—Kraaa...!
With the guardian of the Pylon finally revealed, the Eldia rose from the ground, its size too big for an upfront battle.
It's not as colossally huge as the Deus Machina, but it was still formidable in size.
"■○●■○○●!!!" The guardian of the Pylon, or for clarity, the Kraken, the size of a stadium, screeched, its numerous tentacles launching towards everything in its wake.
—Crumble...!
Buildings were torn apart like dominoes, and the ground cracked under its weight, revealing the ocean below us.
It didn't take long for everything to sink to the bottom of the sea, destroying the whole space.
"Reon Squad, Valor Squad, evacuate the citizens far away from here. Leave it to the Xero Squad." Eskieth said.
"To reclaim our motherland!"
With urgency, the ten other angels led them inside a vast building, even forcing those who panicked and tried to run away.
Thanks to their superhuman strength and cyberwings, five were stationed underneath the building, and the others guarded them against any attacks.
With that, they slowly flew away, carrying 500 people all at once for maximum efficiency.
"■○●■○●○!!!" Noticing their escape, the kraken swung its tentacle, the size of the shelter itself, towards it.
—Kachick!
—Vrrr!!!
In retaliation, Anellia and I aimed our guns at the tentacle and shot into it, blowing it into smithereens.
—BOOOM BOOOM!!!
"●○●■○●■!!!" The guardian cried out in pain, but due to an Eldia's innate nature, it naturally regenerated at a terrifying pace.
If we don't destroy the core and end this farce at once, we will be at a severe disadvantage in a battle of perseverance.
—Crumble!!!
"A-Agh...!" I almost lost my footing, unable to stay balanced as the ground crumbled beneath me.
—CRASH!!!
No longer able to stand up straight due to the horrible earthquakes which came from the Kraken's presence, there was no choice but to rely on Anellia, who carried me in the nick of time.
"Little lab rat! Are you confident you won't be deadweight?" Eskieth asked, wondering if it was the right choice to come with them when I couldn't fly like the rest of them.
—Voom...!
All angels of the Xero Squad soared into the sky, not held back by the ground beneath us.
—Clench...!
I tightly closed my eyes, thinking about what I could do to flip the situation, to prove myself useful.
...
...
"...Eskieth, how long will it take to locate the core and destroy it?"
"With the size of this monster... most likely 25 minutes."
"We don't have time for 25 minutes." I abruptly said, pointing to the sky.
With every minute that passed, the sky grew darker, and clouds loomed from above.
The true threats of Pylons were never the strength of an individual Eldia, but their sheer, overwhelming numbers.
If the sun were to fall, and those hidden were to emerge from the ground, then darkness would engulf this world—
Until there is nothing left.
"What do we do then?" Lux asked, curious about what I could do.
"Your flare gun won't work against a monster that size, unless you have something you want to say?"
"..."
I took a deep breath, as what I was about to say was nothing short of suicidal.
The Kraken shrieked and wailed, flailing around as if it were trying to resist something that I wanted to place my bets on.
—Voom...!
One more time, I infused my eyes with mana, but due to an accidental Ichor leak back then and now, it felt more alien.
With the ability I now call the
"I can vaguely see it... But the Kraken hasn't swallowed the faculty yet, as if the holder of the core—Lucy, is trying to resist its influence."
I don't know what other functions this ability has, but if I could see through their core, like Noah Heavenfall with his
"What difference does this make?" Eskieth asked, wanting to get a complete answer from me.
"We'll have enough time to dispatch it before the sun falls if you follow my plan."
The Libera, reinforced by Anellia, I'm about as confident as I can be about destroying the Pylon's core.
It may not be as strong as Anellia's railgun from her wings, but I'm not planning to shoot it without a plan to begin with.
Nox, who had been watching the whole time, stepped in and adjusted his scarf, as if he had noticed what I was going to do.
"Haha... are you sure you aren't one of us?" Nox laughed creepily, noticing where I'm going with this.
"You're insane," Lux commented, but smirked at the idea of following such a plan.
Walking towards Anellia to fly alongside her because I didn't have wings, I plan to infiltrate from below, practising for what is soon to come with Deus Machine as well.
"I plan to be eaten, deep inside its mouth."
...
...
...
"Rephrase that better, won't you?" Eskieth retorted.
"The hell am I supposed to say then?"
========
—Nyooom...!
With the momentum of the angels soaring through the skies, the Xero Squad blasted past the obstacles and flew toward the main threat—the Kraken.
Tar from all around us mixed and converged, coming from every direction, including the ocean, transforming into Eldians.
With barely any sunlight piercing through, many had morphed into abhorrent whales, the very same ones that Anellia and I fought at the beginning.
Their hard shells, made of scrap metal, negated the remaining rays of sunlight as they pursued us relentlessly, determined not to let us escape.
Just a while ago, we had been wiping out the Eldians, but now we found ourselves overwhelmed by their sheer numbers.
The squads tasked with evacuating civilians encountered some trouble, but it was nothing compared to what we were facing right now.
Once the sun sets and we fail to destroy the Core, that's when it will truly be over.
"GRAAAAH!!!" A Frayed hovered in the air, inching closer to us.
Lux, who was flying alongside us, ascended to a higher altitude, then plucked her wings, falling from the sky without any means of flight.
"Wings of Zirnitra, calibration complete~."
—Ving...!
What was once beautiful and angelic transformed into something far more sinister—a weapon that hardly deserved that title.
A tool created solely for destruction.
"Come on out, Vehemence."
—Zzzt! Vroom...!
It divided into many and expanded like a beast's claw,
Riddled itself with barbs to shred them into pieces,
Enlarged to a degree that I'd shit myself if I went against that.
Lux's tool, Vehemence, took form thanks to her wings' ability.
"Hahaha!!!"
—CRASH!!!
With a single slice, everything was obliterated, but Lux was far from satisfied with just one swing.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
She continued slicing, dicing, mincing, and chopping—until nothing remained.
It was as if an angel had descended from the sky, bringing forth brutal judgment, surrounded by a dark sea of blood.
"More, more...! Let's play until we die in this never-ending waltz, hahaha!!!"
—Swing! Slash! Crunch...!
She captured the attention of all the Eldians nearby, who were chasing after us.
Leaving it to her, Nox, Anellia, and I flew towards the Kraken.
But just when we thought it was over, Shades began to appear from all sides, closing in behind us.
—Gurgle...!
The tar-like substance started to coalesce, merging into something stronger and transforming into a different existence.
"I guess it's my turn, isn't it?" Nox sighed, stopping his flight beside us.
"Are you going to be okay?" I asked, despite our rocky first impressions of each other.
"Ah, you're worried... about me?" His gaze shifted, intrigued by the sincerity in my voice.
"Mhmm, of course. Why don't we all go for a meal after this?" I suggested, craving some relaxation since conflicts had been nonstop since my arrival in Trestkania.
"...Mm, that would be nice." Nox nodded, pulling his scarf tighter around his face.
"KRIEEK!!!" The Shades roared, surrounding us with numbers too great to count.
"Let's make sure we come out alive, then." Nox's eyes turned cold, revealing a side of him I hadn't seen before.
With his hands raised in the air, like Lux, he free-fell from the sky, deactivating his wings and descending without ascending.
The weather shifted suddenly into a heavy storm, intensifying under the Kraken's influence.
"N-Nox?!" I said, confused about what he was doing.
But Anellia stopped me from interfering, assuring me it was all right.
"It's alright, Vice-Leader," Anellia reassured me as she moved faster.
Anellia, fully confident in Nox—who always seemed pathetic in my eyes—trusted him completely.
"Wings of Cyphisonia, calibration complete."
—Voom...!
With a silent transformation, the wings that were originally black twisted into an even darker shade, absorbing all light around them.
As he slowly opened his eyes while descending from the sky, he made a single gesture—a word that conveyed his authority over these creatures:
"Fall."
—FLING!!!
His chain-like wings darted toward anything they deemed a threat, moving with a speed I couldn't track.
The Eldians, too difficult to pierce through, bounced off each other's skin as they were caught in the onslaught.
Yet, this process repeated tens, hundreds, and thousands of times, with chains wrapping around the Eldians.
One by one, with just the touch of his wings, the Eldians ceased to respond, until they all fell into the ocean.
Forgetting their ability to feel 'existence.'
—Splash!
Nox curled into a ball, floating above the sea, covered by a curtain of Vantablack chains. He resembled the darkness itself, ensnaring his prey in his web.
...
...
...
"■○●■○○●!!!" The Kraken roared, loud enough to make me wince.
In addition to Lux and Nox, Eskieth volunteered to distract the Kraken, allowing me to get closer to it. Thanks to Eskieth, nothing terrible had happened so far.
—Crank... Crank...! Crank!
Her wings unfurled into four divisions, and mysterious orbs floated in the air, accelerating toward the Kraken.
As if that weren't enough, even more orbs emerged from her wings' barrel—a limitless supply of explosive projectiles, each accumulating condensed energy beyond my comprehension.
The orbs vibrated as if they were ready to explode upon contact.
Because the Kraken lacked intelligence, its tentacles attempted to strike Eskieth...
—BOOOM!!! BOOOM!!! BOOOM!!!
Only to detonate into pieces, creating a supermassive explosion that formed a mushroom cloud.
"Go forth, my precious babies~!" Eskieth commanded as her wings launched missiles, firing them rapidly at the Kraken.
From grenades to rocket launchers to actual warheads, her seemingly endless supply of gunpowder never seemed to run out.
"This isn't just magic... no, it's something else," I thought deeply about their abilities.
They felt more intangible than normal Magic Arts, especially compared to Demiurge.
At the same time, I couldn't shake off the chills running down my spine.
If our allies were already this strong, I couldn't even begin to fathom the true extent of our opponents' abilities.
"We're almost there, Vice-Leader," Anellia said, focusing on getting me to our destination quickly.
「It appears you're right, little lab rat,」Eskieth contacted me simultaneously, placing me on a video call with her face on full display.
Her tone was serious, but her expression conveyed excitement as she drooled with ecstasy at every explosion.
「Whenever I inflict enough damage to the guardian, something inside it opens up.」
「The faculty is still intact?」
「Yep, so we're counting on you, little lab rat~!」
With that final message, the call abruptly ended, leaving only Anellia and me.
Without wasting any time, we made it to the back of the Kraken, with Eskieth fighting on the other side to divert its attention.
Now it's finally my turn.
"Anellia!"
"Yes, Vice-Leader!"
—Vroom...!
Under my command, Anellia halted, and I loaded two Liberas with an
Since we were in the air, Anellia's control over her wings helped us avoid extensive recoil.
I bound both my arms with Ichor, solidifying them to prevent any bending in the wrong direction.
With my hand on the trigger, I braced myself for impact. I unleashed a firepower capable of tearing a deep hole through the fully grown Frayed, leaving nothing behind.
—BOOOM!!! BOOOM!!!
"○■●■○■○!!!" The Kraken shrieked even louder as a massive hole opened in its back.
Thanks to the output being 20% stronger, the range was noticeably increased—an impressive feat for a one-shot weapon like this.
「Fufu~! You think you can lay a hand on my precious subject?」Eskieth laughed, amused that we drew its attention.
「Ahh~... I should have at least taken a sample of my little lab rat back then...」Eskieth said, somehow making me feel more scared than the Kraken itself.
...
...
...
「...Ah, did I forget to drop the call?」
「Stay 10 feet away from me from now on.」
「W-Wait! I can explain—」
「Stay 10 feet away from me from now on.」
「This is just—」
—Bzzt!
I ended the call, cutting off any further excuses.
Eskieth actually sounded distressed, but I was sure she would recover. These four in the squad were lunatics to begin with anyway.
"Vice-Leader. Hurry, before the wound closes."
Shaking my head to refocus, I noticed that the wound was about to seal itself again.
Before I told her to go inside, I paused and reflected on what the two of us had been through together, how we had come to a place where we could trust each other.
"Anellia, why do you believe in me?" I asked, hoping to clear up any suspicions before we entered.
She believed that I was still human, vouched for me, and tried to protect me as if she truly knew I was trustworthy.
It felt too coincidental.
What she said next surprised me, and everything fell into place.
"You're like me, Vice-Leader. You want to find a place to belong."
"...!"
"I, too, want to know what home is like."
...
...
...
"Haha... I guess we're alike in that regard." I smiled, noticing a glimpse of emotion behind her usually stoic expression.
The nervousness in my chest faded away, and I felt a surge of determination, ready to face the danger ahead.
"Let's finish this, crazy style."
"Understood."
As I activated the
—Fwoosh!
The final moments were upon us before everything descended into chaos. We had entered the Kraken's insides to destroy its core.
I take back what I said about the squad being crazy.
I might need therapy after suggesting this idea in the first place.