In the distance, the Turncoat Queen's blossomed flower wilted and vanished once more.
The fact that she could unleash such massive attacks consecutively proved just how formidable she truly was.
"...Looks like she's gone."
The Turncoat Rook, who had been tensely on guard since her appearance, finally relaxed a little.
"Seems that way."
"...She's not someone to underestimate. You'd better watch your back."
"I know."
Thus, the Turncoat Queen disappeared—leaving only a heavy stillness behind.
GOOOOOOO────
It felt as though a great storm had passed.
And it wasn't just a feeling.
The Turncoat Queen's sudden intrusion during the Wave had been nothing short of a natural disaster.
'Sigh...'
That's the real problem with this cursed world.
In an ideal world, we could all just join forces and protect the Ark.
But there were simply too many with different ambitions and goals.
'Well, the Turncoats were never allies of humanity anyway.'
No matter how human they might look, Turncoats were fundamentally monsters.
Enemies of humanity.
I had to be thankful that the Turncoat King and Turncoat Queen weren't actively trying to destroy the Ark—at least for now.
'Still, it's clear that they're preparing for something.'
I had a pretty good idea what the "time" the Turncoat Queen spoke of could be.
And it was approaching fast.
'I'll have to move my plans forward.'
Besides defending the Ark from the Wave, I had several other plans in motion.
And it was about time to execute one of them.
'I'll open the Silk Road.'
The Silk Road episode.
One of the most critical branching points in The Defense.
How I handled it would largely determine the Ark's future.
Normally, it should be tackled after reaching the Blue Line stage.
But there was no need to wait now.
With the connections I had established—the Sandstorm Caravan, the Kronos Union, and the Tripathi Family—I could accelerate the Silk Road.
'If I complete the Silk Road now, the Ark will gain power far beyond its current strength.'
Timing was everything.
The sooner, the better.
'I was planning to wait and see... but that's no longer an option.'
The world itself was changing.
My actions had triggered ripples even among beings that shouldn't have shifted yet.
The unexpected movements of the Turncoat King and Turncoat Queen were clear proof.
Like it or not, I had to keep pace with those changes.
It was then—
["Master! Incoming!"]
I nodded at Esther's warning.
'The Silk Road can wait.'
First, I had to finish dealing with the Wave right in front of me.
CLACK—
I gripped my Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle tightly, switching it to Railgun Mode.
Thanks to the time the Turncoat Queen had bought, the energy reserves had fully recharged.
ZZZZZT, ZZZZZT─!
Sparks flared as tremendous energy built up in the barrel.
My target: a Grade-1 Named Aerial Beast leading its flock.
I aimed squarely at its forehead.
The trigger was pulled without hesitation.
SHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!─────
As always, the sound arrived only after the light had already pierced through the monster's skull.
"Prepare yourselves."
At my command, the Turncoat Rook and Turncoat Knight immediately readied for battle.
We had rested long enough.
'Right... one more thing.'
I suddenly remembered something.
Grabbing the reins of Horus, I gave the order.
"Let's head down for a moment."
"...Where to?"
"Need to pick something up."
I could wait until after the Wave, but by then, it might be too late.
Leaving the Rook and Knight to hold the line, I dove toward the ground atop Horus.
[KAAAAAH!]
[GUOOOOO!]
As we descended, beasts on the ground began firing at us.
SHREEEEE!
THWACK!
Venom spit.
Rocks hurled.
All manner of ranged attacks rained down.
'Can't dodge everything.'
Even with Horus's maneuverability, his sheer size made it impossible to avoid them all.
But it didn't matter.
Being hit didn't mean being hurt.
Sssss──
Bone tendrils shot out from Horus, wrapping around his body.
His already thick armor grew even tougher.
CLANG!
CLAAAANG!
Missiles, venom, and rocks bounced off harmlessly.
Without slowing his wingbeats, Horus continued his descent.
Finally, he reached the ground, swinging his massive tail in a wide arc.
KRAAAAAASH───!
Monsters went flying.
Of course they did.
Horus, now nearly a grade-less monster, was unstoppable to anything below Grade-7.
'There.'
On the ground, I quickly located what I was looking for:
The shattered remnants of the Turncoat Queen's bone petals.
"Janus."
At my call, Janus sent out his tendrils and began greedily devouring the remains.
Compared to the corpses of ordinary beasts, this was pure nourishment.
CRACK, CRACK-CRACK──
Even as Janus ate, monsters continued swarming toward us.
Normally, I would have stopped and fought.
But not this time.
"Keep eating."
[Gigik!]
I drew my trusty partners—the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler.
No need for full freeze-burn combos.
Simply swinging them was enough.
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The searing flashes and icy blasts tore through the monsters like paper.
They didn't even have time to scream before being reduced to ashes or frozen statues.
And still, more came to take their place.
"Esther."
["On it."]
While I gave my weapons a brief rest, Esther stepped forward.
[You dare...]
[Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone. Begone.]
[Stop────!]
A towering wall of Aether erupted, halting the beasts in their tracks.
Then—
At Esther's command, thorned spikes burst from the wall.
A fortress of nails smashed into the beasts.
PUSHHH!
PFT! PFT-PFT!
[KAAAAAHHHH!]
[KIEEEEEK!]
The monsters reeled in agony, trying to retreat.
Their sudden confusion bought me precious time.
'Still a bit short.'
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.
The endless tide continued.
'I didn't want to use this yet, but...'
I pulled a gray-tinted bone spear from my left hand.
Without hesitation, I drove it into the ground.
['Ankelenth's Domain' has been activated!]
With the declaration of the apex predator's domain, the monsters immediately froze.
Then, as if repelled, they began to move around the invisible barrier, avoiding me entirely.
'I didn't want to use this during the Wave...'
Ankelenth's Domain had a downside.
While it protected me, it pushed enemies toward other fronts.
The balloon effect.
Still, it gave Janus the breathing room he needed.
CRACK, CRACK──
Seizing the moment, Janus extended dozens more tendrils, devouring the Queen's remains even faster.
[Gigik!]
Finally, Janus gave a cry of triumph.
[You have absorbed the remains of the Beyond-Grade Skull Turncoat, 'Turncoat Queen'!]
['Bone Armor (Lv.5) [Janus]' attributes increased by 3%!]
[Bone Parasite Equipment utilization increased by 15%!]
[Successfully assimilated part of 'Turncoat Queen'—gained partial abilities!]
Janus's once grayish bones shifted even paler—closer to pure white.
A pale gray, almost silver.
'Perfect.'
With everything complete, I grabbed the embedded spear.
['Ankelenth's Domain' has been deactivated.]
Immediately, the monsters that had avoided me now turned toward me again.
A full encirclement.
'Hmm.'
But I wasn't worried.
Because now, I had a new technique I wanted to test.
"Janus."
At my call, Janus shuddered.
CLACK, CLACK-CLACK──
Bones inside him twisted and danced, bursting outward.
The tendrils formed petal shapes—
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM───!
Blossom.
The flower of bones bloomed wide.