Elegy from Another World

Having just survived a life-or-death battle with the hero, my tense nerves hadn't fully relaxed, and an indescribable sense of exhaustion was gradually spreading throughout my body. Just as I was about to order Utopia to enter a state of complete rest, Tia rushed over, her face filled with unprecedented panic.

"Lady Liscia! Something strange has suddenly appeared in the core area of ​​the base!"

"Something strange?" My heart tightened, and the sense of crisis that had just subsided rose again. I rushed to the scene with Tia, and saw an indescribable "being" floating in the center of the hall where the labyrinth core was originally stored (now integrated into Edessis's body).

It has no fixed form; it's more like a constantly flowing, flickering, collapsing, and reassembling jumble of code. Composed of countless scarlet numbers, letters, and unrecognizable symbols, it's like a runaway program code materialized in reality. It floats silently, exuding a cold, absolute, and unquestionable aura of authority.

I cautiously approached, trying to understand what it was. However, the moment my gaze "contacted" the jumbled mess of characters, something unexpected happened!

"Buzz—!!!"

The jumbled mess of characters suddenly began to spin violently, emitting a piercing, distorted shriek, like a hard drive crashing! Then, like an enraged swarm of bees, it lunged at me with astonishing speed!

I instinctively retreated to the side and rear. The garbled text grazed my clothes and struck a reinforced alloy wall behind me.

There was no explosion, no impact.

The alloy wall, more than half a meter thick, vanished instantly within the area touched by the garbled code, as if wiped by the finest eraser, leaving not a trace of powder, as if no matter had ever existed there.

I gasped! "What kind of power is this?!" Pure "deletion"? Erasing existence itself from the world?

Before I could think any further, the jumbled mess of characters, having missed its target, immediately changed direction and emitted another teeth-grinding noise, hurtling towards me like a missile locked on to its target!

"We can't fight here!" I made the decision instantly. This thing's attacks are too unpredictable; if it wreaks havoc inside the base, the entire Utopia might be "removed" from the map! We have to lure it out!

I turned and sprinted towards the base exit, yelling through the symbiotic network, "Everyone! Get away from the core area! There are extremely high-risk intruders! Repeat, get away!"

The jumbled code relentlessly pursued them, obliterating everything in its path—walls, pipes, and even the occasional piece of equipment that unfortunately blocked its way—leaving behind a series of regular yet terrifying gaps.

I had barely stepped out of the gates of Utopia when I saw Noreljun standing not far away, seemingly still studying the cursed sword of the hero. He noticed the ominous red glowing gibberish behind me, and his crimson electronic eyes instantly brightened!

"Damn it! It's the 'Guardian'!" Noreljon's voice came through the speaker, carrying a hint of...fear that I had never heard before? He threw the sword aside, and the magic doll's power core roared as if it had overloaded, instantly rushing to my side.

"Guardians?" I asked urgently as I ran.

"It's the world's management system! And the mastermind behind summoning those damned 'heroes'!" Noreljung spoke rapidly. "You killed its most important 'pawn,' and now it's personally cleaning up the bugs! Quick! Run towards the main city of Valencia!"

"Why are we going there?" He pulled me along, and we sped up a bit more.

"That area is densely populated! The underlying rules of the 'Guardians' are theoretically designed to prioritize preventing large-scale 'data' loss! Hopefully, this can restrain it!"

This might be our only chance. Noreljon clearly knew how terrifying this "Guardian" was; he simply carried me on his back, activated the magic doll's thrusters to full power, and transformed into a black streak of light, speeding towards the distant capital of Valencia. The chaotic mess of characters relentlessly pursued us, like a deadly red comet.

Norrjeon's speed was beyond imagination; in just over half an hour, the magnificent walls of Valencia were already in sight. The city gates were bustling with activity, teeming with cars and pedestrians—a scene of vibrant prosperity.

However, we underestimated the "guardian's" determination, or rather, overestimated its appreciation for "data".

As we rushed through the city gates and mingled with the panicked crowd, the jumbled code didn't hesitate at all and crashed straight into the most crowded market square!

"call out--!"

There were no screams, no blood. Everything—people, buildings, livestock, goods—that was swept across by the red scrambled code vanished silently in an instant. A vast, absolute emptiness appeared in the center of the square, as if a piece of the world had been ripped away. The survivors screamed in utter terror, and chaos spread like a plague.

"It doesn't care at all!" Noreljon's voice was filled with despair. "Its highest priority is eliminating us! Everything else... is just 'redundant data' that can be sacrificed!"

Valencia, the once bustling city, was transformed into hell in the blink of an eye. Chaos rampaged through it, leaving nothing but ruins in its wake. Towering bell towers, magnificent churches, and cramped dwellings... collapsed and vanished piece by piece, like sandcastles.

Noreljon carried me on his back, using his mobility to struggle through the crumbling city ruins, trying to shake off the Grim Reaper behind him. But the "Guardian" was like a persistent leech, drawing ever closer.

Finally, during an attempt to leap across a wide chasm, a red streak of light struck Noreljon's magical doll precisely on its back, where the thrusters and simulated wings were located!

"Crack—Boom!"

A piercing sound of metal tearing rang out. Noreljun let out a muffled groan as the thrusters on the doll's back exploded instantly, ripping its wings apart! We lost our balance and plummeted from the sky like kites with broken strings, crashing heavily onto the ravaged street, kicking up clouds of dust.

The magical puppet was badly damaged, sparks flying from its joints, and it was almost unable to move. I struggled to get off its back.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, the red garbled code representing absolute annihilation, like a vengeful ghost, hovered in mid-air not far in front of us. It stopped spinning, and all the numbers and symbols seemed to be "watching" us, radiating a cold and merciless killing intent.

Accompanied by that mind-numbing, distorted noise, it pressed down relentlessly on us, who could no longer dodge.

The shadow of death loomed over everything.