Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 758 - 700: Sacrificial Strike

An hour of firepower barrage wouldn’t produce much of an effect, which was apparent to every Lich present, and Shumoku Seiryu, the pilot of Lancelot, understood this as well. The slightly dimmed Mana Luminous Wings flapped vigorously as Lancelot climbed in altitude to the spire above Andrey’s fortress, corresponding from afar with the bloody red moon.

The protective Barrier had long been dispersed, and the surviving Warrior of Light, aided by Lancelot’s covering fire, ran outside the Barrier’s range. They believed their chances of survival would be much higher once they left the controlled area of Andrey.

The duration of the firepower coverage didn’t reach the anticipated hour; Law stopped in his tracks, looking up at the point of light illuminating the night sky, his mental countdown only reaching a quarter hour. This wasn’t a good sign.

The glowing points on the Necromech’s body began to converge, the four Mana Luminous Wings dissipated into magical lines, and, in Lancelot’s hands, it transformed into a searing sphere of light which then retracted to form an exaggeratedly large-caliber gun, the exposed warhead creating a dangerous pressure in the Mana Sensing, akin to that of a magic network node.

Shumoku Seiryu’s roar echoed through Andrey’s bright night sky.

"Evildoers, turn to dust!"

"Freyja!"

A Destruction Warhead the size of a person left the barrel, speeding toward Andrey’s fortress, toward the crowd of Liches looking up. The Liches understood the terrifying nature of the weapon; even without the concept of a nuclear bomb, the concentration of magic power was already oppressively bearing down on them.

It was like an irate professor was about to come crashing down on their heads.

The not-so-delicate surface of the Goddess of Love had already begun to collapse, the particles containing terrifying power burst into a strong light, on par with a full strike from an Eight-Locked Caster, engulfing everything in Andrey.

The headmaster looked up at the apocalypse descending upon them, letting out a sigh.

A sigh tinged with disappointment.

"With such peculiar abilities, in the end, your last resort... in the subconscious, you still believe the strongest thing is... advanced physics?" The founder of Andrey didn’t deny the capability of the nuclear bomb, however, such power was not novel.

"Over to you, Advanced Magic Research."

Two shadows emerged from behind the headmaster, without any warning, as if conjured from thin air or falling through an invisible crack.

Advanced Magic Research Society, Professor of Black Hole Studies, Death Star Second Generation.

Advanced Magic Research Society, Professor of Static Mechanics, Mr. Static.

Mr. Static stood still for what seemed like a second, then patted Death Star on the shoulder to indicate the job was done.

"I’ve already inscribed the singularity rune."

"When?"

"During the time stasis."

Death Star Second Generation seemed somewhat listless, somewhat negative about this task. Because this time he had to be the protector, he had to control the yield that would form the black hole. Not causing any companions’ casualties under his operation was a constricting feeling, one that he didn’t enjoy, but as a professor of Advanced Magic Research, he knew the difference between what was urgent and what was not.

"About this much..."

Death Star Second Generation snapped his fingers.

Space-time seemed to freeze for a moment, especially around the Destruction Warhead where the halt was exceptionally noticeable. Shumoku Seiryu stared at the warhead in front of him, the delay in its explosion already exceeding his calculations.

A deep black rune was etched on the distorted surface.

An energy explosion followed by a collapse into a pitch-black sphere, forming a dazzling halo in the sky above Andrey, its center an invisible dense darkness, devouring both the sky and the light with void energy.

Death Star’s masterpiece made its presence known in the sky, as if a large chunk of the sky had collapsed, the surrounding air swirling into the depths. The sudden appearance of gravity capturing everything around, including Lancelot who was desperately trying to escape.

The black hole was like a mighty monster, preying on a flashing moth.

Andrey was spared from disaster.

Law looked at the members of the Advanced Magic Research Society standing beside the Dean and breathed a sigh of relief. The trio from the Necromancer Figure Club stood by his side, staring at the unignorable void in the sky just like the other Liches who were there to watch the spectacle.

"Mr. Delusion and the Necromantic Creation will be fine. Although they’re now under the control of the Death Star Professor’s magic, getting closer and closer to that dangerous thing. I’ve observed the Death Star Professor’s lectures before, the standardized collapse process of a black hole ends very quickly, he is precise, the continually weakening gravitational force will ultimately let it escape." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Law realized that his explanation hadn’t done much to comfort the trio from the Necromancer Figure Club. They exchanged glances, their faces growing even more worried. Law felt somewhat sentimental whether his credibility had declined, and also somewhat surprised that these three actually had such sympathetic hearts; he used to think of these three as a version of the Three Musketeers of literature.

Had he misunderstood them?

"He will definitely use ’it’..."

"Unable to escape in a short time, he will definitely use ’it’..."

"Hiss..."

The deep breaths of the Liches exhaled a chilling frost, and as Law watched the trio gasping, the original calmness in his heart began to waver.

"What is this ’it’ you’re talking about?"

Shiny and the others looked at Law, hesitated for a moment, and then raised their heads again to watch the struggling speck of light that was Lancelot in the sky, as if watching their own innocence drift away.

"Our president of the Necromancer Figure Club, Mr. Plague Doctor, is a Lich who’s almost perfect. We are proud to have such an outstanding leader."

"However, Mr. Plague Doctor has one small flaw."

"He is not overly cruel, lacking the resolve to transcend death."

"He’s cruel and decisive enough towards us, his fellow Liches, but he has always been unable to face himself..."

"He hides it well, thinking we wouldn’t notice."

"But actually, he fears death. I mean, he shows a strong fear of dying. We’ve discussed and analyzed, and believe that Mr. Plague Doctor is too young, still without the self-awareness of a Lich, still maintaining the habits from before his death."

"It’s a minor defect, but we, who are Mr. Plague Doctor’s dear friends, of course want to help him become more perfect, to help him confront death head-on!"

Law was somewhat speechless. Were these three stepping out of line? Is this how friends behave?

"So what did you do to Mr. Plague Doctor, and what does it have to do with what’s happening now?"

Mr. Law’s question silenced the three, and after three seconds, the one who seemed to be in charge answered.

"We didn’t do anything to the boss."

"It’s just that before we improved the Necro-Gundam, Mr. Plague Doctor was very concerned about the [Safety Ejection Escape Device] within it. It’s a device for the pilot to eject from the Gundam’s back when the Necromantic Creation is about to collapse in danger; the propulsive force from the exploding remains could turn the cockpit into a shooting star, escaping far away from any pursuers. We three strongly objected to this cowardly escape device, but despite our protests, Mr. Plague Doctor still installed it."

"We were furious, such a dictatorial and extremely unfree personal decision; we rebelled against the boss."

"We secretly made modifications, minor enough that Mr. Plague Doctor wouldn’t notice."

Law had an ominous premonition in his heart.

"What did you change?!"

"We changed the direction."

Before Law could understand, a loud explosion echoed in the sky.

Lancelot Alubion, the shining Necromantic Creation, suddenly turned around, facing the black hole as if resigned to its fate, facing that merciless gate of destruction. Then the Necromech suddenly exploded, and the shattered remains of bone and flesh formed a meteor shower, inside a cockpit bright as crystal, reflecting Mr. Delusion’s face, filled with terror.

His cockpit, like an arrow loosed from a bow, with boundless courage and a determination that saw through life and death, like a true Warrior of Light, plunged straight into the black hole.