Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 629 - 244. The Bell Ringer

Chapter 629: 244. The Bell Ringer

Bang!

The White Knight kicked open the hydraulic door. With a horizontal sweep of his blade, he tore through space, slicing an entire mobile armor in half from a distance. The nuclear-powered engine instantly triggered an explosive blast, shooting out scorching heat rays and scattering radioactive dust throughout the entire tunnel.

"Is he really here? This place looks like an ordinary Outer World settlement, but it turns out to be filled with so many weapons and equipment," he muttered.

The White Knight grumbled as he flicked his fingers. The ethereal venom quickly spread out, and he dragged his sword forward with a leisurely stride. The mortals, not yet having escaped, were poisoned by the ether and fell one after another in a heap.

"Not a single one can put up a fight. Tch."

"Don’t get careless, White Shark."

The Bell Ringer, Host, emerged from somewhere close behind. He glanced down at the pocket watch in his hand, the hands of which constantly changed to display a code only he understood. Swinging the chain, he pocketed the watch and pointed to a large lathe in the distance.

"Dismantle it," he ordered.

Without hesitation, White Shark lifted his sword, wiping it against the back of his hand.

Sharpen Teeth and Claws

Sharpen Teeth and Claws

Sharpen Teeth and Claws

Swoosh!

A blast of sword light erupted, engulfing the massive lathe in searing light, demolishing it completely. A powerful gust of radiation wind pounced, ripping out a concealed humanoid, who was thrown harshly onto the ground.

"Cough, cough..."

The blonde, blue-eyed man, dragged out, lay prone on the ground, coughing violently. Large amounts of water seeped from his mouth and nose, expelling the radioactive dust he’d inhaled from his body.

"Damn it, this body is too weak..."

He struggled to rise with his weakened body when the white knight’s sword struck the ground in front of him with a clang.

"Ah~ah~ah~, long time no see, dear old senior. I heard that five thousand years ago, you fought alongside the Scholar Speaker and witnessed the fall of Leoz. You are a veteran member of the Secret Jury."

White Shark stepped on his shoulder, openly mocking with disdain:

"What’s the matter, Igor Matthew, senior?"

He lifted his blade, using the back of it to flick Igor Matthew’s side hair, revealing a tired and weakened face, further taunting:

"An honorable Sailor, once reforged seven times... Let’s see, in the Starry Abyss, you’d be about Sigma Rank (18), and yet you’re now underfoot of someone like me, who’s only been reforged once. This is what happens when you betray the Society. Your sins are incurable and unforgivable!"

"Heh heh..."

Igor Matthew grinned back, mocking:

"For someone as despicable as you to become a White Knight... The Secret Society is truly beyond redemption."

"You can only talk big now—look at your body."

White Shark ridiculed, feigning pity:

"Entering the Starry Abyss, even on its surface Layer Abyss, casts a curse upon our Society’s citizens: no matter how strong your strength, as long as you exist objectively, you can’t surpass the limits of planets and the cosmos. Creatures that exceed these limits, if they don’t delve deeper, will be gradually eroded by the Layer Abyss, regressing."

"Your status equivalent to Sigma Rank (18) placed on an Azure Star only allowing Gamma Rank (3), you’ve lived over forty years and have degenerated to a state worse than Gamma Rank (3) weaklings."

"See, you’ve sacrificed so much to integrate into this world, yet the Layer Abyss doesn’t welcome you."

Igor Matthew ignored White Shark’s mockery. Turning to the Bell Ringer, Host, he asked calmly:

"I’m just a Jury. You two being sent by Gaia can’t be just for finding me, right?"

"You still hold value to us. Don’t say that, comrade veteran."

"Who the hell is your comrade?"

"Then I’ll use another term—compatriot."

Host’s tone was mild:

"The internal split of the Secret Society has been long-standing. The Collector withdrew, living in seclusion, away from the world. The Scholar believes that the Starry Abyss curse has disrupted our traditional devouring plans, hoping to coexist with the Narrative-level Civilization. We, representing the Emperor’s faction, are the most central, orthodox, and loyal to Mother Gaia."

Igor Matthew didn’t blink, quickly saying:

"You want to reorganize the Secret Council? Establish contact with Gaia."

"Exactly, at this point, only Gaia’s return can unify the Society’s Will."

The Bell Ringer, Host, calmly replied:

"You’re aware, my Sailor brother, without the Society as our host, we splintered cells have no chance of survival. The entire Starry Abyss Cosmos rejects us, and we must decide."

"Either we become enemies of the whole Starry Abyss, waging an unprecedented war to devour civilizations entirely;"

"Or we coexist, break apart gradually, and slowly devour them in a prolonged manner."

"If you ask me," Igor Matthew coldly stated, "the Society is the universe’s tumor. It should not exist in this world. Gaia and other Societies have devoured countless innocent civilizations, causing catastrophic casualties. We are the cancer of this universe!"

"What you’re saying implies, without the Society, the Starry Abyss would be peaceful?"

The Bell Ringer, Host, cleverly remarked:

"Even before the Destroyer entered this Six-Layered Starry Abyss, civilizations were oppressing, internalizing, and slaughtering one another. The differences between civilizations were greater than between the Society and civilizations."

"What makes you think colonizers are necessarily worse than rulers? The people of devoured civilizations enjoyed equality, justice, benevolence, sustenance, and comfort that their civilizations couldn’t provide."

"To us, being devoured by the Society isn’t a bad thing. They would’ve toiled to death just for a fraction of value, but we maximize all their value."

"They lost their freedom and lives."

Igor Matthew clenched his fists and said solemnly:

"The cost of being devoured by the Society... is that once you leave the Society, you’re nothing."

"But leaving civilization, you’re nothing too." White Shark carried his sword, laughing recklessly, "Old man, you are indeed rigid to the extreme. Seems like we really should capture you and reintegrate you into the Society..."

"Young one, I used to think like you, believing that by welcoming the Societal Descent, we could destroy everything bad, and that by obliterating the world that birthed us, we could be completely liberated, completely free," Igor Matthew took a deep breath, saying solemnly, "But it didn’t happen."