Chapter 1302: The Finals Approach Their End
"So that's how it is. The UO finals have already begun. Eiji was killed once by Goetia, and now the only thing missing to complete the Holy Annihilation Holy Sword is a massive amount of time..."
In the living room, after hearing the explanation, Aoko quickly understood everyone's current situation.
"I see! You need my Fifth Magic to help, right? Well, if I can be of assistance, just say the word!"
Though she still had many questions in her mind, Aoko was undoubtedly a woman with a broad perspective, and she readily agreed to help.
"But, you say you want to create the Holy Annihilation Holy Sword—how long will that take? The amount of time we can interfere with is limited. If the scale is too large, we might accidentally destroy the solar system, you know?"
Aoko spoke with a very serious expression about the terrifying side effects.
Her expression made it hard not to believe her.
"Well..."
Merlin immediately looked troubled.
"Billions of magic circles... Even if I, Scáthach, Morgan, and Aoko work together without rest, it would still take decades, wouldn't it?"
And that was a relatively optimistic estimate!
"Great, the solar system is doomed!"
Aoko was momentarily stunned, then simply spread her hands.
"Let's just give up on the Holy Annihilation Holy Sword and use a regular Holy Sword to defeat Goetia first."
She clearly couldn't accept spending decades creating magic circles.
Working without rest, no less!
She was only seventeen years old!
"Wait, I asked Mooncell!"
Eiji, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and exclaimed excitedly.
"It can help us drastically reduce the workload! As long as we set up a magic circle factory, we can cut the time down to less than a thousand hours!"
Incredible!
Even Merlin was amazed!
Were they going to create an assembly-line factory where all the equipment was dedicated to producing magic circles?
Mooncell, do you even realize how amazing you are?
Oh, right, your home planet vanished billions of years ago.
Never mind, then.
"A thousand hours... That might just be manageable!"
Aoko thought for a long while before reluctantly agreeing with a frown.
"No time to waste, let's get started!"
With all the troubles resolved, Eiji grew restless.
"Merlin, Scáthach, Morgan, you're helping me too!"
"No choice."
"Then let's do it!"
"The Holy Annihilation Holy Sword... I wonder just how powerful it really is."
At this point, Merlin and the others had no choice but to agree.
Ten minutes later.
"The existence time of this digital world is limited, so I can't send you to the past or future to make you return instantly. Instead, I'll set up a barrier here where the flow of time inside and outside is unequal. I'll do my best to maximize the time difference, so you can experience a thousand hours within a single day!"
Aoko was already active in the yard, and a barrier imbued with the mystery of the Fifth Magic quietly materialized.
You must finish the work as quickly as possible!
Aoko repeatedly emphasized.
"Will your magical energy be enough?"
Eiji was somewhat concerned.
"If it's not enough, I'll borrow magical energy from my future self."
Aoko shrugged nonchalantly.
Borrow?
Just take it directly!
The Fifth Magic is awesome—no further explanation needed.
"Let's begin!"
At Aoko's command.
Eiji and the other three entered the barrier one after another. Aoko immediately channeled her magical energy, maximizing the time-flow difference between the inside and outside of the barrier!
"Phew... what a troublesome project!"
After the barrier began operating, Aoko wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Hurry, you must hurry!"
Inside the barrier.
Following the plan provided by Mooncell, the group led by Eiji began work that would span over a month.
They first spent ten days constructing a small magic circle factory. From this factory, assembly line-style new magic circles were produced at a fixed ratio.
These magic circles then integrated back into the factory itself, expanding its scale and further accelerating its production speed.
After twenty days, the factory—originally only the size of a house—had expanded to the size of a football field, producing one million magic circles per day!
By thirty days, the production rate reached fifty million per day!
The production speed increased exponentially!
After forty days.
Ten billion magic circles had been created within the barrier!
"I've never seen such an outrageous method of creating magic circles!"
Afterward, Merlin was utterly distraught, laughing and crying as he shouted.
Morgan's eyes were vacant, appearing completely broken.
Scáthach looked up at the sky, questioning her existence.
Their dao hearts had been shattered by Mooncell.
Countless "whys" filled their minds—there were too many incomprehensible things. How was this possible? What was the principle behind it?
Having reached the pinnacle of magecraft, they now felt like ignorant children, unable to answer even the simplest questions!
Their entire worldview had been crushed!
"You people always overthink things! Why not just relax your minds?"
Eiji shot the three of them a look of disdain.
Even his wife Morgan wasn't spared from his contempt.
"It's about time!"
Eiji tossed the True Holy Sword into the air.
He shouted.
"Sword, come!"
The factory instantly collapsed, transforming into countless crimson light particles that surged toward the holy sword in the sky like rivers flowing into the sea!
The interior of the holy sword rapidly filled with over ten billion components, its outline gradually solidifying as its form became visible to everyone.
The crimson blade shimmered with mysterious divine light, measuring three feet seven inches long. One side was engraved with heaven and earth, the other with all living creatures of the world.
An overwhelming, majestic aura washed over them.
"Did we just create something incredibly extraordinary?"
Merlin and Scáthach exchanged glances.
Perhaps the strongest divine construct on Earth had been born at this moment!
...
Outside.
Three days had passed.
The light membrane surrounding Kinojo City had closed in to the city center.
The remaining competition area within the membrane was now only a circular zone about five kilometers in diameter.
Okita Souji opened the participant list.
"Total remaining participants: thirty-nine..."
A chill ran down her spine.
Of these thirty-nine people, their side accounted for twenty-two spots!
Meaning only about a dozen participants remained alive outside their group.
Among them, only five contestants remained in the first row, with even Zelretch's figure having vanished from it—whether he had died or fled remained unknown.
In the second row, only Scáthach and Melusine remained as contestants.
The third row held fourteen contestants, with the names Merlin and Morgan among them.
There were nineteen white contestants, and their household alone occupied eighteen slots—meaning only one solitary white contestant remained alive outside!
"AAAAaaaaaaaaa————!!"
A furious, piercing shriek echoed from beyond the barrier.
Okita Souji silently held her head.
It felt like this household could be crushed at any moment without surprise!
Minamoto no Raikou, White Saber, Arcueid, Aoko Aozaki, and the others had all gathered in the living room, everyone awaiting the final outcome.
"Boooooooooom————!!!"
A pitch-black magical cannon pierced through heaven and earth, slamming into Tiamat's draconic form at the city center.
Tiamat resisted the magical cannon's assault with all her might. She lacked the concept of death—even this strike, capable of piercing the Earth's core, could not kill her!
"You've entangled me for so long—it's time to end this."
A voice that chilled one to the bone echoed from the horizon.
The magical cannon abruptly erupted, violently hurling Tiamat's draconic form away and crashing it against the luminous membrane.
"Bzzzt—!"
Without even a chance to utter a word, Tiamat's figure vanished beyond the other side of the luminous membrane.
Tiamat, eliminated.
Total remaining contestants: thirty-eight.
Looking at it this way, it seemed possible to conclude before the new year?