Matchups

On the screen, the young girl addressed the assembled group in a hushed tone. Though they remained undetected by her, an icy dread crept up the spines of everyone present. It felt as if they stood utterly alone, confronting this entity known only as ‘Calamity.’

“Release the Gravity Array. Begin charging the Mana Cannons. Shift the Defensive Array to reflect. Trap her within. Activate the Incineration Array; destroy all surrounding vegetation.”

The old man, Kanzaki Ieyasu, remained entirely unshaken by the palpable killing intent radiating from the young girl. Indeed, such an aura was something he had long grown accustomed to.

He issued his commands, tailored precisely to the unfolding situation, and his assistants proved exceptionally competent. The moment the young girl stirred, an immense, crushing pressure descended upon her immediate vicinity.

It was as though a colossal deity had manifested in the world. Centered on Yisha, the ground within a one-kilometer radius seemed violently stomped, creating a stark two-meter drop between the areas affected by the array and those untouched.

‘Gravity enhancement? No, is it gravity generation?’ Yisha mused.

She surveyed her surroundings. The intricate, layered arrays shimmering in the sky appeared nearly indecipherable to an untrained eye. Yet, to Yisha, who spent her days dissecting such phenomena, they revealed the enemy’s next move as clearly as if spoken aloud.

‘The Incineration Array is meant to destroy the plant life, sealing off Zadkiel, the Source of Life. The Reflective Defensive Array is designed to prevent my brute-force escape. It appears they’ve invested considerable effort in confronting me.’

Having deciphered their tactics, Yisha tightened her grip on the heavy cannon she wielded. She aimed it squarely at the ground beneath her and pulled the trigger.

Boom!!!

A colossal explosion, accompanied by a devastating shockwave, ripped through the immediate area. Debris, flung outwards with immense force, was then rebounded back into the maelstrom by the reflective Defensive Array. Subjected to gravity intensified severalfold, the shattered fragments plummeted to the lowest point with unprecedented velocity.

“Mana Cannons charged to 50%. Total mana reserves depleted by one-tenth. All arrays remain intact.”

Kanzaki Ieyasu’s pronouncement jolted everyone in the control room back to reality. It was as if a switch had been flicked, instantly transforming the space back into its usual state—a meticulously precise, frigid machine. Yet, a subtle difference lingered: the fire in their eyes burned with an even greater intensity than before.

Hadn’t their every arduous day, spent diligently researching, developing, and experimenting with countless arrays, been dedicated to contributing to their family’s burgeoning prosperity?

Now, the primary subject of the ‘God-Slayer Project’ stood directly before them. Could there possibly be a more opportune moment?

“Dancer has vanished! Switching to thermal sensing. Thermal sensing—unable to acquire target!”

The operative tasked with tracking the Spirit’s movements did not succumb to panic. He activated one tracking device after another, each responding with the same disheartening result: Dancer was lost.

“An ability to suppress external perception, then? Fire Mana Cannons one through ten! Mech-Mage Squad, prepare! After five rounds of carpet bombing, activate Defensive Arrays one to three, allowing them entry.”

Kanzaki Ieyasu watched the screen with a glint of amusement in his eyes. The capabilities Yisha was now exhibiting were entirely new, previously unrecorded. Yet, the stronger her abilities proved to be, the more exhilarated he became, for it promised an even greater power for them to ultimately acquire.

In the distant sky, several brilliant lights pierced the gloom. They streaked across the firmament, tearing through the darkness, their incandescent glow momentarily illuminating the world below.

Boom!!!

As if unwilling to endure a one-sided assault, a thunderous roar erupted from the smoke-shrouded clearing.

A black projectile, propelled from the swirling dust, shot forth, hurtling directly towards the incoming Mana Cannons.

‘Is she a fool? The Defensive Array is still active. How could she possibly launch an attack beyond its confines?’

This thought flickered through nearly everyone’s mind. Yet, Kanzaki Ieyasu alone felt a prickling sense that something was profoundly wrong.

‘She initially blasted the ground, then vanished using her Angel’s ability to conceal her presence. Now, she’s counterattacking. Isn’t this deliberately revealing her location? Moreover, she must be aware of the one-way nature of the Defensive Array, so why would she do this?’

A primal instinct screamed that something was amiss, prompting him to lunge towards the control console to examine the array’s status. It was precisely then that the seemingly innocuous yet incredibly potent array, hovering in the sky, suddenly roared to full operational capacity.

“Alert! Control of Defensive Array Number One has been seized! Defensive Array Number Two is compromised—”

A chilling crimson bathed the faces of everyone in the control room. It was an outcome almost none had foreseen: the intricate arrays they had painstakingly engineered were being wrested from their control with such alarming ease.

In the distance, just as the airborne projectile was about to make contact with the Defensive Array, it silently dematerialized. The Mana Cannons, hurtling with relentless momentum, then struck the now-defenseless array.

No explosion ensued. Instead, control of every Defensive Array had been usurped, and each was issued an identical command: “Reverse reflection direction.”

The circular Defensive Array, once a barrier designed to prevent the Spirit’s escape, had been transformed into a deadly track. Yet, what now hurtled along it were not vehicles, but thirty Mana Cannons, each brimming with astonishing destructive power.

The trajectory of this improvised track pointed directly at the very skyscraper housing their control room.

“All defenses—full power! Now!”

Kanzaki Ieyasu roared, his eyes, finally betraying a flicker of alarm, reflected the mana cannonballs, each approximately five meters in diameter. They swelled in his vision, growing larger and larger, until their already dazzling light erupted into the most resplendent, blinding spectacle.

Boom! Boom! Boom…!

A relentless succession of thunderous roars erupted from the front of the skyscraper. Explosions ravaged everything in their path, and the ensuing shockwaves obliterated all surrounding structures. When the cacophony finally subsided, the once pristine building stood utterly shattered, a dilapidated ruin reminiscent of an apocalyptic wasteland.

“The control? Has it been reclaimed?”

Kanzaki Ieyasu’s face was grim, his complexion ashen. The report from his subordinates had chipped away at his once unyielding confidence. Yet, it was not yet time to deploy their ultimate measure, and so he clung to hope, still intent on capturing the target solely through his existing forces.

“Report: Control cannot be regained. The opponent appears to have shielded our electromagnetic waves.”

Alas, Yisha offered him no opportunity whatsoever to reclaim what was lost.

Upon hearing this devastating report, Kanzaki Ieyasu refrained from reprimanding his subordinates.

‘We focused entirely on developing powerful weapons,’ he mused, ‘yet we neglected the fundamental truth that the means of controlling those weapons can be so easily compromised.’

“Abandon the Defensive Arrays! Intensify the Gravity Array! Deploy the Mech-Mage Squad! Force them to reveal themselves!”

He slowly clenched his hand into a fist, the bulging veins on his forearm starkly betraying the savage fury raging within him.

“Should I call you naive? You position the mana generation devices underground, assuming the aerial arrays will remain untouched. This is the kind of oversight that only arises from decades without technological iteration.”

Yisha gripped the device’s mana output conduit, while the luminous particles swirling around her continuously surged into it.

In truth, Yisha’s actions were remarkably straightforward.

Despite the formidable power of their weapons, the enemy still relied on a combination of electromagnetic waves and mana for control. This left only two possible avenues: wireless or wired connections.

The direct connection cables had already been severed the moment she fired her cannon at the ground. As for wireless control…

Did they truly believe her Michael, the Lord of All Things, was merely a passive observer?

Once control was severed, the subsequent steps were simple. By implanting a few micro-control arrays into the critical junctions of their systems, she could seize command. The Calamity, inherently capable of energy conversion, was naturally the optimal conduit for such a task.

“So, what else do you have left?”

Utilizing Michael, the Lord of All Things, Yisha forcibly infiltrated their communication channels, thereby gaining full access to their conversations.

“It no longer matters,” she heard. “We’re all destined to die anyway. Whether it’s sooner or later, the outcome remains the same.”

Gently, she caressed the immense cannon held in her hands. A rare flicker of raw hatred momentarily crossed the young girl’s face.