CHAPTER 246: ADVANCE PAYMENT PLAN

Lilith stared intently at Nathan.

"Twenty-four years from now..."

Nathan frowned. "What? But the Tower only appeared about twenty years ago... and—" He suddenly remembered: the short time he spent inside the Tower was nearly equal to a whole year outside. "Doesn’t this feel too soon? Humanity is still weak..."

Lilith nodded. "I’ve tried manifesting Towers in other eras. The result was always the same: once a Tower is born, the war’s countdown is locked. If a Tower appeared in 100 AD, then by 145 AD the war would erupt. It never changes."

"Tch..." Nathan clicked his tongue. "That makes things even worse. Especially with that punishment... humanity might lose its strongest people before the dimensional war even arrives..." He sighed in frustration.

Just then, a system panel appeared before his eyes.

[Ding!]

[Optimal solution: spread the genetics of the First Commander as widely as possible.]

[Commander Genetics = rare anomaly. From weakest → strongest. If inherited, dominant gene → stronger offspring.]

Nathan’s eyes widened. "So that’s it... The grand plan to save the world isn’t training guilds, or forging alliances—it’s turning me into some kind of baby-making machine?"

The text continued relentlessly.

[Recommendation: mass offspring production within the next 24 years. Human survival efficiency will increase significantly.]

Lilith fell silent, her expression unreadable.

Nathan pressed his fingers to his temples. "Unbelievable..." He lowered his head with a heavy sigh. He couldn’t accept the idea of breeding children only to prepare them for war—condemning innocent lives born of his blood to carry the burden of fighting Learth’s overwhelming might.

[Ding!]

The panel lit up again.

[Additional Note: The perfect genetic combination of the Commander already exists.]

[Identification: Ruby. Hybrid of human and Rabbit Fighters.]

Nathan froze. "...What?"

His face twisted, as if all blood had drained away. "Ruby...?!"

He staggered a step forward, then snapped at the panel with bloodshot eyes. "Oi, oi, you’ve got to be kidding me! She’s my daughter! What the hell do you mean dragging Ruby into this?!"

The panel remained cold, ignoring his outburst.

[Correct. Ruby is the initial manifestation of Commander genetics. Her combat potential exceeds the threshold of normal humans. She is eligible to participate in the dimensional war.]

"No!" Nathan slammed his palm on the crystal console, veins popping.

The system’s voice echoed again, merciless.

[Additional confirmation: Monster Girls may also enter the combat candidate list. This tolerance originates from an intervention by The One Above Everything, who implanted a foreign database into the Tower’s core.]

Lilith’s lips parted in shock, her face paling. "What...? A foreign database? Impossible... I faced Him directly just now, yet... He never told me this!"

Nathan swung toward her, fury twisting his features. "Great. So it’s not enough that this cosmic war is mandatory, now even toddlers and bunny-girls get drafted? What’s next, you’ll tell me my future grandkids need to bring their toys to the battlefield?!"

The panel blinked, tone flat.

[The data injection cannot be traced. The system only detects the energy signature of The One Who Made the Earth, forced to accept the information.]

Lilith lowered her head, her voice trembling. "Strange. For thousands of cycles, Monster Girls were barred from Earth’s war."

Nathan clenched his fists until his knuckles went white, breath ragged. Ruby’s innocent smile haunted his mind.

"Damn it..." His teeth ground together, a bitter laugh tearing out of him. It wasn’t joy—it was a father’s rage twisting into despair.

"I just became a dad... and now the cosmos already stamped my little girl’s draft papers?! Over my dead body!"

[Ding!]

The panel flickered again.

[Additional data: scenario of Earth’s defeat.]

[If Earth is defeated, no life will remain. All of humanity will be dissolved into energy to strengthen Learth’s foundation. Including: Ruby, the Commander’s partner, and all Monster Girls. There will be no life cycle afterward. Only eternal utilization as energy.]

Nathan froze. All his earlier rage felt as if stabbed by an icy blade.

"...What..." his voice cracked. "So... if Earth loses, Ruby doesn’t just die... she—she’ll be turned into fuel?! Domina too?! Everyone... just turned into Learth’s foundation?!"

The panel confirmed without mercy.

[Correct.]

Nathan staggered, his face pale. The image of Ruby’s innocent laughter in Domina’s arms... suddenly warped into a vision of their bodies shredded into pure energy.

"Insane..." Nathan clawed at his own hair, his breath ragged. "Why does it have to be like this?! I just had a child... I’ve barely spent two weeks in the Tower, and now I’m dragged into carrying this rotten cosmic truth?!"

Lilith stared at him for a long time. Her usual cold gaze cracked, replaced by something that almost resembled pity. In her heart, she knew: Nathan—once just a pitiful man without pride—was now being forced to bear a cosmic secret that even a being as exalted as herself could not endure.

She bit her lip, her voice soft. "...Nathan."

Nathan raised his head, eyes bloodshot, his face half-mad from the pressure.

Nathan lowered his head, shoulders shaking, until a bitter laugh burst out.

"...Hah... hahahah... shit."

He dragged a hand down his face, eyes bloodshot but lips curling into a twisted grin.

"Funny, huh? All the fucking around, all the dirty crap I pulled with Monster Girls... turns out it was just an advance payment plan."

Lilith froze, stunned by his words.

"Back then, all I wanted was to be a hunter—strong, badass, loaded with cash. But now? Heh... apparently I’m the poor bastard paying the bill for the whole damn planet."

His laughter faded, leaving a harsh sigh. He stared at the panel, hollow-eyed.

"So this is what it feels like... laughing while someone’s got your balls in a cosmic chokehold."

[Ding!]

The panel trembled, its letters sharp like an alarm.

[Update: abnormal dimensional plate movement.]

[Several coordinates on Earth show signs of portal opening.]

Nathan’s eyes widened. "What—portals? On Earth?!"

Without a second thought, he turned around. "Mom, Dad... Lily, even Sophia! They’re out there!"

Lilith reached out, hesitant. "Nathan—"

But her voice faltered. As the First Commander, Nathan was no longer bound by the rules of an ordinary hunter. If he wished to leave, the Tower’s gates would open. All Lilith could do was grit her teeth as she stared at his back.

"If those portals are really opening," Nathan’s gaze burned crimson, "then I need to be there. Right now."