As the crimson fireball plummeted toward the earth, the surrounding air seemed to solidify. Time stretched endlessly, and everyone's senses slowed to a crawl, as if magnified ten thousandfold.
Then, in the very next instant, fire erupted.
A deafening shriek tore apart the brief silence.
The earth trembled violently, as if struck by a colossal hammer, letting out a desperate wail that pierced deep into everyone's soul.
A gigantic mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Shattered rocks followed, flung in all directions by the distortion of the overwhelming energy collision, along with the devastating shockwave that ripped through the ground and the forest.
Gravel, dust, and dead leaves were ripped from the earth by an irresistible invisible force and swept upward. The shockwave raced outward at supersonic speed.
"Oh my God—my Luke! You are literally my eternal god! You should have told me earlier that you could summon a meteor and instantly wipe out a city!"
Madison stared with her mouth wide open, as if an egg could fit inside.
"You're wrong. It's actually only about the size of an ordinary small town."
Luke said this very modestly.
Tommy scrambled indoors on his hands and feet, shouting without turning back, "Why are you still standing there?! The shockwave is coming!"
Madison didn't move. Maria had originally wanted to run, but seeing this, she stayed as well.
As for Yulinka and her mother nearby, they were knocked to the ground by the earthquake-like tremor caused by the meteor embedding itself into the earth. Their hips hit the ground hard, drawing out pained cries.
Yulinka was wrapped in her mother's arms and didn't suffer any serious injury.
She simply stared blankly at the distant glow of fire, momentarily lost in thought.
Madison's words from earlier kept echoing in her mind.
Had that meteor really been summoned by that man?
They were already more than ten kilometers away from the impact point.
Even so, that distance was hardly safe.
With enough bad luck, they could still be torn apart by the shockwave or by supersonic fragments of rock.
Luke had raised a hand, and a ten-meter-long ridge of stone erupted from the ground ahead of them.
At the same time, a light brownish-yellow rock shield enveloped Luke, Madison, and Maria.
The rock shield couldn't withstand a nuclear-level blast.
But after traveling through such a long distance of forest, the shockwave's power had already been reduced to less than one percent of its original strength.
It posed no threat at all to the three protected by the rock shield.
"Hey buddy—no, wait, Mr. Allmight! Can you give me a shield too?"
Tommy poked his head out and spoke ingratiatingly.
The arrogance he'd shown when they first met was completely gone.
Luke shook his head. "I can't. You're not my teammate. The rock shield only works on people who completely trust me."
Tommy hesitated, suspicion flashing through his eyes. He couldn't shake the feeling that Luke was lying to him.
But when he noticed that Yulinka and her mother were also unprotected, he wondered if it might actually be true.
With that thought, Tommy hurried back and hid in the cellar.
Nearby, Yulinka struggled to help her pale mother, Jenny, to her feet.
At some point, the corner of Jenny's white dress had been torn by flying gravel and now dragged along the ground.
Perhaps thinking the torn fabric would hinder movement, Yulinka carefully helped her mother tear away the shredded piece, revealing a smooth, pale calf and part of her thigh.
Jenny let out a soft, delicate moan, bit her rosy lips, and glanced shyly at Luke without speaking.
"Big Bro," Yulinka said softly, blinking her large eyes and looking at him pitifully, "can you save us… and help us?"
Madison pursed her lips and glanced toward the direction where the meteor had fallen.
At a glance, she could tell that Jenny was nothing more than a human-shaped inflatable doll. Playing around with her was fine, but she posed no threat whatsoever to Madison.
Madison didn't even bother paying attention to Jenny's little antics.
Luke had originally planned to have Yulinka and her mother hide in the cellar with Tommy.
Although Jenny was beautiful, Luke had no interest in something another man had already touched.
Even if he liked mature women with experience, he could always train one himself.
Whatever style he wanted, he could shape her into exactly that.
Yulinka seemed to read Luke's thoughts from his eyes. She lowered her head, her voice turning soft and pitiful.
"Big Bro, I'm begging you. It's fine if I die, but my mother, Jenny… she's really too pitiful."
"After my mother adopted me, she worked three jobs every day just to raise me. She never had time to think about herself or her own life."
"I don't want her to die tragically from a meteor impact before she even gets the chance to live for herself."
As Yulinka spoke, Jenny seemed to echo her emotions. Her gaze gradually darkened.
The moisture in her eyes dulled little by little, as if all vitality was slowly being drained away.
She gently hugged Yulinka and staggered, trying to make her way toward the building.
Maria felt a surge of sympathy for them and couldn't help but look at Luke.
"Can you help them? They're too pitiful."
Yulinka pressed her lips together and said softly, "Thank you, beautiful Big Sis! If Big Brother really can't help, that's okay."
"After all, didn't that Grandpa earlier have to hide in the cellar too?"
"But, Big Brother…"
Yulinka looked at Luke seriously. "If we can survive, I hope we can become teammates you truly trust as well."
"I'm dying. With or without a meteor, the doctor already said I won't live past eighteen."
"I just want, before I die, to see the mother who raised me settled with someone dependable."
It had to be said—Yulinka's words stirred a powerful protective instinct in people.
Even Luke felt moved.
Especially when he noticed Jenny's frail, delicate posture, which subtly suggested that if he saved her, she would willingly place herself in his hands. It was the kind of suggestion that made darker instincts stir.
Madison's expression shifted slightly.
She wasn't worried about Jenny.
But Yulinka made her uneasy—deeply so.
Every instinct in Madison's body was sounding an alarm.
This girl is a little monstrous!
Maria didn't notice anything unusual and only felt even more sympathy.
Of course, this wasn't blind compassion. She simply believed that if they could help, they should lend a hand.
If Luke truly couldn't do it, she wouldn't force the issue.
"Fine. You two hide inside the house."
Luke shook his head and raised a hand toward the distance.
"Triple Rashomon!"
As Luke's voice fell, Grummmmble~~!
The ground seemed to be torn apart by an invisible giant hand. Spiderweb-like cracks spread hundreds of meters outward as earth and stone churned like boiling water.
Three pillars of purple miasma, reeking of sulfur and scorched metal, burst from the ground and shot straight into the sky, spreading the firmament a bizarre dark red. The surrounding air seemed to solidify amid a mournful wail.
— — Boom!!!
Three colossal gates rose from the abyss below, each hundreds of meters tall, crushing the landscape like towering mountains.
This was Orochimaru's signature ability—a powerful defensive ninjutsu used to withstand attacks of the level of a Tailed Beast Bomb.
After Luke finished absorbing enough energy, he switched his skill slots to passive recovery abilities such as Brilliant Halo. The energy regenerated was just enough to barely support casting Triple Rashomon.
However, simply blocking the shockwave was already sufficient.
At that moment, the furious shockwave slammed violently into the first Rashomon.
Viewed from above, one would see the raging airflow being forcibly pushed back by the sheer resistance of the Rashomon gate.
But as successive shockwaves followed, the first Rashomon finally shattered under the overwhelming pressure.
Even so, the force in that direction had been greatly weakened. After causing only a slight tremor in the second Rashomon, it finally dissipated.
Meanwhile, the remaining shockwaves continued to rage outward in other directions, devastating vast areas of animals, insects, and vegetation.
Yulinka's large, bright eyes were fixed unblinkingly on Luke.
So handsome. So powerful. So manly.
At first, Yulinka had only hoped to entrust Jenny to a reliable man before her own death.
But now, Luke's overwhelming presence had forcefully shattered its way into their small world.
Yulinka's worldview was torn apart and forcibly expanded.
She realized that after today, she might never be able to look at another man the same way again.
Perhaps influenced by Yulinka, Jenny's gaze toward Luke also grew heated.
Her eyes were so moist they seemed as if water could be squeezed out with the slightest touch.
Madison withdrew her guarded look. She had figured it out—Yulinka might be troublesome, but she was still just a ten-year-old girl.
As for Yulinka's mother… she was merely a ...toy.
Compared to Yulinka, Madison was more concerned about something else.
"Is Jason dead?"
Was Jason dead?
Luke was wondering the same thing.
Until—Ding!
[Anomalous Object: Jason has been terminated. Recording in progress… Recording successful. 3000 Anomaly Points gained!]
[Reality Editor upgraded to Version 1.9. Current Anomaly Points: 900 / 1000 (Tommy was not recorded earlier; his points have been added).]
[Note: A standard Jason is worth 300 Anomaly Points.]