Chapter 1463: Hall of Ascension (9)
Kwoooong!!!
As the beast, which had risen from the underground hangar, took a step, a tremendous roar that shook the heavens and earth erupted.
It absorbed the ghouls and mutants from all over the city as if sucking them in, reconstructing its body using their flesh as its own.
Drooling and with its mouth wide open, the beast threw its head back and let out a horrifying roar.
[Kkuaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!]
Watching this, Felix let out a groan.
“So it’s a monster imbued with the memories of a dead Ascendant, moving on hatred and resentment…”
It might not match the strength of a true Ascendant, but it should have enough ego and consciousness to move that massive body.
The ghouls and mutants clinging to the beast’s corpse are monsters steeped in the radiation that has spread throughout the satellite city.
Naturally, the beast advancing towards Vulcan is also a being filled with enough radiation to instantly kill any ordinary human.
Just by having such a monster wander the Outer Zone, several districts would turn into uninhabitable hells.
Realizing the situation, the other companions quickly began to search for a solution.
“We have to return to the real world right now. Let’s tell the Spell Master to connect to Heaven’s Gate!!”
“You idiot, did you forget? That monstrous mass has made Heaven’s Gate its own body!!”
“……Huh?”
“To be precise, it probably hasn’t made the gate itself into its body.”
While Dylan’s expression turned foolish, Lennok answered instead.
“Heaven’s Gate isn’t a physical object. It must be using the gate’s power as a source to draw in the ghouls and mutants from all over the satellite city.”
“That means…!!!”
“There is a subtle difference, but in the end, it seems difficult to reactivate Heaven’s Gate without killing that beast.”
Kwoooong-!!!!
The moment the beast took a heavy step, an ear-splitting roar erupted, and it covered several hundred meters in a single bound.
Realizing the beast, letting out a bizarre cry, was heading for Vulcan, the other companions panicked.
“Aaaargh!! What do we do?! It’s really going to Vulcan!!”
“Mila, get a grip. First, get the Corpse Ghost Spell Master on the terminal…!!”
“We have to contact the Magic Tower as fast as possible. Jenny, does anyone remember Jenny’s number!!”
Just as the flustered companions were wracking their brains, grabbing the terminal to call the Corpse Ghost Spell Master.
“Mila.”
Lennok took a phone from his pocket and tossed it towards Mila.
The phone, which was way off target from Mila, was snatched out of the air with superhuman reflexes.
“Huh, Van? You did throw that to me, right?”
“I’ve already connected the line, so please explain the situation.”
Looking at the bewildered Mila still holding the phone, Lennok said.
“I’ll leave the situation outside to you. I still have things to do in this hall.”
“Things to do…?”
“This situation has some aspects that are too convenient to be a coincidence. To put it bluntly, there’s an undisclosed variable at play.”
Gripping his black gauntlet, Lennok turned towards the Incarnation Body emitting an ominous magical power and took a step.
“I have a rough idea of the cause… I’ll take care of the problem on this end first.”
[Van, I’m sorry, but listening to an explanation from the idiots with you will probably just confuse my judgment.]
“Jenny!!”
Hearing Jenny’s voice from the phone, the mercenaries’ faces brightened.
On the screen, Jenny was shown sitting in the Magic Tower’s office, looking out the window.
“Wait, we’re still inside the Hall, right? How did you connect a call on a phone?”
“Forget that and just explain the situation! That monster is approaching Vulcan!!”
“Jenny, we need to evacuate all transient populations in District 49 immediately. I’ll explain the circumstances later, but-”
[I’ve also seen what’s coming from outside Vulcan’s Outer Zone, so there’s no need to explain.]
Jenny cut off her companions’ urgent explanations sharply and said.
[I’ve issued an evacuation order for the Outer Zone, and the peacekeeping forces are moving under the command of the Countermeasures Committee. All preparations will be complete around five minutes before the monster arrives.]
“Th-that’s a relief, but… wait, it’s only going to take five minutes for that monstrous mass to reach District 49?”
[I don’t know where you guys are, but that thing is currently rushing straight for District 49. It can cross thousands of meters in an instant, how long did you think it would take?]
Jenny retorted, flicking her gaze away.
[Just leave this side to the Magic Tower. Do you have any idea how much we’ve prepared to deal with this kind of invasion since the Subjugation Operation? Even in the worst-case scenario, we can hold out until Van gets back, so don’t worry.]
“Jenny, that’s no ordinary magical beast or monster. Its entire body is composed of ghouls and mutants, and it’s a Transcendent being moving with the memories of a dead Ascendant.”
Felix said with a grim expression.
“Just having it wander through Vulcan’s Outer Zone will cause immense damage. We have to deal with it as quickly as possible to minimize the damage.”
The beast now advancing on District 49 was a Transcendent being, the memory of a dead Ascendant moving with Heaven’s Gate as its vessel.
But instead of explaining the complicated circumstances to Jenny, Felix tried his best to summarize and convey the information about the beast and the Hall.
Kwoooooong!!!!
Before Jenny could even reply, a faint roar and the shaking of the ground could be felt through the screen, coming from beyond the Magic Tower’s outer wall.
The beast that had departed from the satellite city had already traversed the outskirts of Vulcan and was approaching the vicinity of District 49.
Jenny, with a hardened expression, looked up and then flicked her gaze away.
[Priscilla, start up the main cannon. We’ll begin the interception the moment it enters District 49.]
[All 440 Thunder-Halting Cannons are ready!!]
[Initiating outer wall transformation. Opening barricades. Deploying fortification spellcraft.]
[Activating Celestial Displacement Barrier Formation. Artificial barrier [Miniature Garden] ready for operation.]
Simultaneously with the rapid voices coming from the screen, the interior of the Magic Tower began to shake and transform crazily.
A brilliant light burst forth as the entirety of District 49 began preparations to intercept the beast.
“Was that what Jenny and Professor Richellen were working on after the Subjugation Operation?”
“Wait, something that big was hidden inside the Magic Tower? I never saw it once while I was on guard duty.”
“Mila, that’s enough nonsense. Be quiet.”
Kwoooong!!!!
With every step it took, the city streets and buildings around District 49 were crushed and shattered like toys.
Abandoned cars parked everywhere and stalls piled with all sorts of items were smashed to pieces, and windowpanes shattered.
Ghouls and mutants that couldn’t cling to its body fell around the streets of District 49, sloughing off like melting flesh.
[Loading simple mass-shell. Spellcraft imbued. Internal incendiary charge activated.]
[Opening fire as soon as targeting is complete.]
Fwo-bwo-bwo-bwo-bwoooom!!!!
The streamlined cannon barrels glowed with a brilliant blue light and, with a thunderous roar, unleashed an intense bolt of lightning.
A sphere of blue light shot out at supersonic speed, striking the fleshy beast’s entire body directly.
With an utterly gruesome sound of tearing flesh, it blasted apart chunks of the beast’s body.
[Kkuaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!]
The impact was so powerful that the beast, weighing over hundreds of thousands of tons, staggered and was momentarily pushed back.
The inside of its sloughing flesh was dyed blue as it exploded, shedding chunks of flesh made of ghouls and mutants.
In the blink of an eye, nearly half of its body was torn away, revealing parts of its rotten and corroded internal skeleton.
“D-did we get it?”
“Dylan!!”
“Might as well pray for it not to die!!”
Chiiiiiik-!!!!
As hot steam billowed from its entire body, the exploded and burned flesh began to regenerate in real-time.
The flesh that had temporarily patched itself up by covering ghouls and mutants transformed, becoming firm and covered in hard keratin and scales.
Jenny, watching the scene with a calm expression, nodded.
[So the first barrage didn’t have enough firepower to neutralize it? Then-]
[Jenny, I think it would be better if I stepped in now.]
At that moment, Evelyn poked her head in from off-screen.
With a large black bow on her back, she frowned as she looked around.
[There are an unsettling number of watching eyes. Do we really need to reveal the Magic Tower’s built-in armaments or spellcraft here?]
[Evelyn.]
But even after hearing that, Jenny shook her head with a resolute expression.
[To minimize the damage to District 49, we have to eliminate it as quickly as possible. Every extra second that thing roams Vulcan, the financial damage to the Magic Tower is absurd-]
Hwook-
At that moment, a thick fog rolled in on the other side of the screen, obscuring Jenny’s and Evelyn’s faces.
If it was this thick through the phone screen, the fog on site must have been dense enough to obscure everything in front of them.
The entirety of District 49 was shrouded in fog as if covered by a white cloud, completely obscuring visibility.
At the center of this sudden atmospheric phenomenon, so abrupt that even Evelyn flinched, unable to read the signs for a moment.
An indescribably huge shadow softly descended over the Magic Tower’s outer wall.
Kwooooooooong!!!!!
Blocking the path of the approaching, constantly regenerating beast, stood a house-sized, pure-white dragon.
[Bau.]
The Guardian Spirit Beast scratched its chin with a thick forepaw, puffed up its body like a balloon, and glared at the beast with fire in its eyes.
Only then did Jenny and Evelyn, realizing its identity, stare with their mouths agape.
[……Wait a minute.]
[Don’t tell me, the Guardian Spirit Beast?]
“Ooooooh!!!”
The mercenaries watching the situation through the phone screen all burst into cheers.
“As expected, there’s no way Van wouldn’t have prepared something!!”
“That thing is finally earning its keep!!”
“So smart… Did it instinctively sense that it was its time to step up?”
“It seems its growth has finally finished after all this time.”
Felix muttered in a deeply moved voice.
“At last, it has been perfected as a respectable warrior to protect the tower.”
Kwooooooo!!!!!
In the center of District 49, the beast with its melting body and the chubby white dragon, plump like a balloon, faced each other.
The Guardian Spirit Beast did not back down an inch from the beast that was hundreds of meters long, having grown its body to its absolute limit to match its size.
Seeing it facing off against the beast with puffed-up cheeks, the tower staff watching shouted.
[Guardian Deity…!]
[Please protect the Magic Tower!]
[Bau!]
As if empowered by the cheers of the onlookers, the Guardian Spirit Beast snorted and took the lead.
Kugugugugugu!!!!!
The two behemoths, far surpassing human size, moved, on the verge of a giant monster showdown.
As a roar shook the heavens and earth, the two closed the distance and glared at each other.
In the blink of an eye, the beast’s forepaw swung and slammed into the Guardian Spirit Beast’s face.
Kwang!!!!
A powerful impact that momentarily snapped the Guardian Spirit Beast’s head back.
At the same time, the Guardian Spirit Beast, which had been moving so bravely, froze in place.
The Guardian Spirit Beast, hit before it could even react, soon had tears welling up in its eyes.
The whimpering Guardian Spirit Beast, as if trying to hold back its tears, finally couldn’t take it and opened its mouth wide.
[Pueeeeeeeng-]
It began to cry, covering its head with its thick forepaws.
“……”
[……]
[Pueeeee-]
The sight of the Guardian Spirit Beast, wailing and shedding large teardrops in front of the beast with the melting body.
At the dragon’s reaction, as if it had forgotten the beast standing right in front of it, the tower personnel panicked and scrambled.
“Wh-what should we do?! This wasn’t in the plan!!”
“It has no combat experience, so it doesn’t know how to fight.”
Priscilla muttered in bewilderment, and Peshia spoke as if finding it pathetic.
“It has absolutely no tolerance for physical pain, so this outcome is only natural. What did you expect?”
“Khk…!!”
“Its body is large, but it’s still just a child. We shouldn’t have let it step forward in the first place.”
The Fearsome Blood King said, watching the battle outside the tower with a calm gaze.
“It seems best to have the Guardian Spirit Beast retreat and for us to step in. Jenicia, what’s the call?”
“I object. If we let it run away now, it’ll be traumatized and will never be able to fight again.”
Jutiya pushed up her glasses from the side.
“That would be a fatal flaw for a Guardian Spirit Beast tasked with protecting the Magic Tower. Since the spiritual beast stepped forward of its own will, I believe it’s right for it to overcome this on its own.”
“Heiberk.”
Evelyn’s expression, standing next to Jenny, turned ice-cold.
“Are you telling us to stand by and watch, regardless of whether Van’s Guardian Spirit Beast gets hurt?”
“It’s not just about the problem right in front of us; we have to look at the long term.”
The thick lenses of her glasses glinted coldly, obscuring her eyes.
“If it can’t handle a crisis like this on its own, the Guardian Spirit Beast’s existence is nothing but a burden to the Magic Tower. Do you expect Adamant Thunder to carry that spiritual beast on his back and raise it forever?”
“……”
“For a spiritual beast that has reached its growth period, this kind of defeat is the worst possible experience. I actually think this situation is perfectly suited for the Guardian Spirit Beast.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve agreed with the damn noble lady. Let it get beaten to a pulp.”
Peshia said with a snort.
“Kids are supposed to be beaten while being educated to grow up straight. We just have to save it right before it dies.”
“Demoness, I’m sorry, but let me make it clear that I absolutely do not agree with your extremely dangerous views on education.”
Jutiya sharply drew a line at Peshia’s words, and Evelyn gripped her black bow with a hardened expression.
There was also Aris, watching the spiritual beast with an expression so blank it felt cold, and Tatiana, fiddling with a lighter as if anxious.
“Jenicia. It would be best for you to decide.”
Krod Azlan, who had been listening silently, spoke.
“When the Tower Lord is absent, you must decide the tower’s course of action. Just as in the Subjugation Operation, I will follow your judgment completely.”
“I…”
[Jenny@%@#!!!!]
The voices of Dylan and Mila shouting from the phone. The countless people of the Magic Tower waiting for a decision.
Jenny slowly closed her eyes, then opened them and spoke.
“Let’s save the Guardian Spirit Beast. We’ll handle the monster from here.”
“……Jenny.”
“If Van were here, he wouldn’t have pushed the Guardian Spirit Beast to the forefront in this situation.”
Without hesitation, Jenny raised the phone.
“Even if Jutiya’s opinion is correct, I’ll take responsibility for any problems that arise and find a way. Everyone, move.”
“Don’t worry, Jenny.”
Clack!!
Evelyn, who had slung her large black bow over her shoulder and raised it outside the window, said resolutely.
“We won’t let you take responsibility all by yourself.”
[……I curse you.]
Kugugugu!!!!
The beast with the melting body slowly approached the Guardian Spirit Beast, which was crying with tears streaming down its face.
The sight of the beast, constantly regenerating its radiation-soaked body, raising its hand towards the Guardian Spirit Beast.
[……I curse you.]
It let out a gloomy telepathic message, as if seeing someone else’s presence in the Guardian Spirit Beast and making it the target of its resentment.
Just as the Transcendents throughout the Magic Tower began to raise their magical power, about to step in to stop the beast reaching for the Guardian Spirit Beast.
[PUEEEEEEENG!!!]
The Guardian Spirit Beast, letting out a mighty cry, powerfully swung its forepaw and smacked the beast that had come close.
Udududuk-
A golden halo wrapped around the house-sized dragon’s thick forepaw, accelerating at an invisible speed.
With an ear-splitting roar, it unleashed a golden shockwave, striking the beast’s head head-on.
In the blink of an eye, it tore off the beast’s head as if ripping it out, and sent it flying, making it explode like a bomb.
Bwaaaaaaaaaang!!!!
A golden concentric circle spread to the very edge of District 49’s horizon, painting a distant corona of light.
All the Magic Tower personnel who had been watching the battle with tense expressions were momentarily lost for words, their mouths agape.
“……Huh?”