Chapter 646: Nothing Remains

Based on the position of the wall and the remaining geographical signs, the central base should have been somewhere nearby.

But when he reached the area, he slowed down.

For a moment, he thought he had taken the wrong route.

Because he could not see anything familiar.

No watchtowers, no defensive walls, and no tents where Alaric used to hold command meetings.

He stopped in the air.

His gaze slowly moved across the area, beneath his feet, a sea of molten rock was flowing.

A huge part of the land had completely disappeared, and the remaining pieces of rock stood like separate islands among the red cracks.

Even the paths leading to the golden barrier had disappeared.

Only the wall itself was still standing, without a single crack or sign of damage.

Lian said nothing for several seconds.

It was here.

He remembered the approximate location of the base.

He could even imagine the path between the medical section, the central warehouses, and the western watchtower in his mind.

But now, molten rock was flowing through those same places.

He lowered his altitude, hundreds of Withered were scattered around the area.

Some were moving across the remaining rocky platforms, others were coming out of the cracks, and several were standing still near the golden wall.

He examined one of the creatures.

[Race: The Withered]

[Rank: Mutated]

[Level: 51]

His gaze moved toward another creature.

[Level: 53]

And then a third creature.

[Level: 50]

Lian frowned slightly.

"So even creatures of this level have appeared here."

Of course, he did not know whether they had been here before the destruction of the base or had come out of the new cracks afterward.

But if the Association’s forces had been forced to fight a large number of these creatures while the ground was collapsing, their situation must have been much worse than he had imagined.

Lian moved toward one of the remaining rocky platforms.

He examined the area from above.

Nothing.

He changed direction and moved toward the place where the base’s medical section had previously been located.

But that area had also completely collapsed, he gained altitude several times and searched for signs of humans from different angles.

He found neither Alaric, nor Noah, nor Myra, nor Mathieu.

There were not even any clear remains of equipment or buildings that could help him identify the possible evacuation route of the forces.

On one of the platforms near the wall, a huge Withered noticed his presence.

The creature jumped from the rock with a rough roar and threw its thick arm toward the young Vorhelm.

He simply turned his head, and his right fist moved.

BAAANG!

The strike hit the creature’s face, the huge body of the Withered spun through the air and crashed into one of the nearby rocks with great force.

He did not even wait for it to fall completely and continued searching.

He had not come here to hunt, and killing hundreds of Withered could not bring back what had been lost.

After some time, he moved toward a section of the area that Alaric had previously chosen for an emergency retreat.

If the forces had evacuated before the complete collapse of the base, there was a chance they had used that route.

But when he arrived, he noticed that most of the path had disappeared, only a few large pieces of rock remained among the molten rock.

Lian landed on one of them and examined his surroundings for a moment, then looked down at the palm of his own hand.

Does that mean they’re all dead?

This question remained in his mind for several seconds.

He remembered Alaric’s face.

A commander who had remained calm even when the Second Judgment began.

Then Noah; the young Frenchman who had talked about the base staff and their families only last night.

Myra, with her direct and calculating personality, and Mathieu, who despite his playful behavior, seemed like a kind young man.

He slowly closed his fingers, he still did not know them very well, but that did not make their disappearance unimportant.

Especially when he knew that if he had been at the base just a few hours earlier, he might have been able to save some of the forces.

Of course, perhaps the result would not have been any different, he could not hold every part of the ground together at the same time, and he still had not found any way to stop the sun’s judgment.

Lian let out a short breath.

Nothing has been confirmed yet.

Alaric could have ordered a retreat before the base was destroyed, the forces might have moved to other areas in small groups.

But that was only one possibility.

There was another possibility as well, that none of them had found a chance to escape.

He lifted off the ground again.

He spent some more time searching around the golden barrier and the remaining platforms, but found no reliable signs of survivors.

Finally, he stopped in the air near the wall, the golden light on its surface was impressive even from this distance.

The same wall that had blocked their way out, the same structure that had previously repaired the damage from his attacks in just a few moments.

And now, while everything around it had been destroyed, it still remained unchanged.

"Damn it." Lian looked at it for several seconds and then said in a low voice.

This time, there was no trace of humor in his tone.

By the time he returned to the rock where he had left Rindo, several hours had passed since his departure.

Two was the first to notice his presence.

The huge wolf raised its head and turned its ears toward the sky, and Rindo, who had been sitting on one of the rocks, immediately stood up.

"Lian!"

Vorhelm landed with a controlled movement, his black wings slowly folded behind his back and disappeared.

"Well? How was the base?"

He looked at his friend for a moment and then answered.

"The base doesn’t exist anymore."

"Do you mean they moved it?" Rindo paused.

"No."

Lian pointed toward the distant golden wall.

"That entire area is covered in molten rock, there’s no command center left, no warehouses, not even the ground beneath them."

His friend remained still for several seconds, and his gaze slowly lowered.

"All of it?"

"Almost the entire area, only a few rocky platforms near the golden barrier are left."

"What about Alaric? Noah? The others?" Rindo placed his hand on the shaft of his spear.

"I couldn’t find any of them."

Silence followed.

Two lowered its head slightly and moved its gaze between the two young men.

Rindo pressed his lips together for a moment.

"Not even a single sign?"

"No, I searched the area for several hours, but I couldn’t find anything that could tell me what happened to them."

He slowly breathed out, then sat down on the same rock as before.

Several moments passed before he spoke again.

"Alaric had been preparing for the worst since the first day, even before the Second Judgment, he had already chosen the retreat routes."

Lian nodded.

"I know."

"So maybe he managed to get the forces out."

"Maybe."

"But you’re not sure either." Rindo raised his gaze.

This time, Lian did not answer immediately and finally said calmly.

"No. I’m not sure."

His friend lowered his gaze toward the ground, for several seconds, only the faint sound of stones moving down the distant cliffs could be heard.

"We lost Amélie right in front of our eyes, and now we don’t even know what happened to the others."

He rubbed his forehead with his hand.

"Until two days ago, I thought the biggest danger of this mission was not finding the treasure I wanted."

He let out a short, bitter laugh.

"Now I don’t even know if the ground beneath our feet will still exist tomorrow."

Lian stood beside him and looked at the broken plain for a moment, even in the Special Area, Rindo had always placed the lives of his companions above everything else.

All the ideas and plans he had suggested back then were meant to make sure that the majority, or even everyone if possible, would survive.

And yet, now they had not been able to save anyone.

"That’s why we need to find a way out as soon as possible."

"Do you think it’s still possible?"

"As long as we’re alive, we have to assume it’s possible."

"And what if we can’t find one?"

"Then we’ll have to make a new way out." The corner of Lian’s mouth rose slightly.

Rindo looked at him for several seconds and then slowly nodded.

"Sometimes I really don’t understand where all that confidence of yours comes from."

"Maybe because I’m not dead yet."

"That’s a very strong reason."

The young Vorhelm gave a short smile, but their conversation did not continue any further, because at that exact moment, both of them looked toward the sky.

The Hollow Sun was still hanging above the land.

The huge golden rings were rotating around its black pupil, and its warm light fell on the broken rocks.

From a distance, it still looked like the same sun they had seen on the first day.

Beautiful.

Calm.

Almost holy.

But for Rindo, that light now reminded him of a being that had destroyed Amélie without the slightest hesitation, and most likely, their other companions as well.

And for Lian, every golden ring reminded him of the energy threads that even his current power had been unable to break.

Two also raised its head.

Its ears moved backward, and a low growl came from its throat.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

"We don’t have any reason to return to the base anymore."

"Then where are we going?" Rindo also lowered his head.

"There." Lian stretched his hand toward the center of the land.