Chương 69: Nice

To properly assert his superiority, he kicked the guy again. There was no grunt this time. Another kick. Nothing. Dennis' kind smile slowly turned into a frown. He kicked harder. The weight of High Authority's existence, already weak after meeting the void-bomb, dissipated into nothing. Dennis felt a few scraps of exp making him stronger, like he killed a level one goblin. It seemed that pure concentrated void could erase even levels. Which… duh. The elf was dead.

"Oh shit," he muttered, wide-eyed.

"Really?! Dude." The body in front of him felt like nothing. It held no existential weight or meaning whatsoever.

"Nah, you're fucking with me." Dennis crouched, studying the body from up close. It didn't look more alive from up close.

"This has to be some sort of bullshit substitution technique. I didn't hit you that hard… I think."

'Nah, I'm dead,' the corpse replied.

'You should reconsider beating downed and severely wounded opponents in the future, dumbass. That wasn't that heroic of you.'

"You're so full of shit!" he shouted, pointing a finger at the corpse in accusation.

"First of all, no fucking way this isn't a body double or some shit like that. No fucking way! And second, you're evil enough that you deserve all the kicking! It's totally heroic to beat up villains after you win if they're irredeemable enough. I mean, I guess there's a scale. Not cool to beat up catwoman or someone like that, but it's basically mandatory to take a piss on Darkseid after you beat him. You're totally more like a Darkseid on the irredeemability scale!"

'I consider myself to be more of a misunderstood anti-hero,' the elf replied casually.

'You just didn't hear my sad backstory.'

"No, you're fucking not!" Dennis pointed at the pile of gore nearby.

"Look at that dude, he was just chilling in the air before your Arm used him to soften the landing. And there's thousands of them! That's not anti-hero behaviour at all at this point. There is a specific number of allowed casualties if you're going the anti-hero route, and you've exceeded that at least by an order of magnitude! And I'm not even talking about the end of the world thing–"'That's totally your fault.'

"What?"

'These people being squashed,' the elf elaborated, waving his hand. Dennis helped him.

'Maybe even the end of the world? Not sure about that one, you should've fished for more information when you had the chance.'

"How the flying fuck–"'I mean, this whole monster horde came for your ass,' the elf's corpse said smugly.

'You could've just moved the fight outside the city, no? If you actually cared. I bet that would've reduced the casualties. Actually, once you felt Lily somehow teleporting to the far-away target, you could've just run away. Every dead person after that moment is totally your fault. Wanted some levels, eh? Well, now both Lily and the far-away target are probably dead. I say we split the guilt fifty-fifty.'

"No fucking way," Dennis immediately began haggling. While he felt there was some truth to the elf's words, an even split was definitely out of proportion.

"It's at most five to ninety five. This whole thing is your fault, how can I be responsible for your murder-spree? That's–" Global announcement: The High Authority was slain. The world's threat rating was automatically increased to grade two.

'Oh look, so you did kill me,' the corpse mocked.

'That means you have no way to put those people back on earth again. That's the same as killing them!' The elf gloated.

'Oh, this is great. Just because you couldn't resist throwing a few kicks my way! I say we're seventy-thirty on the guilt scale right now.'

"Shut up," Dennis snapped.

"Ten-ninety." Global announcement: No High Authority, System Administrator or Overseer present in the world. Quarantine barrier missing. The world's threat rating was automatically increased to grade three.

'It's like you're racking up wanted levels in a game,' the elf mused.

'I wonder if they'll send the cops? You think they'll be reasonable and listen to you calmly as you explain the situation? Or just launch the nukes? I wonder how high 'three' is. Is this like a five-star system? You could do better than three.'

"Oh, for the love of everything that is holy, just please shut up. I'm thinking." For the breach of the Law, you have been marked as 'Heretic'. Cause: the murder of High Authority.

'Oh, do you want to know what's not holy?'

"I will find a necromancer just so I can kill you again. Watch me." / - /"Is he… arguing with a corpse?" one of the human women asked quietly. El'el couldn't determine any of her Paths yet, though judging by her ascension level, there should be at least one.

"More like haggling?" the male of the Executioner Monarch's Path said.

"And he's losing." From her vantage point on the back of a human named Stuart, who graciously carried her on account of her weakened Constitution, she studied the… The creature? The boy? It looked like a human boy. Though on the second look, she couldn't determine its–his? –age. Though it acted like a youngling, both its body and ascension suggested nothing but full maturity, not to mention the presence. She couldn't wrap her head around what she was perceiving.

"I said no more than twenty-eighty! And only because I could've angled the third laser lower, you dumb fuck! We've already established that–" The one who was communing with her dead master's spirit was indeed losing the argument. At least she assumed that he was communing. She couldn't detect any skills or the movement of mana, but the… the boy, for a lack of a better term, was shrouded by a veil strong enough that she couldn't dismiss any possibility.

El'el could detect nothing but what her bare senses were telling her about him. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. A complete mystery. Powerful enough to outright slay her master.

"Did he… replace me? That quickly?" the little girl, on the Path of the Truthsaying Saint, said with a hint of jealousy. She was obviously hurt, despite not even a hint of emotion being shown by her voice or body language. It was just the nature of that Path, to hide nothing and be known by everyone. El'el could see why the girl was disappointed. Even though coming here was their only way to survive– why, though? –the girl was desperately worried about making it in time to help, even more so than her own survival.

Everyone could've felt her despair when the travel skill moved them to the building–the observatory, it was called–instead of directly into battle. Their run deeper into the city was a mad scramble, the sheer urgency almost killing them a few times as El'el nearly failed to notice yet another entropy glyph on the way. They still failed to make it in time before the battle ended. That creature was obviously very important to the girl. Somehow, its communing with her dead teacher felt like a betrayal.

"I'm sure it's nothing that bad," another human woman, this one with a staff, tried to reassure the girl, offering her a weak smile that didn't reach the eyes.

"You could try talking to him? I bet he'll be happy to see you–""–and those fucking mines –""–once he finishes his conversation." The truth was, no one wanted to interrupt the creature, or even get noticed by it, aside from the girl. The combination of its ascension level and that unnatural presence made approaching it… a formidable task. Even El'el was wary, especially considering how weakened she was. She had lost so much. Levels, skills, stats, authority…

The system announcement saying that there was no Overseer present in this world felt like a gut punch. Her authority as an Overseer was the first thing she fed her prison. It gave her a lot of time.

"I'm more worried about who that body belonged to," another human whose name she knew, Evan, said, before turning his head towards her.

"Friend of yours?"

"My teacher," she replied quietly.

"Tar'en." Maybe she would grieve for him later, once her Soul recovered from the strain and her capacity to care came back. Or maybe the sting of betrayal would offset the good that he'd done? For now, all she could do was just acknowledge the fact without feeling anything about it.

"But wait," the staff girl was quick to pick up.

"Didn't you say that your teacher was–""The High Authority, yes."

"Well damn," the man on the Path of the Executioner Monarch whistled.

"Murder-guy here just went and offed the final boss. That means we win?" Win? In what world was the death of the High Authority a win? Though maybe it was. She didn't know anymore. Didn't understand her teacher's actions, or the reason for her imprisonment, or why he had pushed so hard to condemn a whole brand new world… As an Overseer, she failed utterly.

"I have questions," Evan said, looking at her intently. She gave him a weak nod.

"In order of priority. Do you know a way to get out of this dimension and go back to the normal world?"

"Yes."

"Now that the High Authority is dead, what is going to happen? Will monsters keep attacking the Earth? What does it mean that it's a 'grade three threat'?" She tilted her head. It was a tricky question.

"In the unlikely event of the death of the High Authority," she said somewhat ironically.

"Typically, a new High Authority takes their place. But… grade three means that this is a deathworld, so the position is voluntary. Not many would take the risk, and with both Administrator and… Overseer absent, what's most likely is that the place would be just condemned once the barrier is restored. Forgotten, in essence. And, of course, forbidden to even approach, for the safety of all. Trying to reclaim a grade three is usually a futile effort."

"That… actually sounds pretty good?" Stuart said hesitantly.

"They'll just leave us alone? No more monsters? We can just go back and… repopulate civilization?" The staff girl broke into a sudden cough. El'el shrugged. Being on a grade three world without authority of her own also meant that she was stuck here, forbidden to leave as any other native, but thankfully she hadn't restored her Soul enough to care. For now, it was fine.

"I would… like to leave, then," one of the weaker women said.

"Right now, please. There's no more danger, right? And the monsters are not attacking. I want to go back to Earth. Now. Please. We can talk more once we're on real ground, with dirt and grass and pebbles."

"Of course." She could do at least that much for her rescuers. El'el got on her own two legs and looked for the nearest Skill Emergence.

"Follow."

"Wait," the little girl said so quietly that it was almost a whisper. Despite wanting to meet with that creature, now that the moment was here she was surprisingly hesitant to draw attention.

"What about the floating people? Can you put them back?"

"That would be a crime." There was a blade pressed against her neck. Wait, no– It was a hand on her shoulder. What was–"No bullshit barrier on you, mysterious elf-lady?" a new voice said. Even with her Soul exhausted as it was, she still felt unnatural dread as she heard it.

"Tell me kindly, why did my skill suddenly start pointing at you? You're also a misunderstood anti-hero?" She slowly turned her head, trying to not provoke it. Empty eyes stared at her. There was no hostility in them, nor curiosity. Not even boredom. Nothing. She wasn't a person in its eyes. She doubted it even understood the concept of personhood. It was the creature. It stood right in the middle of the group. How did it even– From up close, its Soul was the scariest thing she had ever seen.

"Dennis!" the little girl shouted.

"Don't kill her! She's the mysteriously dying distant person!"

"Hey Lily," the creature said without moving, still looking right at her. The feeling of a phantom blade on her neck didn't lessen.

"Gratz on figuring out how to move again." It said the words, but could it understand them, or was it just mimicking speech? El'el gulped. She still retained the capacity to care if she lived or died. She had to assume that there was something that she could say or do that would save her life.

"I rightfully don't know," she said the truth. Lying in the presence of a Truthsaying Saint was a great insult, and too dangerous besides.

"You are shrouded, so I don't know what your skill does or why. What is an anti-hero?" The creature tilted its head.

"You're into genocide?" There was a small spark in its eyes. A flicker of emotion. How– "Is it racist to assume that just because you're an elf? I don't have a good track record with elves, you see. Sorry about that. Damn, that sounds even more racist."

"I'm–" She was confused, and terrified.

"I'm firmly against genocide, unless it's Lawful." Its eyes narrowed. Her answer was wrong. She prepared to die.

"Like?" it asked.

"What's Lawful?"

"Like… goblins, for example? It's Lawful to slay any amount of goblins." The pressure lessened. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"On that we can agree," it smiled at her.

"So you're more like a button than an arrow?" Gods, please help her navigate this conversation.

"You mean–""Can you put the floating people back on Earth?" That was unlawful. Heresy. They were put there by the High Authority. And even if she could make a case that it was done wrongly, moving them back herself would require a usurpation of power outside of what was allowed of her.

"Technically, yes." She decided on the most non-antagonizing answer.

"But that would be Heresy." She quickly added.

"Oh, that's fine, I'm already a heretic. Got a title and all." Her numbed Soul was the only reason she didn't start running away. That, and the pitiful state of her Constitution.

"I see." Maybe her teacher was on to something when he rushed to mark this world as a forbidden one.

"If you can, do it," the little one said.

"It's the right thing to do." Doubting the words of a Truthsaying Saint was madness. So was defying the Law. El'el never expected to find herself quite so lost, when it came to making the right choice. She was an Overseer, damn it! Everyone was looking at her with hope, though no one dared to say anything for fear of being noticed by the creature. They weren't bad people. They saved her life. Hesitantly, she nodded. Grasping the free authority was quite easy. And very, very forbidden. Nothing opposed her.

The mantle of High Authority claimed. For the breach of the Law, you have been marked as 'Heretic'. Cause: the usurpation of a mantle without permit. Was this her life now? It was madness. Her awareness spread across the world. She directed the Arms to the Skill Emergences and gave the order to begin the inversion rituals across the world. Plucking the humans out of the Sea of Stillness was as easy as a thought. Slowly, they flew down towards the ground, to be moved to the other side.

Almost as an afterthought, she stopped the automatic processes of transporting other monsters.

"Nice," the creature said, watching the thin river of humans descend towards the transportation zones.

"We can just go in there and spawn on the other side, right?" She nodded, absentmindedly, as she tried to figure out how to restore the barrier. It was at that moment that she noticed two Roads connected to the outer Echo. Without the barrier, there was nothing to stop whoever was coming. None of the approaching presences even bothered asking for permission to enter. Their designations were known to the System. Nan'en, The Wandering Oracle. Zuul, The Sword Saint. Xin, The Soul Devouring Sovereign.

"There is a slight problem," she said calmly. Too calmly. Thank the gods for her burned-out Soul.

"For a better chance of reincarnating, I recommend preemptive suicide. There won't be an afterlife in this world after their battle."