NOVGO.NET Chapter 1442: It’s just Matter of seconds!
Chapter 1442: It’s just Matter of seconds!
Crack!
PUFFF!!
The very thin layer of the barrier buckled as a sudden burst tore through it, a towering metallic figure ripping free as it was flung outward.
The surface shuddered, pressure collapsing unevenly as Dora’s weight crushed the top, forcing the balloon-like barrier to bulge and strain at the edges until it could no longer hold.
Like a ruptured balloon, the barrier screamed as it gave way.
PPRRRTTTTT!!!
Dora stood atop the barrier where it stretched toward the needle-sharp tower, her breath hitching as she felt it deep beneath her feet… the barrier almost acting like a balloon that meant at any moment it was going to burst.
Meanwhile, inside the tower, Lyirrs yanked the lever down with both hands, teeth clenched as the core answered with a violent hum.
The tower groaned, veins of light racing through the crystal as another barrier surged into existence nearly a hundred meters away from the thinned shell that had burst like a balloon about to disappear in a matter of seconds.
One.
Thalia snatched Selene and Nightfire into her arms in a single motion, hoisting them onto her shoulders like a sack. Red-golden flames roared to life around her feet as she twisted her body and drove herself forward.
The ground shattered beneath her stomp, stone exploding outward as she launched herself toward the newly forming barrier far ahead.
“AARRHH!!” Nightfire screamed, her voice tearing loose as she glanced back. Wind clawed at her face, skin pulled taut by speed and force, “Thalia, it’s too far! We’re not going to make it!”
Selene’s grip tightened in little fear.
Two.
Back inside the tower, Lyirrs slammed several switches into place, sparks leaping as mechanisms screamed. With a sharp cry, she forced the lever back down, pouring power into the core without restraint.
TTRRRR!
The tower convulsed as if struck by a thunderbolt, energy flaring violently within its heart. Cracks spidered across the walls, chunks of stone breaking loose.
Xara braced herself against the wall, fingers digging into fractured stone, fear etched across her face. Celestia steadied her, “Hold together… Just a little longer.”
At the barrier’s edge, the newly forming barrier flickered violently, its outline warping as space itself bent. In a blink, it vanished from its position and reappeared closer… Sixty meters.
Then the barrier began to thicken instantly, layers of glowing force stacking upon themselves at a terrifying speed.
BOOOMM!!
Flames detonated beneath Thalia’s foot as she forced out everything she had left. Her arm stretched forward as the barrier rapidly solidified before her.
Three!
’Shit! We won’t make it in time!’ Thalia thought in panic and fear as the solidification was about to finish… just inches from her reach.
When it happened,
Thuck!
A hand tore through the forming barrier as if ripping flesh, fingers punching straight through the hardening barrier before clamping around Thalia’s wrist and,
Thud!
They burst through the newborn barrier together, bodies slamming into the inner ground as momentum sent them rolling hard.
Nightfire and Selene fell from Thalia’s arms, thrown aside by the impact as they skidded across the stone.
Behind them, the torn opening shrieked once before sealing. The thin rip snapped shut in the span of heartbeats, solidifying instantly, layers locking together within milliseconds until the surface turned rigid and unyielding once more.
THUD!
The barrier settled back into its true state.
THICK.
HARD.
A deep vibration rippled outward through the Empire, echoing just like the first eruption when the barrier had been born. Buildings trembled faintly, people paused mid-step, brows knitting together as unease spread at the sudden pulse of power shaking the air.
The outside, the 60 meters instantly hit by both energies, as their once green and flourishing land turned into a scorched one!
Not even a second!
Meanwhile, Dora, who had been standing atop the fragile barrier moments earlier, felt her footing rise. The surface beneath her slowly climbed as solidification took hold, lifting her higher as the barrier stabilised. She tilted her head slightly, humming with quiet curiosity, eyes following the shifting glow beneath her boots.
Inside the tower, the violent trembling faded at last. The core’s furious light softened, its rhythm settling into a steady, controlled pulse.
Lyirrs staggered back a step, hands braced on her knees, sweat rolling down her face as though she had sprinted miles. She looked up at Xara and Celestia,
“Done…” she said hoarsely, then straightened, pride cutting through the fatigue. “We… we actually did it.”
Xara let out a slow breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, shaking her head with a faint, relieved smile. “No,” she said gently, meeting Lyirrs’ eyes. “You did it.”
She turned toward Celestia immediately, “What’s the status on the barrier?”
“Are they safe?”
At the edge of the barrier, Sandra pressed her palm against the surface, feeling the cold, absolute sturdiness beneath her fingers.
The barrier was stable.
She exhaled slowly.
They had gambled with millions of lives for a single moment.
If Aether ever found out about this, he would lose his mind in sheer horror. Even he would hesitate to risk so many souls on a razor-thin chance.
She turned back just in time to see Thalia pushing herself upright, muscles trembling as exhaustion finally caught up.
Nightfire lay flat on her back nearby, staring up at the sky, chest rising and falling hard as she pointed shakily at herself.
“Next time…” Nightfire muttered between breaths, “run faster, you fucking bitch.”
Thalia snorted despite herself, shaking her head with half-amused disbelief before turning toward Selene. Selene was sitting up, rubbing her foot with a pained grimace.
“A-Are you alright?” Thalia asked.
Selene nodded weakly, then lifted her gaze to Sandra, eyes softening. “Thank you,” she said quietly.
Thalia followed her gaze, meeting Sandra’s eyes and giving a slow, respectful nod.
She knew it without needing to say it.
If Sandra hadn’t been there, if that hand hadn’t torn through the barrier at the last second, Thalia wasn’t sure any of them would have made it back at all.
“Wait… Why did you pick Nightfire?” Selene asked with a confused expression as she pointed at Nightfire, who could fucking handle the energies.
Even Nightfire blinked as if she just realised it now, “Fuck… I forgot it!”
Honestly, they believed they would have made it back without trouble.
Thalia had wasted a few critical milliseconds by crouching and grabbing Selene and Nightfire instead of committing fully to the sprint, and holding two people on her body slowed her down. Those tiny fragments of time stacked mercilessly against her, and if she had not slowed for even a heartbeat, she would have made it to the barrier on her own.
Sandra let out a long, exhausted groan as she looked down at her trembling legs, muscles screaming in pain. She really had run the entire distance without stopping, pushing her body past reason and sense.
Sweat dripped from her chin as she straightened with effort, lungs burning.
“N-Next time…” Sandra muttered between harsh breaths, “Next time, we’d better think through every possible outcome… every single one.”
They had almost failed because of poor coordination, because they trusted instinct over structure, and because none of them paused to consider what other mistakes could surface in the chaos.
That hesitation nearly cost everything.
Most of them were independent rulers, used to deciding alone, acting on what felt right in the moment instead of planning deeply together.
Yup.
They had made a mistake, one that nearly placed the entire Empire on the edge of annihilation.
“W-Wait… next time?” Nightfire muttered weakly, eyes snapping open as she stared at Sandra with wide, horrified disbelief.
“We just escaped death, and you’re already talking about a next time? Pufff~”
Thud!
Her body went slack as she collapsed backwards onto the ground.
Everyone blinked at once, stunned for a breath before a few of them let out short, incredulous chuckles.
The sound barely had time to settle before—
THUCK!
They all flinched violently, heads snapping toward the barrier as a deafening impact rang through the air.
On the other side stood the tall metallic figure, still alive, still moving, its massive form slamming against the barrier with savage fury.
Sandra instinctively stepped back as the figure raised its single remaining arm and smashed it repeatedly into the hardened wall.
Each blow sent vibrations through the ground, but the barrier held firm.
“It won’t break… right?” Thalia asked as she watched the relentless assault.
Sandra stared at the solidified barrier for a long moment, eyes tracing the glowing layers of condensed layers. Then she shook her head slowly, “No,” she said flatly. “It won’t.”
All of them watched as the metallic figure continued its furious assault, rage radiating from its shattered frame.
*Bitches! How dare you! How dare you, you low lives!!*
*This is not the end! I will hunt every single one of you! I remember your fucking faces!*
*Hahaha…*
The figure screamed and raged, but not a single word reached them. The barrier swallowed the sound completely, leaving only silent fury pounding.
Sandra stared blankly for a moment before turning toward Selene, “Where is he?” she asked quietly.
Selene pushed herself up with Thalia’s help, leaning into her shoulder as they moved closer to the barrier. As they approached, Selene’s lips curled into a slow, knowing smirk when she spotted a figure visible through the hollow cavity in the metallic creature’s chest.
Meanwhile, outside the barrier—
*Fuck! Why isn’t it breaking?!*
The tall metallic figure let out an irritated, distorted murmur, its voice grinding through damaged systems as it turned slightly.
“GGGRRRLLLL~”
The sound did not come from its own chest.
A low, predatory growl rolled across the area. The metallic figure slowly turned its head, sensors refocusing, and froze.
Standing not far away was a massive wolf, its body forged from deep onyx shadows, eyes glowing with cruel intelligence.
It stared back without fear, lips pulled into a wicked grin…
*SHIT!*
The metallic figure reacted instantly, panic flooding its systems. One arm twisted violently as motors screamed and pistons whined, metal reshaping itself mid-motion.
The limb locked into a weaponised form just as the wolf launched forward, muscles coiling and releasing with terrifying power.
*FUCK YOU!*
The metallic figure fired.
SSNNNGGG!!
A searing blue beam tore through the air and slammed into the wolf’s body, energy roaring as it engulfed the massive form.
For a split second, the wolf’s shape vanished entirely, swallowed by blinding force.
“What the—”
Shock rippled through those watching as silence followed the blast. For an instant, it looked as though the wolf had been completely erased, pulverised into nothing by the beam.
Except—
“WORRR!”
The wolf burst through the fading light, jaws wide, eyes burning brighter than before. The beam vanished as if swallowed whole. In the same heartbeat, the wolf’s fangs snapped shut around the gun-formed arm.
The fangs slid through reinforced metal like warm butter, teeth sinking deep with ease.
TTTTRRR!!
With a savage wrench, the wolf tore the arm free.
THUD!
The tall metallic figure staggered backwards, balance failing as it crashed to the ground. Wires and fluid-filled tubes spilt from the torn limb, sparks dancing wildly as systems failed.
The figure stared at the severed stump in disbelief before lifting its head slowly.
The wolf stood over it, bloodless metal dripping from its jaws, smirking with open amusement.
“I guess,” the wolf said calmly, voice thick with mockery, “you’re nothing once you’re outside.”
It lunged again.
*Fuck! Eject pilot! Protocol 1241!*
“Initiating pilot ejection,” a cold metallic voice echoed from within the shattered figure.
PUFF!
SHNNNGG!
Internal locks released as cables snapped loose and clamps disengaged. With a violent burst of force, a smaller metallic figure was launched straight out from the larger body’s face, rocketing skyward in a flash of compressed air and fire.
High above, the smaller metallic figure stabilised as a parachute deployed, slowing its descent. From the sky, the pilot could only watch in horror as the wolf descended upon the fallen shell below.
The towering metallic body was ripped apart piece by piece, torn into scrap under merciless jaws.
*HOLY SHIT!*