CHAPTER 1490: CHAPTER 1490: DISSOLUTION

Ains · South Gate City Gate Control Center

The intense artillery fire echoed in the silent, spacious hall.

The young adjutant broke through the obstruction of the City Defense Officer and dashed to the side of a controller.

The City Defense Officer immediately pulled back, trying to hold back the young adjutant once again.

At that moment, the adjutant suddenly moved backward, rushing toward the control room’s door.

He seemed to be trying to use an attack on the controller to cover up his intention to escape.

"Trying to run!"

The City Defense Officer was stunned by the move, but he did not hesitate at all, immediately turning to pursue.

He moved even faster than the adjutant, and in an instant, he reached the door, blocking the adjutant’s path.

Not good!

At that moment, he suddenly realized something and turned around again.

But by then, it was too late; the adjutant had already turned back and was rushing toward the controller.

By the time the City Defense Officer reacted and chased after him, the adjutant’s hand was already on the controller.

Countless thoughts flashed through the City Defense Officer’s mind as he watched the controller, raising his hand to try to smash it before the adjutant could open the door.

At that moment, he suddenly realized the young adjutant hadn’t pulled down the controller but was standing in front of it, looking out the window.

Outside the windows of this control room was the hall of the control center.

At that moment, soldiers loyal to both sides were constantly exchanging fire in this hall.

Weapons and flames burned in this massive hall.

At that moment, the ammunition for both sides was somewhat exhausted, and the numerous soldiers on both sides could only hide behind cover, continuing their tentative attacks.

Then the young adjutant also seemed to notice the City Defense Officer’s action.

He released the controller and turned back to look at the City Defense Officer, "Wait, don’t rush."

"What do you want to say?" The City Defense Officer gazed at the young adjutant in front of him, his brows furrowed.

"Didn’t you notice?" The young adjutant suddenly sighed softly and turned his head to look at the soldiers amidst the surrounding fire.

He seemed no longer concerned about whether the City Defense Officer would attack him, and his gaze quietly swept over the surroundings.

Under the City Defense Officer’s puzzled and vigilant expression, he turned back to the City Defense Officer and sighed softly, "Didn’t you notice? After all this fighting, there actually hasn’t been any casualties."

"What do you mean?" The City Defense Officer was taken aback.

After a brief pause, his peripheral vision fixed on the young adjutant, and he moved his gaze to the side, looking out the window.

Outside, the soldiers were still in fierce battle, both sides being the elite of the City Defense Army, adept in combat skills.

Yet, as the young adjutant said, after such intense fighting for so long, there were almost no casualties on either side.

This is rare in combat.

In this narrow space with little cover, where both sides wielded high-damage powerful weapons, casualties, even bloodshed widespread, would be reasonable.

Even if both sides fought passively, the density here would not allow for such low casualties.

A situation where nothing significant happened on either side after a long fight would generally only occur in exercises without live ammunition.

Looking at the City Defense Officer’s puzzled expression, the young adjutant sighed softly again. He took a communicator from his chest and put it to his mouth, slowly saying under the City Defense Officer’s wary gaze, "Everyone, obey the order and surrender immediately."

The City Defense Officer was taken aback.

The gunfire outside also paused slightly.

And the adjutant seemed unconcerned with these things anymore. He put down the communicator, glanced at the City Defense Officer, and then looked at the soldiers outside the window.

Some soldiers had already raised white flags and walked out from behind cover,

He withdrew his gaze, sighing deeply, "Our fate has always been in others’ hands. Fortunately, this is a merciful Divine Being."

Boom——

A violent sound seemed to echo from above the sky, piercing through the void, exploding in everyone’s ears.

The City Defense Officer instinctively glanced upwards.

But almost instantly, he then immediately retracted his gaze, cautiously watching the figure before him.

Unexpectedly, the adjutant did not take this opportunity to attack him.

He didn’t even make any large movements, merely quietly putting the communicator back into his chest and fastening the clasp.

The City Defense Officer’s gaze dropped down to the young adjutant’s body.

The previously upright lower body of the adjutant now slowly dissipated, like ashes burned out by flames.

"What was gained through shortcuts will also be lost because of shortcuts," the adjutant said as he secured the communicator and pulled the sleeve of his uniform tight, "It seems my shortcut has taken its toll."

As his last words fell silent, only drifting dust remained in front of the controller.

The City Defense Officer silently observed it all, ultimately just letting out a gentle sigh.

——

South City · Outside the Medical Room

In the narrow corridor, the City Defense Army had gained complete advantage, utterly suppressing the rebels.

And those rebels seemed also to have received some order, looking somewhat puzzled at their ’comrades’ before finally choosing to surrender.

But none of these were concerns for Vigina; her previously vague memories were now rapidly recovering.

Boom——

A loud noise from the sky interrupted her joy.

She turned back, her gaze piercing through the medical room, looking toward the sky outside the medical room window.

The city that unknowingly hung upside down in the firmament was now quickly dissipating.

That seemed to signify the end of everything.

Did K win?

The city in the sky had always been enveloped in a layer of gray haze, making it impossible to see the specifics inside, though one could vaguely feel a powerful presence fighting within.

This also prevented this time from having televised broadcasts of the battles inside the city, as had been done during the last appearance of the Inverted City in Dawn City, using high-powered cameras.

And at that moment, Vigina suddenly noticed something wrong in the ward.

Something seemed to be missing.

The gemstones, it’s the gemstones!

From her perspective, the hospital bed in the ward had always been obscured by machines, with only a few gemstones floating in the air, indicating the patient’s physical state.

It also displayed the patient’s status to those rebel soldiers outside.

She had no time to check the gemstones’ status during the previous battles.

And now, those gemstones floating in the air had mysteriously fallen.

She pulled her body back and with an arrow-like stride, rushed into the medical room.

Each gemstone, its brilliance now subdued, was falling onto the hospital bed.

And the figure on that hospital bed was already empty.

——

South Gate City

Ka——

Within the thousand-meter diameter barrel-like structure formed by giant hexagonal mirrors, a crisp sound echoed.

Immediately, this enormous device exploded spectacularly. Shards of mirrors instantly fragmented into countless tiny pieces, forming a radiant dust storm between Heaven and earth, crashing onto the magnificent high walls.

Punching numerous fine holes into the sturdy walls.

And midst the stream of fragments, a colossal artwork suddenly emerged.

This artwork blocked part of the scattered fragments, and a gray-haired man with a peculiar appearance stepped out from the artwork.

He raised his head, gazing at the shattered mirror pieces, "Mirror Butterfly, escaped? Once in a combative state, isn’t it supposed to aggressively attack mindlessly? Why did it suddenly flee, such a pity for the clothes I meticulously designed."

He glanced at his already damaged attire, lifted his head, and looked around, seemingly searching for the reason behind Mirror Butterfly’s escape.

After he raised his head, his body abruptly halted.

His gaze remained fixed on the collapsed illusion hanging inverted over the city, which was now fading away.

"So beautiful!!!"

He clicked his tongue slightly, and the canvas behind him naturally turned blank. He raised his brush, seemingly ready to preserve this exquisite scene.

In that instant, a figure suddenly appeared beside him, reaching out to grab him.

"Boris, don’t get too angry, will you? Getting too angry will make you more prone to madness."

The gray-haired man turned to look at his side, chuckled softly.

The elderly guy beside him, whose formal attire was nearly destroyed, had pieces of strange mirrors embedded in him, now glowing as they tore away from the Elderly’s body.

Ignoring the gray-haired man’s words, the Elderly calmly raised his curved cane towards him.

As the cane struck the man, the gray-haired man shuddered violently; his entire body withered rapidly and vanished like torn paper.

His brush and canvas vanished almost simultaneously.

······

Hundreds of miles away

"Boris seems to have quite a temper," the gray-haired man exhaled deeply, standing amidst the pervasive forest, leaning against a stone.

He reached into his clothes, plucking off pieces of mirror from his body.

He initially intended to discard all of these mirrors but, after glancing at their glossiness, he decided to stuff them back into his pocket.

He lifted his head, looking off into the direction of Ains.

The reflection that hung high over the city had now completely disappeared, faded into nothingness.

"Truly beautiful, such a pity," he sighed longingly, shaking his head, "Though I’ve remembered it, I’ll recreate it when I return; it should turn out well."

He shook his head, looked down once again in Ains’ direction, chuckled softly, "You’re stuck now, aren’t you? Guarding the city, you can’t leave the city, so what’s left to say?"

He shrugged, retrieving another mirror from his pocket.

This mirror, an octagon, gleamed enticingly compared to the previous mirrors—like pearls among pebbles.

"Not a bad haul, time to head home." He toyed with the mirror, gently tossing it aside, and stepped forth ready to leave.

The mirror didn’t return to his hands; it was gently caught by a hand emerging from the void.

"Who’s this bold?!" He raised his head toward the direction from which the hand appeared, looking at the Elderly before him who exuded authority effortlessly, "Berlick...it’s you, fancy meeting you here."

Feigning a laugh, he retreated two steps, "Maybe the Federation needs something urgent; I’ll be off then."

"Not taking the mirror?" Berlick toyed with the exquisite mirror in his hands, smiling as he asked.

"No, no, you enjoy it; it’s a gift to you." The gray-haired youth immediately turned to run.

But as he lifted his head, he saw Berlick standing right before him, holding the mirror, watching him with an inscrutable smile.

About to turn again, a hand rested on his shoulder, controlling him.

"Come along, we need a witness," Berlick gazed down at the gray-haired man beside him, speaking softly, "Boris surely has plenty to discuss with you."

"Okay, okay." The gray-haired man nodded, beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

——

The Threshold of Reality and Illusion

The intense rumble spread from reality to illusion, piercing the world’s core, resonating distorted lines vastly.

The previously collapsed city had utterly vanished, with the surroundings left in a hazy purple mist.

This mist pulsed, breathing in flashes within the void.

A graceful silhouette emerged at the mist’s center, where the city’s heart once was, its gaze swept across the pervasive purple mist.

In its sight, the surrounding dense mist swelled up; ruins rose suddenly, broken streets stretched outward.

The city, demolished recently, was reappearing within the mist, swiftly solidifying, except for a thin veil of purple mist above, unchanged from its former state.

As if copied from history.

The graceful silhouette stood in the city’s heart, gazing at the collapsed remnants of the building before it.

Here, someone might have stood.

But now, nothing remained there, only hollow, vacant space.

The intense purple mist shuddered violently, an illusive human shape formed briefly in front of the graceful silhouette.

A wounded man’s outline seemed to take shape.

Before it solidified entirely, the mist trembled abruptly, and the outline shattered, vanishing utterly.

The heart of the ruins lay bare, as if nothing existed.

And as if entirely erased from history.

The graceful silhouette observed the scene, flickering slightly.

It then turned, looked to its side, where a door formed within thick mist, then burst open.

On the other side of this door lay a dense, nearly tangible mist, along with lines scattered throughout.

These lines occasionally converged into a blurry human shape, only to vanish quickly.

Now, these mist and lines trembled lightly, the collision transferring part of its force within this space.

The graceful silhouette watched those purple-lined spaces, observed the dense Weapon, scrutinized the trembling lines.

Briefly, amidst countless lines, one vibrated differently from the rest, abruptly wrapped by mist, extracted from the space, appearing before the graceful silhouette.

The line struggled fiercely, attempting to escape the mist’s grasp.

Yet soon, it shivered faintly, the thick purple mist gently separated it, slowly peeling it away like reeds stripped bare.

Beneath the line’s purple shell, a hidden slender gray light came into view.

Sensing its shell breaking, the slender gray light sought to flee.

Yet the surrounding purple mist seized it promptly.

The graceful silhouette raised its hand, lightly pinched the gray light.

Soon after, the intense mist contracted rapidly, disappearing into the void.