Akabane Tsubaki did not recover from the sudden shock for a long time, and the entire world began to drift away from her.
She stared blankly at the shards of the artifact on the ground, the blades engraved with jagged patterns dripping with a dim gray light.
If she had not experienced it herself, she might have thought it was just a mediocre, low-quality weapon that any blacksmith's apprentice could have forged.
Akabane Tsubaki’s mind was not filled with frustration over why the artifact had rejected her so violently.
Instead, she wondered if the family would blame her for breaking Crimson Cloud.
If the Eight-Spider Hive Mother revived at this moment, who would be able to slay it?
Would she be scolded by countless people?
It felt as if she had caused a catastrophic disaster.
Mr. Screws had not expected things to turn out this way at all; the artificial intelligence, usually accustomed to great storms, could barely speak clearly now.
"This... this..."
"Crimson Cloud has... shattered?"
He had thought that the worst outcome would be Crimson Cloud rejecting the girl, causing her to back down and ending today's journey into the underground vault.
Who could have imagined that the will residing within the artifact would react so violently that...
Without a doubt, the situation was irredeemable, and today's events could no longer be resolved smoothly.
As an artificial intelligence, Mr. Screws quickly calmed down after a brief rational analysis, leaving him with only one thought.
The news of Crimson Cloud's destruction must never reach the outside world.
Causing panic was a small matter, but if the forces lurking in the shadows were agitated and revived the Eight-Spider Hive Mother at any cost, it would not be as simple as a powerful urban legend descending; the prophecy of the world's end would be fulfilled.
The number of world-class urban legends born in history was already few, and the only one rated as an apocalypse-class urban legend by the association for breaking that limit was the Eight-Spider Hive Mother.
This was because it possessed a unique trait: no matter how severe the damage it suffered, unless it was killed by an attack of the same nature and origin, it would instantly return to its peak, shedding its self-binding chitinous shell to advance to the next stage of life.
This was also why the association spared no effort in sending more personnel to the four major tower cities and tilting massive resources to help Red Heaven develop its heavy industry.
And from start to finish, the only weapon of the same nature and origin was Crimson Cloud.
Legend had it that it was the primordial placenta left in the egg sac after the birth of a newborn Eight-Spider Hive Mother, forged by thousands of the most skilled craftsmen of the era using ancient primordial blood, hammered and burned for seven days and seven nights.
All the master craftsmen of that era were cursed by the Eight-Spider Hive Mother’s resentment; they either failed to produce heirs or fell into madness and died after gouging out their own eyes.
It was absolutely impossible to reforge Crimson Cloud, especially since the Eight-Spider Hive Mother had never left behind another skin molting.
Xu Xiaoyou picked up a shard of the blade, and by the light, she saw the fine, sharp scales reflecting a prismatic glow.
To her surprise, this longblade was not forged from metal; its material was closer to a combination of insect and serpentine shells.
Xu Xiaoyou’s eyebrows twitched slightly as Mr. Screws walked over quickly, took the shard from her hand, and placed it into an ice-blue solvent along with the other shards on the ground.
Finally, he compressed the solvent into a thumb-sized blue ice crystal.
Mr. Screws briefly repeated the gravity of the situation in front of the two girls, his tone solemn and hurried.
Thoughts churned in Xu Xiaoyou’s eyes.
It seemed that the prerequisite for the little family head's favorability plot, 【Treading Alone on the Path of Thorns and Poison】, had been unlocked.
All of this was simply a matter of fate.
Only by leaving Tang Xin's side and becoming independent would she be able to unearth a deeper level of herself; the rejection and shattering of Crimson Cloud were likewise necessary conditions for Akabane Tsubaki’s growth.
Rather than emotionally blaming heaven or man, she was more accustomed to rationally analyzing the problem more thoroughly.
"I will keep today's events strictly confidential."
"Listen to me, no matter what, act as if nothing happened for now. Do not show any signs of abnormality to anyone, not even the current family head. Once the outside world knows about this, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"Take this and keep it safe. Although I don't understand why Crimson Cloud reacted so violently, this little family head is, after all, the person chosen by the Red Tree's will. Perhaps you will find the answer to this question on your future journey."
Akabane Tsubaki silently took the ice-blue crystal that carried the weight of the artifact, her eyelids lowered as she realized how severe the disaster she had caused was.
At this moment, any words seemed pale and powerless.
All she could do was exhaust everything to make up for the mistake she had made before it truly fermented into a catastrophe.
"Furthermore, there is this." Mr. Screws took out a device; its form was like an armillary sphere, with a dark red sphere floating inside it, spinning rapidly without end.
The outer ring was surrounded by a pale gold hoop, emitting bursts of profound and mysterious aura.
The moment she touched this device, Xu Xiaoyou thought she was hallucinating.
She clearly saw the information panel of this device displayed before her.
【Item: hyperdimensional projector】
【Quality: Legacy (Red)】
【Power: ∞】
【Damage Type: Unknown】
【Usage Requirement: None】
【Uses: 0/1】
【Item Description: Power from a hyper-dimension.】
After a brief moment of surprise, Xu Xiaoyou quickly regained her composure.
Presumably, this was the reward Sebas had left for her.
He had truly given her a big enough surprise.
Neither wealth nor other mundane objects were enough to make her eyes light up, but this hyperdimensional projector happened to be exactly what she needed to solve her current troubles.
Originally, she was still worried about how to level up enough before the competition started and how to bring her talent as a card maker into the Oasis.
Now, all the problems were solved.
Akabane Tsubaki had mentioned before that the effect of the hyperdimensional projector was to project the user's real-world state into the Oasis exactly as it was, meaning the user would completely escape the influence of the consciousness sea offset.
Xu Xiaoyou suddenly felt a wave of trance-like bewilderment. This feeling that everything was ordained by fate made her feel uneasy.
Whether it was the scenes that had unfolded at the Star of Art, the various events she had experienced in the dungeons, or her current predicament, they all gave her a sense of being manipulated by fate.
It was as if she was merely a marionette on a stage, allowed to be toyed with by an imperceptible existence; the character cards she drew, the favorability plots she experienced, every person she met, every event she went through, the things she obtained, and everything she currently possessed...
It was almost as if someone was deliberately guiding her step by step toward an ordained destiny.
Anything that fell out of her control made her feel uneasy. Just a fleeting thought in her mind caused cold sweat to dampen her back.
Xu Xiaoyou suddenly snapped back to reality, breaking free from this panic.
All the thoughts that had just occurred dispersed; in reality, only a brief moment had passed.
She let out a long, weary breath; it seemed her emotions had not fluctuated as violently as they did today for a long time.
Mr. Screws was surprised by the golden-haired girl's steady state of mind, remaining calm and composed even when the situation was so severe.
"Let's go."
Taking the hyperdimensional projector, Xu Xiaoyou turned and left.
Her voice echoed in the ears of the dark-red-haired girl whose mind was wandering; the latter realized what was happening, gripped the ice-blue crystal in her palm, and quickly followed.
Watching the backs of the two girls gradually fade into the distance, Mr. Screws let out a soft sigh, much like a human would.
He could only hope that this little family head would grow up as quickly as possible on her future journey and find a way to break through the current predicament.
Leaving the underground vault, they walked into the main hall on the first floor of the Northern Bank.
The two girls were heavy with their own thoughts as they once again brushed past the young man from before.
He was standing at his post with a strained smile, making a peace sign, while not far ahead, a chestnut-haired girl laughed as lightly as a wind chime, raised the camera in her arms, and pressed the shutter with a click.
Now that I have the reward Sebas left for me, it's time to return to the dungeon.
Xu Xiaoyou thought.
Rate on N.U.
