Super Assembly: Azure Sky (3K)

"Boss, Roland’s spirit is gone!"

A woman dressed in a white ceremonial robe rarely showed such panic on her fair face. Countless Soul-Devouring Worms swirled around her, carrying her directly over the manor nestled among green trees and white jade before entering the garden.

The man in floral shorts, reclining beneath a parasol, put down the novel in his hand—a book banned from publication in most countries—and sat up.

Seeing no reaction from him, the woman thought he had not heard clearly and emphasized it again.

"Roland’s soul has completely disappeared. I just tried calling him. This time, it wasn’t that I couldn’t reach him, but… I couldn’t find him. His soul… no longer exists, Boss!"

As she spoke, her eyes had already begun to blur.

Yet the man remained calm. He merely hummed before lying back down.

"That was his fate."

"Roland was an idiot. I told him long ago not to involve himself with the Abyss God through causality, but he insisted on helping Guts strike a sword blow. Heh…"

Remembering that simple young man, the man shook his head, seemingly doing no more than expressing regret.

The woman pursed her lips and looked at her boss with disappointment. But if even he had no solution, she could not think of anyone in the Space who could bring Roland back.

If even miracles denied the possibility, then Roland’s ending was destined to be beyond redemption.

The woman transformed into a stream of white data and vanished from the garden in an instant.

After she disappeared, the man whose expression had just been so calm suddenly grabbed the white jade teacup from the table and smashed it violently against the ground.

Boom!

The enormous manor, spanning more than a dozen hectares, sank with a thunderous crash, its white jade flooring shattering in an instant.

Even the beach outside the manor was shaken until yellow sand filled the sky, whipping up a sandstorm. The sea adjoining the shore surged in reverse, raising a tsunami.

"Fuck the Abyss God! Fuck Causality Law! Fuck Fatalism!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck… fuck!"

The man flew into a rage. There was none of his earlier calm and detached demeanor left. His face was livid, and the sky changed color along with his will and mood.

This vast assembly space had become apocalyptic solely because of his emotions.

"Hey, hey, hey, Boss, calm down!"

A silver-haired man immediately appeared amid the collapsing manor. He stretched out a hand, and a powerful force field instantly stabilized the estate, preventing this assembly space—which had cost over ten thousand Dimensional Points—from suffering excessive damage.

At the same time, a knight entirely wrapped in black armor appeared, her face also concealed behind black plate. Her voice was cold.

"If you’re this angry, why pretend to be so indifferent just now? Loman will probably hide somewhere and cry for a long time."

The bronzed man in floral shorts panted heavily. He raised his hand, intending to smash something else, but the woman in black armor reached out and caught his arm.

His face reddened with fury.

"If I hadn’t acted that way, Loman might have gotten other ideas and ended up entangled with the Abyss God too."

"I won’t let my people fall into the schemes of that son of a bitch again. Fuck!"

The man continued swearing, completely lacking the cold aloofness expected of a top-tier Reincarnator.

In the distance, on the beach, a long-haired woman wearing black-rimmed glasses looked toward the manor with lingering fear. Since joining Azure Sky, this was the first time she had seen Azure Sky’s ruler so enraged.

As one of the most powerful Reincarnators in the Space—and also one of its most mysterious figures—the master of Azure Sky was widely speculated to be a Supreme Expert. Only then could he mediate the conflict between the two Supreme Experts, Life of Silence and the Great Sun of Finality, alongside the one from the Throne of Illusion and Reality and the one from Destiny.

He had returned the East District of the Infinite Dimensional Space, which had been turbulent for over two months, to peace.

Professor turned and looked at God’s Dream Blade – Senka, the Title-level Reincarnator floating in the air and thus unaffected by the "earthquake."

The Title-level Reincarnator codenamed Senka wore a bikini. Her skin was snow-white, but her figure was flat as a board. It was unknown whether that was merely her Avatar or her actual body.

She lowered her head, saw the shock in Professor’s gaze, and waved a hand in explanation.

"It’s fine. Boss has always been like this. In his words, he’s strong, so there’s no need for internal conflict. When he has emotions, he lets them out. Even if he goes crazy, everyone else has to put up with it."

Professor shook her recliner a few times as though she understood, then lay back down.

Azure Sky’s strength was beyond doubt. Just looking at this outrageously vast space, which barely seemed like it could exist inside the Space at all, showed how abundant their resources were and how extravagantly they could spend them.

This was a Special Reincarnator assembly built entirely around the principle of being small but elite. It had no subordinate teams. The overwhelming majority of its members were veteran-level Reincarnators or above, and nearly every member had crossed the First Tier.

Aside from newcomers like Professor, who had only recently joined, the members were generally extremely powerful.

Azure Sky members rarely entered mission worlds in teams. Most of them had their own squads, but those squads were not part of the Azure Sky assembly.

Azure Sky was a special assembly that only newcomers recognized by every member were permitted to join.

Professor had only just lain down when she recalled the information she had received. Yet Azure Sky’s seniors did not seem particularly concerned.

"Senka, it seems something major happened in the most recently concluded deployment."

"A large number of famous First Tier and Second Tier Reincarnators entered the Pirate Derivative World at the same time, and a brutal team battle broke out. In the end, it seems fewer than one-fifth returned alive."

"Flame Demon and Lapis Lazuli Knight, those two people many important figures favored to reach Title-level, both died as well."

Senka reclined in midair with oversized sunglasses on her face. She was not particularly surprised by Professor’s words. She knew that Professor was a Special Reincarnator and one of The Chosen, giving her an advantage in intelligence gathering beyond anyone else’s.

"Oh, really? If they died, then those so-called important figures must have misjudged them."

Senka did not care about people like Flame Demon and Lapis Lazuli Knight, who had considerable fame in the Second Tier. After all, she herself was one of the so-called "important figures" others spoke of.

Professor realized that she and Senka viewed things from different perspectives, so she put it another way.

"That Mercenary Tao… survived. Senka, do you think he has that kind of potential?"

Professor had actually obtained more information. Not only had Mercenary Tao survived, but he seemed to have gained enormously from it.

The Critical Sniping team, who had also returned alive, was trying to gather information on Mercenary Tao through secret channels. From various signs, Professor could guess that Mercenary Tao had likely killed Rouge of the Critical Sniping team in that Pirate Derivative World.

She was almost dazed. How long had it been since the Demon Slayer Derivative World ended? That savage who had tortured Muzan was already capable of defeating one of the Second Tier’s best head-on?!

Senka had heard of Mercenary Tao, but she disliked people with such a thirst for killing and casually replied.

"Who knows about a lunatic like that?"

Professor nodded. After a moment of silence, she cautiously continued.

"It seems the Black King Society also had members enter that world… The Black King Society and our Azure Sky seem to…"

Senka suddenly extended a finger. Professor’s heart skipped a beat, and her breathing seemed to stop for an instant. It was not an attack, but killing intent condensed to the extreme, making her forget to breathe.

Senka descended from the air. Holding up one finger, she said solemnly.

"Professor, there are some things that you should simply know. Don’t say them aloud, and don’t tell me either."

Watching Senka hurry away, Professor knew that the Black King Society and Azure Sky must have some connection. Moreover, something had likely happened that created a rift between them.

Lying on the beach, she felt that the Space would not return to peace merely because the conflict between the two Supreme Experts had ended.

The established Title-level Reincarnators had already suffered many clashes during the open and covert struggle between the two Supreme Experts. Now, even low-level Reincarnators were being reshuffled.

The Title-level Reincarnators who had bet on Flame Demon and Lapis Lazuli Knight had now lost their wagers and would inevitably seek out other rising talents. People like Mercenary Tao, who were rapidly emerging, would also stir up even more bloodshed.

And besides… Professor did not believe the Supreme Experts would truly retreat just because they had been mediated. Would that Great Sun of Finality really be willing to accept defeat?

Professor frowned deeply. Her sense of urgency grew stronger. After thinking briefly, she turned and left the assembly space as well.

Black Butler watched Critical Point’s group leave without expression. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he felt that his days ahead would probably be filled with anxiety again.

No one in the Space wanted to be targeted by a killing star like Critical Point. Once he found out your identity in the real world, you would likely have to live in constant fear from then on.

But compared to Critical Point, Black Butler inexplicably feared that red-faced Mercenary Tao even more.

He was a beast through and through. Once he smelled something wrong, he would tear into you without regard for anything else.

Moreover, according to intelligence from multiple sources, something major had happened in the Pirate Derivative World that had just ended. The number of Reincarnators who died far exceeded expectations. Even Second Tier experts with top-tier survivability, such as Flame Demon and Lapis Lazuli Knight, had died inside.

If he was not mistaken, Mercenary Tao had entered that world.

While he was thinking, Black Butler’s vision blurred. The familiar ugly red face appeared in the distance, followed by a woman wearing a half-mask.

Black Butler quickly stepped forward.

"You offended Critical Sniping?"

Black Butler was shrewd. Since he had offended Critical Point for Mercenary Tao’s sake, he had to subtly inform Mercenary Tao of it. Otherwise, he would have borne that risk for nothing.

Bai Cangshu was quick-witted and immediately understood Black Butler’s meaning. Smiling, he nodded casually.

"Yeah. I killed one of them, a woman who used a sword."

"Mm… she wasn’t bad."

Bai Cangshu recalled the female swordsman from the Critical Sniping team—the resolute slash and her decisive self-destruction at the end. She had been a Reincarnator with an unflawed heart.

"You killed Rouge?"

Only then did Black Butler realize why the members of Critical Sniping had been so angry. And Rouge had previously possessed a fierce reputation. For Mercenary Tao to kill Rouge within the Critical Sniping team, which excelled at coordinated attacks, meant that his strength…

The heavy mood Black Butler had felt from being targeted by Critical Point suddenly improved considerably.

Bai Cangshu saw through Black Butler’s thoughts and said, "If you’re afraid, why not find out Critical Point’s real-world information?"

"Don’t worry. I won’t charge you for getting rid of him."

Looking at the cruel smile on that ugly red face, Black Butler felt an unusual sense of relief. It had to be said, having such a beast on his side really did bring an unexpected sense of security.

Only then did Black Butler have the attention to spare for the woman behind Mercenary Tao. He did not think someone like Mercenary Tao was the type to casually make companions.

"This is…?"

"Oh, she’s Eclipse. She said she wanted to be my dog."

Li Qingzi’s chest rose and fell, but she quickly calmed down. Beneath her mask, her eyelids lowered. It was not only Flame Demon—Moon Demon was indeed dead as well.

"That’s right. I’m Eclipse."