Hello I'm back, thy leg is healed but I don't have molars anymore.
===BREAK===
I wanted to protect the Ark.
That's why I've done whatever it took to protect the Ark until now.
If it benefited the Ark, I did it.
If it meant I could protect the Ark, I did it.
I did it, for the Ark.
Even if the Ark abandoned me, I never did.
Because I believed—without a shred of doubt—that protecting the Ark was the only way I could survive.
But...
["What in the world is this…"]
The Ark I tried so desperately to protect will never return to the way it once was.
The cataclysm that rained down from the fractured sky left a gaping scar on the Ark, and in its place, nothing remained.
["How could this happen…"]
Esther couldn't stop expressing her horror.
And that was understandable.
The onslaught from Ankelenth that poured through the open skies had been just a single strike.
No more than a single breath.
That was all it took, yet nearly a fifth of the entire Ark vanished without a trace.
Even a nuclear strike wouldn't have produced such perfect devastation.
"..."
I didn't even think about how something like this could be possible.
Ankelenth, a Beyond-Grade Dragon, was capable of such things.
I should've known that better than anyone—but upon arriving at the Ark and seeing it up close, the situation was even more catastrophic than it had appeared from afar.
The breath of Ankelenth had swept evenly from the Red Line to the Rose Line, paralyzing half the Ark's functions in mere seconds.
The lack of any proper counterattack from the Ark against Ankelenth could likely be attributed to that very reason.
"…Let's go."
I want to run.
I want to escape this place.
I want to leave.
Even though I knew I shouldn't, those thoughts crept in before I could stop them.
My hands are trembling.
I don't know if it's because I'm afraid or because of the cruel penalties that have tormented me all this time.
But even so, I moved forward.
If I stopped here just because I was afraid, that really would be the end of everything.
["Master! Over there!"]
With Esther's cry, a column of flame erupted near the Blue Line.
It didn't take long to recognize what it was.
After all, the moment that light collided with the sky, a massive explosion erupted.
Kwaaaang!───
A mushroom cloud soared.
While it wasn't a full-blown strategic nuke, it was clearly on par with a tactical nuclear weapon—and it had just detonated in the skies above the Ark.
You'd think the whole Ark would be at risk of radioactive fallout from something like that, but in a situation like this, no one had the luxury to worry about it.
Goooooooh──
Despite such risks, the shadow amidst the volcanic ash remained shockingly intact.
From the way it twitched, it seemed to have taken some damage—but that was it.
Ankelenth was still alive.
"…Now that's a monster."
To take humanity's deadliest weapon head-on and be left with just that…
Even though I knew how formidable Ankelenth was, I couldn't help but say it out loud.
And so, it would've made sense to despair.
To give up everything in hopelessness and accept the fate looming before us.
But—
The flower called hope always blooms in the soil of despair.
Fweeeee!──
Thoom!
That signal flare marked the beginning of the Ark's full-fledged counterattack.
Missiles—dozens, hundreds—began streaking toward the sky.
Even if the command structure was broken and countless people were dead, many within the Ark still fought back against the apocalypse.
"..."
It may have looked feeble on the outside, but that was without a doubt the Ark's counterattack.
The Ark hadn't disappeared yet.
No matter how many had died or vanished, those who remained still sought to protect the Ark.
["Master."]
Esther called to me.
I couldn't quite tell what was in her eyes—but I could tell what I needed to do.
"Yeah."
The rift space opens.
From within it, one of my most trusted weapons revealed itself—the Zeus-444 Railgun.
[Lv.10]
No need to hold back.
The enemy is Ankelenth.
I had to go all out from the start.
Tzzzt, tzztzzzt!─
Violent sparks burst from the muzzle of the Zeus-444 Railgun.
Loaded in the chamber was a 120mm memory-shaping penetrator round.
A round designed to pierce through anything that could never be pierced.
Clack—
The trigger pulled, and the 120mm penetrator round fired faster than the speed of sound, screaming toward the godlike being above the clouds.
I didn't stop there—I kept pulling the trigger.
The Zeus-444 Railgun could only fire about four times at full power before hitting its limit, but this wasn't the time to worry about limitations.
Tzzztzzztzzzt!
The forbidden fourth shot, a Level 10 output, fired—and instantly, the railgun's plasma reactor overloaded and temporarily shut down.
It would recover over time thanks to its self-repair system, but I wouldn't be able to use it again for a while.
Considering what kind of weapon the Zeus-444 was, that wasn't a small sacrifice.
Even so…
'…Still intact.'
The expected effect didn't come.
All four 120mm memory-shaping penetrators failed to even scratch Ankelenth's scales, let alone pierce them.
My strongest firepower had been blocked—utterly and pointlessly.
'I knew this might happen… but this is absurd.'
So far, it seemed I hadn't accomplished anything—but that wasn't entirely true.
At the very least, I succeeded in bringing down the being who had gazed down on everything from above the cloud of ash and radiation.
["Ah… Aaaaah…"]
The barrage of attacks that had battered the Ark only moments ago came to a sudden halt.
Perhaps for the same reason I had faltered for a moment.
Rmmmmmble!
Through the monstrous clouds of volcanic ash and radioactive fire, a hidden shadow began to reveal itself.
["That's… Ankel… enth…"]
What appeared first was a colossal form—so massive it seemed impossible that it was floating in the air.
How could something that big stay airborne? That question was answered by the six pairs of wings on its back.
[Grrrrrrrrr…]
Jet-black scales like armor covering its body.
Fangs that looked like they could pierce anything.
A massive tail capable of toppling mountains.
Flames churning between its neck and jaws.
A Beyond-Grade Dragon—Ankelenth.
It saw me.
A being so arrogant and lofty that it seemed to regard life itself as beneath notice… now clearly acknowledged me.
[Giii-giiiit!]
Sensing the threat, Janus spread its bone tendrils and puffed itself up.
Like a frightened beast trying to look bigger.
Considering it had devoured both the Bone Lord and Turncoat King—and more recently, the master of the Great Forest—it spoke volumes about Ankelenth's sheer presence.
[Giii-giiiit!]
I wasn't much different.
Every second I stared down Ankelenth, I wanted to reach into [Rift Space], grab the Zero-999 Tactical Nuke Launcher, and fire blindly.
And yet, I didn't.
The reason was simple.
Would nuclear weapons even work on Ankelenth?
That doubt lingered in my mind.
And with good reason.
I had already seen the Ark's nukes do little to nothing—and more importantly, I'd seen the Ark destroy itself by exhausting all its nuclear options against Ankelenth.
'Ankelenth isn't something you can defeat with brute force alone.'
Ankelenth's body wasn't just flesh.
A lifeform fused with ether.
In other words, Ankelenth was—by some definition—beyond biological.
'Still… I have to try.'
My strongest weapon was disabled.
My most reliable partner was gripped with fear.
But I had to fight.
I had to overcome this fear.
"Let's go."
I spread Ankelenth's wings.
Ironically, the only thing allowing me to face Ankelenth now… was Ankelenth's own power.
[Gigit!]
Janus unfurled Ankelenth's massive wings, and I activated the Z-74 Jetpack.
Ether assistance and spatial shifting via rift movement added to that.
At blazing speed, I hurtled toward Ankelenth.
[Activating 'Rift Shift.']
Before I could even fully close the distance, Ankelenth's tail whipped toward me.
[Gigit!]
Janus tried to intercept with a massive bone shield—but it shattered almost instantly.
Crack!
Craaaaack!───
Fragments of bone flew in every direction.
Still, Janus didn't stop—pushing itself past its limits to continuously regenerate the bone shield.
Crunch, crackle!
Thousands of bone tendrils forming the shield managed to restrain Ankelenth's tail for just a moment.
A split-second opportunity.
I wasn't going to waste it.
'Half-hearted attacks won't work.'
Then I have no choice but to use my strongest attack.
[Summoning 'Ankelenth's Judgement.']
A black spear materialized in my right hand.
I poured ether into it.
[Ether Imbuement has been activated.]
[Overdrive has been activated.]
Crunch, crick…!
My right arm screamed from the ether overload.
But I didn't stop.
I kept going.
Pushed everything I had into it.
[Emission has been activated.]
[Bone Javelin has been activated.]
My strongest attack hurled from my right arm.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!────
Ripping through the air, the death sentence shot toward Ankelenth.
Its target—the wings.
A typical weak point in flying entities, and one of Ankelenth's vulnerabilities.
But just before it could hit, Janus's bone tendrils shattered all at once, and Ankelenth twisted its body.
KWAANG!───
With a deafening blast, the Ankelenth's Judgement pierced one of the scales on Ankelenth's flank and lodged deep.
For the first time, something had managed to wound Ankelenth—who had brushed off nuclear attacks like nothing.
===BREAK===
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