From the end of the world

Chapter 641 The Figure on the Rooftop
In the history of "Firefly", it is very likely that the entire southern city was destroyed in the conflict between Xuanming and Meng Zhang, the lord of Taoyuan Township, and this fast food restaurant was clearly within the scope of the impact.

Perhaps the last memories of the millions of people in the eastern coastal cities that were destroyed a few days ago, as they were mercilessly swallowed up by this unexpected disaster, were also very similar.

However, the reality is quite contradictory—the fast food restaurant was not destroyed. Despite the mess and bloodstains everywhere, the building itself still exists, and there are no signs of damage from large-scale heat radiation. If it had, there wouldn't even be any bloodstains on the ground; they would have all evaporated long ago.

Furthermore, although this "firefly" can be considered my clone, its strength and density are questionable, and it certainly cannot continue to exist if it is affected by the Great Impermanence battle. In fact, during the period when it is subjected to intense heat radiation, this "firefly" can still continue to persist based on its inherent fire attribute, but when the shock wave sweeps in, it will die instantly.

The historical record was interrupted at one point, and then it was resumed for some reason, showing the fast food restaurant and its surroundings. However, Xiao Qiao's body had vanished without a trace. The default instructions didn't specify what to do in this situation, so "Firefly" could only wait under a chair in this dilapidated fast food restaurant until this very moment.

So, is Xiao Qiao really dead?

I turned to look out the window. Outside, the street stretched out, its scenery as chaotic and messy as the interior of a fast-food restaurant. Many vehicles were haphazardly parked on the road and sidewalks, bloodstains were everywhere, and most public facilities, such as streetlights, had been violently vandalized.

Moreover, for some reason, the streets were exceptionally bright. This couldn't be explained by the fact that it was midday; it was practically a fire scene, yet no one could see anything burning, only the dazzling flames illuminating the surfaces of everything. At the same time, the sound of roaring fires could be heard spreading down from above, mixed with dense, emanating magical energy.

I pushed open the exit of the fast food restaurant, looked up at the sky with curiosity, and saw a spectacular scene that would make most people with normal emotional functions drop their jaws in astonishment.

—The sky is burning.

This is not a metaphor, but a fact. A vast, inverted sea of ​​orange fire covered the sky; standing on the ground and looking into the distance, you could see this sea of ​​fire burning to the very edge of the sky in every direction. If you find this scene hard to grasp, imagine the eve of the heaviest rainstorm in your memory, when the sky was completely obscured by thick, dark clouds. Now, those dark clouds have all been replaced by raging orange flames.

This is a breathtaking spectacle that could never be seen in the world of common sense, and could only be described in the world of virtual art.

I personally wouldn't be so awestruck by a sight like this; I could easily create a similarly sized inferno outside. The problem is, I wouldn't create such a spectacle without a reason. What would be the purpose of doing so?
It's clear he's not currently fighting the Lord of Peach Blossom Village; no sounds of battle are being heard. This seems reasonable; even if a battle between two Great Impermanences drags on, it's hard to imagine it lasting this long. In the outside world, it could reduce all countries to barren wastelands.

I tried to use my senses to scan the entire southern city, but unfortunately, I couldn't. I'm still affected by the strong resistance inside the barrier. If I go all out, I can sense things within a few dozen meters without any problem, but exploring further afield becomes extremely difficult.

Using sight and hearing is fine, but with perception, the distant scenery is like looking at flowers through fog—you can't judge anything. It's basically the same as observing this city shrouded in a barrier from the outside; it's like looking into a bathroom shower through frosted glass—so blurry it's practically indistinguishable from having a mosaic filter applied.

If you concentrate all your senses and observe in a specific direction, you can perceive things over a thousand meters away, but compared to the entire city, it's still just a drop in the ocean.

Furthermore, since only a very limited amount of flame and spirit can be transferred here for the time being, the power I can exert here is also extremely limited. It's roughly at the "Dwelling" level... no, perhaps even less, maybe even the "Destruction" level? The levels of "Dwelling," "Destruction," and "Void" aren't simply used to describe the amount of magical power; I'm just using them casually. In short, in terms of pure total magical power, I'm likely even weaker than Agent Kong was back then.

Thanks to this, my body has shrunk considerably, making me look no different from a junior high school student.

That is, the same appearance I had when I first infiltrated the Humanitarian Division's secret base... I never thought I would be forced to become this form again. Even my clothes automatically changed to the school uniform I wore most often in junior high school. It seems that this is the "default skin" I unconsciously identified as myself during my junior high school years.

Speaking of which, Asahi seems to really like me looking like this. I'll find another opportunity to make her happy again.

Getting back to the point, thankfully, even if I were in danger at this moment, it wouldn't truly threaten my life. My manifested immortal body is still intact, and more importantly, because only a small portion of my spirit is here, even if it were completely destroyed, it would only cause roughly the same amount of damage to my real life—at most, the feeling of losing a drop or two of blood.

On the other hand, although the breadth of my perception was severely limited, the depth was not weakened, and my ability to manipulate and understand magic as the Great Impermanence was still intact.

Therefore, even if I can only mobilize this little bit of magic power now, it's enough to suppress ordinary Great Completion level Impermanence. As time goes by, the flames and spirits I can invade inside the barrier will also increase. However, I have a feeling that this kind of improvement has a limit. At most, I can improve to the Completion level, and it will be difficult to go any further. If I directly possessed the power of a Great Impermanence level here, it would be possible to overcome all the resistance from the inside in one go, but it is precisely because there is such a gradual process that I am stuck halfway.

Based on my limited analysis, this barrier seems specifically designed to target intruders, offering little protection to those already inside. This restrictive condition helps to amplify the effect in a specific direction. If I want to break through this barrier, I must find a new breakthrough. Otherwise, even if I become invincible below the Great Impermanence level inside the barrier, it's all meaningless if I can't defeat the most crucial enemy.

When it comes to new breakthroughs, the first thing that comes to mind is that mysterious calling voice. My intuition tells me that the solution lies at the source of that calling voice.

I tried to listen to the call again, but found I couldn't catch it anymore... No, it seemed to still be there. I listened carefully—though it had become as faint as an illusion, the mysterious call, and the connection contained within the sound, were still there.

The source of the calling seemed to be on the other side of the city, but because of the considerable distance, I couldn't pinpoint it clearly in this environment. Even the exact direction was difficult to discern. It seemed I'd have to move around the city and observe first. Once I got closer enough, I was sure I could determine its location.

The good news is that I don't need to worry about my future activities becoming as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. With the blessing of this jinx, I might not even need to go looking for it; I could just sit anywhere and the source of the call would automatically come to me. But I'm an impatient person when it comes to these things; I prefer the other person to come to me on their own rather than dawdle and take their time.

And, upon closer observation, I discovered that the time and space around me seemed somewhat distorted—was this also a result of the Great Impermanence battle? Although far less severe than the "Apocalypse," the spacetime here was clearly not in a normal state. If healthy spacetime is like solid, stable land, then the spacetime here is like the deck of a ship on water. At first, I couldn't perceive the difference, but upon closer inspection, I always felt something swaying. A feeling of instability.

My gaze returned from the sky to the ground.

Before continuing the analysis, perhaps we should first deal with the current troubles.

I turned around and looked towards the alleyway in the distance. A terrifying monster slowly emerged from the shadows. Its head was as ferocious and grotesque as a Damascus sheep's, its mouth full of blood-dripping tusks mixed with bits of flesh, its body strong and hairless, and its skin a deep, blood-soaked crimson. It walked on four legs, and the proportions and posture of its limbs somewhat resembled the silverback gorillas I'd seen on television before.

It initially seemed to intend to ambush me from behind like a feline, but after I spotted it, it didn't panic. Instead, it calmly moved towards me, as if it completely regarded me as fish on a chopping board, ready to be slaughtered. At the same time, one after another, identical monsters crawled out from the surrounding shadows—these terrifying creatures, whose appearance alone reminded one of monsters, clearly possessed the same shadow-moving ability as monsters.

This was the first time I had ever seen such a monster in person, and with just one glance, I knew exactly what its origins and secrets were.

While most monsters are created from the flesh and blood of humans they devour, the initial wave of monsters likely originated from humans forcibly inoculated with the Heart Seed. I can detect the Heart Seed's unique reactions within their bodies. I don't know if they were originally followers of Paradise or ordinary people captured by Paradise; the Heart Seed isn't something everyone can successfully inoculate, and those who can't withstand it will die. Currently, it's possible that some Heart Seeds have undergone special modifications, transforming into a pattern where failures turn them into monsters.

Since these monsters weren't truly destroyed in the battle between the two Great Impermanences, the human survivors within the city probably didn't perish in the aftermath of that battle either. However, so many days have passed. Faced with a monster horde that reproduces explosively and possesses extraordinary detection and hunting abilities, I believe the complete annihilation of the normal population would have been a more reasonable outcome.

The number of monsters increased to a dozen or so, and then stopped appearing. There were fewer than I had expected, but it didn't matter. I showed no mercy to these man-eating monsters. I figured I'd encounter many more along the way, so I'd just wipe them out as soon as I could see them.

As if an invisible flare had been fired, all the monsters attacked me simultaneously. At the same time, I raised my right hand.

Three flaming javelins rained down from the sky, impaling the three leading monsters and pinning them to the ground. Seeing this, the remaining monsters halted their advance and looked in a certain direction. I also stopped and gazed upwards.

This attack was not launched by me.

An unfamiliar figure appeared on the rooftop not far away.

(End of this chapter)