Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: To Protect Everyone (1)
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An airship that could easily be mistaken for a luxury hotel soaring leisurely through the sky.
The Leviathan, its past glory nearly forgotten, was revealing its true form for the first time in a long while.
The colossal military tactical airship, Leviathan.
Perhaps their efforts to keep it dust-free for a day like this had paid off.
In the operations command center, the operator room, activated for the first time in years, buzzed with urgent voices.
“We’ve confirmed the neutralization of the magical barrier deployed around the Sky Garden! It will take… approximately twelve hours for the barrier to naturally recover!”
“Damn it, the magical barrier can only be deactivated from the inside! Who the hell did this…!”
“When the barrier was deactivated, seventy percent of our emergency power was drained! At this rate, the entire Sky Garden might fall!”
However, the situation in the command center, lively for the first time in ages, was far from easy.
The Sky Garden had been plunged into a Class-1 crisis, a situation akin to war.
The magical barrier, once believed to be an absolute defense against external attacks, had been breached with astonishing ease.
Under assault by an unidentified force, maintaining composure was proving to be a challenge.
However, most of those present were active Fixers who had overcome all manner of trials and tribulations.
Kyle, acting as the temporary commander, spoke with a grave tone.
“Stay calm. We can still handle this. The greatest danger is missing an opportunity. Focus on the present. …Albi, give me a status report.”
He was a man with a center-parted hairstyle and glasses, possessing a rather charismatic appearance.
His Fixer rank was an impressive 64th. As someone close to the head of this Fixer exam, he was a formidable force.
Perhaps thanks to Kyle’s steadying presence, the chaos quickly subsided.
The woman called Albi answered, her face stiff with the gravity of the situation.
“A specific magical pattern has been detected across the entire Sky Garden. It seems to be a spell with the Sky Garden as its area of effect… The endlessly spawning skeletons are likely a result of this magic. Also, we’ve detected unusual levels of magical energy from the north, south, east, and west, and have dispatched Fixers to each direction.”
“I see. The safety of the examinees and fairies is our top priority. Instruct the Fixers handling the situation to bring anyone in need of protection directly to the Leviathan.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
Kyle gave the order to Albi, the operator, and looked straight ahead.
His eyes fell upon the chaotic scene unfolding in the Sky Garden.
It was a feed from the surveillance cameras installed to manage the garden.
They had been brought to the command center for the Fixer exam, but who would have thought they’d be so crucial.
Of course, more than half the cameras had already been destroyed and were no longer functional.
But just being able to monitor the situation in distant areas was incredibly useful.
As Kyle carefully assessed the battlefield, he sought to clarify his thoughts.
He turned to Brennue, the operator on the other side of Albi.
“Brennue. Brief me on the key points you’ve gathered.”
“Okay~ So, low-level undead like skeletons and high-level undead like giant zombies are indiscriminately attacking the scattered examinees and fairies. Also, individuals claiming to be the honor guard of the Seven Extremes are appearing in various locations.”
“The honor guard of the Seven Extremes… The Metahuman Liberation Army again. What’s the extent of the damage?”
“Hmm, well, the good news is that the scattered examinees are quite skilled, so there are few casualties or serious injuries. Out of 121, only about ten are incapacitated. It seems a major factor in this outcome is an examinee named Alice, who has been quickly gathering the others.”
“Alice… You mean the pink-haired girl?”
Kyle’s eyes widened in genuine surprise.
For the initial casualties to be so low, with the undead and the honor guard causing this much trouble…
He mentally engraved the name Alice deep in his mind and continued his train of thought.
‘I still don’t know how they managed to disable the magical barrier… but the only one capable of such a wide-range necromantic spell is that monster, Morte. If that’s the case, what is their objective?’
Is this revenge for the Association’s recent efforts to thwart the Metahuman Liberation Army’s movements?
Or is it a ploy to attack the examinees during the Fixer exam and damage our credibility?
But that raised too many questions.
First, the Sky Garden wasn’t a target of significant strategic value.
It would make more sense if they indiscriminately attacked a major city and caused civilian casualties.
Expending this much magical energy on an isolated island with nothing to gain was a loss far greater than any potential benefit.
‘No, perhaps their goal isn’t the Sky Garden itself. Perhaps their target is…’
Thus, he tried to rationally calculate the Liberation Army’s incomprehensible actions.
But a lack of information inevitably leads to misjudgment.
Kyle, completely unaware of the existence of the World Tree Seed,
made an unavoidable and clear miscalculation.
“Perhaps their target is Lord Tempest.”
“L-Lord Tempest?!”
“Think about it. What do they gain by attacking this place? Nothing. Frankly, any harm to the examinees or fairies is trivial compared to the resources they’ve committed.”
“That… is true.”
The Sky Garden was an isolated location, and it would take time for external support to arrive.
Therefore, Kyle concluded that the enemy’s true objective wasn’t this place, but a specific target.
And that target was none other than Tempest.
The basis for this conclusion was the massive necromantic spell covering the Sky Garden.
‘On Earth, where mana is scarce, casting magic—with rare exceptions like Lord Tempest—is essentially a permanent expenditure of magical energy. But to use such a large-scale spell in a place with no apparent gain? Impossible. There must be something else at play.’
Therefore, after considering all angles, there was only one plausible target.
Tempest, the guardian who protects humanity and most metahumans from the deranged Liberation Army.
Kyle could only conclude that they planned to take him down on this occasion.
Now that he understood the enemy’s aim, it would be foolish to play into their hands.
As the commander, Kyle bit his lip as if he had no choice and said,
“In that case, if Lord Tempest acts without any information, it’s highly likely he’ll be walking into their trap. We should be prepared to sacrifice some Fixers to preserve Lord Tempest’s…”
“You think it’s better to conserve my strength and gather information?”
“…Ugh! L-Lord Tempest!”
Deep in thought, Kyle jumped, startled by the sudden voice.
It was a stark contrast to the charismatic figure he had been just seconds before.
The reason was simple.
The voice belonged to none other than Tempest himself.
He had said he was going to a higher point on the airship to observe the situation.
When had he entered the command center without a sound? It was enough to make one’s heart leap out of their chest.
“Hmm, I see. Kyle, you suspect they’ve brought all sorts of traps and artifacts to use against me, don't you? Something like the infamous magic sword, Dragonslayer, for example.”
“Well… that’s not exactly what I meant, but…”
“No, you are right. As long as we don’t know their exact scheme, we must always consider the possibilities.”
Tempest crossed his arms lightly and nodded.
He fully understood what Kyle, the commander, was worried about.
Tempest was generally considered the strongest because he had no clear weaknesses.
His body was tougher than any other creature, and his mastery of magic had reached the supreme level.
Furthermore, his magical energy was virtually infinite, as long as his overflowing life force endured.
Thus, in theory, there was no way to defeat him through conventional means.
The only possibility might be a war of attrition, overwhelming him without giving him a chance to recover his stamina.
But that would require hundreds of mages, making it an unprofitable venture.
“And if they’ve brought something designed to kill me, my life could certainly be in danger.”
However, even he, who seemed nearly invincible, had unavoidable weaknesses.
A hidden reverse scale, or artifacts that became dozens of times stronger against dragons.
Unique magic that disrupts the flow of mana, mud that corrupts the heart, and so on.
Perhaps because dragons were so infamous,
magic and artifacts specialized against them were sufficient to suppress some of their power.
This was precisely what worried Kyle.
In a situation where he couldn’t use his full power due to the Fixer exam, if this weakness were exploited, even Tempest would be forced into a difficult fight.
“But none of that matters. Whatever they have prepared, I will simply crush it head-on.”
“L-Lord Tempest…!”
Of course, such tools and magic could only suppress a fraction of his power.
They couldn’t touch his infinite source, and in the end, time was on Tempest’s side.
A dam that blocks a river cannot hold back the vast ocean!
Tempest grinned, revealing his teeth, and spun around.
Without a backward glance at the dumbfounded Kyle, he strode out of the command center and declared,
“Tell the Fixers. This Tempest is heading out now.”
Rumble…!
An oppressively dense magical energy flowed outward, pressing down on the space.
It was the full power he had been suppressing for the sake of the aspiring Fixers.
The displeased dragon, Tempest, finally moved to erase the intruders without a trace.
It was as if the final boss had appeared at the very start of the war.