Chapter 119: The Angel’s True Form

This was different from what Ephnel had seen in the video footage.

It was a little longer, but perhaps for that reason, the Angel’s attack was able to reach a position it shouldn’t have been able to.

Therefore, the so-called “safe distance” never existed from the start.

The Angel was fully capable of breaking through the Boundary Monument’s “net” within a certain range.

Holding back during a warm-up—when facing a “person” as an opponent, this line of thinking was more logical.

The sound of the explosion arrived a moment later from below, bringing with it a surging heatwave.

Her earpiece was filled with static.

At the same time, Ayse’s shout came from behind: “Senior! Be careful!”

Another beam of light descended.

This time, the energy gathering was shorter than before, and it shot straight for Ephnel.

But before it could reach her, it dissipated into motes of light in the night sky.

This was within the range covered by the Boundary Monument system’s “barrier net.”

An attack originating from Erosion energy couldn’t travel very far.

Ephnel’s gaze passed over the gradually dispersing specks of light, fixed on the Angel who had her hand raised towards her.

She landed from the air.

At this moment, the palm of the Angel’s hand once again flickered with a faint light.

Ephnel’s eyes narrowed slightly.

With a flash of silver, her spear appeared in her hand, raised up by Ephnel with a single arm.

“Now it’s my turn!”

A silver, moonlight-like glow appeared beneath Ephnel’s feet.

Ephnel stomped down, shattering the Stairway and the already broken ground beneath her.

A massive crack spread out from under her feet.

The spear swung from her arm, around her waist, tracing a crescent of dim light.

The beam of light descended once again.

At the same time, a sonic boom suddenly erupted.

A silver meteor, whipping up a hurricane, tore through the darkness, leaving a long trench between Ephnel and the Angel as it flew straight to meet the beam.

In an instant, countless points of starlight burst forth, bleaching the night sky white.

A massive shockwave followed, accompanied by a deafening, terrifying roar.

At that moment, the entire garrison area flashed with sparks, and in the next second, was plunged into total darkness.

“This is…”

In front of the command tower’s massive window, Masaki Hinaki, holding a pair of binoculars, stared at the huge explosion in the distance and frowned.

“An EMP-like attack…? The electromagnetic shielding was completely useless…”

At this moment, all the lights, computers, and other electronics in the entire command tower had ceased to function.

As far as her eyes could see, the entire garrison had been swallowed by the pitch-black night.

Only the towering Boundary Monument remained unaffected.

Behind Masaki Hinaki, Yonomori Nami also stared blankly at the rising ball of light, her expression grave.

“Is this the Angel’s ability?”

“It doesn’t seem to be.”

Masaki Hinaki spoke, taking a deep breath.

“I saw this back when I was in the central province. It was the subject of a senior lecturer’s thesis at the time, but I never thought I’d see it with my own eyes today…”

“Commander, you mean?”

“If I’m not mistaken, it was caused by the aftershock of the clash between Ephnel’s and the Angel’s attacks just now… You know, don’t you? The weapons used by Agents are essentially the materialization of Order energy. In other words, they are Order energy. The Angel, on the other hand, is Erosion energy. If an Agent’s exorcism of an Erosion Organism is the consumption or neutralization of Erosion energy by Order energy, then what just happened between Ephnel and the Angel was a tearing bite between equals. When these two opposing energies clash with such massive volume, the result is their complete detonation. All forms of energy in this space are disrupted as a result. Shielding devices alone are absolutely not enough to negate the threat…”

“In that case…”

Masaki Hinaki lowered her binoculars, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

“Heh… Prepare the men.”

“Huh?”

Masaki Hinaki’s sudden cold laugh left Yonomori Nami a bit confused.

“Get your weapons ready. Although this is an unexpected situation, it might not be a bad thing for us. After dark, certain creatures will probably come out of their holes. It’s the perfect time for a hunt.”

“Then, Commander, you…”

“I’m going too. The command system is down, so there’s no point in me staying here. I’ll take command of the battlefield this time.”

With that, Masaki Hinaki strode away and turned to leave.

Yonomori Nami’s gaze fell on the pitch-black distance, where faint points of silver and white light were the only two sources of light in the night.

She pursed her lips and turned to follow Masaki Hinaki.

On the other side, the surging heatwave lifted Ephnel’s hair.

The ribbons on the back of her dress danced on their own.

A silver light flashed, and a spear appeared in Ephnel’s hand.

She stared forward resolutely, her gaze fixed on the Angel, who maintained her hand-raised posture.

Just like Ephnel, the Angel was also completely unharmed.

“Senior Ephnel! Are you alright?”

Ayse’s shout came from behind.

“I’m fine…”

Ephnel answered loudly, her eyes never leaving the Angel.

“More importantly, are you two okay? It looks like all the equipment is fried. The situation in the garrison…”

Just then, Ephnel suddenly stopped talking and frowned slightly.

In her line of sight, the Angel moved again.

But this time, she didn’t attack. Instead, she lowered her raised arm, suddenly turned around, and, under Ephnel’s suspicious gaze, floated up and accelerated into the distance.

Seeing this, not just Ephnel, but Ayse and Erincia were also stunned for a moment.

“What is it trying to do?”

Ephnel had no time to think.

A silver light flashed under her feet, and she once again hurled the spear in her hand with all her might.

It tore through the night sky, stabbing straight for the Angel.

The Angel suddenly stopped, turned, and raised its arm.

Boom—

Because of the Angel’s hasty response, the explosion this time was extremely close to it.

The ferocious shockwave sent the Angel flying, but due to the change in terrain, it also disappeared from Ephnel’s line of sight.

Ephnel shouted loudly to Ayse and Erincia, “You two, retreat to the garrison and find the Commander and Yonomori Nami! I’m going after it!”

“Huh? Wait! Senior! Don’t go… it might be a trap!”

“But I can’t just let it get away like this!”

Ephnel said loudly.

“Don’t worry about me, I know my limits!”

“Senior!!!”

Ignoring Ayse’s desperate shouts, Ephnel leaped high into the air and ran quickly in the direction the Angel had fallen.

The distance of over two hundred meters was quickly closed with Ephnel running at full speed.

The Angel’s white light appeared in her vision.

At this moment, the Angel had its back to Ephnel, kneeling on the ground, completely still.

It was just tilting its head up, staring at some unknown point in the night sky.

Ephnel’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She put all her strength into her body, and the instant the Stairway under her feet shattered, she hurled the spear in her hand once again.

Under the night sky, the silver meteor crashed down with a roar.

Pfft—

Unexpectedly, the Angel made no move to resist.

The spear pierced through its back, directly impaling its body.

A large area of rock and dust exploded beneath the Angel as it was pinned to the ground.

“Hm?”

A probing attack launched casually had actually hit its target directly.

Ephnel caught the spear that reappeared in front of her, stunned for a moment, and did not continue her attack.

She landed on the ground, staring intently at the Angel.

At this moment, the ground beneath the Angel had been pulverized by Ephnel’s attack and was covered in shattered stones.

The Angel’s chest had been completely pierced through, and blood stained its back red.

A pool of blood had formed beneath it, and because Ephnel had recalled her spear, blood was now gushing from the wound.

Since there was blood, it could be concluded that the Angel and Erosion Organisms were not the same type of existence.

Furthermore, the Angel’s physical durability could be described as terrifying.

With the intensity of Ephnel’s attack, even if she hadn’t used her full strength, if it had hit an ordinary person, the vortex of air stirred up by the spear would have definitely torn their limbs to shreds, not just punched a hole through them.

Ephnel cautiously held the spear in a reverse grip and slowly moved her feet.

“Don’t even think about running. You won’t be so lucky next time.”

She tested it with her words, but the Angel remained motionless on the ground, even with its body pierced through.

Like… a puppet?

Ephnel shifted her gaze, moving in front of the Angel.

Very cautiously, Ephnel used the tip of her spear to flip the Angel over, making it lie on its back, face up.

Even so, the Angel made no movement, as if it were dead.

Ephnel frowned.

From the side of the Angel’s cracked and blood-stained mask, she could see crimson lips covered in blood.

Looking from this close, the Angel was indeed female.

Seeing the Angel remain motionless, on a whim, Ephnel raised the tip of her spear, hooked it under the Angel’s already half-shattered, blood-stained mask, and slowly lifted it off.

Ephnel narrowed her eyes.

Under the dark night sky, Ephnel’s crimson pupils shifted slightly.

Then she saw the familiar face beneath the mask.

Although it was covered in blood, Ephnel would never forget this face.

“Seiran!?”

Ephnel was stunned.

And in that instant, Seiran’s dull pupils suddenly twitched erratically, like rolling glass beads, and her gaze landed on Ephnel.

A blinding light appeared in her palm and shot straight at Ephnel.

It all happened in an instant.

“!!?”

Boom—

Ephnel let out a muffled grunt as a blinding white light exploded between them.

Nearly all the equipment in the garrison had been fried by that baptism of light.

But some backup electric lamps were found to be still functional, and so, the garrison slowly began to light up again.

At this time, in a dark corner, two figures gradually emerged.

“Karina, Lily still hasn’t shown up, and the Angel has left. Looks like this mission is a complete failure…”

The burly man’s face was grim, but his eyes were filled with ruthlessness.

Beside him, Karina let out a soft laugh.

“I told you from the beginning she was unreliable.”

“What’s the point of saying that now? Don’t you get it, Karina? We have no other choice but to find a way to carry out their orders!”

The man was practically bursting with anger, a deep sense of helplessness filling his heart.

He was unwilling, yet powerless.

Or perhaps…

There was no way to retreat.