In the Continuance Institute's observation room, Yegor removed his glasses, his fingers trembling slightly. He took a deep breath, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"The Great Arcanum... doesn't even have any resistance?"
"Only to be expected."
The director's hands remained in the pockets of his protective suit. His posture and movements had not changed from beginning to end. "The Great Arcanum itself was built upon the Present Realm, created by imitating Gaia's functions and structure. No matter how rigorous its framework or how much effort was invested, it was still an imitation of Gaia and the gods.
Before the real thing, it possesses no higher authority—after all, to Gaia, the Great Arcanum is not an opponent, but food."
Behind his visor, on the inner surface of his thick glasses, countless readings changed at dizzying speed before the calculations finally produced their result.
Revival level—9.46%.
Compared to Gaia at its peak, it was merely a remnant not even one-tenth as strong.
Yet regardless of the amount, its nature alone made it immune to more than ninety percent of the Present Realm's attacks and countermeasures.
"Back then... I mean, back then..."
Yegor took a deep breath and looked at the director. "In the files the Pioneer Society showed me, was what happened back then true?"
"..."
The director was silent for a long time before nodding.
"Yes," he said.
An invisible barrier rose around them. The director spoke calmly. "Back then, we did indeed kill Old Gaia, using the Destruction Factor..."
More precisely, it had been the fusion of Destruction Factors!
What could be more convenient than the power of Destruction Factors when one wanted to destroy the Present Realm?
Yet to protect this world, they had been forced to rely on the power that could destroy it. The irony