Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner - Chapter 308

Chapter 308: Entropy harvesting
Commander Owen stood before a camera, his uniform torn and bloodied, a gash above his right eye still seeping red onto his stoic face. Despite his injuries, his voice remained steady as Kelvin finished setting up the emergency broadcast system.

“Citizens of the Eastern Cardinal,” Owen began, “this is Commander Owen Reeves of the Academy Defense Corps. We are currently responding to a terrorist attack centered at the Nexus arena. While we have neutralized the immediate threat posed by these terrorist operatives, we have discovered an explosive device of significant magnitude.”

He paused, choosing his words carefully. “Our technical experts have determined that conventional disarmament is impossible. We have formulated an evacuation plan that requires your immediate cooperation. All citizens within a five-kilometer radius of the Arena Complex must proceed directly to the arena itself. I repeat: proceed directly to the arena.”

The command center’s communications panel immediately lit up with incoming transmissions, panic spreading like wildfire across the sector.

“Come toward the bomb? Are you insane?”

“This has to be a trap!”

“The terrorists must have Owen at gunpoint!”

Kelvin glanced anxiously at the commander, who maintained his composure despite the flood of frightened responses.

“We anticipated this reaction,” Owen admitted quietly as the broadcast temporarily switched to a holding graphic. “People’s survival instincts tell them to run away from danger, not toward it.”

“Then we need to—” Kelvin began, but stopped as the door to the command center slid open.

Webb Pithon strode into the room with the confident bearing of a man accustomed to controlling any environment he entered. His tailored suit remained immaculate despite the chaos outside, not a hair out of place as he surveyed the situation with calculating eyes.

“Father?” Kelvin’s voice held equal parts surprise and suspicion. “What are you doing here? You should be at safety distance by now.”

Webb ignored his son’s question, turning instead to Commander Owen. “The natural reaction to your announcement will be panic,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Mass hysteria is already spreading. Within minutes, communication channels will be overwhelmed, transportation gridlocked. The population will effectively eliminate themselves before any bomb has the chance.”

Owen’s jaw tightened. “Do you have a solution, Mr. Pithon, or are you simply here to narrate our failure?”

Webb’s gaze shifted briefly to his son before returning to the commander. “Surely Pithon Industries must have developed countermeasures for this type of scenario? Some device or technology that could contain or redirect the blast?” Owen asked desperately.

“What did my son tell you about the bomb?” Webb asked instead.

Owen frowned. “Kelvin reported that conventional disarmament is impossible. The quantum-entangled detonators make any tampering immediately trigger detonation.”

Webb nodded. “Then I suggest you believe him. My son is every bit as capable as I am, with potential that exceeds my own. If Kelvin says there is no technical solution, then there isn’t one.”

Kelvin stared at his father, momentarily speechless at the unexpected vote of confidence.

Owen sighed heavily, running a hand through his graying hair. “So what now? We have millions of panicking civilians and less than twenty minutes before detonation.”

“I will address the population,” Webb stated, straightening his already perfect tie. “People trust the Pithon name. I’ve built my career on solving supposedly unsolvable problems.”

“But what exactly is the plan?” Owen pressed. “You can get them to the arena, but then what?”

Kelvin let out a sudden chuckle, the sound bordering on hysterical. “We’re working on it. Or rather, Noah Eclipse is working on it.”

Webb raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he took position before the camera. Owen and Kelvin stepped away, the younger Pithon speaking through clenched teeth.

“Noah better hurry up with whatever miracle he’s planning,” Kelvin muttered as they left the broadcast area. “My father just gave me the vote of confidence of a lifetime and basically told everyone present that his son is the best thing since sliced bread.” He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “My honor and, oh, you know, just a couple hundred thousand lives are on the line here.” His nervous chuckle did little to mask the anxiety in his voice.

Meanwhile, in the arena’s central floor, Noah stood surrounded by growing piles of bodies. Most wore the distinctive dark uniforms of Purge operatives, but scattered among them were the blue and gold of Academy uniforms and the formal attire of regional commanders. The sight was grim, proof of the day’s devastating toll.

Students and surviving faculty members worked efficiently under his direction, arranging the bodies in concentric circles. Many cast uncertain glances at Noah, confusion and fear evident in their expressions.

“This will do,” Noah announced suddenly, surveying the macabre arrangement with clinical detachment.

“What exactly are you planning to do with… them?” a Year Two student asked hesitantly, gesturing toward the bodies.

Noah’s expression remained unreadable. “You should all leave now. Join the civilians gathering outside. I’ll meet you shortly.”

The students exchanged uncertain glances, but years of Academy training had instilled obedience to clear orders. One by one, they filed out of the arena, looking back occasionally at the solitary figure standing amid the dead.

When the last person exited, Noah released a heavy sigh. Alone now, he allowed his shoulders to slump slightly, the weight of what he was about to do settling over him like a physical burden.

A notification appeared in his field of vision, the system interface overlaying his perception of reality.

[Entropy detected. Would you like to consume?]

Noah closed his eyes momentarily. He’d only done this once before, months ago when void sickness had threatened to consume him from within. The memory was still vivid—the intoxicating rush of power as he drained the residual energy from corpses in the base morgue, Sophie standing guard at the door, her face masked with concern.

‘This isn’t the same,’ he reminded himself. ‘That was survival. This is necessary sacrifice.’

Entropy harvesting—the system’s clinical term for what amounted to corpse harvesting. The process of extracting residual entropy from deceased organisms, converting it to usable void energy. Effectively, consuming death itself.

‘I’ve avoided this for good reason,’ Noah thought, looking at his hands as dark energy played between his fingers. ‘Not just because it’s disrespectful to the dead, though that’s part of it. Not just because it feels unnatural, though it certainly does.’

He began walking slowly around the perimeter of the arranged bodies, preparing himself mentally for what was to come.

‘The truth is, I’m afraid of how it makes me feel,’ he admitted to himself. ‘Powerful. Invincible. The rush is… addictive. Last time, I barely stopped myself from draining every corpse in that morgue. The look in Sophie’s eyes when she saw me like that—’

Noah shook his head, banishing the memory. ‘I’m not a saint. Never claimed to be one. I’m just doing what’s necessary. This doesn’t feel right, but the alternative is unconscionable.’

Fifteen minutes remained on the countdown. Hundreds of thousands of lives hanging in the balance.

‘There’s a line I promised myself I wouldn’t cross,’ Noah thought as he positioned himself at the center of the concentric rings of bodies. ‘The line Minister Reign crossed when he betrayed his own daughter and the citizens he swore to protect. The line Albright crossed with his son. The line the Purge crosses every day with their fanaticism.’

He took a deep breath, centering himself as he had been taught in countless meditation sessions.

‘Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. But sometimes… sometimes the calculus of morality demands the lesser evil.’

Noah raised his hands, void energy coalescing around him in writhing tendrils of darkness. The air temperature plummeted as reality itself seemed to bend around him, space distorting as he accessed the fundamental forces that governed his domain manipulation abilities.

“Forgive me,” he whispered, though whether to the dead, to himself, or to some higher power, even he wasn’t certain.

The system interface flashed across his vision:

[Entropy harvesting activated.]