Chapter 2191: Chapter 2191

"Let me offer you a hint. Mysterious Realms exist for a variety of reasons, and you've encountered many different types on your journey. There's one particular kind that exists as fragments of space, floating in the endless void beyond the material world, created to imprison dangerous monsters. When something goes wrong with those seals, people from the material world are drawn in to fix them."

"You mean like that Blood Therapy Town?"

Jenkins thought of the town he had visited not long ago.

"Yes. By passing through the town, you consumed and resolved the matter of the 'Blood,' which essentially cleared the blocked cycle of spirit and energy, indirectly reinforcing the seal. This Mysterious Realm is also a kind of seal. But what's imprisoned here is no ordinary creature—it's a fragment of a past calamity. This time, my master hasn't injected any external disaster into this place, because the calamity itself is already here.

With that in mind, doesn't that narrow down your options considerably?"

the head remarked, and this statement was the absolute truth, containing no hint of a lie.

Jenkins turned back and resumed walking, supporting the old man.

"In that case, I think I understand now."

The cat on his shoulder twitched its little nose, a sign that it, too, understood.

The lamp wasn't exceptionally bright, but its glow pierced the dense fog, allowing those still behind to follow the light and catch up.

"How are you going to catch up with them?" The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the ⓝovelFire.net

Jenkins asked the old man, who was now gripping the rope tightly, waiting to be lowered.

"You don't need to worry about that. I have my own way."

Jenkins didn't press the matter. After saying his goodbyes, he carefully began to lower the old man down to the dock. He couldn't leave the vessel, nor did he wish to, so he couldn't lean over the side to watch for the man's feet touching the ground.

He only let go of the rope after the old man yelled that he had safely "landed." True to his word, the old man then shouted up the name of the most powerful creature dwelling here. It couldn't be its true name, of course—the true names of the Beasts of Calamity were not something mortals dared to utter. What the old man called out was merely a simple designation:

"It's the ants! The ants here are the most powerful!"

The Golden Ant that Gnaws the World Tree. This was the name of a Beast of Calamity Jenkins had learned long ago during a casual chat with Papa Oliver. Before Jenkins had entered the nine-story pagoda in the city center, the Church had also managed to uncover some information about it.

This Beast of Calamity was not a single individual, but an entire colony totaling 666 members. Their number never increased or decreased; if one was destroyed, the others would breed a replacement. Even if only a single ant remained, it could regenerate the entire population.

This trait of being impossible to completely eradicate, a feature of this colony-based Beast of Calamity, manifested as a principle of "uncertainty." It was impossible, by any means, to determine the exact number of living Golden Ants at any given time. In other words, while their maximum population was known, their current numbers could never be confirmed.

The Church's records on this dangerous creature were exceedingly scarce. In fact, among all the Beasts of Calamity, aside from the unrecorded disasters of the first three epochs, documentation on the Golden Ant was the most minimal.

Even in the case of the mysterious Devouring Moon Spirit Cat, the Church at least understood its catastrophic nature, knew that it slumbered beyond the material world, and was aware of its conflict with the Lost Butterfly population. But when it came to the Golden Ant, all the Church knew was that it was exceptionally dangerous, and that after its sealing, there had been no further word.

Although the information from the Church was vague, as Jenkins contemplated the creature, the leaf bestowed upon him by the World Tree suddenly began to glow within his spirit. Then, a piece of ancient history was revealed to him.

The Golden Ant that Gnaws the World Tree had originally been nothing more than a colony of common ants living near the roots of the World Tree. They existed during an age when the Tree itself was beginning to wither, a process it initiated to completely shed the calamitous powers it had accumulated.

As the World Tree withered, some of its branches and leaves, saturated with calamitous power, transformed into Mysterious Objects. It was during this time that the ants, by unconsciously gnawing on the roots of the World Tree, absorbed this power. They then proceeded to slowly devour most of the Tree's great body, causing its premature demise.

Of course, this was something the World Tree allowed. Otherwise, separating itself from the power of the primordial Beasts of Calamity would have required an even greater effort.

In any case, the emergence of the Golden Ant that Gnaws the World Tree was unlike most calamities. It was not a manifestation of its own epoch's disaster. Instead, it absorbed the calamities of past epochs, which granted it the power to consume the disaster of its own time and ascend to the status of a true Beast of Calamity. In that respect, it was somewhat similar to the Difference Engine.

They were named the "Golden Ant that Gnaws the World Tree" because they had devoured most of the Tree and possessed the "Golden Calamity" of their epoch. And since they had, in fact, consumed the World Tree, this ant colony truly possessed an ability that was especially harmful to it.

This effect was potent not only against the actual World Tree, but, naturally, against its seedling as well—which was Jenkins.

Jenkins didn't know whether the Savior of that epoch had succeeded. He only knew that to prevent the colony's power from concentrating, the 666 ants had been sealed separately. The number of ants in each individual seal was deliberately varied, so that even if a small group managed to escape, the consequences wouldn't be catastrophic.

Evidently, this Mysterious Realm was one of those seals. The fact that humanity's final refuge was called the "Iron World Tree" was probably not some twisted joke on the part of the Difference Engine, but the original name within the realm's lore. After all, the natural habitat of the Golden Ants was the World Tree itself.

"So, do you understand now?"

the head on the ship asked.

"I understand now," Jenkins began. "The Difference Engine, which fell from the sky calling itself 'Great Wisdom,' has joined forces with the Golden Ants native to this realm. Together, they are transforming this world into a purely metallic state. Creatures of flesh and blood become clockwork automatons, while inanimate objects turn to metal. Cities become brass, forests are stripped of life, and the land and seas are frozen as shimmering alloys. Steel consumes all, gears reshape creation... This world is the 'Land of Steel,' where mechanical cogs and Golden Ants coexist. Speaking of which, the ants aren't actually made of gold, are they? Perhaps that's why they're so willing to work with the equally metallic Difference Engine."

"Savior, you are even more clever than I thought,"

"I've finished speaking, and I believe I'm correct. So where's the door?"

Jenkins demanded, looking at the metal head on the chair. The head gave him the exact answer he had expected:

"Just like you've experienced before, I'm going to have to cheat again."