Entering Apocalypse in Easy-Mode-Chapter 589: Fourth

The silence stretched on until it became unbearable.

Mina finally broke it.

"What do you think he’s planning?" she asked quietly. "The World Master."

Clyde did not answer right away. He kept his eyes forward, watching the empty street beyond the ruined wall. He saw nothing moved, nothing breathed.

"He won’t add anything excessive or dangerous," Clyde said at last.

Mina looked at him.

"You sound sure."

"I am," Clyde replied. "We already made a deal."

That made her stiffen.

"A deal?" she repeated. "What kind of deal?"

Clyde exhaled slowly. He rubbed his thumb against the edge of his food packet, then lowered it.

"Basically," he said, "I’ll be working under him."

Mina’s eyes widened slightly.

"Working under the World Master?"

"Yes."

Silence fell again. This one felt heavier than before.

"And in return?" Mina asked.

"He stops doing anything unnecessarily dangerous," Clyde answered. "No excessive scenarios or pointless mass deaths just to entertain himself. And no sudden rule changes meant to wipe everyone out."

Mina stared at him, trying to read his face.

"That’s it?" she asked. "That’s the deal?"

"That’s the core of it," Clyde said. "There are conditions and other things. But the important part is that as long as I cooperate, he keeps things within a survivable range."

Mina looked away and hugged her knees slightly.

"That’s a lot you should do," she muttered.

"It is," Clyde agreed, then let out a sigh.

"So you’re basically chained to him now," she said. "Even after all this."

Clyde did not deny it.

"I was already involved the moment this begin," he said calmly. "This just formalized it."

Mina clenched her jaw.

"What happens if you cut this deal?" she asked.

Clyde’s eyes darkened for a moment.

"He stops holding back and doing his things again."

That answer was enough.

Mina fell quiet. She stared at the ruined city, at the broken buildings and scattered corpses, at the proof of what happened when the World Master’s restraint disappeared.

After a long moment, she nodded.

"Okay," she said.

Clyde turned his head slightly toward her.

"You’re accepting it just like that?"

Mina gave a small, tired smile.

"I don’t like it," she said. "But I get it. If this keeps things from getting worse, then... I’ll accept it. Besides, it was your decision. I can’t do anything to change it."

She looked back at him.

"Just don’t disappear on me because of it."

Clyde was silent for a second.

"I won’t," he said. "Not without warning, at least."

Mina snorted softly.

"That’s not very reassuring."

A faint pause passed between them.

Then the air changed.

It was subtle at first. A pressure settling over the city, like an invisible hand pressing down from above.

The silence deepened, not breaking but tightening.

Clyde’s eyes sharpened.

"I think its coming," he said.

Mina straightened immediately, her food forgotten.

The sky dimmed, not darkening, but losing its color. The world seemed to flatten, as if depth itself was being stripped away.

Then the notification finally appeared.

Not loud or dramatic. Just inevitable.

The Fourth Scenario was about to begin.

The sky froze.

Not darkened or shattered further. It simply stopped, like a paused screen.

Then the system spoke.

A translucent window unfolded across the air, visible to every surviving player in the city.

Its presence crushed the surroundings into silence.

[Fourth Scenario Begin.]

[Scenario: Crown of the Apex.]

[Description: The system has detected an abnormal concentration of power within this area. To restore balance, the strongest existence must be identified, tested, and acknowledged. Strength invites challenge. Dominance invites judgment.]

[Objective: Locate and confront the current Apex of the Area. The Apex must survive the trial to retain their position. Failure will result in replacement.]

[Reward: Apex Authority Privilege, Massive EXP, Exclusive Rights over Area Rules (Temporary)]

[Penalty for Failure: Loss of Status, Forced Downgrade, Possible Erasure.]

At the bottom of the window, a new line appeared.

[Current Apex Detected!]

The air trembled. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

A name began to form, letter by letter, burning itself into the sky.

[Jack Kessler]

The moment the name was finalized, a pulse exploded outward from Clyde’s body.

Mina gasped as the pressure slammed into her chest. The ruined street cracked further, debris lifting slightly before crashing back down.

Clyde staggered half a step.

"So that’s how it is," he muttered.

To the world, to the system, to every surviving player nearby, the strongest person in the area was not Clyde. It was Jack Kessler.

The name he wore now. The body he inhabited. The identity the system recognized.

All across the city, players felt it. Fear, excitement, and greed.

A single thought echoed in countless minds. They wanted to kill him, replace him, and take the crown for themselves.

Mina slowly turned toward Clyde, her expression tight.

"So, they’re coming for you," she said quietly.

Clyde lifted his gaze to the sky, his eyes steady, unreadable.

"Yeah," he replied. "That was always going to happen."

Clyde already knew this much. Even with the deal in place, the World Master was never going to make his life easier.

At best, it would stop piling absurdly lethal conditions onto everyone else. The city would not be turned into an instant death trap again. The scenarios would be cleaner. More controlled.

But for him? It would still be hell.

Clyde sighed slowly and pushed himself up.

"Let’s move," he said.

Then he stopped.

He turned to Mina, his expression tightening just a little.

"Wait," he added. "It’s better if we don’t stick together. This scenario is centered on me. It’ll be dangerous for you."

Mina’s eyes widened for half a second before hardening completely.

"No," she said immediately.

Her voice didn’t shake.

"I’m staying with you."

Clyde frowned. "Mina—"

"I don’t care," she cut in. "I don’t care if you’re the target, or whatever title they slapped on you. I said I’d be with you, and I mean it."

Her fists clenched at her sides. Her eyes burned with stubborn resolve.

Clyde stared at her. He already knew it was pointless.

That look in her eyes wasn’t fear or recklessness. It was a decision that had been made long before this moment.

"Damn it," he muttered.

He looked away and gave a short nod.

"Alright," he said. "Then stay close. Don’t do anything stupid."

Mina let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and nodded firmly.

"Same to you."

They moved out. The ruined streets swallowed them as they slipped deeper into the city, avoiding open areas and shattered buildings.

Clyde chose paths with broken visibility, narrow alleys, collapsed buildings, anywhere that would limit line of sight.

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