Several days later.
At Defense Bureau headquarters.
The sky hung dark, as though rain might fall at any moment.
Countless muddy yellow floodwaters had converged across the land into a vast lake. Many buildings lay submerged beneath it, and all was deathly still.
Not far away, military camps stretched into the distance, their depth impossible to gauge.
Aircraft carriers hovered overhead, surrounded by swarms of escort craft.
On the deck of the Overlord.
A hooded woman from the Star Federation, dressed nothing like the soldiers around her, was drawing a ritual array.
She looked barely twenty, yet her eyes held the weight of years. Cradling a thick tome and wearing glasses, she resembled a bookstore owner.
"What a powerful evil spirit..."
After a long while, the "Long-Lived One" exhaled. "The surrounding land has already been eroded until it's terribly thin... It could sink behind the Veil at any moment. If we could hand over this entire region, satisfy that evil spirit, and have it banished behind the Veil, I'd call that a worthwhile trade..."
"I'm afraid... it won't be that simple."
Emerald flames flickered.
The boy codenamed Ghostfire appeared beside the "Long-Lived One." "According to the bureau's instruments... the ghost tide below is about to reach a peak. We have to interrupt it."
"Then let's begin as planned... The longer we delay, the worse it gets for us!"
The "Long-Lived One" sighed softly. "Actually... I still stand by my earlier proposal. If the entire nation made offerings to invite a great existence here... dealing with this evil spirit would be simple."
"Impossible... East Dragon cannot do that."
A layer of ashen black covered Ghostfire's face as he refused without hesitation.
The next instant.
Boom!
The Overlord thundered. Its cannons roared, shells slamming into the once-calm lake.
Water surged skyward, revealing