Chapter: 61. Betrayed by Starlight (23/46)
Silver-white stars hung high in the night sky.
The brilliant light showered down on the earth as if it were daylight.
Yet this phenomenon went unnoticed, as if everything were “normal.”
On the other side of the Earth, the Alpha System mainframe, buried deep beneath the desert, was operating at maximum capacity.
Cold light reflected off the metal walls, and the air was filled with the slightly burnt smell caused by the machines overheating.
The system core continuously conducted millions of simulations and calculations, yet the percentage representing the success rate of the plan gradually fell—slowly and irreversibly—with each passing second—until it reached 0%.
The red alarm lights on various instruments of the Alpha System lit up simultaneously.
This was the highest level of crisis alert.
The emergence of an unexpected factor completely disrupted the plans of the Alpha System.
It had no choice but to regard its space-based orbital weapon as a last resort.
There were still less than a few minutes left.
The island where “The End” was located would soon fall within the attack range of “Elemental Fusion.”
Although it had considered sacrificing the seven x-level superpowers on the island in exchange for crucial intelligence, its “intuition” told it—this was a trap.
The calculation core of the Alpha System had undergone countless iterations and optimizations. Even lacking clear evidence, it could draw a conclusion based on “intuition”:
Contact with that “unexpected factor” would be meaningless until the “certain ability” was deciphered; it would only end in failure.
The seven x-level superpowers were precious combat assets.
To preserve existing strength, it immediately issued them the highest priority order—evacuate the island.
However, it seemed—all of this had already been too late.
—————–
The island where the Star Society’s base was located was on the verge of collapse.
The fierce battle between Mana and the pseudo-god Shiroling tore the land apart, and strong shocks spread like an earthquake, causing large chunks of the island’s edge to crumble, with rubble and soil falling into the surging sea.
Giant waves roared around, as if pulling the entire island into the abyss bit by bit.
This island was about to sink to the ocean floor.
However, amidst this terrifying scene as if the apocalypse was coming, the man, the x-level superpower team leader of the Star Academy, did not focus on the countdown to the island’s destruction.
He and the three remaining x-level superpowers present heard a series of footsteps approaching from afar.
The four of them instinctively looked up in the direction of the sound.
Silver starlight, like daylight, fell from the night sky, illuminating the broken ground and revealing the figure slowly approaching.
It was a girl dressed in a white uniform.
Her dark, jet-black hair flowed with the wind and starlight, and although her uniform was covered in dust and scratches, it could not hide her tall, curvaceous figure.
Her face seemed meticulously sculpted, with well-defined features that struck a perfect balance between purity and elegance, breathtakingly beautiful. However, what caught one’s attention even more were her eyes, radiating brilliant starlight.
Surrounding her pupils, which were dotted with silver starlight, were numerous tiny cracks emitting magical brilliance, intertwining and spreading like a shattered starry sky—magnificent yet mysterious.
“Mr. Niko…?”
Upon recognizing the girl’s face, the team leader was the first to react. His expression showed slight surprise, but he did not doubt her identity; instead, he spoke respectfully, “Why have you suddenly come personally…”
He was completely unaware of any abnormalities, thinking that Niko had come to check on the progress of the plan out of concern.
But, just as she took a step closer to him—
He suddenly felt as if his soul was gripped by icy claws.
An indescribable chill spread from his spine to all of his limbs, as if his breath had been frozen. His body tensed involuntarily, and an alarm-like intuition rang furiously in his mind.
As an elite superpower who had lived through the previous era and faced numerous life-and-death missions, only one experience could compare with this sense of oppression—when he faced the “Elemental Sovereign” on the altar back then.
Now, that nearly instinctual fear and the oppressive feeling capable of shattering willpower surged once more.
As she stepped closer, the suffocating sensation intensified.
He suddenly realized how bright the starlight was tonight, but this silver-white starlight now seemed like a deathly glow, illuminating not a path but a dead end.
The strange fear and chill gradually peaked.
Just as he was about to take a step back—
His communicator in his pocket vibrated suddenly.
A second later, the voice of the Alpha System came through his headphones.
“——Warning. Unidentified presence detected.”
The voice remained an emotionless synthetic sound but carried an unprecedented urgency and coldness.
“Repeating, unidentified presence detected. All personnel present, disregard everything and evacuate immediately.”
There was no hesitation.
The x-level superpowers present didn’t even exchange glances, and no one questioned the authenticity of the order.
“——Disregard everything and evacuate immediately.”
This was not an ordinary command but the most extreme level of alert in the task system.
Such words were only used when a mission was completely out of control, the situation could no longer be salvaged, and even the commander-in-chief could not propose an effective countermeasure.
It meant only one thing: all resistance was futile, and any opposition would only hasten death.
Now, only one thing could be done—
To drop all combat responsibilities, abandon all logical judgments, and surrender fate to the instinct of flight, leaving this place at the fastest speed.
But… why…?
Clearly, “Niko” had personally arrived at the island; why was there still a top-level warning to “evacuate immediately”?
No, that’s not right—
Now was not the time to think about these things.
The warning from the depths of his soul continued to blare, like some kind of instinctive foresight, urging him to distance himself from the figure enveloped in silver starlight.
The team leader decisively made a choice—to follow his instincts and escape from beside “Niko.”
However—
Just as he turned around, the world before him suddenly distorted violently.
Like a soundless, shattered mirror, the small island collapsing beneath the night sky disintegrated in his vision and vanished.
What replaced it was an entirely different realm.
The ground beneath his feet was no longer charred rock but an ice field radiating a faint blue cold light.
The sea breeze beside him had been replaced by a blizzard. The sky was low, thick with dark clouds, and the biting cold wind sliced through his skin like a blade, making even breathing painful.
A series of frost-covered mountains stretched across the horizon, like a spine of ice rising from an endless abyss, plunging the entire space into silence and extreme cold.
The team leader looked at the unfamiliar yet familiar scenery before him, his pupils constricting violently, and his body became drenched in cold sweat in the extreme chill.
He recognized the true nature of this domain—
Once belonging to the Elemental Sovereign, the “Authority of Ice.”
But before he could react, countless ice pillars formed from the cold surged simultaneously from the sky, the ground, and all directions.
These ice pillars seemed alive, twisting and turning in mid-air, shattering and reconstituting, dragging long trails of ice, stirring up fierce cold winds and flying snow, sweeping towards him with a momentum that could freeze the world.
The violet-black brilliance blossomed in the eyes of the x-level superpowers.
Experienced in battle, they were immediately ready to defend or counterattack.
However—
The once powerful violet-black starlight that could amplify their magical powers now seemed uncontrollable and faded, not only failing to enhance their abilities but instead rendering them weaker.
