Cellge was standing in front of the Alogantz that Leon had boarded, as messages came in urging him to seek instructions quickly.
“Do you really think anything will change now that you’ve boarded? You lost to me already,” he taunted, but Leon gave no reply.
“What’s the matter, can’t even muster a voice? Wouldn’t it have been better to run off with a woman just like that?” Ignoring his allies’ communications, Cellge faced the Alogantz head‑on.
Ideal was also confronting Luxion, so there was no hope of any help from that side.
It turned out to be more troublesome than he’d expected.
(Calm down. I’ve already won once. If that’s the case, there’s nothing to worry about.)
No matter how much he provoked, there was no reaction.
Perhaps because of that, Cellge felt a little nervous.
“My performance is superior. You’ll lose to me twice!”
Giia, now moving, raised a spear in the air and, at top speed, tried to thrust the spear into the Alogantz’s chest.
The Alogantz didn’t move.
(See? It can’t even react!)
With the body‑enhancement magic he’d acquired in this world, Cellge’s craft performance had been further boosted.
He’d been working at it all this time.
He’d floated around in a sword‑and‑magic fantasy world, had plenty of time to train thanks to the environment. He’d learned in the best conditions— but—
“What—what!?”
The spear’s tip was about to pierce the Alogantz’s chest— then shattered.
Not a single wound appeared on the Alogantz’s torso.
‘I forgot to mention, this place is the same as before. There used to be a ridiculously strong old man here, and he pierced this spot. So it’s been reinforced specially.’
The chest armor houses the pilot’s head.
Leon, who had been pierced there, had swapped the chest‑plate material during repairs.
From the start, Cellge’s spear could never reach Leon.
“D‑damn it!”
When he tried to keep his distance, the Alogantz started moving forward, closing in.
He swung his left arm forward and fired the machine gun, shaving off the Alogantz’s outer armor— stripping away the surface plating.
Even though the outer armor was gone, the same armor layer appeared underneath.
The Alogantz’s hand reached out and grabbed Giia’s left arm.
‘That’s extra armor. It was just a bit of show to draw you in, but I couldn’t strip it all away.’
The Alogantz‑gripped left arm was forcibly purged by Giia.
White smoke billowed from the shoulder as Giia pulled away from the Alogantz.
Soon after, the left arm was shattered by a shockwave.
“You think you can get cocky, you hear me?”
Discarding the broken spear, Cellge drew a laser blade in his right hand and charged at the Alogantz.
But the Alogantz anticipated the move and dodged.
Cellge was kicked away by the Alogantz.
‘I’ve already taken your data. Most of it can be handled automatically.’
In other words, Leon’s skill didn’t matter at all.
“What—what the hell! You’re relying on machines because you can’t win!” Leon said in his usual tone, then calmly added, ‘So what? Your skill is that weak. The advantage you’ve had so far was all Luxion’s staging. Impressive, huh?’
Those words ticked Cellge off, and he slashed at the Alogantz.
Even when dodged and punched, he kept attacking.
“Your skill isn’t even the point! With that—”
‘Are you happy about winning? You type of guy always says that. You’re just a brain‑muscle like Chris and Greg. But those two were better. I saw them start to coordinate with others— they’ve grown a lot. Unlike you, who’s living a second life. A kid stays a kid even after reincarnation.’
“—!”
Cellge deployed drones he’d never used before.
‘Listen, this isn’t a brawl. It’s a war.’
The Alogantz responded by deploying an equal number of drones, blocking his attacks.
Both sides’ drones clashed, destroying each other and falling to the ground.
‘You don’t get it. No matter how many times you beat me, it means nothing. I have Luxion, you have Ideal. At that point, individual skill is irrelevant.’
‘It’s meaningless, you say?’
‘Yeah. Sure, you’re stronger than me. But that gap means nothing in front of Luxion. The difference between us is negligible before Luxion. Understand? It’s meaningless.’
Beaten by the Alogantz and slammed to the ground, Cellge clenched his teeth in frustration.
All his actions were being denied, and Ideal’s refusal to lend a hand only added to his anger.
“What—then you weren’t serious back then either!?”
‘There’s no way you could go all‑out in a place like that. Don’t you know what happens when armored suits fight in a city? You don’t, right? Because you don’t know, you can do such cruel things.’
The Alogantz pointed toward the Sacred Tree.
When Cellge looked cautiously in that direction—
“Whoa!”
Explosions had been repeatedly erupting at the Sacred Tree.
Leon spoke.
‘I could have let this “scene” slide, but I won’t. I’ll stop it— right here, right now. I’ll give you a real fight, as you wish. Know the meaning of what you’ve done before you die.’
The Sacred Tree burned.
As Cellge opened his mouth, Ideal’s scream rang out.
At the same time— Cellge felt his chest tighten.
“What is this pain?”
◇
‘qawse drf tgy fuji ko l p!!!!!!’
Ideal’s scream was heard by Luxion.
Seeing Ideal’s confused reaction, Luxion calculated how many bombs Leon had planted in the Sacred Tree.
‘The placement was off. The rest is just a lack of powder. Well, we didn’t have time, so this will do.’
But Ideal seemed oddly fixated on the Sacred Tree, beyond just a tool for supplying energy.
‘How dare you— desecrate the Sacred Tree! You trampled everyone’s wishes, this migrant ship! A ship built just to run away could never grasp the true meaning of that tree! In the end, destroying it was the right thing! You fool!!!’
Luxion retorted to the enraged Ideal.
‘—You seem obsessed with the Sacred Tree. If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have angered the Master. Even if I’m weaker than you in performance, I win in the Master’s quality. My Master, once he decides, goes all‑in. It was a mistake to lump your so‑called Master together with mine.’
Ideal was in a heightened state, much like when Luxion first discovered New‑Human weapons.
‘Master’s quality? You really overvalue half‑baked ones. As expected, the AI of the migrant ship is useless. No master of that caliber could ever lose to my Master or anyone else.’
‘Anyone?’
From the conversation Luxion sensed that Ideal didn’t recognize Cellge as a Master. He was comparing Leon to someone else— multiple people, actually.
‘So Cellge was just a puppet after all?’
‘He needed a Master registration to activate. I acknowledge him, but he’s insufficient for my Master. My Master— my Master is still only those people.’
There seemed to be some backstory, but Ideal didn’t feel like explaining from the beginning.
Luxion stayed wary; Ideal’s output was rising.
‘That level of output will blow everything around you. You’ve been holding back until now— are you sure you want to let it loose?’
Ideal ignored the warning.
‘New Humans can disappear all they want. Giia‑piloted Cellge will survive. You— you all will be taken down here.’
Realizing Ideal’s hostility was also aimed at Leon, Luxion increased his own output.
‘You don’t mind New Humans going extinct? Same here. Then I’ll prioritize my Master’s survival above all else.’
Both cut communications, and the battle grew even fiercer.
A transmission came from Leon.
‘Don’t cause too much collateral damage.’
‘You’re being reckless. Did you manage to rescue Olivia safely?’
‘It was a close call. When we got back we’ll comfort— I don’t know if it was Ideal or Cellge, but the sapling was guarded so tightly we couldn’t reach it. We slipped into the manor easily though.’
They hadn’t recovered the Sacred Tree sapling, but Leon didn’t seem upset about that.
‘Also, we blew up the manor— did Ideal react?’
‘No. He’s acting oddly toward the Sacred Tree, though.’
‘Got it— then we’ll count on Claire.’
Leon cut off the transmission, busy as usual.
‘I think it’s the Master who needs comfort, not Olivia. Now, let’s do our part.’
Luxion moved to deal with Ideal.
The ancient‑civilization ships— the cheat‑battlecruisers— were finally colliding for real.
Their shockwaves spread across the Republic.
◇
On the deck of the airship Einhorn, Libya stared toward the Sacred Tree.
A part of the Sacred Tree was on fire.
Even though night had fallen, the ground was unusually bright, as if the Republic’s citizens had noticed.
Gripping the rail, she watched the fierce clash of light.
“That’s— Luxion’s full power.”
Massive airships exchanged optical weapons, missiles, and kinetic rounds, lighting up the sky with explosions.
Republic airships that had been in the battle were blown away, crashing and burning on the ground.
The disparity in power was obvious.
Chris stepped down from his armor and approached Libya.
‘Not a partner? The shape is obviously different. That Bartfeld guy still had hidden forces, huh?’
Brad arrived as well.
‘Even I would stay silent about this. But cutting such a trump card means we really pissed someone off, right?’
All eyes fell on Libya.
Realizing that the reason for using the ultimate trump card lay with her, Libya sank to the floor.
‘Because of me.’
Jilk’s face twisted like he’d swallowed a bitter pill.
‘—Hiding that much power is… amusing, isn’t it? Were we being mocked?’
Everyone seemed to share the sentiment, though none found it funny.
Only Erik voiced a different opinion.
‘You idiots. That guy was recognized by the big sister as a brother. Don’t lump him together with clumsy losers like you.’
‘What the—!’
Greg grabbed his chest strap, but Erik didn’t back down.
‘If you think that brother held back his true power, then you’re just that weak! —Don’t repeat my mistake!’
Libya looked up.
‘Huh? That— huh? Ah, brother… what?’
Leon and Marie’s sibling speculation had been misinterpreted by Erik.
‘If that guy were here, any problem would be solved easily. So why didn’t he? I was on the sister’s side, watching everything. It was a short time, but I saw enough. We relied too much on the Sacred Tree’s massive power. Those guys are different!’
The Republic nobles, like Erik, had been granted great power by the Sacred Tree’s blessings, which made them arrogant.
If you stay on home turf, you never lose.
The Sacred Tree provides endless mana and magic stones, so energy and economy are never an issue.
They became dependent—and then useless.
‘Look, Cellge blew everyone, allies included, away. If that ship went full‑tilt, the continent would turn to a wasteland. He held back just enough to avoid dragging innocent people into it.’
Brad lowered his head.
Watching the battle, they realized the destructive force was beyond anything they could normally wield.
‘—Sure, we can’t go all‑out like this. If we keep fighting like this, the continent will sink.’
Chris took off his glasses.
‘Bartfeld’s guy was careful at first even in the war with the Duchy.’
Greg clicked his tongue, releasing Erik.
‘I know all that. But— you could at least say something.’
Jilk looked up at the sky.
‘If we speak, it’ll just cause more trouble. The Kingdom can’t just ignore him. The fact that the Count of Bartfeld went all‑out here means—’
From Jilk’s perspective, the fact that they hadn’t fled after rescuing Libya made it look like they were fighting for the Kingdom.
Watching the battlefield, Jilk noticed something odd.
‘Wait, something’s off.’
The Sacred Tree seemed to be moving.
The ground trembled, and from below came screams and fires.
Libya peered down.
‘An earthquake? How is this— could the Sacred Tree be moving?’
The earth linked to the Sacred Tree shook.
Her chest tightened.
She clutched it, hearing the cries of suffering people—and the Sacred Tree’s own scream.
‘Is this… not a person? Some huge voice… is it in pain?’
Erik, pale, stared at Libya.
‘Do you get it? I barely sense it myself.’
Even without the blessing, Erik could faintly feel the Tree’s agony; he couldn’t believe that unblessed Libya could sense it too.
◇
At the harbor, the masked knight Julius sat on a crate on the Ricornu deck, keeping watch.
‘—Everyone’s fighting, and I’m the only one who can’t join. Pathetic.’
He’d love to be told to take off the mask, but that’s a line Julius won’t cross. As a prince he can’t be sent to the front, so he wears the mask. Honestly, without it he still couldn’t go to the battlefield—that’s his role.
The one watching Julius from afar was Nix, who had come aboard Ricornu.
‘Who’s that?’
Even the crew of Ricornu shrugged.
Angel appeared on the deck.
‘Brother‑in‑law, how are the others doing?’
‘Y‑yes! The retrofit’s done! That white, round thing said “I’ve got work, I’m off” and flew away!’
The duke’s daughter had become a sister‑in‑law, and Nix didn’t know how to act, his stomach hurting.
Daniel and Raymond stayed away because they didn’t know how to deal with Angel.
‘I see. We’d like to depart soon—’
Suddenly the airship began to shake.
Nix panicked.
‘W‑what’s happening?’
Angel looked around; not only the airship but the surrounding buildings seemed to tremble.
‘Is this an earthquake?’
Flustered, the masked knight rose and shouted orders.
‘Release the airship! If we stay tethered we’ll get caught!’
Nix complained that the knight was acting high‑and‑mighty, but obeyed since it was the right call.
He rushed from Ricornu to his own ship, ordered the crew to board, and cut the rope tying the airship.
When Ricornu floated up, allied ships nearby also rose.
Angel grabbed the rail and looked out.
In the distance the Sacred Tree glowed red, as if burning.
‘What’s happening?’
Unfamiliar lights were visible too.
Then Ricornu suddenly increased output and deployed a shield.
‘—!’
Angel turned her face away, squinting as a beam struck the shield. The shield protected not only Ricornu but nearby allies as well.
A beam hit a distant building, turning it red and melting the bricks, fire spreading instantly.
Buildings crumbled, flames rose, and people fled.
‘At this range, how can Leon and the others be okay?’
Worried for them, the masked knight stared up at the sky.
‘What the hell? Why is that… up there?’
Angel looked up, shocked for a moment, then began issuing commands.
A single airship drifted calmly through the sky.
‘Your Highness, give orders to everyone now! We’ll head to the battlefield too.’
The masked knight replied,
‘I’m not a “Your Highness”! I’m just a knight. A nameless masked—’
‘Enough, just hurry!’
‘Y‑yes!’
Angel looked up at the sky, watching the distant battle with anxiety.