When All Hope Was Lost

The opening of the Abyss Gate not only released immeasurable energy and contamination,

but also disturbed unstable factors deep within the earth veins, causing most of our defense systems to fail.

If this continued,

we might not even be able to hold these fortresses."

Her words carried an extraordinary calmness and rationality, a habit forged through years of struggling through the deeper borders of the Lost Sea:

"But I also need you to understand:

Our earlier efforts were not entirely meaningless.

The data and experience we gathered, along with the resolve of those who sacrificed themselves, would become invaluable assets in combating disasters like this in the future.

After the short-haired woman, Sasaki Miya, finished speaking, the entire command center fell into brief silence.

Then,

the order for an emergency evacuation began to sound,

and various high-tech devices rapidly activated, preparing for this tragic retreat.

Meanwhile, the wounded survivors rescued from Saint Mourning Hughie Fal Academy were placed within psychic protective barriers constructed with advanced technology.

The barriers were like fragile lines of defense,

barely isolating them from the encroachment of the Abyss's power.

Yet they also trapped them within this confined space, unable to personally join the struggle outside.

The wounded bore not only the agonizing struggle of their physical injuries in their eyes, but also deep resentment and fury in their hearts. Like caged beasts, they yearned to break free and find hope.

Many of them gazed at the academy that had once been familiar, filled with laughter, joy, and the light of knowledge.

Now, only broken walls and ruins remained,

with devastation as far as the eye could see.

The familiar classrooms, laboratories, and libraries had been ravaged beyond recognition by the power of the Abyss, as unreal as a nightmare.

Their eyes grew wet,

and tears