A deathly silence fell over the entire battlefield.
The Worldbreak Behemoth hung motionless in midair.
But deep within its chest, the Aggregation Core pulsed and compressed at a terrifying rate.
The destructive energy of the Four Calamities, all born of the same source, was contracting toward the core's very center.
The air warped. Space trembled. Even light bent under the pull of that collapsing energy.
Self-destruction.
A point-blank, full-domain detonation of all four calamities combined.
Once it exploded, everything within a hundred-li radius would be wiped flat in an instant.
Botobai's barriers would not hold. The Zodiacs' bodies would not hold. No one could survive at the center of destruction on that scale.
"Everyone, fall back!"
Botobai gritted his teeth and drew all seven barriers inward, trying to contain the blast.
But he knew it would barely make a difference.
The barriers could block attacks from outside. They could not stop destruction erupting point-blank from the core's center.
Despair spread across the battlefield.
Even battle-hardened fighters like Ginta and Kanzai could only clench their fists, helpless.
Fight? They could not get through.
The core had compressed to its limit. External attacks could not even touch it.
Run? Too late.
The energy had reached its final stage of compression. In ten breaths at most, it would explode.
Then Netero's voice rang out, calm enough to cut through the chaos and trembling.
"Knov."
"Activate the Space Containment Plan."
"Yes."
A calm reply came from the edge of the battlefield.
Knov stepped forward and adjusted his glasses.
During the Chimera Ant campaign, this two-star Ruins Hunter had been a spatial ability user responsible for logistics, transport, and support.
But sustained access to the Dark Continent's rare resources had transformed the scale of his Nen, the stability of his space, and the limits of