'What the hell just happened?'
Carl Marcus? How did he—of all people—end up here?
From underground? Seriously?
Isabel couldn't hide her confusion as she stared at the impossible reality before her.
She had believed—just a little more, and their long-awaited wish would finally be within reach.
But now, Carl Marcus had appeared in the middle of it all.
And in a way no one could have predicted.
"…Carl Marcus."
Even the Guardians of the White Line stood frozen, stunned at his sudden appearance.
Their gazes were drawn to him, as if pulled by gravity.
"Everyone, halt."
At that calm command, Isabel clenched her jaw tightly.
"…You intend to stop us?"
"If it's necessary."
Though their presence was still concealed by the veil left behind by Sart of the Shadows, Carl Marcus looked at them as if he could see through it entirely.
No—he definitely could.
'How…?'
Isabel knew Carl Marcus.
He was eccentric, abnormal even—but unquestionably human.
Even he shouldn't be able to break through Sart's veil so casually.
'This doesn't make any sense.'
While she struggled to process it, Carl Marcus had already stepped into their path.
"Turn back."
Isabel's voice was cold.
"That's not going to happen."
"You don't have a chance of success."
"You sound so sure of yourself. You think just because you showed up, that changes anything?"
"If it were just me, maybe not."
"Then what are you saying?"
"Möbius is coming."
Isabel's brow twitched.
Möbius.
The one group that had gotten in their way more than once.
"…So, the pests really are on their way. But do you think you can hold us off until they arrive?"
"We'll see."
"Move."
"No."
"I said move."
"I already said no."
Isabel realized it then.
Carl Marcus wasn't going to let them through.
"If you won't move, I won't hold back."
The ether around her began to surge, thick with wrath.
[Kreeeek… kreeeek…]
[Giiiiiiiik───!]
[Kh-kh-kh-khkhkh!]
Ether laced with death surged at her fingertips.
This wasn't a threat—it was a promise.
"You won't fulfill your wish."
"You act like you know everything. Just because you're Carl Marcus doesn't mean you get to decide."
"I'm just stating facts."
"Then tell me. How do you know?"
"Because I've already seen how it ends."
"…What?"
She couldn't ignore that.
But before she could ask more—
"Commander!"
At Sophia Belov's shout, a whip of bone lashed toward Isabel.
Shreeeaaak!
[Gah…!]
Whip!
The whip was easily blown away by the storm of ether swirling around Isabel.
She stood unshaken, encircled in deadly power.
But the Guardians of the White Line didn't flinch.
["Commander! Are you alright?!"]
Suddenly, Esther appeared at Isabel's side.
Isabel looked at her, lips drawn tight.
"…I'm fine. But right now, this isn't about whether I'm okay, Esther."
["…What do you mean?"]
"I mean that you and I are enemies now."
["…What? That can't—"]
She never got to finish.
A surge of ether exploded toward Esther and Carl Marcus.
["Commander!"]
Esther screamed, unable to stop the wave from overtaking them.
BOOOOOM!
An ether barrier surged up around Carl Marcus to meet the incoming force.
Esther's doing.
[Screeeeeeeeech───!]
But even her power wasn't enough.
Carl Marcus's sky whale cloak tore, revealing the gray bone beneath.
Janus's bone armor.
"Guh—!"
Realizing he was exposed; Carl Marcus hastily wrapped the cloak back over his armor.
He couldn't afford to let the Guardians see Janus.
BOOM!
CRACK!
Meanwhile, the battle between the Guardians and the Shadow Order had erupted into a full-scale brawl.
Nameless, the doppelgänger, morphed into the Guardians' forms, weaving chaos throughout the battlefield.
At first, the Guardians could tell the difference.
But as the skirmish intensified, confusion took over—and Nameless' trickery shone.
"Berman!"
"You still think I'm your friend?"
"Guh!"
The Guardians were strong.
They were the White Line's sword and shield.
But even they couldn't handle the Shadow Order's strange tactics.
BANG!
A bullet ripped through a Guardian's shoulder, shredding high-grade armor.
It was Crux the One-Eyed—the Shadow Order's sniper.
At the front, Sophia Belov and Nameless pressed in.
At the rear, Michael Pilgrim and Crux laid down cover fire.
And at the center, Isabel coordinated them all, completing the Shadow Order's formation.
Had the Guardians been alone, the fight might've ended quickly.
But with Carl Marcus's arrival, the tide was stalled.
A battle that should've ended was now being dragged out.
"Don't get in our way!"
"I'm afraid I have to."
Despite the relentless assault of Isabel's ether, Carl Marcus continued to counterattack.
Ziiiing────
The BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and ICE-54 Plasma Cooler released bursts of light and freezing cold in an instant.
Even Isabel couldn't help but feel a flicker of unease at the oncoming strike.
'Still… it won't be enough.'
Ether stormed from her form and bent light and frost alike.
The sheer difference in power was overwhelming.
Yet Carl Marcus paid that gap no mind.
Instead, he seamlessly transitioned into his next move.
'He's fast.'
By all accounts, Carl Marcus should've been flattened like a pancake already.
But he moved with uncanny precision, defying the strength disparity with razor-thin reactions and perfect counters.
'…He's no ordinary opponent.'
Seeing her ether hammer miss again and again, Isabel couldn't help but revise her assessment.
And this, without Carl Marcus even using the full potential of his bone armor.
What was worse—Isabel herself felt hesitation when facing him.
She could kill him.
But she didn't want to.
That minute difference in resolve had created the situation they were now in.
"Why…"
Isabel asked, her voice low.
To Carl Marcus. To herself.
"Why are you stopping us…?"
"Because I must."
The answer was immediate. Unflinching.
Isabel glared at him.
There wasn't a trace of hesitation in his stance.
He stood before her as if simply fulfilling an obligation.
"As I said. We'll achieve our wish. And go where we must."
"That won't happen."
"You'll stop us?"
Carl Marcus shook his head.
"No. Because it's impossible."
To have your lifelong wish denied.
To hear that the dream you'd pursued for so long was futile.
And yet, part of Isabel believed it.
It was absurd.
"It's already too late."
"It's not. Turn back. Now, while you still can."
Then—
"Ugh!"
"Commander!"
While Isabel was distracted with Carl Marcus, the Guardians' onslaught had begun pushing back the members of the Shadow Order.
Even Crux the One-Eyed, who had been providing support from the rear, was now pinned down.
Without his fire, Sophia Belov and Nameless began losing ground.
Isabel had to choose.
Force Carl Marcus aside and press on with their goal?
Or retreat?
But Carl Marcus's words lingered.
That their wish was impossible.
'Why?'
She didn't know.
Only Carl Marcus held the answer.
"…If you won't step aside, then I won't hold back."
"You'd be wise not to."
"Oh? Trying to beg for forgiveness now?"
"You'll regret this."
Isabel bit out her words.
"I've come too far to hesitate over regret."
The ether around her surged, far more violently than before.
This was different—an overwhelming surge of power.
[Kik, kik, kikikik…]
[It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.]
[Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.]
[Ka-ka-kak───!]
The compressed, high-density ether around Isabel began to erupt into a storm.
So volatile that even Carl Marcus—or the Guardians—wouldn't come out unscathed.
"This is your last chance. Leave."
"I will. But I'm not leaving alone."
"…Really now."
Isabel smiled bitterly.
"I suppose I have no choice."
Her hand moved.
The ether storm responded, surging toward Carl Marcus with violent intensity.
Carl Marcus and Esther hastily raised an ether barrier to counter, but the difference in strength was too great.
"Brace for the ether shock!"
The Guardians scrambled to prepare defenses against the storm.
"Hmph."
Carl Marcus, however, remained calm.
So, calm it was as if he didn't realize what was about to hit him.
Click.
He reloaded his weapon.
In this situation, it seemed absurdly pointless—but Isabel noticed it.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The ether storm roared toward him.
There was no way he could survive it unscathed.
But Carl Marcus simply raised his Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle.
'What the hell are you doing? You're going to die!'
Isabel screamed in her mind at his madness.
Then—
Click.
He pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The gunshot rang out.
[It huuuuurts───!]
And a massive hole was torn straight through the oncoming ether storm.