Chapter: 65. Working Together (4k)
Meanwhile.
The internal situation at the Special Circle Sema and the three major academies was already in chaos.
Even though the Alpha system had continuously tampered with their internal surveillance data, creating a false appearance of normalcy, the moment that beam of light pierced through the heavens and broke into the Earth’s atmosphere—
The Special Circle Sema and the three major academies could no longer remain in the dark.
The sky, viewed from several observation points, was painted with strange colors.
The “Elemental Fusion,” woven from dozens of elemental powers, did not require any radars or sensing devices; even ordinary humans could sense the unease brought about by the violent tremors between heaven and earth in that moment.
For the elite psychics within the Special Circle Sema and the three major academies, it was even more noticeable as a pressure emanating from the soul level.
The Special Circle Sema and the three major academies had no choice but to acknowledge a cruel fact—
The ultimate weapon they had put enormous resources into creating—the “Light of Judgment”—had lost control.
Moreover, the possibility of a malfunction could be ruled out; by comparing the previously manipulated data from the surveillance system, it could be confirmed that someone had hacked into the secure network jointly constructed by the Special Circle Sema and the three major academies and gained control of the “Light of Judgment.”
The true identity and purpose of the adversary were still unclear, but based solely on that— the “Elemental Fusion” launched at maximum power towards the Earth—was enough to categorize it as a “high-level” extraordinary disaster.
It must be noted that the “Light of Judgment” was equipped with a man-made “extraordinary object,” developed collaboratively with the most advanced technologies, resources, and extraordinary items after the “Fragment of the End” incident by the Special Circle Sema and the three major academies. This weapon could not only unleash the signature skill of the “Elemental Ruler,” “Elemental Fusion,” but even at maximum power, its might could almost “recreate” the strongest strike of that “Elemental Ruler.”
This destructive power was such that even a fantasy monster ranked as threat level 11 might not match it.
In other words—
What they were facing at that moment was an extraordinary disaster beyond threat level 11—
An unimaginable and exceedingly rare “threat level 12.”
The upper echelons of the Special Circle Sema and the three major academies had no time to investigate why the technical and monitoring departments failed to notice the anomaly in advance.
Currently, the only priority was to regain control of the “Light of Judgment” as swiftly as possible, no matter the cost.
In the hastily established joint command room, the logistics personnel responsible for handling this extraordinary disaster were in disarray.
“Is there anyone who can explain the damage caused by this Elemental Fusion?”
“The attack by the Light of Judgment has exposed us directly to the world without any cognitive interference! We need full support from the ‘Logistics Cleanup’ team! We must find a way to cover up the truth at all costs!”
“Has the specific location of the Elemental Fusion attack been confirmed? Why hasn’t a complete damage report been received yet?!!”
…
The ace-level psychics from the Special Circle Sema and the three major academies had been urgently dispatched to the coordinates of the Elemental Fusion attack the moment the “Light of Judgment” went out of control.
This special countermeasure team was personally led by the S-level psychic of Stellar Academy—“Mimic Light.”
But even with the involvement of an S-level psychic, the current situation was still far from reassuring.
Because the true battlefield of this unprecedented extraordinary disaster was not the burning sky or the descending magical light columns.
It was the “sea of data streams,” composed of billions of lines of code layered with permission locks.
The burden of managing the crisis did not rest on the psychics rushing to the scene.
The logistics team had to regain system access within the tight deadline measured in seconds, before the “Light of Judgment” unleashed the second Elemental Fusion.
Although it was irresponsible to say so, neither the Special Circle Sema nor the three major academies would agree to the plan of “physically destroying the Light of Judgment.”
Even if the target of the second “Elemental Fusion” was the headquarters of the Special Circle Sema and the three major academies, that conclusion would not change.
Because that was the ultimate weapon forged by human intelligence, the last trump card against extraordinary disasters.
Thus, it must be preserved, no matter the cost.
But the more it was so, the stronger the doubts grew in the minds of those in the command room.
Even now, no formal disaster report regarding the incident had been submitted.
However, the thickening clouds of doubts in their minds were abruptly shattered by a sudden sound of impact.
The uncertainty among them was quickly addressed by a logistics personnel bursting in—
Bang—!
The heavy alloy conference door was suddenly slammed open from the outside, accompanied by a heart-stopping crash.
“Hu, Ha—!”
A young man dressed in the Special Circle Sema uniform stumbled in, his face as pale as if he had been drained of blood, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, his steps unsteady, as if he barely held himself up on sheer willpower.
He rushed to the center of the conference table, pressed his hands firmly against it, and shouted, his voice almost out of control:
“Th-the Light of Judgment— is still in an attack state!”
“What…?” The crowd was momentarily taken aback by his words.
The young man, fearing they hadn’t heard him clearly, gritted his teeth and repeated loudly:
“B-based on the updated battlefield feedback data just now! The Light of Judgment is still in an attack state! The first Elemental Fusion did not hit the ground…!”
“Then what is…?!”
“…There’s another magical force confronting it! A similar yet different power… is forcibly preventing its descent!”
—————–
——They actually made something like this…?
At that instant, the light—Elemental Fusion—plummeting from the heavens was an attack Nagi had not anticipated.
It also compelled her to admire the capabilities of the Special Circle Sema and the three major academies.
——It must have been the new weapon developed by them over the three years since her death.
Nagi thought.
By the moment she realized it, it was already too late.
There was no time to evacuate everyone on the island.
All Nagi could do was one thing—
To counter “Elemental Fusion” with “Elemental Fusion.”
She shot her hand up, the remaining magical power within her erupting like a volcano, constructing another light column that shot skyward.
The dual radiances collided in the sky, producing a magical shockwave that shook heaven and earth. At the very moment the two Elemental Fusions intersected—
Nagi felt an incomprehensible weight pressing down.
The “Elemental Fusion” from this ultimate weapon crafted by humanity was not just an empty facade.
The magical content and elemental types contained in this strike were nearly equal to those of the version she had used in her past life.
Had she been in her prime, she might have been able to easily counter it.
But at that moment, Nagi’s soul was still in a fragmented state; the source of her power was unstable, compounded by the loss of Garuda’s strength—
“…Ugh…”
Nagi’s arm trembled slightly, her entire being seeming to collapse under the pressure.
Her once upright posture gradually sank, eventually unable to hold herself up and dropping to one knee.
“Crack…!”
The ground beneath her began to crack, fissures spreading like a spider’s web rapidly in all directions.
——Even at this point…
——I still can’t save anyone?
She gritted her teeth, her knuckles turning white from the effort.
Unwillingness—burning like wildfire in her chest.
She exerted every ounce of her strength.
Yet that pale light column, descending from the sky, continued to crush her down like an executioner’s spear.
As if it were the light of destruction shot forth from her past self.
——This is the power you once possessed.
That cold, merciless magical energy was swallowing both the island and her, as if proclaiming:
She was no longer the “Elemental Ruler,” no longer possessed the power to save the world.
Not even this small island—
Not even those she wanted to protect on the island—
Could she save.
Just as her consciousness was nearly crushed into despair—
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of starlight.
Weak yet clear.
Brilliant yet warm.
Crimson magical radiance, like burning stars, rose from the ground, one, two, countless—
Merging into a sea of stars, crashing against that pale light column.
“!?”
It was the “copies” that had already awakened.
The “sisters” that were cloned from the “Highest Masterpiece – Hinata Mana” of the Stellar Society.
At that moment, they were desperately pouring every ounce of magical power within themselves into an attack of their maximum might, hoping to slow the descent of that light column as much as possible.
But it wasn’t just Mana’s “sisters” that joined the battle.
The psychics from the Stellar Society were gradually awakening as well.
Upon awakening, they immediately noticed the destructive light column above their heads and the figure of “someone” desperately holding it back.
Though they couldn’t identify who was protecting them, the scene moved them to join the fight.
Those among them with remaining magical power wasted no time launching their final attacks into the sky.
Those whose magical power had been entirely depleted ran, shouted, and rescued, refusing to leave anyone behind.
“Anyone with magical power, join the fight!”
“Those who can’t fight, carry the others away! There should still be boats heading for the port!!”
“Absolutely hold out until everyone is saved!!!”
“I’ll help too!!”
“Count me in!”
“Hold out even if you die!!!”
…
The call echoed.
One by one, the psychics, armed with indomitable will and their last fragments of magical power, joined this seemingly hopeless opposition.
And the light in their eyes—
Was like sparks igniting in the night sky, illuminating the entire island.
Some lights might flicker out due to exhausting magical power.
But many more would blaze on and take their place.
Even Jirou, who had awakened, along with the psychics from the “Special Team for the End,” immediately joined the battle.
This time, it was different from before.
At this moment, the “Elemental Ruler” was no longer fighting alone.
No longer like in her past life, fighting to the last moment by herself.
Behind her, countless sparks were gathering into a luminous sea.
…
…
Meanwhile—
On another island not far away.
Renji slowly rose to a half-kneeling position from amidst the trees, steadying his breath against the earlier overwhelming shockwave, and gazed into the distance.
A low voice from Amuya came through the headphones:
“It’s that system; it has consumed vast computational power to control the ‘Light of Judgment’ and is firing ‘Elemental Fusion’ at the island where the Stellar Society is located.”
“…Do we have any way to stop it?” Renji asked, looking at the light column that had not yet fully descended, his voice calm but low.
The pale magical power was still roaring in the sky, as if it could completely erase that piece of land from the map at any moment.
Yet the people on the island continued to resist valiantly, the light column piercing the heavens still held strong.
From Renji’s perspective, however, it was clear that destruction was just a matter of time.
That light column would ultimately fall completely, unless he and Amuya could do something.
“I’ve already made my move,” Amuya quickly replied. “I’m mobilizing all our ‘computers’ to launch an algorithm-level concurrent interference attack on the system. As long as we can force it to allocate computational power to defense, the ‘Light of Judgment’s’ precision will deviate.”
Amuya’s voice suggested she was also engaged in intense struggle.
“Furthermore— the Special Circle Sema and the three major academies must also have realized that their ‘Light of Judgment’ has gone awry. No matter how deceived by the system, they cannot overlook an attack of this magnitude.”
Just as Amuya had said.
The Special Circle Sema and the three major academies were also working to regain control of the “Light of Judgment.”
They were trying to find a way to completely stop it before the “Elemental Fusion” made contact with the ground.
In other words.
This war had now transformed into a “war of attrition” measured in calculations and time.
After a brief silence, Renji slowly spoke:
“Miss Amuya. Please come to this coordinate to pick up me and Miss Alice.”
“…What? Renji, what are you saying? Your abilities have no effect against the ‘Elemental Fusion’ of the Light of Judgment—” Amuya on the other end of the call responded in surprise.
“Even so, I will do what I can.”
As Renji spoke, he glanced at Alice beside him, extending his hand.
The next moment—
Magical power surged from within him like a tide, flowing into the girl through his palm.
Alice shuddered slightly, her pupils narrowing sharply.
“I’ve seen your attack style before, Miss Alice; could you lend me a hand?”
Feeling the magical power gradually filling her body, Alice displayed a look of astonishment.
Magical power transfer was an extremely rare ability.
Due to the rapid depletion of his magical power, Renji’s face had begun to pale, but his tone remained calm as ever.
Upon hearing this, Alice understood the meaning behind his words and nodded.
Once her magical power was restored, Alice’s dragon bloodline began to heal her injuries.
At the same time, the overflowing magical power threw her blood into a state of imbalance.
For the first time—
Alice could actively enter dragon form without the need for pills.
She spread her crimson wings, the magical power and blood within her boiling.
The brilliance of the dragon’s breath coalesced in her mouth.
The next moment—
A dazzling dragon’s breath, representing pure destructive power, shot straight up into the sky, crashing against the light column.
Right behind it, magical radiance rose from the surrounding islands.
Hunters, mercenaries… those psychics who had arrived for the “reward” suddenly unleashed their attacks on the same enemy in unison.
They channeled all their magical power and intent toward that pale light column that once represented the “Elemental Ruler’s” authority.
