MOBA Game Apocalypse-Chapter 216: That’s Not Going To Happen

"What…"

Adam stood completely still for a moment, a stupid look plastered across his face. His mouth hung slightly open, eyes unfocused as he slowly pulled his hands away from his head. He blinked once, twice, then started shaking his head vigorously from side to side, but nothing felt different.

There… doesn't seem to be anything inside his skull.

"What… happened?" he muttered again, touching his forehead with trembling fingers.

"A fucking black crystal went inside you!" Carmen still pointed at him. "Ah! El diablo! You a monster, gringo! I knew it! I knew—"

[The Administrators are explaining something. Please refrain from talking.]

Carmen's mouth snapped shut instantly when the voice spoke again. Everyone in the vicinity—IBAA agents, civilians, even the scattered emergency responders—looked first at the transformed Leak, then up at the sky above.

[Scrimmage has two modes. One is Hunt mode, like what all of you have already been doing. And now you will have access to Survival mode. In Survival mode, the strongest within the vicinity of the gate will be chosen as your Emperor, and a corresponding Crystal will materialize and be put inside them.]

Every head turned toward Adam as those words echoed across the broken street. The IBAA agents exchanged glances. Even Carmen's wings twitched nervously. The distant civilians who hadn't fully evacuated also stopped to stare at Adam.

[Once the countdown above the gate trickles to zero, Champions from other worlds will come rushing in. Defend your Emperor. Once your Emperor dies, the crystal inside them will be exposed. If this crystal gets destroyed, it will explode and destroy everything within the vicinity. Catastrophic, no? Well, I would love to say more, but that's all the Administrators are willing to explain. Figure it out yourselves! Good luck!]

Survival…?

Adam looked down at his hands, his eyes widening as pieces slowly clicked together in his mind.

The others realized it too, their faces shifting from confusion to dawning horror.

"Hunt mode…? Survival mode? What do they even mean…?"

"Stupid, didn't you fucking listen?"

"We've… always been on hunt mode? What?"

"Survival…? Champion? What?"

Everyone was confused, or perhaps they were refusing to understand what the implications meant. Adam, however, understood exactly what all of it entailed.

This entire time, they'd been killing monsters who were actually just trying to defend themselves. Or, in the Administrators' words, survive them. But then, the monsters from the Leaks had always attacked them first.

But then again, maybe that was all they were—monsters. They didn't know any better, just like how humans didn't know.

Or… maybe some of them weren't monsters? Don't, Adam. Don't you ever feel sorry for trying to save people.

Adam's thoughts started to spiral down into a dark pit.

The verdlecks did have human bodies—maybe they were people? What about the rainbow plant-looking insects? Were they truly monsters? And each time they destroyed a crystal… it exploded? How powerful? What if they couldn't understand each other since they were too alien? No. The Administrators mentioned something about combatant worlds like them, so… these combatant worlds contained people? Was that—

"Chiquito!"

Adam snapped out of his spiraling thoughts as Carmen suddenly slapped him across the face, the sharp crack echoing off the damaged buildings.

"What are you doing?! We have to secure you!" Carmen glared at him, then pointed at the Leak, or rather… the ticking numbers floating above it.

Twenty-nine minutes and nineteen—eighteen seconds.

Adam blinked several times, shaking his head to clear it.

"Wh—" He was about to say something, but then noticed something that made his blood run cold—the sky and horizon were completely dark, as if night had fallen instantly—it was the same sky and horizon the worlds inside the Leak held.

"Wait… Are we… trapped here?" Adam asked as he looked around.

Carmen grabbed his shoulders. "What are you doing?! We need to get you out of here!"

Adam stared at her in confusion. "Where…? We're trapped here."

"Huh? The fuck are you saying?"

"We're surrounded by a black dome, like in a Leak. We can't pass through it."

Carmen raised an eyebrow. "What the fuck? Are you on crystal? What dome?!"

"Huh?" Adam stared at her. "You… don't see it?"

"See what, you puto?! We need to get you—"

"If you don't see it, then…" Adam blinked, looking around at the dome that only he could perceive.

It means you're the only one trapped here.

He then turned to the IBAA staff and shouted, "The civilians should be evacuated first! Now!"

The IBAA staff looked at each other uncertainly, then started moving with urgency. Adam was about to join them in the evacuation, but Carmen pulled him back by his arm.

"What are you doing?! Didn't you hear the fucking voice?! If you die, this city will be destroyed!"

"Me…?" Adam looked at her with an almost pitiful expression. "Die?"

"You…" Carmen stared him in the eyes, and then slowly let go.

"We need to evacuate the people," Adam repeated firmly. "And we need your help."

Carmen stared at him for several seconds, then sighed heavily. "What do you want me to do…?"

Adam looked around the destruction until his eyes settled on a city bus that had been abandoned during the initial chaos, but still very much intact.

"Think you can carry a bus?"

Carmen rolled her eyes. "You want me to break the laws of physics?"

"Carry it from the frame. I'll lift it… just don't fly at the speed of sound. How about it?"

"Why don't you fly and carry it?" Carmen groaned, but nodded in the end. "Fine, fuck. Saving Americans wasn't on my to-do list today."

And with that, time passed in a blur. Once again, with Carmen's help, they were able to evacuate hundreds of people from the immediate danger zone.

Now only five minutes remained on the countdown. There were still people in the distance, but they were far away and continuing to evacuate with the help of the IBAA.

Adam now stood in front of what appeared to be a black wall that stretched endlessly in both directions—the edge of the invisible Dome that only he could see and touch.

Adam placed his hand on the dark surface, causing it to ripple outward from his touch.

"It… really is the same as—?!?!" Adam stepped back in surprise as Beatrice's head suddenly emerged from the dark wall so casually.

Beatrice squinted at him. "You… really can't pass through? You can't see anything beyond this point?" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Adam nodded. "It's… like being inside the edge of a Leak."

"I see."

Beatrice, along with Harvey, had arrived a few minutes earlier. Adam had already explained to them about him being chosen as the Boss. Now they were experimenting with the Dome that only Adam seemed able to see and touch.

"Interesting." Beatrice fully stepped out of the wall, looking at her tablet. She swiped her fingers across the screen before showing it to Adam.

"If I'm right, then this is your area of responsibility, Adam. I think we can deduce that the dome you're trapped in is the same dome we see whenever we go inside a Leak as… Hunters," she said, a slight pause in her breath.

Adam looked at the map where Beatrice had drawn a circle around the affected area. He stared for a while, then sighed deeply.

"Why… is this happening?" he muttered.

Beatrice also looked exhausted, but took a heavy breath.

"The monsters spawning makes sense now. It isn't that they're infinitely spawning—they're coming in from the edge of the Dome. We just can't see it."

Beatrice looked at Adam intently. "And it's also the reason why the Boss usually remains in one spot."

"Beatrice…" Adam whispered. "Do you think we've been killing people this—"

"No." Beatrice cut him off immediately. "They were monsters, nothing more."

"…But that changes soon." Adam turned toward the direction where the Leak should be.

"Wh—" Beatrice was about to say something, but Carmen's loud voice screamed at them from above.

"What the fuck are you guys still doing?! Why isn't el jefe hiding?!" Carmen landed hard next to them, kicking up dust and debris.

"Eh, what the fuck did you call me, you bald demon?!" Carmen pointed beside Adam accusingly.

Adam looked behind him—but there was no one there. But after a few seconds, Harvey emerged from the dark wall.

"I said, what the fuck is a child doing here?!" Harvey pointed down at Carmen.

"Huuuh?" Carmen didn't back down, standing on her tiptoes as she snarled at Harvey.

Harvey casually placed his hands in his pockets, making sure to look down at Carmen. "What? Can't hear me from all the way down there?"

"Let's do it. Come on!" Carmen's wings exploded from her back.

Beatrice could only sigh, stepping between them. "Calm down. We only have a few minutes left—we need to go back to the Leak, now."

"That's what the fuck I was trying to say!" Carmen screamed at Beatrice. "Let's go! Let's go!" Carmen floated up, then pointed at Adam. "Hide."

Adam, however, shook his head firmly.

"No. That's not going to happen."