Hood pressed his lips together and, ignoring the irritation of the strong light, stared unblinking at the area where Ronan and the other three had joined hands, at that ever-brighter blaze.
He was already considering how to shamelessly worm his way in ahead of them.
"Hey, you."
Hood jolted awake, simultaneously feeling Ronan's calm, clear gaze.
"Your strength and authority should be the highest among this group. You don't mind serving as support, do you?"
Ronan's rare display of human concern made Hood feel uncomfortable all over. He had not forgotten that his own position was currently the most awkward one.
Yet burdened with an important task, Hood could not spare attention for anything else. He shook his head rapidly. "No problem. Professor Ronan, just give the orders!"
"Good. Join in first and familiarize yourself with the structure. I'm preparing to withdraw... The rest of you, join together in ten seconds."
Hood's eyelid twitched, but without another word, he stepped into position and reached forward.
As his aura connected, the Format Fire at the center, which had only just regained relative stability, suddenly flared in brightness. Like a floodlight, it had become difficult for an ordinary person to look at directly.
The strong light spread outward like a wave of hot wind. The dozens of Segmenters that had been weaving through the Format Fire were instantly blown away. Several burned up and exploded midair, looking utterly miserable.
"I..."
Ronan said nothing, but Hood's heart gave a violent leap.
While observing from the outside, he had already done his best to estimate and infer the energy structure of this cluster of Format Fire. He had also carefully considered the point at which to connect—he had not intended to sabotage anything, absolutely not!
It was just that, at the instant he joined,