Chapter 279: "The Propagation"

Chapter 279: Chapter 279: "The Propagation"

Fuyuki City · Matou Residence

Long Night Moon held up her black umbrella and stood outside the gate of the Matou Residence.

March 7th followed by her side, having changed into casual clothes that didn’t look too out of place in this world, her pink hair tied into a neat ponytail.

Sakura Matou was wrapped in a large coat provided by Long Night Moon, her small hand gripping the hem of Long Night Moon’s skirt tightly, her purple eyes cast downward, looking at the ground.

She had already changed out of that thin slip and was wearing old clothes found in the residence that were relatively well-fitting, but her expression remained somewhat dull, and her reactions to the outside world were very slow.

"There’s nothing worth lingering over here anymore."

Long Night Moon took one last look at the gloomy old house, her crimson eyes devoid of any emotion. "Worm Cave, decay, and that old monster who has been dealt with... staying here too long will only bring unnecessary bad luck."

They had already briefly searched the residence, taken away a few potentially useful items, and ensured that Matou Yan Ye was settled in a relatively comfortable room, having applied a deeper suggestion of sleep.

"Where are we going next, Big Sister?"

March 7th asked, her voice filled with a hint of anticipation. "Find an inn? Or, like the settings say, find a ’Magecraft Workshop’? By the way, does this world really have magecraft? Can I learn it?"

Long Night Moon glanced at her helplessly: "An inn. You need to adapt to your identity as a ’Servant’ while digesting the common sense bestowed by the Throne of Heroes. Magecraft..."

She paused. "Your power system is completely different from the magecraft of this world; learning it forcefully might not be beneficial. As for a workshop, it’s unnecessary for now."

As she spoke, she turned first and walked toward the brighter streets outside the residence.

March 7th quickly followed, and Sakura Matou also silently took small steps, following closely.

The three figures gradually moved away and disappeared around the street corner.

They did not know, nor had they investigated deeply.

In the deepest part of this gloomy, empty mansion, at the end of the underground secret cave sealed by heavy barriers and Insect Magic—a place even Zouken Matou rarely stepped foot in, and perhaps had even forgotten...

There existed an absolutely sealed space.

There was no light here, only endless rustling sounds, as if billions of lives were whispering simultaneously.

In the center of the space crawled a shadow whose vastness was difficult to describe in words.

Its form was constantly changing, at times resembling a tangle of roots, at others like a pulsating giant egg.

It had no clear consciousness, only the most primitive impulse—[The Propagation].

Proliferate. Diffuse. Cover.

Turn its own existence into more existences.

Turn the finite "one" into the infinite "many."

This was the only law inscribed in the foundation of its existence, the meaning of its birth, and the inevitability of its end.

It was fundamentally different from the "Insect Magic" of this world.

The Imprint Worms of the Matou Family were merely a trivial imitation of one of its billions of manifestations, or perhaps one could even say they were degraded, clumsy counterfeits.

It was a residual manifestation of a higher-order power, one of the fundamental laws of the universe—a...

A tiny "seed" of the [The Propagation] Path.

Who knows how many years ago, it drifted here, was coincidentally trapped in this narrow space by the counter force of this world, and fell into a near-eternal slumber.

The ancestors of the Matou Family might have accidentally discovered its existence and mistaken it for some kind of powerful "Source of Insects," attempting to utilize it, but could only touch the outermost aura, evolving the so-called "Insect Magic" and building the family’s foundation upon it.

For hundreds of years, it had been here, quietly "sleeping," and merely by the trace amounts of aura it emitted unconsciously, it had twisted this land, nourished the bloodline of the Matou Family, and buried the root cause for this family to eventually be devoured by insects.

Until not long ago, when Long Night Moon erased the existence of Zouken Matou, the barriers and Insect Magic based on the old bug’s will that had been wrapped around the residence began to disintegrate.

Until Long Night Moon performed a summoning here, that abnormal fluctuation, like a stone thrown into stagnant water, caused a ripple almost impossible to perceive on the barrier of this sealed space.

At this moment, in the depths of this absolute darkness and silence, that huge shadow seemed to... twitch.

As if a sleeping giant beast, in its dreamless slumber, had been disturbed for an insignificant instant by a familiar yet strange noise from a distant place.

Then, it returned to dead silence.

Only that eternal, incessant rustling whisper continued to echo faintly in this unknown secret chamber.

Waiting for the day of awakening... which perhaps might never come.

Perspective shift.

The sky was leaden gray, the low-hanging dark clouds seemingly within reach, pressing down until one could barely breathe.

The sea surface was in dark tones, the rolling white-foamed waves crashing again and again against the black reefs and grayish-white beach.

Sakura stood on this oppressive beach, stepping on the cold, damp sand.

She was wearing simple, practical clothing, her long pink hair somewhat messy from the salty sea breeze, her azure eyes fixed tightly ahead.

About twenty meters away, a crude wheelchair was facing away from her, toward the gloomy sea.

A figure sat in the wheelchair, showing only a head of smooth, pale gold, shoulder-length short hair, and a hand with distinct knuckles and slightly pale skin on the armrest.

That was Aglaea.

Sakura took a deep breath, the cold, salty air filling her lungs, making her shiver slightly, but her eyes grew increasingly determined.

She reached out and grasped the hilt of the katana at her left waist, which was covered in ice crystals and had a gleaming scabbard.

Slowly, accompanied by the light sound of metal friction, Sakura drew the katana.

Elysian Realm · Central Hall

The "impromptu awkward dance performance" involving Elysia, Kevin, and Anaxa that took place not long ago had just come to an end.

A lingering, inescapable awkwardness seemed to remain in the air.

On the long sofa on one side of the hall, Cyrene, Big Tribbie, and Anaxa sat together.

Cyrene’s face beneath her short pink hair still held a faint blush, while Big Tribbie was hugging a pillow she had swiped from the Paradise lounge, burying half her face in it, revealing only a pair of curious yet slightly sleepy eyes.

Anaxa, however, looked as usual, though she would occasionally, uncontrollably, shake her shoulders slightly—the side effects of Cipher were still present.

On the sofa on the other side, Elysia was still full of energy, as if she hadn’t been the one leading the jumping around just a moment ago, and was currently playing with interest with the ineffective pair of pink pentagram sunglasses in her hand.

Vill-V was sitting on a high stool, with several translucent engineering panels floating in front of her, recording something with great enthusiasm.

Just then, in the air in the center of the hall, a soft light screen automatically unfolded, and the system’s calm, waveless voice rang out:

[Announcement: Except for Elysia and Kevin, the Path adaptability simulations for the other Flame-Chasers have been completed. The Golden Descendants rescue assistance program ’Persuader’ protocol can now be initiated.]

"Oh my~"

Elysia was the first to speak, her tone carrying a hint of just-right regret and playfulness. "What a pity, Kevin and I aren’t ready yet~ It seems we can only be spectators for the excitement this time?"

Cyrene’s eyes lit up as she looked at the light screen: "Can it start so soon?"

As one of the Golden Descendants, her desire to rescue her companions was the most genuine.

Big Tribbie raised her head from the pillow and blinked.

Anaxa also stopped the slight shaking of her shoulders and looked at the light screen.

Vill-V snapped her fingers, the engineering panels in front of her retracted, and she rubbed her hands excitedly: "Path simulation complete? Good, good, good! Finally, it’s time for the practical verification phase! Tell me, how do we do it? Do you need me to build some big guy to smash open those imprisoned spaces?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a new line of text appeared on the light screen:

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