Chapter 428

Chapter 428
## Chapter 428

Masquerade (6)

The abrupt rupture multiplied with extreme speed, web-like fractures splintering through the entirety of the zone.

“…Wait? What is this?”

Malpi, a high-ranking officer of the Burning Torch and the architect of this concealed pocket realm, gasped as he detected an… anomalous sensation.

“Malpi? What is occurring?”

“The isolation barrier… it has been deactivated… No, it is far worse than that…!”

Ahn, cradling the insensate President in her arms, directed her gaze toward Malpi, who was frantically monitoring the perimeter, her expression a blend of bewilderment and dread.

Yet the window of opportunity had already passed.

Shatter—

The fissures expanded, offering fleeting views of the external environment.

A pitch-black nocturnal sky, sprinkled with constellations, overlooking a modest, somewhat dilapidated municipality.

It was a secluded zone within Thailand, situated near the border of Malaysia, the precise area where Malpi had stationed himself prior to entering the conclave.

“The realm is disintegrating!”

The spatial isolation, which had previously stood so resilient and impenetrable, was now… imploding, the breaches yawning wider, the boundaries dissolving, the fabric of the dimension itself… fracturing.

This was the direct aftermath of their earlier maneuvers to break free, their desperate attempts to… pierce the perimeter from within.

Furthermore, the timing… was far too precise to be accidental.

‘…The links to the mystical artifacts… they are snapping. This represents… ‘

…a disruption from the outside.

The intricate silk banners they had utilized to access this pocket realm, the apparatuses they had distributed across Southeast Asia to link their diverse safehouses… they were universally failing, their resonance fading into nothingness.

Crash—!

The fractures multiplied, the boundaries buckled, the peripheral landscape… warped and twisted, the entire dimension… collapsing inward.

It was a turbulent and unnerving predicament… yet not every individual was… frozen in panic.

[“Execute!”]

As though anticipating this exact juncture, Nagaraja’s telepathic command resonated within the consciousness of the Heaven’s Turn Society cohorts.

He had alerted them beforehand, ensuring their maneuvers were rapid and absolute, devoid of even a fraction of a pause.

This extended to the Executioner, who had been locked in combat with Harley.

“Ugh— Hey, pal! Where do you think you’re retreating to? Let’s conclude this battle properly!”

[“Kha! Your stubbornness is absurd. I have butchered your flesh repeatedly, yet you stubbornly persist in living?”]

The Executioner, his fiendish manifestation grotesque and menacing, slammed his foot into Harley, whose form was battered and mangled, sending him crashing into a mound of debris.

He clicked his tongue as he observed Harley, resembling a… resilient training dummy, rising once more as his physical trauma mended.

Harley’s rate of cellular mending had dropped drastically due to the compounding trauma… yet he too was feeling the weight of lethargy.

He possessed the capability to terminate him permanently if he so chose… but additional adversaries occupied this space.

‘…That noble of the night… Is he the entity responsible for the demise of the Duke within Europe?’

A primal intuition informed him…

…that allowing himself to be delayed by Harley was an unacceptable risk, particularly with that vampire looming nearby. Even his personal innate talent would fail to ensure his survival if he engaged in a two-on-one confrontation against entities of such caliber.

Consequently, he manifested no reluctance in breaking contact, his withdrawal swift and calculated.

He could always… toy with the tribal warrior at a later date.

“Where do you intend to go? The festivities have merely commenced. It is quite improper for the organizer to depart prematurely.”

Nonetheless, his challenger had no intention of granting him an easy exit.

Heinz, the vampire concealed behind the theater mask, who had been biding his time for this precise vulnerability, his arrangements finalized as a fine vapor of sanguine mist permeated the atmosphere to counteract Time Stop, materialized directly in his path, impeding his trajectory.

His internal energy erupted, his malice unmistakable.

He was dedicated to preventing his flight.

[“…Do you genuinely believe you possess the means to halt my advance?”]

Yet the Executioner, having lost all inclination to continue the skirmish, merely smirked,

…a malicious, fiendish grin that caused Heinz to scowl.

“Your efforts are futile. I have already implemented defensive measures.”

[“Oh? I possessed no intention of… initiating an action.”]

The moment his statement concluded,

[“The strike has arrived.”]

———!

Heinz, Harley, Heinrich, Harris…

…multiple entity superiors, encompassing the four physical manifestations, abruptly elevated their gaze toward the heavens.

‘…What is that entity?!’

Their internal monologues accelerated, their cognitive faculties working at hyper-speed, deciphering the anomaly and drafting reactive strategies.

Subsequently, they executed their moves.

Whoosh—!

Heinrich, who had been advancing directly toward the Heaven’s Turn Society faction, abruptly altered his trajectory and launched into the upper atmosphere, his three pairs of plumage beating with immense force, emanating a brilliant luminescence.

His sacred blade, shimmering with intensity, projected an immense construct of celestial force.

Following that,

Kaboom—!

…a deafening detonation, an illuminating burst of brilliance across the black nocturnal sky.

A massive kinetic wave, propagating outward, catalyzed a violent tempest.

“Waaagh! An aerial strike! A bombardment!”

“Kyaa—! What is taking place?! Mother!”

“Secure the entryways! Secure the entryways!”

Vociferations reverberated throughout the settlement as the kinetic wave, despite his maneuvers to mitigate its force upon the terrain, shattered window panes and convulsed structural foundations.

Heinrich scowled, experiencing a numbing sensation traveling through the limb he had utilized to parry the strike.

Had he failed to intercept the vector, the devastation would have been… apocalyptic, vastly exceeding the payload of a ballistic missile.

The vast majority of the Burning Torch officers, bar the select few hovering on the precipice of transcendence, would have perished instantly.

‘…What manner of entity would orchestrate an assault of this nature…?’

He envisioned the… silhouette he had caught sight of a split second before neutralizing the kinetic force, and his gaze sharpened.

If his perception was accurate, it took the form of…

‘…A metallic rod, roughly equivalent to the span of my lower arm.’

Naturally, it was no commonplace projectile.

It existed as an enchanted artifact, radiating a potent pressure.

Virtually a… localized ballistic weapon.

Yet he lacked the luxury of contemplation.

‘…Additional vectors are approaching! A multiple projectile launch…!’

As if the initial strike had functioned purely as a… calibration marker, a torrent of unidentified payloads cascaded from the upper atmosphere, mimicking a saturated carpet bombing run.

Swish—

Heinrich’s perceptual awareness expanded, his cognitive tracking sharpening.

He had been too caught off guard to properly evaluate the initial impact… yet currently, he discerned variables he had previously overlooked.

‘…Velocity determination, path projection, kinetic signature monitoring… It isn’t merely a tangible item; it is simultaneously traversing the spiritual plane.’

The offensive, an abrupt and unpredicted saturation from above, possessed immense destructive capacity.

Even he, a sanctified entity possessing heightened defensive metrics, experienced the burden.

Kaboom—! Rumble! Boom—!

Heinrich, evading and shifting through the airspace via his plumage, his sacred blade deflecting the incoming payloads, his execution rapid and flawless, resembling a performer, generated a spectacular exhibition of luminescence and acoustic resonance against the dark sky.

As he successfully neutralized multiple salvos, he managed to… calculate the location of the aggressor utilizing the incoming vectors and supplementary metrics.

‘…This is… absurd. If my deductions are correct, the structural gap is… a minimum of 5,000 kilometers?’

A location situated north of Thailand, exceeding a distance of 5,000 kilometers.

That was the calculated point of origin for the… marksman.

No, the term marksman failed to encapsulate it.

What category of marksman utilizes strategic-tier munitions as standard ammunition, discharging them across thousands of kilometers?

‘…Huu, I cannot dwell on that variable presently. I must neutralize this saturation. Should I fail, not merely the Burning Torch, but the entire municipality will… ‘

Fortunately, the remaining avatars were far from incompetent. They possessed the means to sustain themselves independent of his intervention.

Nevertheless, he required a swift reunification with them before the paradigm deteriorated further.

‘…This approach might be somewhat… conspicuous… but it will secure the objective.’

Heinrich, stationary above the urban sector, unfurled his six wings, projecting a radiant sanctified field.

An immense protective barrier, resembling a vibrant polar light, blanketed the entire metropolitan area, shielding the populace from the descending… celestial wrath.

“…Ah… What is that phenomenon…?”

“A celestial messenger…? An actual angel…?”

“Oh! A heavenly being has come down from above! To preserve us!”

Potentially because his allure had been magnified by his angelic manifestation, various civilians below, gazing upward at his form, abruptly fell to their knees in devotion,

…as though their latent spiritual devotion had been… triggered by his manifestation.

Naturally, Heinrich, entirely consumed by the immediate crisis, remained oblivious to their actions.

“Hey! Are you recording this event?! Your employment is terminated if you fail to capture this! Magnify the lens! The positioning is atrocious!”

“The positioning is irrelevant! How can we even… document a phenomenon of this magnitude on a recording device?!”

A celestial entity, outfitted in pale defensive plating, its plumage of pure light radiating an intense field, shielding the municipality from a… heavenly barrage.

The occurrence was currently being documented by a broadcast unit that chanced to be present in the district, capturing footage for a feature presentation.

It held little consequence.

—

In the vicinity of Lake Baikal, Russia.

“Huu~ Quite a disruption in the dead of night.”

A vapor trail, dense and concentrated, blended with the aroma of perspiration, gradually dissolved into the air.

A fair-haired female, occupying the central position, rotated her neck and rotated her limbs, as though verifying her physical integrity after an abrupt and intense physical output.

“I will ensure Oracle compensates me for this trouble. Were it not for her request, I would remain indifferent whether that irritating Executioner survived or ceased to exist.”

She was outfitted in casual attire, utilizing a sleeveless top and active shorts, her elongated, fair hair secured loosely behind her skull, indicating she had been roused directly from slumber.

She rubbed her scalp, her skin irritated by the thermal energy produced by her sudden expenditure of power, initiated without any preparatory movements.

Droplets of moisture, sliding down her defined and athletic physique, shimmered beneath the lunar light.

“Haa, shall we resume the sequence?”

The objective had not yet been fully realized.

Even for an individual of her caliber, an expert in extreme-range ballistic strikes, this structural separation was… taxing, prompting her to take a brief intermission.

She retrieved one of the metallic rods organized adjacent to her position.

Her specialized… ammunition, forged from exceptional elements and synthesized with the proprietary sorcery of the Heaven’s Turn Society.

“Huu~ Haa…”

She inhaled deeply, her physical form radiating an incandescent crimson luminescence, vapor rising from her dermis.

Her ocular spheres, their deep sapphire depths, locked onto a localized coordinate thousands of kilometers away, an area far exceeding conventional optical range, its orientation barely identifiable.

Thump!

She advanced her stance, her left foot impacting the terrain.

The kinetic force, multiplied and channeled through her lower limbs, her midsection, her upper torso, her extremities…

…focalized at her digits.

As she swung her arm forward, a resonant vocalization tearing from her throat,

…the metallic rod within her grasp dissolved from view.

Swish— Rumble!

A kinetic shockwave, akin to a propulsion engine activation, slicing through the atmosphere, stood as the solitary confirmation of her strike.

The neighboring foliage shifted and clattered, their limbs vibrating with intensity.

And the process remained unfinished.

She shifted her stance once more, her right hand already gripping a subsequent rod.

Rumble! Kaboom—!

The terrain convulsed and quaked as an additional kinetic wave, vastly more potent than the prior iteration, surged outward despite the neutralizing boundary she had established.

Had she neglected to select such an isolated and unpopulated sector, the secondary shockwaves alone would have triggered extensive civilian trauma.

She persisted in her saturation run, discharging over a dozen metallic rods in rapid succession.

“Huu, that provided an adequate physical exertion.”

Her sapphire gaze, shimmering with an unearthly luminescence, remained locked toward the southern horizon.

It required approximately ten seconds for her ballistic payloads to achieve contact with their objective.

Her precision metrics, augmented by 「Unerring Shot」 and alternative extreme-range proficiencies, were virtually… guaranteed to connect.

Naturally, it was… structurally and mystically impossible to project such immense kinetic strikes from a distance exceeding 5,000 kilometers… yet she existed outside the boundaries of such… mundane constraints.

She had advanced past the structural constraints of this reality, attaining a tier where she could… dictate her personal paradigms upon existence.

“…Oh, not terrible. Hmm, I have contributed sufficiently. If they perish despite this intervention, it remains their personal failing.”

She harbored no affection for the Executioner, an… erratic and capricious entity. She had extended assistance solely due to Oracle’s formal solicitation.

In truth, she… detested him thoroughly.

Had the Grandmaster not strictly prohibited internal conflicts, she would have… neutralized him a considerable time ago.

‘…A degenerate who initiates altercations without provocation, a commonplace ruffian. I trust he gains some humility from this experience.’

She cast a brief glance toward the southern horizon, then emitted a yawn and shifted her direction to depart.

Having generated significant physical heat, she intended to return to her living quarters, utilize the wash facilities, and obtain rest.

The secondary consequences held no interest for her.

—

They remained unable to identify the precise coordinates of the aggressor.

The payloads were far too minimal, their velocity excessive, and their ballistic paths… warped by some variation of… sorcery, rendering tracking impossible even through the utilization of Hesperon’s orbital surveillance grid and alternative technological arrays.

‘…Nevertheless, I comprehend the general orientation and structural separation.’

Russia.

That represented the most plausible origin point.

Naturally, the deduction provided minimal utility, given that Russia was… immense.

‘…It is undoubtedly one of their premier officers, an entity marginally beneath the Executioner in rank. And a master of long-distance offensive strategies.’

Any alternative explanation lacked internal logic.

To discharge assaults mirroring strategic-tier assets across thousands of kilometers…

And taking into account their focused execution, their concentrated devastation within a confined perimeter would be significantly higher.

‘…Granted, I have never personally… endured a tactical nuclear detonation directly.’

Yet courtesy of the aggressor’s… redundant destructive application, he had been permitted to… analyze Heinrich’s defensive parameters with superior precision.

The ultimate consequence…

“…Gah!”

“…Confound it.”

…was an urban sector, undamaged save for some… superficial atmospheric disruptions,

…and six affiliates of the Heaven’s Turn Society, collapsed upon the terrain before him, clinging to consciousness.

The count stood at six, failing to reach seven.

‘…Tsk, he deserted his subordinates and executed an escape.’

The Executioner, their principal objective, had successfully evaded containment.