Seducing the Guideverse With My System — Raising an Anomaly [BL]

Chapter 181: _Nothing But A Liability

Shawnee National Forest

The night sky stretched over boundless cliffs, valleys and ravines below. Stars dotted the darkness above, creating the illusion of a sea of light.

The creatures of this majestic forest about six hours away from Chicago went about their normal routines. Howls, chirps and other sounds resounded from within the thick flora.

It was peaceful. Untouched—alas, not for long.

"President Josiah." The vice president gave a brief salute to the president of the Federation at the centre of a clearing they’d made.

Over twenty other Hunters, all S-Ranks gathered from different parts of the continent, made camp in this clearing. A huge bonfire crackled in the middle, coating the place in yellow light.

Josiah spun around to face the Vice President. "Anything from the scout team yet?"

"Yes, actually. Aether readings in the vicinity hint at the presence of a powerful entity. Beyond S-Rank." A pause. "The Void entity shouldn’t be far away from us, sir."

The President’s jaw worked as he scanned the faces of the Hunters gathered. Powerful men and women in their own rights—but before a Cataclysm-level anomaly capable of giving even SS-Ranks a run for their money?

Yeah, he had a bad feeling about reining them in on this mission. But he didn’t have much of a choice.

Calling in Hunter Gabriel, Valentine, Irina and Magnus would be his very last resort. Last he heard, they were all within Aurelia city. It would be easy for them to come here together.

With that said, he didn’t want to risk the continent’s SS-Ranks any further. Especially since Canada and the Russian Federation had cautioned him against endangering Gabriel and Irina respectively.

"We still don’t understand what this thing wants." Josiah raised his head to the stars. "No matter how hard I think, I can’t grasp what it could mean by what it told Valentine and Gabriel in Chicago."

Humans aren’t ready.

Ready for what exactly? Or... for whom?

"Its patterns of movement appear to be random at first glance." The vice president adjusted his glasses. "But if I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s searching for something. Or someone."

"Well, whatever it is, I don’t care." Josiah scoffed. "We need to capture that thing tonight. With our combined efforts, I’m sure—"

"What the fuck?!" Someone shrieked from the camp, forcing them to swerve their heads.

They were just in time to witness a man jumping back with pure terror on his face. "T–There was a big ass tree right there." He pointed ahead of him, directly at a patch of grass.

Oddly enough, when those nearby looked closely, the space around the grasses made it seem like there had indeed been something rooted there.

"It just disappeared." The Hunter went on, turning his head to his comrades. "Y–You guys saw it too, right? Tell me I’m not trip—"

His eyes went wide all of a sudden.

Before anyone could register what was happening, darkness consumed him utterly, leaving behind no clothes, no screams, no blood.

Nothing.

Josiah’s blood turned to ice. "We’re under attack!" He went straight into battle mode, a nanite golden suit of armour coating his body and leaving only his head visible. "Defence formations!"

Three Espers ran forward, their eyes glowing as they lifted their hands. A see-through, blue force dome—ten meters high—covered the camp.

Another Esper conjured several knights made of yellow energy around the dome. The last one channelled his aether to the others.

Josiah’s eyes narrowed above them... and soon enough he found their attacker.

Hovering hundreds of meters above like a god of chaos and death was the Void Entity. Even from this distance its spiralling vortex face looked absolutely menacing, like it was going to consume them from all the way up there.

It stayed still for a beat—then moved in a blur.

"Air condense!" Josiah thundered, his voice carrying into the wind for miles.

Instantly, the air outside the dome solidified like diamond, entrapping the entity just before it could get to it. He didn’t end there though.

"Bind!"

Chains made of pure aether wrapped around the entity from its head to its toes. Then a cage large enough to fit it kept it in place.

The S-Ranks gawked in awe as Josiah added coldly: "Constrict."

The chains tightened so hard that the Entity’s muscles appeared to warp unnaturally for a moment. It twitched, its arms spasming beside it.

With the beast trapped, the energy knights aimed their weapons before closing in on it from all angles.

"It’s working." Hillary’s eyes lit up beneath his glasses.

As expected of Josiah’s Sovereign Tongue. Even SS-Ranks would have a hard time trying to fight against—

The Void Entity straightened like an arrow. In the blink of an eye, the chains and cage around it disappeared as though they never existed. Even the condensed air became useless.

Pitch blackness consumed the energy knights from the inside despite being boosted by the power of two S-Ranks. They too vanished, leaving nothing but a numbing silence.

Josiah’s confident stance faltered. The hope blooming in the chests of the Hunters only a second ago crumbled.

Slowly, the Void entity lifted a palm. It pointed it at the dome as the vortex on its head spiralled faster in the opposite direction.

"Strengthen the dome!" Josiah barked, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous light. "Terrain shift!"

Before the entity could make another move, the entire team, the dome, the camp and a few trees around them shifted. Literally. They were moved to another part of the forest hundreds of meters away, like a god had stretched down his hand and uprooted them.

"... The S-Ranks will be nothing but a liability." Josiah angled his head to Hillary. "I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that includes you, Hilary. That... that entity... it’s power—"

Everything stilled as though the forest itself held its breath.

Josiah’s instincts screamed but it was too late.

The force dome fell first, disappearing like it was nothing. Then one by one, terrified screams rose from all around the camp.

"Sir—!"

A hand reached for Josiah through the darkness before the rest of the Hunter vanished completely.