Chapter 1275: The Finals Begin! Contestant List Announced!
"It's coming!"
Under the moonlight, Eiji stood on the roof of his house, his gaze piercing through space as he watched the surroundings of Kinojo City.
Figures rushed into Kinojo City as if fleeing from a raging beast.
Behind them, a wantonly burning sea of fire dyed half the sky red. Forests, plains, and oceans alike could not halt its advance.
Yet, upon reaching the outskirts of Kinojo City, the sea of fire seemed to gain consciousness and halted there.
From above, the encroaching flames from all directions formed a circle, enclosing Kinojo City within.
At this moment, not only did the ordinary residents of Kinojo City fall into despair and chaos, but even the Heroic Spirits grew anxious.
Eiji's eyes sharpened as he quietly shifted into a combat stance.
Simultaneously, everyone beneath the eaves fell silent in unison. Whether it was Minamoto no Raikou, Okita Souji, Aozaki Touko, Aozaki Aoko, Gudako and Mash, or even Morgan and Arcueid, their expressions turned exceptionally grave.
Amidst this situation.
"Fufufu."
A clear, coquettish laugh echoed across the sky above Kinojo City.
Immediately after, a massive phantom appeared in the sky above Kinojo City, like a giant splitting heaven and earth.
It was a figure Eiji was quite familiar with.
Purple long hair tied to the side with a red ribbon, wearing a white bodysuit and a black wide-sleeved trench coat with a stand-up collar, a face adorned with a devilishly dangerous smile.
"Good evening to all of you still clinging to life! Whether you know me or not, let me introduce myself first. My name is BB, and I'll be serving as the referee for this grand ceremony to determine Earth's UO!"
BB as the referee?
Eiji inwardly scoffed.
Well, it could be worse. At least she's better than Jeanne the Fair.
After all, an AI absolutely cannot defy its core programming. Even though this AI is trash, it can at least ensure the competition remains fair.
"Those of you already aware of the truth, please remain calm. Those who aren't will eventually learn the hard way. In any case, as you can see, the venue for the UO finals is none other than this very Kinojo City!"
BB's phantom figure stretched for who knows how many kilometers.
Floating in the sky, her height from head to toe nearly spanned the entire length of Kinojo City.
Then, a brilliant smile spread across her face.
But her pupils turned blood-red.
"Of course, only the chosen ones are qualified to participate in the UO finals. Ordinary people have no right to know the details. So, we must first clear out the ordinary folks!"
"Ta-da! Digital Domain Expansion! Everyone, please head to the reverse side of Kinojo City!"
BB swung her pointer downward.
Suddenly, as if through a phase shift, Kinojo City split into two, becoming both illusory and real.
The real Kinojo City remained in place, inhabited only by ordinary people living in this era.
Meanwhile, all the contestants were transported into the illusory Kinojo City.
After the two sides were separated, the illusory Kijoko City suddenly flipped over like two sides of a coin. The sky and earth abruptly swapped places, and the phantom city completely vanished from the world.
"Ordinary humans, please enjoy your despair to the fullest~!"
BB chuckled lightly, and her massive phantom figure disappeared from the sky.
Immediately afterward, the stagnant sea of flames around them surged back to life, engulfing the entirety of Kijoko City in less than a minute.
At the moment Kijoko City was completely consumed,
The entire Earth lost all traces of life.
The concept of civilization vanished from the surface without a trace.
On the other side.
"Where is this...?"
Once everything had settled, Eiji looked around.
He was suddenly stunned.
"Where is this place?"
The surroundings were a desolate, uninhabited wasteland, with a few abandoned buildings in the distance.
It was an entirely unfamiliar place—definitely not his home in the residential area!
"Hehe, I trust you've all experienced it firsthand now. How does it feel to be forcibly separated from those you've already allied with? Are you suddenly feeling panicked?"
BB's phantom figure still loomed in the sky, and she let out a gleeful, coquettish laugh.
At that moment, countless people wanted to rush up and beat her to a pulp!
"To determine the Earth's Ultimate One, in the literal sense, means having you all fight until only one person remains. Given that, how could alliances or grouping up be allowed? So, the moment you entered the imaginary space, I randomly scattered everyone across various parts of Kijoko City! BB here is just following the rules to the letter, working hard to fulfill everyone's wishes, ying ying ying~"
"Fuck you, you trash AI!"
Eiji couldn't help but curse loudly!
He immediately activated his Divine Foot Technique, traversing several kilometers in an instant to return to his home in the residential area.
But when he arrived, the entire house was empty!
Not only were Minamoto no Raikou, Morgan, and the others gone, but even Beowulf, who should have been lying in the doghouse, was nowhere to be seen!
Everyone had been separated!
Eiji's expression turned extremely foul.
Two hours ago, he had confidently vowed to protect everyone!
Two hours later—where the hell are the people I was supposed to protect?
"Please remain where you are and do not move. A piece of equipment will be delivered to you shortly."
BB announced.
Eiji frowned but had no choice but to suppress his urge to go out and search for the others, waiting patiently.
It didn't take long.
Just three seconds later, the floor of the living room in front of Eiji suddenly opened, and a floating platform emerged from below. On it rested a device that looked like a watch.
They were now in the domain of the cyber world.
In other words, the entire world was composed of data, and everything was under Mooncell's control.
"Please put on the watch. Next, I will explain the rules of this UO competition to everyone!"
BB declared in an official tone.
Eiji stepped forward and put the highly suspicious-looking watch on his wrist.
"Beep! Beep!"
The watch emitted two electronic sounds, and a digital screen suddenly popped up in front of Eiji.
"Is this... the participant list?"
Eiji's eyes widened slightly.
The screen displayed a long list of names, with dropdown menus beside them and a search bar at the top.
Additionally, among the numerous contestant lists on the main screen interface, the names in the first row were prominently highlighted in striking red, the second row in blue, and the third row in yellow, while all the names below were in white.
Eiji skimmed through them briefly.
"Merlin is only in the third row? Is this First Emperor the one from the Lostbelt?"
"So many gods in the second row! Are they nature gods or conceptual gods? Conceptual gods aren't necessarily stronger than Merlin, could they all be nature gods descended from higher dimensions? Scáthach is in this row too—could she be the true form from the Land of Shadows?"
"As for the first row... Hiss! Arcueid, Goetia, Tiamat, Surtr—they're all monsters!"