What was happening now had completely exceeded their plans. If the robots and war chariots inside the UFO launched an assault on the ground, it would be a world-ending catastrophe.
Not to mention the additional armament, the G-Meteor, which had already launched into space. From the Appraisal's description, it could be classified as an orbital weapon.
If they didn't stop it, then once an asteroid was pulled down, this otherworld would inevitably face destruction.
The key problem was that they had no means of entering space to destroy that orbital weapon.
"What do we do now?"
Mirei Shinohara's heart was filled with panic. If she could, she wanted to fly straight into space to chase after that orbital weapon.
But right now, she didn't have the ability to survive in outer space. Even if she did catch up, it would only be certain death.
Moreover, with her current flight speed, reaching space would definitely take a long time. By then, the asteroid strike might have already begun.
Beside her, Shiraori, stepping on her energy footholds, didn't respond to Mirei's words. Her inner anxiety was no less than Mirei's.
"This is really the end… Why did I choose this path of evolution?! If I had taken the second method and slowly accumulated energy, things would've been so much better. I'm such an idiot!"
"Lord Appraisal has tricked me!!!"
"What do we do, what do we do… Is there any way to erase that G-something weapon from space…?"
As Shiraori racked her brain for a solution, a nearly forgotten figure suddenly surfaced in her memory.
"That's it. If only that pitch-black guy came to help! Since he's a god, he must have a way to solve this."
"But how do I even contact him…?"
"Lord Appraisal, almighty Lord Appraisal, hurry and give me some advice!"
...
Meanwhile, about a dozen kilometers away from where the UFO floated, a petite figure stood frozen, staring up at the sky.
Even from over ten kilometers away, the massive object suspended high above was imprinted clearly in her eyes.
That figure was none other than Ariel, the Demon Lord, who had parted ways with Shiraori and Mirei a few days ago.
Having always dedicated herself to saving the world—and protecting the person most important in her heart—Ariel absolutely could not tolerate seeing the world in danger, even if it was only a possibility.
So even though she didn't know what that massive object was, her timid nature didn't stop her from charging toward it without hesitation.
The distance of ten kilometers wasn't much for Ariel. Even though she didn't use teleportation magic, her sheer movement speed was enough to cover it in an instant.
Thus, when Ariel arrived beneath the UFO, it happened to be at the exact moment Shiraori was seeking help from Appraisal.
Seeing the colossal object in the sky up close, Ariel's eyes widened in shock.
At the same time, she spotted the two figures floating above—Shiraori and Mirei Shinohara. Unable to hold back, she shouted loudly toward the sky:
"Hey! What is that thing?! And why are you two up there?!"
Ariel's voice pierced through the air, reaching the heights above. Hearing it, Shiraori and Mirei both looked down in surprise.
"The Demon Lord?"
Seeing who it was, Shiraori froze for a moment before her eyes suddenly lit up.
"That's right. Since she's the Demon Lord, maybe she knows a way to contact that pitch-black guy."
With that thought, Shiraori quickly turned to Mirei and whispered:
"Let's go down first."
Saying so, she dismissed her energy footholds and dropped toward the ground. Nearing the surface, she conjured a few footholds to slow her descent and landed steadily right in front of Ariel.
Just as Shiraori was about to voice her thoughts to Ariel, she suddenly found herself unable to speak. When facing strangers, she still couldn't manage to hold a conversation.
So instead, she cast a pleading look at Mirei Shinohara, who had followed her down, and transmitted her thoughts in brief words through telepathy.
Receiving Shiraori's telepathic message, Mirei immediately took the initiative and flew to stand before Ariel.
"Demon Lord, can you contact a Black Dragon named Güliedistodiez?"
Without any wasted words, Mirei directly expressed Shiraori's idea. Right now, the most important thing was dealing with the G-Meteor. The matter of the UFO could be discussed afterward.
Ariel was shocked by the question. "How do you know about Gülied?"
As one of the world's administrators, aside from the dragon race and a select few humans, almost no one knew of Güliedistodiez's existence.
For these two to mention his name left Ariel greatly increasing her level of regard for both Shiraori and Mirei.
"That doesn't matter. What's important now is whether you can summon him here. If we're too late, the world will be destroyed. As for the rest, we can talk later."
Hearing Mirei's urgent words, Ariel's expression shifted drastically. She immediately stopped worrying about anything else and began using her own unique method to contact Güliedistodiez.
As fellow beings from ancient times, and because of the angel Sariel, Ariel and Güliedistodiez were long-time acquaintances.
They both shared the same goal: to rescue Sariel, who had become the system's core. Because of this, they had always kept in touch.
"I've contacted Gülied. Now can you explain what's going on? Why would the world be destroyed? And what exactly is that thing?"
Ariel pointed at the UFO floating in the sky, her face tense as she looked at Mirei.
"It's like this…"
Mirei didn't hide much and explained the matter of the ancient ruins in broad strokes—though she didn't mention their true purpose for seeking the ruins.
After hearing Mirei's explanation, Ariel's eyes widened.
"What on earth did you two do?! And why was something that dangerous buried underground?!"
Neither Mirei nor Shiraori argued against her reprimand. After all, this disaster had arisen partly because of them.
Seeing that Mirei didn't respond, Ariel chose not to press further. Ultimately, this wasn't solely their fault. Even if today's incident hadn't happened, that buried UFO would have been a catastrophe sooner or later.
"Forget it. Talking about this now won't help. What matters most is dealing with that thing. If it's really as you said, then the only one capable of handling the G-Meteor is Gülied."
"That's great, that's great!"
Hearing that the orbital weapon above their heads could be dealt with, both Mirei and Shiraori finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, a huge flapping sound came from behind, followed by a booming voice.
"Oh my God! What the hell is that?! I leave for just a while, and this kind of freaky thing appears?!"
The three turned to look back and saw a massive wyvern staring blankly at the UFO in the sky. Then he lowered his head and glared at Ariel.
"What kind of scheme are you up to, Spider?"
"Don't ask me. I just got here too."
Ariel shot the wyvern an impatient glare, clearly familiar with him.
"In the end, this is also your responsibility. As the ruler of this wilderness, how could you not know something so dangerous was buried underground?" Ariel's sharp gaze bore into the wyvern.
"Uh…"
At her words, the wyvern instantly closed his mouth.
Standing nearby, Mirei Shinohara and Shiraori couldn't help but cast an Appraisal at the wyvern making a fool of himself.
[Name: Shubon]
[Race: Wind Dragon]
[Level: LV98]
[Identity: Clan Leader of the Wind Dragon Tribe, rulers of the wilderness in the Small Nations Region]
[Stats: HP 12,545/12,545, MP 15,494/15,494…]
[Skills: …]
[…]
Looking at the results, Shiraori and Mirei quickly gained a rough grasp of the wyvern's strength.
In short, he was strong, but not at the very top.
With average stats over ten thousand, his power exceeded 99.9% of all monsters. Even among dragonkind, he was an extremely powerful existence.
At the same time, he was the fourth being they had encountered in this world with over 10,000 stat points.
However, at this level, his usefulness here was minimal.
At that moment, space nearby suddenly warped, and through the portal stepped Güliedistodiez, clad in pitch-black armor.
Seeing him appear, the previously swaggering Wind Dragon immediately flew over and lowered his head like a subordinate.
"Lord Gülied, what brings you here?"
"Ariel informed me. With a problem like this, I cannot turn away."
Gülied spoke seriously, not dismissing the wyvern despite his subordinate status.
Then, turning his gaze to Ariel, as well as Shiraori and Mirei, he showed an apologetic expression.
"My apologies. It was my oversight that caused you trouble. Ariel has already told me the situation. From here on, leave it to me."
Without waiting for a reply, Gülied teleported straight into space.
"Wow… that's some efficiency…"
Watching how quickly he arrived and then left again, Mirei couldn't help but mutter.
"Well, now the biggest threat has been dealt with. All that's left is the UFO."
At Mirei's words, everyone turned their eyes once again to the massive object floating high in the sky.
Meanwhile, Mirei began communicating telepathically with Shiraori.
"Shira, it looks like we still have a chance. With that god helping, destroying the UFO shouldn't be a problem. The real question is how to secure the GMA Bomb inside for ourselves."
"We'll see."
Shiraori gave a curt reply, though her mind was already running countless calculations.
Trying to seize a bomb from the hands of a god might not be as difficult as taking on the UFO alone, but it was hardly much easier.
If possible, she wished Gülied would simply deal with the G-Meteor and not interfere with the UFO. But she knew that was impossible—his attitude just now had made it clear he wouldn't leave it be.
Shiraori could only hope he would restrict himself to destroying the robots and war chariots, leaving the rest to her and Mirei.
With that thought, she sighed inwardly.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, Eriri, watching the livestream, couldn't help but smile mysteriously after hearing Shiraori's inner thoughts.
Then she turned to D beside her and said:
"D-chan, give that Black Dragon another call…"
...
"What's the big deal? Once Lord Gülied comes back, he'll finish it in no time."
The Wind Dragon spoke with complete nonchalance, his tone filled with absolute faith in his superior.
But then his eyes shifted toward Mirei.
"Speaking of which, what the hell are you supposed to be? You look like you've got some dragon features."
Hearing his foul-mouthed remark, Mirei instantly flared up.
"Hey! Watch your tongue, or I'll smash your head in! And for the record, I'm pure-blood dragonkind. Don't you dare compare me to some half-breed like you!"
As she spoke, Mirei ignored the UFO entirely and unleashed her intimidation skill straight at the Wind Dragon.
The overwhelming bloodline pressure crushed him to the ground, pinning his body flat so he couldn't even twitch a finger.
Still, Mirei didn't go too far. After giving him a good scare, she withdrew her aura.
After all, he was the subordinate of that god. The last thing she wanted was to invite divine retaliation by hurting him. At her current level, she was nowhere near his equal.
But deep down, she felt it wouldn't be long before she caught up to him—or even surpassed him.
Freed again, the Wind Dragon stared at Mirei in terror. His earlier cocky demeanor vanished completely, leaving him obedient and subdued.
Off to the side, Ariel, who had witnessed the whole scene, glanced at Mirei in surprise, once again raising her evaluation of her.
And just then, the long-still UFO hovering in the sky finally began to stir.
—
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