Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

Chapter 1155 1155: Stealing the Sun, The Ruined Picnic

Safalius swung the god-tier mop in a wide arc to erase the last remaining S-rank calamity from the divine council room. He leaned against the wooden handle and wiped a streak of monster grime from his brow.

Deep within the cosmic void, the eldritch hive mind panicked at the sudden loss of its invasion force. It channeled the entirety of its remaining power to manifest a final, desperate avatar directly inside the Citadel.

The pristine marble floor cracked open to allow a colossal, galaxy-consuming monstrosity to erupt from the center of the sanctum. Countless razor-sharp tentacles whipped wildly across the room as the ultimate boss screeched its absolute dominance over the realm.

During its chaotic arrival, one of the massive tentacles violently clipped Safaliusʼs plastic bucket. The container tipped over and spilled soapy water all across the freshly cleaned tiles.

Safalius stared at the expanding puddle in profound disbelief. The Overlord had explicitly warned him about leaving smudges.

ʼThis is going to come out of my paycheck,ʼ Safalius thought, gripping his mop with genuine annoyance.

”Do you have any idea how hard it is to get these tiles to shine?” Safalius yelled at the cosmic horror.

He marched right up to the towering abomination and wrung out the wet bristles. Guided by the crimson spatial magic pulsing through the wood, Safalius delivered a single, thoroughly irritated horizontal swipe across the creatureʼs massive legs.

The cleaning tool connected with a wet slap. The ultimate avatar of the eldritch hive folded entirely in on itself. It vanished into the void in a fraction of a second and left behind absolutely nothing. The apocalyptic threat was completely gone.

Safalius dunked his mop into the remaining puddle to soak up the spilled water. He pushed the bristles back and forth until the marble floors sparkled flawlessly under the divine light.

The Grand Archangel picked himself up from the ruined floor and dusted off his shining armor. He looked at the wingless janitor with absolute astonishment.

”Safalius,” the Grand Archangel commanded, puffing out his chest to regain his holy authority. ”You have defended the Sanctum. The council officially pardons your previous failure. Reclaim your place among our ranks and serve as our supreme champion.”

Safalius stopped mopping and looked at his former leader. He glanced back through the dimensional rift at Rudy lounging casually on the dark crystal throne.

”Absolutely not,” Safalius replied flatly. ”You arrogant fools almost got yourselves killed by overgrown bugs. Scrubbing the Overlordʼs latrines is a much higher honor than taking orders from you.”

Rudy burst into laughter from his seat. The sheer disrespect of the statement echoed wonderfully across the marble halls.

”Well said,” Rudy smiled, resting his boots on the stolen glowing table. ”I officially promote you to Head of Sanitation, Safalius. You will receive a full benefits package and a brand new bucket. As for the rest of you glowing pigeons, consider this Citadel annexed. I will be using it as my new storage closet.”

The Grand Archangel opened his mouth to protest the blatant theft of his entire realm. Rudy simply waved his hand and collapsed the dimensional rift entirely. The portal snapped shut to cut off the angelʼs complaints mid-sentence.

Rudy leaned back on his throne and folded his hands behind his head. He had completely eradicated a cosmic parasite, enslaved an angel, and expanded his real estate portfolio all before ten in the morning. It was shaping up to be an excellent day.

The heavy mahogany doors of the throne room pushed open to reveal Alice carrying a woven wicker basket. She wore a bright summer sundress that perfectly complimented her dark brown hair.

”Are you ready for our picnic?” Alice asked with a warm smile. ”I packed those strawberry pastries you liked from breakfast.”

”Absolutely,” Rudy replied, standing up to brush an invisible speck of dust from his tailored suit. ”I just finished redecorating the cosmos. A relaxing lunch in the gardens sounds perfect.”

He walked down the stone dais and offered her his arm. They strolled together down the grand corridors of the Orcelona Keep toward the southern courtyards. The vibrant morning light streamed beautifully through the arched glass windows.

The brilliant illumination abruptly vanished.

Total, freezing darkness blanketed the entire kingdom in a fraction of a second. The sun did not merely set behind a cloud. A colossal dimensional rift tore across the upper atmosphere to swallow the celestial body entirely.

The three remaining eldritch overlords had launched their ultimate, reality-bending ritual from their hidden dimension. The world plunged into an unnatural, pitch-black winter.

The decorative RGB party lights powered by the newly installed thermostat system immediately kicked on to illuminate the castle courtyards with flashing neon colors.

Three overlapping, distorted voices echoed from the frozen void above the planet.

”Overlord,” the supreme cosmic parasites shrieked in absolute unison. ”We have seized the heart of your solar system. Surrender your world and submit to the hive, or your planet will freeze into a dead rock.”

Rudy stared through the window into the pitch-black sky with profound annoyance. He looked down at the carefully packed sandwiches and fresh fruit inside Aliceʼs wicker basket.

”Are they entirely serious right now?” Rudy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. ”I specifically cleared my afternoon schedule for a sunny picnic.”

Alice blinked her dark eyes in confusion and pulled the woven basket closer to her chest. She looked up at the neon lights reflecting off the glass.

”Can we still eat outside?” Alice asked, completely unbothered by the apocalyptic threat.

”It is a bit too chilly out there right now,” Rudy told her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. ”Give me five minutes to fetch our sun back and kill these overgrown bugs. Wait right here. And while you are at it, how about preparing yourself for whatʼs about to come after the picnic, huh?”

Alice blushed Red after hearing that.

Rudy kissed her forehead and accessed his Spatio-Temporal manipulation. He vanished from the corridor, entirely prepared to drag the three ultimate cosmic horrors out of their hidden dimension and beat them to death for ruining his date.