Xyrin Empire
Chapter 395 - Chapter 395 Chapter 395 So It Was Them

Chapter 395: Chapter 395: So It Was Them Chapter 395: Chapter 395: So It Was Them I hate multiple-choice questions more than anything.

Such damn things have always plunged me into great dilemmas every single time, whether they were single or multiple choice. From childhood onward, it was due to this kind of absurd question type that my exam scores consistently hovered at the edge of life and death. Had it not been for Big Sister’s average score being only five points higher than mine, I can’t even imagine what my childhood would have been like.

Okay, I admit that even without multiple-choice questions, I probably wouldn’t have passed many times anyway. At least those things gave me a twenty-five percent chance of success–wait, I’m getting off-topic.

Now before me lay a difficult decision, the only method to save Silvia mentioned by Alaya, the Soul Awakening.

I trusted the depth of Angel Sister’s knowledge in mysticism to ensure the success of this complex soul magic, but I trusted even more that my own rotten luck would silently turn the one finally awakened into that exceedingly dangerous Fallen Apostle.

“Lord Brother,” Alaya’s reminder made me aware of the passage of time, “there’s only one chance, and I can’t… hold on much longer…”

“Prepare the magic ceremony,” I nodded firmly in the end, “Alaya, do you have any way to increase the chances of awakening that part of Silvia’s soul?”

“The soul is the most complex thing in the world, even I can only ensure the success of the awakening process itself, but as for who exactly awakens… it’s completely uncontrollable. The chances of Silvia and the Fallen Apostle awakening are both fifty percent.”

I knew Angel Sister would never deceive me, so faced with this exasperating choice, I could only grit my teeth and say, “Let’s begin then. If the one to awaken truly is Bellavilla… I’ll just have to let her die once again.”

I hope Visca will forgive me then. It’s clear that the girl has always held a very bright and warm image of “Sister Bellavilla” in her heart, but aside from herself, every one of us onlookers knew very well that was merely a false memory born during Visca’s chaotic times. The real Bellavilla… was certainly no saint.

But we can’t just sit around during this time; right now, there’s something I really want to do–that is… to drag out whoever’s behind all this and throw them into the Ghost Energy Reactor!

What I hate most is being schemed against, and what I hate even more is someone also scheming against the people by my side. No matter who is using Silvia to deal with the Xyrin Fleet, I want them to pay a price!

“Have all combat-ready special troops prepare their weapons, intelligence personnel and Xyrin Hosts–I don’t care by what means, but find the source of the electromagnetic wave that triggered Silvia’s outburst. From now on, release all A-level and below clearances in the information network for the next twenty-four hours. Anyone has the right to report their findings directly to me. Additionally… temporarily suspend the human rights statutes for the high-level personnel of Academy City.”

After these orders, I contacted Sandora, still in outer space. One needs to prepare for the worst-case scenario–if Alaya’s attempt truly fails, then we might have to do battle on the ground with an Emperor Level Fallen Apostle. Ordinary troops are of limited use against such high-level enemies with all sorts of bizarre abilities. With Sandora joining, she is an indispensable force.

Minutes later, Sandora arrived at the research institute from the command flagship. She had already learned the entire situation through spiritual sharing and was prepared to battle an Emperor Level Fallen Apostle.

Although she had already dispersed a considerable part of her spiritual power into the vast expanse of space, to keep watch for any Star Ring Fragments that might appear, the powerful psychic abilities Sandora honed in the Abyss were not so easily strained.

“So, we haven’t found the real culprit behind all this yet?”

After visiting the lab to check on Alaya and Silvia, who were undergoing the Soul Activation Ceremony, Sandora stood in the hallway and spoke to me.

I shook my head with a wry smile, “The most suspicious person is Aresta. But we’ve been monitoring him and the information flowing through his machines–he has no clue what’s going on. As for the true mastermind, they’re being incredibly cautious. Certainly, they are watching. If Silvia ends up self-destructing, their goal is naturally achieved. If not, they can continue to hide until ready to act. They won’t make a move until then.”

“A cunning and cautious rabbit…” Sandora pondered for a moment before looking up, “But even the craftiest rabbit must have a den. All we need to do is provide a little stimulation right next to the ‘rabbit hole’…”

The whereabouts of the “rabbit hole” were quickly determined. The hosts, by analyzing the energy records around the institute during Silvia’s rampage, located its approximate position without much trouble.

The Central Zone of Academy City, Aresta’s “Ancient Tomb,” I would have never thought that the Old Fox was such a good actor, even managing to escape the Xyrin Host’s scanning–while all external communications were under surveillance, how did he remotely direct everything?

I raised my head and shouted at the door, “Vega, take your men and surround Aresta…”

Before I could finish, Vega pushed the door open and entered, “Reporting, Commander, the situation has changed. The building where Aresta was hiding was completely locked down thirty seconds ago! And just before it shut down, we received this…”

“A distress signal?”

I took the file Vega brought, nearly dropping my jaw in shock.

“A distress signal from Aresta? What the hell is he up to?”

“Commander, I’m afraid the signal is real…” Vega blinked, his tone also filled with confusion, “Not only did that central building shut off all communication with the outside world, but it also shut down… its power systems. We’ve scanned the entire building and currently, only a small part of the emergency power systems is operating, and even those are shutting down one by one.”

I, who had been suspecting Aresta of scheming, was suddenly stunned.

Shutting down the power systems? Does that mean that Aresta’s life support device–is doomed?

Despite Aresta’s considerable might in the arts of magic, he had suffered a severe blow during the siege years ago. The fact that he could stand proudly at the peak of this world’s dark powers as an undying old man was entirely due to the achievements of Mingtu Zhuihun, known in the medical community as the “Enemy of the King of Hell” and “Sai Hua Tuo.” Moreover, based on what I knew, current Aresta couldn’t possibly leave that life support device, which Bubbles once described as “simple, primitive, rough, and fragile.” Although the latter had given the Old Fox a lifespan of 1700 years and cognitive abilities beyond human imagination, it also became a prison in another sense.

The original work had mentioned this: Mingtu Zhuihun held a remote control that could control Aresta’s life support device from afar. With it, he could end Aresta’s life at any moment. Although he had not done so due to beliefs such as “a doctor cannot abandon their patient,” it amply demonstrated one point: Aresta could not live without that tube.

“We’re going over.”

After a brief second of consideration, I made my decision.

Regardless of whether Aresta was plotting a new conspiracy, the root of all problems must be within that building.

I asked Qianqian and Big Sister to stay in the research institute to be ready for Bellavilla’s awakening and to take care of the emotionally unstable Visca. Meanwhile, Sandora and I led Vega’s Scorpion Soldiers and rushed toward Aresta’s location.

Along the way, there were hardly any pedestrians. Although everyone knew that a powerful and unprecedented space fleet was protecting their planet overhead, the daily flashes across the sky and the images of the Earth’s defensive systems being bombarded by meteorites, broadcasted synchronously on various media outlets, still led most citizens to opt for hiding at home–though not much safer, it at least provided a modicum of psychological comfort.

The recent meteorite fall event must have already spread across the world. Under the extraordinary circumstances, governments worldwide had abandoned the age-old policy of keeping the populace ignorant. After all, even if they disseminated fake news, we would still broadcast the live footage to the entire world…

However, because a vaccine had been administered well in advance, alerting Earthlings that we were in control of the three meteorites’ falls and that no more meteorites would breach the defenses, a large-scale panic hadn’t erupted. Of course, there was still an atmosphere of tension.

Occasionally, we encountered a few pedestrians along the way. They had now grown accustomed to the sight of “alien soldiers,” and aside from curious glances and kindly bowing in greeting, there were no incidents of an unscrupulous spectator crowd forming. It seems that in the past few days, Zuotian Tsuruya’s efforts in leading her team around the city to engage in community service activities like tree planting, searching for lost items, and helping elderly people cross the street were effective. The Imperial Soldiers who followed her certainly had a hard time…

We did not hide our actions. In fact, there was no longer any need for that on either side.

As we approached the central area of Academy City, the pedestrians finally vanished altogether.

“This zone has been completely cleared out; no human life reactions detected,”

Vega concluded promptly after a quick survey of the surroundings.

“They’re waiting for us.”

Sandora furrowed her brow, incessantly scanning the surroundings. Under the influence of her ability, her beautiful golden hair seemed to be entirely crafted from light, continuously shedding specks of golden sparkles with her movements–last time I joked about dandruff, and nearly got bitten to death by this girl.

“What’s wrong? Is something not right?”

Sandora frowned thoughtfully and said, “No… maybe it’s just my imagination, but I feel like there’s something very familiar here, something terrible, yet I’ve found nothing.”

At this moment, we had already arrived at the dark towering building’s exterior wall. With the complete disruption of the energy system, it now appeared lifeless, not a single light piercing through, standing in the twilight like a tombstone.

“It seems the distress signal from Aresta is real,” I felt the energy flows around us, “If we hadn’t come, he probably would’ve suffocated inside.”

A small girl with black hair stood beneath the dark structure, facing our direction, as if she had been waiting for a long time.

There was an eerie aura all around.

“Please… please follow me… the Council President only wishes for you and the golden-haired sister to enter…”

The little black-haired girl swiftly approached, then seemingly composed, whispered.

Frightened by the sight of a large group of menacing mech scorpion soldiers, her calm was clearly feigned.

“Yubisaki Danshi, that’s your name, right?”

I didn’t take the girl’s outstretched right hand, but instead asked indifferently.

“I… yes… yes, please follow me… the Council President is waiting inside…”

The black-haired girl recited her lines robotically, yet her eyes couldn’t help but convey a certain emotion to us: save me.

Clearly, “his” power could easily kill a disobedient Yubisaki Danshi, even through a layer of composite material that could withstand a nuclear explosion.

“If you’re talking about that old fox Aresta, I reckon he’s about to die, yeah, so in that sense, he’s indeed waiting for us to go inside.”

The pupil of the black-haired girl contracted suddenly, her face overtaken by panic, but the next second, I reached out and gently placed my hand on her head.

A type of energy, on the verge of exploding within her, was rapidly dispersed into the Void Plane, and Yubisaki Danshi’s expression changed abruptly, showing a mix of relief and gratitude as though she had just survived a catastrophe.

“Save your thanks for later, now get as far away from here as possible, head to the Xyrin Research Institute, or any outpost guarded by Imperial soldiers, they’ll protect you.”

Without another word from me, Yubisaki thanked me with a bow and then swiftly ran away.

My spiritual power pierced directly through the building’s exterior wall and resonated throughout the structure: “Aresta, I know you’re still alive, if you have any breath left, respond to me–what exactly happened?”

Several seconds later, Aresta’s feeble voice trickled back intermittently: “That was really a close call… never expected… that Ai Hua would do such a thing… in the end, was I the one who truly knew nothing…”

I wonder if everyone has so much to say when they’re on the brink of death.

Ai Hua? The “Angel” summoned by Aresta? Why would a mythical creature of this world do such a thing?

“Alien, deceiving you turned out to be more difficult than I had imagined.”

Not long after Yubisaki Danshi departed, a voice suddenly echoed through our minds. Before I could even react with surprise, the entire space underwent a drastic transformation.

Black walls, akin to oblong metal and crystal blocks, suddenly descended from the sky, enveloping a vast expanse before us, our heads were assaulted by a sharp howl, and then warped into crystals–as if looking through a kaleidoscope at the surface of the water, the strange forms of energy filled the entire space, severing all our connections to the outside world.

It seems we were thrown into another space.

“Dimension Isolation,” Sandora calmly surveyed her surroundings, “Some sort of technology closely related to Shadow Space. I remember seeing something like this somewhere…”

“Soldiers! Defensive formation!”

With a loud shout, Vega raised the longsword in hand, and then dozens of Armored Scorpions immediately formed a triple-layered circular formation. The squeaky Ghost Energy Shields were interwoven layer upon layer, protecting Sandora and me within.

“How cautious of you, aliens. I didn’t expect you’d also show such a defensive response when faced with a major threat… I really want to see if you’ll cry and scream in despair just like those civilizations you’ve destroyed!”

Accompanied by a surge of white light that suddenly pierced and burst forth from the wall, the black structure before us shattered like an illusion, turning into a myriad of black feathers wafting through the bizarre scene. Amidst this eerie spectacle, a pure white figure slowly descended from the burst of light.

“Are you Ai Hua?”

I frowned, looking at the humanoid glowing entity before me that was constantly trembling like an image on an interfered TV screen.

From appearance alone, it seemed to have the form of a young woman, but the features were indistinct, barely discernible as a vague human outline, so much so that I dared not confirm whether “it” was “female.” Behind the pale flickering shadow were two massive wings, unlike Alaya’s stable and substantial feathers. They resembled meaningless twisted silhouettes of fiercely burning flames suddenly frozen in time–a poor imitation of an Angel. These words suddenly sprang to mind.

This was the first time I had encountered a pure energy form being, other than Alaya and Anwina (neither Silvia, the half-hearted entity, nor Dingdang, the irregular one, were included in my consideration). The opponent’s peculiar form had me taking a few extra glances. Honestly, as a behind-the-scenes big boss, Ai Hua’s entrance was quite showy.

While I was curiously observing the glowing entity, Sandora beside me had already knit her brows tightly, her tone low and icy: “The Iverson Clan… you should have been extinct by now.”

“Ha–alien, I didn’t expect you would still remember those insignificant little races you once annihilated. Should I say, is this a small hobby of you invaders to showcase your personal glory?”

Ai Hua’s voice carried a strange tremor, sounding neither sad nor joyful, but an overwhelming anger and hatred pressed in around me like thick mud. Surprised, I turned to look at Sandora, and from their conversation, it seemed as though there was a substantial grudge?!

Sandora’s face was as cold as ice, speaking from a high and mighty position: “I didn’t expect any survivors. So, do you seek vengeance for your kin, or are you merely here to die?”

Ai Hua laughed, or at least I believe that bizarre low-frequency vibration was meant to be a laugh: “Alien, you are still so arrogant, but this time… you will surely face defeat! The ancestors of the Iverson will feast on your soul from within the shadows! Your Imperial Army, masquerading as saviors, will soon be annihilated under the self-destruction of your own kin!!”

“Is that so,” Sandora suddenly interrupted Ai Hua with a cold snort, her demeanor carrying an unfamiliar ruthlessness, “Iverson… your last resistance indeed left a deep impression on me.”

Sandora’s subtext was quite clear, implying that the final act of defiance before the extinction of their entire race was merely a lingering impression to her.

Well then, Ancient Avenger Ai Hua versus Iron-blooded Commander Sandora, I feel like the plot is starting to get absurd…(To be continued. For the continuation of the story, please visit www.NovelFire.net. More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)