Chapter 272 ·Turning Point (35)

Turning 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󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄂Point (35)

Wuuuuung—!

The hover bike's engine emitted a resonant hum, ramping up its output. Harsh winds, mixed with ice particles, whipped past me.

I could feel the body of the vehicle shaking vividly. The sensation of operating the bike myself felt awkward. It reminded me of the days when I used to believe in nothing but this hover bike, breaking through the residential area's sectors solo.

'It was better back then.'

The scenario of being chased by all sorts of monsters remained the same, but their intensity was now on another level. Even a momentary drop in speed, and I'd be swallowed up, never seeing the light of the world again. There was simply no such thing as a second chance.

The armored vehicle carrying the others sped forward in a straight line. Since they were heading somewhere different from me, the vehicle soon disappeared from my view.

I didn't worry much about whether there would be problems with their movement. I'd slid recklessly down the cliff, and somehow ended up at the base of Mithrim Montes.

From here on, there was no more need for my telekinesis. Unless the ground suddenly flipped over, the armored vehicle should be able to safely escape Mithrim Montes.

'Is this right?'

Is it truly the right decision for me to go after the Chimera myself? Time was running out as it was; was it really necessary to spend precious time trying to catch that monster?

Wasn't there another way? Wasn't there a method that was less reckless and safer, easier even?

The thought was brief.

'No, this is right.'

I had to hunt down the Chimera. Only then could our safety be secured. There were other options, but those were nothing short of gambles. The Chimera was suspected to possess the Maker's abilities. No, it was certain; when it appeared, there had been a gravity fluctuation.

Manipulation of phenomena was a unique function of the terraforming device that the Maker had absorbed. For some reason, it wasn't using that now, but if those abilities were to activate around here, Albatross or Griffin—currently maintaining altitude aboveground to pick us up—could get caught in a gravity field and crash, or worse, be blown apart by an energy cannon.

That could never be allowed to happen. Albatross needed to take off—no matter what. And doing this was the only way to save Licorice. Even just a little more.

'... Licorice.'

Such a foolish person. Those words echoed in my mind. Ever since learning that there were things Licorice knew but didn't tell us, that she forced herself to stay conscious with stimulants just to keep moving for us, that her worsening condition was reaching its absolute worst—Licorice wouldn't leave my thoughts.

There was her suggestion not to leave Titan, the warp rejection reaction to reinforce it, and the pulled trigger. I guessed that the reason Licorice's body temperature was abnormally high was because memories from Lobelia were passing over to her.

That made sense—Sprout in my belt pouch remained still, but that didn't mean it was just doing nothing.

Sprout was blocking it—the gaze I still couldn't endure, the path joining Licorice and Lobelia.

That blockage was only possible by shielding the gaze and using the last of its strength; there were limits. I wanted to tell it to make that its main force, but I didn't have the right to decide.

Not to mention, Sprout didn't always listen to me, and that gaze—it came from what Lobelia, a mother figure, was emitting, which at my current level, I just couldn't withstand. Or, to be precise, Sprout judged as much.

I'd thought about leaving Sprout with Celestia so she could watch over Licorice, but Sprout refused, so that plan never happened.

'I only wanted it as a safeguard, in case Licorice's power flared up again, or her mind gave way.'

Lobelia's whims were worse than Titan's. It was impossible to predict when or how she'd interfere. If Licorice's power, that red code, manifested while I wasn't around again, it would be a disaster.

For now, I'd told Celestia to report anything that happened immediately, and that was the best I could do. I didn't hand over the restraint device's activation button. Licorice had insisted over and over that, no matter what, I must never, ever let anyone else have it.

'She might have even predicted our current situation.'

Licorice was always one step ahead. She just kept it all inside; that was the trouble. I glanced at the power loader running alongside me.

Seated in the cockpit, Nadia met my gaze. She silently gave me a big thumbs-up. I answered with a faint smile, then quickly steeled my expression.

Wuuuuung—!

As the hover bike's levitation system aggressively pushed against the ground, I took stock of the overall situation.

Kwagagaga—

The Chimera was churning up the terrain, chasing us closely. The idea of something huge coming after you was enough to make anyone weak in the knees—but if it was that horrifying to look at? Even a nightmare would pale in comparison. This was exactly that.

Thanks to Archive's rampage, the pureblood supremacist fleet was grounded, but Albatross and Griffin hadn't made it far. The main ships were immobilized, but their auxiliaries—armed drones and shuttles—could all still move. These were now harassing our ships.

'Harassing' was putting it mildly. With no hesitation for self-destructing, they leapt at any sign of weakness, biting and tearing at it. It was more like they were trying to kill us by attrition.

Once Orca, carrying Roxy, entered Albatross's storage bay, we'd heard nothing since. Orca seemed to be recalibrating its systems to equip the rail cannon.

"Kyle, can you get out of there?"

*Bzzzt... Kwwang! Booom! Bzzt...! I can—manage...!*

Maybe it was bad timing, but explosions created severe noise on the comms as Kyle continued.

*They're damn persistent, but we're holding! The crazy drones have rammed the boosters and output's dropped, but we can repair that quickly! As soon as it's fixed, we'll break free!*

Hearing Kyle's report, I began to wonder why the Chimera wasn't using other abilities. The overall situation was unfavorable to us. We were somehow keeping things even, but it was a sandcastle ready to collapse at the lightest touch.

'... Wait a second.'

The Chimera had once absorbed energy from its surroundings and fired its energy cannon. Just before the gravity fluctuation occurred, the red spark's intensity had dropped significantly—a sign it had just drained energy for an attack.

Also, the resources buried here were naturally refined Blue Crystal, different from the regular Blue Crystal mutants carried around like a core.

The transparent crystals discovered here had no malignancy. Since that malignancy is closely tied to what makes up the mutants, it seemed possible the local resource wasn't compatible with them.

Maybe the Chimera had an upset stomach. Or maybe, having multiple organisms merged meant it could only use one power at a time, not all at once.

I placed more weight on the latter theory as I sensed the oppressive shadow looming behind me. The Chimera had finally caught up.

Nadia had used up almost all her remaining ammo trying to slow its advance, but it achieved little. In fact, it was fair to say it achieved nothing. Even with the savage jolts from the ground, I stayed calm and changed direction.

"Nadia! Lure it toward the target marker, as much as you can!"

—That's outside the sector! Weren't we looping here on purpose?! If we go there, we can't trap it in the energy field!

"Plan's changed! The armored vehicle's far enough—you won't get caught in it!"

—Fine! We'll try!

Even in the bitter cold, Nadia pushed the power loader to the point the thrusters overheated, carving a curve as she shifted direction. I followed at a similar angle. Like skaters changing course, the Chimera reacted as soon as we did.

Its reaction came almost simultaneously. Nadia and I were dodging each attack by the thinnest of margins—its eyes had gone completely wild.

Immediately after switching targets, it had alternated between looking at me and where the armored vehicle had vanished, but not anymore.

Kwagagagak—!

The Chimera pounced on the spot I'd just vacated. If I hadn't used telekinesis like a rope to evade, I'd have been flattened.

'It's getting dangerous.'

I couldn't hope for support from Albatross or Griffin. Their priority was to get out of here. The only backup left was the Myosotis orbital fleet and Orca with its rail cannon.

"Marco! When I give the signal, bombard the coordinate I send! Use the special rounds!"

—... How did you get Myosotis clearance again—oh, understood!

Marco was shocked to see the newly authorized access. But he didn't ask for an explanation. With the urgency of the situation, he simply agreed to fulfill my request; there'd be plenty of time to explain later, he said.

"Roxy!"

Halfway through, I clicked my tongue and triggered more telekinesis. I prevented the hover bike from lifting off due to the gravity shift. The power loader's booster backpack let it move more freely in a gravity field, but the hover bike was really just for ground use, so it had serious limitations.

For example, if it rose too high, the levitation system would overheat and stall. It had already been pushed so hard that it was running hot, with little margin left.

I had to stabilize its height with telekinesis. Dodging that monster by raw reflex wasn't an option.

*Buddy, just a bit longer. Weapon tuning's nearly done. The connector was totally different, took a while to fix the compatibility.*

"That's not the point! What about that thing—can't you use it again?!"

*That thing?*

"That thing!! The one that blew up the container!"

*Ah, I already used that. I planted a bomb when I infiltrated their base and detonated it. That's the main reason those guys can't move freely now. Orca here enhanced the bomb, gave it an almost-EMP effect.*

Roxy laughed, saying the pureblood supremacists were busy trying to restore downed ship systems. I couldn't laugh. That meant there were no more of those bombs left.

I'd thought Orca had a power like my supernatural power to blow things up remotely. Made with Earth government tech, after all.

But apparently not. Disappointed, I muttered inwardly and shouted,

"Hurry up with the adjustments! We're almost at the border!"

*I won't be late this time, don't worry, buddy.*

"Nadia, get ready! The bombardment's going to land right next to us!"

*Got it!*

A signal beacon that had been too tiny to see now popped up on our scan network. It was right at the very edge of range, but still within remote control distance.

That's when it happened—a call from Celestia.

*Hyun-woo! We're through! We can destroy the beacon anytime!*

"Destroy one! Right now!"

Even through the comm, I could sense Celestia's flustered reaction. I knew the reason better than anyone. We hadn't crossed the border yet—not me, not Albatross, nor Griffin. Only the armored vehicle party with Celestia was over the line.

If we destroyed the beacon now, the energy field would regenerate. Strictly speaking, the neutralization would subside, not start over. The beacons neutralized the energy field initiated by Archive. Instead of building it from scratch, it was a matter of resuming its normal density.

My plan was to force my way through the thickening energy field as neutralization ceased. Whether it could be crossed depended on the phase of neutralization.

Ships on the scale of Albatross or Griffin could muscle through with just one beacon disabled. But anything smaller or more lightly armored couldn't hope to make it.

I figured it was worth risking ship damage to eliminate the pureblood supremacists' drones or shuttles. The energy field was our blockade for that.

*Controller overload successful! Beacon destroyed!*

As Celestia reported this, the beacon's light snapped off, and the path ahead began to blur. Space itself was closing around us. At this low of a density, Nadia and I could still slip through.

"Nadia, punch it!"

*Wahhh—!*

From that point, we ignored whether the Chimera might catch up, focusing solely on getting past the target point. I could feel the overheated engine through my body, but dared not ease off.

Wuuuuung—!

At last, we crossed the border where Archive's energy field regenerated. Sweeping past us, two shadows extended, only to be followed by a gigantic silhouette.

I minimized the energy field's repulsion with the shielding generator I'd projected. Making it through by the skin of our teeth, we looked up. The first thing I saw was the gaping jaw of the Chimera. Beyond that: Albatross and Griffin.

Both ships had just forced their way through the energy field. Flames licked at the armor from the backlash, but that was the extent of the damage. The pursuing squadrons, however, all exploded—unable to clear the energy field.

'Got it!'

Both ships were now free. We could start recovering the ground teams. But before that, Nadia, Roxy, and I still had something to do.

"Destroy the rest of the beacons!"

The energy field was no longer neutralized. The partitioning wall of space no longer allowed a view inside. It had reverted to the state in which we'd first discovered it.

The pureblood supremacist fleet was now completely trapped in the quarantine zone. It might break eventually, but by then, we'd be long gone.

「KKYEEEEAAAAK!」

The Chimera was going berserk, its tail severed by the energy field. The shriek was enough to burst eardrums—a bonus. Its length was so enormous that it must have gotten snagged before its body fully emerged.

"Marco!"

—Coordinates set. Bombardment commencing!

From above, streaks of blue light rained down. The target: the thrashing mass of the gigantic mutant Chimera. Myosotis' special munitions battered it the moment it halted.

Deafening explosions erupted in rapid succession. Blue firestorms raged as I brought the hover bike to a halt. Pshhh. The overworked engine hissed, trailing smoke.

I wrinkled my brow at the acrid scent of burning, watching with Nadia as the Chimera's movements changed.

"... It really doesn't work."

—We've bought time, though. Isn't that enough? At least while the bombardment's coming down, I doubt it'll be doing anything but curling up like that.

"No. Something's off."

The orbital bombardment was strong—no denying that, since the pureblood supremacist fleet couldn't even put up real resistance. But if you asked whether it could penetrate the Chimera's shielding generator, it couldn't.

This constant hammering could keep it contained, but I kept my eyes fixed on the creature, recalling how mutants like the Chimera could be cunning. It wasn't the type to go down so easily.

—Hyun-woo! We made it out! Griffin is heading down to pick up the ground crew!

Griffin, its outer armor more than a little ragged, dropped altitude to pick up those safely sheltering with the armored vehicle.

That's when it happened. The coiled Chimera slowly began rising to its full, monstrous height. In the midst of roaring blue bombardment, our sensors showed high-energy readings: the beast was nowhere near dead.

"Griffin! Who said to descend—damn it! Pull up! Increase altitude as much as you can! It's about to fire its energy cannon!"

—This is insane...!

The moment my warning went through, Griffin shifted its thrusters and climbed for altitude. Output spiked. It was moving. But then, it froze in place.

—We're caught in a gravity field! Impossible to dodge! I repeat, can't evade...!

Our faces went white. I thought about intervening—blocking the energy cannon up close—but getting near was risky. The bombardment was still hitting hard, keeping it in check.

We were running out of ways to attack. Even if we halted the strikes, there was no guarantee of a better result. If this weren't such a mismatch in size and mass, maybe we'd have a shot—but as it was, we couldn't land a decisive blow.

"Damn it...! Roxy, how much longer?!"

Just then, Roxy's calm voice filled the comm channel.

—Rail cannon adjustments complete. Starting firing sequence. Activating energy core module. Cable connection and energy focusing turbine opening.

A peak on the nearby glacial mountain range caught my eye. Or, more specifically, the concentration of high-energy readings and gathering particle flows there.

—Originally, this was made to strike that Cystus guy, but let's try it out like this first. Targeting correction nominal. Output at 90%.

With colossal vortices of energy forming in two locations, Orca's rail cannon fired before Chimera's energy cannon could.

The surge of unleashed energy smashed into Chimera before I could fully perceive it. Almost at the same instant, a blast poured from its jaw.

However, because the firing angle was slightly off, the energy cannon didn't shoot down Griffin as originally targeted but only barely grazed past.

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