Academy City Eden, Southeast District, on a once-bustling street.
At this moment, in the middle of the street, four or five vertical space rifts had eerily torn open, their edges constantly twisting and flickering with a dark purple light. These wounds were several meters long, as if the boundaries of the real world had been forcibly sliced open by an invisible sharp blade, revealing a chaotic alien space filled with ominous energy behind them.
*Screech — !*
Amidst the sound of tearing and the hum of energy, various forms of Crystal Husks, like black poisonous insects swarming from a hive, scrambled to squeeze out of these vertical rifts, falling or climbing onto the streets of the real world.
Some vaguely retained a distorted humanoid outline, crawling on all fours. Others were purely bestial, their bodies covered in a hideous mixture of crystals and bone that flickered with a dim light. Still others had even stranger forms, appearing as aggregations of several skeletons forcibly fused together.
As soon as the Crystal Husk Legion landed, they let out meaningless roars. Murky energy emanated from their bodies, carrying a strong sense of erosion and a desire for destruction.
These monsters from another world seemed to exist naturally for the sake of destruction and slaughter. They locked onto the terrified crowds and speeding vehicles on the street, immediately beginning their rampage. Sharp crystal claws easily tore through metal lamp posts and billboards, while thick bodies collapsed shop windows and walls. Dark energy beams spat from their mouths struck the ground or buildings, leaving behind corroded pits and spreading crystal clusters.
In an instant, the once-orderly neighborhood fell into massive panic and chaos. Screams, cries, crashes, and explosions followed one after another. People scattered and fled like a frightened flock of sheep, vehicles collided out of control, traffic was completely paralyzed, and smoke and dust filled the air.
However, in this world, human civilization had already been fighting against the disaster of Crystal Husks for 100 years.
During this long and tragic confrontation, people had established a relatively complete and high-alert system for defense and counterattack.
Almost at the same time the space rifts appeared, the piercing and rapid sound of city-wide alarms roared like a giant beast, echoing through every corner of the neighborhood. It instantly drowned out all the chaotic noise, announcing the arrival of danger to all citizens.
Within minutes of the alarm sounding, the heavy roar of engines and the sound of footsteps could be heard from the distance. Members of the Eden Security Force, dressed in uniform black combat gear with full-face tactical helmets and carrying special firearms, surged out from various street corners and underground passages like a black tide. They quickly established a preliminary defensive line on the outskirts of the block.
They moved quickly and were well-trained. A portion of the team immediately rushed toward the chaotic crowd, using megaphones to shout loudly, guiding and organizing the shaken residents to evacuate to the nearest underground shelters along predetermined routes.
The appearance of the security force provided a backbone for some of the extremely panicked citizens. They began to follow instructions, leaning on each other as they stumbled away from this hellscape.
At the same time, those citizens who were relatively calm or had experienced similar events also began to help. They pulled along family members, neighbors, or strangers, relying on their familiarity with the city’s evacuation facilities to head toward the clearly marked underground shelters near the block.
Survival instincts and the experience gained from long-term drills played their part at this moment.
Meanwhile, more members of the security force had already raised their weapons, pointing their cold muzzles at the rampaging Crystal Husks.
The weapons they carried were not ordinary thermal weapons. The gun barrels flickered with faint blue energy patterns, and a soft, though not holy, light gathered at the muzzles. This was the specialized anti-Crystal Husk weaponry developed through cooperation between humans and the Goddess Angels, created by reverse-engineering the principles of the Goddess’s power — the Goddess Armament.
The bullets or energy beams fired by the Goddess Armaments carried a special elemental power that could effectively interfere with and weaken the protective energy fields on the surface of the Crystal Husks, while dealing damage to the chaotic cores inside them.
“Fire!”
With the order given, a dense sound of gunfire erupted. Energy beams sliced through the air, accurately striking the nearest Crystal Husks.
*Splatter!*
*Bang!*
Sparks flew from the crystals on the bodies of the hit Crystal Husks. Their movements became noticeably sluggish and distorted, and some smaller Crystal Husks even had limbs shattered by the concentrated fire, letting out painful shrieks.
Humanity’s counterattack was no longer as futile as it had been a century ago.
However, faced with the steady stream of Crystal Husks pouring out of several rifts — including potentially larger and more heavily defended individuals — the small-arms weaponry in the hands of the security force still seemed somewhat inadequate to completely annihilate this small legion.
Their firepower could delay the advance of the Crystal Husks and kill a few weaker individuals, but it was difficult to form an overwhelming advantage in a short time to completely purify all sources of pollution, let alone close the space rifts. Furthermore, this was a densely populated urban area; out of concern for civilian safety and infrastructure, weapons of mass destruction and heavy firepower could not be used at all.
Therefore, the primary mission of the security force at this moment was not annihilation, but containment and delay.
They acted as a solid dam, doing their best to block the spread of the black tide, buying precious time for the arrival of the most important force — the Goddess Angels — and creating a final barrier for the evacuation of civilians.
The captain of the security force, a tall middle-aged man with determined eyes, stood behind an armored vehicle acting as a temporary bunker. Holding a communicator, he commanded the situation with a calm and powerful voice.
“Group A, increase suppression fire on the left rift! Group B, cover the medical staff and evacuate the wounded through Passage Three! Group C, hold the right flank of the street intersection; do not let the Crystal Husks break through!”
His gaze swept over the chaotic battlefield, watching his subordinates fight desperately. Speaking into the communication channel, he seemed to be addressing all those fighting and waiting.
“Keep it up, everyone! Hold on! Soon… the Goddess Angels will arrive! Trust in them!”
However, the Crystal Husk Legion seemed to have no concept of “fear” or “retreat.” They ignored their companions in front being torn apart and shattered by energy bullets, continuing to roar and crowd forward. They surged out of the rifts like a tide, advancing with a nearly frantic posture.
The security force’s firing line was constantly compressed by this death-defying charge. The members were forced to retreat step by step, using street cover to fight as they fell back. The defensive line gradually shrank, their operational space grew smaller, and the pressure increased sharply.
The security captain fired precise shots, repelling a small Crystal Husk that was lunging toward the evacuating crowd. He looked up anxiously at the sky and then quickly caught a glimpse of the time on his wrist terminal.
‘Have the Goddess Angels not arrived yet? If this continues, the defensive line might be breached.’
Just as the security force’s line was compressed to a critical point, and several exceptionally strong Crystal Husks with thick, flickering crystals on their bodies broke through the net of fire — roaring as they lunged toward the weakest point of the defense — several members gritted their teeth, prepared for a desperate last stand.
*Zip — !!!*
A fierce and pure pink beam, carrying an aura of holy purification, struck like a bolt of lightning cutting through the gloom. It shot down at an incredible speed from the side, accurately hitting the center of the Crystal Husks that were about to reach the soldiers.
*Boom!!!*
A violent explosion rang out. Pink energy bloomed like a flower of purification, instantly engulfing the Crystal Husks in that area. The powerful shockwave sent the surrounding Crystal Husks flying, with hard crystal fragments and distorted remains scattering everywhere, smashing shallow pits into the ground.
The Crystal Husks at the center of the explosion didn’t even have time to shriek before they were turned to ash by the impact of the holy energy.
This sudden and powerful support caused the pressure on the near-collapsed defense line to suddenly lighten. All the security force members instinctively looked up toward the direction the beam had come from.
Following that, a clear and pleasant girl’s voice, sounding like a declaration of hope, descended from the high sky and echoed clearly in everyone’s ears.
“Everyone in the security force, thank you for your hard work! Please step back. From here on — leave it to us Goddess Angels!”
In mid-air, two figures radiating brilliant light were suspended.
On the left was the pink-haired “Annihilation Angel,” Artemis, surrounded by six Floating Turrets. The halo above her head emitted a soft yet firm glow. The stunningly powerful purification beam from just now had been fired from one of the turrets at her side.
On the right was the golden-haired “Arc Light Angel,” Hestia, wearing a magnificent magical dress. At some point, she had grasped a slender staff condensed from pure light, its tip glowing with a warm and powerful golden light.
“That’s great! It’s the Goddess Angels!”
“They’re here!”
“It’s Miss Artemis!”
“And Miss Hestia!”
The security force members, who had been tense from the bitter struggle, broke out into a cheer of relief the moment they saw those two holy figures in the sky.
The two beautiful figures, one pink and one gold, were like stars descending to the human world, quietly suspended above the smoke-filled neighborhood.
Luna was the first to act. With a thought, four of the six Floating Turrets circling her body immediately broke away from their orbit and dove down, their muzzles quickly adjusting and locking on.
In the next second, dense and precise energy beams poured down like a rainstorm onto the clusters of Crystal Husks on the ground. Each beam contained powerful purification energy, accurately striking the joints, energy cores, or fragile crystal connections of the Crystal Husks, triggering a series of explosions and the shattering shrieks of the monsters.
Hestia, on the other hand, displayed a completely different combat style. She was in no hurry to attack; instead, she elegantly raised her slender arm and waved her palm downward.
A warm, soft golden light, yet one containing powerful life energy, descended like a waterfall, instantly enveloping the security force members below. Wherever the light reached, the scrapes, burns, and even some shallow tears sustained by the members during the earlier battle began to heal at a visible rate. Their exhausted stamina seemed to be replenished, and their spirits were lifted.
“Such a warm feeling… as expected of Miss Hestia!”
The members let out low cries of surprise, their eyes filled with gratitude and reverence as they looked at the golden figure in the sky.
Looking down at the security force, whose morale had soared after being healed, Hestia spoke in her gentle voice.
“You all did very well. Thank you for your hard work. Now, please leave the front line and go help the residents who may have been injured or frightened during the evacuation. Guide them safely to the shelters. Leave this place to us.”
The girl’s voice carried a convincing, soothing power.
The security captain immediately understood. The well-trained members began to cover each other, retreating in an orderly and rapid fashion from the block that had now become the Goddess Angels’ battlefield.
Soon, the street that had been filled with gunfire and roars became empty, leaving only a black mass of Crystal Husks on the ground being constantly weakened by Luna’s fire, and the two Goddess Angels suspended in the air like two lights of hope.
Luna controlled four turrets to maintain a continuous output of firepower, suppressing the advance of the Crystal Husks. According to her past habits and her style as the “Annihilation Angel,” she likely would have deployed all six turrets now, launching a saturation attack to clear the field and end the battle as quickly as possible.
However, just as she was about to do what she usually did, the words that man wearing the “V” mask had spoken in that flat tone at the abandoned warehouse yesterday involuntarily flashed through her mind.
‘You have six floating turrets with superior performance and powerful firepower. But in your battle just now, you used all of them to launch a saturation attack… While this provides strong suppression, the cost is… you completely abandoned your own active defense.’
Consequently, Luna forcibly suppressed the urge to have the other two turrets join the attack sequence. She only used four turrets for the main firepower, while the other two were deliberately kept at a slight distance from her side. Like loyal guardians, they remained in a standby state, their muzzles slightly adjusting, ready at any moment to deal with potential sudden attacks from any direction.
Not only that, she herself changed her previous combat style of occupying a dominant high point for fixed-point fire suppression.
The pink-haired girl’s body began to perform small, irregular, and rapid movements and turns in the air. Sometimes she rose, sometimes she moved sideways, and sometimes she spun slightly. Like an experienced sniper, she changed her position immediately after firing, never staying at the same coordinate for long.
In this way, although the attack power of this Goddess Angel known for her destructive force was slightly weaker than in her prime, her own mobility and defensive depth were greatly enhanced. Whether it was potential long-range attacks from the ground Crystal Husks or… a sneak attack from some other unknown direction, she now had more reaction time and room to respond.
Beside her, Hestia, who was gathering light energy to launch a wide-range purification spell, keenly noticed the massive change in Luna’s combat style. A clear flash of confusion and puzzlement crossed her crimson eyes. she tilted her head slightly, looking at the pink figure that was constantly dodging and weaving in the air with a firing rhythm noticeably different from before.
‘What’s going on?’
‘This Annihilation Angel, Artemis, who usually fights with broad strokes, pursuing ultimate firepower suppression to the point where she wants to pour out every drop of energy…’
‘Why does it feel like… she’s suddenly a different person?’
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