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Holy White Fired – Part 03

“So…”

Just as Soaarunay began to speak, Hikaru noticed something on the screen.

The starry sky and dark ground were still displayed, but now a white dot appeared. It grew steadily, stretching into a line that sliced through the night sky, slashed across the screen, and vanished.

Hikaru couldn’t trace the line’s trajectory. He felt the ground shift slightly beneath him, and the entire labyrinth trembled with a deep rumble.

Dust drifted down from the high ceiling. Soaarunay braced herself against the control panel, trying to steady herself.

The massive magic stone, the room’s light source, flickered. Hikaru’s Mana Detection sensed the stone’s mana, once very stable, now wavering like a small boat in a stormy sea.

“What was that just now?” Hikaru asked.

Soaarunay was glued to the screen, her lips twisted. She was smiling.

“Hey, Soaarunay! What the hell was that?!”

“Heh, heh heh, ahahaha!”

“Hey!” Hikaru grabbed her shoulder.

Soaarunay turned to face him. “Don’t you get it? There’s only one place this labyrinth is headed.”

The Man Gnome village. He already knew that.

“That was an ultimate weapon meant to annihilate the Saak family, hidden by the Man Gnomes. It likely uses soul energy. Utter fools. Continuous use of soul energy will destroy this world.”

Hikaru was floored. An ultimate weapon? Could something like that really be in the home of the Man Gnomes?

And what did she mean by destroy this world?

“Silver Face! What was that just now?”

“Lord Silver Face!”

The Four Eastern Stars and Paula went out of hiding and rushed into the room. Hikaru’s lie about not leaving the dungeon was now exposed, but it hardly mattered. Soaarunay didn’t seem to care either. She just kept laughing.

“Ahahahaha! To think they were hiding something like this! Truly impressive. Giving me thrills right until the end!”

“Soaarunay Saak, what was that attack?”

“Like I said, it’s a weapon that uses soul energy. It passed close to the Great Labyrinth, affecting the magic in this place.”

“What happens if it hits directly?”

“Huh? If it shook this much just from grazing us, it’ll definitely crash if it’s hit.”

“Crash? Are you serious?”

“No one knows more about the magic of this labyrinth than I do. Of course, I’m serious.”

By Hikaru’s calculations, they were still over 400 kilometers from the Man Gnome village. For the weapon to be fired from that distance and still come so close meant extraordinary accuracy.

“Damn it,” Hikaru cursed. “So they can fire it as many times as they want.”

If they only had one shot, they’d wait until the last possible moment to fire.

The word doomed flashed through Hikaru’s mind.

“Heh.”

But Soaarunay just laughed. Laughed in this dire situation.

“In other words, unless we do something about that ridiculous weapon, we’re both dead. Hahaha!”

Why was she laughing? Did she have a trump card to prevent the labyrinth from crashing?

No. Hikaru dismissed that thought immediately. This crazy magic researcher is more fascinated by the unknown weapon than afraid of it.

There was no way to contact the Man Gnomes to stop them from firing. Granryuk and Yoshino were likely in the village, but if they were still firing, it meant they couldn’t stop them. For the Man Gnomes, this was the perfect chance to destroy the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas, and they wouldn’t hesitate just to save a few humans.

What do we do?

The others seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation. They were watching Hikaru, waiting for his decision.

“Hey,” Soaarunay spoke up first. “How about we work together? You, me, and your companions. We can overcome this crisis together.”

“Work together?”

It sounded more hollow than the words of a con artist who had committed dozens of frauds. Hikaru had been in a superior position earlier, but now Soaarunay was the one steering the conversation, and it infuriated him.

“How do we counter the soul energy? Does this labyrinth have something that can neutralize it?”

Soaarunay chuckled. “I’m glad to see you’re willing to try.”

“When we get through this, you’ll remove the mana web covering this world.”

“If we survive, we can discuss it.”

Soaarunay began explaining in front of the control panel.

Soul energy had various properties. It could connect with, repel, or fuse with the magical energy of this world. The weapon from the Man Gnome village seemed to have the power to dispel nearby mana. Even though the labyrinth wasn’t hit directly, the Great Labyrinth’s magic was destabilized because the surrounding mana had thinned out.

If the labyrinth took a direct hit, most of the magic sustaining it would cease, causing it to crash.

“We’re going to deploy a shield to neutralize the soul energy ahead.”

“A shield?”

“More like a concentrated mana field. Instead of blocking a direct hit, we’ll deflect it. Then we’ll pick up speed.”

“Pick up speed? Wouldn’t it be safer to turn back?”

“Turning requires complex maneuvers and burns a lot of mana, which would weaken the shield. Speeding up is simpler, and inertia will work in our favor, meaning we’ll need less mana to increase our velocity. Besides, I’ve already started increasing the speed.”

When did that happen?

“But getting closer to the Man Gnome village just increases the chances of a direct hit,” Hikaru argued.

“Not just increase. The next shot will definitely hit us.”

“Why do you sound excited about that?”

“Isn’t it obvious? This is the first time I’m using a shield to neutralize soul energy! In theory, it should work, but we won’t know until we try. I couldn’t think of a way to test it before, so this is the perfect opportunity, don’t you think?”

She’s insane, Hikaru thought. She was treating this life-or-death situation like an experiment.

“Lord Silver Face.”

Seeing Paula’s worried expression, Hikaru gave a nod. “The worst part is we have no choice but to trust her.”

“Sorcery dispels all deceit,” Soaarunay said.

They had no other option. If the floating island crashed, they’d all die. Avoiding that had to be the priority.

Things are bad, but at least we’re close enough to deal with Soaarunay now.

“All right, let’s begin our little experiment against the soul weapon,” Soaarunay said with a grin.

---

After the blinding light and tremors subsided, silence fell over the village. Every Man Gnome held their breath as they watched the tower in the sky.

“Oh.”

A sigh of disappointment escaped someone’s lips. The lamp, held by an arm jutting out from the tower, swayed from side to side, signaling that the attack had failed.

Incredible. So this is the Star White Wedge, the ultimate weapon powered by soul energy.

As a member of Ultimate Mirk, Yoshino couldn’t help but feel a surge of curiosity. The sight of an unfamiliar object ignited a deep desire to understand its workings. Unable to contain herself, she bolted toward the tower. Fortunately, everyone was gathered directly below the tower’s windows to witness the aftermath of the attack, leaving the entrance on the opposite side unguarded.

Yoshino slipped inside and sprinted up the spiral staircase. What exactly was this Star White Wedge? She had never seen or heard of anything capable of firing soul energy. And what would happen to the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas if it took a direct hit?

No matter how hard she racked her brains, the answers eluded her. The stairs seemed endless, her breathing grew ragged, and her legs, weakened from five days of confinement, felt like lead. But at last, she reached the top.

“Charging status at 85%!”

“The labyrinth is moving.”

“Calculate the deviation between the angle of fire and the point of impact. Have the corrections been made?”

“Almost there! Just need to adjust the calculations.”

Yoshino found herself in a circular chamber, about ten meters across, with six Ultimate Mirk members, including the director, bustling around.

In the center stood a massive cylinder, surrounded by gauges and levers. A nearby table was cluttered with countless papers.

At the far end, someone was reaching out through a window, signaling with the lamp.

“Did you factor in the Star’s rotational speed?”

“Oh, right! There’s rotation—wait, Yoshino?!”

One of the researchers, buried in papers, gasped in surprise.

The director, with his imposing frame, perpetually red face, bulging eyes, and spiky hair, lumbered toward Yoshino, who was panting and wiping sweat from her brow. No wonder the staff called him an ogre.

“Yoshino. You snuck out with that thing, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but no one knew, so I’ll return it later.”

That thing referred to the Tally required to use the Black Wedge Gate. Yoshino figured that since she planned to return it, it was no big deal.

The other staff, clueless about the situation, watched the exchange anxiously.

“Fine. Submit a report later,” the director said. “I want details on everything you saw outside.”

“Of course. Actually, I had nothing to do while under house arrest, so I’ve already written it.”

“Always one step ahead, aren’t you?”

“So, Director, what exactly is this weapon?”

“Oh, this thing.”

The director proceeded to explain.