Vol 12 Prologue (1/2)

Prologue

Badump, badump, badump—

The ”pulse” resounded across the world

As though announcing its existence, the ”pulse” persisted incessantly, the sound repeating at regular intervals

This deep noise shook the at circular ripples onto the sea surface Birds flew into the sky while fish and marine mammals fled in the water

They ran away froet as far away as possible

They did not understand what they were fleeing, however, instinct told them to escape This sound was the heart beat of a lifefor else

The pitch-black domes, each 300km in diameter, had appeared all over the world No sensory equipment had been able to detect as inside the unknown territory inside them—

At one location, a gigantic heart had appeared inside the do badump, badump

The heart was surrounded by a sphere of blood vessels that pulsated along with the beating

This was quite a surreal scene beyond comprehension

Mankind, equipped with rationality and knowledge, was probably the most terrified by it

They did not have the luxury of acting curious They were plunged into panic, fleeing desperately like animals—

However, precisely because e, some of them were able to control fear Even when confronted with an overwhele

Standing on the bridge of the Naglfar, a battleshi+p cruising on the sea off the American west coast, this man—Loki Jotunheim—was one of such people

”'Eternal Longevity' Bahamut huh?”

Seeing the pitch-black do the heart displayed on the bridge monitor, Loki spoke quietly

It was the name that had appeared on his terdrasil's remains

”Major Loki, Gae Bolg is ready to fire!”

”According to the Atlantis System, synchronization between the New York headquarters, the Alaska branch, South America's first and second branches, and the Hawaii base is complete—Ready to proceed any moment!”

Hearing his subordinates' report, Loki declared sharply

”—Fire”

I—was launched into the blue sky

Confir away in a trail of flame, Loki spoke to the terminal in his hand

”Atla, your job is to fine-tune the ti of the impacts”

The folloords instantly appeared on the terminal:

'Leave it to me, Master'

Loki smiled, satisfied with this answer Then he looked back at thethe locations and trajectories of the six Gae Bolg lfar and the five other bases

Although they were all launched fro speed and trajectory, the six eted heart simultaneously

Just as the heart was engulfed in blinding light, noise appeared on the video feed, blacking out theainto the sky

”Verify the situation”

Loki issued a concise order His subordinates checked the data while reporting

”All Gae Bolgs struck their target According to radar analysis, the target's mass has been reduced to less than one third!”