Chapter 694: Out of Thin Air
Unnamed Battlefield Ruins
Gledea Continent
Aramis
November 30th
531st Divine Year/ Year 1054
""Arthur, are you trying to kill us?""
Artemisia and Beatrix’s voices rang out in perfect unison, their faces painted with incredulous disbelief. Off to the side was Evan, visibly perplexed by the situation.
It was a little past 5:30 p.m., and the setting was one of the many battlefields being cleared after the day’s battles (massacres).
The scene was one that left any demon involved in the clean-up that strayed this far baffled.
Four teenagers gathered around what unmistakably looked like the corpse of a Low-Rank god.
Two boys, two girls.
One of the girls, clad in a jumpsuit, was crouched on one knee, her hands stained with glimmering gold blood.
Floating around her was an assortment of medical tools, some already used to perform an autopsy on the god’s lifeless form and extract the most vital organ from its remains.
The second girl worked as her assistant, using spatial power to organize the corpses o other dead gods, aligning them in neat rows to be autopsied by her friend.
Meanwhile, the two boys were seated comfortably on portable chairs, their hands occupied with consoles that looked lightyears ahead of the planet’s technological capabilities.
Their calm demeanour stood in stark contrast to the macabre activity happening mere less than a metre away.
Every demon who wandered this far into the outskirts went through a predictable sequence of reactions.
First, they were confused.
Then, they realized the two girls were gods.
Next, they noticed the two boys were wearing Gozon Army uniforms.
After that, they spotted the insignia marking one of them as a Lieutenant General.
And finally, they froze.
At this point, Arthur would inevitably have to tell them to leave—usually with some variation of, "Get the hell out."
The interruptions quickly became a nuisance, so to avoid further disruptions, Arthur had set up a recognition inhibition barrier.
It was a little trick Jamie had taught him to use his new Spatial Pseudo-Authority to create.
Speaking of Jamie, he was currently in Militopolis, receiving a comprehensive report from Alvey and McEnda while issuing their next directives. No one aside from those two and Arthur even knew Jamie was on Aramis.
The planet’s surface was devoid of any Race Rulers for now, as the Demon Rulers and Aramisian god Rulers were engaged in after-war negotiations.
Well, if the Demons presenting their one-sided demands could even be called ’negotiating’, then sure, that was happening.
Meanwhile, a handful of Gozon’s ships had docked on Aramis’ moon, and a few Demon Lords were keeping watch over the planet. But it was more of a formality than an actual occupation—just a way to mark their hold over conquered territory.
Back to the matter of the recognition inhibition, it effectively prevented hid them in plain sight, and only Transcendents and above could see through it.
Those at such a level were familiar enough with Arthur and Evan not to intrude without reason.
Occasionally, some curious Transcendent Demons, like Aravae or Jabberwocky, would wander over.
When they did, Arthur would casually explain they were conducting ’experiments’ and enlist their help in keeping lower-ranked demons away.
Thanks to their assistance, the quartet had enjoyed 30 uninterrupted minutes—a rarity on this ruined battlefield-turned-laboratory.
Now that the war for Aramis had ended, Artemisia and Beatrix no longer concealed their presence here.
As for why the two girls had just accused Arthur of threatening their lives? That was entirely due to his most recent suggestion.
To venture into the Abyss Labyrinth.
One of this Universe’s Danger Zones.
"What’s the Abyss Labyrinth?"
Evan, the only clueless one among the four, posed the question and Beatrix was the one to answer.
"There are places known as ’Danger Zones’ on the Intergalactic Stage, Evan.
One of them is the ’Dead Zone.’ It’s exactly what it sounds like—a portion of the Universe that’s completely ’dead.’
Think of it like a part of the Universe having leprosy—that’s the Dead Zone.
Universal Laws don’t function properly there, and just being in its vicinity corrupts your very existence. Even Race Rulers avoid it like the plague."
After giving the short intro of the Dead Zone, Beatrix then raised two fingers and continued.
"The Dead Zone is the Number 1 Danger Zone in the ENTIRE Universe. The Abyss Labyrinth, the place your friend here just suggested we visit, is Number 2."
After hearing Beatrix’s response, it was now Evan’s turn to give Arthur an incredulous stare and pose the same question the girls had moments earlier.
"Dude, are you trying to kill us?"
It truly sounded like he was trying to.
"Come on, guys. If I wanted to kill you, do you think I’d go through such convoluted means?"
Arthur, instead of defending himself, posed a question that would make any normal person reconsider being near him.
But Evan, Beatrix, and Artemisia were far from normal, regardless of their own denials.
"Honestly, I think you would."
"Yeah, that’s definitely your style."
"And then you’d justify it by saying it was for fun."
Artemisia, Beatrix and Evan responded one after the other, leaving Arthur staring at them, dumbfounded.
"I can’t tell if you’re trying to diss me or prove how well you know me."
"""Both, Arthur. Both."""
The three of them shot him synchronized deadpan stares before promptly returning to their tasks.
Evan resumed bullying the final boss of Souls of the Dark II, Beatrix continued disposing the leftover remains from Artemisia’s work, and Artemisia focused on her autopsies.
Artemisia’s hands moved with efficiency born from experience. Her fingers brushed against the array of tools floating beside her and she selected a scalpel-like blade with an edge that shimmered faintly with golden light.
Without hesitation, she began splicing open the god’s chest, and in seconds, she had exposed the Divine Spark nestled within his heart.
She extracted the crystalline fragment with careful hands, its radiant glow pulsating faintly as she held it aloft.
Activating her power of Evolution, Artemisia scrutinized and analysed the spark.
Beatrix silently produced an array of strange equipment from her inventory and set it down beside Artemisia, who picked them and began running tests.
Once satisfied, she placed it into the containment box alongside several other Divine Sparks she had extracted today.
Evan glanced up from his game just in time to catch the faint smile playing at the corner of Artemisia’s lips, clear evidence that she was ’enjoying’ what she was doing.
For someone who kept her expression neutral most of the time, this was an SSR find.
It went without saying that Evan was a bit put off by the scene before him, and seeing his expression shift, Beatrix couldn’t hold back her laughter.
"Arty’s dad sealed away her tools and told her not to dissect anything for over a year. What you’re seeing now is all that pent-up desire bursting out at once."
"Well, my problem the fact that she has those kinds of desires in the first place."
Beatrix shrugged, entirely unbothered by his reaction.
"Arty’s power of Evolution doesn’t work on its own. She needs catalysts for specific modifications, and she has to extract them somehow."
With a pointed look at the corpse in front of Artemisia, she added.
"Right now, she’s trying to upgrade her Divine Spark. Where else is she supposed to find a catalyst for that, if not from the corpse of a god?"
"Oh, I get that part. What makes me wanna run is the fact that she’s smiling like she’s having the time of her life while dissecting people."
Just as Evan finished his sentence, Artemisia, who had just placed another extracted Divine Spark into her box, turned her gaze toward him.
In her usual calm, neutral tone, she asked.
"Would you like a hands-on demonstration of just how much I ’enjoy’ this?"
"..."
Evan didn’t say a word. Instead, he silently scooted his chair backward, inching farther away from her with an exaggerated caution.
The sight was too much for Beatrix and Arthur, who both burst into laughter. Arthur even leaned back in his seat, clutching his stomach as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Oh, come on, Evan. It’s all in good fun. Besides..."
Beatrix wiped away a tear as her laughter subsided, gesturing to Artemisia who was packing up her tools and continued.
"...Arty’s mostly harmless."
"Yeah, mostly. Need I remind you of the fact that she considered dissecting me once?"
Evan shot back, pulling up his console and focusing on landing a punishing combo strike against the game boss.
At that moment, Artemisia stood up, and while twirling a scalpel between her fingers, she hopped over the corpse in front of her and made her way toward Evan.
"?!"
Instinctively, Evan bolted upright from his chair and summoned his shield, resulting in another burst of laughter from Arthur and Beatrix.
"...I just wanted to ask for your portable booth..."
Artemisia muttered, her tone calm but with filled with confusion, as if she couldn’t quite grasp why Evan reacted so dramatically.
"How about you put down the scalpel first, huh?"
Hearing Evan’s response, Artemisia glanced at her hand, her expression shifting slightly as she registered the scalpel she was still holding.
The flicker of realization in her eyes only served to unnerve Evan further.
’How the hell did she forget she’s holding that?! Or is she just that used to having it around?!’
Wordlessly, Artemisia tossed the scalpel back into her box of tools, then turned back to Evan and reiterated her request.
"Can I borrow your portable changing booth? I need to change."
She gestured to her bloodstained clothes as she spoke and Evan sighed, silently retrieving the item from his inventory and tossing it over to her.
Catching it, Artemisia set it up some distance away and stepped in with her changing bag. Moments after she shut the door, Beatrix opened it and stepped inside as well.
What followed was a loud smacking sound that reached Arthur and Evan outside.
Without bothering to look, the two boys instantly understood that Beatrix had tried something silly and had been punished for it.
Typical Beatrix.
Once Artemisia finished changing, she folded the booth neatly and tossed it back to Evan before turning to Arthur.
"Now, can you explain why you suggested that suicidal plan earlier?"
She was, of course, referring to Arthur’s earlier suggestion of heading to the Abyss Labyrinth. At her question, Arthur rose to his feet.
"Let’s head back to Militopolis first. I’ll explain it with Alvey and McEnda since I want to bring them along too."
Evan got up and tossed the chairs back into his inventory, while Beatrix skipped over to Arthur, who was now conjuring a Cosmic Gate in front of them.
Arthur expanded his Spatial Perception to reach Militopolis and lock onto Jamie’s location, preparing to open the gate next to him, but since Jamie was actively concealing his presence, he was having difficulties.
Taking it as a challenge, Arthur started gathering the surrounding cosmic energy in an attempt to locate Jamie, while Beatrix joined in, trying to pinpoint Alvey’s location.
Meanwhile, Artemisia, standing a few meters behind him, glanced at Evan, who was still engrossed in his console.
"You’ve been on that thing non-stop for the past few days."
"Of course. I haven’t played games in years, thanks to future you."
Evan replied as he tilted the portable console, and Artemisia raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What did I do?"
"You’ll know when it happens. Just remember to take me to Earth V when I come back from the past, okay? And don’t forget about that CD stuff, too."
Evan didn’t even glance up from his console as he replied, and Artemisia silently shifted her gaze back to Arthur and Beatrix, who were still struggling to locate Jamie and Alvey—who, for the record, were halfway across the continent.
Returning her gaze to Evan, Artemisia continued speaking.
"Evan, about that CD stuff you told me to st—BAAMM!!!!
"GlArgHK!!"
"... .... eh?"
Evan didn’t understand what just happened.
Arthur and Beatrix turned around at the sudden sound, their expressions filled with confusion.
Before any of them could process what had happened, Artemisia’s body was already reeling back from the force of an impact no one had even seen coming.
Evan’s gaze snapped to his side, his eyes widening in shock.
Someone had appeared beside him—someone who hadn’t been there a spilt-second ago.
They hadn’t been there. And then they were.
Their fist moved so fast that Evan barely registered it before it slammed into Artemisia’s stomach with so much force that the girl coughed up golden blood.
In one smooth motion, the figure lifted the now unconscious Artemisia over their shoulder and spoke, their voice ringing out with striking clarity.
[Your power of Evolution would be most useful to me, goddess.]
