Assimilation.
August's words plunged Huai Shi into silence.
He couldn't help but feel a chill under the dim light of the setting sun.
More terrifying than petrification, it was the phenomenon that Sublimators feared the most.
After breaking away from the Sea of Silver, the Sublimators' source-material transformed into souls, granting them resistance to the Abyss, but they lost the protection of the Sea of Silver. Like water vapor evaporating from the ocean to form clouds, they were helpless before the gales. Even when blessed by the Stigma, a Disaster Miracle, they were sometimes defenseless against the ever-present catastrophes in Hell.
Aside from the one-in-a-million case of petrification, assimilation was often the fate of most Explorers.
Eroded by the sediments of Hell, their consciousness and soul would be eternally bound within Hell, gradually morphing into shapes and forms beyond their own comprehension. Moaning day and night, yet unheard, yearning for death, yet death remained out of reach…
Most Explorers tended to make short work of killing, be it their enemies or themselves. Compared to those fates worse than death, dying was like a blissful dream.
"Condra was with me back then."
August suddenly spoke into the oncoming gale. Huai Shi turned to hear his calm, emotionless words, "I was luckier than him. Otherwise, there might have been two people welcoming you today."
"..."
Huai Shi didn't speak.
He stood on the vehicle's roof, secured by a safety buckle and rope, gazing down at the land whipping past in the gusts below. Desert or jungle, it wove through layers of ruins, revealing itself.
He could faintly hear howling.
It seemed like the time for the hunt had arrived. Alien Species that had lurked for ages were now violently clashing, leaving signs of brutal hunts and struggles everywhere.
Fierce and cold-hearted, swift and decisive, once they secured their prey, they quickly dragged it back to their lairs in the ruins.
It was as if they didn't want to linger outside for even a moment.
In just a few minutes, the world shifted from stillness to a boiling turmoil. One could foresee that once the upheaval ended, it would likely return to dead silence.
"Dusk… I mean, is every dusk like this?" Huai Shi asked.
"There are some differences, but it's mostly like this," August replied. "Only at this time does this place truly resemble Hell."
"And at other times?"
"Like Hell's basement."
August thought for a long time, then seriously told a dry joke, but Huai Shi couldn't muster a laugh.
Yet, observing the gruesome battle scene below, Huai Shi was suddenly struck by a thought, "Wait—we're just flying openly across the sky like this. Isn't that dangerous?"
He turned his head, looking at the vague silhouettes of birds trailing them. They resembled hawks or falcons, but each was covered in layers of mold and bore various malformed organs of indistinguishable purpose...
They pursued the ornithopter closely but soon veered off, swooping down on the creatures below.
"Don't worry, those things won't catch up," August nonchalantly shrugged. "Because there's something much more terrifying in the sky…"
What in the world?
Before Huai Shi could ask for details, he saw the central tower in the distant city suddenly tremble. Dozens of chaotic red beams shot out from the massive sphere atop the tower, brushing against the ornithopter before retracting instantly.
Then, within the sun-bright sphere, an indifferent eye slowly opened.
It looked their way.
The earth roared.
The silent ruins trembled. One after another, buildings flipped over, revealing patches resembling dense forests of... anti-aircraft artillery positions.
No way, how could there be such things in Hell!
Had they stumbled into some kind of military base?
Huai Shi's eyes nearly popped out. All he could manage was an incredulous gasp, adding a negligible amount of carbon emissions to the area.
Thunderous explosions resounded as projectiles rose into the sky.
Countless terrifying flashes of light burst forth like blossoming flowers. With his enhanced dynamic vision, Huai Shi concentrated and could even glimpse the air stirring like currents, the light diffusing, and, in the darkness, projectiles resembling Crossbow Arrows—etched with numerous Alchemy Runes—soaring skyward.
Laden with chillingly malicious Curses, these projectiles trailed dismal green streaks, like thousands of hands reaching from the ground, clawing towards them across the sky.
The ornithopter suddenly lurched higher.
Its massive frame seemed to wail as it soared hundreds of meters in an instant. Darkness enveloped Huai Shi's vision. But it was futile; it only gained them a marginal distance, delaying the inevitable by less than half a second.
And in that half-second, as the earth turned, a fearsome silhouette emerged from a gathering sandstorm in the distance.
The storm quaked.
Suddenly, a streak of light sped towards them, interposing itself between the countless projectiles and the ornithopter. It rapidly disintegrated, causing a gray mist to expand and diffuse in the storm, forming a lead-black cloud.
Within it, miracles from Hell were triggered, setting off countless colliding alchemical reactions that induced a qualitative change, creating phenomena Huai Shi couldn't begin to comprehend.
Any projectiles that flew into it vanished instantly.
Dissolved.
Like grains of salt falling into the sea.
In just a few seconds, all the artillery fire vanished. Undergoing decay, the ashy-gray clouds also rapidly degraded, turning into a stinging, mottled rain that fell to the earth.
A layer of rusted verdigris spread from where the rain hit the earth. Amidst it, plants of cast Bronze grew rapidly, their edges sharp, reflecting an iron sheen.