Just as Kai was reflecting on the matter of the Deep Ones, a notification appeared.
…
[
Contestant Kai Stormborn, your 3-days Time Limit in the Switched World will end in 7 minutes.
An amount of 100 Mission Credits will be deducted per second for 1 minute henceforth. Then, the rate of deduction will double with every next minute spent in the Switched World.
When all your Missions Credits run out, you will be thrown out of the Random World.
]
…
Kai's eyes shone gray under the incorporeal light of the notification.
Yet, he didn't hurry. Not now.
Cersei was right, he knew.
Kai must not go back without doing something about Red Sun and Moraine.
These two weren't like Meg, a fallen Hastur's Priestess from the 13th floor. All she needed was hope in those times.
What else could be the biggest hope other than a myth coming alive?
Glitch!
It was Glitch that had swayed her heart. Nothing else.
Only later had she come to know what kind of existence Kai was, even if he was not to have the assistance of Glitch. But that was a different matter altogether.
Spawn was a special case in herself, to say the least.
Not to mention, Kai had already decided against revealing the matter of Glitch to anyone. No matter the circumstances.
The Reality Marble had all but gone.
One couldn't even see the blood ocean anymore. Nor could they see the starlit night.
The gray pillar had vanished, along with the hole in the sky.
Only the faintest touch of red remained, the lightest smell of blood.
A shadow of Kai's monstrous Spiritual Awakening was still lingering in Reality — a result of the illogical and incomprehensible connection between two Primordial Laws.
The four Dementors seemed to howl in response to his thoughts.
Kai tightened his grip around Cersei's waist and flew toward the black, dead ground at the same time.
-Keke!- Ayin's cackle echoed in his ears, her voice lacking substance. -… Until we meet again… Kai Stormborn.-
*
*
On the ground, Red Sun, missing his right arm and amber-colored glasses, had already gone incredibly silent a while ago.
His Mana, Breath, and even Life were dwindling on the very bottom.
He had regained his original appearance; red short hair, wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts, his muscular figure standing against his child-like get-up.
How to make sense of what he had just seen?
How could he, with all his intelligence, believe his eyes in which four foul beings were getting reflected, flying in and out of a cloud of fog?
Red Sun knew no answers.
But the cold that bit into him, the cold of despair, felt so real.
The moment the Top-level 9th-floor Contestant saw that icy fog descending toward him, Red Sun's teeth clattered.
His memories were all he had…
He lived because of the hope in his heart. He fought and killed for it as well.
The reason for him belittling himself in front of others, making them call him a lickspittle, was also this hope.
Red Sun had never believed that anything could scare him.
Yet, as he saw four Dementors swirling around a blurry figure, a true feeling of dread imbued itself in his heart.
Bang!
Suddenly, a pressure fell over him, planting him into the earth with his face upward.
He wasn't the only one, though.
A woman in tattered clothes had appeared to his left.
She was lying just like him with her face upward, her eyes regarding the blackness of Inheritance Land and the lingering pressure of Kai's Spiritual Awakening flattening her full breasts.
How was she even alive?
No one knew.
Endless cold and despair pelted over them like raindrops amongst a downpour.
Both Red Sun and Moraine's figures shuddered, their eyes losing focus, as the four Dementors pounced over them, sucking out their happiness.
The sound of their breath rattling together shattered all hopes.
They were the foulest and vilest beings that walked the earth, the impure forces.
Not even 9th-floor Contestants stood a chance to keep a hold over their senses against them without using Skills and Items of positive forces.
"Enough," Kai's voice tore through the coldness like a frozen blade. "Get away from them."
The four Dementors returned and swirled around him, creating even more icy fog.
The very sight of Kai coming toward them, commanding the four Dementors, could force all knees to bend.
Dementor-Kai canceled his transformation, returning to his original appearance.
His, white hair tumbled down to his shoulders and his reptilian, hazel eyes glistened with a never-known sinisterness.
Kai sauntered toward the two Contestants, holding a beauty in his left arm.
He put one foot over Red Sun's chest and pressed it down.
His gaze, though, fell on Moraine's face.
A touch of his bloodlust seeped out of his eyes, filled with blade-like iciness.
Four Dementors hovered behind him like sentries, their long, black cloaks rippling without wind, noiselessly.
"Give me a reason…" Kai's whisper boomed in their ears. "… one reason to not kill you two."
He had not expected an answer without forcing them against a cliff.
But an answer did enter his ears just as he demanded of it.
"One?!" Red Sun almost shouted, his face pale. "I can give you two! No! Three!! I can give you four reasons!!! A total of five!!!!!!"
Kai frowned inwardly.
Meg had mentioned once to him about Red Sun's infamous fawning personality.
But even he had never assumed that such a ridiculously powerful Contestant would grovel at the merest hint of threat.
Seeing this dark being's silence, Red Sun licked his lips and blurted, "I am almost a 10th-floor Contestant. I have an organization at my disposal. You can act as the hidden leader for all I care.
"Not to mention, I have many contacts. They aren't reliable, true enough. But I know how to have my own way through them as well. You can ask anyone! Oi! Big breasts, tell him!!"
Kai was indeed tempted by all this, but he also knew Red Sun hadn't told him everything.
Then there was a doubt in his heart that Robin had recognized him somehow, but had mentioned nothing of that meeting.
There was something truly odd about that.
Red Sun's heart shuddered, getting no response.
He had indeed decided against bringing Contestant Shadow Origin into the conversation.
Who knew if this was a test as well? Who knew if they had set their eyes on him, and this was nothing but a way to see his sincerity?
No. He could not and must not lose his ticket to the 18th floor.
This was his opportunity.
The only one.
"I…" Red Sun stuttered, gritting his teeth. "I have two Multiverse IDs. I swear on my famous and real name, Robin the Swindler, that I will serve you to the end.
"Please become my Liege Lord, Red… I mean, my lord."
Under the hood, the corner of Kai's mouth twitched ruefully. So he had recognized me? What's wrong with him, anyway? Hmm, 2 Multiverse IDs.
Yet, it was the sight of Digimon that kept resurfacing in his mind the most.
Kai then shifted his gaze toward Moraine, her elegant gaze going beyond him, but unable to look through the cold fog around them.
It seemed as if… she had already accepted her fate.
"I… have nothing to give to you," Moraine breathed out, her voice lost.
"Hehe!" Red Sun suddenly laughed mischievously. "Big breasts is lying…"
***************
AN: Now you can access OVER 60 Chapters (across 4 Tiers) of Chaos and Order ahead of Webnovel on Patre0n (+ at least 80 monthly chapters). If you would like to access the exclusive content, while simultaneously supporting the fanfic, then do consider becoming a Patron
Bonus Chapter Deal - 50 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter and +1 Bonus Chapter for every 10 Power Stones above that