บท 429: C429
Seeing Illya's tears, Gil leaned back, his hands resting casually behind his head, and remarked, "There's no need to care so much about this."
"What are you talking about?" Chloe raised an eyebrow.
Illya's attention shifted to him as well.
Gil glanced at the widespread devastation before him, his expression tinged with a touch of detachment. "This is civilization, It's the product of time's relentless march and the countless lives lost along the way. No need for sentimentality."
"Your perspective is hard to understand."
A chuckle escaped Gil's lips, and he seemed about to say something, but his expression suddenly shifted. His features tensed, and a faint twitch played at the corner of his mouth.
"What's wrong?"
Illya's question hung in the air, her gaze following Gil's line of sight. She mirrored his reaction, her expression freezing as her eyes settled on the same scene. In her eyes, a glimmer of fear flickered.
"What is going on with both of you?"
Chloe's confusion was palpable as she turned her head to take a look and her eyes contracted to the size of needles.
In the sky adorned with a breathtaking display of colorful auroras, an unsettling phenomenon unfolded. From the gaping maw of a colossal dragon, an inky black substance oozed out, dripping down from the sky.
Moreover, the massive arms stretched across the sky began to drip the same black liquid.
The vibrant hues of the planet's auroras seemed to counteract the black liquid's advance, trying to hold it in place. But astonishingly, the substance defied this natural defense and gradually descended from the sky.
Gil's expression morphed into one of disbelief. "This... This thing can actually adapt to the Counter Force?"
An air of uncertainty settled over the group. Illya's voice trembled slightly as she voiced her overwhelming thoughts. "What... What's going to happen now?"
The situation was already horrifying, yet it appeared that another anomaly was about to happen.
The sky underwent a disturbing transformation, and this spectacle wasn't seen only by Illya's group, but by all the people of Fuyuki who were able to witness this unsettling phenomenon.
The sky became cloaked in darkness, and this eerie substance wasn't hindered even by the planet's aurora. A dense, viscous liquid descended relentlessly from above.
Shirou leaned against the window frame in the city hall office, tightly gripping the window railing. He ground out his words, "Zelretch... what is he doing?"
With things having escalated to this point, it was perplexing that Zelretch hadn't transmitted any information to them yet. This was precisely the reason they found themselves blindsided by this anomaly.
Right then, Merlin dipped his head slightly and murmured, "Zelretch... he's been consumed, my king."
"What are you saying?" Shirou turned towards him with a shocked expression on his face.
Merlin shut his eyes, a moment of silence passing before he continued, "Zelretch... he's been consumed by that thing."
Shirou's brow creased. "That's impossible! He can travel through parallel worlds. Even if he couldn't defeat that thing, he should've at least been able to escape!"
"I don't have all the details, but the last message I got from Zelretch was at the Clock Tower, just before he got consumed by this monster lurking within the gaps of the worlds."
A creature that had consumed Zelretch... Shirou's headache deepened.
"Mas... Master was devoured?" Ruby's voice trembled. Despite her usual liveliness, she fell silent at this moment.
Miyu didn't know how to comfort her.
And there was no time for shock...
Clasping his hand tightly, he looked at Merlin and asked in a solemn tone. "Did Zelretch leave behind any message?"
"He did," Merlin nodded.
"Tell me."
"He said, 'When the darkness in one's heart is revealed, use Ruby and Sapphire wisely...'."
"Is that all he said?"
Merlin nodded.
"What does he mean by 'darkness in one's heart'?" He pondered aloud.
Merlin shrugged, "I'm not sure."
Shirou's brows knitted together in thought.
In that moment, Miyu pointed towards the sky and said, "Fujimaru-niisan, look up—!"
He shifted his gaze upwards, his eyes squinting.
The mysterious liquid that pierced through the planet's aurora transformed into eerie humanoid shapes as it descended from the sky. Falling like raindrops, these forms made an impactful splash upon landing on the ground.
"This is bad..." He murmured under his breath.
Just as he was preparing to do something, yet another anomaly happened in the sky.
"This is...!"
His eyes grew wide. From the colossal dragon's head, multiple black arms were starting to sprout from its gaping maw, similar to those of his evil black hands. These limbs stretched out into the distance, almost as though they were reaching out, searching for something!
...
Rin and Luvia, who had chosen not to join forces with Shirou's group, found themselves observing the unusual event in the sky from a distance.
"What in the world... is going on?" Rin's voice was tinged with a hint of panic.
She had returned to Fuyuki City to claim her family's legacy. Why was she suddenly involved in something so outlandish? Could her luck truly be this bad?
Nearly a decade ago, she was involved in the invasion of the Dead Apostle Ancestor within the city. And now, after all these years, she was once again involved with the invasion of this dread-inducing creature.
Was it possible that her hometown was fated to be her nemesis?
Luvia ignored Rin's distress, instead focusing her attention on Astraea.
Since the anomaly occurred in the sky, with the black liquid penetrating the planet's aurora and taking on those eerie humanoid shapes, she noticed that Astraea had been staring at the massive dragon's head, lost in thought.
"Lady Astraea, is something on your mind?" Luvia couldn't help asking.
Astraea turned her head towards Luvia, her smile warm, and responded, "Luvia, it has truly been a pleasure to spend my time with you."
"Why? Why are you suddenly saying this?"
With a gentle smile, she explained, "I can no longer stay by your side to protect you,"
A wave of apprehension washed over Luvia. "What's making you to say this, Lady Astraea?"
"Luvia, look over there—!" Rin interjected urgently, pointing to the distance.
Luvia's gaze followed her direction, her eyes widening in response.
A black hand sprouted out from the colossal dragon's head, hurtling down from the sky straight towards them.
"Rin, Lady Astraea, run!" Luvia's cry carried a sense of urgency.
Astraea, however, shook her head and calmly said, "There's no point in running; that thing is after me."
Pausing briefly, she continued, "I've pieced together the truth about that thing. Listen closely, Luvia, Rin. That thing is a...!"
Like a swarm of unruly demons, the black hands weaved through the sky in a chaotic dance.
"Stay back! Stay away!!"
Ishtar's class card fluttered amid the chaotic sky as countless black hands reached out towards her.
"I don't want this, I refuse... Keep your distance, stay away! You're all tainted, I won't become a part of your...!"
Her voice quivering with panic, Ishtar desperately projected an image of Venus in a desperate attempt to protect herself.
Yet, the black hands effortlessly tore through the Venus projection, seizing a firm grip on her card.
From within the palm of the darkness-laden hand, a shadow began to encroach upon her class card.
"Let me go, let me go...!" she cried out frantically.
But the erosion's pace quickened, and those ominous black hands slowly pulled her closer to the dragon's head.
"Damn it...! I refuse to be tainted by this disgusting thing! Fine, you can have a piece of me for yourselves!"
With clenched teeth, she defiantly shattered her own Divine Core.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
The class card splintered, and with a decisive "snap," it split right down the middle.
One part was seized by the black hand, while the other quickly slipped away.
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