Objections and New Arrangements

A steady voice rang out, and a shadow suddenly fell. Apollo's tall figure landed steadily in front of everyone, looking up at the sky.

"... Chaos?"

Dr. Roman's somewhat hoarse voice came through the communicator.

"Unsurprisingly, yes."

Gwen nodded, watching the distorting space—

"Before Zeus was destroyed by me, the other side was already running the descent program. Even if it was interrupted in the end, I'm afraid Chaos on the other side will also force his way in."

Before Gwen finished speaking, a crisp sound echoed between heaven and earth, a dark rift suddenly appeared, space shattered into pieces, and the sky crashed and broke apart.

The white light that had enveloped the heavens and earth suddenly contracted, and something completely tore apart the out-of-control and distorted sky.

"The space there..."

No, it's not just space; there must be something else involved, like... time itself was completely distorted and destroyed!

Kiana stared intently at the horizon, her face tense and almost bloodless.

"The opponent directly tore through space and time and appeared there!"

As Kiana finished speaking, everyone saw a giant eye, like a burning star, peering at the planet from the other side of the torn space.

Even though they were only glimpsing a corner of it, everyone had the feeling that it was an eye watching them, watching this planet.

"That is..."

Before Mash could finish speaking, who was lost in thought, the giant eye in the sky suddenly shone, and with a flash of light, an attack that exceeded the speed of light arrived in an instant.

Boom--

The terrifying roar caused Fujimaru Ritsuka to experience ringing in her ears and almost faint. She was only able to stand up after being supported by Mash.

When Ritsuka looked up again, thinking she heard a shattering sound, she saw that the Crystal Wall, which even Zeus's thunder could not break, had developed some cracks.

"Chaos... he's finally here..."

Gwen, finished repairing the Crystal Wall in his hands, and didn't forget to give Kiana a word of advice behind him—

"Kiana, prepare to evacuate."

If a battle were to break out later, they might not survive Chaos's bombardment.

In that attack, apart from the small area that was just protected by Gwen's Crystal Wall, the entire city of Olympus has been turned into a white wasteland.

"Gwen, don't be reckless!"

Mei said sternly.

"Don't worry, I won't die even if that guy runs out of energy."

Gwen responded with a smile.

"Please do not let your guard down, this... Lord Apollo."

A gentle voice came from the side. The group looked in the direction of the voice and saw a blonde woman with flowing blonde hair, pale face but undeniable charm, walking briskly towards them.

"Europa?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka was so startled she almost jumped up—

With a formidable enemy at hand, Europa, whose heart had already been ripped out, suddenly came back to life. This bizarre event made it hard for her not to suspect that the other party had become a puppet of that thing in the sky.

The other party is a being that has fused with the remains of the machine god Hera, so it is possible that it could be controlled.

"It was Her Your Eminence Demeter gave me the chance to live."

Europa explained, then looked seriously at the enormous eye in the sky—

"And that sir..."

They came to continue the plan that Lord Zeus was unable to complete...

But they're different—

Lord Zeus loved humankind and hoped that humanity could continue.

But Chaos...

Its sole purpose is to maintain the fleet. To achieve this, it will absorb the surface resources of the entire Olympus and the entire Earth, and continue its journey into space...

But there...

There's nothing there...

"Perhaps a great war occurred that we are unaware of, or perhaps excessive development led to the depletion of energy; in any case, that universe is nearing its end."

Chaos now likely has less than three percent of its energy remaining.

As Chaos announced his intention to reclaim 37% of the planet's volume, Apollo's towering figure vanished in a flash of light. Gwen, now back in his true form, offered a brief explanation before turning to the girl with one gold and one blue eye—

"Kiana, I will try to communicate with her next. If that fails, I will try to close the spacetime rift."

But that would be quite a commotion, so we need you to take everyone away from here, is that alright?

Chapter 653 Opposition and New Arrangements

"Don't want!"

Kiana rejected Gwen's proposal outright.

"I'll send the others away, but we can help out too!"

Kiana met Gwen's gaze without flinching, her expression serious, clearly indicating that this was not a decision made on a whim.

"We are no longer the people who Changkong City. Even though we are still a very long distance away from you, we are no longer the fledglings who could only rely on your protection."

Mei stepped forward, her voice equally unwavering.

"Although disobeying orders in the face of battle is not a good thing, that guy in the sky is not someone you can act tough against."

Himeko sighed and spoke up.

"Exactly, we're already here, so I have to cut it with my sword, right?"

A hint of dissatisfaction also flickered in her bright red eyes. The Herrscher of Reason crossed her arms and said—

"I admit we are much worse than you, but we are still Herrscher, so we shouldn't be so incapable of protecting ourselves."

"That's right, that's right..." Wendy, standing next to Seele, nodded repeatedly.

"When facing such a large-scale disaster, teamwork is of paramount importance. Weren't we taught that in the very first lesson of the theory class?"

Anna straightened her back, looked directly at Gwen, and tried to regain some of the authority Anna once had as a teacher.

Looking into these pairs of eyes, Gwen couldn't help but feel a little complicated. It was not dissatisfaction that the plan was rejected, but... touched?

Or rather...

"It's a very touching scene, but it's met with opposition from the beautiful girls traveling with him. What will Gwen decide?"

A slightly amused voice brought Gwen back to reality. Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw Sayo Aika watching him with a smile, as if she were enjoying a good show.

"That eye in the sky... is very strong. Even if you, Gwen, are strong, it's best not to face it alone."

Arcueid, who hadn't joined the "attack" on Gwen but instead stared intently at Chaos's eye in the sky, spoke with a voice tinged with worry.

"Okay, okay, I was wrong. I made a mistake of acting like a hero. I admit my mistake and I will reflect on it..."

Despite being subjected to a barrage of criticism, Gwen, aware of the urgency of the situation, did not refute it. He immediately raised his hands, but a warm smile appeared on his face.

At least, people said those things because they cared about him, didn't they?

"Stop joking around and get on with the plans—"

Anna gently punched Gwyn with her small fist, urging him Gwen.

"Any later, that thing in the sky will really start to extract resources from this Earth."

Although extracting a planet's volume sounds a bit fantastical, the eye in the sky is right there, and Anna doesn't have time to think about how the other party managed to do such a thing.

"All right..."

Gwen withdrew his hand, looked around, and his gaze first fell on Ryougi Shiki—

"Although I have some guesses, I'll still ask: Shiki, things from outside that world shouldn't be within the scope of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, right?"

"...

If you'd like, you could certainly try...

Unexpectedly, the first Ryougi Shiki asked was about Ryougi Shiki. She blinked and then smiled demurely, like a Yamato Nadeshiko who was willing to give everything for her husband. Seeing Mei instantly thought of those bride training sessions that she had long forgotten.

A formidable rival!

Although it wasn't the right time, the word still popped into Mei's mind.

"No, I don't want to. Just stay put and if you can, prepare some tea and snacks for us."

Gwen immediately shook his head.

The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception allow the holder to see the death of all things. Because of its connection to the Root, Ryougi Shiki will not experience the mind-bending situations that Tohno Shiki encounters.

Even with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception activated, it was powerless against the otherworldly interstellar mothership, the Celestial Planet Spacetime Fortress, whose functions, which were merely split off, constituted Chaos, one of the twelve mechanical gods including Zeus —something completely outside the source's control.

Having received a definitive answer from Ryougi Shiki, Gwen decisively abandoned the idea of having Ryougi Shiki use her Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to finish him off, attempting to ease the tense atmosphere somewhat.

Didn't you see that Artoria's face over there is as white as a sheet of paper?

"Um..."

Ryougi Shiki smiled and nodded, then bowed deeply.

"That...

May you have great success in your military endeavors.

Having said that, Ryougi Shiki silently came to Artoria's side—

This red dragon, which is not from the Pan-Human History, is merely a Paradise Fairy that has not yet begun its pilgrimage and has not even rung a single pilgrimage bell. It is the weakest of all and is destined to retreat.

"Ritsuka, Mash, the replica black cannon barrel is in your hands now, right?"

Gwen then looked at the two Chaldea.

"Arrive."

Mash nodded, hesitating as if to say something, but Gwen interrupted her abruptly—

"Okay, you guys will be the off-field support. If needed, I'll contact you. It doesn't have to be a perfect goal. Just throw in all three Command Spells and make it as effective as possible. Don't push yourself too hard."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Mash, who was used to obeying orders, immediately responded.

Arcueid.

Gwen turned his gaze to Arcueid, who was still staring at the eye in the rift in the sky, and asked,

"I remember you mentioned during a casual chat that you have the ability to transform into a body of light, right?"

"That's right, but that would require me to abandon my physical body, completely unleash the magic within me, and break through the limitations on power output and the limits on energy extraction from the planet."

Arcueid withdrew her gaze and turned to Gwen, her crimson eyes calm, showing neither fear nor worry about the destruction of her physical body.

"Do I need to fight in my light form?"

Under normal circumstances, when Arcueid is taking action, her output will be limited to "always being one stage higher than the opponent's".

This is both a protection for the output device called the physical body and (the Earth) to prevent energy from being wasted.

Of course, this is not absolute—

For example, if it hadn't been confirmed at the first meeting that Gwen was not Roa, Arcueid would have needed to increase his output to a level that his physical body couldn't handle in order to deal with "Roa".

When the physical body is no longer restricted, and mental activity has not weakened, the power will become uncontrollable.

The magic power that was originally compressed and controlled within the body will burst forth and spread, breaking the limitations on the ability to draw energy from the earth, thus entering the nflaton state—the state of emanating light.

In short, it's similar to Utolaman's over-limit power output posture.

"A similar power might be used, but it won't be through your direct transformation into a light body."

Gwen shook his head, rejecting the suggestion.

"It seems Gwen has come up with a new idea..."