Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
===BREAK===
Destruction rains from the sky.
Endlessly, relentlessly.
Boom! Boom boom boom!
Kwarururung!──
A considerable number of them collided midair with the aerial-type beasts, causing explosions, but even so, the sheer number of missiles ensured that Ark's damage was still considerable.
Presumably, this was why the Kronos Union only began launching missiles after the first wave of the flying beasts' assault had ended.
"..."
In that apocalyptic scene, I could only watch, dazed, as if spellbound.
Ark had faced countless crises, and I had personally witnessed many moments where it seemed like the city would fall.
But this—this spectacle evoked the word apocalypse more vividly than anything I had ever seen.
["Master?"]
"Ah."
I snapped out of it at Esther's call and looked ahead.
Thanks to the automatic mode on my gravity gauntlets, there was no lapse in firepower despite my momentary distraction.
No—rather, it was precisely because of that system that I had the luxury to lose focus for a few seconds.
"Esther, can you intercept them?"
["…I'll try my best. But it won't be easy. The ether storm over there… even if I borrow your strength, it's beyond my capacity."]
After meeting the Watcher, my ether sensitivity had surpassed 100 in numerical terms.
That kind of ether sensitivity should have made almost anything possible, and yet Esther was still hesitant.
It meant the ether storm created by the Great Will was far beyond common sense.
"Still, we have to do what we can."
["Yes."]
Esther began summoning ether in earnest.
Not only drawing upon her own power as a Beyond-Grade spirit-type, but also tapping into my ether reserves.
[Block?]
[Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block.]
[Block──────!]
Ether waves emanated from Esther, rippling outward.
As they did, the missiles heading toward Ark halted in midair—then exploded.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!───
BOOM!
The wings of aerial-type beasts caught in the blast were scorched, and they plummeted.
[Kiieeek!]
[Kaaaak...!]
No matter how much the Kronos Union was utilizing the beast horde, they were no true allies.
Naturally, they hadn't cared whether the beasts would be caught in the missile trajectories, which only worsened the casualties.
["Ugh...!"]
But that was as far as it went.
Even though Esther had drawn on my ether to unleash the ether wave, which under normal circumstances would have been enough to dominate the entire area, all it managed to do was halt and detonate the incoming missiles.
That's how powerful the ether storm spread across the front by the Great Will was.
["I… can't hold it anymore."]
The ether barrier Esther had maintained began to fade.
Considering she had withstood the missile barrage across Ark's entire eastern front while resisting the Great Will's interference, it was no surprise she was spent.
'But… this should be enough.'
The time Esther and I had bought for Ark was by no means meaningless.
Ark was a city that had endured countless invasions. Even if unfamiliar with every threat, it possessed response protocols and defense manuals for all kinds of attacks.
By now, surely Ark had activated its countermeasures against the Kronos Union's assault.
Chiiing...
Sure enough, soon afterward, Ark's strategic assets appeared atop its walls.
The city's vaunted anti-air defense system had begun to mobilize.
Even for Ark, manufacturing high-precision missiles capable of distinguishing between aerial-type beasts and incoming projectiles in real time was no easy task.
Cost and other factors made such weapons difficult to mass-produce.
So, Ark had opted for a much simpler, yet highly effective method.
Piiiing!
BOOM! KWARURURUNG!
Rather than discriminating between missiles and flying beasts, it intercepted everything in the air.
The missiles fired from Ark began to incinerate the sky indiscriminately.
It was the simplest tactic—but also the most effective.
BOOM!──
KWARURURUNG!
Once again, flames soared across the sky.
Only this time, those flames brought hope to Ark—not despair.
"Check equipment and transport the wounded while the defense system is active!"
"Move, move!"
With this, one of the tasks I had to take care of was done.
But the situation was still dire.
While Ark could now defend against the Kronos Union's missile attacks, the Union's main force had yet to appear.
And on top of that, the presence of the Church of Morte remained an unsettling factor.
'…Nothing about this is going to be easy.'
The Kronos Union and the Church of Morte were clearly not underestimating Ark.
Proving that, the Kronos Union had only exposed a fraction of its missile launchers; the whereabouts of its main force were still unknown.
They knew that if they revealed their location, Ark's bombardment would rain down in full force.
'They must be using the terrain and beast horde to stay hidden. But to do that, they'd need to avoid attacks from the beasts… Could it be the power of the Church of Morte?'
Even so, questions remained.
Even the Church of Morte would need relics to avoid attracting the attention of the beast horde.
But given the size of the Kronos Union and the Church of Morte's forces, hiding this perfectly would require dozens of relics—likely more than they could afford.
That left only one possibility.
'The Will of the Great One.'
It was just a theory, but if true, then this war could very well be Ark's final war.
And I had to stop that outcome at all costs.
'Whatever it is… I have to do what I can.'
I still hadn't made up my mind.
I could understand both Ark's position and the Kronos Union's reasoning.
That's why, even now, I looked toward the three regional overlords approaching Ark.
It seemed Ark had deployed not only special strike teams from each Line but also troops from the White Line to deal with them. Still, I had doubts about how effective they would be.
Especially since Ark's core forces—Brigadier General Douglas, Colonel Emily Croft, and Colonel Belova—were likely in no condition to fight at full strength.
'Well… I can't say I'm completely blameless for that either.'
In any case, I had to take responsibility for my actions—stopping the regional overlords was the least I could do.
Because the moment those three reached Ark's walls would be the moment the city fell.
Fwoosh!
I activated the Z-74 Jetpack and launched straight into the frontline.
To an outsider, it might have looked like a suicide charge into the heart of the beast horde—but for me, it was nothing new.
Ziiing...!
The BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler in each of my hands sprayed alternating waves of heat and cold, sweeping the surroundings.
There was no better tool for wide-area devastation right in the enemy's midst.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM───!
In an instant, a path opened in the sky.
Without hesitation, I flew toward the regional overlords.
'There.'
As I pierced through the horde, the regional overlords finally came into view.
I drew the Zeus-444 Railgun from [Rift Space] and steadied my aim.
[Lv.10]
The muzzle of the Zeus-444 Railgun, set to maximum output, pointed toward the Lord of the Grand Forest.
No hesitation was needed.
Pulling the trigger was something I had done countless times before.
KURURURURUNG!───
Its power far surpassed the speed of sound—the sound only came long after.
[GUUUUUOOOOOOOOO...!]
Even the Lord of the Forest couldn't ignore the impact. Despite being hit at full power, it writhed in agony.
But that was all.
They weren't called regional overlords for nothing. Even with a precision strike aimed at its weak spot, the Forest Lord let out a guttural howl and began to reshape the terrain.
KUGUGUGUGUGU!
Sprouts burst from the barren wasteland; trees began to grow.
It was the Forestification, one of the Forest Lord's specialties.
'If the forestification reaches Ark's walls, the barriers will start to crack.'
As threatening as it was, the countermeasure was surprisingly straightforward.
Firepower.
And even more firepower.
Forests and trees were weak to fire. No matter how vast, they could all be burned down.
'Then....'
I swapped the Zeus-444's ammo for a 120mm NA-44 High-Capacity Napalm round and was about to activate the Z-74 Jetpack again.
"Carl Marcus, halt. I will not allow you to further harm the Apostle of the Great Will."
A familiar voice rang out from somewhere.
Turning slightly, I saw the familiar figure riding the wind and blocking my path—just as I expected.
'Hmph....'
Flying without any flight gear was proof enough of how extraordinary this interloper was.
And rightly so.
The person standing before me was none other than Amos Aster—bishop of the Gaishara branch and one of the Church of Morte's archbishops.
"Why should I?"
"If you refuse to follow the will of the Great One, then I'll have no choice but to enforce it."
"You think you can stop me?"
A thin smile formed on Amos Aster's lips.
"I've always been curious. Where exactly does your arrogance come from? I wanted to see for myself."
"You're welcome to find out."
"Then I won't hold back."
Sparks flared around Archbishop Amos Aster as countless blessings emerged.
Blessings—the very symbol of the Church of Morte.
Even so, I didn't feel any need to tense up.
"Good timing. I regretted not finishing you off last time."
"…What do you mean? When did we ever meet?"
There was no need to answer his question.
Now that the Forest Lord had begun forestification, it was time for me to fight seriously.
"Janus."
[Gigit!]
Revealing the true identity of the Turncoat Pawn was a delicate matter.
But this was the battlefield.
The perfect environment to erase events—real or otherwise.
"Devour him."
The true master of bone, who had hidden its form until now, finally began to emerge.
===BREAK===
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