Apocalypse with my SSS Harem Beauties-Chapter 158: Disk

While Myles and the others discovered the cave in the middle of that unknown western expanse, Michael and his group moved through a comparatively familiar sector in the eastern region near their base.

The terrain there had already been partially cleared. Broken structures still stood. The corruption felt thinner. The air did not press down on their lungs with suffocating Ether density.

Because of that, their pace carried less tension. Their formation was looser. Even their expressions looked calmer.

It was the result of Michael’s decision.

He had assigned Myles and his team to investigate the western area—the least explored and most dangerous direction—while he led his own group east, where they already possessed partial information and mapped safe routes.

From a strategic standpoint, it was efficient. From another perspective, it was convenient.

"Are you sure you’re not being too harsh, sending Myles’ group to the western area?" Hana asked quietly. Her brows drew together. Discomfort showed clearly on her face, but she kept her tone measured. She did not openly challenge Michael’s authority.

Michael glanced at her for a few seconds. His face remained firm and unreadable, as rigid as carved stone.

"They’re strong," he said flatly. "You don’t need to worry."

"But—"

"What’s your problem?" Rafe cut in sharply, shooting Hana a deep scowl. "Michael’s right. They’re stronger than us. That makes them more capable of checking that place."

Tobias and Selene remained silent. Neither of them liked the arrangement entirely, but neither stepped forward to oppose it.

They all understood that the western territory housed a high concentration of underground burrowers—monsters that were notoriously difficult to track and counter. It was not an easy assignment.

From the outside, it almost looked like they were sacrificing Myles’ group while positioning themselves to gather safer resources.

"Besides," Rafe added with a smirk, "it’s their fault for not questioning it."

Hana shot him an irritated look but said nothing further.

"There it is!" Michael suddenly called out with urgency sharpening his voice.

Ahead of them, a large cluster of monsters gathered between fractured buildings and pavement. Some of them retained distorted human shapes and some of them resembled twisted animals.

Multicolored crystals jutted from their flesh at irregular angles, glowing with condensed Ether.

Michael raised his weapon. "Prepare to attack!"

They formed up quickly and charged forward under his lead.

They believed they were gaining the advantage. While Myles’ group explored the dangerous west, they would harvest concentrated Ether Shards from these crystal-mutated creatures. It looked efficient and clever.

But without realizing it, they had handed Myles and his companions an opportunity far greater than shards.

—

Inside the fractured barrier Lilian had dismantled, the atmosphere changed immediately.

The Ether density intensified so drastically that several of them instinctively grimaced. It felt thicker than air—almost like liquid—pressing against their skin and sliding into their lungs with each breath.

"Isn’t this dangerous?" Myles asked, his gaze sweeping the glowing passage ahead.

"No," Lilian replied after a brief pause. "On the contrary. This area is filled with pure Ether. It isn’t mixed with the lower realm’s corrupted energy." She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "I don’t understand how that’s possible here."

Myles glanced at the pulsing veins along the walls. "So this is something good?"

"Yes," Lilian said, looking at them, and continued. "Now do what I told you before. Start absorbing the Ether around you while we walk."

They did not hesitate. Each of them focused inward, recalling the method Lilian had previously guided them through.

They slowed their breathing. They stabilized their cores then allowed the ambient Ether to circulate through their bodies instead of resisting it.

The effect came so fast. Warm currents flowed along their body. The oppressive pressure transformed into fuel. The pulsing vibration beneath their feet aligned subtly with their own internal rhythms in a strange way that they themselves didn’t understand.

They continued forward, walking deeper into the glowing passage while drawing in the pure Ether surrounding them.

They walked for several more minutes through the narrowing tunnel.

The air grew warmer but no longer oppressive. Instead, it fed them. Ether streamed into their bodies in steady currents as they maintained the absorption technique Lilian had taught them.

The rhythm beneath their feet strengthened until it felt less like a distant vibration and more like a heartbeat guiding them forward.

Then the tunnel opened.

The passage widened abruptly into a vast circular chamber. The ceiling arched high overhead, still ribbed with bone-like structures that curved inward toward a single focal point above.

Amber veins from every direction converged toward the center of the room, feeding into a massive circular stone platform embedded in the ground.

The stone disk dominated the chamber.

It measured at least fifteen meters across. Dark gray in color, its surface was smooth yet etched with intricate runic patterns that formed concentric rings along its outer edge.

The runes glowed faintly in a muted bronze hue, pulsing in synchronization with the veins running along the walls.

At the very center of the disk lay a slightly raised circular plate, seamless and perfectly aligned with the surrounding stone.

No monsters waited there and no other movement stirred. Only silence.

Lilian stepped forward slowly, her brows knitting together as she studied the structure. The faint glow reflected in her eyes while her expression shifted into deep contemplation.

Myles and the others exchanged uneasy glances. None of them understood what they were looking at but they could all feel the density of Ether around that stone was far greater than anywhere else in the tunnel.

"What is this?" George muttered under his breath.

Myles looked at Lilian. "You recognize it?"

She nodded but did not answer immediately. She walked closer to the circular stone and examined the runes along the outer ring without touching them.

"This design..." she murmured.

Then she straightened.

"This is something from a higher realm. But it has been placed in a world that is still beneath my former world."

They blinked at her.

"In other worlds," she continued, "this kind of construct is common. I am familiar with it. I simply never bothered using it before. My power was beyond the need for such mechanisms."

The group stared at the massive platform again, their perspective shifting instantly.

"But for you," Lilian added, glancing back at them, "this is extremely advanced."

Myles stepped forward, eyes narrowing as he studied the runes. "What exactly is it?"

Lilian’s gaze returned to the central plate.

"It’s an elevator."

Silence followed her words. An elevator.

"This will bring you to another place that has floors. Every floor will give you a different challenge."

—