"Is there another report already?"
Seeing the IPC employee hurrying past, Jade immediately spoke up.
"Yes, Director Jade. Another update just arrived from the outpost."
"Let me see." Jade glanced down at the newly delivered report, and as she read, her brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
She was already aware that Hoshigaki Sora had ventured deep into the Swarm Disaster zone, accompanied by a crimson dragon.
Yet now, looking at a particular set of data, Jade felt thoroughly perplexed.
"Are these numbers actually accurate?"
Because each time data was transmitted back, she could clearly see dramatic fluctuations in a certain value.
Precisely, it was the body length of the giant dragon accompanying Sora.
The rate at which this value was changing was simply too astonishing—Jade found it nearly impossible to believe.
But since Diamond had specifically assigned her to handle this matter, she had to see it through.
Still, the magnitude of these fluctuations was far too large!
"I—I don't know either. I just summarized all the incoming reports from the outpost," stammered the employee helplessly.
"Leave this with me, then."
Jade placed the latest intelligence report on her desk, then quickly gathered other recent reports for comparison.
As she studied them closely, the dragon's length appeared to increase by leaps and bounds.
"It started at barely a dozen meters, grew into dozens of meters, and now it's already surpassed hundreds of meters?"
Jade rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
How could any normal creature exhibit such staggering growth?
"Even back when Long the Permanence was still around, dragonkin didn't grow this quickly…"
Indeed, even when the AEON Long the Permanence was alive—an era when dragonkin thrived freely—their growth was never as rapid as the data suggested.
"What exactly is that dragon by his side?"
If it kept growing at this pace, it might even rival the legendary Dragon Sovereign itself…
At this thought, Jade momentarily faltered, quickly shaking off the absurd notion.
No, impossible. I'm definitely overthinking this.
...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive fireballs erupted one after another amidst the endless swarm of insects.
Flames filled the air, insect remains scattered everywhere, and brief rays of light pierced through the swarm, momentarily illuminating the planet below.
Yet, within mere seconds, the gaps were instantly refilled by countless insects.
Such swift regeneration made it seem as if the breaches had never existed.
However, Sora wasn't relying on fireballs to eliminate the swarm outright.
His true aim was to gather the insects together.
As anticipated, insects agitated by his fireballs quickly began converging toward his location.
Innumerable, pitch-black waves surged overhead, roiling in the skies like a tidal wave poised to devour all life below.
The planet was already devoid of any signs of life.
"As expected, the further I go, the denser these insects become," Sora muttered, watching the swarm amassing above.
Initially, only scattered insects invaded certain planets.
But he'd barely ventured inward, and already the scale of the swarm had grown dramatically—enough to darken entire worlds.
"Bzzzzz…"
Their incessant buzzing joined into a deafening, continuous drone, torturous to human ears.
Disturbed, the insects gathered above, directing their collective gaze downward onto the tiny crimson figure standing below.
Was this insignificant being responsible for their disturbance?
Although insects had low intelligence, even they realized that the solitary red figure below was the obvious source of provocation.
A threat meant an enemy—and enemies must be destroyed utterly.
This logic was hardwired into the swarm.
Thus, the insects immediately launched an assault!
One insect surged forward, swiftly followed by countless more.
The sky itself seemed to split open, pouring forth a deluge of pitch-black insects descending like an unstoppable flood.
Their speed rapidly accelerated, friction with the air turning their carapaces faintly reddish.
Upon entering the planet's gravitational field, their velocity surged even further!
The blackened sky collapsed downward at frightening speed.
If this were a myth, only a titan could hold up the falling heavens.
Yet here stood only the solitary crimson figure of Sora.
"What an incredible sight."
Observing the descending tide, Sora sighed with genuine admiration.
Such an extraordinary scene was something few beings in the entire galaxy had ever witnessed firsthand.
After all, witnessing something like this usually meant encountering the galaxy's most dreaded swarm.
For Sora, however, this was his first encounter—and the heavens themselves had fallen precisely because of his actions.
Yet he showed no panic. Instead, he was mentally calculating something else.
"At Dragreder's current pace, it should have already transported everyone safely into the [Mirror World]."
"Well then—time to eat."
Sora swiftly drew a card from his [Card Deck], slotting it into his [Dragvisor].
'[ADVENT!]'
"Roar—! "(I've arrived!)
With an earth-shattering roar, from within a massive glass skyscraper behind Sora, a crimson dragon began emerging directly through its mirrored surface!
Ripples spread across the building's reflective facade like water, as Dragreder's crimson form gradually poured out from within.
Ten seconds passed, twenty, then a full minute…
It took several full minutes for Dragreder's immense body to completely emerge from the mirror's surface.
Who could have imagined that in the beginning, Dragreder had barely reached a dozen meters?
Yet after consuming Titania's residual energy from Sora's body, and then devouring countless insects afterward, Dragreder's length now easily spanned hundreds of meters!
Now fully emerged, it coiled imposingly behind Sora—its immense frame dwarfing even the building it had emerged from.
Immediately upon appearing, Dragreder gazed upward at the countless insects descending from above, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Roar!" (Another feast!)
Without hesitation, it charged headlong into the falling swarm!
Though hundreds of meters long, Dragreder's massive body appeared insignificant compared to the descending insects, which covered the entire sky.
Even after its recent dramatic growth, Dragreder was still just a tiny figure beneath this endless curtain of insects.
Yet its momentum didn't slow at all!
The hunger it had accumulated over so long wouldn't go unsatisfied!
Although it had eaten well enough by Shinji's side, deep inside it always felt an emptiness.
It was this emptiness that drove it to keep searching relentlessly for more food. And as long as it kept pursuing more to devour, its path forward would never end!
At the end of that endless path was surely a bounty of food that could never be fully consumed.
Therefore—it must never stop! (Referring strictly to eating.)
With this grand ambition, Dragreder collided directly with the flood of insects.
But it was far from reckless; it had already developed an ideal method for consuming them.
First, it unleashed a torrent of flames into the swarm, immediately drawing their aggro onto itself.
Then, swiftly coiling its body into a massive, funnel-like shape, Dragreder opened its mouth wide at the funnel's base, rotating its enormous body continuously while gradually retreating backward.
The insects' momentum became disrupted by Dragreder's spinning funnel formation, caught helplessly in swirling winds and funneled straight into its awaiting maw.
Crunch, crunch.
Countless insects flowed into its mouth, chewed up by its powerful jaws with a satisfying crunch.
All Dragreder had to do was maintain a constant speed of rotation and retreat, effortlessly turning the swarm into an endless buffet!
A crimson dragon-shaped vortex rapidly devoured the insects filling the sky above.
Their numbers diminished swiftly. Before long, the black curtain had almost entirely vanished.
After this enormous feast, Dragreder's length expanded by a few more meters.
Though these extra meters were barely noticeable given its already colossal size, Dragreder still felt exhilarated.
"Did this guy actually come up with such an efficient eating method?!" Sora stood below, utterly dumbfounded.
He had recognized Dragreder's intelligence early on, but never imagined it could reach this astonishing level.
To think this dragon could even develop tactics on its own—just to eat faster and more automatically!
"What if Shinji can't feed you properly after you return?" Sora suddenly grew a bit concerned. If Dragreder became spoiled by eating too well here, would it refuse to acknowledge its previous contract-holder?
But thinking carefully, there was probably no need to worry—after all, that hand-shaped reminder (Banno Tenjuro's punishment) was still waiting on the other side. Shinji genuinely had the means to open and close [Mirror Worlds] at will.
Having finished devouring the insects, Dragreder circled lazily in the skies above, swallowing any remaining stragglers.
This dragon wasn't the type to waste even a scrap of food—even if these tiny leftovers barely qualified as snacks, Dragreder dutifully ate every one.
Eating peacefully with nobody around to compete—it's bliss!
After thoroughly cleansing the entire planet of insects, Dragreder coiled in mid-air and drifted back down beside Sora.
"Roar~" (It seems my method was pretty effective.)
"It sure was," Sora admitted with a nod. "Honestly, I didn't think you could come up with such a clever idea."
After briefly chatting with Dragreder, he asked it to quickly release the refugees from the [Mirror World].
After all, if ordinary people spent too long inside the [Mirror World], they'd be slowly disintegrated—just like what happened with Imperer.
Sora had come to rescue them, not to push these survivors into another deadly trap.
"Roar!" (Hey, this means you don't trust me at all! Do you think the Mirror World maintained by me would really hurt these fragile little humans?)
Dragreder's body shuddered slightly, and immediately the crisp sound of shattering mirrors rang clearly beside Sora's ear.
In the next moment, countless bewildered people appeared out of thin air back on their home planet.
They quickly noticed their surroundings were scarred with obvious signs of recent battle—proof that they had returned to their original world.
Almost immediately, waves of crying and heartfelt sobs spread throughout the crowd.
When the swarm had descended, they were certain they'd reached a dead end. Yet miraculously, someone had arrived to save them all.
Many survivors turned their eyes toward the armored figure now leaning against the enormous crimson dragon.
This man was undoubtedly their savior.
"To think we didn't wait long enough for the IPC's rescue team—instead, someone else saved us…"
"Does anyone know his name?" Someone tried to approach and ask, but another quickly pulled him back.
"Let him rest for now. He just fought off the swarm that engulfed our entire planet."
The survivors lowered their voices respectfully, quietly allowing Sora time to rest.
Very soon, a twinkling star appeared in the distant skies, quickly revealing itself as a silver-white battleship approaching the planet's surface.
Dragreder immediately soared up and joyfully wrapped itself around the incoming starship.
"Roar-roar~!" (Haha! My body's finally longer than your ship!)
Dragreder sounded exceptionally pleased. It still vividly remembered the humiliation of being tiny compared to the starship in the beginning—now, at last, its body length rivaled the ship itself.
Resting below, Sora heard its proud boasting and shook his head helplessly.
However, now that Hotaru and the Glamoth Iron Cavalry had arrived, his brief rest was officially over.
As the ship's hatch opened, the Iron Cavalry quickly exited, checking Sora's condition before swiftly guiding the survivors onboard, evacuating them from this perilous planet.
"The supplies supported by the IPC have already arrived. Rear positions are also gradually processing refugees," Hotaru informed Sora, easing his worries.
Sora nodded in relief.
The fact the IPC had managed to deliver supplies here at all showed at least some sincere effort.
"Mind you," Hotaru continued with obvious distaste, "even as I'm speaking, those bureaucrats still haven't settled on a concrete plan."
"If we had to wait for their endless bickering, countless planets would've already been obliterated!"
"Hahahaha!" Sora couldn't help laughing heartily at her blunt honesty.
But at that moment, Hotaru's expression turned serious as she said earnestly, "Sora, I have a theory that might temporarily solve the swarm problem within a few light-years around here."
"Oh? What is it?!"
Without beating around the bush, Hotaru explained directly, "According to Glamoth's historical records dealing with swarms, we've observed something crucial."
"A single insect swarm can't possibly extend across multiple light-years. When swarms reach this scale, it indicates both a Computer Sting and a Swarm Mother must be nearby."
True Swarm insects operated on a rigid hierarchy. Among them, the highest-ranking individuals were known as "Computer," whose position wasn't determined purely by personal strength.
The Swarm Mother produced the swarm's endless numbers, while the Computer coordinated them strategically, representing the intelligence guiding their collective actions.
Only through cooperation between Computer and Swarm Mother could a swarm rampage on a multi-light-year scale.
"Do you know the location of the Computer right now?" Sora urgently asked.
Hotaru nodded, then revealed a specific location.
"On our way here, we passed through a star system heavily infested by insects…"
Normally, True Swarm insects would relentlessly attack any passing spacecraft without hesitation.
Yet, while escorting the relief fleet, the insects guarding that particular region had unexpectedly maintained orderly defensive formations. Instead of attacking, the two sides cautiously passed by each other without conflict.
"That star system must contain both the Computer Sting and Swarm Mother," Hotaru said gravely. Knowing she couldn't dissuade Sora from his mission, she simply urged caution:
"But please be careful—there are rumors of enormous True Swarm insects capable of devouring even the Astral Express."
"Relax, I'm aware of that," Sora reassured her calmly.
But secretly, he was holding onto a special trump card meant solely for traveling faster.
Sliding a blazing card into his [Card Deck], Sora stood up firmly.
"Same as usual—I'll handle things from here. You all continue evacuating the civilians."
After speaking, he gently patted Dragreder's massive body.
"Come on, it's time to taste something new."
"Roar?!" (New food?! Is it tastier than these crunchy little morsels?)
"They're juicy types—and if that's still not enough, I'll treat you to some delicious 'juice of the soul.'"
At those words, Dragreder immediately perked up, all sleepiness gone.
"Roar!!!" (Let's go! Let's go!)
Without hesitation, Sora sat comfortably atop Dragreder's head, soaring back into space atop his crimson dragon companion…