Chapter: 99. The Omen of a Famous Scene
Boom—!
A violent explosion suddenly erupted from several streets away, like thunder splitting the night rain, interrupting the magical energy that Tianyu was originally gathering.
Along with the explosion came a chaotic surge of magical fluctuations, resembling a raging tide crashing through the rainy night, unleashing a muffled shockwave that sliced through the air.
Right after—
The continuous wails of car alarms, the high-pitched sound of shattering glass, mixed with the crowd’s screams and the blaring of sirens, all came rushing in.
Although the distance was not short, that series of sounds felt exceptionally piercing and clear.
Tianyu’s gaze instantly sharpened, turning to look in the direction of the noise.
It was precisely the route that Renji had taken to escape.
She immediately realized that a battle had also erupted on Renji’s side.
And among the news, there was one not-so-good piece of information.
Within the fluctuations of magical energy, besides Renji’s response, there was only a strange magical energy belonging to someone else. In other words, Renji was currently engaged in a 1v1 duel, a situation that was not his forte.
Given his strength, he might not lose to his opponent, but whether he had the energy left to protect the “Ace Iron Knight” was a complete unknown.
He absolutely could not afford to be in any trouble before extracting the location of that “system” from the opponent.
In just a few seconds, Tianyu quickly assessed the situation.
Her gaze fell back onto Kanade beside her.
After Tianyu’s recent attack, he had lost consciousness, and before falling into a coma, his fighting spirit had almost vanished. Clearly, deep down, he still hadn’t prepared himself to face the awareness of “failure.”
Even if he might wake up shortly, in his current state with so little magical energy, he could not be a match for the shadow attendants. Even if he wanted to use “rewriting,” the shadow attendants would instantly detect and stop him.
“You stay here and keep an eye on him.” Tianyu calmly ordered, “He must not leave this place.”
The shadow attendants, who were hosting the “souls” of the hunters from the Tenshang Institute Guild, nodded in unison, responding silently but firmly.
After confirming the arrangements, Tianyu turned around, fixing her gaze on the direction of the explosion.
“Young Miss!”
A somewhat anxious voice rang out from among the shadow attendants: “Do you really not need us to accompany you?”
“That’s right.” Another quickly agreed: “Guarding a target that is already unconscious doesn’t require too many people.”
“His magical fluctuations are extremely weak; perhaps just one Mithril-level hunter is enough—”
Several hunters who seemed to hold significant positions in the guild made suggestions.
But—
“No, it’s not necessary.”
Tianyu responded decisively, her tone not showing a hint of hesitation: “Even if something unexpected happens, I can call you back to my side at any time.”
As she spoke, her gaze flickered, landing on the boy who was already unconscious on the ground.
“In comparison… he may actually be the greatest threat.”
Since Tianyu insisted, the hunters present had no choice but to accept the arrangement.
After giving the final order, Tianyu turned and soared toward the direction of the explosion.
She lightly tapped the ground with her toes—
Bang!
Rainwater splattered everywhere, and the originally flat ground immediately cracked open around her, radial fissures spreading like a spider’s web, compressing and shattering the air in an instant, leaving a sonic boom trajectory piercing through the rain curtain toward the distance.
“…As expected of the Young Miss, she truly suppressed an S-level all on her own.”
One of the shadow attendants watched her disappear into the rain, unable to help but murmur in awe.
These hunters from the Tenshang Institute Guild had long since become accustomed to such combat strategies and had witnessed the countless victories this power had brought.
But even so—
No one expected that even against the S-level ability user “King of Black Flames,” they could win.
That S-level ability user, who had risen from Moon Academy and was once hailed as the new generation’s closest entity to a “protagonist,” was now defeated within the “chessboard” laid out by the Young Miss.
Although his combat style was somewhat odd compared to before, just looking at his current state made it clear that this “victory” was undeniable.
“But speaking of it… in his current state, should we take the chance to eliminate him?”
“Don’t say such foolishness.”
Another hunter furrowed his brows, “He is the S-level ability user from Moon Academy; if we truly kill him, our entire guild will be hunted down to the ends of the earth.”
“Yes, and besides—it’s said that the Young Miss has an unusual relationship with him.”
“It’s best for us outsiders not to entertain such thoughts.”
The hunters left behind began to speak softly, their tones gradually relaxing, as if the previously taut battle nerves had finally eased.
However, unnoticed by anyone—within the area shrouded by rain, where the light was dim, the black flame embers remaining on the ground had not extinguished with the end of the battle.
On the contrary—
In silence, as if it had consciousness, it gently swayed, gradually expanding and slowly igniting.
—————–
In front of a public telephone booth.
The heavy rain had not ceased, and on the dimly lit street, only the sound of raindrops hitting the roof and glass of the telephone booth remained.
Nagi stood inside the booth, tightly gripping the receiver at her ear, yet she did not respond with a single word.
This was her first time—receiving contact in such a way, and the voice on the other end triggered her instinct to believe it was the “β system,” which she had been trying to track and control recently.
The other party had taken the initiative to contact her.
However, she couldn’t discern whether this was a trap.
Perhaps the Synthetic Light had sensed her anomaly and wanted to lure her into revealing her true identity in this manner.
Furthermore, taking a step back, if this was indeed β system independently reaching out, she still couldn’t fathom its intentions.
After all, it was not an ordinary AI; there was no sudden code error leading to a bug that made it mistake itself for an administrator. It was the final antagonist in the unreleased DLC of the original game “Starbound 2,” a “new protagonist” made of data, a being that could be considered “god” in the modern world.
Every action it took must necessarily have deep plans or very high strategic value. If she responded hastily, she would likely fall into its rhythm or trap.
Thus—Nagi chose silence.
But what was unsettling was that after introducing itself, the other party did not continue speaking. The entire communication channel fell into a strange silence.
It was as if the being on the other end of the line was observing this “silence,” waiting, considering.
The sound of rain on the glass was like a timer, counting down the duration of this silence.
Until…
“Beep—beep—”
A brief signal tone suddenly rang through the telephone line.
Following that, a strange yet familiar voice from the other end broke the silence.
It was the Synthetic Light.
However, he seemed completely unbothered by the earlier greeting and directly got to the point regarding his purpose.
In addition to telling her the location of the “target,” he also brought new information along with two names.
Tianyu Tianyu.
Renji Hoshigami.
At the instant she heard the latter’s name.
Nagi’s breath momentarily caught, as if her heart skipped a beat at that moment.
But thanks to the ability of “Starlight,” she did not reveal her shock. While conversing with the Synthetic Light, she worked hard to maintain the facade of “this being the first time she had heard these two names.”
She truly hadn’t expected to hear Renji’s name at this moment and in such a manner.
And moreover, it came up alongside Tianyu.
This combination completely caught her off guard.
Since he appeared in Tokyo and at this critical junction mentioned alongside Tianyu, it was obvious that his identity was not that of an “ordinary person” caught up in the situation, but rather likely that he had reached some kind of cooperative relationship with “Tianyu.”
In other words, Renji had also become an ability user.
In the original game “Starbound 2,” Renji Hoshigami’s role was extremely minimal.
In fact— there were no combat scenes at all.
Yet within the hearts of many players who conducted in-depth studies, Renji held high popularity and a “hidden powerhouse” status, with combat abilities that could rank among the top tier in the original game “Starbound 2.”
He was recognized by players as one of those characters who, “if not killed off by the plot, would become extraordinarily powerful.”
And the strongest argument supporting this was:
One of the strongest rights in the game—the “Balance Authority”—was precisely housed within the soul of Renji Hoshigami.
Just like the female protagonist “Nagi Hoshigami” could fuse her soul with authority, as her elder brother, Renji also shared the same trait.
In the original plot, the two powers that Nagi controlled when she first obtained them stemmed from her beloved brother and sister; only after their deaths would the authorities residing in their souls be released, becoming Nagi Hoshigami’s power.
From a certain perspective, this was a last wish—
A gentle desire of “even in death, still wanting to protect his sister.”
However, in the world where “Starbound” had transformed into reality.
Renji did not sacrifice himself like in the original “Starbound 2” to protect his sister.
Thus, he must have obtained the “Balance Authority” that was housed in his soul.
Nagi completely could not determine whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
This was a situation that had never appeared in the original “Starbound 2.”
She didn’t know what level of power Renji could unleash if he personally used the “Balance Authority,” nor was she clear about the cost of possessing one of the most powerful authorities and how it would affect him…
Thoughts spun in chaos.
Just as she stood there hesitantly—
A familiar and jarring surge of magical energy was suddenly captured by her.
If Renji’s situation had entirely deviated from the plot of the original, then this moment, the magical energy that Nagi felt, along with the almost irresistible instinctual chill that accompanied it—
Perfectly aligned with a famous scene from the original game “Starbound 2.”
However, what stunned Nagi was why it was happening now?
“…You’re lying, Kanade-kun…?”
She murmured softly, unable to believe her own perception.
Immediately, she turned her head sharply, directing her gaze toward the source of that magical response—
A surge of suddenly rising pitch-black magic seemed to ignite the sky.
