A giant bear, over three meters tall.
Its fur stood on end, drifting as if in an unfelt wind.
On the bear's body.
A ghostly blue flame, as if from the netherworld, clung to its body. The tips of its fur gradually turned dark blue under the fire's glow.
*Hooo!!*
Intense flames shot from the bear's nostrils, accompanied by billowing white steam.
This!!
Everyone stared wide-eyed, watching the giant bear shielding Sora in disbelief.
Sora's eyes were even wider, filled with utter disbelief.
"Bay... Bailey... is that you?..."
Sora murmured in disbelief.
But Lucas half-turned his head and said to Sora.
"You guys get out of here!! Now!!"
"Bailey!!"
Nearby, Exusiai, Texas, and Croissant were in a state of complete shock.
Holy shit???
Holy shit!!
This bear??
Isn't that the one Sora was holding?
It can transform??
That's so cool!
The name Bailey?
Exusiai suddenly realized, could Bailey be the bear's name? Does that mean the bear... wasn't a doll, but alive??
This is just too absurd.
Seeing the four still there, Lucas shouted again. Texas immediately understood, grabbed Sora, and turned to leave.
She knew this level of combat was far beyond their ability to help.
Just moments ago, when that monster suddenly appeared before Sora, the three of them hadn't reacted at all. If it weren't for this bear, Sora would probably be a corpse by now. No... not just Sora. All four of them might be dead.
No matter how skilled they thought they were, they knew they couldn't last long against a monster like this.
Right now, Lucas was grappling with the monster...
This monster was just over three meters tall, but Lucas, at over three meters himself, was a full head taller.
The giant bear's paw was locked with the monster's hand. Both sides strained, but for a moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
Seaborn?
Lucas had never seen a Seaborn that looked like this.
It had a human form and silhouette, but its body was translucent. You could see the tissues beneath the skin, but there were no human internal organs. Instead, there were only deep blue energy tethers, supplying the body with immense power.
It had no facial features. Through the translucent face, one could see a mind glittering like a star-filled sky.
Its head was wrapped in something thin, like a wedding veil. The monster stood there, and despite the gloomy sky, its body shimmered with a faint halo.
Another new breed of Seaborn...
The ghostly blue flames on Lucas's paw blazed. He pushed hard, sending the Seaborn staggering back. Lucas seized the opportunity, slamming a fiery fist straight into its chest. The moment of impact sounded like a thunderclap, booming continuously.
Lucas already felt a sense of crisis.
This was not a good sign.
Now the Seaborn's evolution seemed to be getting twisted.
Normally, the Seaborn's strength was in their numbers, and individual strength might not be that high. But back in Siesta, the Seaborn that could come ashore after devouring Originium Slugs were already stronger than normal ones. However, this new Seaborn... its strength was ridiculously greater, far beyond what any normal person could handle one-on-one.
If there were more Seaborn like this.
Sweeping across all of Terra would be as easy as drinking water.
No, wait.
The land's environment is completely different from the Seaborn's. Theoretically, based on their own survival instincts, they shouldn't actively come ashore, because doing so requires a very long time to overcome the rejection from Originium. This choice completely contradicts the Seaborn's near-instinctive concept of racial propagation and continuation. Therefore, Seaborn almost never come ashore actively, unless something triggers them, making them feel that you will obstruct their race's continuation and propagation. Only then would they actively come ashore to devour that obstacle.
So.
This Seaborn was likely the same as the ones in Siesta—a brand new, land-acclimated Seaborn, created through artificial guidance.
This evolutionary power...
It's truly terrifying.
And Lucas had a rough idea of what happened.
It was likely an accident that this "cargo" burst out midway. According to the original plan, the alloy container holding the Seaborn would be opened after being delivered to Siracusa. Then, upon opening it, a Mafia like [Famiglia Venezia] would be completely unable to deal with such a powerful Seaborn, and this Seaborn would bring disaster to all of Siracusa.
As for Penguin Logistics, who was responsible for transport.
Theoretically, they weren't in much danger. After all, they were only responsible for delivery. After arriving, they would have left Siracusa immediately. Even if the [Famiglia Venezia] people released this monster afterward, it wouldn't have much of an impact on the Penguin Logistics girls.
However.
The accident happened here.
During transit, the monster somehow got out on its own...
Lucas grabbed the Seaborn's shoulder with one hand. His other hand, burning with ghostly blue flames, swung a fist the size of a sandbag, smashing it into the monster's face again and again. There were no flashy skills, no powerful Arts, only a brutal, fist-to-flesh brawl.
Right now, Lucas was like a divine king of fighters, controlling the giant bear's body, landing a huge slap, then another huge slap, right across the Seaborn's face.
The four from Penguin Logistics obviously hadn't really left. To avoid being a burden, the four of them ran to a safe distance. Exusiai had already activated the hidden combat camera on her shoulder and started recording. Generally speaking, this camera should be on for every mission—it's standard procedure—but after doing it so many times, she'd gotten lazy and hadn't been turning it on.
"Sora! This giant bear is so cool!!"
Exusiai chattered nonstop beside them. This was a habit of hers. She was usually talkative, but not overly so. But as soon as she got really nervous, she would talk more and more. It was her way of relieving her nervousness, which made her seem a bit airheaded to outsiders.
"What's the deal with this bear, Sora?"
Texas asked seriously.
Sora knew she couldn't hide it anymore and honestly explained Bailey's situation.
After hearing Sora's description, the three of them weren't that surprised. They had seen their fair share of strange things and wouldn't be easily shocked.
"Wait? You said... Bailey granted you a wish?"
"Yep."
Sora nodded.
"Er..."
Texas's mind was sharp. She instantly thought of a problem.
How could there be a way to make a wish come true out of thin air in this world? The fulfillment must require a process.
And the boss of Sora's original company being replaced... that sounded like the company's intervention no matter how you looked at it.
"By the way... Sora, you said Miss Jessica gave you this teddy bear?"
"Mhm..."
"Then, is it possible Miss Jessica was the one who helped with your company situation this time?"
Sora quickly shook her head. "No, I thought about that, so I specifically asked Sister Zhang. But Sister Zhang said the acquirer wasn't Raythean Industries, but another investment firm. I don't think it has anything to do with Raythean Industries."
"Sora, you're a bit naive."
Texas said.
"These days, a single person can have several 'vests' when they're out and about, let alone a huge corporation. Our own Boss has several companies under her name, to say nothing of the massive Raythean Industries. Raythean Industries is just the parent company. It must have hundreds or thousands of subsidiaries under it. Maybe Miss Jessica just used one of her company's names. After all, given your relationship with Jessica, if you were in trouble, Miss Jessica would definitely be the first to help. That shitty company might be a behemoth to you, but for Raythean Industries, honestly... it's easier than crushing an ant."
"But..."
Sora thought about it, and it really seemed possible.
"But I never told Miss Jessica. She's far away in Columbia, how could she know?"
"Is it possible..."
Texas analyzed.
"That *Mr. Bailey* told Jessica?"
Sora: "???"
"But... but Bailey said he doesn't remember anything."
Croissant rolled her eyes. "Why do you believe everything, Sora? Besides, did this little bear tell you he could transform?"
"No."
Sora shook her head.
"There you have it."
As for the main battlefield.
Lucas's fight with the Seaborn dragged on. This Seaborn was extremely special. Its skin was incredibly tough, as if it couldn't be broken. No matter how many times Lucas's iron fists smashed into it, it didn't seem to do much.
It slowly raised its hand. Dark, turbid water swirled and gathered on its arm, then condensed into a tiny water droplet. Very, very small. Then, the next second.
*Biu!*
The droplet turned into a slender water blade, incredibly sharp and ridiculously fast. Luckily, Lucas dodged just in time, barely avoiding the water blade's attack. A short distance away, a small boulder was sliced clean in half by the water blade, the cut perfectly smooth.
*Tsk...*
This doll's body really isn't that strong in combat. If Surtr were here, activating Twilight would probably be an instant kill.
In that case.
Lucas pointed a hand to the sky.
"Starlight!!"
"Roger, sir~"
Immediately, the armed attack drone circling high above received the command and interfaced with Lucas's soul. After the connection was complete, the originally dim internal cabin lit up on its own. All the screens on the instrument panel lit up. No one was piloting it, yet it began to move on its own.
This drone was a new, third-generation drone built by Lucas and Nian.
The first-generation drones had become regular transport aircraft within Raythean Medica, while the second-generation [Stardust] became the aircraft for daily travel and transporting [Titans]. And this third-generation drone, [Starlight], was smaller and more intelligent. However, because it was small, it couldn't carry [Titans], but it could carry and launch all kinds of weapons. Plus, its small body was better for concealment.
And [Starlight] had been following Penguin Logistics from behind ever since they started the mission, ready to provide fire support at any time.
Starlight's surrounding weapon bays opened automatically. As it locked onto the Seaborn on the ground, multiple small missiles jetted out, raining down a barrage of bombs on the Seaborn. Amidst the continuous booms, dust billowed, obscuring the situation inside from outsiders.
As for the four from Penguin Logistics in the distance, question marks flashed through their minds.
"What's going on."
"????"
One second it was a head-on brawl, the next second he's pulling out high-tech.
And.
Even Texas and Exusiai had rarely seen an aircraft that could provide fire support from the sky. They had been on aircraft before, but most couldn't fly this high. The two of them had only ever seen one that could.
Lucas's [Stardust].
Wait!
This aircraft's model... why does it look a bit like [Stardust]? Aside from being smaller and having a different paint job, isn't it just a mini [Stardust] in different clothes?
????
Under the constant barrage of small missiles.
The Seaborn's tough body was gradually riddled with holes. Some places were completely blasted apart by the missiles.
However, the Seaborn's evolutionary and self-regeneration abilities were no joke.
This Seaborn tried to divert its internal power to repair the wounds on its body.
However!
The repair speed was far slower than expected, even somewhat sluggish.
Ever since returning from Siesta.
Lucas had been thinking about what to do if he encountered Seaborn again. The most terrifying things about high-level Seaborn, aside from their numbers, were their near-perverted recovery abilities. So, during this time, Lucas had been working with Nian and the others to develop a weapon specifically for dealing with Seaborn. They extracted the suppressive flames of Laevatain, analyzed this power, and injected it in batches, finally creating this missile that could, to an extent, inhibit their healing.
Of course, it couldn't suppress it for long, but it was better than nothing.
"Gimme a sniper!"
Another bay on [Starlight] opened, ejecting a small drone. Attached below the drone was a large sniper rifle.
In the distance, Exusiai's eyes widened when she saw the sniper rifle.
!!!
After catching the sniper rifle, Lucas aimed at the Seaborn and pulled the trigger.
"The times have changed~"
A special bullet containing divine power shot out from the barrel. Instantly, the Seaborn's body exploded from the middle with a *boom*, its upper half falling limply to the ground.
This special bullet was custom-made by Lucas. There were only five in total, exceptionally precious. Each bullet far exceeded Originium Rounds; they contained the divine power of a god.