Chapter 263

The figure of the Apostle that appeared before Violet was truly bizarre.

It took on a human form, yet its eyes, nose, and ears were nowhere to be found. The places where sensory organs should be were covered entirely by long, strip-like grooves etched into its face.

The skin had a texture resembling a mix of ceramic and organic material, with thick, long entities reminiscent of plant roots entwining and forming its limbs and body.

There was no denying it looked nothing like any creature native to this world.

“…!”

Violet swallowed hard as she gazed at the Apostle’s body.

This monster was no mere enemy. Its very existence disturbed the air around it, causing it to shake uneasily, while the surrounding light warped and flickered oddly.

As she adjusted her vision, she could see the flow of magical power twisting and dancing in impossible patterns.

The scene before her simultaneously evoked intense fear and awe.

Even Violet’s shallow intellect grasped this: It was an existential calamity threatening the laws of nature and the ecosystem.

Just standing there was enough to provoke a serious collapse of this world.

But that wasn’t the only thing weighing down on Violet.

The size of the revealed Apostle exceeded anything she could have imagined. Through the overwhelming visual data, Violet estimated her height compared to that of the Apostle.

Even adjusting for error, its height was over four times hers. Coupled with its bulk comparable to a medium to large monster, the physical force emanating from it was formidable.

Violet thought to herself.

If she couldn’t completely defeat that creature here, she couldn’t achieve a decisive victory in this battle.

“All artillery units! Lock on!”

“Prepare Violet Guided Bombs!”

As the command center hastily prepared their attack, the Apostle raised its four arms.

One pair of its arms revealed a long, sharp blade that glinted menacingly as it reflected light.

The pair of dual swords unfamiliar to her buzzed ominously. The other pair of arms splayed out, deploying a magic circle.

The tendrils making up its limbs writhed as if alive, moving smoothly without a sound.

In an instant, one ruthless will shot through Violet’s mind.

Violet grunted in frustration at the sheer rudeness of throwing an envelope into the opponent’s face.

“Then, are you ready?”

The Apostle approached her with a blank expression, mocking her resolve.

The two pairs of arms danced ominously in the air.

“Regrettably, this isn’t your den. It’s the unmistakable reality.”

The intensity of the vibrations echoing from the Apostle’s dual swords grew even stronger.

Over it, an ear-piercing, unpleasant noise rang out. The two sword-wielding arms spread wide.

“It’s coming!”

“Commence the attack!”

As the stationary monsters charged forward, the Apostle’s form vanished before her eyes.

In an instant, a massive body crashed into the front lines. Violet shot skyward, propelled by a small explosion. The response was quick.

The Violets readying their positions pulled their triggers. Not even a scratch would be made by mere rifle rounds.

“Of course, it wouldn’t work.”

“Unfurl the formation!”

The Violets quickly assumed a formation, surrounding the Apostle.

As other Violets held back the advancing horde of monsters from all sides, a hundred Violets simultaneously descended upon the Apostle.

“Press on!”

Countless swords and spears surged forth. The menacing tide of forces charged from all directions.

The Apostle effortlessly swung its sword. A sharp force was unleashed, and the first row was sent tumbling backward.

The clones, undeterred, continued to run while trampling over their fallen comrades.

“Run!”

Even as they died, were cut, and torn apart, they closed the distance in an instant. The leader, Unit 415, lunged forward.

It stabbed. Did it connect?

Though it didn’t have high hopes, Unit 415’s face was sliced clean off, along with its dissatisfaction.

“Uh? I definitely hit it!”

“It didn’t connect!”

The sensation in their grip was hollow. Most close-range attacks never landed.

The fierce red energy of magical power either refracted or bent at strange angles upon contacting the Apostle’s body.

Though the image of Aedos flickered in Violet’s sight, it was clear yet constantly shifting and chaotic.

Even if they struck a phantom, it would feel more effective than this.

“Why isn’t it hitting?!”

While Violet drew her next card, three squads were systematically sliced apart without a sound.

Violet’s blood stained the gray city red.

As the monsters were scattered across the battlefield, the Apostles’ blades were clean-cut and precise, as if an aged, seasoned farmer was reaping a wheat field, decapitating the Violets’ heads one by one.

It was fortunate for Violet, but even the Apostle itself had no breathing room.

“Can you kill it?”

When a comrade whose mind was more than half trapped anxiously asked, he received a response.

“Impossible. We don’t have a way to completely kill it.”

The Apostle, wrestling with Violet in its mind, expressed its anger towards its comrade’s despair.

Aedos’ wide and keen extrasensory perception merely conveyed the shocking capabilities of the existence known as Violet in a higher resolution; there were no answers.

“I can gradually see their connections. It’s spread everywhere. All around Rustroom outside the barrier. It’s beyond our abilities.”

“Ugh!… What the hell! So we’re stuck here?”

“I understand your plight, but I hope you can hold on. Rush to complete your consciousness and open the passage. We’re out of luck, but if it’s the executioners or the lords, they may be able to subdue this monster.”

Thus spoke the Apostle as it turned away.

All around, large and small magic circles unfurled. Red magical power coalesced into a colorful array of spells.

The vast array of magic stored in Vision Memory was suddenly unleashed, scattering magical power in all directions.

Then came the deafening explosion.

– Kuooh!

Magic from all around shot toward the Apostle.

Beginning with translucent red tracking blades, countless fireballs and thunderclaps surged. Spears of magical power and bolts of lightning bore down.

The Apostle calmly extended its hand upward. As a geometric spell unfurled above its palm, it swung widely.

The advancing spells shifted direction, flying back toward Violet.

“Ugh! It’s coming back!”

“It’s using cheat codes!”

The twisted spells hurtled back toward their master, engulfing the area in smoke.

For a moment, their confidence faded as merciless bombardments rained down above them.

– Boom! Boom!

The Apostle’s massive form vanished into the dense smoke.

Violet-style simultaneous impact fire. The overwhelming barrage of projectiles that sliced through the air held the Apostle momentarily captive while the command center continued to draw out the next cards to press on.

“Alright! A bit of bombardment is getting through!”

Wingsuit Violets soared through the air, cutting through the wind. Every time the excited girls landed their strikes, explosions erupted.

Behind them followed a hail of missiles from armed helicopters. With each explosion of missiles equivalent to a house, the Apostle’s large body was once again engulfed in flames.

Machine gun fire from hang gliders rained down upon the swarm of monsters.

“Pour it on!”

Once more, the Apostle distorted reality. Massive gusts of wind struck without warning.

The helicopters barely escaped the turbulence, but the fragile hang gliders were helplessly swept up and fell to the ground. The wind-blown Violets soared through the sky like fallen leaves, helplessly flailing about.

– Boom!

Moments later, spiraling beams of light tore through the air. A few Violet Guided Bombs that barely cut through the gusts exploded in mid-air.

Explosions, flashes, clouds of dust. Amidst it all, the swarm of monsters relentlessly clung to the defense line.

As numerous explosives and beams intersected, the long-silent old city crumbled in less than twenty minutes, and amidst the ruins, units splintered off into squads.

Each squad broke apart once more into smaller units, engaging their own fights.

“Fourth squad move right! First squad spread out left and right!”

“Fifth squad arm heavy weapons and move. Second squad annihilated? Surviving members, move to the designated area. Join up with the fourth squad, regroup, and reinsert!”

The turning point lay in whether they could move as individuals.

Violet actively responded to every situation.

The soldiers, having set up a defensive formation with swords and spears, quickly switched to crossbows and rifles for an all-out gunfight.

While monsters fell upon being hit by bullets on the right, torrents of flames poured down. Startled Violets dispersed and then regrouped to retaliate with magic.

Every attack and defensive technique that a single Violet could maneuver seamlessly interlocked like precise cogs, manifesting a gigantic killing machine.

The Apostle could fully utilize its operational and distributed thinking abilities after revealing its main body.

Its species’ unique sharp extrasensory perception and manipulative abilities were swift and superior, but in uncoordinated situations, controlling groups of monsters was preferable.

It was too much to manipulate each monster as Violet did. The Apostle felt regret in that respect.

Suddenly, as the Violets and the Apostle progressed through battle, an amusement flashed through their minds.

This battlefield was a massive chessboard.

The Apostle was a professional player equipped with sharp senses. He continuously calculated the best moves to counter each reaction, block off attacks, retaliate, and aim for critical hits.

Moreover, the Apostle could impose advantageous rules for itself and utilize all kinds of diverse pieces.

Every time the Apostle’s manipulation of reality activated, Violet faced a series of calamities—bombs bursting mid-air, the ground swallowing up units, and the dead monsters coming back to life.

It was, quite frankly, barbaric—placing shogi pieces on a chessboard or being forced to follow the rules of shogi in a game of chess.

Every level of response was stifled by these irrational phenomena, and all Violet could do in return was express her anger and bewilderment.

“Ah, no! They’ve been buffed!”

“It’s turbulence! Aerial support is impossible!”

The Apostle warped the battlefield to its whims, directly functioning as a queen while depleting the enemy’s forces.

And yet, a sense of frustration lingered.

Aedos surveyed the entire battlefield. Despite deploying its main body, the offense remained slow. Why was that?

The issue was that there seemed to be no way to end the game.

The Apostle’s desperation spilled out.

“Damn…!”

Violet had no king to lead them to a checkmate.

What lay before her were pieces that continuously replenished themselves on the chessboard.

Violet was a slightly inexperienced beginner, but she could consistently redeploy the pieces lost in battle.

On the battlefield, the Apostle faced countless pawns that were as aggressive as rooks, cunning as knights, and strikingly deceptive like bishops.

Every time one was depleted, another pawn appeared on the board.

Though the most trivial, they were versatile pieces that could become anything and accomplish anything.

“Dodge!”

Defense. Counterattack.

The Violet’s, reinforced with magic, dashed through the debris at superhuman speed.

Sheared through the crumbling concrete wreckage, Violet unleashed gunfire and magic upon the Apostle.

One clone was ripped from the sky by the Apostle’s sword. Following that, a horde of monsters with sharp teeth charged in.

The battle grew increasingly fierce. The clone squad met the Apostle and monsters with fluid tactics, pushing through with overwhelming force.

The wreckage of the city was crushed and tangled amidst magic, gunfire, claws, and teeth. Reality continued to twist in the midst of it all.

Time slowed, and bullets paused mid-flight. Debris from buildings floated upwards, twisting and contorting, raining down upon Violet.

Objects lost in gravity slowly rotated in the air, colliding with the clones at mysterious speeds.

Regardless, the Violets fought fiercely, spiraling and twisting.

Screams of agony echoed through the air. Bodies shattered and tore apart.

Blood and dust mingled in fallen bodies.

Another unit was ruthlessly trampled, yet another soldier took the place of the fallen.

Even in the warping reality and relentless monsters, the Violets stood their ground.

Amidst dozens of minutes of prolonged skirmishes, the Violets slowly grasped a lead.

“There’s a limit to its capabilities!”

The Apostle was undeniably strong.

But why were they still alive?

It could warp and twist reality.

Yet, why couldn’t it wipe them out instantly?

A warren of questions piled up.

As they fumbled for vague leads within the dark abyss of ignorance, an unexpected communication came through.

A Violet from the command center shouted.

“Scholarship Officer!”

Several aircraft, large and small, hovered like eagles over the massive hemispherical barrier covering the entire area.

Inside the wobbling transport helicopter, Irene calmly listened to the words of the Special Operations Division girl before her.

“So strong! So incredibly powerful!”

The masked girl donned in gray camouflage nodded, causing Irene’s head to throb.

She tilted her head for a moment, let out a long breath, and muttered.

“…To summarize, the opponent refers to themselves as an Apostle, looks like a member of the invading species known as ‘Aedos’ from beyond the second dimension. They wield magic that defies interpretation, akin to reality manipulation, alongside mind corruption and the ability to control monsters. Did I get that right?”

“Yep! So it’s super dangerous! There’s one in my head, too. It can’t come over here! It’s seriously strong!”

As Violet explained her battle with the two Apostles, she grimaced and clearly expressed her irritation. Although unseen behind the mask, her feelings were evident.

Irene’s golden eyes darkened as she looked at such a friend.

If Violet was reiterating that it was dangerous, it should not be taken lightly.

“There are many hurt! Everyone’s got fevers and headaches!”

On top of that, there were the sudden transformations of people into monsters and the emergence of patients suffering from unknown ailments.

The situation was turning out to be far more complicated than she had anticipated.

Due to her insufficient language skills, the explanation was rather long-winded, but through Violet’s words, Irene quickly grasped that the unknown enemy known as the Apostle possessed the ability of reality manipulation.

If they blindly entered the chaos unfolding beneath the barrier, they would only increase their casualties.

The Helios Huntsmen were elite among elites, but it was problematic that their opponent was anything but an ordinary monster.

– As you heard, according to the reports from our Special Operations Division members, there is an unknown enemy inside. We must not let our guard down. Please be cautious.

– Hmm…oh my…

– What the hell is this…

Numerous voices of various tones came through the headset.

Violet’s words were also communicated through the lines to the major officers of the Helios dispatch team and the Aegis rescue squad.

– Adelaide?

Upon asking a question, Adela, who had been slow to respond, opened her mouth.

– They said they’ve secured safety around the Exhibition Hall for now. We’ll be entering first. Since patients have emerged, we cannot afford to delay.

The Helios team expressed their intent to follow in after. Coincidentally, the Restraid had shown a nonchalant attitude about entering.

As Adela prepared to secure an exit, she felt puzzled by Restraid’s gradual entry, which was more covert, but decided to ignore it.

Resolving the tasks at hand was the first priority.

Soon, Irene’s eyes caught the sight of the rescue squad passing through the barrier.

Medium to small-sized airships continuously disappeared into the bizarrely colored barrier.

‘Now, infiltrating from the air and providing support…’

Irene’s gaze turned towards two officers standing beside her.

Upon reading that glance, Viktor crossed his hands in an X-shape, and Morgan shook his head disapprovingly.

‘Impossible. Dropping into an unknown number of monsters capable of interspecies co-operation is an act of suicide.’

‘They’re saying there are two Apostles, right? And the helicopter we’re on is unarmed.’

If experienced veterans say it can’t be done, then it can’t be. Irene surveyed the members on the broad transport helicopter and had no choice but to agree.

They could not afford to let the elite hunters of the clan die pointlessly in such a place.

‘If only the Rigel group hadn’t diverted the budget…’

It was disappointing, truly disappointing. The personnel, equipment, and funding were unsatisfactory. If they had more leeway, they could have had more diverse options.

As Irene felt her own powerlessness, her expression darkened slightly. Noticing the shadow on her friend’s face, Violet raised her hand to wave it around.

It was a signal that they were still strong enough to endure.

“…It’s okay! I’ll call for help later if needed. Just help the people in the Exhibition Hall for now!”

Without hesitation, Irene’s finger deftly operated the console to switch the lines.

– Everyone, prepare for descent.

A slender yet calm voice passed through the headsets of the hunters checking their equipment.

Just as she was about to issue the next command, a sudden external communication broke through the headset.

An unexpected voice shattered the brief silence.

– Irene! Irene! Can you hear me?

Irene’s eyes widened. She recognized the unexpected voice. It was the Scholarship Officer.

Through the thick static, the smooth yet profound tone was crisp and clear.

“Scholarship Officer?”

– Currently returning to Rustroom. Entering now is dangerous! Code Omega is not just any monsters…

The urgent voice reaching through the headset prompted Irene to respond calmly.

“Yes, it’s the Apostles.”

A brief silence fell, filled with the sharp noise of jets and the whirring of the transport helicopter reverberating in the space.

The Scholarship Officer’s voice rang out again, mixed with astonishment and doubt.

– How do you—?

The Violet wearing the headset immediately responded.

“I’m fighting them! One’s in our heads!”

– I need an explanation about the situation on the ground.

“What explanation? We’re busy right now!”

Violet grumbled with irritation, indifferent to the questions. Where had they been when they should have arrived?

“More importantly, Scholarship Officer! Do you know any weaknesses of those Apostles? Answer quickly! Do you know? Don’t you? It’s urgent!”

Seijis, sensing the seriousness behind Violet’s whine, remained silent.

“I don’t know! Is there a way to kill them?! We’re out of ammo! Our cannonballs are running low too! In our minds, we have the advantage! But…”

Violet expressed her frustration.

It seemed evident the Apostle had its limits, yet they lacked a clear strategy.

A moment later, a heavier voice replied.

– Alright, listen carefully…

As soon as the Scholarship Officer finished speaking, Violet was struck with admiration so profound, she wanted to slap her knee.

“Alright, let’s die!”

Fidgeting with several trump cards, Violet decided to become the shield.

Dying was the thing they were best at.

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