episode_0410

On the lifeless ground, Violet walked with a crunching sound.

The enemy, who had been right in front of her moments ago, had vanished into the distance.

In the short moment Violet blinked, the world transformed into a completely different scene.

The realm of the mind created by the Exile was a desolate landscape, completely devoid of life and color. The endlessly stretching marble plain was breathtakingly silent, like a sea of death.

Everything around her was tinged with achromatic colors, somewhere between gray and white. The ground beneath her feet crumbled with a crunching sound each time she walked.

The texture transmitted through her combat boots was unique, and the crushed debris turned into white, salt-like powder, scattering in the wind.

“What on earth is this…?”

A voice filled with vigilance echoed through the network.

Violet slowly turned her gaze. Beyond the horizon, strange, towering rock formations faintly entered her sight. Violet narrowed her eyes and observed them closely before she finally recognized their true nature.

What rose like colossal skulls on the distant horizon were crumbled ruins. Walls and pillars that must have once been magnificent now stood half-collapsed, forlornly like the remnants of a scorched battlefield.

Above the gravestones of a silent, nameless civilization, the sky was indifferently covered in grayish-white, and a faint sun emitted lifeless light, like a dying star.

But the truly shocking thing was something else entirely.

“What?! Our colors are weird!”

“Gah! What’s wrong with us?!”

Violet hastily looked down at her body. Her combat uniform, once made of deep teal and black, had long since lost its color.

As if a powerful bleach had swept away the colors, this achromatic world seemed determined not to permit a single hue brought by outsiders.

What remained were faint black and white, and lifeless shades of gray.

Her military gear, including her belt and harness, had similarly lost their color, transforming into records from old black-and-white photographs.

“This is the terminus. I often call this sight ‘the final landscape’.”

The entire air subtly vibrated, and the Exile’s voice echoed all around, as if whispering directly into her ear.

Violet raised her head and cautiously looked at Exoria, who stood before her.

For she was the only being in this bleached world who retained her color.

Red.

Though her skin was pale like a porcelain doll, her long hair and elaborate dress retained their original colors.

Rather, because everything around her had lost its color, her presence shone even more intensely.

The perfectly circular halo floating behind her head emitted a mysterious light, further enhancing her aura.

“What is all this? Where did my colors go?”

Violet retorted gruffly. A faint smile spread across Exoria’s lips at the childish whine.

Her elegant footsteps were silently swallowed by the bleached sand.

With each step she took, the places she passed through seemed to temporarily regain color before instantly reverting to gray.

“It is the ineffable… the celestial… the dregs left after a lofty will achieved its purpose.”

“Dregs?”

Violet frowned and asked again.

“This is a sight I have witnessed repeatedly for thousands of Tristian years. And it is the fate that all worlds will eventually face.”

Exoria spoke each word with a mournful sigh, starting sadly. Her gaze drifted toward something unseen beyond the bleached landscape.

Like an old veteran recalling poignant and painful memories, her eyes helplessly swept across the empty air.

Her eyes held inexpressible pain and resignation.

“The Eidos are not merely an invading army. They are beings that come for harvest and gluttony. I know this because I was once among them. Worlds swept over by them eventually lose their color and their meaning, just like this.”

As the Exile slowly raised a slender hand, the surrounding rock fragments rose into the air as if defying gravity.

They slowly rotated like snowflakes, floating in the air before turning into fine dust and scattering into nothingness.

“Violet. This is the terminus of history that every intelligent being facing them will meet. Humanity, kingdoms, history—in the face of such immeasurable vastness, they become as meaningless as dust floating between stars.”

Violet swallowed hard. Only then could she fully comprehend the chilling and eerie atmosphere of this place.

This realm contained something more than just a desolate atmosphere. Anyone else, apart from herself with her powerful Violet Network connection, would likely be seized by unbearable isolation and fear if they were dropped into this space.

Violet instinctively reached out and gripped her weapon. The decolored weapon felt hollow, as if it had lost its weight.

Fortunately, it still worked.

“So what?”

Violet asked with a challenging attitude.

“I don’t really know what you’re trying to show me.”

“The beings you are hostile toward are not ordinary. They are predators of civilizations. No single organization can stand against them alone.”

“Then why don’t you just come to us?”

The Exile let out a deep sigh.

“This is no time for jokes.”

“So you want me to cooperate with you? No thanks. If you’re coming, *you* come!”

“You don’t understand. What kind of childish stubbornness makes you refuse to cooperate with other organizations? Ariel Group, Violet. You are already an enemy of the world. Are you confident you can bear the damage to your supporting forces and allies?”

She took a step closer to Violet, casting a sharp gaze.

“Am I not an immediate example? Though it hasn’t been revealed yet, there’s a possibility it will be someday. You should be prepared for a major conflict.”

Violet flinched for a very brief moment.

The Exile’s mind, amplified extremely broadly through the realm, could roughly read all her revealed emotions.

Sensitive.

“Whether it’s a fight against humans or against outer gods, you must consider the possibility of your friends getting hurt. Are you prepared for that?”

The Exile’s eyes pierced into Violet’s trembling gaze.

‘She seems to consider her nameless benefactors quite important, in her own way.’

Several calculations ran through the Exile’s mind.

As if refusing to lose, Violet straightened her back and raised her voice again.

“Yes! I’m prepared! If that happens, I’ll kill everyone, from the tormentor’s family and relatives to their associates and friends!”

This time, it was Exoria’s turn to fall silent. Her eyebrows subtly rose at Violet’s suddenly domineering demeanor.

“So, are you Arcite prepared for such a situation?”

Violet clenched her fist and shouted.

“I’ll kill them all!”

“Murder! Explosions!”

In excitement, multiple voices in the network simultaneously shouted and cheered.

In the face of the hostile atmosphere, the Exile calmly unfolded her fan.

“…Don’t misunderstand, Arcite will not be hostile towards you in the future. We have sufficient reason to converse with you.”

“Of course you should!”

Violet lifted her chin and retorted.

Her gesture of folding and unfolding her fan paused for a moment.

Exoria’s eyes narrowed. A tense sensation permeated the air.

“However, separate from your talent or potential for cooperation, that juvenile mind of yours is simply something I cannot overlook.”

“What?”

Space vibrated. Violet couldn’t find a more fitting description.

It was a truly unfamiliar sensation, feeling as if her entire world was shaking.

As if breathing, the bleached plain began to tremble subtly.

“I tried to refrain from acting purely on personal opinions, but this time, I intend to prioritize my private feelings. Therefore, I cannot help but say a word.”

As spacetime itself convulsed, Exoria’s halo radiated an even brighter presence. Amidst this, Exoria took a deep breath.

This sense of elation, felt after a long time, was like potent liquor, fiercely burning inside and applying a harsh, hard-to-break stimulation.

Flowing through her nerves was a strange mix of guilt and arrogance.

Though two centuries had passed since she vowed not to oppress the weak, her sinful predator’s lineage seemed to still remember the pleasure granted by immense power.

While lamenting her difficult-to-suppress true nature, she also felt uncomfortable realizing she was secretly delighted.

A faint red light flickered deep within her eyes.

Exoria allowed the numerous Violets sucked into her realm to assume battle positions.

Finally, a convulsive smile appeared on her otherwise calm face.

“Rejoice, child. You are the first human to draw out my wrath in a century.”

Her demeanor changed in an instant, and her mild tone sharpened.

Indeed, she had now forgotten the previous situation. Her unleashed instincts had quickly found a new reason to be angry.

“…You young, insolent child, how dare you dictate whether this body, who has traversed millennia, who has wandered the sea of stars, should come to your side or not?! How dare you!”

Before anyone could be surprised by the astonishingly changed atmosphere and the arrogance that tore through the air, two more indescribably radiant arms sprouted from Exoria’s back.

“You young, foolish one, trusting solely in your talent, in your dull and immature mind, I shall personally engrave a lesson.”

“Agh! That one’s in Phase 2! Attack! Attack!”

“Fire!”

Hundreds of Violets pulled their triggers. Heavy weapons emplacements, set up within the realm, instantly spat fire. Countless shells, crossbow bolts, and bullets flew through the air.

Bullets and shells of all sizes battered the force fields like a torrential downpour. The force fields that had deployed right in front of them were instantly dismantled and torn apart the moment they were directly hit.

Violet herself didn’t have high expectations, but the power unleashed by the Hekatonkheires-made firearms piqued the Exile’s interest.

Small yet astonishingly powerful. Were there such modern weapons among humanity?

Perhaps they had absorbed Luminex’s technology.

If swept away by the barrage, her current human-mimicking form would find it difficult to endure.

Annoying.

She felt the need to remove them.

“I declare.”

It was then that the beckoning Exile entered the vision of the Violet of 3rd Company, 1st Platoon, 2nd Squad, who was charging at the forefront.

Immediately after she began to speak, the laws that had turned regularly like gears began to twist. Fragments of unreality pressed down on all things, and mystery opened its eyes.

What surged forth was an overwhelming pressure, as the rules of the world knelt before mystery.

“By the decree of a lofty authority that cannot be uttered, I, this unnamed being who walks a path of no return, shall re-weave the rules of this domain upon which I stand. The flow of matter and energy shall be denied, and the four fundamental forces of all things shall obey.”

Incomprehensible geometric patterns flickered in the Exile’s eyes. An ineffable distortion, originating from her fingertips, spread like a tidal wave.

“As one who follows the pronouncements of the Ninth Pillar, as a former Executor of the Ennead, I shall declare here.”

At that moment, the very fabric of reality was re-woven with a new providence. It was then that the bullets, flying fiercely with sparks, suddenly began to slow down.

“All ranged attacks conducted within this domain are hereby forbidden!”

The surrounding air solidified like transparent crystal, and all types of projectiles flying towards Exoria conspicuously slowed.

“All attempts to close the distance shall be futile. The roar of gunpowder, the incantations of magic, and the principles of arrogant science shall all kneel before this providence!”

Innumerable heavy metal bullets, large and small, abruptly stopped before her.

It was then that all roaring firearms fell silent.

Bullets dropped weakly to the ground. A bolt loosed from a crossbow string fell right in front of them, and flying magic spells extinguished.

The collective consciousness’s thoughts halted at the unexpected situation.

“This is my declaration.”

The Violets, who had been charging mechanically, were seized by countless hands of all sizes sprouting from the ground.

Some Violets threw themselves forward, shaking off and cutting through the hands of sand and rock.

The Violets who were activating their detonators were astonished to find that even their explosives didn’t work.

“What?!”

-Crunch!

With a dying scream, Violet squads were sucked into the ground. Some who rapidly charged with time acceleration recoiled in horror at the sight of a massive wave of light.

Two more arms, which had bloomed from the Exile’s back, swung massive, vibrantly glowing blades, scything through the Violet group as if harvesting grain.

“What?! Are all ranged weapons really forbidden?!”

The Exile, as if mocking, scoffed at the telepathic waves transmitted to her.

“Did I not tell you? I have suppressed even the combustion of vulgar gunpowder. Did you truly believe, insolent and impudent, that you could overturn that cruel celestial authority with mere scientific trinkets?”

Violet leaped without time to reply to the mocking words. A powerful telekinetic force slammed down precisely where she had been. To avoid being crushed like tomatoes, the Violets ran this way and that, precisely stepping on the countless hands erupting from the ground.

Leaping again. Batting away attacks, shattering them, deflecting them. The collective consciousness’s tactical immersion delved into and dissected every situation on the field as much as possible.

Across the desolate, bleached wilderness, countless gray girls and one red woman moved.

As the battle intensified, a new offensive began in the mental realm as well.

Overwhelming the being before them with physical force alone was impossible. Other collective intelligences madly burrowed into her mind, attempting a breakthrough.

“We have to penetrate her mind and neutralize her!”

“Break through! By any means necessary!”

Exoria laughed, lightly deflecting a flying sword with her fan during Violet’s violent attempts.

“Rejoice, child. The rules are a declaration that applies to all here. I, too, cannot use ranged attacks, so charge with all your might, like those brave knights of Arnor! Like the light cavalry of the old republic, who charged out of trenches with lightning lances!”

“Ugh! Aren’t the things popping out of the ground ranged attacks?!”

Blood-splattered Unit 12554 protested this bizarre situation and leaped forward. The red magic surrounding her axe blazed fiercely.

Just as she was about to bring her axe down, a new arm behind her thrust a golden spear.

An arm that sprouted from the ground grabbed Unit 12554’s pierced, gasping body and crushed it.

With the power she had summoned after a long time, she was briefly intoxicated by arrogance.

It was a perilous rush that could explode at any moment, but it was sufficiently worthwhile.

Both as entertainment and as a means of teaching a lesson to a potential future collaborator.

“Squad 2, blocking abilities are sealing the path! Turn 90 degrees, leap, then step on the pillar and advance, time accelerate for 2 seconds, then perform three Raix-Haiburn style leaps!”

“What are you doing? Is not the wicked Eidos’s lackey right here? Hasten and cut her with that sword. Or perhaps shatter her mind!”

“Squad 12, approaching from the right, the enemy is checking you. Join with Squad 8, disperse, focus, then aim for the two arms on her back! Unit 4442, shield! Unit 567, retreat and switch with Unit 568! Their mental concentration isn’t breaking!”

Violet fought on two fronts.

She fought to break through the mind, and she ran to strike down the enemy in reality.

It was utterly distant.

-Thud!

Exoria met the attackers like a towering fortress. The Violets who had delved into numerous abilities and magic were few in number and were easily swept away by her formidable attacks.

What surged was regret.

If only they had artillery fire, if only they had melting rays, if only there were more missile and heavy weapon support!

At this rate, isn’t it like fighting a Red Zone with bare hands?

“Wait, Red Zone?”

Violet blinked at the sudden thought.

The collective consciousness allocated processing power to an unexpected possibility.

The network, calculating at high speed, found an unexpected loophole in the process.

“Ranged weapons aren’t allowed? What’s the standard for ‘weapon’?”

“What are you talking about, suddenly?”

The voice thrown by a tiny minority, and the clone-democracy algorithm that respected minorities, yielded a peculiar solution.

Soon, within the realm of the mind, which had been filled with noise and explosions, Exoria detected a bizarre movement.

“Attack!”

Violets, carrying themselves, were running towards her as if wielding battering rams.

The Exile, who had thought ‘no way’ to such an absurd, almost ignorant action, had to doubt her own vision.

Her suspicion was correct.

“Commence firing!”

“Here we gooooooo!”

A Violet who had approached by breaking through countless obstacles hurled another Violet.

The hurled Violet, leaving a trail of time acceleration, activated a Raix-Haiburn style leap. The moment her magic-infused foot pushed off the air, she accelerated with an explosion.

The first Violet projectile quickly hit a sword and exploded, but Exoria belatedly realized the existence of a heavy weapons team assembling something far behind in the wilderness.

It was a human-powered trebuchet.

“Violet 1st Artillery, fire!”

“Violet 2nd Artillery! 3rd Artillery! Fire!”

As the ropes were pulled, Violets soared beyond the firmament of the mental realm. The wingsuit human-projectiles, flying through the strong wind, quickly broke through the final stage and thrust forward in a grand charge.

Barriers, telekinesis, and numerous sand arms surging from the ground batted them away. The trebuchets were quickly destroyed by spikes and blades erupting from the ground. Nevertheless, the brute-force breakthrough attempts continued.

The Exile burst into a maniacal laugh.

“Ahahahahaha! To think there was such a clever trick!”

How ridiculous! Yet, at the same time, Exoria couldn’t help but be impressed. Impressed by the fact that such an impudent and childish tactic had exploited a loophole in her authority.

The power of that vast collective consciousness, sharply pounding on her mental barrier by exploiting this loophole, was also dangerously close.

Nevertheless, she was pleased.

By the exhilaration of battle, felt after a long time, and by the presence of another talent manifesting before her.

Of course, she had no intention of magnanimously allowing the Zweihänder and burning rapier flying towards her neck to pass.

“I declare again.”

A fragment of her authority unfolded once more.

“As one who follows the pronouncements of the Ninth Pillar, as a former Executor of the Ennead, I command. So long as this body does not move, an infinite sophism shall impede the existence of all that comes.”

The blades flying towards the Exile stretched endlessly towards an unending path.

“Though yearning guides you closer, what you shall reap is only the eternal void, forever beyond reach!”

The wingsuit Violet, who had been executing a grand charge, froze in mid-air.

“Huh?”

Unit 444 became perplexed. Her spear was clearly aimed in the perfect direction to shatter its crown.

The spear continuously flew, infinitely splitting each second, to pierce the Exile’s pale forehead.

It flies, it traverses. It reaches, it *should* reach. Why not?

A short space was split into an infinite expanse.

The melee Violets had to witness their blades failing to reach, the closer they got.

What was this absurd situation where the closer they got, the more unreachable it became?

“What kind of cheap trick is this-”

-Whump!

Spikes that burst from the ground impaled and tore through Violets.

Immediately after, the remaining Violets also flinched, clutching their heads.

“Damn it! The mental attack isn’t working! She deflected it!”

The former Archon of the Monad sneered.

“Are you surprised? This is authority. Does reality now register in your eyes? How was the lesson this adult being personally bestowed upon you?”

Violet felt nosebleed dampening her mask. The air was filled with a metallic taste.

“This is the difference in our respective levels, yours and mine.”

Violet lost herself in that fierce and arrogant momentum.

The opponent was using a different kind of power and authority than the previous Apostles.

The method of attack was completely beyond comprehension.

A situation where numerical superiority, like a legion, and fire support were both absent.

“Definitely strong!”

So the collective consciousness was currently silent.

Violet lacked confidence.

Confidence to lose.

Violet smirked.

Although she couldn’t defeat *that* completely right now, the democratic decision-making process just moments ago had, against all odds, created a way to humble that arrogance.

“I won’t lose to some old lady from another world!”

“That’s right!”

Exoria watched, her fan unfolded.

Violet opened her mouth as if to retort with an arrogant attitude. Her words were not directed at the enemy.

“Rise.”

On the bleached sand, other clones surged forth one by one.

Amidst them, numerous small beasts raised their heads.

The consciousness wove countless words together.

Mental realm, domain, authority. Imagination, thought, reality manipulation, Red Zone—and fantasy.

Ultimately, reality manipulation was fantasy based on high-level computation.

And what she imagined was her strongest self.

Embracing the lost possibilities of the future, the ‘what if’ ideas, like a dagger, she took a step forward.

“Advance!”

The young Apostle girl pressed her forces towards the former Executor of the Otherworld.