Chapter 284 ·Turning Point (47)

Turning 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󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄂Point (47)

- ... The tree? You're calling that a tree? There's no way that thing could be a tree...

Nadia reacted to my muttering. She stopped while trying to lift the power loader. It looked like she was so shocked that the strength in her hands gripping the controls gave out.

No need to ask for any other reactions. Everyone was frozen like stone, staring at the scene unfolding before their eyes.

Kuguguguguung-!

The ground turned over—no, it was being ripped apart. Massive tentacles shooting up from below thrashed wildly through the air.

The part comparable to the roots of a tree was laying waste to Mithrim Montes, and it wasn't even attacking intentionally—just lifting itself up off the ground.

Splintered shards of ice that hadn't tumbled down were flowing down the surface of the tentacles like curtains. Some of the bigger chunks of ice even floated, defying gravity.

'Just how big is it...'

That enormous being had clearly erupted from the area where the Archive was located. There's a considerable distance between where we were and the Archive.

No, the distance wasn't just considerable—it was far. We'd run as if our lives depended on it to escape the Chimera. Yet, I felt as if it were right before our eyes.

Other than the colossal tentacles, what drew my gaze was the black sphere. Exuding an alien atmosphere, the solitary black orb floating at the center distorted the surrounding space as if it were a black hole itself.

It might actually be a black hole. Shouts from an engineer told me that, ever since that black sphere appeared, local gravitational stability has been collapsing, and fluctuation phenomena were on the rise.

━━━━━━━━!

A sound incomprehensible to the mind rippled through the air. I felt a wave rush past, and at the same time, a tremendous shock rippled through all of us. It wasn't physical, but psychological.

"Aaaagh!"

"Ghhk-!"

Our consciousness, intricately woven like circuits, was momentarily blown apart, replaced by the sensation of being forcibly rearranged by someone or something. Some engineers, weaker in spirit, rolled back their eyes and fainted.

'... Laughter.'

I stared at the colossal entity, my eyes trembling. I couldn't tell if I was mistaken, or if I was the only one who heard it, but the resonance that shook the air sounded like laughter.

Joy, euphoria, and a deep sense of liberation—an overwhelming presence tightening around everyone's throats, declaring that it had finally awakened. I knew I had to move, but I couldn't make my body obey.

Only a blue spear-tip made of plasma was struggling to resist the overwhelming presence. I remained trapped in a daze, unable to look away.

That was when I felt another resonance, separate from the tree-shaped being, pulsing out from my belt—not me, but from Sprout who had helped me.

Sprout's presence was trifling compared to the colossal tree, but as if pushing us to move quickly, it unfroze our bodies with an encouraging nudge.

I sensed that the imprisoning force strangling Sprout's trembling leaf with that resonance had recoiled in disgust and receded.

Celestia, trembling as she tried to move with the Linear Rifle in hand, finally managed to open her mouth and shouted at almost the same time.

"What are you doing?! Get in now! Grab the people who fainted!!"

At her shout, the others snapped back to their senses. Supporting each other, they rushed into the container that had been prepared in advance.

It wasn't spacious, but it was a cargo container, so everyone could fit. The power loader could even fit inside in standby mode.

- Hyun-woo!

The power loader thundered over, grabbing Celestia and me with its remaining arm, turning toward the waiting container. Once we were all inside, Roxy confirmed we were all aboard and ramped up the output of Orca.

- Hold on tight.

A momentary, violent jolt shook us, followed by a crushing pressure. It was a result of resisting gravity—but this was far stronger than usual.

"Grav—gravity fluctuations still occurring...! Three times normal levels!"

- No wonder it feels so fucking heavy...!

Roxy responded to Myosotis, the engineer's cry, by increasing the output even further. The container shook even harder. Celestia, her face white as a sheet, shouted.

"They're aware of what's happening from orbit! Black energy radiating from where that supermassive structure is now encircles Titan! Like a shielding generator! They say our current firepower can't even scratch it...!"

Black energy surrounding Titan. So my feeling that the sky was getting darker wasn't just my imagination.

"Roxy, can we still make it into orbit like this?! If we get fully encircled, we might never be able to leave Titan! No, it's almost guaranteed!"

- I thought so too, and up until just now I was going to try, but it's no good now. Not only is gravity stronger, but the strain on this craft is way too high. Too many things broke down at once after pushing the limits...!

Just then, as if we were attempting an evasive maneuver, the whole container suddenly lurched hard to one side.

Clang-!

Suddenly, one corner of the container was torn away. We all snapped our heads to look. The exposed cross-section was rapidly being consumed in real time. Black energy was devouring solid metal.

The scene beyond stopped us cold. A bombardment capable of filling the entire sky rained down from the colossal being. Compared to the energy cannons Cystus, Chimera, and Maker had examined, these attacks were so much more powerful that drawing a comparison would be an insult. Everything around us was pretty much being obliterated.

Of course Albatross, waiting for us to enter the storage bay, would recoil in shock and put as much distance between us as possible. If even one of those shots had the properties of analysis, then getting hit meant crashing instantly.

To make matters worse, the sky was growing darker. The black sphere above the immense being was warping space, sucking up all light. With gravity fluctuations and now even light being devoured, everyone was speechless.

- This is bad! Even one direct hit and we'll never make it to Albatross!

"Roxy, what about Orca?!"

If it was Orca, out of anything, there was a good chance it knew something—like the true identity of this being or our chances of escaping safely. After all, Orca was the independent operating program of the Sky Whale, the Guardian of Titan.

Surely it knew about the Archive, or more precisely, what lay beneath it, and whether this thing was its true identity. It came from the underground area beneath Archive; Orca said as much. But the reply that came back was disappointing.

- The orca friend can't answer right now, buddy. All its processing power is being used elsewhere.

"What?! At a time like this?!"

- That's exactly why, at a time like this.

Roxy explained that Orca wasn't systemically down, but simply unable to respond. He added what Orca had said before this happened.

- It said it would forcibly activate the satellite gravity cannon above our heads.

The satellite gravity cannon. The purification protocol, which had remained quiet since the initial test shot drawing power from the not-fully-activated collapse drive.

I thought it had become practically impossible to operate, but apparently I was wrong.

'So it's pouring processing power into forcibly activating that thing?'

If we could use the satellite gravity cannon whenever we wanted, we could have defeated not only the pureblood supremacist fleet, but even Cystus with ease. The thought that all our desperate fighting might have been pointless made my temper flare.

"Why only now...!"

- It's not what you think, buddy. The control itself has been taken.

Roxy answered calmly. He said Orca wasn't sending its processing power willingly; rather, it was being forcibly redirected by the protocol.

- I think whatever was sealed within Titan is that thing there. Up till now, it was being held back from that state, but the containment failed. So the purification protocol appears to have moved on to its next phase.

"... If it's the next phase—"

- More than the next phase, it's the final phase. The final phase of the purification protocol. As you can see, that would be complete annihilation. Purifying the contaminant, after all.

"......"

Even with the satellite gravity cannon fired in an incomplete state, it obliterated the Sky Whale and affected Titan's core. Given the time that's passed since, if the collapse drive wasn't damaged, the energy stored within could be immense.

No, more than immense. It might be enough to erase all of Titan. If all that energy was converted into output and the gravity cannon fired, this wouldn't just be a problem anymore.

If we didn't escape—in time—we'd be caught in the blinding explosion with Titan. We already knew what the final phase of the purification protocol led to.

Europa's annihilation. There was no reason we wouldn't share that fate—or rather, it was all but certain.

Even as rough winds whipped through the torn container interior, none of us spoke. Only Roxy broke the silence.

- At least the control of the craft has been fully handed over to me. We can't expect orca friend to help, but you all know how good I am, right? I'll get us out of here—just keep your hands on the safety handles, my friends.

True to his word, Roxy showed us maneuvering like a miracle, skillful as divine energy. Orca's performance was a factor, of course—but using it to this degree was another story.

Granted, the container tipped over and rolled multiple times in the process, but that was better than dying. With our stomachs completely emptied, there was nothing left to vomit. I believed as long as we stayed conscious, we'd find a way to survive.

The shaking was relentless. Nadia strapped herself into the power loader's cockpit, and Celestia secured our bodies together with a wire in case I lost my grip from exhaustion.

Maybe it was because Celestia was right by my side, but I faintly heard the orbital fleet's comms relayed through hers. My suit's comms were down, so I wouldn't have been able to hear if not for this. I strained to catch the voices.

- The trajectory of the energy cannon is changing! Target is now the warp gate under construction! The supermassive mutant has detected us!!

- Use partial active camouflage to hide our location as best we can!

- Captain! Titan's purification protocol—the satellite gravity cannon—has dropped its camouflage and is now visible!

- That's not just releasing active camouflage, it's coming from an unidentifiable phase space! That's not camouflage! It's actually hiding in another dimension!

- We need to evade now! Collapse drive readings detected! It doesn't look like it's at maximum, but the concentrated energy is insane! The projection will start soon!!

- If we evade, the warp gate under construction will be destroyed! Stop it with the shield we brought from Europa! Use it as cover! All we need right now is to block the cannon's interference!

The comms were as chaotic as we were. Captain Marco, caught off guard by the string of unexpected events, was doing his best to regain calmness and control the hellish confusion.

"... Ah."

I suddenly looked up at the sky—or rather, gazed into the space beyond it. The signature flowing out from there seized my vision, pulling it in with unnerving force.

It's firing. The satellite gravity cannon. After completing its energy charge.

- The supermassive mutant has switched targets! It's aiming at the satellite!

Even without hearing the voice from the orbital fleet, we could sense the change. The beam that had been targeting us all this time narrowed, and the rest of the energy began pouring into the black sphere.

Energy from all around was being pulled into it. That was the only warning. Instinctively, I shut my eyes against the searing, dry wind, and when I opened them, the two forces were already in collision.

Thwak—

The black satellite gravity cannon piercing the sky and the supermassive mutant's counterbeam smashing into it. Two overwhelming energy cannons collided in the upper atmosphere.

The rebound between them clashed and clashed again, and at the point of impact a titanic shockwave erupted. The sky was left not just punctured, but pushed aside entirely. By the time I realized the speed, the blast wave had already swept past where we were.

- This is... really, really, damn tough...!

Roxy's voice and the real-time adjustments of the thrusters to try to stabilize our balance rang out, and I saw the satellite gravity cannon overpower the mutant's energy cannon, smashing down on its target.

Kwaaaaaang-!

A deafening roar shook the very land. The satellite gravity cannon pierced the being that the pureblood supremacists called the holy tree. The beam glanced aside somewhat from the collision, but the hit had clearly landed.

Fragments scattered in all directions as the cannon was scraped, transforming the terrain itself. Whatever the energy beam touched was vaporized. Flatland became badlands, badlands became pits, pits became deep, deep chasms.

Kwagagagaga—

As the cannon's effects penetrated beneath the surface, cracks spread through Titan itself. Titan was collapsing, in real-time.

At last, the black line narrowed and abruptly snapped.

「...... Satellite gravity cannon firing sequence complete.」

Perhaps because the firing was over, Orca—whose processing power had been forcefully commandeered—regained the ability to communicate. At first, I thought that was the end of it. There might have been many problems, but if we could just ascend like this, we'd act as if nothing had happened.

But Orca's flat, mechanical voice told us otherwise.

「Dimensional Invasion Tree status confirmed. Target not neutralized. Only partial annihilation, not complete.」

「The satellite gravity cannon failed to destroy the Invasion Tree's core. The core's forced activation of the momentum core warped space, reflecting some of the cannon's energy.」

「The Invasion Tree is redeploying the energy field.」

「Titan is resealed.」

Just as I was about to ask what would happen to us, or what we were supposed to do, I saw Albatross failing to take off, plunging down before my very eyes.

Smoke billowed from its engine section. The cooling couldn't keep up with the overheating, and something finally broke.

'... No.'

Even knowing it was hopeless, I reached out a hand in a daze. My body, unable to withstand the extreme conditions, was finally losing consciousness.

The last thing I saw was Roxy all but tossing our container into the storage bay of Albatross before rapidly pulling back and maneuvering away below Albatross.

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