Free Web NovelChapter 645: Code Black
"Return to the Prime Expanse at once. However... Pass this message to whichever higher-up you serve under."
It paused for a brief moment, the white cracks along its body pulsing once. freewebnovёl.ƈom
"Code Black."
Victorious and Destiny remained frozen for a split second after hearing the being’s words. The weight behind its voice was absolute — there was no room for debate or hesitation. Both women understood instinctively that this was not a request.
They exchanged a quick glance.
In that moment, they knew they’d bitten off far more than they could handle.
Sure, even a year ago they’d understood this mission could be deadly, but it wasn’t until they saw Eve and Eliya that the full weight of it hit them.
The two women they’d been trailing were just a step below the Domain Lords, which instantly put this mission far beyond their skill or reach.
As for the war’s status over the past few weeks... it was a strange mix of good and bad.
From the beginning, all they’d really wanted was to earn more merit.
And while uncovering the cause of the deterioration wouldn’t directly bring them that recognition, they could still walk away with something by passing on the word. "Code Black."
Without saying a word, they both nodded toward the entity.
Then, moving as quickly as their battered bodies would allow, they began retreating toward the Wall of Death.
Their flight was uneven, and blood continued to drip from their wounds, but neither of them looked back. The command had been clear, and the pressure radiating from the being made it impossible to do anything else.
As the two women moved farther away, the being remained hovering in place, its glowing golden-white eyes watching their departure.
The moment they crossed a certain distance, the battlefield reacted.
HUMMMM!!!!!!
The Divine Horrors that had been erased just moments ago began to reappear.
Not one by one — but in a sudden, overwhelming surge.
Dozens upon dozens of grotesque forms materialized across the area, their numbers far greater than before.
The writhing masses of divinity, the multi-limbed abominations, and the void-like horrors returned in force, as if the previous erasure had never happened.
Their presence flooded the space once more, the air growing thick with their unnatural, suffocating aura.
The being’s featureless head tilted slightly as it observed the sudden resurgence. The white cracks along its shifting black body pulsed with a faint, irritated light.
Then, for the first time, its expression changed.
It frowned....
The Forbidden Essence of Null remained hovering in place, its glowing white cracks pulsing with faint irritation as it watched the Divine Horrors rapidly reappear across the battlefield.
Its featureless head tilted slightly, as if trying to understand what it was seeing.
Though it had spent most of its existence locked away, it knew well of the eternal war between Existence and Nonexistence—of course it did.
It was no stranger to Horrors or even the sealed creations of the Father.
But at a glance, it could tell.
These creatures... they were wrong.
They weren’t like any horrors it had known before.
These beings carried a strange, powerful energy — something twisted and alien, unlike anything the Forbidden Essence had encountered in its long existence.
Somehow, they didn’t even feel like the Horrors it was familiar with, though the resemblance was close enough to unsettle.
These were far more disastrous, their power overwhelming by comparison.
"Did the Father learn some new tricks?" it wondered.
"Or has he discovered some new way to twist Nonexistence into something even more grotesque?"
It didn’t know, nor could it pinpoint, exactly what had changed.
Still, it wasn’t his job to it out—he’d leave that to one of the others who had been released alongside him.
Without another word, the Forbidden Essence of Null surged forward.
Its shifting black form blurred as it plunged into the rising tide of horrors, the white cracks along its body blazing with fierce light.
-----
While most of those of nonexistence had been driven to the edge since the arrival of the Divine Horrors, as mentioned before, not everyone was dealing with the same problems.
The skies over this part of the battlefield swirled in a state of controlled chaos.
Unlike other regions where Existence forces were being slaughtered en masse, this particular stretch of sky was relatively stable — at least by the standards of this war.
The ground far below was littered with the broken remains of both sides, but up here, the fighting had narrowed into a brutal, concentrated struggle.
Eve and Eliya were the only two actively engaging the enemy.
Hundreds of thousands of Divine Horrors swarmed toward them in waves.
They moved with unnatural coordination, their forms twisting and reforming as they hurled themselves at the two women with relentless aggression.
Yet despite the overwhelming numbers, the casualties among Eve and Eliya’s company had remained surprisingly low.
BOOOOOM!!!!!!
CRACKKKK!!!!
Behind the two fighters, a massive Golden and White Gate hovered in the air, spanning nearly a kilometer in width.
It was not a simple barrier, but a manifestation born from the fusion of their Greater Ideas — both revolving around the concept of Guarding.
The gate shimmered with layered runes of gold and white light, constantly shifting and reinforcing itself as the horrors crashed against it.
A particularly large horror, its body covered in hundreds of gnashing mouths, slammed into the gate with tremendous force.
The structure trembled violently, golden and white cracks spiderwebbing across its surface. For a moment, it looked as though the barrier would finally collapse.
But then the runes flared brighter.
HUMMMM!!!!
The cracks began to mend, the gate reinforcing itself with fresh layers of conceptual power.
It held — but only barely. Every impact left deeper fractures, and the rate of reinforcement was slowly losing ground to the sheer volume of attacks. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Inside the gate, what remained of their company — a few thousand warriors — stood ready but largely untouched.
Many of them were injured or exhausted, yet they had been spared the worst of the slaughter thanks to the barrier.
They could only watch as their two leaders fought alone against an ocean of horrors.
The golden and white barrier pulsed with light as another wave of Divine Horrors slammed into it from the outside.
BOOOOM!!!!!!!
CRAAACK!!!!!!
Inside the protective gate, a tall, armored Sentinel stood watch, eyes wide and weapon clutched firmly in his hands.
"...I still can’t believe it," he muttered. "Those damn things... we threw everything we had at them, but they just wouldn’t stay dead! They kept coming back, over and over."
Beside him, a woman wrapped in faint threads of protective energy nodded grimly.
"Over fifty thousand of us were killed before this barrier even appeared," she said, knowing they all understood that without Eve and Eliya, they would have been long gone.
"And still, we couldn’t bring down a single one of them. But now... those two..." Her voice trailed off, eyes fixed on the figures battling outside. "They’re actually destroying them."
A younger warrior with a cracked shield spoke up, his voice tinged with awe and disbelief.
"I’ve been watching since they climbed the ranks. Bastion Lord Eve and Eliya... I’ve never seen them struggle like this. No matter how bad things got, they were always at the front. But this..."
He shook his head.
"These horrors are something else entirely. How are they even managing to kill them?"
A grizzled veteran nearby let out a low, heavy breath.
"They’re Bastion Lords for a reason. But even I didn’t expect them to be able to put these things down for good. However.... it’s a good thing that these vile creatures can stay down for good!"
Another voice, quieter but filled with worry, came from a woman leaning against a broken pillar.
"...But how long can they keep this up? Their mana is not infinite.... and look at the barrier." She said as till now, they didn’t even know how the barrier even held up so far.
"Every time those things hit it, the cracks get deeper. It’s holding for now, but..."
She didn’t bother finishing the sentence—she didn’t have to. The golden and white glow of gate was flickering faster with every hit.
The group fell into a tense silence as another deafening crash rattled the barrier.
BOOOOM!!!!
Outside, Eve and Eliya kept fighting alone against the relentless wave.
