To classify the Pylons that humanity can manage—whether to contain, avoid, or destroy them—Domains are classified into three, or perhaps four, types.
Type-Three Domains belonged to Pylons that fell after the 2nd Cardinal Sky and obtained the ability to evolve beyond their concept.
Because of their potential danger, they must be destroyed at all costs; leaving them unchecked could lead to devastating consequences.
Type-Two Domains are characterized by their rapid expansion and focus on increasing their influence within their Domain.
They pose a significant threat, similar to Type-Three Domains, as they drain nutrients from Mother Earth as they expand.
Type-One Domain belongs to sentient Pylons, also known as living disasters called Sentinels.
Although classified as Eldians, these Domains adhere strictly to their conceptual goals, manifesting them in extreme ways.
An example of this is the Domain that belongs to the Sentinel, Deus Machina, which embodies the concept of
There is also a final category, the Type-Zero Domains, which are anomalies that cannot be easily defined due to their complex origins.
They are classified as Type-Zero Domains because of their incomprehensible threat levels, and not much is known about them.
With this information and the existence of Project ANGEL...
Eliminating these godlike structures was possible.
—Tap!
Eskieth's heels clicked sharply against the floor, and our attention shifted to her, the current leader of the squad.
For some reason, I had been included in this mission, but ugh, whatever.
"Under my strict orders, you are not to engage the enemy directly, no matter how strong you are. A small mistake could lead to—"
"—Tch. Eskieth, how many times are you going to remind us?" Lux interrupted, clicking her tongue as she polished her wings.
Eskieth revealed her true intentions, placing her hands on her waist. "Fufu, it's best to maintain our squad's quo, no?"
"Affirmative," Anellia nodded in agreement.
Nox, on the other hand, shook his head in silence, seemingly uninterested in joining the conversation.
"…Mmm?" I tilted my head in curiosity.
Since Nox and I were sitting next to each other, we made eye contact as I noticed the novel he was reading.
"Oh, hi~." I waved my hands and smiled, pleased that we had made eye contact.
"...Hello," he replied, his tone noticeably more relaxed than before.
I wanted to apologize for fumbling his name last time, but since he responded so easily, it seemed he didn't mind.
"…Are missions like these common?" I asked, curious to know how composed they are compared to me.
"...Yes." He replied.
...
...
...
"...I see." I nodded in understanding, ending the conversation there.
...It was clear he wasn't the talkative type.
An hour had passed since an urgent mission was relayed to everyone involved in Project ANGEL.
Hundreds of jets hovered in the sky, each carrying a respective squad.
Because the Xero Squad was unique, our jet stood out from the rest—it was more grand, I would say.
This operation involved 300 ANGELs, tasked with creating a safe ground for survivors, while a few others will enter the Domain itself to destroy it.
Our objective is to destroy the Pylon's core before it grows, which could result in a catastrophic event if it is too late, capable of wiping out the city.
There are many questions I want to ask, but the one I am most curious about is: why, despite the passing of the 2nd Cardinal Sky, has another Pylon emerged?
Countless private jets soared through the sky, and it made my heart skip a beat.
Given how humanity has adapted to this timeline without Noah, I'm curious about how they adapted without a beacon of hope.
"Sigh… why were we dispatched on another mission? Isn't this the third consecutive mission we've been assigned?" Lux was irritated, sharpening her wings with such force that sparks flew from them.
—Shing…!
"Lux, don't do that," Anellia admonished, grabbing her arm and clearly annoyed by Lux's reckless treatment of her wings.
The two glared at each other, both ready to spark another argument.
With a pout on her face, Anellia pointed at Lux's wings, eager to tinker with them herself.
I expected a quarrel to erupt, but surprisingly, Lux took a deep breath and calmly agreed.
"Fine," Lux growled, conceding for once.
"Thank you." Anellia took the opportunity and began to repair the wings with the help of her drones.
…
…
…
"Psst, hey Nox." I nudged his shoulder.
"W-What?" Nox flinched at my sudden touch.
"Isn't Lux acting more reserved than usual? What's going on?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.
My initial impression of Lux had been that she was a barbaric, sadistic fiend I wanted to avoid at all costs.
But now, Lux seemed different—more reserved.
With a stoic, emotionless expression shrouded in a white veil, she resembled an actual angel. Paired with her pastel pink hair and soft skin, she was the epitome of divine beauty.
"…That's just how Lux usually is… yeah." Nox nodded, seemingly unfazed.
Confused by the vague answer, I was about to ask someone else who was already listening besides me when I tilted my head, only to find myself nestled in soft cushions.
"What, are you curious about Lux again? Little lab rat~" Eskieth teased, a playful smirk spreading across her face as my head unexpectedly landed on her chest due to my height.
"Puah!" I stumbled back, my face turning red from surprise.
"Ugh, w-what was that for!?"
"Fufu, you really are a little cutie, aren't you?
—Pat pat...
Eskieth patted my head, while my words seemed to go in one ear and out the other.
Camellia was being discreet about it, and no one really tried approaching me, but being called cute so openly...
It feels weird, I don't like it.
"S-Stop that!" I swatted her hand away from my head and stepped back.
"Whistle~! Do you really hate me that much...?" Without warning, Eskieth approached me and put me in a headlock.
—Clench...!
"W-Wait! What are you doing? I'm going to choke to death—" I struggled to escape her grip.
"Boohoo… you're getting all chummy with the other squad members but not with me? You leecher!" Eskieth said, flailing me around like a doll.
"Uwawaaa!!!" I couldn't do anything, helpless against her playful torture.
How the hell did Orion manage to maintain this group?
For an urgent mission that had left them scrambling for time, they seemed to revert to their usual behaviour, as if it were just an everyday picnic.
We were dealing with a Pylon, a threat that humanity had spent years trying to eliminate.
A Domain is filled with uncertainties, each one distinct from the next.
The only similarities among them were their ability to summon endless numbers of monsters, aiming to expand their territory and spread their kind until Earth became their playground.
"Heh, don't worry too much about it, little lab rat," Eskieth said as she put me down and patted me on the back.
"Just leave it to us." She smiled.
It took me a moment to realize that her playful treatment of me was meant to calm my nerves.
...Despite being an oddball, she reminded me of Orion, giving me warmth.
'Maybe he did tame them a little,' I thought, resolved to find a way to fight and join them in reclaiming humanity.
—Shaaaa!!!
As the sun set and the clouds drifted by, we had travelled long enough to reach our destination.
The cockpit glowed red, and through the window, I could see a city coming into view after crossing the desert wastelands.
We were heading toward the very heart of the city, which was named Metrova.
In the center stood the Pylon, which we, the Xero Squad, were tasked with destroying to prevent it from growing any larger.
However, under the Pylon's influence, the sky was redder than usual, and the barrier that should have protected the city had shattered.
"…" All of us were silent; there was no time for jokes.
As dawn approached, we prepared ourselves.
"Xero Squad, our objective is to eliminate the Pylon and erase any traces of it. Failure will not be tolerated," Eskieth announced coldly.
"Nox, Lux—you two stick together and relay information to the other squad members if the threat exceeds our capabilities."
"Roger," Nox and Lux responded.
"As for me, to prevent a potential swarm that could wipe us out in an instant, I'll set up a trap to divert them all to me if necessary."
—Click!
Eskieth yanked down a lever with force, opening the cockpit.
The intense wind heightened my awareness of the urgency of the situation, making me more ready than ever to face a Pylon myself.
"And you, little lab rat, will go with An to set up beacons to restore connections from outside the Domain, is that clear?"
"...Understood."
"Understood."
We both nodded. I hesitated for a moment, while An nodded emotionlessly, simply following orders without any additional thought.
—Shing!
At the same time, the squad's wings spread, each unique and ready to take flight.
The design of each member's wings reflected their individual personalities—beautiful yet tragic in the face of the wicked world they lived in.
Wings are meant for flight, to seek freedom in the air like a bird soaring through the sky.
Yet for them, these wings wouldn't be used for freedom.
They were tools for scratching at the cage that bound them against a decaying world, instruments of bloodshed for the sake of humanity.
A war that promised no peace, only a hollow victory.
"Anellia, Lux, Nox... Aria—if any of you perish, I'll find your damn corpse and kill you again, do you hear me?" Eskieth's eyes were serious, swirling with mixed emotions.
"Understood!" everyone yelled, and one by one, each member jumped off the jet, taking flight with their wings.
Until there was only Anellia and me left on the jet.
Question: Without their fancy wings, how will I get down there?
Number one: could I cannonball myself with a Gale Bullet and risk breaking multiple bones in the process?
Number two: could I find a way to mimic their wings? Except, well, I couldn't really do that.
Number three: Anellia carries me in a princess-style hold.
...
...
...
Anellia and I exchanged glances, unable to say anything.
I didn't know what was more embarrassing: being a liability or being lifted effortlessly like a feather by a girl who looked young enough to be my little sister (currently a midget).
...I think I need to stop questioning and enjoy the absurdities of this.
After all, the only person truly bothered by this situation was me.
"Are you ready, Vice-Leader Aria?" Anellia asked.
"…Ready." I nodded my head.
At that moment, Anellia took a step forward, and we plunged from a great height.
—FWOOSH!!!
With her wings trailing behind her, Anellia soared at barely half her original speed, bordering on the speed of sound.
Thanks to the force field that protected us from the crushing air pressure, we could fly safely through the sky until the city came into full view.
I could see a giant city pierced by a while in the sky.
Amid the unending flames that engulfed the city, people struggled to survive. They were unable to flee as the Pylon expanded its Domain.
The only way to escape, once inside the Domain, was either to remain there forever or to take their own lives.
There was no middle ground for the civilians trying to survive in this world.
—Swing…!
In urgency, Anellia's wings expanded, pushing her to fly even faster, so fast that I could barely comprehend what was happening.
We travelled far enough to reach the Domain in an instant—a red, transparent barrier shaped like a honeycomb.
Within its confines lay the city, shrouded in stagnation, devoid of life, not even a speck of dust.
The overwhelming malice I sensed within the boundaries made me feel nauseated, yet it felt oddly familiar.
"Ah, I guess I'm back, huh?" I scoffed, recalling Arcadia.
Before we entered the Domain, the other squad members had already crossed into it.
Like an illusory wall, they vanished within the Domain, and we soon followed after, transporting us to a completely different environment.
"Where are we...?" I wondered aloud, taking in the totally unfamiliar landscape, surrounded by an endless expanse of industrial architecture.
Pipes and trusses were strewn across the area, forming a vast, incoherent factory that seemed to defy logic.
The sky was yellow, and black liquid—presumably oil—spouted from the structures.
It was an entirely unknown location, and our objective was to analyze it and ultimately locate the Pylon.
The elimination of the Pylon that harboured the concept of