Chapter 418: Seven Doors of Transcendence (1/2)

With the two objectives of Operation Moonfall completed, the moon soon quieted down. Apart from the minor explosions happening at the far end wherein Krond and his Anzean subordinates were dismantling the stronghold, the larger was already under our control.

Although late, Krond and the Anzeans' under him still showed up to sweep the moon's surface, locating many hidden tunnels and a stash of otherworldly treasures.

Well, not really late, we just finished it before they could make a move

It was undeniably swift like we intended it to be.

From Nysia's opening speech up to our actual arrival at the vicinity of the moon, it was only about ten minutes.

From when the long-range Metagens started firing at their defenses to my taking of Nysia and Erin with me to reach the middle of the stronghold, it was only less than five minutes.

From when the 10 Ultimate Darkgens appeared and lousily trapped us with them, they got toyed with for at least five minutes before the 15 Transcendents who came reinforcing them arrived.

Following that, from 24, since one was killed by Erin before their arrival, they were instantly reduced to seven when they ate the overly amplified Energy Blast from Dannae's gun. And that's not even a minute after they appeared.

The Energy Barrier preventing our entry to the Portal Location lasted longer than them.

And by the time we closed the Portal, the total operation time didn't exceed an hour, much less half an hour.

Although there were some casualties among the Core Pilots, that was the inevitableness of this war.

Once my Companions gathered at the former Portal Location, bringing the news about the fates of those seven Transcendents who survived Dannae's gun, Nysia declared Operation Moonfall as completed.

For the clean-up job, the Heroes and the other Transcendents along with the Core Pilots and Elite Anzeans took up that job.

Some of my Companions also helped, like Leianne, Elise and Lunaria, as they represented or led the Core Pilots from the Empire, Eldur and the Confederacy.

Because of the apparatus left behind by the Dark World, Nysia and I decided to make use of it and turn the Moon into a base for the United Alliance. By utilizing what they left behind here, the denizens and the Anzeans will rebuild the Moon Stronghold and treat it as a Space Station wherein the Researchers will be focusing on deciphering the data left behind by the Dark World denizen as well as furthering the World of Meta's interstellar technology.

We waited for at least a day at the moon before going back to the surface to settle the denizens and give them the good news.

-

-

After the success of Operation Moonfall, three days soon passed.

During those three days, the cleanup of the Moon was completed and followed by the start of the rebuilding process for what they intended to do in it.

To make sure that nothing would happen there, Old Man Reol and Old Man Liam remained to stand guard, just in case there were still hidden dangers that only a Transcendent could solve.

Well, the two also started sparring against each other to train themselves, with and without their Metagen or Darkgen. Old Man Liam was quite frustrated at his lack of progress upon seeing the Transcendents I brought from another world.

Although he managed to reach 200 UPL and experienced the glimpse on his Transcendent Pathway, he still felt lacking due to how fast we progressed.

And the same could be said with Lyra. Before leaving the Moon, I managed to talk to her about Lunaria. She was upset, of course. Knowing her daughter still went through and chose to become my Companion even after she advised her not to, Lyra found it hard to accept it.

Nonetheless, I still expressed my sincere respect to her. And following that, I bribed her with the Energy Stones to help her progress.

Right. Bribed. Although it would sound good to call it a gift, its purpose was to truly bribe her to let go of her indignation about Lunaria's choice. She's already my Companion and nothing could change that anymore.

Well, I received a gentle smack to my head when I told Lunaria that I bribed her mother. Not from her but from Erin. And the others who watched on the side laughed heartily upon seeing that.

At the moment, we're inside the Scorched Forest, looking up at the seven Doors of Transcendence hanging above the sky.

Taking up my four sides were Yuko at my left, Nysia at my right, Erin at my back and Avelin at my front. Zerina and Irja were also nearby with the latter pouting her lips, frustrated that Avelin beat her to her preferred position.

”Zerina, are you fine not getting close to him?” On the side, Irja suddenly asked Zerina who's carefully brewing tea for all of us.

There were still a few hours before the estimated time for their Transcendent Trials will be over. Although waiting here seemed pointless, it was a precaution. If on the off chance that someone from the seven failed their Trials, we would be able to salvage the situation.

Nonetheless, I'm a bit confident for all of them, except Reinys.

That girl underwent a drastic change in attitude. Not just because of me but because of her experiences in their world. She blamed herself for the Corruption and the death of her brother. If she hadn't pushed the idea for him to be the better fit for Yuko, that wouldn't happen.

Her Transcendent Mind Trial will probably be harder than anyone else.