“Oh, time's frozen, huh? That Resource Sir fellow really isn't bad, he even managed to get something like the God of Time's heart.”
A young man with shark-like teeth and a pair of orange-red eyes was squatting on the roof of a tall building, peering through a telescope at that extraordinary heart.
“Hey, Shanmo, thanks again for snagging this mission, man. You should've seen that Koleira woman, her face looked furious, hahahaha.”
“...Draken, do you really think it was right for us to take this mission? The Emperor's Order people are here. Our train level hasn't even hit 45 yet, so we don't even qualify for the Top-Tier Train Conductor threshold.”
The young man lowered his telescope.
Little flames bloomed quietly, and he took a candy from his pocket, popped it into his mouth, and chewed a few times.
His expression remained that same grin, but there was no amusement in his eyes.
Within this frozen space, the only ones who could still move were the conductors whose spirit quality was good enough.
Generally speaking, unless the upgrade was a gift, if someone had raised their train to level 30 through their own efforts in the Wasteland — that special threshold dividing ordinary and advanced conductors — they would basically be unaffected.
He jumped up and patted his panda-person companion, who was wearing clothes, on the shoulder.
“Our job isn't to fight them directly. We only need to throw this city into chaos. With your methods, plus the tools the leader lent us to temporarily seize control of three other starships, our mission will be initially complete. The rest... hehe, is just finding that Miatira key and bringing it back to the leader.”
The panda-person adjusted his oversized custom suit and glanced at the watch on his right wrist.
“So, what exactly is this Miatira? The Ancient Council wants it, the City Lord of this place wants it, even the leader wants it. Oh, and those Emperor's Order people — I guess them being here is probably also because of this so-called Miatira.”
Draken rose and looked up at the virtual sun above them.
“Seems like an intelligent system, but the details are unclear. Apparently it's a leftover artifact from a world wiped out by the End. The leader said that the current City Lord of the Nation on Ships used to have a very close relationship with that world.”
“A world destroyed by the End? As far as I know, these Homeward-bound Souls who founded the cities entered the Wasteland many, many years ago, right? Then...”
“Bro, have you forgotten the time flow rate? Not just many years — super, super many years. We've only been in the Wasteland three years. Those people have been here who knows how long. But it doesn't matter; they've long chosen to stop moving forward.”
“...Stopped, but still Top-Tier Train Conductors. If they hadn't stopped and had continued progressing from that era to today, how strong would they be?”
Draken cracked a smile.
“There must be people like that. Such existences would be the truly strongest.”
“How would they compare with the Angels and Demons of the Emperor's Order?”
“Them? They're strong too. But that Angel in the records entered the Wasteland twenty years ago. As for Demons... the leader checked the train conductor records across ten eras, finding only one named Altos, but that guy should be dead by now.”
Rumble—!
“Whoa!”
A colossal roar made Draken and the panda-person Shanmo turn their attention that way.
“Holy crap, what's that? Isn't this city supposed to be about tech research? An illusion? No, that thing's real. Hey, Shanmo, punch me — did I just touch a Dream Eater?”
Below the God of Time's heart.
A kilometer-high giant and the true forms of skyscrapers overlapped and intersected.
Draken rubbed his eyes, pulled up his system interface, and checked his current status bar.
But nothing special appeared on it.
“...I see it too. That is... what?”
Shanmo clenched his fist and spoke in a thick voice, tension creeping in.
“Reality and illusion are interwoven... What kind of power is this? Could this force be...”
“Hey, Shanmo, look down, huh? Am I seeing things? What's that over there?”
“Draken, you are too... uh... what is that?”
Shanmo followed Draken's line of sight in stunned silence.
There he saw:
An elderly man.
A rider on a scrawny nag, holding a battered lance, wearing tattered armor...
A rider on a towering warhorse, gripping a knightly lance, clad in sturdy armor!
A...
A knight.
There was a knight charging straight at the giant.
Why a giant? Why charging? That shouldn't be a skyscraper over there, right?
At this moment, Draken and Shanmo felt an unprecedented confusion.
They realized they could not determine whether this segment of the world was true or false.
Had reality been warped? Or was the warped version the actual reality now?
“Do not flee! Cowardly scoundrels who would destroy a city! The Giant Knight Don Quixote charges at you!”
“Even if your bodies are larger than skyscrapers!”
The giant's form grew several degrees larger.
“Even if your strength is greater than mountains!”
The giant's body became visibly more robust.
“You will not escape the knight's punishment!”
Don Quixote's armor, lance, and battle gear shifted and changed in that instant.
“Roar!!!”
The giant reached out a hand.
Perched atop its head, Resource Sir — blond-haired and wearing rings on every finger — watched Don Quixote with an excited gleam.
“Is this reality-warping power? A talent? A module? Or an item? No, it's a talent! Interesting. If I can control this old thing and make it my weapon... Christine! Then your ability won't work on me anymore!”
Resource Sir brandished his scepter.
He glanced down at the bizarre blood-and-flesh giant underfoot.
“If it is warped, then I'll use the warped reality to trap you!”
The gemstone set at the tip of his scepter emitted a beam that fused into the giant.
Runic, magical armor spread across the giant's body instantly.
“This is high-grade stuff. Old thing, be a good collectible!”
The giant high-rise's palm plunged down like a falling meteor.
Don Quixote was tiny before it, like an ant.
Magic suffused the giant.
With the overwhelming force it now possessed, even many advanced Train Conductors with train level 30 would struggle to stop it.
But...
“Roar!!!”
The giant screamed in pain.
Its palm had been pierced through by a lance.
“This is impossible!? Train level five?! That's obviously a rookie. How could he pierce my auxiliary defenses!?”
“Damn it, I'll handle this myself!”
Feeling humiliated, Resource Sir's fury shot him into the air as he prepared to attack Don Quixote personally.
However—
Bang—!
The crisp crack of gunfire rang out across the battlefield, piercingly clear.
A black-and-white bullet streaked straight for Resource Sir's heart. His pupils narrowed as he activated his ability and tried to dodge.
“Who is—!?”
He glared in the direction the bullet had come from.
What he saw was...
A black-haired young man.
Behind him, a ring composed of eight Demon Cards rotated and spun.
A streak of bloody tears cut across the Demon Girl's face.
The youth raised his palm.
A drop of red rain fell from this false sky.
Pitch-black Ravens circled in the heavens, crying out in terrifying cries.
“Two against one? That's bullying. Count me in.”
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