My Eyes as the Keystone

It can silently eliminate the magical beasts and fairies being cultivated in the incubation tank.

Having such means, there was indeed no need to deceive him.

Rudolf pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice:

"Okay, I believe you, and I hope we can fulfill each other's long-cherished wishes."

Seeing that the two had reached some strange deal, Yukina, still completely bewildered, desperately hoped that Yotsuba Mahiro could give her an answer.

But Mahiro only responded with one sentence—

"Ask what you should ask, and don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Don't forget your duty; you are the watchdog of the Lion King Agency, not my guardian."

A simple sentence shattered Yukina's illusions in an instant.

Meanwhile, Rudolf's gaze towards Yukina and Yotsuba Mahiro held a new hint of inquiry.

In the past, in order to complete the construction of Itogami Island, Itogami Chihiro stole the Saint's Remains who was regarded as a god by the Western European Church, and used his arm as the cornerstone to suppress and stabilize the island's altar.

This foundation stone is hidden at the very bottom of the Keystone Gate in the center of Itogami Island, and is heavily guarded.

That place is located 220 meters below the sea surface.

Like an eternal prison, it is sealed in the depths of the sea, where even light cannot reach.

The conical outer wall, designed to withstand high water pressure, bears some resemblance to the mythical Tower of Babylon.

But its interior is even more robust than a doomsday fortress, possessing an overwhelming quality of steel; even the thickness of its walls is terrifyingly thicker than that of ship armor.

However, at this moment, this seemingly impregnable fortress was breached by a group of four who arrived.

"Astarte, break open the door to the foundation."

"The command is received. Execute it, Rose's Fingertips."

In an instant, the airtight wall at the bottom of the partition creaked and screamed as it was forcibly pried open.

A pair of transparent giant hands, radiating iridescent light, tore apart the 70-centimeter-thick armor piece by piece, like aluminum foil.

It was a tall, humanoid familiar.

In the center of the familiar's chest, one can see the host trapped inside, like a core, continuously providing the familiar with magical power.

The host was a girl with long blue hair and light blue eyes—the artificial life form Astarte.

The burly man in the priest's robes, Priest Lotharingia, Rudolf Eustach, along with Yotsuba Mahiro and Yukina Himeragi, followed behind.

Yukina was staring blankly at everything that was happening before her eyes, looking completely bewildered.

What... what did I do?!

She simply couldn't understand her own actions at that moment.

They actually followed this great demon, Serang, and that priest, Lotharingia, to commit a crime!

No, this is no longer just a crime; it's about destroying the entire Itogami Island!

She now understood why Astarte had said the island would sink.

The immortal treasure that Yotsuba Mahiro and Rudolf conspired to steal was a sacred object suppressed at the very bottom of this Keystone Gate!

That's the anchor connecting the four Itogami Island!

If the sacred relic is forcibly taken away, then Itogami Island will definitely collapse and fall to the bottom of the sea in an instant!

But what should I do?

Yukina was extremely hesitant.

She had secretly contacted the elders, but their response to her was—

"Let him do it. This is the territory of the Void Witch. If the Void Witch doesn't take action, we just need to remain still."

Is this really a good idea?

Is it really okay to gamble the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on one person?

While Yukina hesitated, unsure of what to do, Mahiro and the others had already ventured deeper into the Keystone Gate.

As they approached the next door, Astarte was about to make a move when Mahiro her and pressed down on her shoulder.

Astarte looked up at him, puzzled, then at her master, as if asking what to do.

Before Rudolf could speak, Mahiro said:

"Leave it to me. I don't want the little girl I get to be a defective product that's not going to live much longer."

Familiars are summoned beasts from another world.

In order to materialize it, the host must share its own lifespan with its familiar.

Although the types of familiars differ, it is said that if summoned by an ordinary human, their lifespan will be exhausted in a very short time.

To a familiar, the host's life is merely a sacrifice.

This limitation does not apply even if the host is an artificial life form.

Although Astarte, who was modified to live in symbiosis with her familiars, was granted a lifespan far longer than that of ordinary humans, it is ultimately limited and cannot be compared to something like a vampire.

Rudolf naturally understood, so he nodded and gestured for Astarte step back.

Following the order, Astarte stepped back, and then she heard Yotsuba Mahiro chanting a spell.

"The ruthless Queen of Steel, the holy sword that slays demons and monsters—"

"--Transform into a sharp weapon of steel, to help me slay all my enemies!"

[Everything is as you wish.]

Est's voice quietly echoed in Mahiro's heart, and then a stream of light emanated from the holy mark on the back of his hand and landed in his palm.

When the light faded, what appeared in Mahiro's hand was not the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword he had expected.

Instead, it was a silver-white, technologically advanced pistol.

The flat muzzle indicates that the gun is not firing bullets.

This is a weapon that Est built himself, referencing the CAD software he once owned.

Although it is called the Demon-Slaying Holy Sword, Est, as the guardian deity of the world, is not limited to the sword as a weapon; what it becomes depends entirely on the user's ideas.

Mahiro raised the CAD in his hand, pointed the gun at the door in front of him, and pulled the trigger.

"The Nihility"

A blinding glint flashed from the muzzle of the gun.

Immediately afterwards, the gate in front exploded into dust and disappeared.

However, to be precise, it's not just one door in front of you, but every door leading to the lowest level has been perfectly Decomposition.

Rudolf, witnessing this scene, looked grave, cold sweat beading on his back.

This man's behavior was even more terrifying than everything I had observed at the research institute!

I'm so glad I chose to cooperate with this man, otherwise I probably would have died quietly by now.

Even Yukina was completely dumbfounded at this moment.

Silently and effortlessly, the heavy armored gate, inscribed with defensive patterns, was pulverized into dust.

Is this really something a human could do?

Asagi Aiba shares the same thought, working overtime due to the intrusion.

"What happened? Why is this happening?! Who on earth is so audacious...?"

Asagi Aiba was in her apartment, clutching her laptop, which she regarded as a talisman, her brows furrowed as she stared at the lines of code flowing across the screen.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, almost blurring the lines between light and shadow.

She is connecting to the community's server to check on the situation Keystone Gate.

Not long ago, she received a call from the commune saying that the Keystone Gate had been invaded, so she thought she would check the internal situation and, by the way, the number of invaders.

However, it turned out that all the surveillance cameras Keystone Gate had been hacked!

"Mogwai, think of something now!"

"There's nothing I can do, Miss, their skills are just as good as yours."

A mechanical voice came through the headphones; it was Asagi Aiba's partner, someone akin to artificial intelligence.

Upon hearing Mogwai's words, Asagi Aiba slumped back in her chair, feeling a wave of exhaustion wash over her.

We can't win, we simply can't win!

That's to be expected; although she's the world's most powerful hacker, that's only true within this world.

The technology that Yotsuba Mahiro possesses is the same technology that Kyoko Fujibayashi, known as the Cyber Witch, possesses in the more technologically advanced world of The Irregular at Magical World.

Even if they couldn't completely stop Asagi Aiba, they could still keep her trapped for an hour.

Everything will be settled in an hour.

At this moment, all the partitions leading to the bottom floor were forcibly opened, and the intruders had reached the thirtieth floor.

It's still moving downwards rapidly!

All the guards encountered along the way were knocked unconscious.

Meanwhile, the Itogami Island Garrison has already notified the Exorcists to be deployed!

Chapter 366 Using My Eyes as the Foundation (5K)

"Tsk, what a hassle, having to walk such a long way..."

Just as all the guards on Itogami Island were in a state of agitation, Mahiro had already arrived at the very bottom of the Keystone Gate.

The passageway behind him was filled with security guards who had been knocked unconscious.

Perhaps because she was in a good mood, Mahiro did not choose to resolve the matter through physical exorcism this time.

However, when he looked at the passage leading to the final Keystone Gate, his mood sank again.

Because the Keystone Gate is an area he has never explored, he cannot use spatial teleportation at will.

I had assumed the journey wouldn't be too long, since it was just a simple vertical downward path, probably like a spiral staircase.

Unexpectedly, this walk took more than half an hour.

But a long passage remained before him, waiting to be traversed.

"Forget it, let's go."

Mahiro waved his hand weakly and led everyone into the passage.

Before long, they had arrived at the center of the lowest level of the Keystone Gate.

This place is completely different from the previous scene. Although it is still all metal, the lighting is noticeably less bright than in the corridor.

Inside the room, at the very end of four steel cable lines extending from four artificial islands.

The anchor block that secures the heads of all the machinery is a metal base in the shape of a miniature inverted pyramid.

At the center of the anchor pier is a beam, firmly driven into it like a stake.

Its diameter is less than one meter.

But it still bears the weight of millions of tons used to connect Itogami Island.

The base is a translucent stone pillar with a texture similar to obsidian.

Within that translucent stone, someone's "arm" emerged.

The arms were withered and thin, like those of a mummy.

His wrists bore cruel scars resembling nail marks from torture.