The beam crossed the distance between the Aether Ark and the Crimson Army in an instant.
For a brief moment, everything became silent.
The Crimson Army stood beneath the beam, completely motionless.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
The capital vanished beneath a massive sphere of light.
The shockwave tore through the surrounding clouds, sending them spiraling away from the impact point. The ground trembled violently, and windows miles away shattered under the pressure.
Even the Aether Ark, the source of the attack, was sent spiraling backward. If not for the Gravity Waves surrounding it, the enormous vessel would have been blown completely off course.
Everyone aboard the Aether Ark with access to the outside watched the destruction of the Crimson Army.
It was a marvelous sight.
So many people had died at their hands in such a short amount of time.
And now, the Crimson Army was reaping the seeds they had sown.
But—
Things took an unexpected turn.
The beam of Ether that had been fired at the Crimson Army began to warp.
It unraveled and stitched itself together like a ball of yarn before wrapping itself into a massive barrier of Ether.
Then—
A hand shot out.
A body made of crimson steel slowly began to rise from within the barrier.
Its figure was no different from that of a human, yet its crimson body hummed with Ether as its red eyes scanned the surroundings.
The figure had crimson hair and crimson eyes.
Its body was completely featureless, possessing no reproductive organs.
Suddenly, armor began to materialize from the soles of its feet.
It spread upward, covering its entire body in crimson armor.
A sword with a dragon-shaped hilt formed in its right hand.
Then, a knight's helmet materialized over its head, completely concealing its face.
The figure stood motionless.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then its head slowly turned.
Its crimson eyes locked onto the Aether Ark.
And from within the helmet came a voice.
Cold.
Mechanical.
Almost human.
"Target acquired."
Across the Command Bridge, every screen suddenly turned red.
Reinhardt stared at the display.
His smile disappeared.
"...What?"
The figure raised its sword.
Behind it, more barriers of Ether began to form.
Just like before, thousands of figures began to rise from them, forming armor and weapons.
Reinhardt's eyes widened.
"That wasn't the Crimson Army."
Julius looked at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Reinhardt stared at the figures emerging from the barriers.
He had never seen anything like this.
It was something straight out of a horror movie.
The newly formed soldiers slowly raised their weapons.
"The Ether from before. I don't know how, but they managed to evolve from it."
Both Julius and Reinhardt stared at each other.
For a moment, their minds were in sync.
They both knew what the other was thinking.
And it wasn't pleasant.
The Ether had turned them into spirits.
It was only a guess. There wasn't any actual proof that this was the definite answer.
But now it didn't matter.
There was nothing they could do.
In just a few moments, they would be gone.
The Crimson Army would completely overwhelm them.
Not unless they ran.
"Divert all remaining power to the Halo Resonance. Prepare for Space Jump!"
Commander Reinhardt shouted at the top of his lungs, his head held high.
Defeating them was no longer an option.
His main focus was getting everyone on board to safety.
The giant Halo hovering at the back of the Ark began spinning as both mana and Ether gathered around it.
A thin barrier formed around the ship as they turned away from the Crimson Army.
Commander Reinhardt himself quickly ran out of the Command Bridge and took the elevator directly to the Gravity Gates. Some of the Arcane Knights were still there, ready to deploy at their commander's order.
"All of you, stay here. No matter what happens, don't leave."
That was his final order.
The Gravity Gates opened, and the wind struck him.
Reinhardt's blonde hair moved in the breeze as he looked toward the Crimson Army.
From his neck upward, a holographic helmet formed before solidifying into his signature white mask.
Then—
He jumped.
As he fell from the sky, he stretched his right hand toward the Crimson Soldier at the front.
A thin, blue grappling hook was deployed.
It quickly wrapped around the Crimson Soldier's sword.
He tugged and swung himself through the air, his white coat fluttering in the breeze.
As soon as he was just a few meters above the Crimson Soldier, the blue grappling hook began to glow. It became harder than diamond, but remained flexible like water.
He tugged once more, and just like that, the Crimson Soldier's sword snapped, the pieces glistening in the air.
Without a moment to waste, Commander Reinhardt quickly used the grappling hook to grab a piece of the sword.
He turned and struck the head of the Crimson Soldier.
CLANG!
The Crimson Soldier staggered backward as it waved its hands around.
Commander Reinhardt stuck out his right hand, and a sword materialized.
It was a white blade with the Selene Crest engraved onto it.
As he infused it with mana and Ether, the white blade began to hum, similar to the Halo Resonance.
It went from pure white like snow to a light neon blue.
Commander Reinhardt's eyes locked onto the Crimson Soldier.
With a tug of his grappling hook, he propelled himself straight through the Crimson Soldier and cleanly slashed its head off.
As he landed on the ground, a loud thunk could be heard in the distance.
He turned.
The Crimson Soldier's body fell to the ground soon after its head hit the ground.
He turned and looked at the remaining soldiers before striking his sword out.
"Come at me. I'll take you all on."
He didn't need to win this fight. All he had to do was hold out long enough for the Space Jump.
If he managed to win in the process, then that would just be considered a bonus. But that was highly unlikely.
There were far too many for him to take on, but he was ready to take them all on.
One of the crimson soldiers swung their sword towards Commander Reinhardt and as he got ready to block—
Clang!
A shard of ice hit its head and the soldier fell with a loud thud.
Commander Reinhardt's eyes widened beneath his mask.
Where did that come from?
He turned around to see a young man with white hair holding a staff in his hand, pointing at the crimson soldiers. It was Magister Julius.
"I thought I said no one sho—"
"Unfortunately, I am not one of your soldiers. I do what I want."
"Tchh. You better not get in my way."
"Likewise."
And so, the two of them charged towards the Crimson Army with not a moment of hesitation.
Their goal: stall for time.
---
Meanwhile, a certain black-haired figure wearing a full-face mask, watched the scene unfold from afar.
"Maybe I don't need to interfere just yet." It mumbled to itself.