Hiding A Logistics Center In The Apocalypse - Chapter 91
Chapter 91: The Symbol of Resurrection (8)
TL/ED – Miso
“…So there was a new master after all.”
Added the warlock Gatz.
He was sharing vision through the wraiths scattered all over.
While observing the Holy Knights advancing into Paris, he discovered something discordantly mixed among them, the Knights of Camelot.
“There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize them… they’re my babies, after all.”
It was something that had happened decades ago, but he remembered it vividly.
He was, after all, one of the main figures who trampled on Avalon and constructed Camelot.
The desperate death of the hero that the knights had struggled so hard to protect.
That death had left an unforgettable scent to the warlocks of Barnaul who loved despair.
“But still…”
Though it was a hazy and wistful memory, now was not the time to indulge in such nostalgia.
“What exactly is going on here?”
Watching the Holy Knights pouring into the city of Paris, Gatz asked the European Branch Chief.
Branch Chief Stanley responded in a reluctant voice.
“I told you they’d be using holy weapons.”
“You never said those prized weapons were the Holy Spears from Emes, enhanced by the Dwarves. Why the hell is something like that in a lower dimension like this?”
It would’ve been a relief if that had been the only issue.
The strength of Barnaul lay in its overwhelming numbers, the army of the undead.
They were confident they could easily crush any hero, any item.
But…
“…Just how many of those things are there!”
Whoosh.
Hundreds of Holy Spears filling the sky.
And since they devoured vengeful spirits, the term “undead army”, Barnaul’s pride, was being reduced to a mere empty name.
Clatter!
Skeletons were coldly tossed aside.
Gatz grabbed his throbbing forehead.
Barnaul was one of the top ten dimensions even among the multidimensional realms.
Naturally, they had the power to overwhelm all of this.
‘…If only this weren’t such a backwater place.’
They couldn’t be free from the restrictions imposed on Earth.
Even though they had entered through the Inspection Bureau, all procedures had to follow the solemn development principles of the Chamber of Commerce.
Rank downgrade, sealing of intermediate to high-level black magic, troop limitations, import restrictions on specific equipment, and so on.
As powerful as Barnaul was, the constraints binding them were just as considerable.
-Waaaah!
The Holy Knights were rapidly approaching the prisoner camp.
Gatz quickly calculated in his head…
And finally made a decision.
“As soon as we retrieve Camelot, Barnaul will withdraw from Earth. Keep that in mind.”
“Wait, Commander…!”
The hesitation didn’t last long.
Clinging to filthy profits while shackled down with heavy weights.
No matter how many times he thought about it, quitting right now was the right thing to do.
But even so, he couldn’t abandon the ‘Camelot Retrieval’ mission commissioned by the Inspection Bureau.
Dozens of warlocks had already been deployed to Elvenheim for the retrieval operation, but Gatz wanted to wrap this situation up as quickly as possible.
Only then could he save even a single vengeful spirit.
“Please reconsider, Commander Gatz. Earth is a dimension with tremendous potential. In time, the profit could be…”
For Stanley, who had been aiming for a rise in status, this was a bolt from the blue.
He desperately tried to persuade Gatz…
“This is a withdrawal request. Please process it, branch chief.”
Gatz firmly delivered his intention.
‘…Let’s end this peacefully while we still can.’
From now on, he intended to take action himself.
To retrieve Camelot while minimizing the damage as much as possible.
***
It happened in an instant.
The energy of black magic that had filled every corner of Paris vanished without a trace.
Crash!
The horde of undead collapsed in an instant, and the demons were swiftly sucked into the items they were bound to.
“…What is this?”
A pathway that had been pierced through in the blink of an eye.
Everyone was visibly flustered in front of the enemies that vanished like bubbles…
But thanks to it, they were able to reach Place Vendôme, where the prisoner camp was located, in one swift move.
Murmur murmur.
The enormous camp was packed with thousands of people.
“We’re counting on you.”
The healers of PAX FC were fully mobilized, and Priest Glen, along with the druids, helped in healing the prisoners.
Drinking the swiftly supplied potions, the prisoners gradually regained their strength.
They calmly testified to the horrors they had endured so far.
“They mostly selected Awakened Ones. The ones left here are mostly civilians without any abilities…”
The prisoners hung their heads low.
According to their words, thousands had already been dragged to Sisyphus.
The distance wasn’t far.
Not even a kilometer away to the south.
Between the historical and classical buildings of Paris, the enormous Sisyphus loomed over the landscape.
“…I was afraid it might be, and it really is the Louvre.”
I had suspected it ever since the ancient statue was pulled in by a cart, and sure enough, they had nested inside the Louvre.
I immediately investigated their movements.
I summoned Julian, the Awakened One with reconnaissance abilities from Prague, and shared his far-reaching vision.
The Glass Pyramid, the iconic symbol of the Louvre Museum, was now hidden beneath the massive shadow of Sisyphus.
In the line of sight that reached beneath it,
“…What’s that?”
I spotted a particularly familiar location.
Clack clack.
Interlocking gears turning without pause.
Clink clink clatter…
Steel balls sliding through intricately tangled pipes like a playground slide.
Tick tick tack tack, several switches clicking in a Morse-code-like rhythm.
The space, surrounded by a gentle exhaust sound and a faint bluish glow, drew my attention.
It was several times larger in scale, but unmistakable.
“…Chamber of Commerce?”
It looked exactly like a branch of the Chamber of Commerce contained in subspace.
Whoooosh…
An eerie silence hung over Paris.
With all of Barnaul’s undead fallen.
I opened a portal so the prisoners could evacuate to Korea or Elvenheim, and immediately led the Holy Knights and other knights toward the Louvre, where Sisyphus was installed.
How many minutes had we walked?
Just as the Louvre Museum’s Glass Pyramid, tinted with the Chamber of Commerce’s subtle blue hue, came into view…
-I have a proposal.
Through the wraiths gathering around, a chilling voice pierced into his ears.
‘Is that the bastard?’
A warlock from Barnaul, wearing a black robe.
The owner of the voice was waiting for him inside the European branch of the Chamber of Commerce.
He spoke.
“I am Gatz of Barnaul. Come inside. In here, neither of us can attack each other, and there’s no risk of outside interference…”
He invited me to the Chamber of Commerce branch he was using as a safety measure.
Though he invited me to the multidimensional world’s greatest neutral zone,
But.
“I can hear you just fine. Talk from there.”
Unfortunately, they weren’t on such friendly terms as to share tea and laughter.
Perhaps knowing he couldn’t refute that, the bastard got straight to the point.
“Give up Camelot. Now that you’re entangled in a regulatory violation, the Chamber of Commerce won’t let Camelot be. The Inspection Bureau will chase you to the ends of hell.”
It began as a warning.
With a ruthless tone, the bastard began his pitch,
“There are thousands of prisoners currently held inside Sisyphus. It hasn’t been activated yet, so you could still save them. If you hand over Camelot, then…”
He soon proposed a peace negotiation in a calm voice.
“Not only will we release the prisoners, but we’ll leave Earth completely. Even Europe will become an empty land, so you could take over if you want.”
He presented me with a scale.
A perilously balanced scale with thousands of prisoners on one side, and the loyal knights of Camelot on the other.
It was truly an utterly unpleasant set of options…
But the bastard added yet another condition.
“However, we will be taking Sisyphus and the sculptures in the underground area here. We’ll leave behind only those made using humans as materials. We’ll just take the items bound with the demons of Fermegon and return.”
‘…Why the hell do they think everything goes their way?’
An arrogant, one-sided offer, as if they’d never learned tact.
Apparently, he believed he had something to rely on.
However…
“……Commander Gatz!”
A warlock, his robe in tatters and head covered in dust, came running.
Panting, he whispered something into the ear of Barnaul’s commander.
“…What?”
Whatever that “reliable backup” had been, it shattered into pieces.
Far from retrieving Camelot, the warlocks had become isolated in Elvenheim.
It seemed the grim news had only now reached Gatz’s ears.
“…Hold on, speak slowly.”
He tried to calm himself.
But with his subordinate’s final report, he finally lost his composure.
“Elvenheim… has reclaimed the World Tree?”
And then.
“…Even the druids?”
That was the turning point.
Barnaul had learned that their natural enemy was here on Earth.
Gatz’s complexion turned pale as he silently turned around.
Then, stretching out both arms, he reignited the dark magic that had been scattered like dust throughout Paris.
Clatterrrrr!
There was no more peace.
The undead, their bones linked like chains, began rapidly reassembling.
The skeletal grave of emaciated bones was coming back to life again as the undead army.
“…Looks like going home is off the table.”
I was no longer a conversation partner to him.
The neatly pomaded man who had been seated in the Chamber of Commerce.
Without doubt, the administrator of this Chamber of Commerce facility.
To him, Gatz said with a grim expression.
“Branch chief, withdraw the evacuation request. Instead, contact our home dimension.”
“W-what should I tell them?”
The branch chief’s face lit up like spring.
To him, Gatz added with a murderous expression,
“Tell them Barnaul must participate in the Earth colonization project. The reason? Tens of thousands of World Trees and druids.”
“Understood…!”
Excited by the thought of turning Earth into a sea of fire, the branch chief ran inside, and the changes continued without end.
Guaaaaah…
The howls of the undead echoed across downtown Paris.
Having caught their breath for a moment, the stench of death they exuded was now even more viscous.
Kroooo…….
Like a broken Ferris wheel, Sisyphus, filled with thousands of prisoners, began to tilt slowly.
Rusty iron interlocked, emitting a grinding noise like a scream.
Rattle rattle rattle!
Clang!
In the vast underground of the Louvre,
Dozens of gargoyles bound to the statues broke through the Glass Pyramid and soared into the sky.
Skulls that had been scattered on the ground now glowed with blue light, and skeletons gathered, dragging in yet more statues.
And lastly,
Warlock Gatz and the European Branch Chief were the only ones still hiding safely behind the protective barrier of the Chamber of Commerce.
Gatz, with a resolute expression, scanned his surroundings.
“You’re still here? If you don’t have any business, get lost. This place is destined to become hell anyway.”
Only then did he seem to acknowledge me, issuing a savage dismissal.
All I could feel was confusion.
Why were they acting so entitled after barging into someone else’s land?
I replied,
“No, you’re the ones who should be clearing out. And…”
I looked around.
Sisyphus, the Louvre Museum, and the European Branch of the Chamber of Commerce,
Facilities perfectly suited for putting into subspace were all gathered in one place.
“Why did you gather everything in one place? ……Delicious.”
“…What?”
“Buuurp.”
I was already burping.
****
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The Fool
This is a cliffhanger 😭
Cherryblossom
Thank you so much for posting!!!!