NOVEL WEB Chapter 84: Safe Zone - 09
As the sun's first light cut through the thinning clouds, the silhouette of Safe Zone -09 emerged on the horizon, bathed in golden brilliance.
Everyone watched with stunned silence.
It was nothing short of a marvel.
Perched atop a colossal, floating landmass suspended by ancient gravity cores, Safe Zone -09 resembled a fortress city torn from the pages of myth. Massive rings of translucent crystal rotated slowly around the island's perimeter, glowing with runes that repelled monsters and nullified corrupted energies.
Dozens of sky towers, each hundreds of meters tall, jutted from the landmass like silver spires. Some served as arcane defense formation, while others were watchtowers manned by sentinels who monitored both sky and ground below. Between them stretched wide aerial bridges lined with mana lamps and banners bearing the crest of the Horizon Alliance.
At the center of the floating city stood the Crimson Heart Citadel, a towering bastion carved from obsidian stone and reinforced with shimmering red alloy. Its crimson banners flapped in the sky breeze, each bearing the insignia of the Horizon Alliance.
From its highest balcony, one could see for hundreds of miles in all directions. It was a vantage point reserved only for the high command.
Below the main island were three tiered platforms, each connected by mana elevators and glide ramps. These tiers were designated for housing, training, research, and recovery. The lowest layer hovered just above the storm clouds, acting as the city's power core housing arrays of soul reactors.
A translucent dome barrier encapsulated the entire structure, forming a shimmering blue shield that filtered sunlight and repelled corrupted air.
Surrounding the dome were multiple floating defense cannons, capable of shooting down airborne threats before they got close.
As the airships approached, they passed through the outer ward gates, which was made of two massive, floating guardian statues made of steel and dragonbone, locked in silent watch.
Inside, the very air shimmered with protective enchantments.
This was Safe Zone -09.
A bastion above the sky. One of the last remnant of order in a fractured world. A sanctuary built not only to protect, but to prepare.
---
Ryuzen's golden eyes narrowed in quiet awe as the airship passed under the massive guardian statues and entered the perimeter of Safe Zone -09. His gaze swept across the floating towers, the spinning mana rings, the soul-reactor glow beneath the city's belly.
Who created this?
That question echoed in his mind like a lingering note of disbelief.
The floating architecture, the mana-powered defense formations, the barrier dome that rippled like calm water — all of it operated on what the locals called Mana Tech, but to him, it was something far beyond that. It was a civilization's answer to extinction, born from desperation, yet executed with the precision of gods.
Earth, with its billions of minds and centuries of trial and error, had barely scratched the surface of space travel or sustainable energy. And yet, this world — ravaged by dungeons, devoured by monsters, dripping in blood — had birthed such astonishing advancements in barely six years.
It shouldn't have been possible.
Unless...
"The Systems," Ryuzen muttered under his breath.
Systems weren't just blessings or curses. They were tools of evolution. Some were born to fight, some to heal, but there were rare ones — truly rare — known as Miraculous Crafting Systems.
Probably, a handful of beings had been granted them. People who could forge world-changing artifacts overnight. Who could reverse-engineer dungeon cores, build reactors from corrupted mana, even warp time in localized spaces.
It was no longer just technology or magic. It was divine engineering.
"No wonder the world still didn't fall apart," he thought. "Someone, or something, gave them the tools to hold on."
And Ryuzen, with all his monstrous bloodline and growing power, couldn't help but wonder…
Was he destined to just fight in this world?
Or could he, too, one day go beyond?
Nevertheless, the airships landed smoothly on a vast circular platform of gleaming white alloy, etched with runes that pulsed softly like a heartbeat. Mana-automated clamps secured each vessel, and mechanical bridges extended from the landing tower, linking the airships to the terminal gates.
A group of officials stepped forward in unison, each clad in long gray coats bearing the symbol of the Horizon Alliance — a golden star wrapped in silver vines.
Their faces were unpredictable, their movements efficient, precise, and practiced. Floating beside them were hovering tablets and crystalline stones pulsing with a strange bluish hue.
These stones, known as Purity Crystals, were designed for one thing only: to detect Hollowfication.
One by one, survivors disembarked and were instructed to place their hand on the crystal. The moment they did, the stone would scan their soul signature for traces of corruption — even the faintest speck.
And if it detected even 0.01% Hollowfication, the judgment was instant.
A crackle of energy.
A flash of white light.
A life snuffed out without ceremony.
"No! Please! I can't be Hollowfied!"
"Let me prove it—let me talk to someone!"
"She's my daughter! Don't—!"
Cries of anguish echoed across the landing bay, blending with the hum of the airships and the silence of onlookers. But none were spared. The Alliance didn't negotiate, didn't delay. To them, hesitation risked infection.
By the end of the grim inspection, over 200 lives had been extinguished. Their bodies were immediately sealed in containment coffins and dragged away by men.
They said it was for the survival of humanity. For the greater good.
But for those left behind — lovers, siblings, children — there was no comfort in those words.
They had survived the Catastrophic Wave, the monsters, the despair. They had finally reached a place of hope.
And just like that, it was shattered.
Venus stood still, fists clenched by her sides. Her expression was unreadable, but the soft exhale of relief escaped her lips when her mother was declared clear.
Seeing her mother safe, a flicker of warmth crossed her eyes, quickly buried beneath composure.
Ryuzen, meanwhile, stood near the edge of the inspection line, his gaze not on the sky or the Alliance troops, but on a little girl with golden-blonde hair.
Runa.
She stoo alone, like always.
She quietly stepped up to the Purity Crystal. The moment her hand touched it, the stone glowed clear blue.
Negative.
She passed.
Ryuzen felt a weight ease from his chest. It was subtle, but real.
His protective gaze was like how a brother would watch over his sister.
He didn't know why that connection had formed.
But in a world where death came so easily, and hope was a fragile flame, he was glad that at least she made it through.