Nexus Awakened (An Isekai LitRPG Gender Bender Story)

510. The Meaning of Fear – The Head’s Declaration of War

510. The Meaning of Fear – The Head’s Declaration of War

Two distinct mangled thuds echoed throughout the chamber.

One was the fallen body of now headless High Winder.

And the second was from a form they could not begin to describe. It was of a woman draped in darkness. That much they knew. But surrounding them were a series of CENSORED bars that concealed their true form, leaving it only up to their imagination.

“A Complex Heart. This belongs to the Sect of Gears.” She did not even address them. They were inferior in every conceivable way, and their bodies responded as though they were already dead. “The Worm did not lie. It really did take me to one of their installations. Now then.”

Finally, they felt her eyes land on them. All one thousand of them. One thousand CENSORED bars appeared above her as she methodically approached, the tapping of her boots ringing like the bells of death.

“Tell me: what do you see as I stand before you?”

Fear immediately clawed at their minds as their breaths hitched.

Their bodies shut down as a wave of uncontrollable terror seized them. It felt like the weight of the world sat atop their chests. Their breaths completely ceased. A hundred cold, invisible hands restrained them to their seats as an unbearable heat emanated from the figure.

This being was undoubtedly...

“... The... Amalgam... is here...?” The voice of the Fractured wavered first as he attempted to retreat into the shadows. As a member of the Fractured Nilhim, his RESIST was considerably high, and he had a natural resistance to Trepidation Stacks.

However –

“I asked you a question.”

– He was caught. No, he was harpooned. The Amalgam’s arm was embedded into what was supposed to be his chest. Then, he felt a surge of heat ravage his innards as the remaining members watched in utter despair.

Their hands began to rummage through their clothing in search of a certain Coin. However, those Dimensional Storage Coins could do nothing. And those that attempted to use Hyperlink Coins were immediately attacked by a black branch.

It held them high above from their throats as they desperately kicked.

“NOTHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! THE COINS! GO –! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” He howled as a giant blue portal opened behind the Amalgam.

It connected to a place where Association buildings could be seen stretched across a grassy plain. Even one of Justica Arms’ Branches were present.

Suddenly, a figure with blue hair emerged from the portal, grinning as she set her sights onto the Fractured. A demonic grin formed on her face.

“Amalgam. That’s the Fractured. It’s linked to nearly all its kin. It’s humorous how quickly people will succumb to torture. What will you do with the rest?”

“Leave them be. We have enough prisoners as is. However...” The Amalgam’s eyes drifted onto one of the Expositionists, prompting the Blue Moon to casually approach them.

Her eyes were overfilled with joy. Nothing made Azure happier than torment. She played a quick game with the two as they were dropped onto their knees. Their legs shattered with a thud not belonging to a living being. It was more of a hollow doll.

“The one with the most fingers gets to stay with us~” Azure hummed, but the two refused to play her games, their eyes reverting to pure spite.

“A Blue Moon...” The man uttered.

“Your kind in the Derma Layer...? That can’t be...” The woman Expositionist growled defiantly.

“This will not be a war.” She promised just as another figure emerged from the portal.

It was a huge, rugged man. His exposed upper body revealed gargantuan veins that were like pipes than measly blood vessels. And in his palms were dark gravity wells that already began to tear apart the bodies of the Impuritas present.

“Exterminatus. It will be an extermination.” He recited, deeply inhaling the scent of the Derma Layer. “Amalgam. I thank you for opening the passage into their den. I can finally release my limits.”

“I’ll leave it to you now. This place can serve as a useful stronghold of operations.” The Amalgam suggested, causing Knalzark to close his eyes as the colossal column began to creak.

His presence alone strained it. The pendulums outside moved towards him for he was a living gravity well. The Amalgam disappeared, knowing that her time was up. Knalzark remained alone and with the clash of his fists –

“By my name – it will be more than that. Firstly: the foundations are too unstable. I require a clean slate.”

– The entire chamber collapsed into itself.

A black hole formed between his fists, devouring everything from flesh to steel. They were spagetified and reduced to a single atomic strand as they were dragged into the core of the gravity well.

The shockwave of his colliding fists caused several spires outside to topple over. The world groaned as gears struggled to spin in their intended direction. They hung whilst others spun towards him moments before they were flung from their anchored points.

Gears accumulated at the column, creating a mass of steel that was quickly devoured from the inside out. The plates that laid the foundations of the world were uprooted, revealing the belongings of countless victims.

Strangely enough, those were the only things spared from the carnage.

“War machines of the old were unneeded. We had no use recreating them from the ancient schematics because your kind did not tread in the light.”

The amalgamation of components compressed further. A beating Heart begged to be spared. But it was as the Amalgam said.

None could hear it.

“But now...”

A cacophony of metallic groans was emitted disappeared all of a sudden as burning accretion disk formed around the mass. Before long, that disk grew until it reached the very borders of the caverns, carving into it as rock was dragged into his immense pull.

The impuritas within were all but dead.

“... we can revamp production!”

The accretion disk suddenly collapsed into the gravity well. Everything contracted for a brief moment before an explosion of an unprecedented scale sterilized everything in sight. What was once a vast installation housing hundreds of thousands of spires was reduced to nothing.

Not a single gear was left.

Beholders were capable of eradicating entire counties in the blink of an eye, and Knalzark was the first to unleash the true power of a Beholder.

He stood near the craters containing the half-rotten belongings of the innocent. His presence caused them to further rot as a wave of emotions washed over him. An unknown amount of time passed before he recollected his thoughts and set his sights to the other end of the cavern.

“The machines only seen in the War in Heaven will make their grandiose return.”

He declared with a voice like thunder.

“All of it. It will all return in our War in Hell.”