Hiding A Logistics Center In The Apocalypse - Chapter 87
Chapter 87: The Symbol of Resurrection (4)
TL/ED – Miso
Just a few hours after we had demolished the Dresden Fortress.
We arrived in the outskirts of Paris, where the demons had set up camp.
“It’s quick once we get going.”
We had already crossed the Pacific Ocean in an instant, despite it being swarming with self-destructing Gargoyles.
Though it was considered the outskirts, traveling from Germany to Paris was no big deal for us.
The demons of Fermegon rushed out barefoot to greet their unexpected guests, but…
Boom!
Whoosh!
Kaaak!
They couldn’t hold us back even for a moment.
We were unstoppable.
As expected from Fermegon’s base, the demons had built a dense defensive line starting from the outskirts of Paris, but
“Where do you think you’re going to die?”
We simply shattered their heads and pressed forward.
It wasn’t even difficult.
We had merely unleashed the forces we had gathered until now.
There was no way Fermegon, having already lost a total of fourteen strongholds in succession, could stop us at this point.
Whirr!
Boom!
Lee Yong-su and the other Gigant Riders held down the giant demons’ movements,
Swish!
Thud!
Boom!
Devourers shot through the air like bullets, piercing the demons’ foreheads and triggering holy explosions.
Crack!
Chunks of demon flesh scattered all around.
Not that it mattered, our relentless spears continued devouring the vengeful spirits of the demons.
The Holy Knights, who had hesitated before the bombing of the Dresden Fortress,
were different in this battle.
Whoosh!
Bang!
Their war hammers whipped through the air, crushing the thin bones of the demons and scattering them like autumn leaves in the wind.
“For PAX FC!”
In the shopping arcade streets of Paris, packed with dozens of luxury stores,
as the loud voices of the Holy Knights echoed.
“……What is this?”
We suddenly had no choice but to stop in our tracks.
It wasn’t because we were lost.
The stone tunnels the demons had built from the outskirts of Paris,
all of them were interconnected like a spiderweb, ultimately leading to the heart of the city.
Paris was unfamiliar terrain, and compared to the other demonic castles we had seen so far, it didn’t stand out much, but…
[FERMEGON]
We weren’t stupid enough to get lost when there was a red hologram floating prominently above.
“…That’s definitely the place.”
But we couldn’t reach it.
Bzzzt!
Bzzzzzzzt!
A transparent golden barrier stood tall before our eyes.
Even when the Holy Knights swung their war hammers, even when I triggered holy explosions using H-Beams or the ‘Demon Devourer’ the barrier didn’t budge in the slightest.
“What the hell is this?”
Our path was suddenly blocked.
As I examined the barrier closely, a sense of familiarity crept in.
“Wait a minute, this is…”
There was no doubt about it.
A transparent golden barrier.
It was the same one that had blocked the Holy Knights from the Emes Dimension and the beings of Earth when the ‘Bidding Competition’ had first taken place on Earth.
Thump, thump!
A supreme defense barrier from the Chamber of Commerce that fundamentally nullified attacks from both sides.
As I watched the golden barrier ripple like waves with each impact,
“These bastards…”
I couldn’t help but be sure.
The Chamber of Commerce had finally stepped into our battle against Fermegon.
But even though I had identified them, I still couldn’t shake the questions from my mind.
“…Now of all times?”
It was possible that the Chamber of Commerce had finally decided to bare its fangs.
After all, they installed Gate Cores and profited from wars through their transaction fees.
Meanwhile, I had been robbing the Chamber of Commerce’s ATMs wherever I went, replacing them with my own portals and moving freely.
Perhaps they had finally decided to take action because a guy named Kim Jeong-gyeom from Korea was ruining their business.
But…
“They’re siding so openly?”
That part was hard to understand.
At least on the surface, the Chamber of Commerce had always maintained its ‘neutrality’.
Of course, it wasn’t as if they had never interfered before.
They had once consolidated the Elvenheim continent into the Pacific to keep Korea in check, and they had established mines and factories in the United States to support the Southern invaders.
However, all of these actions had taken the form of a ‘game’; the Chamber of Commerce had never once overstepped its role as a ‘broker’.
Even Henry, the Japanese branch chief who had personally colluded with the Reformation Awakening Society, had never dared to overreach to the extent of erecting an invincible barrier right in front of us.
“…Setting up a barrier here makes absolutely no sense.”
I was still reeling from the shock of the Chamber of Commerce’s blatant favoritism toward Fermegon when
“…What is that?”
That was when I finally understood.
The Chamber of Commerce had always been nothing more than a ‘broker’, and nothing had changed.
-Kaaak!
-Kaak!
They were trapped inside the golden barrier.
Within it, Fermegon’s demons were screaming.
Boom!
A massive demon, the kind we had seen plenty of in the Dresden Fortress,
was sent crashing violently to the ground, kicking up thick clouds of dust.
Whoosh…
And the entity pressing down on its head, gnawing voraciously at its throat…
“…An undead?”
It was an enormous undead creature, with a skeletal frame draped in rotting flesh that hung loosely around its skull.
It was the very creature we had slain on our way into Paris.
Now, reanimated by some unknown force, it was attacking Fermegon.
And it wasn’t alone.
Not just Gargoyles, but even lesser demons like Imps and Gremlins
All of them had been turned into undead, their tough hides hanging in tatters over their pale, exposed bones.
“This is…”
There was no doubt about it.
A new guest had arrived.
***
“Grrr…”
Fermegon, the leader of the demons.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The ones attacking him were none other than his own subordinates.
The demons, now turned into undead, had buried their long claws deep into his body.
“Damn it…”
Fermegon collapsed, overcome with bitter regret.
The high-ranking demons he had summoned from his home dimension at the request of Stanley, the European branch chief…
He had never imagined that they would turn out to be his downfall.
Meanwhile…
“…What is this?”
Stanley, the European branch chief of the Chamber of Commerce.
Unlike the demons, he hadn’t suffered a single scratch, but he was just as bewildered.
He wasn’t completely in the dark.
The undead spreading rapidly throughout Paris
This was clearly the work of warlocks who revered death and corpses.
Barnaul’s intervention.
It was something Stanley had been hoping for.
Hadn’t he supported Fermegon and urged him to establish Sisyphus for this very reason?
But the timing was the problem.
“…How did they get here so fast?”
Europe was under Stanley’s jurisdiction.
Yet, he had never received any request for entry from Barnaul.
Entry into a pioneering dimension required the absolute authority of the Chamber of Commerce.
Stanley couldn’t begin to understand how Barnaul had managed to enter Earth without making a sound…
Whoosh.
“Are you the European branch chief?”
From within the shadows, a pale-faced warlock of Barnaul emerged, Gatz.
And from him, Stanley finally heard the full story.
“…You’re telling me the Inspection Bureau sent Barnaul?”
“That’s correct.”
The Inspection Bureau.
A subordinate agency of the Multidimensional Chamber of Commerce, responsible for overseeing fairness in pioneering dimensions.
Without a doubt, it was a far superior authority.
Stanley swallowed hard.
He had gone far beyond the bounds of neutrality in his support for Fermegon.
He had thought he had stayed within the bounds, but there were still a few areas where he could be criticized.
“The reason we came to Earth is…”
Fortunately, the Inspection Bureau’s target was not Stanley.
The warlock Gatz explained the situation in a damp, dragging voice.
“There is an item that violated regulations. It happened some time ago… but recently, it started being tracked again. Coincidentally, it’s something our side created, so the Inspection Bureau directly requested Barnaul to retrieve it.”
“Ah… may I ask what item it is?”
“Camelot. Apparently, its owner lost his mind… They summoned a 7th Order being in an unrestricted pioneering zone.”
At last, Stanley understood.
The temporary barrier covering the center of Paris, and the sudden permission for Barnaul to enter
All of it was the work of the Inspection Bureau.
It was a relief, in a way.
For Stanley, who had been seeking an opportunity to bring Barnaul into Earth, this was a golden chance.
Worried that this young warlock might leave at any moment, Stanley asked anxiously,
“By any chance, have you received a business proposal from Fermegon?”
“Of course, I have… He must have thought Barnaul was quite idle. Asking us to come to such a primitive dimension to collect petty money, how ridiculous.”
Thud.
Gatz grumbled as he kicked the lifeless body of Fermegon lying on the ground.
Then, as if to reassure Stanley, he smirked slightly and said,
“Don’t worry. Since we’re already here, we’ll at least earn some pocket money before we leave. And besides…”
He glanced at the demons, who were dying one by one, and then flashed Stanley a knowing smile.
“You must have expected things to turn out this way, didn’t you?”
“Haha…”
The European branch chief let out a hearty laugh.
Indeed, that was the case.
Fermegon had been nothing more than a stepping stone to bring Barnaul in.
Stanley had never once considered a mere mid-tier dimension like Fermegon as a true partner.
“But anyway, what exactly is that supposed to be…?”
At that moment, Gatz, who had been looking down at Concorde Square, stiffened.
A large, slanted disk-shaped structure stood in the center of the square.
Sisyphus, the construct Fermegon had poured sweat and effort into creating.
But the warlock from Barnaul waved his hand dismissively, as if he couldn’t stand the sight of it.
Whoosh, whoosh.
At his gesture, dozens of undead Gargoyles swarmed toward Sisyphus.
Then, leaving only its core components intact, they began tearing the rest apart.
“This pathetic excuse for a Sisyphus is utterly revolting. Wraiths driven purely by their survival instincts… how lowly.”
Barnaul’s cleanup didn’t end there.
The undead Gargoyles lifted the entire European branch of the Chamber of Commerce and began transporting it, along with the core components of the dismantled Sisyphus.
“That is…”
“Why? Weren’t we supposed to be working together?”
At those words, Stanley’s face brightened with delight.
Even though Barnaul had entered under the authority of the Inspection Bureau, it still could not defy the principles imposed by the Chamber of Commerce.
Not only were they unable to summon high-order beings, but they were also trapped within the barrier for seven days.
During that time, Gatz planned to modify Sisyphus to his liking while also securing cooperation from the European branch.
“Rise.”
Grrrkk…
Barnaul resurrected even the dead Fermegon to begin the refinement of Sisyphus.
However, Stanley raised one concern.
“Troops from Korea have set up camp around the barrier. Most of them aren’t an issue, but there are those wielding holy weapons…”
“Holy weapons… that could be a bit troublesome.”
Gatz nodded slightly in agreement… but then let out a quiet chuckle and continued.
“But it doesn’t matter. As long as we hold the souls of the lions, they will have to fight an immortal army that refuses to die.”
Moreover…
“As long as Sisyphus exists, Barnaul will not fall.”
Its effects were unlike the temporary nature of common dark magic.
By utilizing Sisyphus, they could bind vengeful spirits to objects for eternity.
Gatz recalled memories from long ago.
The noble Knights of Avalon.
The thrill of binding those who had sought to protect Camelot to the very walls of their castle.
Fate had once again led Gatz back to Camelot, but this time, he was filled with anticipation at the thought of creating a new toy.
“They will become our slaves. Eternal slaves who cannot die, no matter how much they wish to.”
Gatz gazed at it with deep affection.
The Louvre, said to hold the greatest treasures of humanity, and above it, the rising structure of Sisyphus.
****
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