Chapter 294: The Call
Standing before the towering headquarters of the K.G.C.C, Steven couldn't help but be awed.
Even compared to the skyscrapers from his old world—before he ever crossed over to Minecraft—this building was second to none.
To think something like this could exist in a land plagued by constant catastrophes… It was almost laughable.
Sure, this place was technically the capital of Kazimierz, the Grand Knight Territory, but constructing something of this scale?
No matter how you look at it, it shouldn't have been easy.
And yet, what stood out even more—what made the whole thing absurd—was the building right next to it.
A museum meant to honor the heroes of Kazimierz… now dwarfed, outclassed, and rendered insignificant in the shadow of this monolithic corporate tower.
The contrast between the two structures was like a mirror reflecting the soul of Kazimierz today.
Heroes and glory?
Those meant nothing anymore when measured against the overwhelming power of economics.
Whether it was the Kurantas living in the Grand Knight Territory or the knights who fought in the tournaments, all they cared about now was wealth.
Honor? Thrown away like yesterday's news.
Steven didn't find this tragic.
This was simply the way of the times.
Still… if they were tossing aside their former glory just for money, then that was downright pathetic.
Yet the people of Kazimierz remained blissfully unaware.
To them, the K.G.C.C was a beacon—bringing them prosperity, modernity, advancement.
They had no idea they were drowning in a fabricated dream.
And so, he didn't mind.
If the people refused to wake up on their own, then he'd be the one to ring the alarm.
If no true knights remained… then he'd become the demon king himself—to choose his own "heroes" from the masses.
Even if the city rejected their very existence.
He yawned, brushing the thoughts aside for now.
Then, without a care, he drank an invisibility potion in one fluid motion.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight and strolled casually toward the entrance of the K.G.C.C's tower, like a man walking through his backyard.
The guards stationed at the doors didn't even notice him.
The building's vaunted security systems? Worthless.
He slipped through every barrier with insulting ease.
According to the intel from the Darksteels, the document he needed was stored on a particular hidden floor of the tower.
To reach it, he'd first need to travel to the middle levels and find a secret passage concealed there.
Honestly, the setup was impressive.
Not only had they hidden the true archive room in such a convoluted manner, but they'd even created two decoy archives—one at the very top of the tower, the other deep in the basement.
Both were packed with genuine-looking documents and guarded with formidable defenses.
The kind of bait that would easily trick any would-be intruder into walking straight into a trap.
And the real kicker?
If either of those traps was triggered, the true archive room would automatically lock down—sealed tight, accessible only when the mysterious Chairman of the K.G.C.C arrived in person to disarm it.
As a final measure, each of the three rooms was under the constant watch of a different member of the "Armorless Union"—Darksteel operatives specially assigned to defend them.
It was a defense system without weakness.
At least… on paper.
Unfortunately for them, the one breaking in wasn't someone you could measure by normal standards.
He had already flipped all three of the Darksteels to his side long before this.
And the rest of the so-called defenses?
To him, they might as well have been paper walls.
Even the door said to be impenetrable, the one even a Darksteel couldn't crack—to him , it was nothing more than a toy.
Following the route provided by the Darksteels, he swiftly navigated the floors bustling with salarymen and patrolling guards, slipping past them like a shadow.
It wasn't long before he arrived at the elevator, the only one that could take him toward his true destination.
But just as he stood in front of the otherwise empty elevator, his steps came to a halt.
His eyes narrowed, not because someone had spotted him…but because he had spotted someone interesting.
There, dragging his feet with the air of a man who'd lost everything—ears drooping in sync with his defeated posture—was none other than the K.G.C.C's spokesperson.
The same guy he had mercifully spared earlier that day.
The name floating above the man's head—visible only to him thanks to being a Minecrafter—read "Czarny."
And judging by the direction he was heading, it seemed like they were both bound for the same place.
A grin tugged at the corner of Steven's lips.
He'd been wondering how he was supposed to enter the elevator without tripping the surveillance systems.
And now here was a golden opportunity, walking straight into his hands.
A perfect, unknowing guide.
Steven silently slid the mining pick he'd been planning to use to smash his way through the floor back into his inventory.
No need for brute force now.
With the elegance of a fox trailing its prey, he slipped in behind the dejected middle-aged man—who looked exactly like a student who'd just bombed their finals and was heading home for a very awkward conversation with their parents.
Together, they stepped into the strange, slightly off-model elevator.
Even from a short distance behind, Steven could hear the man sighing to himself over and over again.
There was fear in his breath. Regret in his posture.
The deeper the elevator descended, the more he resembled a death row inmate heading to the gallows.
'There's no doubt about it,' Steven thought.
This poor guy was probably getting chewed out because of the little "incident" at the Roar Arena earlier.
Not that he could really be blamed for it.
After all, who could've expected things to go so sideways, even after all that careful planning?
No one had anticipated someone like the Black Hole Knight—a walking calamity—would handle it all so effortlessly.
A monster like him… shouldn't even exist in this world.
It wouldn't have mattered if Czarny had brought an elite squad.
Even if the former champion, Margaret Nearl herself, had shown up in full silver-armed glory, she might not have been able to do a damn thing against that demon in human skin.
At least, that's what Czarny believed.
And he was scared.
Scared that if they didn't find a way to deal with this walking disaster soon, then the next thing swallowed by that black hole wouldn't just be a coliseum… it could be the entire Grand Knight Territory.
That was a warning their Chairman needed to hear.
The K.G.C.C had no idea what kind of monster they'd provoked.
The problem?
Czarny wasn't sure if he even had the right to deliver that warning.
Not anymore.
Of course, Czarny already knew how this was going to go.
Even if he told the truth…
Even if he laid everything bare…
To the eyes of others—or even if he looked at himself from the outside—his words would sound like nothing more than excuses.
A failed man grasping at justifications.
The K.G.C.C wouldn't believe that one person could possess such overwhelming power.
They couldn't accept a truth so cruel, even if doing so meant marching straight into destruction.
Still, with uncertainty gnawing at his heart, Czarny finally came to a stop in front of a door.
At the far end of this hallway stood the archive that housed the K.G.C.C's most sensitive secrets.
But that was not a place he had clearance to enter.
No, his destination was somewhere else.
He turned and stepped into a nearby room, the interior shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
Unbeknownst to him, however, another figure followed in his footsteps.
Invisible. Silent. Untraceable.
Steven.
The room was wide and void of light.
A single narrow beam, origin unknown, pierced the shadows and illuminated the very center of the space.
There, bathed in that ethereal spotlight, sat something entirely out of place in this towering monument of modern technology.
An old-fashioned rotary telephone.
As Czarny stepped inside, a sharp ring broke the silence, its crisp chime slicing through the gloom.
It jarred him from his anxiety, snapping him back into the moment.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself.
Then, step by heavy step, he approached the phone.
Hesitating only briefly, he finally picked up the receiver—his grip tense, but resolute.
"You took too long to answer. That means you're afraid."
The voice that came through the line was calm.
Steady.
Commanding.
There was no speaker in the room, yet the voice seemed to echo throughout the space, as if it filled every corner.
"I was only thinking… how best to explain what happened… Chairman."
Czarny placed the receiver gently beside the phone, then lowered his posture with reverent caution as he responded.
"I don't need an explanation, Czarny. I needed results. And what you've brought me is failure."
"You've let down not just me… but the entire K.G.C.C."
There was no room for excuses.
The man on the other end had no interest in hearing them.
"And as for what happened today at the Roar Arena… I already know everything. I don't need your version. I know what occurred."
The chairman's voice remained eerily composed, unshaken by the catastrophic events of the day.
But that only made Czarny panic more.
"No, Chairman, it's not something you can just hear about and understand! If you didn't see it yourself, you can't possibly comprehend the despair he brings! That man— he's not someone the current K.G.C.C can afford to provoke!"
He poured his warning into the silence.
But silence was all he received in return.
The kind that presses down on your chest like a weight.
The kind that chills you to the bone.
Eventually, after a long pause, the voice returned.
Softer now. And infinitely colder.
"You've disappointed me."
"That's not what you were supposed to say…"
And then—nothing.
The line went dead, replaced by a low, droning tone of disconnection.
Czarny stood frozen, receiver still in hand.
And then, from the darkness around him…
A sound.
Heavy. Mechanical.
Like some massive engine stirring in the shadows.
It was coming closer.
<+>
Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 349: A Good Citizen of Ursus[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/140157231?collection=55713[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=[4]expanded[5]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=expanded
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/140157231?collection=55713
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/140157231?collection=55713
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=expanded
[5] https://www.patreon.com/collection/55713?view=expanded