Episode 375: Poseidon (1)

Buuuuk-

A sound like tough leather being torn.

One day, the sky suddenly tore apart.

A rim of red fire glowed around the torn fissure, and huge fiery snakes thrust their heads toward the ground.

Patter-patter-patter-patter-

Red raindrops fall all over the world.

There was no place untouched by the shower of fire.

The grass and trees on the mountain were burned, and the forest became a desert of ashes.

The seas and lakes boiled and turned into wastelands, and all living things were burned to death or dried out.

Skeletons cried out even after death, and those who could not yet die felt burdened by even taking a single breath.

An era has arrived where we cannot promise or be sure of something.

The words "guarding" and "preserving" have been reduced to a cheap joke, and the concept of yesterday or tomorrow has disappeared.

The shower of fire became a flood of flames that spread across the continent for 150 days.

The whole world was immersed in fire due to heavy rain that fell non-stop for five months.

The burned and dried corpses formed a mountain, and red-hot flames soared across the horizon, burning like a tongue licking the sky.

'The rainy season of evil fire.'

Rain of fire, wind of fire, thunderbolts of fire, flood of fire that fell endlessly.

The long rainy season has come, heralding the destruction of mankind.

It was the final weapon of the demons that caused the greatest and most terrible damage to the human allied forces by annihilating 98% of modern humans.

* * *

It's 3:30 in the morning.

'Aaaah!'

'It's hot! Hot! 'It's hot!'

'Help me!'

Screams come out of nowhere in the quiet stone room.

A terminal where people scream out loud as they burn alive.

"… … ! … … ! … … !"

Bikir opened his eyes in a cold sweat.

I had a nightmare. It's been a long time since I dreamed about 'those days'.

"… … A shower of fire. "Is this a nightmare I haven't had in a long time?"

Who said that the trauma caused by fire cannot be washed away even after a lifetime?

The traces of burn-in on the old hunting dog's retina were still clearly visible.

A few minutes had passed since I woke up from my dream, but my hair was still stiff.

The goosebumps that appeared on my forearms had not yet gone away.

Clap-clap-clap-clap!

Bikir washed his face with salt water dripping from the ceiling.

As the ice-cold water penetrated and soaked my hair, the dream finally separated from reality.

The monsoon season of fear. The terrible season that caused the greatest damage to humanity during the Age of Destruction came back to life like a nightmare.

A time when countless fire drops fell from the sky and burned the whole world.

The turning point of that day when most of the faces that Bikir had met, knew, and remembered were burned to black and disappeared.

"… … "I don't know if I've finished what ThindiWendy asked me to do."

Vikir flopped down on the floor and muttered.

Bikir, who anticipated this terrible rainy season, had previously warned XindiWendy in advance.

'There will be a great flood soon, so prepare the 'ark'.'

Vikir crouched in the corner of the stone room and thought about the future.

About two years have passed since I was trapped here in the Nouvelle Vague.

'… … It seems like only yesterday that I was locked in solitary confinement for 100 days, but time flies.'

In the meantime, a lot has happened in Nouvelle Vague.

First of all, the Level 1 construction work has made a lot of progress.

The crater, which was originally deep, became even deeper and is now called the Great Crater.

The existing prisoners died and new prisoners came in.

Prisoners who were in power just two years ago became increasingly weak due to high-intensity labor and poor diet, and died or resigned from power, and their positions were filled by relatively younger prisoners who had not been incarcerated for a long time.

New guards, although few in number, have also been appointed.

Most of them did not last long and died on the job due to the extreme conditions of the prisoners, the territorial nature of the original guards, harsh working conditions, and unknown endemic diseases.

In the meantime, Bikir was generally able to obtain most of the things he wanted.

The construction of the Level 1 area has also progressed a lot, and the trust of other prisoners and guards has been gained after working faithfully without causing any problems.

… … But just one. There was one thing that even Bikir couldn't get, and that was 'newspapers'.

'Actually, I should say it's news from the ground.'

What happened on earth while Bikir spent nearly two years in the Nouvelle Vague?

Bikir tried hard to find out, but it ended up being fruitless.

Other guards and prisoners were also unaware of news from the outside world, and in the first place, only a very small number of guards in the highest positions knew about such things.

But only once did Bikir get a clue about news from the ground, which in fact was not very reliable.

'… … damn. Why was this magazine shut down? It was good.'

A third-rate pornographic magazine that Lieutenant Colonel Bastille threw away with a grumble.

This magazine, which was popular among the guards, was no longer accepted because it was not only extremely sensational but also contained many sexual controversies.

At some point, a pornographic magazine that had always been a steady seller suddenly went out of print? That could be possible, but there were definitely things that made it seem suspicious.

'Is there a problem with magazine supply? Have the trees to make paper disappeared? Or the magazine building collapsed. Or is it not that there is no one on earth who can afford to subscribe to magazines anymore?'

Bikir rested his chin in thought.

They may be making excessive assumptions based on the fact that a third-rate pornographic magazine unilaterally canceled its subscription.

However, there is no harm in being prepared for everything.

Bikir thought.

I don't know for sure as there is no way to hear news from the ground, but there is a high possibility that the demons are also preparing for the final war by now.

No, they probably started carrying out the action right from the day Bikir was imprisoned in the Nouvelle Vague.

'… … Now it's time for me to start producing tangible results.'

Bikir was feeling a rare feeling of impatience.

Touuuuu-

At 4 a.m., the sound of horns announcing the wake-up call rang out like a knife.

Bikir, who always wakes up 30 minutes before the wake-up horn sounds and gets ready, was the first to leave the bar today.

The BDSM window becomes as mushy as a blade of grass, and when you lie on its side, a hole is created through which you can exit the room.

What the alternative material was, it was truly a mysterious substance.

"The labor begins, you scum!"

Even today, prisoners crawl out to the workhouse under the shouts of Lieutenant Colonel Bastille, who manages the workhouse.

The prisoners are becoming increasingly thin due to miserable meals and poor rest.

During the two years that Bikir spent here, many faces disappeared and reappeared.

Almost all the prisoners gathered at the workhouse, crawling on the floor, looking haggard and looking as if they would collapse and die at any moment.

Every day was the same as yesterday. And tomorrow will be the same as today.

Hot air, bursting steam, terrible sulfur gas, roaring flames, heated ground, heavy burden, lack of sleep, flowing sweat, hungry body.

In a race toward death each day, the prisoners were living the same lives as the dead, with no past, present, or future.

Their thoughts at the workhouse were always the same.

Before going into labor, 'I want to die like this', after going into labor, 'Please just live my life', and after labor, 'I want to be safe today too.'

It was always the same pattern.

… … But not Bikir.

'Today is a must!'

Every day was a new challenge, every moment was a first exploration, and each time it was a race with a clear destination.

Unlike other prisoners, Bikir came here voluntarily and was clear about what he wanted.

So, for the past two years, I have been working without a single day of rest, cutting stones, scraping dirt, and digging deep into the crater.

… … And today. Right this very moment!

Bikir faces today a completely different day from the 700 or so days she has spent so far in Nouvelle Vague.

Qua-boom!

A mysterious explosion sound was heard from the center of Level Nine's labor yard.

Here in the Nouvelle Vague, explosions were as common as death and starvation, but something was different this time.

An unprecedented heavy and loud explosion, and an earthquake that lasted for an unusually long time.

"Ugh, wow! Run away! "A tsunami of lava is coming!"

"omg!? "Isn't there something unusual about this explosion?"

"Everyone get out of the area!"

Both the guards and the prisoners retreat in a panic.

It was only natural that the falling rocks and turbulent lava waves were signs that something was going to happen at any moment.

However, even in this situation, there was someone who did not step back but rather moved forward.

Bikir.

While everyone was panicking and panicking, Vikir was staring at the blue light shining through the waves of lava and collapsing bedrock.

You can see lava that is extremely hot and is emitting blue light.

It was shaped like a round sphere.

Vikir, a being that shakes the earth with a roar, muttered in a low voice towards this blue lava sphere.

"… … found. "Poseidon."

The hope of humanity, the Allied forces' counterattack.

It was a wonderful discovery after about two years of being trapped in the Nouvelle Vague.