Crossing the World

LI - Underworld (Mrs)

On her way to a suburban shopping mall, Sonya passes through the slums where she usually spends time with other dalts. Although it is called a slum, this place is not at all dangerous for Sonya. The reason was simple, as everyone who settled here was under 16 years old and they were all dalt. Adults and other children did not dare to enter this territory.

The sun had just risen some time ago, bringing a hint of warmth between the cold, dewy morning air. The dalts had also woken up from their sleep, starting to spread out in search of food.

Some of them were just sitting and lying beside the small alley, looking down at the muddy streets under their feet. These children are usually the group that is assigned to stay here and wait for food rations. Their responsibility is to take care of the babies who are thrown here.

All dalt was thrown away since infancy. It is so common that the existence of Sonya who was banished at the time she was 9 years old is an oddity. Therefore, at a young age, they must also be able to take care of the baby.

Sonya had no idea who the vanguard who first divided the dalts into specific groups. When he came here 3 years ago, they already had this kind of behavior. Now that she had gotten used to living with them, Sonya had never questioned again about this.

Her small footsteps stopped when she heard the sound of a crying baby. Sonya turned her face to the source of the voice, looking at a teenage boy holding a baby in both hands. The man had removed the cloth that normally covered his upper body, using the cloth to wrap the baby he was carrying.

"Someone just threw it away."

The man spoke to him, looking at Sonya with both of his brown eyes that looked empty.

Sonya simply fell silent on the spot without replying to her words. Realizing that, the man sighed before finally returning to speak.

"My life has reached its limit. The day I am sanctified will not be long. I have to go to the Holy Forest now."

Dalt is the reincarnation of monsters. It was not only the citizens who believed the rumor, even the dalts themselves believed it. Therefore, their deaths are often considered days of purification or penance. Normally, once they had a premonition of their own death, the dalts would seclude themselves into the forest. They spent time there in solitude, waiting for their bodies to burn from within.

This exile is not without purpose. In order to avoid the fires and the fatalities from their deaths, these dalts made all the preparations that were ripe, including self-exile. Yes, this is also the strange behavior that every dalt has in this place.

Hearing those words, Sonya slightly lowered her head. Both of his hands clenched firmly, restraining the various kinds of emotions that suddenly appeared in his heart. Then, with a slightly trembling voice, he began to speak.

"Thank you .. Thank you for everything."

All the knowledge about survival over the past three years that Sonya had received came from the man before her. After losing all his brothers, for Sonya the man was already like a new big brother. He wanted to cry, stop his departure at all costs. However, even if the man did not leave, his death would not change. On the contrary, if he were to die here, there would be many casualties as a result of his death. Therefore, Sonya chose to hold back all her emotions and just say thank you as a parting word.

He stepped back, walking half-run towards the main road. Both of his eyes were wet with tears that slightly clouded his gaze. However, Sonya did not slow down.

Sonya did not want to let go of someone with a cry. Therefore, he chose to go straight from there instead of accompanying her until the very last moment. For him who had often seen the departure of the dalts over the past three years, accompanying them until the last moment was too unbearable.

His slightly distorted gaze from the tears did not manage to notice a block of wood lying crosswise under his feet. Before Sonya could see the wooden block, her right leg hit the block hard. Due to the speed of her hasty steps, Sonya lost her balance and fell forward, unable to maintain her position.

His face drew near to the ground quickly, as if not giving him time to think. If only the fallen figure was someone else, they would have already smashed his face to the ground. However, that did not apply to Sonya at all.

A tear was dripping onto the ground less than five centimeters away from her face. His dirty brown hair was now drooping on the wet ground mixed with mud, but his face did not touch the surface of the ground at all. No, not just his face, his entire body did not even touch the ground at all. Her small body floated about five centimeters from the ground surface.

As soon as Sonya regained consciousness from the brief incident, she slowly rose from her face down position. His hands and feet still did not touch anything, but his position that had previously been face down was now changed to stand up. Slowly the tip of his foot began to touch the ground, making him stand normally like everyone else in general.

It was common knowledge that the dalt had what the monsters had, an innate ability that allowed them to break the laws of modern physics. Usually, they will not be able to use it consciously. However, Sonya herself was an exception to them. He was one of the few dalts who could use it consciously.

Although they sometimes have the same abilities, each dalt feels their abilities in different ways. Therefore, it is difficult to teach others to use their abilities consciously. There was no other way but to study it independently or to be able to master it naturally like Sonya.

Sonya's own abilities fall into the category of harmless. He can move things without touching them. Although it sounds incredible, there are so many conditions that must be met to enter the category of moving objects.

First, the thing that could be lifted by him through such ability was comparable to the thing that he could lift with his bare hands; second, his ability only lasted less than a minute; third, the thing that he could lift with his bare hands, he could not move a living being; fourth, the maximum distance of an object that could be moved by him was no more than five meters; fifth, fifth, Sonya had to know exactly where the object she wanted to move both through sight, as well as through touch; and lastly, using her ability made Sonya very exhausted.

What Sonya did just a moment ago was not lifting her body with her abilities. He simply applied the ability to his shabby clothes to hold his own body weight so as to make himself look as if he was defying gravity. Even so, seeing Sonya do it without the slightest mistake was more than enough to judge that she was able to use her abilities with great precision.

Sonya resumed her journey after taking time to rest and cry as much as she wanted. He went towards a crossroads that became the meeting point of the five main roads. In the center of the meeting of these main streets there is a large circular pond. Meanwhile, right at the center of the pond stood a statue of a long-haired woman. The statue hugged one book in its left hand and a quill pen in the other. The clothes he used were luxurious noble clothes that were meticulously sculpted and embellished using small diamond stones that glittered when illuminated by the sunlight.

The woman is one of the heroes of the past. Aria the Archaeologist, a young archaeologist is sent into an ancient dungeon with a group of six heroes. They were the ones who found the treasures from ancient times, the treasures that managed to summon the Artificial God, Zeus, here. It is thanks to them that humanity is not completely wiped out.

After looking at her for a moment, Sonya turned her attention to a certain part. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the shopping mall set up around the water pool, there was a middle-aged man who pulled the arm of a boy about nine years old. The way of pulling the child was really rude, but no one cared about it. The reason was obvious, because the boy was a dalt.

Sonya knew the boy well. Despite not having a name, other children usually call the child Il. She lives with Sonya and several other children in one of the old buildings in the slums. So, for Sonya herself, Il is one of her close relatives now.

The man pulls Il into a small alleyway between two quiet buildings, intending to go away from the crowd. Then, they disappeared from his sight at the turn inside the small alley. Sonya herself knew what would happen to the dalts if they were pulled into such places. Although there has never been a case where the population killed the dalt directly, the treatment Il will receive is not something that normal children will accept in general.

Realizing that Il is in danger, Sonya runs into an alley to catch up with them.

"Based on a brash demon! You did it on purpose, didn't you?!"

Even before Sonya managed to reach those who were blocked by the walls of the building, the loud voice of a man pierced her eardrum. Then, a powerful lashing sound and the screams of the children reached his ears shortly after the clash.

Il's ability is that it can cause a fire on anything he looks at with focus. Unfortunately, Il himself was unable to control the ability well. Therefore, this type of ability is usually one of the most troublesome abilities among other dalt abilities.

Many of them usually close their eyes with a cloth to prevent accidents. There are even some of them who choose to destroy their own eyeballs.

Il may have been scavenging for food waste some time ago. Then, since he was just a starving little boy, he might just stare at the fruits in one of the stalls. As a result, the stall suffered a small fire. Fortunately the fire did not spread and was put out in time.

Yes, things like this happen often. Therefore, traders always prepare enough water in case events like this are experienced by them. As a result, severe fires can always be prevented.

"Be-stop!" Sonya shouted loudly enough to stop the man.

He ran towards Il who was now lying weakly with blood flowing from his mouth and nose. He hugged Il's head and wiped the blood coming out of the boy's mouth and nose with his slum.

"Curtain! Another demon boy." The man looks unhappy.

Sonya doesn't care about it. He only focused on Il who seemed unconscious. However, when she realizes that Il is still breathing, Sonya becomes a little calmer.

For Sonya, getting rid of the man in front of her wasn't difficult. He only needed to push it with all his might with his ability. However, after doing that, the problem would definitely become even greater. Therefore, with a small body, Sonya prostrated herself before the man.

He opened his mouth and pleaded solemnly.

"Please .. Please forgive us."

His words brought silence between them. Neither Sonya nor the man before her, they had not said any words for nearly two minutes.

His head still touched the ground. He did not change his position and remained prostrate before the man, hoping that the man would still have compassion for the child like him. However, let alone accepting her apology, Sonya felt something pressing against the back of her head. The longer, the pressure exerted grew stronger, squeezing his head between the ground and something pressing down on him.

The dalts can't possibly have money. The townspeople certainly knew that fact from the beginning. Even so, the man still asked for compensation to him. Sonya actually had a little savings from her daily labors as a manual laborer. However, even though he said that he had some bronze coins in his residence, the man before him would definitely not believe it. So, basically the man did not ask for any compensation, he was just looking for reasons so that the problem did not end quickly.

Sonya realized that the thing pressing on the back of her head was the foot of the man before her. Because she knew the man must have been wearing the shoes and that the bottom of the shoes were touching her head, Sonya slowly held the shoes to loosen the clasp on her head using her ability. He did it with so much precision that the man did not know it.

"Hey, answer me!"

The man strengthened the pressure on his leg, but Sonya instantly neutralized it. He remained in a prostrate position as he began to open his mouth.

"I-i"

Before Sonya finished her sentence, a foreign voice cut through her speech.

"I'll pay for it."

"Huh?"

The middle-aged man lifted his foot from Sonya's head. He who realized there was someone coming immediately raised his head. His brown eyeballs stared at the two teenage girls wearing white robes with golden motifs. Sonya instantly knew who they were in just a glance at her clothes.

This type of clothing is only used by those in the temple. Usually, the temple would gather orphans to be cared for in it. Then, when they grow up, they will become servants in the temple. Yes, the two girls were probably orphans who were cared for in the temple.

One of them had brown hair that was cut short. Both of his brown eyeballs had a permanent sharp look that was a little intimidating. However, due to her small body, Sonya hesitated that there would be people who were intimidated by her gaze.

The next girl had long brown hair. Unlike the previous girl, she had a slightly taller body and an ideal weight. He was probably a teenager who was about sixteen years old.

"Take this."

The shorter girl threw a silver coin onto the ground, intending to give it to the middle-aged man before Sonya in an impolite manner.

Of course the man was not happy with the disrespectful treatment he received.

Although the temple had quite a high position in the city, they were both orphans taken care of by the temple. Behaving like that to the townspeople was definitely a very disrespectful act. They could even be punished if the temple knew about it.

"You orphans dare insult me like in-"

Before the man finished his sentence, a strange incident suddenly filled Sonya's field of view. Whether by chance or not, the top of the two-story building on their left and right sides was full of guard robots. They lined up neatly, pointing his trademark long-barreled weapon at the man before Sonya. In addition, the same two robots also stood next to the two girls and held the same firearm.

For as long as he knows, never once did robots protect the dalt. They had never gathered this much either before. Clearly seeing them gathering like this was not normal.

One thing flashed through Sonya's mind at once. This unusual phenomenon only happens if someone rules them. However, that conclusion was also very impossible.

These robots themselves existed even before humans built civilization under Deus' feet. They were under the direct control of Deus. Even the king and the religious leader would never be able to rule them. So, unless Deus himself rules, no one in this world can do it.

Even if Deus ordered him to come here, on what basis did he do it? It would become even stranger as he personally sent them to one small alley in the suburbs just to point a weapon at one specific ordinary merchant.

The only reason left is now swamped on Sonya's head. However, since it was impossible, Sonya greatly doubted her judgment.

"I'll forget it this time." The short-haired girl's words broke Sonya's daydream. "However, if you don't take that coin and leave right now ... "

The girl did not finish her sentence. Instead, he raised his right hand towards the man. Then, something appeared in his hand. A typical long-barreled weapon commonly used by robots suddenly appeared out of nothing. Unmistakably, it was a weapon identical to what the robots around them were holding.

The man froze in place. He seemed to want to say something, but ended up just by closing his mouth and gulping down his own saliva. His trembling right hand picked up the silver coin lying not far from him. Then, he said a sentence of thanks in a trembling voice as he ran towards Sonya. The man passed the place where Sonya was still sitting frozen and went away from her. It didn't take long for him to disappear from that alley.

After the shocking brief incident, the long barrel gun previously held by the short-haired girl again vanished without a trace. He then flicked his finger, letting out a voice that could be heard all the way to Sonya's ear. Along with stopping the finger, all the robots turned around and left their locations.

At that moment, Sonya who had hesitated before, was now convinced by what she saw. The white-robed girl before him was completely capable of controlling those robots.

Before Sonya was evicted from the house, she often visited the temple on holidays with her family. He also spent time being taught to read books by temple servants. Because the writing in the book is a writing commonly used by residents, Sonya so able to read and write until now.

At that time, books commonly used for teaching materials one of which contains stories in ancient times and the origins of Deus itself. The book says that before the week of the collapse, mankind coexisted with the gods. However, after the week of collapse, the gods left this world and left Deus as their only legacy. If what is contained in the book is true, then the only entities other than Deus that can control these robots are only those who create Deus itself, the gods are said to have left this world.

No other explanation makes more sense than that. Therefore, Sonya immediately regained her prostration on the ground.

"So, how could such a pathetic person seem to be a boss raid?"

A foreign voice sounded breaking the silence. Since Sonya was still in her prostrate position, she did not know who was speaking. However, since there were only the four of them there and the only one who had not spoken was the curly haired girl, Sonya was convinced that she was the one who was talking.

"I'm not too sure either. The scenario had been constructed since twelve years ago, but the probabilities of this world could not be calculated even by an AI of Aura caliber. The butterfly effect still holds true even in this world."

Sonya did not understand most of what he said. However, hearing them talk about foreign matters made him even more sure of the identity of the two of them.

"Honestly, what you're doing is so horrible that it makes my hair stand on end. Killing an NPC would be like killing an actual person. The psychological players will definitely be affected."

"No. Killing an NPC is a grave offense. They'll be permanently blocked if they do."

Sonya felt they didn't consider themselves to exist. The two girls did not even bother to hide their conversation which might not be heard by such a lowly person. Even so, none of their words could be digested by his mind.

"In that case, I won't protest further. We're gonna start shipping hardware all over the country and start preparations for a big promotion."

"Yes, thank you. Now, let's go to the outer region of the barrier."

Right after those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the alley became silent. Sonya did not dare to raise her head even though the silence continued. However, after nothing had been heard for quite a long time, he finally ventured to raise his head and found that the two girls had disappeared. The absence of the sound of footsteps drifting away makes Sonya sure they disappear literally. However, he was not so surprised considering their own identities must have been the gods.

Sonya who was now standing up immediately raised Il with her ability and placed him on her back. He carried Il, then walked away towards the slums.

Later, his encounter today with the gods leads Sonya to open a new perspective on the world.

...ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ...

Note: I think this is the longest chapter I've ever made in this novel.

Because I got the holiday Lebaran, so I can be apdet again this time.