The translucent emerald barrier flickered continuously—clear evidence of the assault on the Hidden Management Department's garrison building.
Powered by three high-energy electric furnaces and crafted by SDS technique experts, this defensive barrier possessed sufficient strength to dismay even lower-tier Hero Rank opponents and was impervious to anti-ship missiles.
But before a Hero holding a Top Tier Class, it merely amounted to the difference between launching one or two attacks.
In the span of a single breath, the building was entirely blanketed in pristine white snow.
The powerful barrier could only continuously generate defences, struggling against the extreme cold like pouring energy into a bottomless pit.
Yet amidst the barrier's repeated recharges, with a soft click—
Emilia, having fired the signal flare, landed atop the garrison of the Hidden Management Department.
Her knee-high boots struck the solid concrete surface as she levelled her gaze at the rooftop entrance ahead. Taking a slight breath, she murmured:
"The spiritual disc left by Teacher has locked onto the location. Based on the distance, she should be... underground on the sixth floor."
"So—let's go, Puck!"
As she spoke, a small grey cat materialised out of thin air, floating above Emilia's right shoulder with a sullen expression.
"To think they'd make us launch our attack from the furthest possible point in the sky. Those witches really know how to make things difficult," he grumbled.
Or rather, damn that Echidna—knowing full well the Hidden Management Department was suspicious, yet forcing him to stay silent and come here with Emilia.
That woman was downright insane!
Truth be told, even now, Puck still didn't understand how Echidna had managed to forge a master-servant contract with him without his knowledge.
Logically speaking, ever since he and Emilia had crossed into this world and learned of the Class system from Aya Tokoyogi, no one should have been able to bypass their combined senses to force a contract on him.
Unless... he had already been Echidna's subordinate before crossing over?
But before the crossing, he had been one of the most formidable Great Spirits in his homeland, revered by humans as the Beast of the End from the Eternal Frozen Lands.
Someone as powerful as him—how could he have been forcibly contracted before the crossing?
So just how had that witch Echidna pulled it off?!
Suppressing the whirlwind of thoughts, Puck took a deep breath and declared:
"Anyway, let's go, Emilia!"
The moment he spoke, Emilia blurred into motion, her figure flickering like a phantom as she appeared before the rooftop door.
Considering that further delays might result in them being cornered by the garrison's defenders in the stairwell, she didn't hesitate. Clenching her fist, she drove it straight into the alloy door before her.
BOOM.
The alloy door was punched clean through the middle, the sheer force effortlessly snapping its hinges and sending the entire structure flying backwards. It crashed into the stairwell wall, embedding itself deep into the concrete.
With the door obliterated, Emilia wrapped herself in reinforcement techniques, gripped the railing, and vaulted over into the stairwell.
The instant her feet touched down, the narrow stairwell around her abruptly twisted like a vortex.
The scenery spiralled kaleidoscopically, warping and shifting.
By the time the distortion settled, Emilia landed in a crouch, rising to find herself in a cavernous space—tens of metres high and larger than an Olympic stadium.
The sight left her momentarily stunned.
Puck, hovering in the air, hissed in realisation.
"Spatial displacement? And with such minimal fluctuations... Is this some kind of spatial-type Abyss Artefact?"
Frowning, Emilia replied gravely: "I knew our assault would be detected, but this response seems a bit too quick."
Puck, floating mid-air with his paws crossed, explained:
"It might not be about speed. They could have installed devices that trigger spatial displacement immediately upon intrusion."
"However, spatial displacement-type Abyss Artefacts can only alter interior dimensions to a certain extent. The overall structure remains unchanged."
"So they pre-built corresponding building models and used Abyss Artefacts to swap them? If that's the case, according to Lana's intel, this Hidden Management Department garrison should have six above-ground floors and up to six underground levels."
"Considering this, no matter how they manipulate space, the Hidden Management Department can't exceed the structural limit of twelve floors in total."
Hearing Puck's explanation, Emilia maintained her guard while realising:
"So apart from the interior expanding and routes lengthening, our assault directions don't actually need to change?"
Emilia and Puck formed the vanguard, attacking from the top six above-ground floors.
Meanwhile, Lana and Echidna led the witch forces in an assault from the first underground level.
Both assault vectors remained fundamentally unchanged - only the garrison's interior space had been deliberately enlarged.
"Are they actively avoiding urban warfare tactics?"
Emilia quickly discerned the Hidden Management Department's intention.
In close-quarters building combat, what truly decides the battle isn't high-tech equipment, but the combat prowess of extraordinary individuals.
At this point, the Hidden Management Department, having been tricked out of two Demigods in succession, was most likely at a disadvantage.
So, they deliberately expanded the space to deploy large-scale combat weapons?
After all, what the SDS was famous for was their technological equipment in pharmaceutical research and military fields.
With insufficient high-end combat power, it was only natural to leverage their strengths to compensate for the gap.
If that was the case... then what she would face next were the SDS's cutting-edge war machines?
Before Emilia could ponder the answer, Puck, floating in the air, called out lightly:
"Be careful, Emilia, something's coming."
No sooner had he spoken than over a dozen green beams instantly targeted Emilia.
Boom!
The spot where Emilia stood erupted in a massive explosion.
As thick black smoke billowed up, a creaking sound slowly echoed from the entrance.
Then, crimson electronic eyes lit up as a colossal metal spider, towering at 3 metres with eight silver mechanical legs, rumbled into the space like a tank.
Despite their massive size, the metal spiders moved swiftly, quickly flooding the hall. Twelve in total, they fanned out and rapidly encircled Emilia.
Simultaneously, a series of beeps! rang out.
On the front two legs of each spider, two cannon barrels adjusted their angles, gathering green laser beams.
The next moment,
24 laser weapons fired, sweeping straight toward the black smoke, clearly aiming to obliterate Emilia on the spot.
Just then, a wave of frigid air suddenly swept through the space.
As the cold air spread, a pristine, crystalline ice wall formed, shaping into a 6-metre-tall cat-shaped ice sculpture.
The green lasers struck the giant ice cat, instantly refracting and scattering in all directions, triggering explosion after explosion.
Amid the blasts, Puck glanced at the ice sculpture shielding him and nodded approvingly:
"Back then, Aya made you practise shaping ice every day to hone your energy control. Seems it paid off—this sculpture looks just like me."
Turning his attention to the rapidly approaching mechanical spider units, he couldn't help but mutter:
"Though, laser-armed mechanical troops... The SDS's tech level is a bit too advanced, isn't it?"
The mechanical units paid no heed to Puck's quips. Finding their lasers ineffective, they raised their front legs.
With a series of mechanical whirrs, razor-sharp metal blades, like saw teeth, extended from the sides of the two massive front legs. A spine-chilling rotation sound followed, accompanied by a dazzling pale pink glow.
The sight inevitably reminded Emilia of the chainsaws mentioned in general studies class.
She eyed the mechanical legs—thicker than her waist—and the shimmering lasers, harbouring no doubts about their sharpness.
"Puck!"
"On it!"
Puck scanned the metal spider units, his instincts warning him that pure energy attacks might be useless against their silver plating:
"If direct technique attacks get neutralised, then we'll just have to resort to physical means."
As he spoke, Puck in mid-air raised his right paw and swung it fiercely.
A massive ice block instantly condensed in the air, transforming into a gigantic ice claw dozens of metres wide.
"Not even sending a single living person? There should be limits to looking down on others."
Amidst Puck's teasing, the enormous ice claw came crashing down.
With a tremendous roar, the two metal spiders charging at the forefront were smashed to pieces.
Then Puck swung his right arm, and the giant ice claw moved in sync.
Amidst howling gales, all the metal spiders were swept away in a series of massive collisions, followed by a chain of explosions.
After clearing the minions, Puck turned his gaze towards the entrance, looking alongside Emilia.
Under the frantic warnings of her Spiritual Power, Emilia's expression immediately turned grave.
At that moment, upon seeing the newcomer, Puck whistled before saying with a solemn expression:
"Be careful, Emilia. This time, we've got a big one coming!"
Just then, from the entrance came a charming yet slightly haughty female voice:
"Not bad at all, clearing out the mechanical troops so quickly."
Along with the voice, the first thing Emilia saw was a crimson blaze of fire and an absurdly large battle axe, even bigger than the girl herself.
At that moment, Kotori Itsuka, carrying the Fifth Angel Camael, revealed a grin full of wild excitement:
"Though I've been ordered to spare your life, let me make this clear—I'm a complete novice who can't control my strength at all!"
As she spoke, Kotori's eyes seemed to ignite with dazzling crimson flames:
"Please, please, don't die on me! Here I come!"