OWARI NO CHRONICLE - Volume 14, 14: Gulp into the Past

Volume 14, Chapter 14: Gulp into the Past

 

The reverberating past is not a regret

It is specifically because it is so important

That you feel unworthy of it

A giant dragon flew through the sky.

It was a long white dragon.

It was as long as a city, but its body continued to transform and expand.

It had had two wings when taking flight, but a third and fourth had appeared on the bottom near the back end while the base of a fifth and sixth were forming on its back near the center.

Its armor was thick and its accelerators were enormous.

The rumbling transformations of evolution occurred every few hundred meters.

Sturdiness and speed coexisted inside its giant form, so the pursuing mechanical dragons from American UCAT could not keep up. And…

“————”

The great mechanical dragon’s body produced a massive curtain of pressure much like a meteorological phenomenon and it blew away all of those pursuers.

The air several kilometers in front of the great mechanical dragon was shaking as it was pushed forward.

Dark clouds appeared and hid the night sky, they became thunder clouds, and a thick valley of clouds formed on either side of the great white dragon.

The valley of clouds was thick enough to hide the great mechanical dragon and lightning lit up the inside of the valley.

The surging bolts of lightning resembled dragons, they raced out as if to meet the great mechanical dragon, and they swept across its body.

Behind the great dragon, the clouds were whipped about by the area of vacuum created by its size and speed and they produced a true lightning storm.

The great dragon left behind a fan-shaped trail of thunder clouds.

To pursue it, one needed the speed to keep up and the power to overcome the wind pressure and to ignore the thunder clouds.

There were some who could do just that.

In the western sky, two forms cut through the thunder clouds.

They poured on acceleration and tore through the air while being tossed about by the wind.

One was a blue and white mechanical dragon and the other was a four-winged black god of war.

A few people could be seen on the mechanical dragon’s back.

They all wore white armored uniforms.

Once the mechanical dragon broke through the clouds, Harakawa spoke up from the pilot’s seat.

“Make sure to thank us! We got you here!”

On top of Thunder Fellow, Kazami pushed through the misty clouds like a wave and saw something in the air below.

Straight ahead and below was a white expanse of earth bravely soaring through the sky with massive roaring waterfalls of dark clouds on either side.

…What…?

“What is this?”

She saw what looked like an enormous floating island.

It was fifteen kilometers long and facing east. A valley of thunder clouds had formed around it white wings measuring several kilometers long grew from its back.

It was too hazy to see the front end of the dragon fifteen kilometers away.

Even when looking down on it from directly above, it was too large to grasp in its entirety.

They could always move higher, but then they could not attack.

And they could not tell anyone outside the concept space that the great dragon was in flight.

An information concealing concept had been applied to the concept space, so even if Kazami and the others left to tell those on the outside about the Leviathan, they would no longer be able to understand that very information.

This was dangerous because they had no way of informing those at its destination that it was coming.

Its target was Japanese UCAT and Shinjou, Diana, and all of the others were there.

That was why they would have Thunder Fellow fly Sayama to Japanese UCAT. They would be unable to understand any information about the Leviathan due to the information concealing concept, so their last resort was to have Sayama carry out a memo saying “evacuate”.

Kazami did not know if that would work out, but she did have a thought.

…At the very least, we have to get Sayama to Shinjou.

However, the Leviathan was before their eyes now.

“What is this gigantic thing?”

Seeing what looked like a flying island gave her a sudden chill.

She thought it was just the cold air, but her breath caught in her throat.

She just about took a step back, but something supported her from behind.

It was Izumo’s hand.

“Wow, Ch-Chisato, you’re actually pressing my hand against your butt? Is this what you call passive groping!?”

“That’s because you held your hand right there!!”

She hit the bottom of his jaw with the tip of G-Sp2 and the wind carried him away.

“Nwah! W-wait! We’re doing this again!?”

Fine then, Kazami expanded her wings and instantly circled behind him.

He looked surprised as he floated up into the air.

“Oh! You sure are fast!”

“This is normal. You’re just slow.”

She wondered what the best thing to say while saving him was and she swung G-Sp2 to slam him down onto Thunder Fellow’s back.

And then…

“Are you okay, Kaku?”

“The fact that I am after that is making me a little fed up with my life.”

“You two are probably setting a record for high-altitude flirting. Where next, outer space?”

They looked back and saw Sayama looking down from Thunder Fellow’s shoulder.

The bottom of his armored uniform fluttered in the wind as he kneeled down.

“So the Leviathan is not fighting back. Harakawa, is there any sign of an attack?”

“Thunder Fellow’s scans don’t show the cannons moving at all outside from the evolutionary transformations.”

“What does that mean?” asked Kazami.

Hiba answered from Susamikado behind them.

“Probably that it doesn’t see us as a threat.”

They all nodded in understanding as the wind blew.

“Leave it to the loser to get it. He saw right through to the truth.”

“Yeah, that really was the advice of a small fry.”

“I see. So experiencing defeat can enrich a person… Not that it matters to me.”

“Wh-why do you always start critiquing me as a person!?”

Then Mikage asked a question.

“Ryuuji-kun, what is a ‘small fry’?”

“Well, um…”

After a while, Susamikado hung its head and produced Hiba’s emotionless voice.

“Do I really have to answer that myself?”

They all felt some sympathy, but that was when the wind began to tremble.

They heard something like an earthquake from directly ahead.

“The Leviathan is accelerating!”

The massive accelerators on the back end of the Leviathan were producing blue light.

It was picking up speed in search of the enemy it was meant to crush.

Kazami realized anew that the Leviathan did not even see them as an enemy.

…In that case, this acceleration isn’t meant to lose us.

“It’s accelerating because it wants to crush Japanese UCAT, the enemy that destroyed Top-Gear.”

She clicked her tongue into the sky.

She raised her wings in preparation to stop it.

“We can’t let it get there.”

“Then let us do this,” replied Sayama. “I just saw Suruga Bay to the south. We have already passed Shizuoka. At this rate, we will reach Japanese UCAT in less than five minutes.”

Kazami had a thought as she listened to his calm voice.

…That idiot really is holding back.

They had five more minutes.

With that in mind, she rested G-Sp2 on her shoulder.

“Then what we have to do is simple. We’ll separate and attack the Leviathan to hold it here. In the meantime, Thunder Fellow will continue on ahead to Japanese UCAT.”

“But…!”

“You’re the fastest one here, Heo.”

“—————”

Heo was briefly at a loss for words, but…

“Testament.”

As soon as she said that, Thunder Fellow tilted forward.

It was preparing for a race and that signaled Heo had made up her mind.

Ahead, the giant white mechanical dragon was picking up speed and crossing the sky.

Meanwhile, their power was one-tenth of its.

However…

“It may be big, but it isn’t as big as a world. If it’s made of armor and frames, we should be able to break it!”

She held G-Sp2 at the ready.

“This is probably our only chance to attack. If we fail, we’ll lose Japanese UCAT.”

A moment later, Thunder Fellow accelerated toward the giant mechanical dragon’s back.

Mikoku awoke within Noah.

Noah noticed and lowered her to the ground.

“Sayama-sama’s group is pursuing us. Over.”

The large corridor’s ceiling displayed the scenery of the sky overhead.

A blue and white mechanical dragon flew through the black sky with a contrail behind it.

“Is that…?”

“Testament. I am currently on course to assault Japanese UCAT. I have determined the mechanical dragon is attempting to arrive ahead of me and to stop me here. Over.”

Mikoku knew their enemy would be using Concept Core weapons and Noah would know that as well.

However, there was no sign of Noah taking any kind of defensive actions.

“Are you sure you do not need to do something? We look completely defenseless and they are not powerless.”

“Not to worry.” Noah passed Shino’s floating form and her blanket to Mikoku. “Let us continue to the bow, Mikoku-sama. There, you can see just how I differ from normal Concept Core weapons. In other words…”

She took a step forward and led the way.

“Please watch and see what result their attacks have against the Leviathan. Over.”

At that very moment, Mikoku sensed brightness in the sky.

It came from the ceiling. The scenery displayed there was filled with light.

“The enemy mechanical dragon has attacked with 5th-Gear’s Concept Core weapon.”

A beam of light struck the Leviathan.

A blue and white mechanical dragon raced through the night sky.

It seemed to stretch forward with its great speed as the blue and white line made a power dive skimming just off of the great mechanical dragon’s back.

The blue and white dragon saw the armor, cannons turrets, and shadows of residential areas on the great dragon’s back.

“————!!”

The long cannon mounted on its bottom side suddenly fired and swept across the great white dragon’s back.

It targeted the gap between the armor panels that resembled the trapezius muscles and the muscles along the side of the back.

It fired at a range of about seven kilometers.

The attack swept along like a white sword and reflected light up toward heaven.

The explosion arrived after a short delay.

The cannon with the power to tear into the heavens created a pillar of exploding light seven kilometers long.

The series of geyser-like lights created a wall of explosive light along the great dragon’s back.

There was also noise. Metal parts were smashed and armor panels a dozen meters thick bent.

The great mechanical dragon writhed a bit as if it disliked the noise.

A moment later, a black form flew from the ascending blue and white dragon.

It was a black god of war that had hid in the dragon’s contrail.

The god of war seemed to kick off the air and flipped backwards to turn upside down.

Below it, the great white dragon’s armor passed by.

The black god of war raised both arms down toward that armor.

A giant pile bunker was attached to the right arm and gravitational control held something in the left hand.

“Guess I’ll give it a shot!!”

A well-built boy raised a large white sword in both arms.

“Let’s show them what we can do.”

That message appeared on the console as the sword produced great light.

The black god of war responded by firing the power gathered inside its pile bunker.

They were both pulverizing blows.

They targeted the groove created by the mechanical dragon’s cannon blast.

First, a two hundred meter sword of light was launched.

“!”

It completed a full swing.

The scraping slash of the light launched massive fragments of metal into the sky.

A moment later, the pile driver fired while making use of their relative speeds.

Its goal was to widen the groove.

The blast of lightning had a diameter of two hundred meters as it slammed into the front of the groove.

“Solidify it!!”

The god of war shouted with a girl’s voice and the lightning blast became a solid object.

Thanks to their relative speed, the god of war’s lightning rapidly tore through the great dragon’s back.

The boy with the sword of light gave a cry when he saw it.

“How do you like our three-blade strategy!? Guaranteed to be the cleanest shave around!!”

At the same time, the black god of war finished tearing through the seven kilometer groove.

The armor on the right of the great dragon’s back was badly bent and shimmering heat rose from it.

However, it was not over yet.

Before the black god of war could fly back up as if making a great leap, something else descended from the heavens.

It only took an instant.

It was a winged girl wearing goggles.

Her and her accelerating spear left the blue and white mechanical dragon’s back and descended through the sky.

With her back to the crescent of the moon, her spear raced down as if to connect one point to the other.

Its target was the torn-open portion of the great mechanical dragon’s right back.

The moonlight revealed the great dragon’s inner structure.

A residential area was exposed and the earth far below was visible through the gaps torn into the frame, but she did not care.

“Output: 62%! Ragnarok open. …Attacking now.”

A dragon made of light was born in the heavens. It was only a neck and head and a power measuring several kilometers in diameter burst from its gaping maw.

“…!!”

It pierced into the great white mechanical dragon.

It broke through.

The sound of a great impact shook the air.

Light scattered and the strength of the impact created a massive luminescence.

The great white dragon shined in the light and revealed its form to the night sky.

At the same time, a great pressure struck it.

A shockwave assaulted it from the center of a blow.

This was a physical blow.

The white armor panels bent from that blow on the inside and the largest piece of composite armor on the right of its belly – measuring several hundred meters across – was removed as if floating away. The release of the attachments created a deep metallic sound. After one such sound, the giant armor panel slowly fell toward the earth.

The right belly was exposed.

This revealed both a skeletal metal framework measuring in the hundreds of meters and other pieces of its structure.

A great hole had been torn open from the right side of the back to the chest and several pillars of electrical discharge appeared within it.

However, most of the shockwave was only reflected along the inner surface of the armor panels.

The pressurized air created an explosion which struck it on the inside.

This produced a bursting of power inside the great mechanical dragon.

The top right half of its body bent and it hopped up from just below the chest.

The sound was not a powerful roar.

Countless intense noises and sounds of collision joined to create what could only be described as a bizarre noise.

“…!!”

The great mechanical dragon tilted forward.

The wings on its back stood tall as if bearing with something.

Also, its speed dropped.

The wind shook and large-scale explosions of water vapor occurred in front of and behind the great dragon as it seemed to curl up.

The air could be heard splitting apart as the great dragon’s deceleration caused it to collide with a wall of air.

The large components inside the great dragon could be heard breaking.

Overpowered electrical discharges raced along the great dragon’s entire body.

Several sets of eyes watched it all happen.

They belonged to the winged girl descending to the ground below, the black god of war left behind by the great mechanical dragon, and the boy standing in its hand.

They all clenched their teeth.

“That wasn’t enough to finish it off!?”

After that comment, they looked to the eastern sky.

A blue and white mechanical dragon flew out ahead of the larger balled-up dragon.

“They can make it,” someone muttered. “That didn’t finish off the Leviathan, but it still stopped it.”

So…

“Hurry!”

They begged it to hurry and tell those below the eastern sky that the Leviathan was coming.

But…

“No!” shouted the girl combined with the black god of war.

Everyone looked back in surprise and saw the black machine spreading its wings.

“M-Mikage-san!? Keravnos isn’t ready to fire again yet!”

“That wasn’t enough! We didn’t hurt the Leviathan!” shouted Mikage inside the god of war. “It only prioritized the remaking of its evolution and stripped itself of its old pieces!! So it isn’t curling up because we hurt it!”

Everyone watched as something fell from the white Leviathan’s body.

Those components were far too large to call components.

The armor panels were at least ten meters long and the actuators were easily thirty meters in length.

Something jutted out from below as if to safely envelop the residential area within.

“New armor…”

This armor was meant to fight, not to protect.

Normally, it would take a major overhaul to replace them all, but the Leviathan could hasten replacements when it took damage and it could fit them into place on its own.

Everything that fell from the Leviathan was slammed backwards when it took flight again.

The Leviathan evolved while seeming to come apart and break apart in midair.

Six newly completed wings swung up on its back.

Massive accelerators were visible at the base of the wings.

“————”

It only took an instant. n//O𝑣𝖊𝐋𝒃1n

In that instant, the Leviathan launched itself forward.

Its bent body flew forward like an arrow from a bow and the wings lifted as if enduring pain seemed to shatter the sky.

Everything seemed to burst.

The explosion in the sky made a blast of wind look calm and it was enough to knock the black god of war and the winged girl away.

The great white mechanical dragon scattered its components as it traveled east.

Its evolution had increased its speed several times over, so it pursued the blue and white mechanical dragon out ahead.

“…!”

And it easily passed it.

Sayama saw the head of the great white dragon forcibly pass by below.

He saw three figures on top of it.

Mikoku held Shino and Noah stood by her side.

Noah spoke.

“We are not your comrades, Mikoku-sama.”

She continued.

“We would be delighted to be used up as your power, your weapons, and your armor. Over.”

She was speaking to Mikoku.

The girl in a black armored uniform had a look of exhaustion on her face as she held Shino in a blanket.

“————”

She distinctly looked up at Sayama and gave a weak smile with the ends of her eyebrows lowered.

Her eyes and his definitely met.

“Wait!”

He shouted down at her while realizing he had shouted this at her before.

And what had happened then?

“Wait, Toda Mikoku!!”

But just as before, she did not wait.

As if to demonstrate that she was the opposite of his desire for her to wait, she shook her head.

“Sorry.”

He could read the movements of the lips on her lowered head.

A moment later, her lips said more.

“Who is willing to be broken as my sword?”

Noah spoke behind her.

“Each of us is your speaking sword. Over.”

“Then,” said Mikoku’s lips. “Who is willing to be broken as my shield?”

“Each of us is your speaking shield. Over.”

“Do you feel no hesitation?”

“Each of us is your speaking doll. Over.”

“Then.” Mikoku opened her mouth. “I will become the emotion needed to swing that sword and shield.”

As soon as she raised her voice, Sayama saw something.

A large, pure white form appeared in the space between him and Noah.

It was a mechanical dragon.

Harakawa was the first to react.

“Is that Alex!?”

It looked like him, but it was not. It was white to the point of being colorless and it had six wings.

“That is my personal craft of the Seraph-class mechanical dragons. Please call it Seraph No. 0. Over.”

The mechanical dragon spoke with the same voice as Noah.

“Alex-sama’s dragon was brought to Low-Gear in the prototype phase and completed there. Seraph No. 0 was also in the prototype phase and completed inside of me. Over.”

With those words, Seraph No. 0 raised its wings.

They contained six large accelerators.

Its acceleration was best described as violent.

It shot forward as if to circle in front of the advancing Leviathan and its shockwave knocked Thunder Fellow out of the way.

The blue mechanical dragon was sent hurtling through the mountainous region’s sky.

Kazami saw the pure white mechanical dragon knock Thunder Fellow out of the way and pursue the Leviathan.

“That’s ridiculous!!”

Kazami brought G-Sp2 to its third form.

The divine lance was a collection of powerful acceleration.

At its max speed, she thought she might just outdo Thunder Fellow and catch up, so she pulled her goggles back down.

However…

“————!?”

A pure white god of war suddenly appeared in front of her.

…Typhon!?”

No, it only had two wings.

However, its sudden appearance had been accomplished the great acceleration provided by just those two wings.

“…!”

All Kazami was able to see were the words “Lords No. 0” written on its shoulder as the only patch of non-white, a knife-like blade raised high, and flames spewing out.

…Oh, no!

She had been caught off guard and G-Sp2 was still in the process of transforming to its third form.

She could not attack.

However, someone cut in.

It was a black god of war.

Susamikado charged in like the blowing wind and threw a counter with its right fist.

It was willing to destroy its own fist in the attack.

The blow should have landed in an instant, but Kazami saw something else.

The pure white god of war raised its left hand and easily caught Susamikado’s right fist.

The pure white god of war dropped the other god of war’s speed to zero.

“Wha-…?”

The surprised voice was Mikage’s.

However, the enemy continued to move. It raised its two wings and looked into the sky.

“This is as far as you will go. Over.”

It spoke with a female voice and it vanished.

It simply seemed to disappear all of a sudden, but Kazami realized what had happened about three seconds afterwards.

High in the sky, a white contrail flew to the east.

The enemy had no intention of fighting. It had stopped them from pursuing the Leviathan, but it had enough speed to catch up. It had to be calmly flying through the sky at the moment.

…That thing’s mocking us…

Kazami clenched her teeth.

Susamikado sat there in a daze and Izumo scratched his head from its left hand.

“Was that Noah’s defender?”

“Yes.” Kazami ground her teeth and forced her mouth open. “That’s the last power left to Top-Gear! It’s a weapon meant to control and wield the concepts of all ten Gears. Gods of war, mechanical dragons, automatons, and even the Leviathan are now no different from any old knife!”

Kazami shouted out while spreading her wings and looked to the eastern sky.

“We have to continue pursuit! Japanese UCAT is in trouble!!”

The Leviathan moved swiftly.

After flying over the mountains of Yamanashi and reaching Okutama, the great dragon bent its body to slow down.

It bent over and seemed to be peering down at the earth.

It turned.

Noah’s calculations said it would take thirty-two seconds. The actuators and blocks dividing up its body kept the momentum of its turn to a minimum.

Its right half was still not working perfectly, but the evolution and repair abilities given to it were beginning to provide it with even better components. It had a plentiful supply of materials for creating the armor panels, so it could always maintain its optimal form.

Also, Noah had been given something wonderful by Mikoku, who could be seen as her captain.

She had the foundational data for a high-speed regeneration concept.

This was the closest thing to an immortality concept that Top-Gear had created.

Combining it with the evolution filled Noah with joy.

She could be reunited and joined with something inherited from Top-Gear.

So she spoke while turning the Leviathan to point downwards.

“Mikoku-sama.”

She felt this was only natural.

“I will become your weapon.”

Mikoku had given her power and a mission.

This mission was much like her own desire, so she did not hesitate.

“Please use us as the weapon meant to bring happiness to the world. Make full use of us like a disposable paper cup with no will of its own. Over.”

As the first step, she would temporarily eliminate what stood in their way without understanding the meaning of the happiness she would bring.

Do not worry.

We will meet again, she thought as the Leviathan finished turning.

It now stood vertically.

This position prioritized the power pathways from the reactor in its belly to the main cannon in its mouth.

It was at a certain point in the mountains of Okutama west of Tokyo.

The runway of Japanese UCAT was located below.

A concept space root stretched underground through the Japanese UCAT facility, so only a blast from above could destroy it.

The power of the main cannon would be sufficient.

Seraph No. 0 and Lords No. 0 returned to the hangar on the top of the Leviathan, so Noah prepared to fire.

But then she noticed two things.

First, some pursuers were quickly arriving from the western sky.

The second concerned the runway directly below.

…It’s splitting apart?

The asphalt split in two and revealed what lay below: darkness.

The abyss there was very different from the sky above.

It contained a darkness different from the bluish one of the night.

Standing on the Leviathan’s forehead, Mikoku yelled just what appeared in the darkness below the three thousand meter runway.

“A cannon!!”

Noah listened to her.

“Did Japanese UCAT prepare this anti-Noah weapon ten years ago!?”

In the depths of the darkness, a room was embedded in the wall.

The room was located next to a staircase continuing up into the dark sky, the placard next to it said “Control Room”, and its lights were on.

The white room contained a console as well as…

“A coffeemaker and an ashtray? Who decorated this place?”

That comment came from the gray-haired man sitting at the console.

Itaru crossed his legs and looked to the coffee cup placed in front of him.

Steam rose from the black liquid in the cup, but he did not touch it.

“What a pain,” he vaguely muttered while looking through the control room’s window.

There was a metal wall there.

“Good thing I got it up in time. This anti-Noah super cannon is three kilometers long and it was hidden below the runway, taking up the entirety of Japanese UCAT’s seventh basement. It’s called the Babel Hammer.”

He glanced over at the wire frame representation of the Babel Hammer on the console.

The green lines in the black space formed a cannon that resembled an extremely tall tower.

“After reverse-sealing Noah ten years ago and realizing Top-Gear never had any intention of invading, we sealed it away as if hiding our sins.”

The coiling in each section of the Babel Hammer was confirmed on the console and the console gave the signal indicating the cannon was in position.

Multiple displays appeared to explain the Babel Hammer’s abilities.

It contained only a single bullet given piercing and impact concepts.

Only an attack from directly overhead could destroy Japanese UCAT, but that meant this weapon only had to fire straight up.

“Compared to Noah, it’s a much simpler and more barbaric weapon. …We can’t exactly complain if Top-Gear says we aren’t on their level, can we?”

Itaru placed his right hand on the console’s gear.

He used his left hand to turn the firing lock key and to press the release button.

A targeting image appeared on one of the console’s monitors.

A great dragon could be seen with the moon in the background.

“Long time no see.”

With those words, he prepared to pull back on the gear.

But in that moment, his body began to tremble and he doubled over.

“Kah!”

What was contained inside him spewed from his mouth.

“…!?”

He saw the color red before his eyes.

He saw something like a broken mass inside it.

“All of a sudden…hm?”

The recoil slammed him into the chair back and he collapsed limply toward the console.

With nothing to support him, he fell flat onto the console.

A liquid poured from his entire body, but it was not sweat.

As the flowing blood covered the console and dripped down to the ground, it dyed even his gray hair a dark red.

Blood spilled from his mouth instead of air.

At the same time, a warning appeared on the console.

In the sky above, the target was preparing to attack.

White light gathered in the main cannon located in the great white dragon’s mouth.

Itaru, bearer of the cannon, remained silent.

“…”

He had no strength.

His thoughts had almost entirely cut out.

Almost all flesh and blood had been worn away from his body, but…

“—————”

He unsteadily stood up.

His eyes were unfocused, but he spoke someone’s name under his breath.

It was a woman’s name.

His lips continued to move as his eyes stared off into the distance.

“My name…is Ooshiro…Itaru…”

Blood filled his voice.

“I was glad to be…on the same team as you upperclassmen…”

He weakly placed a hand on the console’s gear and reached his other hand to the coffee cup on the console.

He raised the cup.

“Thank you very much.”

He brought it to his mouth and took a gulp.

It had both color and flavor. He swallowed the hot, black liquid.

In that instant, strength returned to his gaze and he looked to the cup in surprise.

“——————”

He closed his eyes.

“Grind the beans better, Sf. Aren’t you supposed to be German?”

With those words, his expression changed.

It was not a look of anger or tears.

He then collapsed onto the console.

The forward motion of his collapse pushed the gear backwards.

Itaru fell forward as if diving into his own color.

As Thunder Fellow flew in quick pursuit through the western sky, they spotted the enemy.

It stood up from the world like a spear or sword connecting the heavens and the earth.

“The Leviathan!”

They were thirteen kilometers away.

Thunder Fellow knew it was too soon to fire, but Heo noticed that the Leviathan’s main cannon was glowing in preparation and Sayama spoke from the top of the mechanical dragon.

He shouted a single name.

“Shinjou-kun!!”

This was their limit, so Heo fired.

The Vesper Cannon was set to primarily provide an impact.

It would spread out quite a bit over the thirteen kilometers, but a piercing attack would not alter the Leviathan’s trajectory.

However, it was too late.

The Leviathan fired sooner than anticipated.

It did so while twisting toward the eastern sky as if avoiding something.

A moment later, two lights connected the heavens and the earth.

The beam of light fired from the earth entered the Leviathan’s right side and left its waist.

At the same time, the beam of light fired from the heavens blasted a large hole in the earth.

Then the Vesper Cannon’s blast struck the Leviathan on the side.

The Leviathan’s right half was blown away, but another major explosion occurred.

Within a ten kilometer radius, the mountains of Okutama exploded down to a maximum depth of four kilometers.

The ground was destroyed from below and struck the entire surface of the sky.

“Shinjou-kun!!”

Sayama’s yell was drowned out by everything accompanying the destruction.

The remote earthquake in western Kantou had a hypocenter only four kilometers deep and the surface received damage as high as 6-Lower on the Shindo scale.

However, the earthquake did not spread beyond a radius of about a dozen kilometers and the neighboring regions and cities only experienced shaking at 2 on the Shindo scale.

As it was late at night, most of the people living in eastern Okutama were asleep. Nearer to the epicenter, some household belongings collapsed, but no entire homes were destroyed.

But in the mountains nearer the epicenter, there were large-scale landslides, all of the roads through Okutama’s mountains were rendered unpassable, and IAI and its cargo runway were entirely buried below the collapsing valley.

UCAT was erased below the dirt.

Most of those woken by the earthquake heard a few strange facts in the form of sounds.

First, a great rumbling in the sky moved eastward as if writhing.

Second, a few smaller reverberations fell to the southwest.

However, that was all they heard.

They all heard it, but none of them saw what had caused it.

They did not see what had been lost or what had been blasted into the sky on either side.

All that remained was the chilly night sky.

Only that empty sky filled with piercing cold.