world-ending event seem like a joke, and those who were destroyed by the Sea Creatures were even more of a laughingstock.

"Hakimi, why are you so fixated on the Sea Creatures? This timeline was always an extremely low-probability event, entirely avoidable."

Hearing this, Kal'tsit and Savior Kal'tsit turned their heads to look.

They then saw Chen Ran, who had already settled Yergland, walking towards them.

As soon as Chen Ran finished speaking, Heart of the Corrupted Skadi, who had been tugging on his little finger, spoke up, "Lord God, you said Hakimi isn't a cat."

"Oh, Red T, you're undermining me now? Weren't you the one chanting 'Hakimi, Hakimi' the loudest before?"

Chen Ran poked Heart of the Corrupted Skadi's little head with his other hand.

Then, he looked up at Savior Kal'tsit, who was hiding the 'Holy Sword' in her hand behind her back.

"Never mind, where was I? Ah, right, so instead of dwelling on these things, Hakimi, you'd be better off worrying about those highly probable events."

"For example—when those Terra people get a bright idea in their little heads, like, 'Hey! I have a great idea, since we need to worship a deity, shouldn't we have some rituals? What should we sacrifice... let's sacrifice a person!'"

Human sacrifice, huh?

While speaking, Chen Ran pointed at Yergland, who was sleeping soundly. "I'm not making this up. After all, human sacrifice is meticulously recorded in the chronicles of the Yergland Church."

The country of Higashi, due to its secluded location deep in the mountains and its deliberate policy of isolation, was considered to have simple customs compared to the other humanoid beings outside.

However, even so, Higashi still managed to do something where Yergland had merely gone to sleep, but the people of Higashi mistakenly believed Yergland had abandoned them.

So, in order to bring Yergland back and have their deity manifest again, Higashi performed the incredible feat of sacrificing one holy maiden every year for a full hundred years.

Who knows if Yergland was shocked into a stupor upon waking up to find a hundred corpses piled up beside them?

According to historical records, Yergland never dared to close their eyes again after that.

"So, Hakimi."

Chen Ran reached out and pointed at the Demon King Rabbit in the distance, happily eating a small cake. "If those Terra people really go through with human sacrifice, I won't comment on my reaction, but that little rabbit... she'll definitely show you why she's called the Demon King Rabbit."

Kal'tsit: "..."

Seeing Kal'tsit's face immediately darken, clearly having taken his words to heart, Chen Ran nodded and looked at Heart of the Corrupted Skadi, who had been continuously fiddling with his little finger since earlier. "Alright, alright, Red T, where are these Sea Creatures you mentioned? Let me see."

... ... ...

... ...

Terra in the normal timeline.

All the nations of Terra had fallen into a strange silence.

Several days had passed since the incident of the deity's manifestation, but all the countries were behaving themselves—oh, except for Kazdel.

All the Sarkaz saw the black crown on the Demon King Rabbit's head, which was the identifier of their Demon King, just like Theresia before.

So the Sarkaz were cheering, believing the Demon King Rabbit was their king, that the Demon King Rabbit was on their side, and that they were destined to win.

The other nations of Terra were also behaving themselves because of the Demon King Rabbit.

They didn't know the true power of that deity, but the Demon King Rabbit's ability to conjure meteors with her bare hands was undeniable.

Without any exchange of benefits or change in status, the leaders of the Terra nations did not act foolishly this time.

And until they understood the relationship between Amiya of this timeline and that Demon King Rabbit, Rhodes Island, the center of attention, was actually the safest place.

Laterano, as the largest religious nation, seemed to have encountered a minor issue with its faith after the deity's manifestation.

Meanwhile, the Reunion Movement—

After Talulah's eyes regained their clarity, she immediately understood what had happened during her absence and began internal restructuring.

The first item on the restructuring agenda was FrostNova hanging Talulah up and whipping her.

This had been going on for several days. Most people were enjoying the rare peace, but a minority knew very well that if Kal'tsit, who had been taken away by the deity, did not return, then as time passed, the previously well-behaved nations of Terra would gradually reveal their true natures again.

Because the deity had appeared, but was merely watching.

The Demon King Rabbit, though she did wield a knife, only injured a few people.

Just a few people?

That's far too kind.

And it's precisely because of this kindness that, while the nations of Terra outwardly dared not act, they would surely, in secret, probe the divine being's bottom line step by step.

It's just a pity that Kal'tsit didn't keep them waiting long before making her grand return.

The scene of a beam of holy light descending from the sky, followed by Kal'tsit falling from the heavens—it was impossible for the nations of Terra not to notice.

Then, as the nations of Terra waited, wondering if Kal'tsit had become a Divine Messenger, or if she had brought back the divine being's decree—

"No human sacrifices allowed."

This was the first message that came from Rhodes Island.

The nations of Terra were stunned.

No human sacrifices allowed? Whose decision was this? Was it yours, Kal'tsit, or that of the Lord God?

If there were no human sacrifices, how would they offer holy men and women to the Lord God to solidify their own positions... oh no, no, no, how could they better serve the Lord God?

"Divine Messenger Amiya forbids it."

This was the second message that came from Rhodes Island.

Oh, in that case, never mind.

Upon learning that the Amiya of their worldline had an inextricable connection with that Demon King Rabbit, That very day, detailed information about Amiya's life and past was placed on the tables of the leaders of various nations.

Although a few events were vaguely described, they could still discern that, Given Amiya's pure, kind, and gentle nature, it seemed she truly could not tolerate human sacrifices.

It appeared that the Demon King Rabbit held a significant position in the Lord God's heart?

Unable to help themselves, the nations of Terra had to seek other methods, wondering what they needed to offer to gain more benefits from the divine being—

Heart of the Corrupted Skadi descended from the sea.

056. Sea Creatures: Why are there two Isabellas?

The term "descended" was used because Heart of the Corrupted Skadi did not enter the world at the size of an ordinary human, unlike the Demon King Rabbit.

Heart of the Corrupted Skadi descended from the starry sky to the sea in a colossal form, like a majestic mountain.

From afar, it looked as if the thousands of meters high, hundreds of kilometers wide Yergland had been flipped upside down onto the sea, Or like a planetary Godzilla with a "waifu mod" flying around.

Good news: Heart of the Corrupted Skadi could fly, so she didn't fall directly into the ocean. Instead, she floated above the sea's surface, preventing a world-ending great flood from engulfing all of Terra upon her arrival.

Bad news: Heart of the Corrupted Skadi's size was truly immense. Her mere movements, the ripples she created, were enough to cause the coastal city of Iberia to issue an emergency evacuation warning.

Iberia might become the first nation to be drowned, innocently caught in the crossfire when a little orca, wanting to take a bath, jumped into a bathtub full of water, causing it to overflow.

However, the nations of Terra did not concern themselves with such trivial matters.

With the Demon King Rabbit having appeared first, upon seeing Heart of the Corrupted Skadi's colossal size, the people of Terra didn't need to guess; they were certain she was also a Divine Messenger.

But the Demon King Rabbit appeared to carry out judgment, so what was Heart of the Corrupted Skadi's descent for?

As the nations of Terra waited quietly, in various places across the land, several individuals had already offered different opinions on the matter.

"Is this... Skadi? Has she also become a Divine Messenger? As expected of a member of my team, she's done well." This was Ulpian, the third captain of the Abyssal Hunters.

"The orca from the third team? What is Ulpian doing? Can't even look after her own team members?" This was Gor_etia, the second captain of the Abyssal Hunters.

"Is this me? What did I eat to get this big?" This was Skadi of this worldline.

Heart of the Corrupted Skadi was unaware of the opinions of these individuals.

The reason she chose to descend in such a massive form was because she remembered how her Lord God had once scooped up large handfuls of Sea Creatures when taking them to a gourmet planet.

Being large was good; it saved the effort of notifying each one individually for mealtime.

Therefore, Heart of the Corrupted Skadi paid no mind to the people of Terra who were focusing their gazes on her.

Heart of the Corrupted Skadi simply clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and softly sang, "Hakimi— oh wait... that's not the song."

The people of Terra: "?"

Kal'tsit, far away at Rhodes Island: "?"

The people of Terra were confused because they couldn't understand. They had been nervously anticipating Heart of the Corrupted Skadi to perhaps blow the horn of the apocalypse, but why did she stop after just starting? Was she going to continue singing?

As for Kal'tsit... well, she was confused because she understood, which was why she was questioning.

But Heart of the Corrupted Skadi was unaffected. She simply tilted her small head, thought for a long time, and then suddenly remembered.

She shouldn't be singing "Hakimi," but rather the song "Under Tides."

Yeah, that's the one that always tries to steal the mic from the background BGM whenever Heart of the Corrupted Skadi is deployed.

With that, Heart of the Corrupted Skadi closed her eyes once more, clasped her hands together, and began to sing softly.

It was like the whispers of a siren, or the mournful cries of an orca, but in the end, all these songs converged into one place—

The call of the Great Swarm.

Heart of the Corrupted Skadi's song spread across the entire land, reaching the depths of the sea. As it almost caused a phenomenon on the same scale as the Great Silence—

Specks of starlight appeared.

From within the sea, from across the land, countless points of light began to float upwards, converging towards Heart of the Corrupted Skadi.

The scene was incredibly beautiful, so beautiful it would be unforgettable for a lifetime.

Because anyone who gazed intently at those points of light would discover that those tens of thousands of lights were, in fact, Sea Creatures.

And so, one, two, three...

Merely by observing, merely by understanding, the number of the Sea Creature Great Swarm rapidly increased at this moment.

The nations of Terra finally sensed that something was wrong.

The higher-ups ordered the populace not to listen, not to look, not to understand, and certainly not to respond to the call that seemed to bewitch the heart, But it was useless. The number of the Sea Creature Great Swarm continued to increase.

With Heart of the Corrupted Skadi's song, more and more starlight gathered around her, as if adorning her with a veil of starlight from the night, bestowing upon her a divine and warm radiance, completely different from the hazy mystery of the Demon King Rabbit.

"Isabella!"

"Isabella!"

"Isabella!"

The Sea Creatures chattered. They heard Isabella's call, they came upon hearing the news, they gathered around Heart of the Corrupted Skadi, like children being picked up from school by their parents.