Chapter 30: Doubt

The battlefield was a wreck after the fight.

The green field and rubber track were riddled with craters from the bombardment.

The enormous sports stadium looked as if it had been smashed by something, and the sturdy steel frame groaned as if on the verge of collapse.

Ephnel stood in the center of the shattered ruins, spear in hand.

“Senpai Ephnel! Did you win?”

Canary’s voice came through the earpiece.

The connection had been re-established the moment the “Apostle” girl stopped her bombardment.

“I think so. Probably. That girl isn’t that simple. I’ve never heard of a way to manipulate energy to attack like that. If it’s her, I can’t make any definitive conclusions. Ayse, how’s the situation on your end?”

“No problem! I can keep the ‘Whale’ in check, so don’t worry, Senpai!”

“Is that so… Then I’m counting on you.”

“Um… Senpai… are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Amazing… As expected, you’re different from us, Senpai… By the way, what were those white spheres of light?”

“I’m curious about that as well.”

Ephnel said.

“I suspect it’s a method of using the ‘Power of Order’ that we’ve never seen before… According to headquarters’ analysis of her energy wavelength, that target is also an ‘Agent’.”

Yonomikenami’s serious voice came through the earpiece.

“She’s an ‘Agent’ too?”

“Theoretically, yes, she is an ‘Agent,’ but not of the same lineage as you… As you know, the ‘Beacon’ is the crystalline fruit of technology born from the Human Federation’s long-term analysis of ruin technology. But even so, our understanding of the ‘Power of Order’ has always been at a very elementary and superficial stage. In theory, the ‘Power of Order’ has the potential to convert and compress matter and energy, and even to create and annihilate them. This is the origin of the name ‘Order’.”

Yonomikenami continued.

“As for the light spheres used by the girl who calls herself an ‘Apostle’… If headquarters’ scans and analysis are correct, then we can be certain that those white spheres of light are also a form of the ‘Power of Order.’ After all, an Agent’s creation of ‘weapons’ and ‘battle suits’ is fundamentally a way of materializing energy. Your battles with the ‘Erosion Organisms’—void-derived creatures that exist between energy and matter—and the way they dissipate into free-floating energy after being ‘Exiled,’ are essentially a manifestation of the mutual conversion between matter and energy forms.”

“In that case… does that mean we could also use energy to…”

“It’s probably not that simple.”

Ephnel spoke up.

“During the battle with the target, I could clearly feel the difference in how she uses the ‘Power of Order’ compared to us. And… don’t you think it’s strange? If she’s the same kind of existence as us, then the total amount of ‘Power of Order’ she possesses is far too immense.”

“That is indeed a point of concern… Ephnel, if the situation allows, please capture the target alive. This is an order from headquarters.”

“If she’s still alive…”

Ephnel looked at the collapsed spectator stands.

“In any case, now is not the time to be careless. I’ll go check the situation first.”

…

Beneath the collapsed spectator stands, the girl struggled to push away a concrete block, dragging her almost-broken body out of the rubble.

She was covered in dust, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and staining the front of her clothes.

Wretched and weak.

Thanks to the protection of her skirt armor, the rest of her body had few scrapes, with the only severe pain coming from her abdomen.

“Cough cough…”

She coughed, a fishy taste of blood and froth filling her mouth, her tongue becoming slick and slimy.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, her teeth chattering from the pain.

The intense pain in her abdomen, like her organs had been twisted into a knot and then violently crushed, had almost robbed her of all ability to move, bringing her to the brink of fainting.

Her back was already drenched in a cold sweat.

She hung her head limply, quietly counting the gray teardrops that fell and spread on the ground.

She had never thought she would be defeated by Ephnel, and so quickly at that.

She had never underestimated Ephnel; anyone who had personally witnessed Ephnel fight would never think her title was unearned.

But as expected… it was still a bit of a stretch to judge Ephnel’s actual combat strength solely based on data recorded from her battles with Erosion Organisms.

In short, she had been defeated, soundly.

Even as she was now, she had still lost.

A sense of frustration spread through her heart.

Click—

The rubble in front of the girl was pushed aside by something.

The dim light became turbid in the stirred-up dust.

As the dust slowly settled, Ephnel’s slender figure entered her field of vision.

“Ephnel…”

The girl managed to lift her head, panting, and struggled to meet Ephnel’s gaze.

“Not dead yet? Are you a cockroach?”

“You… don’t disgust me with that thing…”

The girl’s chest heaved as she glared stubbornly at Ephnel.

The tear tracks on her cheeks reflected a faint light.

Ephnel looked at the girl expressionlessly, silent for a moment, then pursed her lips.

“You have no right to speak here. You lost.”

The spear in her hand shot out, pressing against the girl’s neck.

“I’ll ask you my previous question one more time. Who are you? What is your objective?”

“Ha…”

The girl gritted her teeth, looking up at Ephnel, her face stiff.

“You finally managed to win, and you’re still concerned with such a boring question… You’re really no different from those guys… It’s no wonder, a shorty like you can only see things at this level… Ugh?!”

Before she could finish, the girl let out a sharp cry of pain, her eyes widening.

A sharp pain shot through her right shoulder.

The silver spear had pierced through it, pinning her firmly to the collapsed wall.

“Damn it… that really hurts!!”

The girl curled up, gasping for breath, tears and choked sobs spilling from her eyes uncontrollably.

Ephnel looked down at her coldly and knelt down.

She reached out and wrapped one hand around the girl’s neck.

With a slight squeeze, the girl let out a pained whimper.

“If I wanted to kill you, you’d have no power to resist. I suggest you get a clear picture of the situation and answer my questions honestly before I run out of patience. First question: who are you.”

“You… let go of me… I can’t… talk like this…”

Ephnel released her hand.

The girl slumped back as if granted a pardon, gasping for breath.

Ephnel spoke.

“First question: who are you.”

…