Back in the present.
High above the Kingdom of Ye.
The wind howled, pressing Lucas's coat tight against his body.
His bat wings spread behind him, and electromagnetic force surged from his fingertips, reaching into the nearest islands like countless invisible threads.
Every trace of pure metal was forcibly ripped out of the rock and twisted together, prying the structures apart from within.
The rock fractured along with it, and rubble showered down like a torrential rain.
Even with his efficiency pushed to its limit, his efforts were only a drop in the bucket.
The women darted between the islands, each unleashing her own abilities.
Hiyori's power over time precisely weathered the mountain ridges, Hina's intense heat melted through the islands' rocky foundations, Stussy's wind blades tore through the earth, Robin's enormous limbs hammered craters into the ground, and Scarlet's Clay Bombs thundered without pause...
But there were still over seventy islands-far too many. Even giving it everything they had, the women had barely chipped away at the edges.
Accelerating in free fall, the islands plunged faster and faster.
"I'm a wanted criminal. Why am I doing the Navy's job?"
Lucas watched the islands rapidly approach the ground below, a hint of helplessness crossing his face as he began considering how to relocate his businesses.
Over a hundred islands falling freely from tens of thousands of meters would inevitably break the sound barrier. Once they crashed into the sea, the impact would strike the seabed directly and trigger seismic zones. Volcanoes, tsunamis, and massive earthquakes would follow one after another, bringing disaster to the entire world.
Despite the looming catastrophe, Lucas showed little urgency. He had never been a compassionate saint, nor did he feel for the people who might get caught up in it.
If the disaster caused by