Chapter 1723: Chapter 1540: Vs King of Monsters
Chapter 1723: Chapter 1540: Vs King of Monsters
The room hung heavy with the weight of a world teetering on the brink. The elven spiritualist's triumphant announcement had been choked off, replaced by a chilling silence. All eyes were glued to the screen, where a scene unfolded that defied comprehension.
On the left side, a monstrous head, its gaping maw a silent scream, remained suspended in mid-air. Its horns, one short one long, gleamed with an unnatural, pulsating light. This wasn't defeat; it was a grotesque metamorphosis.
Suddenly, the engravings on the horns blazed with an unearthly golden light. The light coursed through the creature's neck, back, and along the intricately carved scales, finally reaching its massive wings. They shimmered, growing larger and reshaping themselves before erupting in a blinding flash. In an instant, the monstrous form was gone, replaced by a beam of pure, golden light.
A collective gasp escaped the onlookers. Emperor Julius, his face drained of blood, slumped in his chair, despair etched into every line. Saeko's father whimpered, shaking his head in denial, while Leon's father simply stared, the shattered wine glasses a painful metaphor for their shattered hopes.
Only Maria remained stoic, her face an unreadable mask. Was it despair? Or perhaps a steely resolve forming in the face of an impossible foe?
The mechanical voice broke the agonizing silence, its monotone pronouncements a hammer blow to their already sinking hearts. "The monster is traveling along the ocean floor at a speed of 36,063 meters per second! It's 2.37 times faster than before!"
The news echoed in the room, a death knell for humanity. The Supernova, their greatest weapon, had failed. The monstrous entity, seemingly impervious to their attack, had become even more powerful, hurtling towards who knows what unimaginable destination.
Meanwhile, the human elite grappled with their crushing defeat. Emperor Julius, consumed by regret, replayed his decision to rely on brute force. Maria, her belief shattered, tried to comprehend the nature of this indestructible beast.
"Whether it's humans or animals," she muttered, her voice barely a whisper, "the soul resides in the brain. Destroying the brain should result in death... Unless..."
Her voice trailed off, a horrifying realization dawning on her. "Unless its spirit... is present in every single cell, allowing it to be reborn from just one...."
The sentence hung unfinished, a chilling possibility left unsaid. A monstrous being, its essence defying the laws of life and death, now careened through the depths of the ocean, a harbinger of a future far bleaker than anyone dared imagine. The battle was far from over, and humanity, stripped of its most potent weapon, was left to face an even more terrifying enemy.
The dwarf's bellow cut through the suffocating silence like a battle cry. "We must recover the drone housing the Supernova! It's the only weapon that can even scratch that monstrosity! With some modifications, we can turn it into the monster killer it was always meant to be!" A flicker of hope, faint but tenacious, ignited in the room. Heads nodded in grim agreement. Maria, her eyes hardening with a newfound resolve, stepped forward. "We need to find a way to track the drone. Even at that speed, it has to leave some kind of signature."
The elven sorceress, her emerald eyes gleaming with determination once more, chimed in. "Perhaps by analyzing the residual magic from the portal, we can establish a connection with the drone's magical core."
A flurry of activity replaced the despondency. Scientists and engineers, their initial shock fading, began barking orders and strategizing. The control center, once a tomb of despair, buzzed with renewed purpose.
Suddenly, a collective gasp ripped through the room. On the screen, a horrifying scene unfolded. The monstrous entity, transformed into a beam of golden light, surged through the depths of the ocean with an impossible speed. But it wasn't alone. The magic drone, seemingly fleeing for its life, darted through the water, a lone beacon of defiance against the encroaching darkness.
The monstrous beam pulsed and writhed, its trajectory bending unnaturally as it gave chase. The distance between it and the drone narrowed with each passing moment. It was a terrifying ballet of predator and prey, played out at a breakneck pace in the inky depths. "It's catching up!" the mechanical voice announced, its monotone laced with a hint of urgency for the first time. "The swallowing beast is closing in on the drone at an alarming rate. Teleportation protocols seem to be failing under the immense pressure."
Panic threatened to engulf the room once more. But Maria, her voice steady, issued a command. "Focus on maintaining the connection! We can't lose track of the drone. That's our only hope of recovering it and modifying the Supernova."
The scientists and engineers redoubled their efforts, their fingers flying across control panels. Lines of code scrolled at a dizzying pace, magical formulas flickered on holographic displays. The fate of humanity, once again, hung in the balance.
As the monstrous entity lunged for the drone, a surge of energy erupted from the control center. A powerful signal, channeled through the remnants of the portal, pulsed outwards, locking onto the drone's magical signature. The screen flickered, the image of the chase momentarily distorted, before solidifying once more.
The drone, its magical defenses flickering precariously, managed to evade the monster's grasp by a hair's breadth. But the escape was temporary. The monstrous beam swerved again, its pursuit relentless.
In the control center, a cheer erupted, a mixture of relief and determination. They had established a connection, a lifeline to the drone. Now, the real work began - the desperate fight to recover their only weapon and, with it, humanity's last flicker of hope.
Emperor Julius's assessment hung heavy in the air, a death knell echoing in the tense silence. His pale face reflected the despair gripping the room. The numbers were grim: 1000 kilometers separating the drone and the monstrous entity, a gap shrinking at an alarming
rate.
The dwarf, however, refused to succumb to despair.
"Distances can be bridged," he boomed, his voice thick with determination. "We might not be able to outrun it, but perhaps..." he trailed off, his eyes scanning the room, landing on the elven sorceress.
Her emerald eyes met his, a glimmer of understanding passing between them. "A temporary dimensional shift?" she offered, her voice laced with uncertainty.
Maria stepped forward.
"Risky," she said, acknowledging the potential for disaster. "But it might be our only option. We can't fire the Supernova blindly. We need to lure the beast away from the drone long enough to..." Her voice trailed off, but the implication was clear: to deliver a finishing blow.
A wave of nervous energy crackled through the room. The idea was audacious, bordering on reckless. But the alternative - watching the drone devoured and humanity left defenseless -
was unthinkable.
The scientists and engineers huddled together, their brows furrowed in concentration. Calculations flew across holographic displays, complex equations scribbled on whiteboards. The air thrummed with a desperate energy, a last-ditch effort to find a solution.
"We can create a temporary dimensional rift," a young scientist ventured, his voice shaking slightly. "But it would be highly unstable. The drone would have to enter the rift at precisely the right moment, or it could be lost forever, scattered across the dimensions."
A collective breath was held. The risk was immense, but the potential reward - a chance to outmaneuver the monstrous entity - was too great to ignore.
Emperor Julius, his face grim, finally spoke.
"Do it. We have no other choice. Prepare the drone for the dimensional jump. We'll buy them
as much time as we can."
A flurry of activity ensued. The control center transformed into a hive of frenetic action. The scientists, their initial trepidation replaced by a fierce determination, calibrated the
dimensional rift generator.
Meanwhile, Maria and the elven spiritualist channeled their magical reserves to strengthen the drone's defenses, a desperate shield against the relentless pursuit.
On the screen, the king of monsters, a relentless golden harbinger of doom, continued its
pursuit. The gap between it and the drone narrowed with each passing second. The tension in the control center was palpable, a suffocating weight pressing down on everyone present.
Thirty seconds.
Tick! Tick!
The clock ticked relentlessly towards oblivion. Hope dwindled with each passing tick. But then, a flicker of light erupted on the screen. A shimmering portal, a tear in the very fabric of reality, materialized before the drone.
"Now!" Maria's voice rang out, a desperate plea laced with a sliver of defiance.
VROOMM!
The drone, its engines whining in protest, surged towards the portal. The monstrous entity,
the King of Monsters sensing its prey's imminent escape, pulsed with malevolent energy, its speed increasing exponentially.