Chapter 338: News Spread Again

The news didn’t stay in Mythal.

By the next morning, it had spread across the continent.

Not through the System. Not through some mysterious notification appearing before every Hunter. Through something much simpler.

Television.

News networks.

Hunter Association reports.

Government broadcasts. Thousands of people talking about the same impossible story.

...

Virelia City

The Hunter Association hall was unusually crowded, a large television mounted above the reception desk showing a news report.

MYTHAL CITY SUCCESSFULLY PASSES SECOND AND THIRD DISASTERS

The room immediately became noisy. "Both?"

"That’s what it says."

"Back to back?"

A Hunter near the front stared at the screen. "Wait. The Second Disaster just ended."

His friend nodded. "Exactly."

"And they already passed the Third?"

"Apparently."

The first Hunter laughed. "That’s impossible."

The reporter continued. "According to information released by Mythal’s government, the city has successfully completed both the Second and Third Disaster events."

No explanation followed.

No footage of the Third Disaster.

No details about what happened.

No explanation of how they succeeded.

Just the result.

Passed.

A woman near the back raised her voice. "How many casualties?"

The room quieted. The reporter answered. "Official casualty numbers have not yet been finalized. However, preliminary reports indicate that Mythal’s survival rate remains exceptionally high considering the scale of the recent disasters."

She stared at the screen. "They passed two..." She slowly shook her head. "...and they’re still standing?"

An older Hunter folded his arms. "That’s Mythal."

Someone looked at him. "What does that mean?"

He smiled faintly. "It means they’ve been preparing for this for months."

Another Hunter frowned. "Preparing doesn’t make two Disasters back to back possible."

"No." He looked at the screen. "But apparently it makes them possible enough."

...

Astran Port

The broadcast played on screens throughout the harbor.

Dockworkers stopped working.

Merchants gathered beneath the televisions.

Hunters crowded around public displays.

One young Hunter stared upward. "They passed the Second Disaster."

His friend nodded. "And the Third."

"Immediately after?"

"Looks like it."

He whistled. "How?"

Nobody answered.

A merchant nearby laughed. "Probably some trick."

A Hunter turned toward him. "What kind of trick?"

"I don’t know."

"Then why say it was a trick?"

The merchant shrugged. "Because there’s no way a city survives two Disasters like that normally."

An older Hunter leaned against a cargo crate. "Maybe that’s exactly why they succeeded."

The others looked at him. He nodded toward the screen. "Mythal spent months preparing."

"So?"

"So maybe they did something we haven’t."

The young Hunter looked thoughtful. "Then we should find out."

The older Hunter smiled. "Now you’re thinking."

...

Hollow Reach

Hollow Reach didn’t celebrate.

Its government immediately called an emergency meeting, a massive screen displaying the same news report.

One official pointed toward it. "Confirm the source."

"It’s already been confirmed by three independent news agencies."

"Confirm it again."

"We did."

"And?"

The researcher swallowed. "It’s real."

The official leaned back. "Mythal passed the Second Disaster."

"Yes."

"And then the Third."

"Yes."

"Back to back."

"Yes."

Silence. Finally, another official spoke. "Do we know what the Third Disaster was?"

"No."

"Do we know how they passed it?"

"No."

"Do we know how difficult it was?"

The researcher shook his head. "We don’t even have enough information to determine that."

The official stared at the screen. "So we’re looking at an outcome without knowing the conditions."

"Correct."

Another official frowned. "Then don’t speculate."

The researcher hesitated. "Sir?"

"Send a request to Mythal."

"For what?"

"Everything they are willing to share about their preparation."

He nodded. "Understood."

As he turned to leave, the official stopped him. "And send another request."

"To who?"

"The Hunter Association." He looked back at the screen. "Ask them whether any other city has ever accomplished something like this."

...

Nexum City

The reaction in Nexum was more chaotic, researchers crowding around a large monitor while the news replayed.

MYTHAL PASSES SECOND AND THIRD DISASTER

One researcher paused the broadcast. "Again."

The clip replayed. Another researcher shook his head. "No."

"What?"

"Play it again."

The footage replayed.

Still nothing.

No explanation.

No battle.

No clues.

Only the announcement.

A researcher pushed his glasses higher. "We don’t know what happened."

"Obviously."

"No. You don’t understand." He pointed toward the screen. "We don’t even know if the Third Disaster followed the same conditions as the Second."

Another researcher crossed his arms. "But the System calls both Disasters."

"That doesn’t tell us anything."

Silence. Then someone asked, "So what do we know?"

The first researcher answered. "Mythal survived the Second."

"And?"

"They survived the Third."

"And?"

He stared at the screen. "That’s it."

Someone laughed nervously. "That’s not much."

"No." He looked toward the others. "But it’s enough to be terrifying."

...

Juno

Governor Elish watched the broadcast from her office, the report already replayed several times.

She finally turned toward her advisor. "How long between them?"

"We don’t have an exact figure."

"But close?"

"Very."

She nodded. "Then Mythal is more prepared than we thought."

Her advisor frowned. "Or they’re stronger than we thought."

"Both can be true."

She looked toward the screen, the footage showing Mythal’s damaged streets, Hunters moving through the ruins, people rebuilding. Then the headline appeared again.

MYTHAL PASSES SECOND AND THIRD DISASTER

Elish smiled. "Good."

Her advisor looked at her. "Good?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because now everyone has proof."

"Proof of what?"

She looked out the window. "That a Disaster doesn’t automatically mean the end of a city." Her advisor stayed silent. "For months, people have been talking about the Disasters like they’re inevitable death sentences." She pointed toward the screen. "Now they have an example of a city that survived."

...

Kalem

Zuri watched the report from a small meeting room, one of her advisors already reading through the preliminary reports. "Nothing about the Third Disaster."

She nodded. "No details?"

"None."

"Do we know what happened?"

"No."

She smiled slightly. "Then don’t guess."

The advisor looked at her. "You’re not curious?"

"Of course I am."

"Then why not investigate?"

She looked at the screen. "Because Mythal will tell us what it wants us to know."

"And if they don’t?"

"Then we respect that." She leaned back. "But there’s something more important."

"What?"

She smiled. "Mythal just proved something."

Her advisor waited. She pointed toward the television. "Preparation works."

...

A Smaller City

Far from the major powers, another city watched the same broadcast.

The city was called Elaris.

It had been preparing for evacuation, not because its people wanted to leave, but because the government believed they might have no choice. The city had limited Hunters. Its defensive infrastructure was outdated. Its resources were stretched thin. A complete evacuation plan sat on the mayor’s desk. Three nearby cities had already agreed to accept refugees.

The mayor stared at the television.

MYTHAL CITY SUCCESSFULLY PASSES SECOND AND THIRD DISASTERS

One of his officials stood beside him. "Sir."

No response.

"We should continue with the evacuation preparations."

The mayor remained silent.

"Sir?"

Finally, he turned. "How long has Mythal been preparing?"

The official hesitated. "We don’t know exactly."

"But they’ve been preparing."

"Yes."

He looked back at the screen. "And they’re still there."

"Yes."

He slowly picked up the evacuation documents, looked at them, then at the screen, then back at the documents. "We were going to leave."

The official didn’t answer.

"We were going to abandon the city before the next Disaster." He paused. "Because we don’t believe we can survive."

He slowly lowered the papers.

"...Maybe we haven’t tried hard enough."

The official looked at him. "Sir?"

He stood. "Cancel the evacuation."

The official’s eyes widened. "What?"

"Cancel it."

"But if the next Disaster comes—"

"I know."

"We could lose."

"I know."

He looked toward the television one more time.

Mythal was still standing.

Damaged.

Exhausted.

But standing.

He turned back. "Call the Hunters."

The official remained frozen. "What are we doing?"

The mayor answered quietly. "Learning."

...

The News Spreads

The story continued moving.

In one city, people celebrated. In another, they doubted it. Some believed Mythal had discovered a loophole. Others believed Kai was simply too powerful. Some thought the city had received outside assistance. Others argued that Mythal had simply prepared better than everyone else.

But nobody actually knew.

And that was important.

Because the world wasn’t watching a detailed explanation. It was watching a result. Mythal had passed the Second Disaster. And then Mythal had passed the Third, one after another, with almost no time between them.

That shouldn’t have been possible.

At least, that’s what everyone had believed.

Now there was a city proving otherwise.

Across the continent, government officials began requesting Mythal’s disaster plans. Hunter Associations began requesting copies of their training procedures. Researchers began studying every piece of footage available. Cities began reviewing their own emergency systems. Some increased Hunter recruitment. Others began stockpiling supplies. Some started building shelters. Others began conducting drills.

Not because Mythal had told them what to do.

But because Mythal had shown them something much more important.

It was possible.

Back in Mythal, Kai knew none of this. He stood among the rubble with Lily and Elden, watching construction crews begin clearing another collapsed building.

Lily looked at the damage. "We’re going to be rebuilding for a while."

He nodded. "Probably."

Elden glanced toward him. "You seem strangely calm."

He looked at him. "Should I panic?"

"No."

"Then I’m good."

Lily laughed. "You really are ridiculous."

He smiled, looking across the city. There was a long way to go. But Mythal was alive, and somewhere beyond its walls, other cities were beginning to believe that they could be alive too.

For the first time, Mythal’s victory wasn’t only changing Mythal.

It was changing the way the world looked at the Disasters. Before, they were inevitable. Now, they were challenges. Difficult ones. Terrifying ones. But challenges that could be survived.

And perhaps, one day, even overcome.

Mythal had shown the world that survival was possible.