Chapter 279 ·Turning Point (42)

Turning 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󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄂Point (42)

"Ugh...."

A powerful ringing echoed in my ears, and I barely managed to regain consciousness. The shock had been so strong and sudden that I'd briefly blacked out. As I traced my memories, scattered scenes flickered at the edge of recall.

That a hand made of black sparks had grabbed us before we escaped the flagship.

That somehow, after breaking free and leaping out, Roxy had caught us.

And that, just as Roxy tried to slow our fall with reverse thrust, the flagship struck the ground first and the resulting shockwave spread in all directions.

I remembered, as debris was flung everywhere from the impact, that the Orca had been swept up in the aftermath. We'd been doing well slowing down with the thrusters' reverse firing, but couldn't withstand the shockwave—we tumbled over and over across the ground.

Like a ball bouncing, the power loader we'd been clinging to was flung off, and all of us holding onto the Orca's hand were thrown and tumbled about. Either Roxy's skill wasn't enough, or he just wasn't yet as comfortable piloting the Orca as he was the shuttle.

Anyway, the momentum had been so rough that it had knocked me almost senseless. Groaning, I pushed myself up. I didn't seem to have any broken bones. Just sore—there wasn't any part I felt I couldn't put strength into.

Half-melted snow particles clung to my gloves on the ground. As the ringing in my ears faded, sounds I hadn't noticed before started filtering in. It felt like time was finally moving again.

Whoosh—

Through licking flames I heard the crackle of things burning. Thanks to the partial shielding generator built into my suit, I hadn't suffered burns from the heat.

'Where am I...?'

I knocked the side of my head, as if repairing a broken machine. My blurred vision finally focused. I was on the ground below where the flagship had been flying—or rather, right at the heart of where its wreckage was scattered in all directions.

The moment I realized this, I took a deep breath and hastily scanned my surroundings. I couldn't be the only one who fell.

After whipping my head around, Celestia was the first I spotted not far away. Fortunately, though she was pinned under debris, her suit's shield had protected her.

I hurried over and pulled Celestia from the wreckage. As I brushed burning debris from her, I found the Linear Rifle tangled among it as well. The barrel was intact, but the scope had been destroyed.

'Still shootable.'

While helping her regain consciousness, I continued searching for Nadia and Roxy. Both of them stood out, having piloted their similarly bulky machines, so it wasn't difficult.

Still fretting over whether they were simply unconscious or seriously injured, Roxy's comm channel suddenly came alive.

— Jeez... Didn't think we'd smash in like this. Took a real hit there.

"Roxy!"

— Hey, you okay? This was nearly like getting hit by a meteorite, so I did my best to shield us.

Roxy let out a long sigh and said that, no matter how tough I was, he hadn't expected anyone to walk away from a hit like that. I could hear from his tone that he was shaking his head.

"Thanks to you, I'm not hurt. I found Celly too—she's slowly coming to now."

— That's a relief!

"By the way, Nadia's near you. If you can move, check on her?"

— Can do.

The Orca started moving, unlocking its frame from the impact, and set the power loader upright. Roxy checked on Nadia in the cockpit.

— The cockpit's cracked, but the sealing system's fine. Both our cute friend and the beastkin friend passed out, but they're unhurt.

Relieved by Roxy's news, I let out a heavy sigh. Celestia, who had been limp, rebooted her suit systems just then.

"Hrk...!"

Like she was waking from a nightmare, Celestia jumped up and opened her eyes, at first speechless as she took in the sight around us. Only after seeing me holding her did a hint of relief flicker in her gaze.

I handed her the Linear Rifle I'd picked up. Frowning at the smashed scope, she simply detached and discarded the broken part.

Whoosh—

Flames surged from the ruined hulk of the flagship. Black smoke billowed and swirled as if devils were dancing. The carrier-class flagship had been smashed into hundreds, thousands of pieces.

Even if its structural integrity had collapsed, even if it had crashed at high speed from altitude, this level of utter explosion—as if it had been disintegrated—wasn't normal.

Carrier-classes were constructed with extremely high material durability specifically to endure such massive loads. The crash had been huge, but still.

Cystus was the one who had caused this disaster. Unlike us, who had escaped a bit early and partially mitigated the impact, he must have taken it all directly. That made sense, as the bridge hadn't separated.

Yet I didn't think for a moment he'd died in the crash. The same was true for the mutants that had nested in the flagship. So, I kept my guard up as I asked:

"Orca, are you picking up anything?"

「Scanning impossible. When we hit the ground, residual energy radiated from the ship and paralyzed some of this unit's systems. Full functionality is impaired.」

At Orca's words, I sharpened my awareness and scanned my surroundings more carefully, hoping to pick up the unnatural presence of the mutants.

'Where did they go? No, where could they be?'

Murmuring the slightly different versions of the same question to myself, I pondered if there was a way to quietly slip away. Kicking up a fuss to escape might just stir up something best left undisturbed.

"Roxy, if you and Nadia can pull out, do it first."

— What about you?

"I'll get out too. Head in one direc—"

Right in the middle of my sentence, a hunch flashed through my mind. I no longer had to look around for Cystus.

Nor did I have to worry about provoking him. It was meaningless. He was here. Unbelievably, terrifyingly close.

From beyond the frenzy of flames came a low, sinister laugh. It resonated, not through the air but directly in my mind. Seemed I wasn't the only one who'd heard it—Roxy clicked his tongue.

— Looks like we're not getting out of here nicely, huh?

"... Apparently not. Get ready for combat."

I hurled a spear in the direction of the suspicious presence. It cut through the air—Clang!—and lost its force. If I'd missed entirely, I'd have just suspected, but now that it'd bounced off something unseen, I was sure.

"Celly, need rear support."

I recalled the spear with telekinesis at the same moment the obscuring smoke vanished in an instant, as if it were never there.

Replacing the void left behind was a massive lump of flesh—a grotesque amalgamation, as if a thousand different things had been forcibly crammed together.

Only now could I register the existence of this thing, pulsating like it was strung with exposed tendons. Up to this point, the area had been filled with nothing but wreckage.

Crrrack—

The upper part of the cocoon split open. From the cleft—like an eye opening—shot out a hand stripped of all skin. Oozing with fluids—pus, or something else—I realized with a chill that I was looking at a new type of giant mutant.

'... A nest.'

Those containers stacked in the ship's lower sector—that was what this whole thing was made of. Thousands of mutants resided inside it.

「Didn't I... tell you so...?」

Cystus's voice rang out. The louder it echoed, the more of him emerged—first a hand, then a forearm, a head, then another hand—showing himself to the world.

「You cannot... leave this place.」

A clumsily humanoid giant tore itself halfway free from the cocoon and let out a monstrous, inhuman shriek.

「Kyaaaaaaaaaa—!」

A giant mutant, the Nest, appeared after the Chimera. Its roar made the very air tremble. Though it was smaller than a Chimera and lacked even that energy shield, I didn't think facing it would be any easier. Its true power wasn't in its personal strength.

The instant I saw it, I understood. The Nest itself was just a moving mass of Creeps—but the real threat was the countless mutants living inside. It was a moving fortress.

While we instinctively braced ourselves against the sound's resonance, we witnessed a heavy shell slam right into the Nest's face.

BOOM—!

Within the blue explosion, feeding on and fueling itself on the Creeps crawling through its torn bio-tissue, Nadia shouted:

— I'll handle that with Roxy!

Reloading her cannon, smoke rising from its muzzle, the power loader was already moving into action before I could reply.

— Let's go with what the beastkin friend said! I've already informed Albatross, so they'll help as needed!

Roxy said this too, joining up with Nadia. Meeting Celestia's gaze briefly, I nodded, and together we looked out over the flaming wreck.

There, standing tall, was a man with a scar across his eyes, gripping a staff studded with tumor-like eyeballs.

"... Cystus."

「Heretic. The time has come. Our god desires your death.」

Cystus looked very different from when I'd first seen him—no, almost unrecognizably so. His mutated body, one arm fused to the staff covered in blinking, wandering eyes, dragged itself along awkwardly, lost control of its own flesh. His skin was covered in revolting bio-tissue.

But the biggest difference was his gaze. It was dull, as if his soul had been eaten. I could hardly believe he'd once led the pureblood supremacists. The light in his eye from before was long gone.

"... You've become hideous."

I stepped in front of Celestia, gripping my spear, and Cystus responded.

「The holy tree bestowed its blessing upon me, and I accepted it. To prove my worth.」

"You say that every time."

「My faith is unwavering.」

"So slaughtering countless people is your faith?"

I tried provoking him to get more reaction. Cystus responded, though not at all in the way I'd expected.

He let out a sigh and looked at me with a face full of genuine regret. As his now-murky eyes locked onto mine, chills ran down my spine. I realized, then, that it wasn't his intellect behind those eyes.

「Only the heretics have died. Even impurities have their value, but their use is limited, so I showed them mercy.」

The sounds of Nadia and Roxy fighting the Nest filtered over—roaring detonations, the land shattering, flesh collapsing—all layering together, heightening the tension.

A signal arrived that they'd taken position. I gripped my spear and sneered.

"So those who followed you were heretics too, huh?"

「You talk nonsense. Their sacrifice was necessary. No, they each proved their worth. And, so faithfully, they continue to prove it even now. Right there. All together. In the purest form.」

Cystus pointed toward the Nest. The eyeballs on his staff curled mockingly.

"... Mad bastard."

「A new age has dawned. Shouldn't the standards adapt accordingly? The standards of the past era are meaningless now. That's all it is.」

Cystus's eyes flashed. He didn't move, but the eyes on his staff rotated, creaking.

「That's why things like this won't work on me.」

One of the eyes stared into the void, and in the same instant, a silent round was snatched out of the air—Celestia, who'd taken cover, had pulled the Linear Rifle's trigger.

It was a special assassination round, long hoarded. But seeing it get caught by an invisible force without even ricocheting, I instantly leapt back.

Cystus's power was to command the black smoke, seamlessly combining attack and defense. I'd seen it before—now taking the form of black sparks. I had to draw his gaze, or Celestia would die.

It was no longer time to conserve energy—in fact, this was the moment when holding back would get me killed. Only by going all-out might I carve out a narrow edge.

Wrapping my body in a force field, I gripped my spear tightly and charged. The distance shrank in an instant. Just before my spear struck Cystus, the staff's eyes shifted. At the same time, my body locked rigidly—struck still by explosive force.

For a moment I wondered, is he using the same power as me? But I quickly realized he wasn't.

It wasn't that my spear was stuck on something. Like a spider web, the black sparks had fixed the entire space. It was the same power that had once trapped Griffin.

'Blocked—?!'

Before that thought finished, I was repelled—hurled back even faster than I'd approached. Just before I tumbled out of control, I managed to use telekinesis to fix myself in midair. Unspent momentum from the sharp speed change weighed on me.

Something surged in my throat. Had I not gone all-out from the start, my body would have been split in half by the shock from the black sparks. Their intent was severance, not simple repulsion.

I suppressed my gag reflex as I glanced at my shield, gashed deeper than ever before—not just scratched, but nearly cleaved. That was from a single blow. No matter how much I'd grown, I never deluded myself that the fight would end in one exchange.

I released a tight breath. Eyes closed, then open, I further heightened my senses, accelerating my blood flow. Thump, thump, thump—my heart beat even faster than usual.

Vrrrrrm—

Telekinesis wrapped my spear, amping up its power. Through increased blood flow, my physical capabilities hit their peak. The same power that had pierced the Chimera's shield filled me now. I kicked off the ground again.

My vision changed rapidly. As I sped forward, the scenery stretched to a blur—but Cystus at my target was the one thing in clear focus, always at the center.

Cystus struck the ground with his staff—the same moment, black sparks shot up from the earth.

He possessed the defensive strength to withstand laser cannons and could analyze and sever whatever he touched. Cystus's powers, fanning out in a barrage, pressured me from all directions.

The black sparks tried to neutralize my telekinetic weapon, to lock my legs in place—and at times aimed not at me, but at Celestia in the rear.

I deflected them all, never breaking my charge. This was vastly different from our first encounter at the refinery: back then, the black smoke had meant certain death, but now that I could wield supernatural power, I could meet him at least partially on equal footing.

BOOM—!

As a result, I clashed with Cystus several times. To be exact, it was with the wall of black sparks in front of him, but unlike before, I wasn't simply blown away—itself a positive sign.

Cystus spoke, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.

「You are inexperienced. So very inexperienced. Why did you reject the holy tree's choice and side with those apostates? For such meager power? I don't understand. A glorious path lay open before you.」

He seemed not to expect an answer: the black sparks protecting Cystus burst, shoving me back, every fragment charged with severing force.

Even after shredding my shield, they had power left to devastate the surroundings, disintegrating the recognizable ship debris into mere scrap.

'This crazy...!'

Launched into the air, I formed a platform beneath my feet and twisted my body. Lightning pierced where I'd just stood. The pressurized air gave off a weird smell.

I landed and jabbed with my spear. Driven by my peculiar strength, there was no delay from one movement to the next.

Clang! Clack clack clack!

Sparks burst in midair. Although I'd never formally learned spear technique, based on raw physical ability, my attacks had never felt clumsy—until now.

But at this moment, I could feel it keenly. Every attack was being blocked.

My telekinesis and Cystus's black sparks tore at each other. There was no finesse; it was pure collision of force, over and over.

To brace my body against the shock, my foot split the hard ice beneath the snow, churning it up like loose earth. I gritted my teeth and struck down the black sparks lunging at my head. Chunks flew from my spear's telekinesis.

Celestia continued her suppressing fire with assassination rounds, but she couldn't disrupt the collision of our powers. At a glance, it was a fight of equals. But as the battle dragged on, a sense of strangeness grew.

At first it was just a twitch—trying to land a blow, twisting my spear at the last second to attack a different angle, but he blocked it with ease—even from a blind spot he couldn't have seen.

Thud—

While hesitating in confusion, I felt a sudden, searing pain. One of the eyeballs on his staff had fixed on me, and the center of that gaze struck right through me.

Just before my body was pierced, I hurriedly dodged that gaze and injected an advanced-rank medical supply. Were it not for a telltale crackle of black sparks preceding the gaze's path, I wouldn't have noticed and would've been gravely injured.

Still, that was one small relief. The gaze didn't track me—I suspected he couldn't use multiple at once, though that could also be a deliberate illusion.

"Damn it, couldn't you just walk away?!"

「Heh... Foolish creature. The world doesn't work that way. You won't even get the mercy of an easy death. The ending is already determined.」

One side of my field of vision was red—I must've been cut without realizing. I swore internally as I reviewed what had just happened.

I was sure Cystus hadn't consciously reacted to my attacks. Yet it was as though he'd blocked them in advance, as if he'd known where they'd land. Once or twice could be chance, but every single time—no way that was a coincidence.

Every attack was blocked—not in reaction, but as if he already knew where I would strike.

'... As if he already knew?'

Precognition. That word suddenly popped up. Was this confirmation bias? But once I thought of it, everything fit Cystus's bizarre behavior. The timing had been too subtle to notice at first.

"You don't mean—"

「Yes, I'm watching you.」

Cystus cut off my words, proving my suspicion was more than a guess.

「Didn't I already say? I can see you.」

Yes, he had. I'd simply assumed it meant he could find me when I was inside Griffin. But it seemed that wasn't all.

"That's ridiculous—"

「There's no such thing as ridiculous. After all you've been through, you still see the world so narrowly.」

In perfect sync, Cystus spoke the same words I did. He laughed wildly, as though my confusion was hilarious to him. My mind spun even harder.

He stopped abruptly, then spoke:

「Heretic, do you believe in fate?」

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