NOVEL WEB Chapter 214: Let The World Burn
*Thwack!*
A door was abruptly opened. It led into the Oval Office.
The nervous government official shot his eyes toward the door, only to see a man of great stature standing there. The man possessed an aura well into the S-Rank, with visible aura palpitations even stronger than Vera and Viola. His gaze was stern, his posture disciplined, and his orangish hair wild like a lion's mane—this man was like the incarnation of an animal god.
"The President is expecting you," he said in a deep voice. "Come inside."
The government official anxiously bobbed his head before practically jumping off his seat. He hurried past the towering man, then heard the lavishly decorated door shut behind him.
Upon getting a good look at the room's interior, the official's shaky eyes fell on the wizened old man sitting behind a wide desk in the far back end of the room. The glass window behind him reflected the setting sun very well, casting an eerie glow over his wrinkled face. Yet, even with age having taken its toll on him, he still held an air of fortitude. The way he crossed his hands just a little ways away from his mouth made him appear all the more menacing from the official's perspective.
"I hear that you have something you wish to show me?" the President's gravelly voice echoed, his stony eyes piercing into the official's soul.
Finding his voice under the oppressive atmosphere in the luxurious room, the official said, "M-Mr. President, sir, right here in my hands is something that I believe could help us better understand the unexpected situation with the Oblivion's Threshold Gate!"
After a brief moment of thought, the President motioned to the large, lion-maned man standing beside him. The man vanished, then reappeared with the clipboard that the official held out. Without reading it, the man quietly handed it over to the President.
Although the government official was stunned over what had just occurred, he quickly lowered his head and patiently waited.
— After a few seconds —
The President, showing a face that wasn't pure indifference, handed the clipboard over to the lion-maned man to look over. He, too, after a moment or two, showed a complicated expression. They exchanged a certain look with one another, then turned back toward the government official, all smiles.
"We appreciate you," the President said genuinely. "Without you, this peculiar case never would've been brought to the table. And for that, we thank you."
The government official's face visibly glowed as he lifted his head, prepared to give his humble response.
But before that could happen, he felt the world around him… flip upside down…?
"Wha—"
SPLURT!
The official's head rolled off his shoulders and tumbled against the velvety carpet a couple of times before coming to a sudden stop.
No change was made in the President's eerily smiling expression as he handed a white handkerchief to the lion-maned man. Seeing as the powerful man now had blood smeared across his right hand, he surely needed something to wipe it off with.
"It's simply unfortunate that you knew too much," the President intoned, his face becoming ever more terrifying. "Make sure that everyone who knows about this clipboard—who isn't with us—also meets their… unfortunate ends."
The lion-maned man nodded before disappearing once more, this time for good. In his wake, the now-bloody handkerchief fluttered down from a few feet off the ground. Eventually, the handkerchief landed softly on the happy face of the man who didn't even know he had died.
Smiling creepily, the President of the United States sat there in his black leather chair, unmoving. Only after a few seconds did his wrinkled face begin to twitch, causing his head to knock to the left and right every so often. Yet, beyond that, nothing occurred.
For the next indefinite period of time, the President just sat there… sat there and smiled…
Meanwhile, the horrifyingly powerful lion-haired man—otherwise known as the Lion King, ranked #7 in the World—vanished and reappeared in several places across the United States. Every time he appeared, another head would roll. Clean-up vans would arrive on the scene within seconds each time this happened.
And before long, there were no longer any more heads that needed to be chopped off…
When the Lion King finished up his part of the tasks, the eerily smiling President looked down at the clipboard lying on his desk. Seeing the name written on the board, his head whacked itself sideways a bit unnaturally before returning to normal. Though, in the very next moment, the clipboard suddenly vanished.
"Information has been stored in the Mothership… The target has evolved beyond expectations and is now capable of destroying Gates," the President robotically muttered. "This evolution changes things. Requesting for protocol #490 commencement to be granted."
A silence ensued, until eventually, an emotionless feminine voice rang out:
"Permission… granted."
Before the President could respond, the feminine voice continued, "Malakar has been removed from his duties and was sent back to the Mothership to be prepared for recycling. The Mothership has determined you—Seminar—to be the next most suitable candidate. Do whatever it takes to lure 'it' out. That… Anomaly of a Floor Guardian has still not made a move even though more than half the world's powerhouses are no longer humans. Take advantage of this and use everything at your disposal to complete the mission."
"Understood," said Seminar, the President.
The feminine voice didn't sound out again. Radio silence followed, urging the President to cut off the connection and resume his creepy smiling session with the wall facing the front of his desk.
Protocol #490 was promptly set in motion, and within mere seconds, every Extraterrestrial in the world received the same message. The message read:
"Chaos, cause as much of it as possible. Throw the world into turmoil, incite wars, threaten each other, let… the world burn. Follow these instructions as soon as the World's End Gate opens. Save the humans from imminent doom, avoid the Abyss, and then drag the humans back into despair. Whatever it takes… Whatever it takes, 'it' must be brought out of hiding." Find adventures at My Virtual Library Empire