Chapter 158 – The Rift (1)

We were able to reunite with the group midway.

Upon hearing the results of the survivors we had seen, everyone’s expressions hardened.

Yelena and Hoffman also looked troubled, but the people from this world, Yerim and the agents, turned pale. Having lived in a civilized world until recently, they were more shocked than we were.

“Still, shouldn’t we check it out ourselves?”

Some agents, finding it hard to believe, insisted on seeing it for themselves.

However, the agent’s opinion was overshadowed by the words of the boy who spoke next.

“…There’s one less now. It’s 45 people.”

At Western’s words, biting his lip, the agent who had spoken earlier also fell silent.

“Things like this are happening… Has the world really fallen apart?”

In truth, cannibalism was not uncommon even before the world fell apart.

In Ea, the continent, it still happens frequently.

Even during the time when we were being pushed back by the Demon King’s army, it occurred in various units.

What angered me wasn’t that they were resorting to cannibalism.

In the past, when other units were besieged by the Demon King’s army, cannibalism also occurred, but back then, it was the severely wounded who volunteered to become food for their comrades.

Since they were going to die anyway, they chose to sacrifice themselves for the survival of their comrades.

But unlike those noble soldiers, the people left in this park were choosing who to kill based on strength.

This was murder. Murder for the sake of cannibalism.

As someone who remembers my past life and as a knight, I could not condone such actions.

If it were Ea, I might have slaughtered them all on the spot.

But the people here were not from my land, my world.

The decision regarding them was not ours to make, but the agents’ and Tom’s.

After a while, Tom made a decision.

“We’ll ignore them and head straight to the rift.”

Tom decided to ignore them. It wasn’t a bad decision.

With grim expressions, the agents and our party moved along the park’s boundary, heading north.

Thus, avoiding the self-destructing group of survivors, we passed through the park and eventually arrived at Harlem, in the northern part of the island.

This neighborhood, infamous worldwide for the wrong reasons, wasn’t actually that bad originally, aside from its治安.

Moreover, the治安 issues were mostly concentrated in East Harlem.

Immigrants had flocked there, forming cartels, and it was said that you shouldn’t walk around at night.

But all those stories were about Harlem before the satellite fell.

The治安-ridden East Harlem no longer existed.

Instead, there was a massive crater where the satellite had struck, obliterating the area.

Meanwhile, West Harlem, which was not as治安-ridden, was now completely entangled with enormous roots.

It was clear that the roots originated from here, and one of them was connected to the rift floating in the air above the crater.

The roots in this city were not those that had fallen from the Divine Tree.

They were still part of the Divine Tree, connected to its main body.

‘If we cut the part connected to the rift, wouldn’t all the roots in this city turn back into soil?’

I couldn’t be sure, but it was worth a try.

However, it didn’t seem like something we should prioritize over other tasks.

Moreover, we might not need to cut them separately; creating a gate and erasing the rift might naturally sever the roots as well.

Still, it seemed we’d have to decide how to proceed based on the situation.

For now, the priority was for me and Zahina to enter the rift and find a way to protect the area in front of it.

We set up a temporary base in a half-destroyed building near the satellite’s impact site.

Perhaps because the building was heavily damaged, the Divine Tree’s roots didn’t entangle it, leaving it alone.

Thanks to that, we were able to hide in the building without being detected by the Divine Tree.

Although the building was partially destroyed, fortunately, a large office room was still intact.

There was no running water or electricity, and cracks ran through the walls, but we were grateful for what we had.

We peered through the shattered windows at the massive crater that had turned into a wasteland.

“Surprisingly, there are no roots inside that satellite crater.”

Only a single root extended from the rift floating above the crater, reaching outside the crater.

However, that single root was several times thicker than the others, but regardless, no other roots were visible inside the crater.

“Instead, there are other things.”

Tom, who had been observing the crater with a telescope, frowned.

As he said, there were other moving beings inside the crater.

First, the children of the Divine Tree we had seen on the island.

Hundreds of undead goblins were roaming inside the crater below the rift.

As if guarding the rift, the undead goblins didn’t venture far from it.

Additionally, there were occasional ghouls.

I had thought the Divine Tree’s roots weren’t picky, but it seemed they had a more refined taste than I expected.

No, considering they consumed ordinary people and zombies to grow the roots, while leaving the undead goblins and ghouls to guard the rift, the undead Divine Tree was no ordinary undead.

At my words, Zahina nodded.

“The Divine Tree is a sacred being that protects us. Even if corrupted by death energy, it wouldn’t fall to such a low level.”

It sounded complicated, but I roughly understood what she meant.

Since it was originally a wise being with great power, even as an undead, it retained some rationality and could still use its abilities to some extent.

Zahina seemed satisfied with my interpretation and nodded, but I felt uneasy.

Facing a mere monster would be difficult enough, but facing a smart, capable monster…

Hearing such a thing didn’t make me feel any better.

Nevertheless, it seemed it wouldn’t be too difficult for me and Zahina to jump into the rift floating 10 meters above the crater.

Dealing with the undead goblins and ghouls roaming around the crater would be easier than facing the massive roots swirling like pillars.

It seemed the roots had been pushed away to prevent damage to the rift, which would make it easier for us to jump into the rift.

The problem was the others.

Yelena needed to be close to the rift to observe it and create a gate. And she needed to stay close for a considerable amount of time.

“How close do we need to get? Do we have to be right next to the rift?”

Tom, also concerned, asked Yelena.

“Not that close… But if we’re more than 50, no, 100 paces away, it’ll be hard to observe the rift. In fact, we need to be closer than 100 paces…”

“One pace is about 4 feet, so that’s around 800 feet…”

Tom, looking at Yelena’s legs, continued his calculations.

But his calculations seemed meaningless.

The satellite crater alone seemed to be hundreds of meters in diameter, if not more.

Considering the area flattened by the impact, it was easily over a kilometer.

If Yelena needed to be within 60 meters at most, or 120 meters at least, then Yelena and the rest of the group would be completely exposed.

‘This is going to take a while…’

Even with Yelena’s shield and Yerim’s divine power, their mana wasn’t infinite.

The two of them couldn’t withstand continuous enemy attacks while exposed.

If we were to ensure the safety of the group staying here, we’d have to eliminate all the undead in the crater.

And if the roots moved during that time, we’d have to deal with them too, all while worrying about the unstable rift.

The situation had become much more complicated than expected.

Moreover, like us, the agents couldn’t leave their homes unattended for long.

As I was pondering the difficulties, Tom continued to question Yelena.

“Is that distance only horizontal?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Do there need to be no obstructions in between?”

“No. Since we’re checking and transforming mana and death energy, obstructions like buildings don’t matter.”

I was starting to understand what Tom was getting at.

“Are you suggesting… underground?”

“Yes. Deep beneath New York City, there’s a complex network of subway lines.”

At his words, I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

“With the ground in that state, would it be safe?”

The satellite had obliterated an entire area.

The ground had been gouged out over ten meters deep, and in such a situation, the subway couldn’t possibly be intact.

“Regular subways might have collapsed, but there are also hidden subway lines for various reasons. There’s one here in Harlem too.”

The “various reasons” the government agent mentioned were clearly military.

If it was a subway line hidden for military purposes, it would be sturdy enough to withstand a nuclear war.

That explained Tom’s confidence.

The American government agents were proving to be much more helpful than expected.

Not only were they generous benefactors, but they also provided such valuable information.

Honestly, they were much more likable than the Korean government holed up in Jeju Island.

“Then, we’ll have to split the team into two groups.”

After some thought, I nodded at Tom’s words.

I wanted to check the underground passage Tom was confident about first, but if Yelena used magic underground, I wasn’t sure how the surface would be affected.

Once we confirmed the underground was safe, we’d have to jump into the rift.

To do that, we’d need to communicate in real-time.

We couldn’t use radios in this death energy-filled area, but fortunately, we had two mages.

Zahina and Yelena could communicate with each other over considerable distances.

So, leaving Zahina and me behind, the rest of the group descended into the underground via a nearby subway entrance.

Listening to Yelena’s message as they went down, it seemed there were no undead in the underground.

After that, Zahina and I prepared to jump into the rift while listening to Yelena’s updates, and the rest of the group headed towards the hidden subway line.

As Yelena’s group noisily walked through the subway tunnel, someone sleeping in the darkness stirred.

“I came here for some quiet, what’s all this noise? Could it be that those who crossed the rift have already returned?”

With long ears, he looked like a goblin at first glance, but he was not human—he was a monster.

Long ears, pale skin, long fangs, and glowing yellow elongated eyes.

He was a subordinate of the previous Demon King, a monster of the darkness who had bowed his head to the new Demon King to survive.

A vampire who had transformed into a bat and crossed the Pacific with his comrades.