Chapter 1246: Do You Even Hear What You're Saying?
The high-frequency vibration waves blasted against the pitch-black Aurora. Despite being powerful enough to easily pulverize superalloys, the attack vanished without a trace, like mud sinking into the sea. The stone puppet wasn't even pushed back a single step, as if it hadn't felt the force at all!
"Can this familiar fly in the sky?"
The female officer standing on the stone puppet's shoulder murmured under her breath.
Upon closer inspection, the woman was unmistakably the same officer who had earlier reported the situation to Anzama. She wore the Special Attack Mage Regiment uniform and held a black knight's lance, which emitted the same pitch-black Aurora as the stone puppet.
The next moment, the massive stone puppet began to writhe.
As if it had no skeleton, the stone puppet curled into a ball in the blink of an eye, then unfurled wings and carved out a mouth and sharp claws. A flying dragon, about fourteen or fifteen meters long, improbably materialized beneath the female officer's feet.
Immediately, the dragon—also cloaked in the same pitch-black Aurora—soared into the air, charging aggressively toward the two-horned horse in the sky.
The Two-Horned Deep Crimson flared with rage, its body shimmering with light as countless vibration waves roared forth. Though these waves made the atmosphere tremble incessantly, they had no effect on the dragon. Unable to comprehend what was happening, the two-horned horse could only flee in disarray under the dragon's pursuit.
"A familiar? No, it doesn't seem alive... Is it some kind of weapon?"
Sayaka watched the battle in the sky.
The two-horned horse was overwhelmingly suppressed. No matter what attack it launched, it couldn't touch the female officer in the slightest. The pitch-black Aurora seemed to nullify all power, leaving the creature utterly frustrated.
In contrast, the female officer raised her knight's lance.
The lance itself writhed, its handle transforming into a stock and its shaft into a barrel. In an instant, the slender knight's lance had become an anti-materiel sniper rifle!
Bang!
A sharp gunshot rang out.
The two-horned horse stiffened, its form dissolving into particles of magical energy as it slowly faded away.
"Another one defeated!"
Sayaka felt her scalp tingle with dread.
Following the Lion's Gold, the Two-Horned Deep Crimson had also been defeated!
What in the world was that weapon, that pitch-black Aurora?
The familiar's power was so immense, yet it was nullified just like that?
Even the Divine Vibration Wave Drive technique, capable of neutralizing magic-based attacks, couldn't achieve such effortless invalidation as that pitch-black Aurora!
Clap, clap, clap!
Just then, loud applause broke out.
"Amazing! That's mine now! Wait, no—you clearly stole that long-cherished treasure from my home. Absolutely unforgivable!"
Sayaka was speechless.
She turned to look and, unsurprisingly, saw Eiji standing nearby, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
"Save your dreams for when you're asleep!"
The female officer sneered, maneuvering the dragon to land on the ground.
"Hand over the Swamp Dragon, and I'll spare your life!"
She raised the anti-materiel sniper rifle, its dark muzzle aimed directly at Eiji.
"Do you even hear what you're saying?"
Eiji tilted his head, his tone clearly astonished.
You think you can threaten me with this piece of crap?
Are you out of your mind?
"Wait a moment! First Class Special Officer Okiyama!"
Seeing that scene, Sayaka turned pale with fright.
She quickly stepped forward, subtly positioning herself between Eiji and the officer.
"There must be some misunderstanding here! Though he has a sharp tongue, he's not a bad person. We should investigate this properly first!"
"Lion King Organization's Maihime... it seems you've been completely deceived by him."
The female officer watched this with a mocking smile.
"There's no misunderstanding at all. He obtained the Marsh Dragon from the Holy Annihilation legacy - something that rightfully belongs to us. When we tried to reclaim it, he resorted to violence. You should understand how important the Marsh Dragon is to the Japanese government. If you protect him, you'll be considered equally guilty!"
"Sayaka...!"
Beside the tank, Yukina and the others wore anxious expressions.
Koyomi's eyes were completely focused on the weapon and mount possessed by the female officer, her gaze gradually darkening.
"Marsh Dragon?"
Sayaka looked utterly confused. What was that thing?
"Hey, did you get some Marsh Dragon or something?"
Sayaka turned to Eiji, her eyes filled with urgent concern.
"If you have it, just hand it over quickly!"
A wise man knows when to yield.
For some reason, the Self-Defense Forces had brought out weapons that even made her gasp in astonishment - clearly something ordinary people couldn't handle. Hadn't they seen even the True Ancestor's familiars being overwhelmed?
"Sayaka, you're so easily fooled!"
Eiji smacked Sayaka's forehead with his palm.
Sayaka staggered from the blow, staring at Eiji in disbelief.
Why hit me?
"Just because she says she represents the Japanese government, does that mean she actually does?"
"Does the Japanese government have weapons that can nullify even the power of True Ancestor familiars? If they really did, why wouldn't they use them against Giada? Why focus so intently on this little piece of Holy Annihilation legacy?"
Eiji looked at her with exasperation.
"That... you're right!"
Sayaka suddenly came to her senses, enlightenment dawning on her.
There hadn't even been rumors of such weapons appearing in the Pacific theater!
For Japan, the Divine Oscillation Wave Drive System was already the pinnacle of technology. Even with her status as an elite Maihime, she had never heard of anything more formidable than that black Aurora!
And more importantly, it was the Self-Defense Forces who produced this weapon?
The essentially passive Self-Defense Forces actually possessing weapons that even the Lion King Organization would admire - was that normal?
"And besides," Eiji continued, "I never told anyone about obtaining the Marsh Dragon. So why do they immediately demand I hand it over the moment they appear? Don't you find that strange? How did they know in advance what was inside the Holy Annihilation legacy?"
Eiji's words awakened everyone like a sudden revelation.
Not only Sayaka, but even Yukina and the others had their expressions change.
Right, this was a major blind spot.
No one knew what was inside the Holy Annihilation legacy.
But this female officer seemed to have known all along what was inside, her purpose clear from the start - she came specifically to seize the Marsh Dragon!
And not just her.
"Special Assistant Officer Anza, you seem to be the same, don't you?"
Koyomi turned her wary gaze toward the middle-aged man nearby.
"Rather than waiting for the Holy Annihilation legacy to open, it seems more like you were waiting for what was inside to emerge. Didn't you also assume earlier that the Marsh Dragon was inside the Holy Annihilation legacy?"
Hearing this, Tatsumi Anza gave a light, somewhat helpless chuckle.
"Oh my, I truly didn't expect this. Originally, I intended to use all of you to help us reclaim the Marsh Dragon, but who would have thought our plan would be exposed prematurely."
Anzama Tatsumi tore off his military uniform.
Silver-black armor coiled around his body, while the pistol at his side writhed and transformed into a jet-black knight's lance.
Both the armor and the lance emitted identical dark Auroras!
"In that case, we'll have to rely on sheer force to take it by storm!"