That day, the wind was particularly strong.
“Eri! Hurry and come inside! The weather isn’t good.”
“I understand.”
Even Mother, who was always full of smiles, stiffened her face as she kept an eye on the raging stormy sea.
The sea was more turbulent than ever.
As if forewarning us of what was to come, the frightening storm and rising waves seemed ready to engulf us.
I was so scared of the sea that I quickly ran inside the house.
At least the house provided some shelter from the wind and rain, making me feel more at ease.
Swoosh…
But that was just an illusion.
The flooding had already begun, and we had entered its influence.
We were already…
■
[World Quest, ‘A World on the Brink of Destruction’ is in progress.]
[Sub Quest, ‘Submerged Village’ is in progress.]
[You have entered the domain of óctĭpes.]
[All stats have decreased by 30%.]
[Movement speed has decreased by 60%.]
[Damage from underwater attacks has increased by 200%.]
[You are a Challenger. You are partially protected from the effects of the domain.]
[The Light’s Sanctum is activated!]
Splash!
“Terrible…”
“Damn, we’re all dead!”
“……”
In the northern region of the continent.
A small city of the Angel Guild, Eden Federation.
As the Great Cataclysm began, the Seven Great Angels hurried towards the spot where the World Boss’s ‘First Damage’ had begun, but it was already too late.
The First Damage is the attack caused when the World Boss first appears, commonly referred to as the appearance scene. However, many rankers knew of this fact and prepared as best they could.
The problem was, mere preparation wasn’t enough to stop it.
“How can we prevent it from spreading across the entire continent?”
This wasn’t just a tsunami hitting one city or one kingdom.
The coastal area, accounting for 10% of the entire continent, along with all the densely packed cities, was swept away by the tsunami.
In just one attack, one-tenth of the continent was submerged.
For the Angel Guild, which had only a handful of elites to mitigate the damage, it was beyond their capability.
Uriel grimaced as they lifted the one remaining resident who looked somewhat intact.
There was nothing seriously broken or cut off.
However…
“Looks like a raisin.”
They had shriveled up, as if moisture had been sucked away.
“Even with visual correction, they look like this…”
“What about other regions?”
“We’re currently assessing, but it seems the entire continent is similar. The price of land in the port city skyrocketed, and now it’s completely wrecked.”
“Came out and completely screwed it up.”
“Ah, damn.”
“I told you I wouldn’t rise, right?”
“Damn it. This is why you shouldn’t listen to that friend of mine.”
Uriel chuckled as she teased Sandalphon, who contorted his face in response.
Michael, who had been gently stroking the dead residents in his castle, turned his head.
“Did you buy it?”
“Not much, just a little?”
“You’re foolish. What did you hear in the meeting?”
“I didn’t think it would all be destroyed like this.”
“That’s what happens when you just sleep all the time.”
“At least I’m better than you, Uriel.”
“Hey!”
Sandalphon vanished, cloaked in clouds, heading somewhere. It could be seen as a sudden exit, but there was nothing left to do here anyway.
Now, the only remaining task was to deal with the damage and prepare for upcoming attacks and raids.
“It’s so terrible…”
Laguiel, with a bow on her back, looked down at the residents who filled the castle with a somber expression.
Though they were just NPCs, the residents of the Eden Federation had been together with the Angel Guild for three years.
To the Angel Guild, these people were almost like distant family.
“Gabriel.”
─”I’m listening.”
Gabriel, who remained in the central castle of the Eden Federation, responded without coming here.
Someone had to keep watch over the center of the Eden Federation, so she stayed behind to act as the control tower.
“What’s the overall situation right now?”
─”Large guilds like Black Moon or Chaos, and Magic Engineering have taken some damage, but they are managing okay. There’s nothing to be done for the dead, but evacuations for the living are underway.”
And…
Flutter.
─”The general kingdoms not affiliated with users and small guilds have suffered quite a bit. Specifically, those located near the coast.”
“What about the Empire?”
─”As always, the Empire made the first move.”
Just like always.
As soon as things went down, the Empire used Great Magic to relocate all residents of its coastal cities inland.
Thus, even if the coastal cities sustained damage, there were no human casualties.
“Look at them, living just for themselves.”
“That’s the Empire for you.”
“Seriously, those bastards. Can’t they give us a break? Or at least let us know?”
Uriel and Raphael nodded, harshly criticizing the Empire.
Michael retrieved his non-responsive castle and asked one last time.
“Got it. Then what about Lady Lily?”
─”Well, that person…”
Gabriel gazed out the window at the sky in response to Michael’s question.
A massive pillar of light made of holy radiance descended to the ground, visible even from a distance in the Eden Federation.
The sheer magnitude of power was hard to believe it belonged to the same ‘Saintess.’
The size of power so immense it’s hard to believe.
─ Always doing great things, aren’t you?
■
With the striking of the bell in 2023, the Great Cataclysm officially began.
Countless update notes greeted us, and among them, the most notable was obviously the appearance of not one, not two, but three World Bosses.
I immediately took up a defensive posture after wrapping up the year-end party, but there was no immediate attack.
As ominous signs spread, about a day passed, and eventually, the Kraken’s demon beasts swept across all the coastal areas of the continent, and chaos ensued.
Blocking one or two coasts won’t defend the entire continent.
Elbrite isn’t connected to the sea, so it hasn’t been harmed, but even at this moment, the sea level keeps rising.
[What are we going to do now?]
[Oh man, the port city is ruined, hahahaha]
[Ugh, damn it]
[Isn’t this totally messed up?]
[What the hell is going on?]
[The port city’s land value is going to the dogs]
[It got ruined before anyone could even enjoy it with the World Boss showing up]
[This is insane]
[???]
[Oh man, oh man, oh man]
PAAAAH!!
In the territory of the Rusa Kingdom located near Elbrite.
The Fire Mage, Redberry, rules over the coastal city where the Holy Healing descends.
The Resurrection Magic Spell imbued with Holy Healing covers the Dead Ones and grants them life again.
Well over thousands of residents were resurrected.
“They’re alive!”
“Is this really happening?!”
“Quick, rescue them! Mages! Spare no resources for the rescue!”
“There’s a young child over here!”
The mages of the Rusa Kingdom did their utmost to save the revived people, and even Redberry, despite being a fire mage, did her best to rescue them.
Somewhat stabilized now.
[Resurrection is insane]
[Wow, crazy]
[Hahahahaha?]
[Just resurrected thousands without a hitch]
[That’s wild]
[What’s your secret? Hahaha]
[Wasn’t it tough to revive even one person before?]
[This is amazing]
[The Fourth Wave really is something]
[Can it keep being done?]
“I think it’s going to be tough to keep it up.”
It wasn’t like before where souls were ripped apart, but a medium-scale resurrection was possible. However, since they were living beings that came under the influence, reviving any more than this would be quite difficult.
Considering the Fourth Wave has time limits and wouldn’t have this characteristic of Holy Healing, even saving this many people would take quite a bit of power.
At the current state, even once or twice more might be the limit.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
“How can I ever repay this…”
The mages of the Lusua Kingdom, who had managed to stabilize things to some extent, bowed their heads.
The reason they could receive my help was largely thanks to Miss Redberry.
It was because Redberry rushed to me, crying and begging for help when everything went down.
Of course, many people had asked for my help, but the reason I chose Redberry first was quite simple.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! It’s definitely confirmed by our royal palace head mage!”
“We were surprised too. Who would have thought that ‘it’ would do such a thing…”
“The ‘it’ we’ve been searching for all this time is finally…”
The mages buzzed about ‘it’, and I asked them to gather the remaining people on behalf of Redberry.
They nodded in agreement and immediately moved towards the coastline, and soon the owner of this place, Redberry, approached with a weary expression.
“Professor…”
“Miss Redberry. Are you okay?”
“Thank you… for finding us first…”
[LOL]
[Level is dying]
[Level is tired but still pretty]
[Fire mage is struggling]
[Worst matchup LOL]
[Water vs Fire LOL]
[But is that for real?]
I cast a healing spell on Redberry, who was suffering from mana exhaustion.
A pure white light enveloped her, and vitality returned to Redberry’s eyes as the mana that had been depleted was restored.
“Um… Ah, thank you. You must have wasted energy on me for no reason…”
“Not at all. Healing spells don’t take much.”
“Are you really okay? You resurrected thousands of people…”
Redberry said that while turning her head.
The once emaciated souls, who could never return, were now back to their original forms, embraced by their families.
It was a sight that could only be described as miraculous.
I smiled softly at them too.
“If this amount of trouble could arise, I wouldn’t have been going around like that. It’s no problem.”
“…You really are the professor.”
“Let’s skip the formalities for now. Are you really okay?”
“Yes!”
The reason I came to the Lusua Kingdom before anything else.
“I found the Water Spirit!”
Day 1 of the Great Cataclysm.
I discovered the Water Spirit we had been searching for!
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