The moment everyone regained consciousness, there was no time to breathe.
"Move!" Larra shouted.
Surya was already running.
The ground trembled beneath their feet as they charged toward the Order's base, the massive stone gates cracked and half-melted from earlier battles. Smoke and broken mana circuits littered the path ahead, sparks of unstable energy snapping through the air like lightning.
As they crossed the threshold, the temperature changed.
Light flooded the interior.
Not sunlight.
Not magic meant to heal.
This light was wrong.
At the center of the vast chamber stood something towering—
a twenty-foot-tall divine construct, forged from white metal and glowing runes. Its body resembled a knight, but its face was smooth and hollow, eyes burning with pure, condensed mana.
From its chest, beams of light blasted nonstop, tearing through walls, pillars, and anyone unlucky enough to stand in its path.
"Is that… a divine?" Kael whispered, his voice tight.
"No," Larra said grimly. "It's worse."
The construct turned slowly, its head locking onto Surya. The runes along its body flared brighter, reacting to his presence.
"That thing," Larra continued, "is powered by stolen light mana."
The ground shook as the divine raised its arm.
A blinding beam charged at its palm.
Surya stepped forward, light flickering around his fists.
"…So that's where all the light mana's been going," he muttered.
The beam fired.
The divine's beam carved a glowing trench across the floor—
Then—
"Incoming!" Kael shouted.
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
From the upper balconies and steel walkways around the chamber, dozens of magical arrows rained down at once, their tips glowing with compressed mana. They weren't aimed at Surya.
They were aimed around him.
The arrows struck the ground, the walls, the pillars—embedding themselves in a wide circle around the massive reactor behind the divine. Barriers flared to life the moment they landed, layers of translucent shields overlapping like scales.
"They're not targeting us," Larra realized. "They're protecting the reactor!"
More arrows flew. Guards in Order uniforms lined the upper levels, moving with practiced precision, firing in waves. Each shot reinforced the barrier, feeding mana directly into the core.
The reactor pulsed.
The divice let out a low, hollow sound—almost like breathing—and its light intensified.
Surya clenched his teeth. "They're using the guards as batteries…"
Kael raised his wind blade, deflecting an arrow that slipped through. "Then we don't go through the divine."
Larra's staff crackled with plasma. "We go through them."
Above them, the guards nocked another round.
And this time, the arrows were aimed straight at Surya.
The rain of arrows suddenly stopped.
Mana smoke and glowing mist hung in the air, drifting slowly as the barriers around the reactor hummed. From within that haze, heavy footsteps echoed across the chamber.
Step.
Step.
Step.
A figure emerged.
He was tall—at least six feet—broad enough that his silhouette alone felt oppressive. His body was built like a fortress, every movement controlled and deliberate. Compared to him, Surya looked small, almost fragile.
The man stopped a few meters away and folded his arms.
"Greetings…"
His voice was deep and cold, carrying effortlessly through the chamber.
"I am Reivred Volga."
Larra's breath caught in her throat.
"The name doesn't ring a bell?" Volga continued calmly. "Then allow me to clarify."
He lifted his head slightly, eyes sharp as steel.
"I am the true leader of the organization you call the Order."
A pause.
"Or, as it will soon be known…"
"The New World Order."
The chamber fell silent.
Kael stiffened. Larra's grip tightened on her staff. Around them, several MagiTechia members froze, color draining from their faces.
"That's impossible…" someone whispered.
"Volga died years ago."
"He was killed in the island raid…"
Surya glanced sideways. "You know him?"
Larra swallowed. "Reivred Volga was one of the most wanted criminals of his era. The reports said he died during a purge on an infested island. No body was ever found… but the case was closed."
Volga chuckled softly.
"Rumors are convenient," he said. "They bury fear nicely."
He took one step forward. The air pressure shifted.
Surya felt it instantly—
this man's presence was nothing like Eliot's tricks or Hokori's speed.
This was something heavier. Older. Intentional.
Kael lowered his stance. "So you're the one behind all of this."
Volga's gaze finally settled on Surya.
"No," he replied calmly.
"I'm the one who allowed it."
Behind him, the reactor pulsed brighter, the divine construct slowly turning its hollow gaze toward Surya once more.
Volga smiled.
"And now," he said, "let me see the child who carries the sun."
The device raised its arm again.
The chamber shook again as the reactor pulsed, light roaring through the walls like a heartbeat.
Volga spoke once more, his voice steady despite the chaos.
"There's something I need all of you to understand."
He spread his arms slightly, as if addressing the entire world.
"My goal is to create a new world. A world where everyone is truly free."
His eyes hardened.
"A world without magic."
The words hit harder than any attack.
"Why?" Volga continued. "Because magic is only safe in the hands of those who understand it. And even then, it invites disaster. Power tempts. Power corrupts. And there will always be those who use magic to dominate others."
He looked around the room, his gaze passing over the wounded, the guards, the divine construct.
"And then there are the gifted," he said, stopping on Surya.
"People like you."
Surya felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"Why are some born special?" Volga asked calmly. "Why do you, and the boy beside you, possess abilities others will never touch? I wanted answers."
Kael stiffened. "What… do you mean?"
Volga's lips curled into a faint smile.
"So I set a trap."
The smile faded.
"I used your friend. Thriller."
Surya's breath caught.
"He was never meant to win," Volga said. "He was bait. A signal. Something to draw out the gifted and see how far you would go."
Surya clenched his fists, light flickering uncontrollably around him. "You used him just to test us?!"
Volga didn't flinch. "Sacrifice is unavoidable when reshaping the world."
Then he turned his gaze to Kael.
"And you," he said quietly. "You hide it well. Even from him."
Surya froze.
"…Kael?" he whispered, turning.
Kael's eyes widened slightly, realization dawning on his own face.
"I… I didn't know," Kael said, his voice uncertain. "I thought what I had was just normal magic."
Volga nodded once. "That ignorance is why you're still alive."
The reactor surged, the divine construct responding to Volga's presence.
"Now," Volga said, raising a hand, "show me."
The air grew heavy.
"Are the gifted capable of protecting a world without magic… or only destroying it?"