Bang!
With the resounding crack of a final gunshot.
The last monster collapsed.
+
[You have cleared Orange-11, 12, and 13 stages!]
[Contribution Points accumulated.]
[+174,185 Contribution Points]
[You displayed aerial supremacy! Additional Contribution Points awarded.]
[+75,000 Contribution Points]
[Current Contribution Points: 315,542]
+
'Hmm…'
Despite having cleared a Triple Wave, I had earned fewer contribution points than during the previous boss wave.
It couldn't be helped.
This time, I hadn't focused solely on combat. Much of the wave had been handled by the Ark's tactical nukes.
'Well, nothing I can do.'
It was disappointing to have missed out on more points, but considering this had been a triple wave, the fact that the Ark hadn't fallen was a miracle in itself.
I stood atop the Orange Line's wall, gazing over the battlefield.
A completely different sight from the Red Line.
Whereas the Red Line had Mount Noah nearby acting as a natural safe zone, the Orange Line was pure frontline—an open battlefield in every direction.
["What are you looking at? All that's left is corpses."]
'Beats me.'
Esther wasn't wrong.
There was nothing left to see but a field of corpses.
Yet for some reason, I couldn't tear my gaze away from the Orange Line.
"..."
Eventually, as if they too had realized the wave was over, the soldiers of the Orange Line began to collapse where they stood.
"Ugh… ahhhh…"
"Medic! Medic!"
Cries for medics rang across the battlefield.
The battle was over—but the war was far from finished.
We'd slain hordes of monsters.
And nearly just as many soldiers had fallen in the process.
"Guh… ghhk…"
"Phil! Phil! Breathe! We need a medic!"
Only once their safety was assured did people begin to look around.
Now that the endless wave was over, the soldiers finally noticed the injured and began recovery efforts.
"Get the wounded evacuated!"
"We need assistance over here too!"
People were dying.
A sight I should have been long used to—yet somehow, today it looked different.
'Why?'
Something felt off.
Until now, I had viewed these people's deaths like NPCs in a game.
But now…
'Are they people?'
Or are they just countless faceless NPCs in a game?
What are they, really?
And if they aren't human—then what am I?
"Ugh… ugh…"
"Bakum!"
I didn't know.
I truly… didn't know.
["Huh?"]
As I watched that scene, I suddenly realized—I was moving without even thinking.
My legs had taken me forward on their own.
"…Huh?"
"Stay still. It's not broken. As long as you get proper treatment, it shouldn't get worse."
Unfortunately, I'd used up all my healing water during the last fight.
All I could do was wrap him in bandages and administer a painkiller.
An emergency measure, nothing more.
["…What are you doing?"]
'What.'
["I mean, seriously. Isn't this the part where you act all busy and important and strut around the field?"]
'You're not wrong.'
Esther was right.
I had more than enough to do.
Wasting time here wasn't smart—not for me, not for the Ark.
"..."
["Master?"]
But still… just for today.
Just for today—I wanted to stay like this.
* * *
The Forgotten Temple.
There, the Shadow Order regrouped and checked their injuries.
"Ow, ow—can't you be more gentle?"
"Tch. Humans are fragile. Doesn't this just heal if you lick it?"
"Don't compare me to you mutant brutes, alright?! This perfect body is delicate!"
Sophia grumbled, sipping coffee while Nameless clumsily bandaged her arm.
"Hot! Why's there no ice?! I only drink iced! Ice-cold Americano, even if I'm freezing to death! Don't you get it?!"
"Shut up and drink it. Being a patient isn't something to brag about, you know."
As the boyish Nameless rolled his eyes, Sophia ground her teeth.
"Ugh… I really wanna punch you."
"Try it."
She reached for her R-1 Plasma Sword, but stopped.
Picking a fight in this condition would only end badly for her.
Meanwhile—
Isabel sat in a daze, her mind swirling with everything that had happened.
'Why…'
She couldn't stop replaying Carl Marcus's words.
「"All I'm saying is, it's useless. You'll never fulfill your wish. Not like this."」
「"I've already seen how it ends."」
「"It won't happen."」
「"Because it's impossible."」
「"Better not try."」
「"You'll regret it."」
「"Turn back."」
「"I told you. Even if you get past this place, you won't achieve anything."」
「"I know. Probably better than you do."」
「"You won't get what you want."」
「"There is no Sail in the White Line. Even if you take it… nothing will change."」
How had Carl Marcus figured out the Shadow Order's plan and appeared at the White Line with Möbius in tow?
How did Carl Marcus know about the Shadow Order's vow?
How did Carl Marcus speak as if he knew the very vow Isabel had held for so long?
How did Carl Marcus know about the Sail hidden within the White Line?
How did Carl Marcus…?
"..."
The more Isabel thought about Carl Marcus, the more she felt as if she were falling into a labyrinth.
No, it wasn't just a feeling.
Carl Marcus truly was a man of many enigmas.
'…I have to meet him.'
Isabel reached a conclusion.
She didn't know how he had come to know all this, but she'd find out when she faced him directly.
'But before that…'
There was something the Shadow Order had to do.
The operation to take the White Line had failed.
But it wasn't a complete loss.
"Sophia, are you ready?"
"Hmm… To be honest, I'm not too keen on it, but the water's already spilled. Yeah, I'm ready."
"Good."
Though the mission to seize the White Line had ended in failure, the Shadow Order's plan was still in motion.
Their goal was the White Line.
And they would stop at nothing to achieve it.
Even if that meant war between the lines.
"It's time."
Ark was split into its respective lines.
Though it seemed on the surface that they followed the rule of the White Line and the Line Assembly, the real powers—the line governors and hidden authorities—weren't so easily handled.
Ark had only remained stable because of a common enemy.
The tension between the lines had grown dangerously taut.
Like a powder keg ready to blow.
And that was exactly what the Shadow Order had set their sights on.
"Sophia, light the spark."
"Leave it to me."
Sophia Belov.
She wasn't just another member of the Belov family.
She was the niece of Anton Belov—the capo himself.
The Shadow Order had made sure to reveal her identity during the White Line raid.
The news that a capo's niece had attacked the White Line would send shockwaves across Ark.
'If Esther had been with us, it would've been even easier…'
If Esther, whose presence could shake any operation, had still been theirs, the chaos would've been much easier to sow.
But that time was long past.
The water had spilled.
Now all that remained was execution.
"All of this… is for the vow."
Isabel muttered the words like a self-justification.
She knew it would bring bloodshed to Ark.
She knew it could split the Ark in two, dragging it into civil war.
But none of that mattered.
Even if it cost the Ark itself—
It was all for the vow.
* * *
["Yaaawn…"]
Esther gave a drawn-out yawn.
She didn't need to, not really, but it was her way of expressing herself.
["Master, how long are we going to just sit here? I'm bored."]
'We'll stay here for a while.'
["Why though?"]
'There's something I need to watch.'
["Haaah…"]
I had remained in Ark.
There were many reasons, but the biggest was the aftermath of the White Line incident still hadn't settled.
'I need to stay and observe for now.'
And in doing so, certain rumors reached my ears.
–Someone attacked the White Line.
–Colonel Melissa identified one of the attackers.
–That attacker was from the Belov family.
The raid was over, but the repercussions were far from done.
It had become public knowledge that someone from the Belov family was involved in the incident.
'They revealed the identity on purpose.'
In the Shadow Order route, they had frequently used the identities of Sophia Belov and Michael Pilgrim to fuel chaos.
'They weren't the only ones.'
Even the identity of the Ark's noble "princess" had been used, when it was useful.
To spark internal strife between the lines.
'Judging by how things are going, it seems the Shadow Order's plan is working.'
Ark's internal tension was deeply rooted.
With such a large-scale incident on top of that, conflict between lines was inevitable.
'Though with Esther at my side now, they won't be able to fully split Ark in two like before…'
That didn't mean I could ignore what was happening.
["Where are we going now?"]
'Rose Line.'
The reason I was heading for the Rose Line—the current outermost front—was simple.
There was someone there I needed to meet.
'Time to cash in a favor from an old friend.'
It was finally time to use one of the cards I'd been saving.