Author notes: This is the final post of the book! Coming next will be End Online, but it may take me a while to finish the next book by the look of things. I won’t make a time commitment, but I will update the stickied post on the homepage with each progression milestone.

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The sun had just set back on Earth, leaving nothing but there was still an orangish-red glow above the dark silhouettes of trees at the tail-end of the sunset.

The joint Protectorate-government base within Laurence Academy of the Gifted was brightly lit by bulbous mana lights on poles that had just recently been erected, especially in the heart of the encampment where the portal was.

The rift was no longer expanding and had instead collapsed in on itself, but the scientists and government employees had long since prepared for that and installed a large, triangular device within the rift that prevented it from fully closing.

Several dedicated teams monitored the high tech device at all times, ensuring that it was operating as intended. They had guages to constantly monitor the quantum 4R field and energy draw from the gate. The natural field was far too weak to passively power the gate, so bottled canisters labelled [Q4R] of highly concentrated energy were connected to it.

Although in an unrefined state, another name for this energy would be spiritual qi, mana, or inner force, the supernatural energy that living creatures could harness to defy the laws of physics or create change within the world.

Off to the side of one of these paths, Thomas was lazing about on a fold out camping chair furiously tapping away on his phone, completely out of place with the armored heroes and other powerful individual carrying large weapons and carting monster corpses.

“Gotta hurry, gotta hurry, they keep adding more and more daily tasks. It’s hard to keep up sometimes~”

He was playing Age of Heroes, the gacha game that he poured all of his money into, much to the deep grievance of the irritable Fae sitting to his right devouring a cream covered cheesecake.

To his left however, sat a pair of vampires just arisen for the night – Duchess Montageau and Gϋnther.

“It is pleasing to hear of your troubles, little bastard who keeps attacking me. I will not be forgetting this grudge” The duchess stated, also playing the game on her state of the art phone.

“I can see the dark circles under your eyes, you know. You really shouldn’t stay up all day playing in your coffin~”

“Only those old sticks in the mud still sleep in coffins. Alas, it can’t be helped if I wish to pick up for the slack of my ungrateful guild members. The Night Noblesse Guild has been performing very unsatisfactorily as of recent.”

Sitting on the opposite side of Duchess Montageau, Gϋnther sat in silent grievence, too afraid to point out that the duchess was just terrible at the game.

“The how about you take up my offer and join my guild instead?”

“I can’t just abandon my people, but for a darling sheep like yourself, I made a second account.”

The duchess turned her phone around and showed a new account she had made just recently and was already progressing up the common leaderboard. Of course, it was rising so fast with the help of the rocket ship commonly known as in-app purchases.

She didn’t resist as Thomas deftly snatched her phone out of her hand and made the account apply to his guild before accepting it on his own phone. He then turned his head and looked at the vampiress with a strange gaze.

“And this is what you chose as the name for this account?”

“All the other names I tried were unfortunately already taken.”

“So you went with Lady of the Night.”

“Yes, it is a fine name. Do you have an issue with that?”

“No, no… I think you will fit right in~”

Just as Thomas’ guild, Unholy, accepted its ninth member, Captain Reeves appeared with an especially sour appearance. He glared down at the group of lazy individuals while still being careful not to offend the vampire duchess.

“Bastards, how could you two leave me for dead in there.”

“Our hands were full~ Besides, you could just fly back once you woke up,” Thomas nonchalantly stated while continuing to tap away on his phone.

“…Fly on what?” The cultivator sent and accusatory glare at the fae girl who was ignoring his existence. “My swords were all broken.”

“Oh, then just walk on air.”

“Only Golden Core cultivators can freely traverse space like that.”

“Then fly on a stick.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Not at all. It’s a compliment – you drug addicts are very versatile~”

“Enough of this, I have a question.”

“Then ask~”

“You proclaim to be an expert in monsters of old, so, was that girl truly a succubus?”

“Yep~ Didn’t you have a taste of the infamous succubi toxin?”

“A normal succubus’ neurotoxin couldn’t affect me. More importantly, I have neither seen nor heard of a succubus that can control shadows or spit acid.”

Thomas paused his fingers and looked up at the brooding cultivator, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Death works a bit differently in that place.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything in there is a type of soul construct, even yourself when you pass through the gate. That is a realm where the winner consumes the loser, absorbing a portion of their strength and becoming stronger. If they hold an affinity to it, they may even absorb their powers, such as controlling shadows.”

“I see… That will make things difficult for predicting a monster’s strength.”

“Not really, they will mostly still behave and have a strength as per their appearance. Stronger and different ones will probably mutate into new monsters. You should be careful though.”

Captain Reeves furrowed his brow as he already knew what Thomas was getting at.

“You mean the monsters absorbing the powers of humans.”

“Their powers not so much. Humanity’s greatest strength is not their cultivation, nor their superpowers. It is their intelligence. They dominated a world filled with far stronger creatures with just that.”

“…”

“Ah, that is the last daily mission to complete!” Thomas abruptly stood up and stretched. “It’s time for us to go. See you next time, drug addict~”

“You’re not going to see the boy you rescued? His mother is also here now.”

“There’s no need. He’s being taken care of, and will surely even receive free care in some large and expensive hospital. Our job is no complete and besides, we’ve already been paid~”

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Back at Thomas and Senna’s home, the fae girl was in the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. Under the yellowish-orange flourescent light above the vanity mirror, she removed her makeshift stone hairpins and let her hair down.

The bloody red color that was an outward display of the corruption of her soul was fully revealed at this moment. Beyond the half way mark where her hair was previously a golden platinum blonde, were large blotches of crimson hair. This extended all the way until it covered four-fifths of her hair, leaving only several inches of untouched blonde hair.

“Why did that stupid thing have to spit acid…” Senna mumbled to herself as she held her hair in her hand and inspected it in the mirror.

She then opened one of the cupboard and dug out a bag with hair dye satchels inside of it.

‘It looks like I will have to buy some more soon.’

Senna slowly opened one of the packets and mixed the product together before carefully applying it to her hair down to the half way mark.

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Thomas didn’t pay attention to how long Senna seemed to be absent for, instead focusing on what was in front of him. He seemed to notice where she was though, his gaze turning and looking up towards the ceiling in a knowing fashion.

He was looking through the case files of incidents at the school, especially Laurie Hudson, even though the case of missing students had already been solved.

‘Could she have been half-human half-succubus, and used that human side to create a connection with the realm of the living? The same way I did? Perhaps, but that doesn’t explain any of the other gates that have formed. The realm must already be grinding agaisnt ours for such a thing to occur.’

*Tap* *Clack* *Clack*

A strange, but distinct sound almost like tiny footsteps, rose from the corridor next to Thomas.

He glanced over from his lazed position on the couch and saw the cursed French poupee doll, Charlotte, sitting agaisnt the door frame as if someone had carefully positioned her there in a sitting posture.

“…”

Thomas couldn’t use his strength currently, for fear of simply further strengthening the demon targeting Senna. This meant he was entirely helpless should the doll take this opportunity to attack… again.

‘I really need to get Yuri to fix the mana seal on that room… He’s currently locked away in that prison though…… shit…”

“Good evening, Charlotte~”

Without a change of expression, Thomas calmly greeted the cursed doll as he passed by it and made a beeline to the back door. He didn’t know how long it would be, but that doll was currently in ‘hunting’ mode.

On the small balcony out back, Thomas awkwardly climbed up the brickwork and onto the roof of the old building. Sitting on the ridge of the roof was Senna, quietly humming a song to herself as she looked up into the murky, light polluted sky.

She sensed Thomas as soon as he came out back however and stopped humming, simply sitting there in silence. She didn’t even turn her head as he climbed up, simply sitting in wait.

Before long, he sat himself next to her at a distance that their shoulders were almost touching.

“Do you miss your home?”

“I am home.”

“I mean your original home. That is where that song is from, isn’t it?”

“I don’t miss it.”

“…Would you sing it for me?”

“…”

Senna leaned her head over and rested it on Thomas’ shoulder. From her lips she begun humming the song for Thomas, soon breaking out in lyrics that were not of any human language, but the tongue of nature.

She had a beautiful voice, one which outshone even the most cunning of sailor beguiling sirens. When a fae sang in the tongue of nature, nature would respond and dance with them, but this song seemed to fall of deaf ears, bringing about no change in the world.

Within her voice, there was an undertone of sadness that pierced directly to the soul.

“How beautiful,” Thomas commented in absolute honesty.

“It is not.”

“Then what is it.”

“…Naivety.”

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