Several days had passed. Tension spread across the realms following Clyde’s recent actions. The Celestials imdiately reinforced their defenses and even refused to hold any more etings outside their domain, afraid the abominations might suddenly appear and destroy their territories—just like what Clyde did to Archangel Uriel and Gabriel’s domain.
The sa anxiety was shared by the Archangels and Demons. They had initially planned to convene and begin taking action in response to everything that had happened. But with the unpredictable movents of the abominations, they beca reluctant to leave their domains.
All of them chose instead to focus on strengthening their warriors and defenses. They believed they needed to stay constantly prepared for that creature’s arrival.
Clyde’s plan was going smoothly—far better than he had expected. At first, he had only wanted to stop the eting that Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, and the Archangels were going to hold. But thanks to his unpredictable nature, he managed to plant seeds of terror, causing the higher beings to descend into fear.
This outco was far better than he had ever imagined. Even Archangel Michael and Demon Duchess Graemory in their respective domains were impressed.
Far away, in an unknown world untouched by the World Masters’ radar due to Agatha’s interference, Clyde and Asqa were speaking with one of the World Masters. As it turned out, Agatha herself had beco a high-ranking World Master. That gave her more power and authority now.
Clyde was initially concerned soone might overhear their conversation in this world, but Agatha reassured him everything would be fine. So, he chose to trust her.
After their previous conversation—and Agatha agreeing to be his spy—Clyde now intended to ask her sothing important.
"Do you know of a place where we can raise our Level?" Clyde asked.
Agatha looked at him, her mind still spinning from the revelations she’d received just minutes ago. But she pushed those thoughts aside. She had already agreed, so why dwell on it?
"You still need to raise your Level?" Agatha asked, her voice puzzled. She assud that with Clyde’s current strength, he and even Asqa no longer needed experience or level-ups.
"Yes. Of course," Clyde replied curtly. He had no intention of explaining that his level still wasn’t high enough to absorb another power from the Nexus of Creation—or to receive the power of the Ancient One.
Asqa, on the other hand, could already accept power from the Ancient One. But she still needed a stronger body and a more advanced System to handle even more power. After all, the threats they would face in the future would be far worse.
Agatha sighed. Her eyes looked out over the destruction unfolding below, but her mind was focused on finding the kind of place Clyde was asking about.
"You can gain Exp in the Ruin. There are still many abandoned areas no one cares about. Plenty of monsters still spawn there," Agatha said after a mont of silence.
"You’ll need to keep it hidden from any prying eyes," Clyde said.
"Of course. I understand," Agatha nodded with a resigned look. After all, no one cared about the Ruin—a world that had already gone through the Selection Stage and been left to rot in a forgotten corner of the universe.
Clyde nodded, feeling satisfied. When he turned, he noticed that Asqa looked just as pleased—she had a smirk on her small face.
Clyde couldn’t help but smile. "You heard her. Ready to go monster hunting again?"
Asqa nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!"
Turning back to Agatha, he said, "We can part ways for now. You can go back to doing your job as usual—I won’t interfere anymore since that could raise suspicion. But now, I need a way to open the portal and access those Ruins."
Agatha held out her hand. "Give the black tablet."
Clyde handed over the black device he had used to contact her. The World Master took it and began to modify it. Her hands glowed with a dark pink hue as she channeled her magic into the tablet, along with her knowledge of the accessible Ruins.
There was definitely more than one Ruin. Even if a single Ruin was densely populated, Agatha was confident that Clyde and Asqa would be able to slaughter the monsters there in no ti.
Agatha handed the tablet back to Clyde, her expression calr now.
"I’ve finished tweaking it," she said. "You now have access to multiple Ruins—each of them still rich with monsters and resources. They should give you what you need to gain Exp."
Without hesitation, Clyde took the tablet. As soon as his fingers wrapped around it, a surge of power flowed through his body as of tuning into it.
He channeled his magic into the device, and almost instantly, a portal shimred into existence a few ters away from where he and Asqa stood. Swirling energy pulsed around its edge like a heartbeat, responding to Clyde’s intent.
"Thanks," Clyde said, giving Agatha a brief but genuine nod. "We’ll et again soon. Keep updated if anything stirs in the World Masters’ circle."
Agatha returned the nod, her eyes calm but distant. "I will."
Without another word, Clyde glanced at Asqa. She gave a determined smile, and together they stepped into the portal, disappearing into the glowing light. A second later, the portal snapped shut behind them, leaving Agatha standing alone on the rooftop.
She let out a soft sigh, her gaze drifting toward the ruins of the cityscape below. The Selection Stage... was there even a point to it anymore?
With beings like Clyde walking unchecked, disrupting the plans of Celestials, Archangels, and Demons alike, the very foundation of the Selection was crumbling. No one could make proper choices—no one could ’select’ anything—when chaos spread faster than order could contain it.
Still, she had to play her part. At least for now.
If she showed hesitation, if she let any doubt slip, her superiors—and especially Morvius—would notice. And Agatha couldn’t afford suspicion yet.
---
Clyde and Asqa erged from the portal into a dead city drenched in twilight. The sky above them was fractured—veins of glowing blue and red light bled across the clouds. Jagged edges of so unnatural crack shimred in the firmant. Above, hundreds of flying monsters circled.
Below, it was no better. They stood on the rooftop of a half-collapsed skyscraper. From their vantage point, they saw a sprawling ruin of a once-great tropolis.
So towers still stood tall even though their steel skeletons scorched and blackened, while others lay in heaps of rubble. Fires still burned in patches across the city, casting flickering light on the chaos below.
Smoke curled lazily into the broken sky.
And among it all, monsters moving.
Serpent-like creatures the size of trains slithered in and out of skyscraper windows. Others coiled around buildings, their crimson eyes glowing in the gloom. Crawlers with dozens of limbs skittered through alleys, and strange humanoid shadows danced along walls.
Asqa’s eyes sparkled with excitent as she stepped forward and surveyed the chaos.
"This is perfect," she said, already pulling her wand from her side. "A playground full of Exp!"
"Alright. We split up and et later," Clyde said.
A smirk played at the corner of Asqa’s lips. Instead, she spread her arms slightly, and with a single surge of energy, her body lifted off the ground. Wind whipped around her as she launched into the sky, her small figure weaving between debris and broken tal as she sought out a hunting path of her own.
Clyde remained still for a mont, watching her disappear into the smoky horizon. Then he leapt from the edge of the building.
He landed several stories down with a thud that cracked the concrete beneath his boots. A crawler the size of a van turned toward him, letting out a screech that shook the nearby windows. Clyde rolled his neck.
"Alright then," he said as the monster charged him, its dozen legs skittering with terrifying speed. "Let’s start this again."
He didn’t dodge. He stepped into the charge and t the beast’s face with his fist.
A loud crunch echoed through the street as the monster’s skull imploded under the sheer force of Clyde’s light punch. Its body went limp imdiately, collapsing into the ground with a twitch.
Clyde didn’t stop to admire his work. He pivoted on one foot and caught a second creature—a flying one this ti—as it dove from above.
He grabbed it by the throat mid-air, spun, and slamd it into the side of a burnt-out bus. The impact left a crater in the tal, and the creature didn’t rise again.
All around him, more monsters began to stir—drawn by the sounds of battle, by the scent of blood and fury
"Co on, then," he muttered, eyes glinting. "Let’s make this worth it."
Above, Asqa tore through the sky, unleashing precise beams of searing fire from her wand. Each shot pierced a winged monster, turning them into falling fireballs. She laughed as she spun and weaved through the chaos.
The two of them carved their way through the Ruin. Leveling up, gaining strength, preparing for the coming war.
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