Belial slowed his work and stared at a pitch-black gate on the outer wall of World. Enormous amounts of Dark Power flowed in and out through it, pouring into World. Such a massive flow naturally carried lingering resentment, which went through countless internal processes and filters after passing the gate.
Even so, an extremely small portion could never be fully removed. It slipped deeper through the gate and into the inner layers of World. These deeply accumulated resentments turned into vicious, tar-like filth that could drive any normal being mad on contact and turn them into a source of corruption.
Even after heavy suppression, this filth still needed something to bear it. It could not be released freely into World, and no ordinary container would suffice, only something born of souls, or the soul itself. Once released, the black sludge collapsed into wisps of smoke that drifted toward brighter places.
In the end, they were casually chewed up as snacks by a long-forgotten Clone of Belial. He kept chewing while continuing to patch things up by hand. "Ah…"
The problem was exactly that. He knew what this thing was for, which meant he could not just smash it with a hammer. Over countless years, it had almost fused with the wall of World and also served as a key supply channel for Dark Power.
He could destroy it easily, but one bad hit would likely punch a terrifying hole behind it. After thinking it over, the cosmic contractor Belial pointed at the fellow brick mover Bella. Go inside and find a way to dismantle it peacefully.
"Huh? Me?" Bella, who was also fixing foundations, looked toward the person involved. "That gate was built by you back then, right? And now it is in the way?"
"Is there any way to remove it quickly without making a mess?" "Uh…"
Ham froze for a moment and shook her hand. There was no such plan, because when the gate was built, no one ever considered taking it down. It was essentially a scar of World, carved by The End, nearly impossible to repair, and there was no time back then.
To fill the gap and draw in Dark Power, this emergency measure was created. To prevent Crimson God from charging in through it, enormous cost went into making it supposedly indestructible. For the current Belial, it might be no tougher than cardboard, but removing it without breaking what lay behind was the real challenge.
Fixing the original breach was no problem for Belial. The issue was how to peacefully remove something that was never meant to be removed. There might be a way, maybe.
With everyone else busy, the only one with both the means and free time was Ham. After resting for only a few minutes, she had to set out again on a miserable errand. If there was such a problem, then finding the person involved and having them dismantle it personally might work.
"…" "…The ribbon-cutting ceremony is finally over. Now I can get back to tightening bolts!"
Vera, fresh from the first base station inauguration of Paraten Empire, tossed aside the cumbersome formal dress and revealed her usual fitted outfit. Over the years, while inventing new machines and gathering support, she also brought over useful ideas from her past life, such as the internet.
Limited by materials, technology, and users, its reach was small, but everyone agreed it was convenient. With a few dozen more points into the tech tree, it might rival her old world. The strange rules of Otherworld made things harder, especially when electricity turned out to be some thunder element nonsense.
So she built substitutes at great cost. Without the recent expansion into the original Demon Territory and the large haul of Magic Crystal Ore, progress might have stalled for decades. Still, technology was a side job, and piloting mechs was life.
After all this time, she had mostly figured out Violet's body from top to bottom. Only the mysterious core reactor was left untouched, since she dared not open it. She understood the rough principles of White Tier tech, even if their origin was a mystery, which felt like justice for all the Book she once read.
Inside the expanded space, several hangars stood in a row, filled with failed prototype frames. At the center, wired up and imposing, stood Violet. With limited Ancient Steel left after finishing Ham's last commission, she reinforced only critical internal systems and joints.
Under her control, Violet could already trade blows with Ascendant Hall. Letting the machine fight on its own might be stronger, but then what was the point of a pilot. Her dream was to pilot a giant robot and beat every monster into the ground.
"It would be great if there were more materials. It is really not enough." "So is there any way to get a big batch of Ancient Steel again, like last time with that sucker?"
"You mean someone who looks like this?" Ham patted her shoulder, pointed to her own face, and Vera nodded. "Yes, exactly like that."
"What the hell, when did you get here?" Her private workshop had been upgraded at great expense, yet people kept walking in like it was a restroom. She flared up, then sat back down, already resigned.
"Never mind that. I am here to tell you something. You are in trouble." "Me? What trouble could I be in?"
"Let me put it this way. Something you built is now an illegal structure blocking our project, so you need to dismantle it yourself." Vera stared in shock. Illegal structure? She had never built anything like that, and besides, as a public the Lord, whatever she built at home was the law.
After a moment, she caught on. This was just dragging her in as a tool. She clenched her teeth and refused outright. "No, I did not build anything like that, and I still need to work on my beloved machine…"
"This is the demolition payment deposit." Ham snapped her fingers, and the ground shook as a massive silver-white cube dropped down, even larger than the last one.
"What were you saying just now?" "I was saying I am deeply sorry for building things randomly. When do we leave? I will dismantle it personally."
Her righteous tone stayed the same, but her eyes were glued to the huge metal block. There was no doubt it was Ancient Steel, and more than last time. If there was demolition money, why did you not say so earlier?
"Then let us go now. We are short on time. Three, two, one…" "Wait, I am not ready, just going like th…"
"Go?" In the next instant, everything vanished, and when it reappeared, she stood in a barren, rocky wilderness.
As she looked around in confusion, she felt Ham's ability at work. Was this really just Spatial Magic? No preparation at all. "Oh, you are here."
Nearby, a black-haired girl with Dragon horns, wearing loose sleepwear, stood up from a pile of luggage while hugging a black lizard plush. Vera recognized her instantly as an illustration she had drawn herself, which made the embarrassment hit hard.
"Wait, who are you?" Behind the girl were familiar model kits, snacks, toys, Figurine, and even an uncovered PS5.
Chloe scratched her head and thought for a moment. "I guess I am the current original owner the Lord?" "?"
When she heard that the broken black toilet she had been sitting on for at least a thousand years, that Throne, and the gate attached to it were about to be torn down, Chloe's first reaction was of course approval. It felt like being locked up for ages and finally getting to watch the place that imprisoned you get blown to pieces, even if someone else was doing the work. Watching from the side was more than fine.
After all, that place had been designed with nothing but function in mind, so comfort had never been considered. It was dark and cold, she had to endure dozens of noisy neighbors, and to be honest the chair was not ergonomic at all, leaving her back sore after sitting too long. More importantly, if she could live a shut-in life, why would she go back to prison at all?
Even with Belial helping her devour resentment and use molecular control to hand-make all kinds of things, Chloe still wanted to truly go out and play freely. So before anything else, she wanted to witness the demolition of that illegal structure. It was then that Vera saw her, wearing clothes printed with illustrations from her own novel, somehow pulling a sun umbrella, a folding lounge chair, sunglasses, and drinks out of the ground, clearly setting up to watch the show.
Vera raised her hand and then stopped, unsure what to say. Whether it was that incomprehensible ability or the PS5 sitting there with no intention of being hidden, too many thoughts clogged her throat and she did not know how to Reorganization them. Wasn't it agreed that science from a previous life did not work in Otherworld and had already been eaten away, so why was it now being brought out so casually?
Even if she knew these people had problems, were they really planning not to even pretend anymore? Vera shouted this in her mind, because she was not stupid. Between Ham's abnormal changes and all the obvious out-of-era items around that black-haired passerby, the signs were everywhere.