A crimson flash split the sky.
Icy blue shockwaves slammed into the earth.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM────!
FSSSH, FSSSSHHH────!
The BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler unleashed energy with the force to dominate both sky and ground.
[KRAAAAK───!]
[KIEEEEK!]
Perhaps thanks to that, the seemingly endless mass of flying magical beasts and monsters in the sky had finally begun to thin out a little.
'Not that it means much.'
Only a few holes had appeared in the thick layer of monstrous storm clouds.
The airborne beast legion still loomed above—stronger and more relentless than ever.
I holstered the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and ICE-54 Plasma Cooler and once again gripped the Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle slung across my back.
WHIRR, CHK, CHK──
I switched the Ark-34 into Railgun mode.
It was about time I gave them another reminder of our firepower.
ZZT, ZZZT-ZZZT──!
Sparks flew from the barrel as energy built to critical mass.
'Now.'
SHREEEEEEEEEEK──────!
The Railgun round fired at supersonic speed, tearing straight through the sky, punching a hole through the beast legion above.
[GRROOOAAARR───!]
A breach in the clouds—clear, unmistakable.
It meant one thing: the number of enemies had finally started to drop.
'More. More. More.'
Now was the time for an all-out offensive.
No reason to hold back—I threw everything I had at them.
['Death Spores' has been activated.]
Once again, the skies rained with lethal mists that melted flying monsters alive.
[SCREEEEE…]
Their corpses tumbled down from the heavens, creating secondary impacts on the ground.
And yet the ground forces remained not just intact, but overwhelmingly strong.
["Master! Look there!"]
More beasts came swooping in.
Reacting poorly now would lead to major casualties, so I kept my focus amid the chaos.
'Horus!'
Horus's tail swung wide.
['Wave Sweep' has been activated.]
A massive shockwave blasted out, sending flying beasts hurtling backward.
Despite his exhaustion, the Turncoat Knight fought tirelessly, relentlessly hounding the incoming monsters.
["I… will protect…"]
I climbed atop Horus again and opened a dimensional rift.
['Rift Space' has been activated.]
Emerging once more were two of my most powerful tools—the NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun and the CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher.
I pulled the triggers without hesitation.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM──!
KRAK! BOOM BOOM!
Explosions echoed relentlessly across the battlefield.
Amid the thunderous barrage, I kept pulling the triggers without stopping.
["KILL THEM ALL──!"]
Esther screamed furiously.
And I screamed with her.
"DIE ALREADY, DAMN YOU!"
The sky was blackened not just by storm clouds, but by an endless tide of monsters.
I hurled curse after curse, bullet after bullet, into that darkness.
"GRRAAAHH…"
The Turncoat Knight's bone spear swept in ruthless arcs, decimating waves of beasts.
Even with him holding the line beside me, the enemy didn't stop pouring in.
THUMP!
CLANG──!
A flying beast crashed into Janus's bone shield, rocking my body hard.
That kind of brute-force charge couldn't be simply brushed off, not even by me.
'Damn it.'
I re-gripped the NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun and unleashed another hellstorm of fire.
The battle—and the war—raged on.
* * *
"Please, just do exactly as I say for a moment."
"H-Huh?"
Hildegard pulled Belle away from their assigned post.
It was clear insubordination and dereliction of duty, but right now, it was a necessary risk to defend the Ark.
"W-What are you doing? Leaving your position is a serious offense!"
"That's not the point right now. There's something only we can do."
Hildegard turned to her.
"You… You can see safe spots on the battlefield, can't you?"
"…What?"
"Tell me the truth."
"Well… I guess I can…"
Just as she expected.
This meek-looking girl had the ability to perceive safe zones amidst chaos.
"Then from now on, guide the soldiers to safe spots. Can you do that?"
"But those safe spots change constantly—"
"If we can just help them avoid immediate danger, that's enough."
She wasn't hoping to eliminate all risks.
But if they could increase the survival rate even slightly, they might be able to change the course of this seemingly hopeless battle.
Hildegard and Belle moved.
Though confused by her sudden proposition, Belle didn't hesitate in doing what had to be done.
"Step back three paces! It's dangerous here!"
"…Who are you? What unit are you with?"
"I said it's dangerous!"
At first, the soldiers didn't listen.
Of course not.
When an unknown pair suddenly ordered you to leave your post, what soldier would obey?
But every major shift begins with something small.
"Move!"
One soldier narrowly avoided a falling boulder, saved only by Bell's urgent cry.
Had he not acted, that man would have been crushed without a chance.
"Uh… thanks."
"Hold the line from three steps back. Another one's about to fall."
"…Huh?"
At first, no one paid attention to Hildegard and Bell.
But as they kept moving, and as the ones they warned continued to survive what should've been certain death, the atmosphere began to shift.
"Step forward one pace! Something's coming here!"
Hildegard gave orders while surveying the wider field, and Belle moved with her, executing them in real time.
What appeared simple at a glance quickly began to change the dynamic along the Orange Line.
Suddenly, survival rates among Orange Line troops increased.
And a frontline that should've collapsed—held.
"Fall back!"
At Belle's shout, a soldier from the Orange Line threw himself backward.
Just in time—a crashing flyer slammed into the spot he had just vacated, flailing wildly in its death throes.
"Whew… thanks. You saved me."
The soldier, cigarette in mouth, gave his thanks before plunging his blade into the flyer's throat.
SHLK!
As the survival rate of the soldiers rose, the Orange Line gradually regained its composure.
Part of this was due to the reduced number of incoming flying beasts, but Hildegard and Belle's efforts were undeniably significant.
With the Orange Line stabilizing, morale and coordination began to spread across the other defensive lines as well.
The Ark's defenses were interlinked.
When one front held firm, it inevitably affected the others.
'So… is it working?'
Hildegard, breathing heavily, scanned the Orange Line's battlefield.
Fighting was still ongoing, but the situation had become significantly more stable.
'…No, not yet.'
She and Bell kept moving.
Until this war ended.
* * *
How long had I been fighting?
I'd emptied every drop of life water from my canteen, and yet my body felt completely drained.
'Even Janus and Horus are struggling.'
Despite their regenerative abilities and desperate consumption of beast carcasses, both were riddled with cracks and fractures.
All of us—myself, Janus, Horus, and the Turncoat Knight—were utterly exhausted.
'The worst part is… it's not over yet.'
We had done considerable damage to the aerial swarm of beasts and monsters.
But the real problem still lay below—the endless, maddening mass of ground forces.
'At least with fewer flyers, handling the ground troops should be easier…'
Yet that was only part of the problem.
The real threat now was the long-range monsters.
As I'd experienced before, they were anything but easy to deal with.
'No time to waste.'
I looked down at the battlefield below.
Now that the skies were more manageable, it was time to shift my focus.
"Let's go."
I gripped Horus's bony reins.
The Turncoat Knight mounted up behind me, securing our formation.
["Master, you're not seriously thinking of diving into that mess, are you?"]
'That's the plan.'
["…You're insane."]
Just as I tightened my grip on the Spear of Ankelenth and prepared to dive into the ground forces—
'…Wait.'
Something clicked.
I realized I had forgotten something important.
This wasn't just about defending the Ark from a Triple Wave—there was something deeper at play.
With a Wave this massive, there had to be internal shifts within the Ark as well.
In chaos like this, someone might try to act under the cover of confusion.
'Who's most likely to move right now…?'
A terrible premonition gripped me.
Even if it seemed unlikely, assuming no one would take advantage of the situation was far too optimistic.
'I have to get back to the Ark.'
Charging into a fully fortified Ark during a full-scale Wave was borderline madness—but the feeling in my gut told me I didn't have a choice.
And then—
WHOOOOOOOSH────!
A missile fired from the Ark triggered a blast far larger than anything before.
KRAAAAKOOOOOM───!
A towering mushroom cloud surged upward.
A roaring shockwave swept across the land.
The earth beneath me shuddered as if about to flip upside down.
If my eyes weren't mistaken… the Ark had just launched a tactical nuclear weapon.
'Something's seriously wrong.'
I yanked Horus's reins around, turning toward the Ark.
Something was about to happen.
* * *
Amid the chorus of screams, roars, and thunderous detonations, a woman stood quietly at the edge of the battlefield, eyes fixed on the Ark's defenses.
"..."
She could step in and reduce the Ark's casualties dramatically—but she didn't.
Because there was no need.
The reason was simple: this was the day she had waited for.
"The time has come."
She had waited for so long.
Waited in silence, for a moment that once felt like it might never arrive.
And today, that moment was finally here.
One of the greatest Waves in Ark's recorded history.
Every available force had been deployed to the front.
Even the ever-pristine White Line was now on the battlefield.
Now—now was the moment to fulfill her long-held desire.
Only now was it possible.
"For our long-cherished goal, we move."
With her soft murmur, members of the Shadow Order emerged one by one from the darkness.
Sart of the Shadows.
Crux the One-Eyed.
Nameless.
Turncoat Rook.
Sophia Belov.
Michael Pilgrim.
And finally, the one who led them all—the Commander, Isabel.
Though Esther's absence still left an ache, they could not afford to miss this opportunity.
Their destination: the White Line.
From this day forward, Ark's history would be rewritten.
"We will seize the White Line."
To those who have forgotten their sins—
To the corrupted tails intoxicated by power—
We are coming for you.
The shadows of Ark—the Shadow Order—had begun their full-scale operation.