Mr. Sung Jin Woo explained the whole alien landscape and tall structures to me.
The towering strips were called skyscrapers, and they were the efficient answer to maximizing value within a limited area: vertical integration and expansion of businesses or corporate operations.
I registered his explanations; all my allies except me understood the nature of this place, having been to locations like these many times before.
The heavy mist persisted, showing no signs of dissipating, creating an eerie sense of emptiness and isolation. There were no discernible signs of life nor any clues of human settlements. The whole location was empty of people.
I uprooted a pole, a traffic pole they called it, then used it as a sword. The traffic pole glowed in bright luminance as I charged an attack, intending to destroy that ripple and prevent it from being used by the encroaching Ainz Ooal Gown's armies.
With a single swing, the ripple vanished, taking the general direction with it. The skyscraper a few meters away from the ripple disappeared, eviscerated into fragments. There were still thousands, if not millions, of ripples scattered all across this space, but at the very least, I destroyed the closest one to us.
We then walked and explored; the only audible sounds were our footsteps and labored breathing. Mr. Sung ordered his shadows to scout ahead and report back anything interesting.
We continued our exploration. I mainly craned my neck, looking at the impossible height of these structures. My allies noted that no normal building should be this tall; they couldn't see the peak through the oppressive mist, but I could.
We stopped at a small establishment; it had a coffee cup sign. "I could go for some coffee; I preferred tea, but I will take anything to smooth the edges at this point." We set up our camp inside the building and surprisingly, there was indeed coffee inside.
Izuku Midoriya volunteered to prepare the coffee, and so did Kiyotaka Ayanokoji. They were becoming great friends.
"Escape. Escape. Evacuate this reality."
Mr. Sung's thoughts were in full display, at least to me. He was worried and rightly so; he was looking for another ripple, another exit. However, he also realized that we were merely buying time by escaping to another level.
It was also good to see Mr. Sung mingle with the others. At first, there was that language barrier, but I seamlessly introduced my divine language gift, allowing proper and efficient understanding. They've all noticed it for sure, but they didn't react to it; this place had its way of taking surprises away from your soul.
"Cursed Energy. Learn. Acquire."
I thought it was Megumi Fushiguro's thoughts at first, but I quickly realized that it was coming from Kiyotaka. At first, I never really saw him as anything but your usual crafty, silent student. At first, I avoided reading his mind, considering it rude, but over time, I sometimes wished I hadn't.
He was smarter and more capable than he lets on, but it was his choice to hide his true nature, and he had the right to maintain it. I will not break nor violate his right. It was his personal business after all.
"I will go ahead and explore. I will be right back the moment I sense trouble." As soon as I said those words, I noticed their expressions slightly shifting. They were all dependent on me, except for Mr. Sung.
Mr. Sung, however, continued drinking coffee, just raising a single eyebrow.
"Don't worry, I promise to be back as soon as possible, and I won't be too far," I announced before disappearing in front of them. I wanted to explore this whole place and unearth any secrets, if there were any, but the main reason I left was to deliberate on my remaining options.
As soon as I found an empty patch of ground, save for a random metal bench. I sat on it, clutched my head, rested my elbows on my thighs, and stared at the ground. I had to make a difficult choice — an unpopular one, yet the only path that ensures our survival.
Ainz Ooal Gown, what a terrifying opponent. I would rather not face him again, nor any of his enforcers. My instincts and intuition were screaming, roaring loud signals to flee or hide. I did not expect to win, nor to stand meaningfully victorious against them.
Fighting them was not ideal.
"I will have to drag them to my world for their sake and for their lives. They'll hate me, but they will live."
That was my final decision.
I rose from the bench with a heavy, exhausted sigh, returning to that cafe. I didn't want my coffee to turn cold; it'd be rude to Izuku and Kiyotaka. The city remained quiet and eerily still, unnerving me even further.
"!?" My senses flared, like a dog sensing something wrong.
The world violently shook; a massive earthquake struck, toppling several structures and even splitting a skyscraper in half.
The shockwave sent me flying, but I recovered immediately, clinging to a red object that Midoriya called a hydrant. The enormous force made me think something massive just dropped, and most likely it won't be the last.
I only know one adversary with that kind of power.
Ainz Ooal Gown.
I immediately ran straight towards the epicenter, further away from the city. I grabbed a pole as I ran, violently yanking it from the ground. I could feel a massive pressure mounting on the back of my head and my whole body; whoever this was, they were prepared for a fight.
And they've already noticed me.
The moment I arrived, I saw a figure in the middle of a massive crater as if a big asteroid had crashed into the ground. The young male figure wore a green uniform, another student, another lost soul, most likely. He had pink hair and hair accessories that looked like pins but were hardly ladylike. His eyes were covered with green-tinted weirdly designed spectacles.
I was about to call him out when he disappeared instantly. The man left no faint scent or essence; he truly vanished from existence.
Whatever it was, it solidified my decision even more. We needed to leave as soon as possible. They will hate me, and that was preferable to seeing them dead or under the hands of the skeleton menace.
A shadow appeared beside me, popping out of my shadow. It didn't seem bothered by my divine protection, which made my shadows untenable for tenancy. The shadow stared with expectant eyes, as if I already knew the questions and it didn't bother to ask.
"Tell your master that it wasn't me and it was someone else."
I added as I threw the pole away.