"Emergency repairs complete."
A pleasant voice echoed in Yano's ears. He immediately rose, energy surging once more through his body.
If he could avoid death, of course he wanted to. Zane's words had gotten to him.
That data consciousness... was it really still him?
Shaking off the intrusive thoughts, Yano looked up at Zane and burst out laughing.
"After all that stalling, the emergency repairs are finally done! You got careless!"
His entire body glowed with intense heat—he was ready for a desperate, final strike!
But Zane, hovering in the sky, remained calm. He wasn't surprised at all. From the start, he'd known Yano was deliberately stalling.
He just didn't care.
Supported by space itself, he placed one hand on his chest in a slight salute and smiled softly.
"Now, allow me to bring down the curtain."
"I didn't get to enjoy myself fully, but I still thank you for this battle."
His figure floated gently to the side like a butterfly caught in the breeze—elegant, graceful.
Hair fluttering, eyes bright, two small black orbs hovered around him as his quiet voice drifted down.
"As for a farewell gift..."
"I'll grant you... a round moon."
In the next instant, a flash of light streaked across the sky. Countless ice crystals, long gathered above, suddenly became visible. A colossal glacier took shape, blotting out the sky like the moon during a solar eclipse.
Its clear blue surface wasn't smooth—it really looked like a full moon, and the reflected light shimmering off it was the very moonlight Zane had spoken of.
The glacier plummeted.
Anyone who looked directly at it felt nothing but boundless dread.
The compressed air surged outward. Zane's robe billowed, hair dancing wildly. This was the same pressure that had pushed him away moments ago.
"Wait, this—this can't be happening!"
Yano's cold mechanical eye remained emotionless, but fear and shock surged in his human eye.
How could a human do this?!
This kind of attack... this crushing despair...
The glacier descended ever closer, freezing the air around it. Yano, drained of all will, dropped to his knees.
Looking up at Zane in the sky, something suddenly clicked in his mind.
"I see! So you're—"
BOOM!
The glacier slammed into the ground, tearing through the earth. A massive wave of ice energy surged outward, devouring everything in sight.
Zane watched the spectacle, his face still calm. He glanced into the distance, then took off without hesitation.
Only the roar of the glacier's destruction echoed behind him.
...
"Kid, stop pushing yourself!"
"The monster is corroding the prototype!"
In the center of the plaza, Grace was deeply worried about Koleda inside the prototype. Her expression darkened the moment she saw the monster gnawing away at the machine.
But with the current standoff, they couldn't do a thing!
First, everyone was already worn out from the previous battle—no strength left.
Second, the monster's single-mindedness was the only reason it was behaving this way. If it got distracted by new enemies, they'd lose this rare opportunity.
Inside the cockpit, Koleda gritted her teeth as alarms flashed across the screen.
"Just a little more!"
She yanked on the control stick.
"Come on! Move already!"
But right then, the monster raised a tentacle and smashed its massive claw directly into the cockpit.
The impact sent Koleda flying into the backrest. Pain shot through her.
Gritting her teeth, she slowly straightened up.
She was the president of Belobog Heavy Industries!
She carried the weight of the entire company!
How could she fall here?!
But no matter how badly Koleda wanted to keep fighting, the prototype was being pushed back, its systems falling apart under the corruption.
It had reached its limit.
And so had she.
Pain pierced her mind, and the crushing pressure of having everything on her shoulders made it hard to breathe.
She had to win!
But... how?
A faint sense of despair began to settle in. No way forward, no options left.
Then, for some reason, one name surfaced in her mind.
Khors Beloburg.
A name she hadn't wanted to say for a long time.
Despite all the resentment she held toward him for the past, she couldn't deny one thing—he was a big reason she had taken on the presidency and worked to revive Belobog Heavy Industries at such a young age.
And now, it seemed there was a turning point.
Maybe the truth wasn't what she had believed.
Koleda suddenly felt an urgent need to uncover the real story. To finally accept that word she had buried so long ago.
Father.
A word both familiar and foreign.
But right now, it felt like she couldn't even take the first step.
Koleda didn't want to give up.
She'd denied the man in her memories—his thoughts, his actions, everything...
But really, that was just her disappointment talking. Deep down, she still longed for him.
Longed for that familiar figure to pat her head, say those words, be that tall, unshakable presence she could admire.
There were many reasons she took on Belobog Heavy Industries' burden, but whether she liked it or not, one truth had driven her decision more than any other:
Belobog Heavy Industries was the legacy her father had left her.
She couldn't let it fall into ruin right before her eyes.
"Damn it..."
Inside the cockpit, Koleda trembled with frustration.
She didn't want to lose.
Her mind drifted back to her childhood—to those brief, carefree days with her father.
Back then, sitting on his shoulders, she hadn't needed to worry about anything.
The prototype was a relic of that time.
"You know, this isn't just any machine—it's got a heart your dad made for it..."
"It can work in dangerous Hollows, and it even understands what you say!"
"Come on, Koleda, give it a name!"
"In the future, whenever you call it, it'll grant your wish!"
The memories flowed through her mind like a golden stream—so different from the bleakness of the disaster that followed.
In the memorial plaza, only a moment had passed. Koleda opened her eyes, holding a tattered photo in her hand.
A tiny version of herself, held by her father's big hands.
The prototype was Khors' pride and joy. He'd piloted it himself. That photo, always kept in the cockpit, was likely the source of all his drive back then.
His priceless treasure—his daughter.
The alarms continued to blare. The prototype was on its last legs.
Koleda stared at the photo and whispered,
"Dad... can I believe in you again?"