Vol 12 Chapter 4 (2/2)
”So a”
Next to hed in awe
”Nothing less expected of Atlantis' trump card”
Kili whispered poignantly too
Indeed, Deus Dragon Marduk was the power of the the second dragon—”Ultimate Wisdoon” on the same level as Bahaive its opponent a good run for its money
After the black light vanished, Baha lost one third of its body size
”Mononobe, don't tell me we already defeated it?”
Standing at the prow, Iris looked back and asked, but I smiled wryly in return
”That would be great, but Baha Unless we annihilate it in one shot, it'll immediately—”
Before I could finish, Bahaenerate at an unbelievable rate In inal shape
Although I knew Bahah to oppose the inco it with my very own eyes, a chill and cold sweat still spread acrosswas definitely out of the question That was the kind of opponent ere facing
—The only way to destroy Bahamut was to rely on Iris' authority It would be wishful fantasy to think I could win
Reaffirht speed
This attack fro in further on Bahao
Finished regenerating, Baha like it had renewed its stance
At that lfar released a black beam It was the Babel Replica—a weapon that was a copy of Marduk's inal, but the attack daain
Just as Bahaain, it was bathed under the second wave of attacks from the NIFL fleet behind us The whiteit froht
Depriving Bahaeneration rate We could not stand idle either
”—The ain until the barrel cools down and the energy is recharged I will attack with other weapons Everyone, support ens!”
”M froe area”
Ren was the first to nod and raise her hammer fictional armament
Next, darkinto a white sphere It was probably a enic substance
”Mm!”
When Ren swung her fictional ar over Baha the density of the whiteBahamut
”We're on it too!”
Ariella and the others followed up withtheht psionic multi-barreled cannons
Using the coordinates shared by Jeanne to aim, Bahamut was accurately located amid the white mist—Locked on
On top of the deck, the turrets installed at the front of Marduk swiveled and took aiet
”Psionic multi-barreled cannons, Noah—Fire!”
Manifestations of y, shells were shot sih Marduk's systereatly ay in the past was no longer a worry
Leaving brightly glowing trails, the shells of light hurtled into the whitein heavy sounds of impact
—Confiret Reload
According to information from Jeanne, the psionic e upon Bahamut Then all I needed to do was follow up the attacks
Acco special artillery, the shells forain
The warheads of Abyss were liht moment
”Crash down, ice blade!”
Lisa and the others continued to spread cryogenic substances Ten h—
'Baha rapidly! Perhaps it is releasing energy from within! Beware!'
Before we could brace ourselves after hearing Jeanne's urgent voice, the whiteBahamut was bloay completely
The frozen sea surface instantly melted while a wave of shock and heat rushed towards us
The battleshi+p shook while the tean to rise in spite of the barrier protecting us While sweating, I gasped at the sight of Bahae in appearance
Red lines rese veins had appeared on its black surface while the fla out from its body were even more intense The etting vaporized before they could reach the target
However, the sea instantly froze again when Baha diamond dust also appeared in the atmosphere
'The air teain—Yet Bahamut's surface te No, transfor—'
Already right in front of us, Bahae was clear for us to see
Baha
”Are those horns?”
Firill murmured but a different answer came over the communicator
'No—Bahay reaction inside! Those are probably turrets! Warning signs of projectiles about to be fired from Bahamut's back!'
Hearing Jeanne's report, Kili's expression turned grim
”Turrets and missiles Weapons similar to e have?”
After she whispered, Bahamut shot out numerous projectiles
'Fired projectiles confirmed! Quantity Twenty or so! In addition to our shi+p, the Naglfar and the NILF forces behind us are also targeted Also confir in te!'
”What do we do!? There's no way to shoot theht?”
Staring at the trajectory of the projectiles in the air, Kili asked
—Just as Kili had pointed out, intercepting theed yet Catastrophe should be capable of eli it would be too soon right now
'Captain, lfar ”Never mind us,” apparently!'
Without time to think deeply, I confirmed the situation and made my decision
”H defensive armaments Girls, fortify the air barrier”
As I said that, Marduk shot out ss
Marduk still had other armaments I could use independently, this was one of them Since there were restrictions on number of uses and active duration, and the fact that there was no data indicating it could defend against Bahamut's attacks, I had kept it in reserve until noever, with only a few kiloamble
”Light shell barrier—Eden!”
I confirmed the placement of the units and shouted out the name
Next, the units linked up using bea a polyhedron that surrounded Marduk With light bea barrier enveloped the battleshi+p
”Wind!”
Lisa and the others generated several layers of air barriers inside Although we could no longer attack in this state, the barriers would allow us to ignore the enemy's attacks
'Inco heat beam and the artillery shells!'
Baha orbs fro a ht attack arrived faster than the parabolic trajectory of the projectile, striking Marduk
The barrier instantly turned pure white However, the heat was completely blocked and I did not feel any rise in temperature
Due to the bright light, the naked eye could not see anything, but the barrier was stopping all attacks
Using Marduk's recon functionality, Jeanne did not lose Bahamut's location
While the barrier was deployed, Marduk was also charging into the heat beam at maximum speed
Flames continued to explode outside the barrier One of the axis units was e a mild amount of sparks, probably struck directly by the hail of projectiles Slightly later, a series of explosions occurred directly above the battleshi+p, presumably due to the detonation of projectiles I did not knoerful it was exactly, but the increased burden caused one of the barrier units to explode internally I instantly reassigned another unit to cover the gap, but ht shell
Bahaone all-out in this attack There was no reason to hold back against its natural enemy
—Hang in there a while longer!
'We are about to close in on Bahamut!'
Hearing Jeanne's voice, I yelled:
”Iris, attack as soon as you get the signal!”
”Yes!”
Answering loudly, Iris pointed her staff to the front Merged with the staff, the third eye glowed red
”Coments of termination—”
While Iris was chanting, our distance to Bahah iant approaching entity
—Less than a thousand meters Seven hundred meters—Five hundred meters—Three hundred meters—
The instant we broke a hundred meters, I shouted to Iris:
”Now!”
”O Catastrophe, actualize!!”
Accompanied by Iris' shrill voice, the third eye shot out a torrent of red light
Stealing tiht of destruction passed through the barrier in front of the shi+p and erased the inco heat beam
The instantly I saw the Bahaht so extremely closely, I was convinced of victory However, the instant before Catastrophe reached its target, so blocked in front of Bahamut
”What—”
Inconceivable A silver discus had suddenly appeared before Bahamut to block Catastrophe
”Mononobe Oh no—That discus isn't showing signs of weathering at all! At this rate, I won't be able to hit Bahamut!”
Iris' urgent voice clearedinto a direct confrontation against the discus!
”Gah—Eht!”
Firing the auxiliary thruster on port side, I forcibly altered Marduk's course The discus also h it was the shi+eld to protect Bahaainst Iris' Catastrophe
In that case, steering Marduk to Baha to help
At that moment, Iris reached her lie of the discus suddenly dispersed to reveal ribbon-like tentacles to attack Marduk
—Boom!!
Accompanied by a heavy crash and impact, Marduk shook violently
'Barrier penetrated! But no direct hit! Dae minimal!'
Although the attack breached the already daht shell on port side, thanks to the air barrier irls, we had avoided a direct hit However, next ti to be so lucky
”Kyah!”
Losing balance, Iris and the girls fell over At the sa
”Megiddo—Fire!”
The explosion would turn into Bahay source, but there was no tiht now In any case, it was imperative to restrain the unidentified discus
The two shells of blue light shot out from the turrets produced a massive explosion in the air The blast wind and the shockwave bleay the discus that was about to follow up on its attack
Seizing this opportunity, Marduk secured distance against the ene the psionic multi-barreled cannons at Bahay froht turrets
The shells failed to hit the rapidlydiscus, but a few continued to pare down Bahaed from the earlier explosion
The only way to restrain Bahaeneration was to continue inflicting dah, the main cannon could be fired too But—
”What the heck is that discus!? It suddenly showed up and blocked Catastrophe”
Fallen over and crouching, Kili cried out unhappily
The same question was on everyone's mind, but the ansas instantly revealed to us
'Tia knows! It's in the Akashi+c Record The sixth dragon—'Anomalous Dawn' Nyarlathotep!'
While continuing to fire shells ofthe Bahaon had appeared too, why on earth?
At that moment, a low and sharp voice entered my ear
'From Bahamut's shadow, inside the unknown territory'
”—Major Loki?”
I exclaimed the name of the voice's owner in surprise
'Apologies, due to the urgency of the situation, I had Atla patch lfar captured the instant of the discus' appearance It definitely flew out of the unknown territory Just like Bahamut'
I looked around and found the Naglfar on the other side of Bahalfar must have steered in the opposite direction fro Bahaenic substance This was probably done to buy tiroup
”Just like Bahamut”
'Indeed—But in that case, it should have appeared during the previous battle According to Atla, it is very likely that the discus had been lurking in the Arctic unknown territory'
”Hmm Could it be that inside the four unknown territories—”
Hit by an ominous hunch, I spoke hoarsely
'Indeed Perhaps different dragons are lurking in them However, weto Atla's analysis, the discus is made of a material siradation caused by Catastrophe, its durabilityremains in the way, Catastrophe will not never hit Bahamut'
After Major Loki spoke gravely, Ariella whispered from the side:
”Mithril Speaking of which, that discus has similarities with the Kraken It's able to extend tentacles”
Possibly hearing this, Tia spoke through the communicator
”The Kraken was the counterdragon that evolved to defeat Nyarlathotep It was probably during that process that it developed a similar appearance”
”Wait—Then the Kraken's authority We should be able to defeat Nyarlathotep with antiht?”
I asked Tia solemnly
'Yes, probably Or rather Apart fro it Nyarlathotep is a metallic lifeform with no concept of lifespan—'
'Then Nii-san, allow ht'
A voice filled with determination interrupted Tia on the communicator
”Mitsuki”
Indeed, Mitsuki's power to generate anti her outside the shi+p, there was no other way Just as I was about to consent—A young voice interjected, speaking aardly
'Papa, wAit i caN uSe anTiMatTer tOo nO i Am thE onLy One wHo caN uSe iT riGht'
”What—shi+on, you're going to fight too?”
I asked in confusion Through the coo ”Zwei—What are you suddenly talking about!?” in a panic
'yEs Er i KnOw'
'H-Hold on! It would be too dangerous to let shi+on-san fight!'
Mitsuki cried out anxiously
'Ti out, 2nd Lieutenant Mononobe Due to the attack just now, Bahay, slowing its rate of regeneration, but Soon enough, its will finish its recovery and counterattack us'
Major Loki urged me sharply to make a decision
”—”
I gnashed
”shi+on, come to the deck”
'yEs! Papa, riGht awAy!'
'Nii-san'
shi+on replied happily, but Mitsuki called my name in protest
”Sorry Now that an unexpected situation has coo out, Mitsuki”
Thinking that Neun's instinctized
'—Understood I shall comply with your decision, Nii-san'
The sad voice caused agony to gripthe crisis at hand, I could only suppressat the prow
”Iris, you can't use the third eye iht?”
”S-Sorry But I've rested a bit while everyone was talking Just a bit longer and Once we get near Bahaain, I should be able to No, I'll definitely be able to”
Holding the staff with the glowing red eyeball, she stood up unsteadily
”I got it”
I nodded without hesitation and changed Marduk's course, putting Baha the main cannon's line of fire
Although the Naglfar continued to attack using its eneration was probably nearing completion Hence, I must do it before then
”Main cannon, Babel—Psionic multi-barreled cannons, Noah—Hyperspace reversion rocket-assisted artillery, Abyss—”
I linked my ets The main cannon rulowed The other weapons also produced deep noises of operation while waiting for the moment to unleash their power
This was the decisive strike There was no need to hold back
”—Full Burst!!”
A black torrent shot out frohtmissiles were launched si white trails in the sky
The silver discus—Nyarlathotep& the ravitational discontinuity, the discus' outline became twisted But unbelievably, its silver body returned to its original round shape afterwards
Ieous resilience
Nyarlathotep's durability was sickening, but my attacks were certainly not limited to just one
While Nyarlathotep was blocking the main cannon, Noah's shells and Abyss' warheads had struck Bahamut directly
Gouged by holes of hyperspace all over its body, the giant dragon's size was dramatically reduced
”Now is the tie! Double deployment of Edin at the prow!”
Al units were overloaded, leaving only six functional Covering the entire shi+p was iular surfaces of light in front of the shi+p
”Lisa and Firill, fortify the air barrier! Ariella and Ren, you're in charge of trans physical barriers in response to enemy actions! Kili, defend the surface of the deck with everything you've got”
”Affirmative!”
After the girls replied, shi+on opened the hatch and rushed outside
”Papa! i wiLl taKe oUt thaT roUnd tHiNg”
”—Great, shi+on I'ht side by side”
Picking up the running shi+on in my arms, I ordered Marduk to enter maximum acceleration
At maximum output, the thrusters propelled the shi+p at full speed
Resisting the gravity cannon, Nyarlathotep noticed our actions and extended ribbon-like tentacles
”i wOn'T loSe tO yoU”
shi+on lifted her hair to reveal the hidden left eye Her eye was glowing purple just as it had done so back when she was Kraken Zwei She had apparently spoken the truth when talking about being able to use the authority earlier
”Coments of termination”
Holding the red staff with both hands, Iris repeated the sa The third eye at the tip of the staff glowed criain
'Captain, inco!'
Nyarlathotep attacked at high speed alht barrier cracked, the units sustaining the first barrier overloaded and exploded
Although the second barrier layer held, but the time we verified the situation, the tentacles were already retracted Just noas probably a purely physical attack performed by that super durable le strike was already extraordinary in power
”It's going to break through next time! We need to construct a physical barrier capable of blocking that thing's attacks!”
”Mm”
Holding Ren's hand, Ariella took a step forward She was planning to borrow dark er barrier
'Incoain!!'
While Jeanne issued the warning, Ariella shouted:
”Barrier, deploy—Seras Athena!”
Dark ht barrier Bloo out radially
Immediately, a thunderous ru us unsteady on our feet
The reht barrier was destroyed Cracks also appeared on Ariella's barrier with tiny frag off
However, the barrier was not penetrated On the opposite side of the collapsing barrier, Nyarlathotep and Bahaht in front of us—
”Iris!”
”Yeah, I'm on it—Mononobe!”
When I gave the signal, Iris replied resolutely
”Great shi+on, I' on you!”
Under the current circued, Bahamut would lose protection and suffer a direct hit
”Papa, i gOt iT!”
shi+on's hair suddenly flehile blinding light erupted from her left eye
This was the authority inherited from the Kraken, the power known as the ”Absolute”
Regardless of the level of hardness or resilience, nothing could defend against this attack as long as it was matter
Capable of annihilating all ed from shi+on's left eye
”diSapPeAr!”
Her young voice was filled with fighting spirit
The purple glowing projectile exploded silently in the air
A flash of light imprinted on my retinas
The released bea Nyarlathotep dead center
Ian to expand froht, then instantly—A violent explosion engulfed the discus
It was disappearing Thrashi+ng its tentacles, the sixth calradually devoured by the purple light
The e caused Bahaht of annihilation was also approaching us
However—No need to fear She was going to erase everything next
”Now!”
”O Catastrophe, actualiiiiiiiiize!!”
Iris' stern voice resounded all around while the third eye's glow brightened from the tip of her raised staff
Red light flooded out The ti explosion and Bahamut that was on the other side
The distant future—The termination of all creation
”Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
Iris screaht
Bathed in the red light, Bahaht appeared froer than Marduk
It was trying to use its last strength to fire a heat beam
However, even when putting eternal longevity on the line, it was futile in the face of terht by Catastrophe
The flames of massive heat were erased by the red beam of destruction
The ten-thousand- ended
The giant silhouette hovering in the reddened sky grew smaller and smaller
With the karon met its demise just like that
This was probably a reenactment of the ancient past, when Basilisk had exterminated it—
”——Huff Huff Huff We did it?”
After Catastrophe's light vanished, Iris collapsed in exhaustion and sat down on the deck
There was nothing left in front of Marduk
Nyarlathotep, Baha only a clear blue sky
'Signals lost for Bahamut and Nyarlathotep Mission accomplished'
Jeanne's voice through the co out
”We did it!”
Close by, Firill juht
Just as I was feeling flustered by the two soft bulges pressing against ed me
”Papa, i woRkeD haRd, riGht?”
”Yeah, you worked really hard”
Patting her purple-haired head, I praised shi+on and she happily closed her eyes partially Her glowing left eye had returned to normal too
”Mononobe What about me?”
Sitting utterly exhausted, Iris looked longingly at o of her staff and the scales on her hand were starting to disappear The red color in her eyes was also fading away gradually
”Yeah, Iris, you certainly worked hard too!”
”Was I a?”
I nodded hastily but Iris did not seem satisfied
”Yeah, very a”
”Fufu Mononobe praised me”
Then Iris finally relaxed completely and laid doith her back on the deck
”Iris-chan, you'll catch a cold if you sleep here, you know?”
Kili sighed in exasperation and the others smiled wryly The atmosphere was very harh the communicator
'2nd Lieutenant Mononobe, get away from there immediately!'
”—Major Loki?”
Major Loki spoke rapidly, surprising me
'Look down—So is very unusual about the shadow! You are directly over the unknown territory!'
I rushed over to looked down from the deck The trail left behind by Bahamut on the frozen sea surface had re forward after defeating Bahamut, Marduk had entered the sky over the shadow
Was it due to losing its original source, Baha manner
”!? Thrusters, maximum output! Withdraw ASAP!”
Feeling an intense chill, I tried to escape the unknown territory but it was too late Surging out of the shadow, the darkness spurted up like a geyser, sing Marduk
The sky and the sea turned black completely The turbulent flow of darkness sed the deck Everyone's figure—including my own outline—became indiscernible Not only vision but all other senses became dulled too shi+on and Firill, who should be next to me, could not be located either
”damn it—”
I reached out in the darkness, trying to invoke Neun's authority
The back of on mark surfaced I could finally see my left hand clearly
However, the light did not spread further When I looked around, there was blue light shi+ning froonNeun's power to resist the darkness
However, the light was fading away The excess abundance of darkness was about to overwhelht
Yesterday and during the car accident that killed Mitsuki's parents—I had confronted the darkness on two occassions and succeeded in suppressing it But the volume was completely different this time
The darkness was overwhelht was too weak
”Firill, shi+on, are you there?”
I called out to the two girls ere supposed to be hugging me, but there was no answer
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