Screwing Dad Over, Screwing Him Over to Death

"The Defense Barrier has temporarily entered a dormant state. We will continue suppressing its restart tendency here. The situation ahead is unknown, so please be extremely careful." Before the Defense Barrier, which had already turned grayish white, Raven 001 reminded us. Behind her was an incredibly complex arcane array, with over a hundred Ravens standing upon it as mana nodes. Through this method, they simulated the magical power of an Emperor-Class Raven. Farther away, three more arcane arrays of the same scale could vaguely be seen, seemingly forming a square together with the one behind Raven 001.

"We'll be careful. What about you? How long can you keep this thing going?"

I had no idea how powerful Silvia had become after awakening, but even a spell used to open a door required thousands of Ravens working together to simulate. The difference was simply horrifying. What worried me was that they might overdraw their mana because of this. For Ravens, whose bodies were more than eighty percent composed of mysterious energy, overdrawing mana meant overdrawing their souls. And with a single command from me, they would probably keep holding this barrier until they vanished into ashes.

"You needn't worry about us." Raven 001 understood what I meant and gave a slightly bashful smile. "The four arrays can take turns resting. Holding out for two or three days won't be a problem."

That finally put my mind at ease. Then I turned to call everyone over—especially Tawell.

Because a certain research girl was practically plastered against the extinguished Defense Barrier, completely immersed in some kind of scientific frenzy. She had even thrown away her usual serene image as she shouted, "Th-this is simply unbelievable! What exactly is it made of?! These basic elements clearly have no structure, yet they can exist in