Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

984  Chapter 984- Annihilated—The South Wing Army (2)

Like a beam of annihilation, it streaked downwards and crashed onto the mountain at a blinding speed.

BOOM!! The attack hit Mount Gorgor in an instant, faster than anyone could react. The mountain seemed to scream as it was enveloped in the ray of darkness. The very ground quivered, twisting unnaturally before collapsing inward as if sucked into a bottomless void.

The light from the attack radiated briefly, casting a dark dome over the sky for dozens of miles before vanishing entirely. When the light faded, there was nothing left but the aftermath.

The mountain was gone, its summit replaced by a flat, smouldering crater.

"Perfect," Gareth clapped marvelling at his work "No traces left behind, no messy loose ends. That's how it should be".

Vordanaz grit his teeth, unable to stay silent any longer "You fool, what have you done? You just fired a Niðh…".

Before he could say any further, Gareth turned towards him, the same cold smile still playing on his face "I know, I will report this to the Demon Lord myself. That said, I am very curious as to why you are so worked up. Don't tell me you actually wanted to let those humans live?"

At the end of his sentence, Gareth's eyes narrowed to a dangerous degree. Due to the long years of conflict and inability to get along, it had practically been ingrained inside every demon noble to hate humans.

However, this was different. This level of hostility was on another realm.

"Suit yourself" Unable to retort, Vordanaz spat, turned around and vanished into the distant sky.

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Somewhere in the sky, not too far from Mount Gorgor, two figures streaked through the air at incredible speed, their forms cutting through the clouds like golden and silver comets.

Suddenly, a flash of black light illuminated the horizon. It was there for only a moment, but its dark presence left the air charged with an unnatural heaviness.

In the distance, a massive dark dome appeared for an instant before disappearing just as quickly. One of the figures stopped abruptly, their long golden cloak whipping violently in the wind.

"Vincent is that…"

 The other figure nodded, eyes strained towards the black dome that only appeared in the distant sky for a second.

"There is no denying it. That is Niðhögg, someone fired it"….

The figure with the golden cloak spoke in a pensive voice "I hope we are not late. Let's hurry up".

Without another word, the two figures surged forward, their speed doubling as they raced toward the source of the devastation.

. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

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The once-mighty summit of Mount Gorgor was now a lifeless expanse of shattered stone and choking dust.

The crater left behind by the beam stretched far and wide, even the edges of the mountain were severed cleanly as if sliced by the heavens themselves.

The place that was just a moment ago abuzz with the shouts and conversation of the south wing army, was now eerily silent like a cemetery.

It was after some time, the dirt shifted. Two massive grey columns erupted from the rubble, covered in cryptic glowing markings that pulsed faintly with ominous energy. The air around them seemed repelled by their presence.

The grey columns were none other than the Fingers of Ozymandias. As the dirt and rocks were displaced, a bloodied figure clawed out of the ruins.

 Simon gasped for air, his body battered and broken. Dust covered his hair and clothes, and blood trickled from his wounds. Every slight action, every movement sent a searing pain all through his body.

 "Damn it…" he cursed under his breath, his left arm was gone and his disguise had become undone.

That said, even with injuries that would have killed a lesser being, it was nothing for a Demon Marquess like him who possessed incredible vitality and regenerative abilities.

He closed his eyes and focused, channelling his mana. Bit by bit, tissues and bone began to regrow from his severed shoulder, cuts and bruises across his body healed and Within moments, he was all healed.

Though it didn't cause him to celebrate, the reason for that was because of what lay in front of him.

As his eyes swept over the destruction, Simon's heart sank. The fortress was gone, the soldiers gone, everything wiped from existence as if it had never been.

"What the hell was that…" The black beam of destruction was still vivid in his mind, a streak of pure annihilation that descended with no warning, no fanfare and swallowed everything.

The entire mountaintop was gone in an instant. The realization hit him hard. The South Wing Army—the soldiers, the mercenaries, the captains—they were all gone.

His gaze darted across the rubble, searching desperately for any sign of life, but all he could see were broken stones and lifeless silence.

Why? How did he fail? Everything was going smoothly he had managed to hoodwink Vordanaz, win over the South wing army and even use a scapegoat to scrape for time.

Everything was going all so smoothly only for it all to come crashing down suddenly. Where did he make a mistake?

Was it impossible to save the South Wing Army from obliteration from the beginning?

No, it was the appearance of that figure that changed everything. The moment he appeared things were bound to go wrong.

 "Perhaps I should have expected a butterfly effect to take place for my meddling..."

Even if it was just an enacted history, it still played out as if it was real. In the original timeline, there was no being called Simon and naturally, there was no one to meddle in the affairs of the demon lord and south wing army.

Thought as he much, there were no do overs. He had failed the quest making it impossible to clear the trial. Simon hesitated before opening the quest window.

There it was: [Stop the Southern Alliance from Getting Annihilated]. His heart sank further as he prepared to see the word: {Failed} next to it. However, to his shock, it wasn't there. Instead, the quest status read: In Progress.

What does that mean? Could it be… Simon's thoughts raced.