Chapter 273 ·Turning point (36)

Turning 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󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄂point (36)

*Pupupupupung!*

The energy cannon, missing its mark on Chimera, scraped through the air, triggering a series of localized explosions. When the energy particles ignited after stimulating each other, the subsequent shockwave was extremely threatening—it was enough to make Griffin stagger.

Griffin narrowly avoided crashing thanks to the blow Roxy delivered. If not for that, it would have been torn apart or burned away entirely by Chimera's energy cannon.

- Main, gravitational fluctuation has dissipated!

"Then gain altitude immediately! Don't even think about coming down until I say so!"

I shouted sharply, staring ahead. The aftershock hadn't died down, and snow granules lifted up like dust, obscuring my view.

'I hit it clean with the rail cannon.'

I had witnessed it clearly—the rail cannon's round breaking through Chimera's shielding generator. As proof, fragments of the shattered shield sparkled in the blizzard, showing their presence through the refracted light.

「Screeeeeeech-!」

The painful roar echoing from within was just a bonus. Even though it didn't pierce through the shield on the far side, it seemed to have hit the main body quite hard, as the long form twisted and flailed in rage.

It wasn't dead yet. But it wasn't unscathed either. That meant now was my chance. The shielding generator had been destroyed, but it would recover. However, it was going to take some time to restore after just firing the energy cannon.

"Marco! One more round of bombardment!"

- Roger! But I can't keep this up for long! The pureblood supremacists are starting to gather in orbit, so we're running out of resources for the bombardment system!

"Then pour in everything we have now! Drop down the sentry guns and missile pods too!"

- Request acknowledged! Dropping containers!

From high altitude, several metal containers, heated by friction, began to crash to the ground.

*Shhhriek-*

*Thud! Thud-thud!*

The dull thudding sounded like war drums signaling the start of battle. Tension was peaking. We had already decided to take down Chimera, and now we were committing to the operation.

"Nadia, I'm handing control over to you for those. This is your chance. Push in as much as you can."

- You can count on me.

The power loader connected to the containers. All of the containers opened in unison. Sentry guns programmed to automatically detect and attack enemies, along with pods loaded with various types of missiles, identified their designated controller.

The sensors glowed green, indicating their status. Following Nadia's commands, all weapons locked onto Chimera. Rounds big enough to destroy tanks rained down, and missiles of bunker-buster caliber bombarded Chimera in a salvo.

The dust cloud, which had barely started to settle, rose again more violently than ever before. The shockwaves swept through, never giving a chance for visibility to clear. As Chimera's roar was drowned out by the explosions, I called out immediately.

"Roxy, how long until the next rail cannon shot?"

- I'm syncing with the energy core right now. This thing eats up an enormous amount of energy, and the cooling can't keep up. The next shot will be ready in five minutes.

"... Five minutes."

- Yeah, after three minutes I can fire right away. The real problem is different. The muzzle velocity is incredible, but there's still a chance to miss.

We had three shots with the rail cannon. We had used one; two remained. If we couldn't finish Chimera with those two, escaping Titan would be impossible.

At the very least, we needed to leave it in a groggy state so it couldn't stop us from reaching orbit. The one good thing was that the rail cannon worked on Chimera.

'Can we finish this in two shots?'

I was certain we could. But I wasn't confident we'd get the right timing to land both shots. Chimera was a big target, but still moving, and from extreme range, so it could easily miss.

And Roxy should not get closer. He'd kept his distance to avoid interference with the shots, but getting closer would put him within Chimera's attack range and could cause even bigger problems.

"Roxy, assume the next shot is the last. I don't think we'll get a third chance. So let's finish this with the next one."

- Hah, you sure you can handle it?

"Of course not. But we have no choice. When I give you the signal, don't miss it, no matter what."

- Heh, fine. All in. That's way more fun. Just give me the signal, friend. I won't miss.

After ending the comms with Roxy, I glared at Chimera as it began to break away from the barrage, with its shielding generator slowly regenerating. Knowing that further attacks wouldn't work, Nadia shut down the sentry guns.

- Hyun-woo, what's the plan?

"There's none."

- ... Seriously? You can't be! I'm out of ammo now. What I have loaded is all that's left.

The power loader, synchronized with Nadia, spun its body in her shared alarm.

"Time your shots with me for that last chance."

- That's not the hard part... What will you do, Hyun-woo?

"I'm going to finally use my strength to the fullest."

As I checked the engine status of my hover bike, I locked eyes on Chimera's slowly-revealed form. The attacks after shattering the shielding generator hadn't been meaningless—its appearance was a mess.

The outer shell sizzled and melted from the heat; machine parts meant to connect its bio-tissue were dripping loose, having lost their anchoring layer; foul-smelling bodily fluids gushed from ripped skin.

It was astonishing. Even after taking an orbital bombardment, it was still standing. That's the kind of absurd durability you get with a Maker-based fusion.

「Srrrrr....」

Chimera checked its surroundings warily. It appeared cowed, but I knew better. The previously stagnant flow of energy was starting to move again.

The level of control now was leagues above before. Raising itself, it let out a monstrous scream toward the sky.

「Screeeeeaaach-!」

Had I not been protected by a sufficient counter-force, my eardrums would have burst—a clear threat directed at the Myosotis fleet in orbit, as well as Albatross and Griffin in the sky. It was a warning: don't move.

After a while of ceaseless screaming, it fixed its gaze on a specific point in the ice mountains. Roxy exclaimed almost at the same moment.

- ... Oh? Look at that. It's pinpointing our location.

"It can really see that far?"

- Apparently. I figured it'd be out of range—*KWAANG!*

"Roxy!"

I sucked in a breath and shouted frantically. A huge reverse icicle was suddenly shooting up where I estimated Roxy to be. Not just one, but several.

- Don't worry! I dodged it!

Roxy had shifted position, narrowly avoiding the reverse icicles skyrocketing toward the sky. He whistled.

- Wow, after taking a blow, it's finally getting serious? The terrain is changing.

"What?"

- The environment is shifting. Easier to show than to explain.

Roxy shared his screen. The landscape was changing rapidly, as if terraforming was speeding up.

The endless snowy field melted away, revealing permafrost beneath. Beneath the surface, the buried Blue Crystal resource discharged heat when triggered, turning the ground into a sticky swamp; when the surface flipped, the moisture drained away, becoming permafrost again.

It didn't take long before I didn't need to look at the shared screen. The same phenomenon began in our location too. Reverse icicles pierced up through the ground. Ominous dark clouds filled the sky, accompanied by rolling thunder.

Suddenly, countless lightning bolts began to strike. *BANG!* Lightning struck the surface and raced outward in all directions. This wasn't just a case of lightning dispersing energy.

With each strike, the Blue Crystal resource embedded underground was forcefully activated, sparking secondary transformations. Reverse icicles that would have taken decades or centuries to grow shot up everywhere with every bolt of lightning, making their presence known.

*KUGUGUNG-!*

In a blink, a wall of mountains formed around Chimera's domain. Although the energy field concealing the Archive was unaffected, the same couldn't be said for us.

「A crystal, dubbed 'reverse icicle,' continues to trigger discharge phenomena. Remaining in the vicinity will likely result in critical damage from the rain of lightning. Recommend urgent destruction.」

Even without Orca's warning, I could feel it in my bones. Reports came in that both Albatross and Griffin were struck by lightning and had temporarily shut down. Lightning was striking closer and more frequently.

"Albatross and Griffin, disengage and focus solely on repairs! We'll handle things here ourselves!"

- Godspeed!

It was the kind of situation that could use even a child's help, but I boldly sacrificed aerial support from the two ships. Each ship's status was being summarized in real-time over the comms.

Their durability had dropped to 69% and 63%. Any lower and the systems could fail, making them liable to crash at any moment. With the outer hulls shredded, passing through a warp gate like this would see them destroyed with no warning.

To prevent that, repairs were mandatory. The battle wasn't over yet.

"Nadia, charge!"

- Got it!

Ignoring the rain of lightning, we charged toward Chimera. The more time we gave, the worse it was for us. We had to end this quickly.

*Drrrrr...!*

As if to block our path, the ground shook and a yawning crevasse opened, the earth visibly cracking. The power loader vaulted over using its booster backpack, and I pushed the hover bike across with telekinesis.

- Hyun-woo, hold tight! We could be thrown at any time!

I left gravity manipulation to the power loader. I didn't want to abandon the hover bike yet—it wasn't time. I had to close more distance.

- Three minutes, friend!

Roxy's broadcast prompted me to gauge the gap left to Chimera. As it toyed with the environment, it continued moving restlessly, tearing and churning up the frozen earth like an ocean.

It would burrow underground, then leap up onto the surface; it rolled its mass across the ground, ravaging everything around it. It was a scene of utter annihilation—getting any closer would be fatal.

The machine parts fused to bio-tissue glowed as energy was channeled through them. Whenever Chimera leaped, chunks of condensed energy shot out like a barrage of missiles.

Every time I avoided the missile salvo so blatantly aimed at us, my suit's HUD lit up with warnings. The border gleamed red, highlighting the danger over and over.

I received every warning. I already knew the danger. But this was the moment to take the risk.

Supernatural power—psychokinesis—was the ability to control the movement of objects. Power expenditure varied greatly depending on the target.

Trying to move something inert or in a counter direction was especially draining. That's why static situations were tough for me. But chaos like this? Perfect. There was an abundance of energy to tap into.

"Marco, one more bombardment!"

- This is the last one! I can't predict when the next will be!

"That's enough!"

I plunged in, ignoring the bombs falling along the projected path. The warheads' firepower couldn't hit the main body, but battered against the shielding generator above it.

'It's not that the firepower is lacking, just that the force isn't focused enough on one spot.'

Area attacks didn't work; the shield's regeneration simply outpaced the damage. So I resolved to gather all that dispersed power into a single point. I never questioned whether I could—I had to.

I focused my mind. Even as I sprinted on foot, abandoning my hover bike with its circuits fried by rampant energy, my gaze never left the explosions raining down on Chimera.

Drawing a deep breath, I summoned all my strength. My senses were already razor-sharp.

Everything was vivid. The rampaging energy—which had scattered in all directions—suddenly halted at once. It began to gather into a single point.

「Kirrk?!」

Realizing something strange was happening, Chimera stopped smashing the missile pod-filled ground and spun to charge at me. My target point was disturbed, and the rotary force spun outward, about to lose its focus.

"I have to get on top! The core should be in the head!"

- I'm supposed to get you up there?! ... Okay. Let's give it a shot.

The power loader hoisted me onto its shoulder and started running faster and faster, pounding the ground. Using the ice boulders rising from gravity manipulation as stepping stones, it picked up speed.

*WHOOOSH—*

Though the earthquakes threatened my balance, the booster backpack solved it by ramping to max output. As I was flung back, the power loader gained altitude.

Using the booster backpack for leaping cuts down on equipment durability. Normally, a booster would deactivate after one leap, but we forcibly kept it running.

Nadia knew this too. She was simply pushing through for my sake.

*CRACK!*

- Eek?!

"Ugh... Damn...!"

Consciousness faltered for an instant. Lightning had struck directly above us, sparking a ferocious current. If I were an ordinary person, I'd have been burned to ash.

But I endured what I thought I couldn't. Maybe if I'd tried to take it all alone, I wouldn't have made it. Since the power loader shared the brunt, I survived.

Unspent current seeped from every frame as smoke. The power loader's booster backpack finally died; the thrusters shut down, and we could no longer fly forward.

It wasn't enough yet—I was so close.

- One minute, friend! Timing is everything! I can't keep the limiter released for long!

"Nadia...! Throw me...!"

She looked at me as if I were insane, but only for a second before she did as I wished and threw me. Using a posture-adjusting thruster for attitude control, I locked myself in midair.

Thanks to the recoil of throwing me, the power loader lost its balance but grabbed onto the nearby terrain and barely avoided crashing. Nadia began climbing like she was scaling a cliff.

*Whooom!*

The berserk wind battered my entire body. Orbital bombardment support had long ended; only residual heat from explosions remained. The snowfield had ceased to exist here.

As the scalding heat engulfed me, I landed on top of Chimera. At this speed, I would overshoot and slam into the ground unless I acted.

I had no gear to anchor myself, but that was fine. I had the harpoon of telekinesis, and a rope as well. Dodging Chimera's gaping jaw, I hurled the harpoon.

The moment I confirmed the impact between the head and body, I drew the rope tight. My body whipped around Chimera, spinning at its core. I nearly flew off or lost my arm, but by gritting my teeth, I steadied myself instead.

After half a revolution, I used the built-up force to stamp down right on Chimera's head—specifically, on its regenerated shielding generator.

The repelling force shot up through my legs. I drew the spear from my back. It was toothpick-sized by Chimera standards. But all I needed was the smallest crack—that was my objective from the start.

"Haaa...!"

Gripping the spear with both hands, I drove it down hard. The target was the area where the shelling had focused a bit more than anywhere else. The leftover heat from the explosions was still gnawing at the shield, leaving it slightly thinner.

*KAAAAAAAA!*

Spear and shield clashed. The impact was overwhelming—I felt it through my entire body, as if this alone wasn't anywhere near enough. Blood trickled from between my tightly clenched teeth.

If I'd had the Archive's crystal capable of pixelating anything it touched, it might have worked even now, but that had vanished along with the portable stasis chamber the moment I left the Archive—confiscated forcibly.

"Nadia—! Create a gravity field above me! Use everything you can...!"

- You really collect all the dangerous jobs, don't you...! Just—don't die!

Climbing rapidly by using chunks of terrain as steps, Nadia activated Multipurpose Unit 2's function. The pressure of being crushed from above, on the verge of breaking, hit me at once.

Attacks from below and above—at this rate, I really could die. But that was when my telekinesis started to show its power after being stagnant for so long.

Controlling the force was easier than trying from a standstill or in reverse. Just having it push me in the right direction was enough.

I sharpened and rotated my psychokinetic supernatural power like a blade. Just by pressing, the wind began to spin around my spear.

That created a hole in the shielding generator.

...*Crack!*

A section of the shield blocking my way caved, and the spear pierced through. The result was paltry for the effort spent, but I'd achieved my goal. The rest was up to Nadia.

Just before the shield regenerated, the power loader, finally making the climb, took my place. The mechanical giant pressed itself against the tiny hole. Its frame wore down rapidly from rejection, but no one cared.

- Hyaaaa-!

Following Nadia's control, the power loader forced its body through the breached shield. And then, it aimed the muzzle of its grenade cannon at the point I'd gouged out.

*THOOM!*

The round fired, the barrel recoiled. The shield reformed immediately after, but this time, it couldn't stop us—we were already inside.

「Screeeeeaaaach-!」

The shell hit dead on where I guessed the core—or something like it—was. Chimera thrashed violently, and the recoil sent us flying out with no strength left to hold on.

As the power loader cradled me and fired a posture-thruster to slow our fall, the voices of Orca and Roxy came through.

「Shielding generator down. Believed to be a temporary condition.」

- Humans aren't the only ones who can go berserk. Energy core online. All energy concentration turbines open.

From Roxy's new position, a high-energy reaction and shimmering streak of light was visible. The light intensified, making it clear something fierce was building up, but the rail cannon wasn't fully charged yet—a bad sign.

- Energy circuits overloaded. Limiter released. Breaching threshold. 110, 120... 130... Rail cannon at maximum output.

As system output surged past critical, static cut through the comms, distorting Roxy's voice.

Realizing its shield was gone, Chimera prioritized its own survival over finishing us. It plunged toward the ground, desperate to burrow in.

If we let it get away, there'd be no second chance. Nadia knew this too, and dumped every last sentry gun and missile round left on the surface.

More explosions bought us a bit of time, but Chimera pressed on, unstoppable, as if this level of firepower couldn't interfere with its escape.

I was about to shout—but Roxy's voice over the comm cut me off.

- I told you, friend. I won't miss. Just don't get caught in it.

The streak of light, now dazzling, transformed into a single beam—the rail cannon shot—straight through Chimera as it tried to burrow into the ground.

*FWOOSH-!*

A faintly regenerating shield shattered. The formidable barrier that had blocked nearly all attacks couldn't withstand the penetrating force, and was torn apart.

No, it was worse: Chimera's massive body was pierced straight through, if not completely ripped in half.

Hemorrhaging all kinds of fluids from its ruined sides, Chimera's head was buried in the ground, unable to move anymore.

But the problem was, that wasn't the end—we were swept up in the aftershock, sent flying helplessly backward.

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