Phaethon gave a somewhat reluctant look at the temporarily frozen Nikador and the ruins that still held many "goodies," clicking his tongue in regret.
With an elegant—or perhaps more accurately, a slightly punchable—flourish, Phaethon waved at Nikador, making a "Later, loser!" gesture, then calmly took a step back, vanishing precisely into the light-screen of the Infinity Gate.
The next instant, Phaethon's figure had already appeared within the distant city of Okhema. He looked up at the sky, his gaze seeming to pierce through the clouds and endless space, locking onto the object in near-orbit that he had meticulously adjusted for angle and trajectory using edicts and the power of the Infinity Gates... the "Skyfire."
A cold smile, belonging to an absolute firepower supremacist, curled at the corner of his mouth.
Lance of Fury? Undying Titan?
TASTE MY 「SKYFIRE UNLEASHED」!!!
...
Near-orbit of Amphoreus, within the cold void.
A bizarrely-shaped, gigantic metal rod, shimmering with a cerulean blue glow and a dull metallic sheen, was "falling" eternally and perfectly straight towards the world below in a manner that defied common sense.
Relying on gravity, its velocity accumulated in the vacuum to an unimaginable degree—Mach 200!
This was nearly the ultimate kinetic projectile beyond mortal imagination, the unconventional "Skyfire" that Phaethon had commissioned the Grand Craftsman to secretly forge—a weapon transcending its era!!!
If one could ignore the terrifying speed sufficient to ignite any atmosphere, perhaps they might barely make out several large, flamboyantly inscribed characters etched onto the incredibly sturdy main body, a touch of someone's mischievous whimsy—
「SKYFIRE 001」
It hung like a silent spear of death, falling futilely through the desolate space towards the boundless depths, waiting only for the command to activate it.
Until, at a specific moment—
An extremely faint, almost undetectable spatial hum sounded.
Right in front of the "Skyfire" rod, an Infinity Gate, meticulously calculated for position and timing, suddenly unfolded, instantly swallowing it whole!
The spatial ripple flashed and vanished, the void returning to silence as if the rod of destruction had never existed.
The Ruins of Castrum Kremnos, The Core.
The Titan of Strife, Nikador, its massive and twisted carapace had just shattered the last few annoying chains of rules.
Within its chaotic consciousness, eroded by the Black Tide, a trace of confusion remained: why had those three insignificant beings, especially that Golden Descendant who shouted about exchanging lives, howled a couple times and then fled in panic? Had they realized true despair, or was it...?
Its thoughts (if they could be called that) came to an abrupt halt.
The next instant!
Without any warning, without the slightest precursor of energy fluctuation, the metal rod「Skyfire」, carrying the terrifying kinetic energy of Mach 200, appeared abruptly, precisely, almost point-blank directly above Nikador's head!
Distance: Less than ten meters!
Before the absolute speed of Mach 200, the time needed for this mere ten meters was brief enough to render any reaction system obsolete—
0.00001 seconds!
Not even enough for a single complete neural signal to transmit a thought!
*IMPACT!*
At the moment of contact, unimaginable kinetic energy was released in the most thorough, most savage manner possible—one hundred percent!
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!——*
A cataclysmic explosion, far exceeding any known magical or alchemical mishap, erupted violently at the very center of Castrum Kremnos!
The first to appear was not flame, but a sphere of ultimate compression—pure white plasma that instantly expanded!
Its brightness instantly surpassed the sun, illuminating the entire ancient site of Castrum Kremnos and the surrounding area in a blinding, stark white!
Close behind came the annihilating shockwave! It was like a solid wall of death that destroyed everything, expanding outward from the epicenter in a perfect circle at an unstoppable speed, crushing, vaporizing, and hurling aside everything in its path!
As far away as the holy city of Okhema, thousands of miles distant, people could clearly feel a sustained, dull tremor beneath their feet, window frames buzzing, water in cups rippling.
Standing on a certain high platform, Mydei and Phainon both swayed slightly.
Feeling the terrifying aftershocks that had traversed the vast distance yet not completely dissipated beneath their feet, their gazes turned with extreme complexity towards the seemingly harmless Phaethon beside them.
Within those gazes was shock, trepidation, a trace of relief, and perhaps, from someone, a tiny bit of heartache for the ancient site of Castrum Kremnos and... an extremely subtle sympathy for what had befallen Nikador?
(Nikador: This light? This power? What is this! So intense! To witness strife of this level...[Signal Lost]User is no longer in the service area.)
「Detected individual vital signs have completely disappeared...」
...
Once the destructive storm had somewhat subsided, and the billions of tons of stirred dust had yet to fully settle, Phaethon cautiously poked half his head out from behind an Infinity Gate to survey the situation on the ground.
The first sight that greeted him was a scene as if doomsday had descended.
A colossal, breath-taking crater now occupied the former central area of Castrum Kremnos.
Its diameter was roughly estimated to be at least two kilometers, with walls as smooth as glass—a product of instant extreme heat and pressure. The depth was a staggering three hundred meters, as if a huge chunk of the earth had been forcibly gouged out!
Within ten kilometers of the crater's edge, the area had been completely flattened by the shockwave!
All former buildings, streets, and ruins had vanished, leaving only compacted, scorched, and melted foundations, as if crushed by an invisible giant foot.
Beyond ten kilometers, structures had collapsed like toppled dominoes, presenting a scene of utter ruin and destruction.
One could say that Phaethon's "gentle" tap had almost erased two-thirds of Castrum Kremnos!
However... what gave Phaethon a slight sense of relief was his observation that the massive weapon once suspended high above Castrum Kremnos, symbolizing the Titan's authority—the Blade of Fury.
Although it had been knocked askew by the terrifying shockwave and embedded deep into the ground, its gigantic structure remained miraculously intact!
The creations of the Titans were indeed extraordinary! Not having been directly hit, it showed little damage, merely covered in a thick layer of dust and debris.
"Hmm, not bad." Phaethon stroked his chin and nodded. "The destructive power at the epicenter of Skyfire 001's strike is probably on par with that caused by an 'ordinary' person wielding the true Skyfire Judgement.
Though it likely still falls short compared to what the predecessor Kevin could unleash.
Nevertheless, primary target eliminated! Important loot preserved intact! Mission accomplished with full marks!"