Chapter 394 - 392: The Legend of Kaslopa

Chapter 394: Chapter 392: The Legend of Kaslopa

Baru’s method for the cleanup was simple and brutal.

He didn’t need to run around. Instead, he activated several patches of Demonized Plants, which began emitting a peculiar fragrance.

He would then conceal his aura and wait for various Demons to be drawn in. Once enough of them had gathered, he would begin the slaughter.

After a few rounds, the area of thorny traps was littered with corpses. The ones who sensed the danger and stayed away were, naturally, the more intelligent Demons—or even Magic Creatures.

By unleashing his Perception while moving at high speed, he could ignore the dense swarms of "small fry" and precisely locate the more powerful Demons to annihilate them.

He also had his duties with the Nineteenth Organization Department to consider. Although he had a fair amount of freedom as the director of the Los Angeles branch, the current situation didn’t allow him to be away for too long.

Baru stopped after two hours of frenzied slaughter, mainly because he could no longer find any high-density clusters of targets within his Perception range.

His clothes remained completely unstained. The powerful Soulful Aura clinging to his skin kept him free of even a single speck of dust.

The Black Beetle, with a body over thirty meters long, was no common creature. It was a true Magic Controller, one that had undergone Spiritualization.

It was arguably the most powerful Demon that could cross over given the current depth of the World Contact in San Francisco.

Initially, it had been wary of the species on this world known as "humans." But its fear wasn’t of humanity’s inherent power, but of their incredible, almost godlike, technology.

Creations that used no Magic Power or Magic Pattern technology, yet could unleash terrifying might—this was the reason it had been hiding here ever since it arrived.

By the time it arrived, the Secret Realm Guardians had already fallen, and the Secret Realm itself had disintegrated the moment the World Contact occurred. So, while it noticed the strange remnants of Magic Pattern Arrays, it was too ignorant to recognize them as traces of a Secret Realm.

’This world must have Magic Power, but there probably isn’t much of it. Otherwise, I would have encountered it the moment the World Contact happened.’

But even so, the power of human weaponry was undeniably real, something it had witnessed firsthand.

It had never imagined a freak like Baru would appear. He ignored the powerful attacks of Magic Creatures, was immune to all poisons and foreign curses, and his physique was as tough as a primeval behemoth.

The man had only a minuscule amount of external Magic Power, none of which he used, yet he unleashed a level of combat strength that drove it to despair.

’This human species... there can’t be many guys like this, can there?’

"Yo, you’re awake!"

This voice made the Black Beetle jump in shock. It hadn’t noticed that Baru had returned.

Regardless of its protests, the terrifying human then yanked it from the ground. It was carried off like a tiny doll hauling a massive, gory turtle.

At Fire Support Point No. 39 of the San Francisco perimeter blockade, a few Soldiers had just finished their military rations and were taking over for their comrades on duty.

The roar of a motorcycle engine echoed nearby, and the Soldier in the watchtower immediately spotted the dispatch rider—the "cavalry."

Captain Lante, the Officer in charge of fire support for the surrounding blockade, had already emerged from the barracks.

"Captain, orders from HQ. An Official Knight from the Dawn Association will be passing through your lines shortly. This is an official notice to prevent friendly fire. The identification phrase is ’The flower blooms’!"

As he spoke, the dispatch rider handed a small, strange potted plant to the Officer.

"Captain, please take good care of this Sunflower. The General says that at close range, it’s more reliable than Radar."

’That’s it? A potted plant?’

The Officer looked surprised, but he accepted the order without question.

After the dispatch rider left, several nearby Soldiers gathered around to get a better look at the potted plant.

"Captain, is this one of the Dawn Association’s cultivated Magical Plants?"

"Whoa!! It’s moving!!"

"Holy crap, it can hear me! It actually turned toward me!"

"Stop making such a big deal out of it. It’s a Demonized Sunflower; it can think. Hey, hey, hey, don’t touch it!"

...

About ten or so minutes later, the soldiers at the defense line understood exactly what "prevent friendly fire" meant.

A giant black insect, looking like it was lying on its back, was "sliding" toward the station at high speed. Through their binoculars, they could see it crashing through countless trees and ruined buildings along its path.

The station’s close-in defense cannons and high-precision smoothbore guns immediately locked onto the target. Even the guided missile systems were armed and ready to fire.

Fortunately, the Sunflower bloomed. Its dozen-or-so flowers, giving the illusion of a dozen heads, all began nodding up and down in unison.

It was only then that a Soldier spotted a person underneath the giant insect, supporting its massive body with a single hand. The creature wasn’t sliding at all—it was being carried at a dead sprint.

The visual impact was like something out of a Superman cartoon. Even for soldiers who had seen plenty of monsters from the Otherworld, the sight was intensely jarring.

Baru didn’t stop to exchange pleasantries. Carrying the black insect, he leaped over the defense line in a single bound and quickly vanished from their sight.

Only after the terrifying insect monster had vanished did the Soldiers’ tight grips on their rifles finally relax. The feeling it exuded was far more complex than what they felt when facing a simple, giant monster.

However, it also made the chatter about the Dawn Association even more enthusiastic.

...

「Half an hour later, at the Dawn Headquarters Secret Realm.」

The Black Beetle, which had recovered from fully paralyzed to merely semi-paralyzed, was frozen stiff, not daring to move a single inch.

’How is this possible... How is this possible!!!’

The question replayed endlessly in its mind as its body, soul, and even its Magic Power trembled.

Jilian’s mountainous body was reclining, its head tilted as it gazed at the Black Beetle. Its hair, glowing like white light, fanned out around the insect’s dark form.

If Baru’s appearance had merely left the Black Beetle feeling shocked and uneasy, then the sight of Jilian was like having terror itself pierce every corner of its soul.

’Just what kind of being is this?’

’Such terrifying Magic Power... such an endless, oppressive aura... To think this world has a Magic Controller who can completely shatter your perception of reality.’

By the time Qin Xiaoxia and the Red Demoness emerged, Baru had already departed. He was in a hurry to get back and handle some matters, completely unconcerned about leaving the Black Beetle behind. No Demon could possibly cause trouble in the Headquarters Secret Realm.

In contrast to Jilian’s world-ending pressure, neither Qin Xiaoxia nor the Red Demoness exuded any oppressive aura. The Black Beetle, however, didn’t dare underestimate them; it refused to believe they were ordinary humans with no Magic Power.

"Master Sage, this is a Burrowing Rot Worm. It’s not a common type among Magic Creatures," Jilian said as soon as Qin Xiaoxia arrived.

The Black Beetle understood Jilian, but it was baffled by the name it used. "Burrowing Rot Worm" was an ancient, insulting term. Ages ago, their species had come to be known only as Black Armor Corroders.

At this point, it wasn’t hard for Qin Xiaoxia to extract information. Besides, the Black Beetle was exceptionally cooperative, answering every question put to it.

And so, for the first time, the members of the Dawn Association learned the identity of their enemy: the Fallen World Caslopa.

...

The Black Beetle was sent to the wasteland prison overseen by the Demon Eye. Putting aside the numbing terror it felt upon seeing the Demon Eye, Qin Xiaoxia and other key members of Dawn grew increasingly puzzled by the information it had provided.

In the Magic Garden of the Qingzhen Secret Place, Jilian lay prone out of habit, its face turned toward Master Sage, the Red Demoness, and the others.

Meanwhile, Qin Xiaoxia and the Red Demoness sat at a large conference table.

"Caslopa... I can’t believe it’s that world."

The wooden face on Mumu, who was Thorns incarnate, wore a pensive, surprisingly human expression.

"Master, legend says Caslopa was a magical world blessed by the Medland Law. But it seems that a very, very long time ago, it became impossible to reach. No one has seen any beings come from Caslopa since."

Doudou, riding on the much furrier Gou Dandan like a Knight on an ostrich, zipped around the perimeter. He was also very interested in the topic of Caslopa and chimed in after Mumu finished.

"I once heard a Mountain Elf say that Caslopa was filled with the aura of nature and was a world that Elves yearned to visit! But a long, long, long... a very long time ago, Elves stopped going there. Over time, Caslopa just became a legend!"

Doudou’s emphatic repetition of "long" fully expressed his understanding of the time span.

The Red Demoness also nodded.

"I’ve heard of Caslopa as well, though I’d always assumed it was just a myth."

On the table before Qin Xiaoxia lay a dozen or so Magic Pattern Scrolls. They were materials on Magic Patterns that he’d just had someone from the Dawn Archives Management Office deliver, all of them related to Caslopa.

"Jilian, have even you never been to Caslopa?"

The colors on the Ancient Demon’s face shifted like an ever-changing coat of makeup as it answered with a sigh.

"I heard of Caslopa once, but as an Ancient Species, it is exceedingly difficult for me to enter a normal world unless there’s a summoning ritual to assist my entry... so no, I’ve never actually been to Caslopa."

Qin Xiaoxia propped his chin on one hand, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"According to that stinking bug, Caslopa has been a filthy wasteland for as long as it can remember..."

He looked up toward the sky, where the eerie, dark-red realm of the Otherworld was faintly visible.

"Could the legends of Caslopa be fake? Is the real Caslopa this... godforsaken hellscape?"

Medland is said to be the personification of the Natural Law, one of the Six Great Order Laws. How could a world blessed by the Natural Law look like this?

"And another thing. According to that Black Beetle, every living thing over there wants to devour everything in our world. Do they have no concept of diplomacy? Do they really think it will be a one-sided slaughter, like colonists conquering the natives of a new world? They’re really overestimating themselves, aren’t they?"

The speaker was Gou Junbao, who had returned not long ago. He and Xiao Lili had just finished moving all their close relatives into the nearest Dawn Secret Realm.

"That part is actually understandable," Qin Xiaoxia said. "From their perspective, it probably is exactly as you described, Brother Gou. Add to that how wonderful our world is and how terrible theirs is... any sane creature would want to force its way in. And to them, humans are so... tasty."

Qin Xiaoxia fell silent for a moment after saying this.

The creatures of Earth, especially humans, are as alluring to certain Demons as honey is to wasps and ants.

However, Qin Xiaoxia, who could communicate with the consciousness of the world, understood the stakes. The extinction of life meant the world would lose its ability to self-purify. Corruption would follow, and the Power of the World would continue to unravel. He didn’t know what the final outcome would be, but he was sure it wouldn’t be good.

’So, are the creatures of Caslopa just after resources for survival, or are they being influenced to try and destroy Earth? Was Caslopa always like this, or did something happen to make it this way?’