Koukaku no Regios

The bike continued to run, but the hand of the temperature gauge was trembling near the top, and he could feel the heat of the tires beneath his feet. He must now consider the worst possibility – he might have to abandon the bike and run back to Zuellni. It was impossible to return without a speed that was as fast as the bike"s. And if he did that, he might use up all of his strength before he reached Zuellni. So, before all these happened..........

Layfon blocked Savaris" Kei shots with the Katana. The other Heaven"s Blade successor was riding his bike ahead of him. Savaris was standing on the bike with his foot on the accelerator, his body leaning in Layfon"s direction. Layfon shot back his Kei as a return gift and Savaris took the attack with external Kei.

They continued to exchange explosions between them.

In the next moment, Savaris had torn apart the screen of dust to appear before him. His expression was clear behind the helmet. With elated eyes that seemed to twist, Savaris began his attack.

Left fist.

Layfon quickly took evasive measures, but he still felt the Kei brushing past his helmet. The wind pressure made his body sway. Not at all intimidated, he swung the Shim Adamantium Dite. But Savaris kept pressing forward, flying past Layfon"s side. The bike shook violently, its speed suddenly reducing. Savaris had grabbed the rear of the bike with his injured right hand. He turned his body around and sent a kick at Layfon with only his right hand as support.

Layfon jumped. Savaris followed.

Fist and blade clashed. The hammer of a fist and the strike of the Katana shattered the air and threw off sparks. Savaris was trying to find a chance to destroy his opponent"s vision device. At the same time, Layfon was looking for an opportunity to send Savaris" vision device flying. The two of them attacked to protect their devices.

Layfon landed on the bike. He attacked with his foot and Savaris avoided it by returning to the sky. The enemy next kicked at Layfon"s jaw. He then moved his left arm and stabbed with his hand. Savaris" unusual strength and reflexes came from his training for close quarters combat. His vertical body spin became horizontal. Layfon sensed bloodthirstiness behind his head and quickly bent down with his neck, but the next kick was ready for him.

This style of battle was natural. Savaris" real strength lay in his bare-handed close quarters combat rather than with the Heaven"s Blade. It was natural for him to fight an enemy bare-handed. It was also natural to fight with a suitable distance.

Above the bike, Layfon and Savaris fought, each executing top-notch techniques.

Savaris" figure vanished from the path of Layfon"s sweep-kick. He jumped to return to his own bike. But Layfon"s attack followed straight after. He deflected it with his left fist and sent out a huge ball of Kei to counterattack.

If Layfon didn"t stop this attack, the bike might get disintegrated. Not that he could just ignore this though, but the ball of Kei wasn"t aimed at him. It flew past Layfon"s left hand side.

Because of the recoil of firing off that huge ball of Kei, Savaris made a temporary landing before jumping back onto the bike. His Kei caused a distant hill to explode. The smooth surface of the hill that was shaped by wind and rain split apart, and the thing that sustained the hill was destroyed. The earth stirred. A bad premonition rose in Layfon.

"You mean it?"

Fermaus" electronic voice was devoid of emotions, but Savaris could still sense the reproach and shock in it. He looked at the smoke and dust that surrounded the collapsed hill, and laughed.

"The spectator didn"t find this interesting. That"s unexpected!"

He truly did find this unexpected. Had Fermaus not fought outside a city? Or had the Mercenary Gang not had this experience? If that was the case, they should hire people who had fought and defeated filth monsters alone.

"If that hill collapsed, even you"d be buried."

"Yeah, I know."

So that was what his doubt was?

"But isn"t it unfair if I"m the only one not hurt?"

He spoke like he was speaking his last word. "But if I were ok, what if he abandoned his bike and took mine?"

It looked like Savaris" purpose was to come to destroy things. Fermaus thought he only did this to prevent Layfon from reaching Zuellni ahead of him, even at the cost of his life.

"Compared to that, how are things on your side? Did you get the thing?"

"........ The plan has failed."

"Aaaa, but you"re still monitoring that girl, aren"t you?"

".......... You knew?"

The rolling sand and soil were closing in, he could only speak the key points. Fermaus paused for a little while......

"We"ve promised."

"Promised what........?"

"It"s better that you don"t know," Fermaus cut him off and stood up to hold the handle of the bike. Rumbling sounded in his ears.

Fermaus said something but Savaris lacked the patience to listen to him. He must use this opportunity to avert the crisis. He couldn"t suppress the excitement in himself anymore.

"If you knew everything, you"d definitely live a life that wouldn"t be what you wanted. That"s what I think, even though that"s what I wish for!"

The bike flew. Sand slid beneath the tires. The bike landed and shook. With his foot on the accelerator, Savaris used his own balance to drive the bike. Layfon was doing the same behind him. Bloodthirstiness stimulated his back. His heart thumped expectantly. The excitement threatened to burst from his chest.

"Haha!"

The huge rumble drowned out his laughter.

At this time, Mifi was uneasy. Meishen had been sent to the clinic after fainting due to exhaustion. Her childhood friend, who used to sleep beside her, was gone, but she then realized that even Leerin was not here.

(She did say....... She"s gone off to buy some drinks?)

She couldn"t quite remember what Leerin had said. Mifi herself must be tired too! She thought back as she messed with her hair.

(But isn"t that too long just to buy a drink?)

She wasn"t sure, but she did feel that a long time had pa.s.sed. She pushed the need to confirm the time to the back of her mind. Though she didn"t remember exactly when Meishen fell, regardless, a long time had pa.s.sed.

(Did something happen?)

But if that was the case, according to Leerin"s personality, she wouldn"t have left without telling Mifi.

(Strange.)

Dragging around wouldn"t help with anything. She looked at Meishen who showed no signs of waking. If she woke and Mifi was not around, she would feel lonely! But before she woke......... Mifi cut off her train of thought and stood up.

"Hey, what"s up?"

A voice that she hadn"t heard for a long time.

"Naruki!" Mifi said loudly, forgetting she was in a clinic. Looking at her red-haired childhood friend, she widened her eyes.

Naruki was wrapped in bandages. Though she had changed into her uniform that was devoid of dust and blood, she had failed to hide the bandages. Bandages covered her forehead, left eye and right arm. Bandages stabilized her ankles and knees.

"Ah, Ahhh..... This? It"s not as serious as it looks!" she laughed, but Mifi was still stiff.

"I just need to get on the treatment machine and my body recovers quickly, but the problem is overworking the Kei vein. It takes time to recover. What a shame."

The phrase "overworking the Kei vein" reminded Mifi of Nina. That person had fainted precisely because of that condition.

"Are you all right?"

"Truth be told, it hurts more than my tense muscles," Naruki smiled bitterly.

Mifi felt more relieved. "Uh, Mei"s fainted."

"Uh..... Ah."

She explained the reason behind it.

"Naruki, please stay with Mei."

"Uh? What"s up?"

She told her about Leerin. Naruki knew Leerin too. Her expression sank.

"That"s strange. Ok, I"ll come too!"

"Eh? But..........."

"If we come across people doing something illegal, I can deal with it," she looked at Meishen. She was still unconscious.

"Let"s go."

"Ah, ok."

Naruki gave her back a push and walked ahead of her. Mifi followed in a fl.u.s.ter. Her footsteps staggered like a set of scales. Her childhood friend was important, but a new-found friend was also important. One person was sleeping, the other was missing.

(Yeah, I can"t not go!)

Having decided, she chased after Naruki with resolve.

"Ah, Leerin!"

The target unexpectedly appeared after they walked past a few corners.

"Ah...... You two," Leerin looked at them in shock as well. She lacked life in her face, but that couldn"t be helped in this situation. Everyone in the shelter held such a face. Even Leerin, the person with such a strong personality, had changed. But...... a question surfaced in Mifi.

(Did anything happen when Mei fell?)

"Naruki, are you all right?" Leerin said. She hadn"t seen Naruki for a while too.

"Aa, compared to that, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to quiet down so I went for a stroll. Sorry. I said I would get some drinks before."

"Ah, um, it"s all right," Mifi shook her head, but the question remained. She remembered Leerin hadn"t looked this bad before Meishen fell unconscious. Besides, she was the only one who had been encouraging her and Meishen.

(Something"s happened?)

"Speaking of which, did anything interesting happen?"

Mifi looked at the corner that Leerin had appeared in. It wasn"t a straight pa.s.sage, and its end seemed to have been blocked off. A dark corner that even the smallest amount of light couldn"t illuminate seemed to hide something bad within it. Leerin was already walking back with Naruki, concerned about the bandages wrapped around her body.

Mifi c.o.c.ked her head in incomprehension.

While expressing her surprise at Naruki"s appearance, Leerin peeked at Mifi"s reaction.

(Has she found out..........?)

It was the same as expected. And if it became reality, it"d cause some problems. Mifi didn"t seem to have seen that tragic scene. That scene was still here. Leerin saw Mifi looking at her. That thing was still here on the side, but Mifi had failed to see it.

(So normal people can"t see it?)

This was the same as the time at Myath. The bird-like Electronic Fairy was trapped, but Savaris didn"t see anything. Why was it like that? She still wasn"t sure. Anyway, Leerin hadn"t thought of the event in Myath. She had forgotten it along with her encounter with Nina there.

(That child....... What is she?)

This girl looked the same as the girl in Myath, but she acted completely different. She had revealed something to Leerin. Revealed.......? Was Leerin the one who caused everything? Or did that mysterious girl make it happen? Leerin confirmed the place that Mifi had looked at. The scene was still there, but Mifi didn"t see anything. Was this Leerin"s own imagination then? Hope appeared in her. But that event didn"t feel like an illusion. It happened in reality. But what if this was made by someone – She was confused.

"Did anything happen?"

"Huh, nothing."

Naruki noticed the uneasy expression that appeared for a split second. She was quick to amend her expression. It wouldn"t be strange if even Mifi had noticed it.

Leerin thought to herself that she could not let them discover anything more.

(This, this unusual situation............)

Even though she didn"t want to, she had to remember it. Remember the thing that changed that scenery.

Countless number of faces were destroyed. They disappeared, leaving nothing behind. When that girl"s hand touched Leerin"s right eye, everything had vanished. What Leerin"s right eye saw was gone. Instead, something had replaced it. It was an eye, an eyeball. No, just something that looked like an eyeball. She didn"t feel any life and gentleness from the eyeball. It felt hard as gla.s.s. The thing multiplied....... And gradually overtook the entire floor, wall, ceiling. They then descended onto the floor. The sound of hard falling rain hurt her ears. She covered her ears.

Even so, the sound of gla.s.s breaking was loud. The girl"s laughter pierced her eardrums.

"Hohoho....... Ahhahahahaha! It"s begun! And then everything will end."

She continued to laugh through the rain of gla.s.s. An insane laughter that contained tremendous emotion. In her voice weaved happiness, sadness, love and hate.

"It"s finally...... finally begun! I"ve waited for so long. So long!" the tired girl said, as if facing some kind of impact.

Leerin had the sudden urge to hug the girl. She was in such a strange situation, yet she couldn"t suppress that urge. However, the girl got ahead of her to hug Leerin from behind. The girl felt tiny, illusory and gentle.

"Welcome back," she said next to Leerin"s ear.

And the feeling vanished.

Leerin looked around. She was alone. The pain in her right eye was also gone. She heard Mifi and Naruki"s voice as she stood there, confused and perplexed. She didn"t know how this came to be. Anyway, she must keep calm and pretend that nothing had happened. Leerin clapped her hands against her cheeks and appeared before the two girls.

(Uh, it"s ok. It"s ok...........)

Leerin walked as she listened to the two talk. What was to happen next? Would anything change in her body? Just what was her own ident.i.ty? Uneasiness filled her, but she swallowed it and hid it all in her heart. She really wanted to tell someone what she had gone through, but she knew she shouldn"t.

(Layfon"s doing his best. Everyone else is too......... I can"t speak of this with anyone.)

She must not add to the burden of others. This calmed her down. This problem came from herself. She must not tell anyone of this at this time. She must keep her expression calm. Meishen, Mifi and Naruki must be feeling uncomfortable about the current situation. In this hour, when they didn"t know what the future held – their uneasiness was obvious, so she must not give them cause for worry.

She then heard a voice coming from far away. A voice calling for help.

"Has a Military Artist returned to the shelter?" Naruki said. This meant danger was still around. If it was safe, that news should already have been conveyed to everyone.

Leerin swallowed her own worry.

"I"ll go help," she said and ran. She couldn"t face these two anymore.

Mifi and Naruki did not notice Leerin"s reason behind her action. Leerin did it because she might not be able to hide her uneasiness before those two. She might end up telling the truth or making a mess of the truth. She might even ask why the two of them hadn"t noticed she was different.

Naruki and Mifi could usually notice any tiny changes in her, but they hadn"t noticed anything right now.

They hadn"t noticed the truth behind Leerin"s closed right eye.

Nina detected a tiny sense of distress from Karian, as if he didn"t know what to do. But he recomposed his expression so quickly that no one else could have detected it. He had almost immediately swallowed this shocking truth. What psychological strength he possessed!

"What"s going on?"

"To understand this........."

She was restless. How should she explain this? She had not the words to describe the sense of perplexity and difficulty she felt about the situation. When did the Haikizoku disappear from her? She just realized a moment ago that it was gone. But the time of its disappearance hadn"t been too far from now.

(Could it be during that time..........)

When she had lost consciousness. Something had happened during that time, and when she woke, the male filth monster was already defeated. But she didn"t know who had beaten it. The Mercenary Gang might have fought it, but if what Sharnid said was true, then they weren"t the one who defeated it. Was it the Haikizoku?

"Did anyone see the person who defeated the filth monster?" Nina asked.

"Haven"t heard from the Military Artists, and the Psychokinesists haven"t reported anything either."

"What about Felli?"

"Felli"s still supporting Layfon. She didn"t have the time to look at the city"s situation."

But Felli helped with their retreat a moment ago. Was this proof of how worried she was about them? Nina didn"t think so. Though they did successfully escape from the Mercenary Gang, the plan was just too smooth.

She wasn"t the only person with doubts.

"Perhaps Felli"s been keeping an eye on the Captain?" Sharnid asked.

Karian nodded without hesitation. "Do you think I"d ignore the person who might have brought danger to the city?"

"Well, that"s true," Sharnid admitted and shut his mouth.

Nina didn"t protest despite the complicated feelings inside her. She felt she was the worst for not saying anything, but she couldn"t conclude how bad it was. In order not to get other people involved in the fight that had once taken place in Myath, in order to meet Dixerio, she must hide everything within her.

(If I see him again........)

She must ask him of all that had transpired. But then, would he tell her everything?

"Where"s Felli now?"

"She"s in the underground conference room, but you can"t meet each other yet. This situation is still urgent."

"I see. Is Layfon safe?"

Urgent. Was Layfon still fighting the filth monster? How was he? Was he still putting up a painful fight?

"He"s successfully eliminated the filth monster," Karian said. It was good news, but he relayed it with less enthusiasm than expected. He probably didn"t have the time to even feel relaxed. Wasn"t it his usual self to smile? His expression looked stiff, as if he was doing his best not to let his true feelings show.

"But there"s something worse than the filth monster."

"Student President..........?"

It was still his style to act like he knew everything. However, as expected, the relaxing manner was lacking.

"Heaven"s Blade successors are heading here."

Nina felt as if someone had hammered her with External Kei from behind her head.

(Finally........)

The Heaven"s Blade must be Savaris, whom she had seen once in Myath. Should she say this......... She had been hesitating since returning to Zuellni, not knowing what the outcome was and not having predicted this current situation. But Karian"s following explanation shocked her. Savaris stood on Layfon"s side only up till the moment they finished the filth monster.

"I don"t know how the other side thinks. But I"m thankful we stood on the same side till the filth monster was defeated."

Savaris must already know that Nina had the Haikizoku. He had no reason to leave Zuellni and fight the filth monster. All he needed to do was to wait for Zuellni to sink into the crisis, wait for the Haikizoku to awaken then s.n.a.t.c.h Nina away. If it was Savaris rather than the Mercenary Gang that took action, Nina might not be here now. Thinking of Savaris" unfathomable actions, she could only say she was lucky. Next, Karian was also thinking the same thing, but he seemed to think fortune wasn"t with them just because they defeated the filth monster. Perhaps a bigger problem was now closing in on Zuellni"s throat.

"........ Just what"s happened?"

A hateful feeling welled up in her chest, but she found no sense of premonition in it. It was just a hateful feeling.

But something bad really had happened.

"Someone else, not Layfon and not that Heaven"s Blade, defeated the filth monster."

Nina didn"t understand.

"That means there"s another Military Artist around? Or that there"s another Heaven"s Blade successor............" she speculated and found herself speechless. Fear crept up her as she realized how serious Grendan was in obtaining the Haikizoku. But Karian shook his head.

"This isn"t that simple. Even Layfon and that Heaven"s Blade failed to defeat the filth monster. They couldn"t defeat it! Even though that Heaven"s Blade successor didn"t have a Heaven"s Blade with him, he was on par with Layfon. Yet the two of them couldn"t defeat it," he said, again, with less emotion as expected. But the calmness in his voice faded as he spoke. Sweat dotted his forehead. Perhaps even he didn"t want to believe his own words.

"That person defeated it with just one strike, and he wasn"t even on the battlefield. I don"t know what the distance was, but he struck from a place that no one could see."

"Hey, hey, that"s ridiculous!" Sharnid said. "Layfon couldn"t defeat that thing at a close distance but this guy did it with a long distance shot? A distance that we can"t even see? Even the Kei cannon can"t achieve that? Who would have so much Kei!"

"Yes, if possible, even I wouldn"t want to believe," he said with a bitter smile. "It"d be good if it were just a joke. If not, the city that person"s in might be heading for Zuellni now, and that city"s probably Grendan.......... If it"s just a joke, if it"s just a nightmare, that would have been so good."

Nina couldn"t say anything. Sharnid was also shocked numb by the news and forgot to voice his consternation, but he was the first to recover.

"Grendan"s here!? That"s a brilliant prank. I can"t even laugh," he said. "Why would a normal city come to an Academy City!"

(The Haikizoku.)

But it wasn"t Grendan"s citizens that need the Haikizoku, right? That was why the Mercenary Gang was formed to gather information outside the city. Humans could not control a city"s route. First, the number of selenium mines that a city possessed affected its route, and second, the city"s consciousness was the one to decide where to go. Nina had heard that Grendan was a cruel city. It was frequently attacked by filth monsters. Nina couldn"t help but wonder whether the Regios was truly trying to survive. Even the existence of Heaven"s Blade successors wasn"t enough to ease her. To look at this city from a longer term perspective, one could think that it wouldn"t be a far-fetched idea for a lack of Heaven"s Blade successors to arrive. Shouldn"t they be making preparations then?

But what if Nina"s speculation was wrong? Perhaps the royal family of Grendan knew how to control a city"s path. Perhaps........... If she was right.........

"Perhaps we"re all wrong," Karian said. "Perhaps it"s not the citizens of Grendan that need the Haikizoku, but Grendan itself."

Same conclusion as her, but this was an Electronic Fairy that had lost its city. Why would it need another Electronic Fairy? In truth, if not hostility, Nina felt that Zuellni and the Haikizoku repelled each other when the two Electronic Fairies were inside her. A normal Electronic Fairy didn"t need the Haikizoku? But.......

"Is....... Grendan the only city that acts like this?"

"I can only think like that," Karian agreed with her. "Considering maximizing one"s number of selenium mines, Grendan"s plan of overtaking the territories of filth monsters is the best. But that plan requires people with strength on the level of a Heaven"s Blade successor. If that couldn"t be done, the city would be destroyed."

"But it"s not possible to gather those people?"

"I don"t think humans are creatures who can adapt to any environment. That"s why we need weapons to help us become stronger."

"That"s why they need the Haikizoku?"

"That can only be my conclusion. But there might even be a deeper reason behind this........" Karian said...... and the ceiling shook. No, the entire shelter that they were in shook. This meant even the city itself was shaking.

"Is this the Mercenary Gang?" Karian said to the Psychokinesist through the flake as he kept his balance with his hand on the wall.

The Psychokinesist recovered quickly and called. "This, this is bad."

Not Felli, but Nina remembered that voice. It seemed to be the Psychokinesist of the first platoon.

"What is it?"

(Filth monsters! And they are numerous........)

It didn"t feel like the words came from a Psychokinesist. In fact, he hadn"t finished speaking. But the current situation was enough to make him lose his cool. Everyone understood that point.

(A large number of filth monsters are dropping from above!)

Who could truly understand this reality?

"What did you say?"

Even Karian couldn"t say anything more beyond this.

They were descending from the sky.

"It"s begun!"

This was a girl wearing a dark dress. A girl of dream-like illusion. Her skin was white without blood. The wind blew her black hair, lifting it to seemingly cut through the dark sky. Because of the fights, a large amount of dust floated in the air, but no traces of dirt could be found on the girl"s face, skin and clothes. As if she was ephemeral. Everything bowed down to her.

And everything that happened now was the terrifying truth. She was connected to the beginning. She knew how this world came to be. She was darkness. Her name was Nelphilia. She halted her steps to look at the large hole in the sky. That hole was flat and huge, as if someone had drawn it on a piece of paper.

But the light of seven colors shone in that dark hold. Atoms of seven colors, the sparks created by the clashing of worlds.

The Aurora Field.

"It"s begun," the girl repeated.

She looked at the numerous unusual forms that flew out of the hole. The number of these monsters proved the seal on the moon had yet to be released.

Monsters continued to descend and land on Zuellni. One appeared before Nelphilia. These things differed from filth monsters. Though filth monsters had different forms, all larvae and females were insects, and male filth monsters were insects that crawled. Only the aged phase filth monster could change its form as it liked. If that was the truth, then the monsters here were filth monsters in their aged phase? But compared to each aged phase filth monster"s different ways of hunting, these monsters were surprisingly uniform. They each had two legs, two arms, and bodies with four limbs........ It wouldn"t be strange to call them grey, five meter high giants.

They could be called giants. Only, their heads were the exceptions. A block of muscle replaced the brain, and on the face was a mouth that one could only see in a manga. Sly, richly red mouths split open as if smiling, revealing sharp rows of teeth. Six crimson b.a.l.l.s made up of the muscles of the chest. Perhaps they were sensing organs.

"So ugly!" Nelphilia said with a frown. "Have you waited for too long and lost your sense of beauty? What a shame!"

The b.a.l.l.s on the chest of the giant flashed to confirm Nelphilia"s existence. It howled. Rumbling shook the air. Its comrades called in response. Roaring rose one after another.

Nelphilia"s hair floated. A mocking smile adorned her face.

"I knew you"d come here sooner or later."

The giants surrounded her. They blocked out the light and their shadows swallowed her figure. One could no longer discern her black clothes from the darkness. Only her hands and face stood out in the dark.

"Zuellni.... Yes, you already understood?" she caressed the darkness elegantly.

A change rippled outward. Darkness dispersed. Something with a face emerged from it.

It was a creature that was long and delicate like an earthworm, yet, rough scales covered its body, and its legs were like tree branches. Teeth, and a large mouth opened on the round brain.

"About ugliness, that side is the same. You can"t speak human language!" she sighed, looking at the creature that writhed and rolled in darkness. She didn"t want them to look like this, but she didn"t want to give up. This intention came from her expression.

The giants howled, as if noticing the danger of this existence before them. They swung their fists and giant rods stretched out from them. The weapons formed from their fists and stretched into some length. When the form had taken its complete shape, it was a clunky sword that was thick and large.

Nelphilia"s figure vanished in the darkness. The giants jumped up and down on their spring-like legs. The impacts of the giants were in the process of annihilating everything around them.

The speed of their attacks was the same as the Military Artists, but the power far surpa.s.sed them. In the midst of the storm created by the impacts of the a.s.saults, many strange creatures swam through the air with their long bodies. They attempted to fly for the giants using the floor as its leaping point.

The giants took the attack with their swords and cut open a small corner of the darkness to reveal the normal streetscape. Many strange creatures scattered due to the sword attack and the wind pressure, but many more started tearing apart the giants. Sharp teeth sank into skin that was hard as rock, tearing apart skin and muscles, but instead of the giants bleeding, many tiny bubbles grew on the wounds to cover them.

Even so, the creatures did not stop tearing and biting. They did not stop even though their bodies were pulled apart and twisted into coils. The wounds on the giants continued to expand. Some giants tossed away their weapons to pull the creatures off, their roars and howls intense and painful.

One creature flew into a giant"s opened mouth. The roaring turned strange and stopped. The creature worked its way into the mouth and began eating the muscles inside. The giant closed its mouth to sink its teeth into the creature"s scales, destroying them and peeling one off. White blood seeped through the giant"s teeth and lips.

However, the creature did not stop biting. It kept attacking with its tortured body. Its scales were gone, its meat was torn. It bled, but it did not stop. Did it not feel pain? Or did it keep moving deeper into the giant"s body out of a sense of mission?

The giant"s body twisted. It raised its arm and attempted to grab the thing that had invaded its mouth. Another creature had lashed onto its body to restrict its movement. One climbed up its arm, one wrapped itself around its leg.

The giant fell back onto the ground. No one knew how much damage that impact had wrought on it. The stubborn invader had put a full stop on the giant"s life. Looking at its tail, exposed outside the giant"s body, it had already reached the giant"s abdomen.

The giant"s abdomen expanded, and cracks ran through its surface. The abdomen was pulled apart. Still, the giant"s body was hard and strong. A long thing that looked like an intestine flew in the air and fell. It was originally inside the giant. Something that looked like an organ but might not be an organ. This giant did not hunt like normal creatures.

The giants had lived in this world for a long time. They, however, differed from filth monsters, who had a habit of consuming each other. Who knew, maybe they were the same after all. Maybe they were two branches of the same ancestor a long time ago. Maybe these giants were the ancestors of the filth monsters, fighters that were stronger in strength.

The strange monsters ate the giant"s dismembered body. Strong acid in the strange monsters immediately melted down the giant"s cells, preventing it from regenerating.

Nelphilia watched this appalling scene in the darkness. Just one. It took so much time to destroy just one giant. The result of what Zuellni"s students had made, what Nelphilia had hidden. And the result was only of this level.

"This can"t be it!"

Just one. So much time to destroy just one. This was enough to quickly destroy normal filth monsters and break through the defense of Military Artists. Enough to even handle the larvae"s attack. But that wasn"t the case with this opponent. The result of the students" research was not enough.

But she only had this strength now. What a shame. She was more powerful when she was first borne to this world, yet her power had waned over time. As she thought, they should have continued the research, but time was near when she woke. So she had let the students train and she had left Zuellni. Her heart still hurt when she looked at that empty Electronic Fairy. She felt strange about that feeling. Back then, she cared not for the people that she used. She felt less hurt when she controlled the students. Her philosophy was to use up everything she had, so it was natural to use what was around her, but why did she harbor a special feeling for that Electronic Fairy? As an Electronic Fairy, one must bear the painful reality – even if one lost a city to filth monsters, lost its people and had to greet a situation more serious and painful. As she thought she had to accept everything happening now, she thought it was natural to take what worked for her. And even if Zuellni thought the same as her, the hurt remained in her heart. It took so long to just eliminate one giant. She regretted and hated that fact.

The hole remained open in the sky. Strange creatures and giants continued to rain down the city.

Perhaps this city would really be destroyed. The sound of the end, the sound that came from despair and broken pieces might release this world thoroughly.

What would Nelphilia do when that time came?

She looked at the hole above her. Would they come over? If that happened, would her power recover? She had no such confidence.

".............. G.o.d!" she laughed mockingly.

She was calm before Leerin, but now she was unbelievably weak. Because she had just awakened from her slumber? Or was she confused and lost in the face of this deteriorating situation? If that was the case, she truly had become weak. More serious than losing her strength, her heart was weakening at this truth.

She sank into despair, not at the current situation, but at the change in herself. She had lived long. She wasn"t even sure whether her body was cla.s.sified as a living creature. She was here at the birth of the world, and she had continued living for revenge. Since the moon disappeared, she had spent everyday looking at the sky. Even when she was dormant, her consciousness flew for the sky above.

Right now, the moon was gone. Not the night. The moon was still here, but she waited for the moon to disappear. On a certain level of meaning, the moon had disappeared – it had descended. The day for that time to come probably was soon!

She thought she must find herself before that time came. She needed something, but she didn"t know what she needed. Even so, there was something she had to do now.

"I can still buy some time!" she said lightly.

Next, other strange creatures appeared around her in the dark. All of the "Guardian Beasts" had been released.

Shadows gathered to become darkness once more, spreading out to cover the entire city.

Ripples dispersed, and Guardian Beasts ran out to meet the descending giants.