One-way traffic

"If this continues, in a few days these forces will be completely facing 'God's Strike,' and by then, we may not have had time to change the trajectory of the final attack."

Rick's idea was this.

First of all, all the gods and all the wars in this world are fought for the Star Cup, for the throne of the One God.

Everyone wants the Star Grail, and in this situation, the Forest Elves and the Goblins each have powerful and destructive trump cards developed and created to target each other. That power will prompt the two sides to quickly form an alliance to specifically target each other—the Forest Elves Alliance and the Goblin Alliance.

Under these circumstances, the two alliances will not immediately go to war, but will instead first direct their dangerous attacks at the most formidable force – Altshu's "God Strike".

The two alliances will unite into a single entity, utilizing all available resources to confront Althu's "God Strike" head-on.

In this situation, it's Rick and his team's turn to step in.

…In fact, there is something that probably none of the 177 ghosts present know.

Standing next to Rick is his wife, the petite young woman, Shubi.

She is not human.

Her true identity is that of a member of the Machine Analyzer. Due to some reason in the past, she ended up in the settlement where Riku lived by chance. She has been hiding her identity until now. The girl whom Riku calls Shubi is such an amazing existence.

By relying on Shubi's power as a Machine, it is possible to spend time installing directional bending devices in various designated areas, which can direct all the impact energy, including "God Strike," in a specific direction.

That power would be channeled to the ground, piercing through the earth, destroying the Elven Corridor, and traversing the planet—

In other words, to destroy this planet.

In the instant the planet is destroyed, the immense energy inherent in the planet itself will be directly revealed, because all the divine beings are formed from the planet's own energy. Even if all the energy of all the gods, including Altshu, were combined, it would still be less than the energy of the planet itself.

That is to say.

By destroying the planet itself and damaging the Elf Corridor, the "Star Cup" can be revealed.

At that time, they will be able to obtain the Star Cup, and with its power, they can rewind the damaged planet, and no one will die as a result.

That is the true meaning of "victory".

'...But if development is this rapid, Schwie won't have the capacity to analyze the optimal location for resettlement.'

It is necessary to collect complete data on the weaponry used by each race, and then hand it over to Shubi for analysis and calculation to determine the optimal location and quantity before all of this can be accomplished.

Rick's plan was only announced today, which means they must gather intelligence on the weaponry of other races in the coming weeks, or even days.

Even with Hugh Bi around, such a workload couldn't possibly be completed in just a few days.

If that's the case, doesn't it mean 'it's over before it even started'?

This was the only thing Rick found difficult to tell everyone.

Finally, they were given real, tangible hope, not the false hope of being saved by some unknown person. Finally, humanity could truly save itself with its own hands.

"This is the latest intelligence I have obtained so far."

The good news is that, for them, the imminent start of the major battle could be brought forward soon, and there will be fewer intelligence leaks requiring their intervention.

The bad news is that, for them, plans may not keep up with changes.

Even without Rick speaking, the ghosts present all realized the seriousness of the problem.

"...Boss, you told us that yourself, didn't you?"

After a long time.

The ghost began to speak.

"What we're about to do is inherently foolish."

They attempted to fight monsters that had destroyed their civilization several times, relying solely on the power of mere humans.

From this perspective, humans are a foolish race.

That’s why——

"So you see! From the very beginning, we had almost no chance of winning, and the odds of winning were even smaller than one in a million, weren't they?"

Even if they win, no one will remember them, because they are ghosts living in the shadows, unknown to anyone.

"so!"

The ghosts shouted.

"It was already almost impossible, so what if a few more impossibilities are added to it?"

They were talking loudly, laughing loudly.

"We have already entrusted our lives to you."

"So what if the odds of winning get even smaller? We didn't have a very high number to begin with, so what if that number becomes zero?"

"Hey, boss, challenging monsters is impossible in itself. Now you've made us do the impossible and you're telling us it's impossible? Do you think we 'ghosts' are afraid of something this stupid?!"

"You're supposed to be our leader, how come you're about to fall down as soon as you take your first step? This isn't like you at all!"

…an unexpected sound.

However, Rick did not show any surprise.

"They've all really gone completely insane."

As the leader of this group of lunatics, the Ghost Chief looked at everyone with a helpless smile.

"Fine then, just like you said, who cares if it's possible or impossible, even if it's less than a fraction of a percent?!"

"We're inherently foolish, humanity has always been foolish, so—even if we're foolish to the very end, we should still show off our last bit of humanity's coolness!"

Even when faced with the impossible, we must choose to overcome it.

This is humanity, these are the ghosts lurking within the human race, striving to bring true justice to the world.

…Accelerator, standing aside, witnessed all of this with profound insight.

"So, boss, what about the settlement over there...?"

"We must continue to strengthen surveillance. Even in times like these, we must never let our guard down in monitoring the settlements."

"Huh...why?"

The ghosts looked at him with some confusion.

According to him, the safety of the settlement should be quite good these days, right?

"Have you all forgotten what happened before?"

Rick shook his head and said with a serious expression.

"The settlement over there has been 'invaded' by other guys."

—Intrusion.

Upon hearing this, the ghosts immediately realized what was happening.

"Could it be... Boss, you mean...?"

"That white-haired, red-eyed person?"

"That guy isn't confirmed to be human. No... to be honest, if there really are humans with such great power in this world, why haven't they appeared for so long, and why would they suddenly appear next to us at a time like this?"

As Rick spoke, his tone grew increasingly serious.

“We can’t believe in that existence. Even if he saved the people in our settlement, we absolutely cannot believe in him.”

"Moreover, since the other party has been to the settlement once, he must already know the coordinates of the settlement... No, it is even possible that the other party already knew the location of the settlement, otherwise it would be impossible for him to appear inside the settlement so quickly."

"Their strength has already been mentioned. They are a monster that can kill a six-headed dragon spirit and a fleet of countless goblin spirits single-handedly. If they want to kill us, they can do it with just a flick of their finger."

"Then...why not consider relocating the settlement to other potential locations?"

"Of course I've considered this, but right now we're more focused on the plans here. We're already short-handed... so we can only keep things as they are for now."

If the other party returns, the people in the settlement will face the danger of death.

Not just the settlement, but also those who are truly responsible for completing the main plan—if they are wiped out like this.

Then there will be no hope left.

Accelerator, standing to the side, also heard these words.

His expression remained unchanged, and he wasn't thinking about anything at all.

——Crack.

“…!!”

Then, Hugh noticed something.

Her little head immediately turned in a certain direction—

"What's wrong, Shubi?"

In response to Rick's question, Shubi simply stared at him in surprise.

Nothing at all.

Space, time, physical phenomena—none of them have changed.

But she did sense something moving for a moment... it was almost as if a living being had stood there.

Even the machine's analytical capabilities couldn't detect the slightest thing.

For Schubert, this situation—in human terms—

"Is it... just my imagination...?"

————————————————————————————————————————

They are regarded as an absolutely dangerous person and cannot be trusted.

This is Rick and his crew's definition of Accelerator.

Having truly understood all of this, the first one, after leaving that settlement, returned to the sky alone.

He silently watched the people of that settlement.

Because he saved them, he was antagonized; because he displayed overwhelming power, he was labeled as dangerous and untouchable by the ghosts, including Rick.

But it was precisely because of this that he understood what these people were thinking.

Because... this is exactly the same as his experience in Academy City.

Because he is the strongest, and because a single touch would result in injury, everyone in Academy City regards Accelerator as a monster. Even the military cannot subdue him, and no one dares to have any contact with him.

Even if Accelerator himself had no intention of harming anyone, it would still be the same.

"What you people have done is indeed a wise decision."

The white monster calmly expressed its respect and appreciation for Rick and the others' actions.

and so.

He did not stay behind, nor did he show himself to anyone.

He simply left the settlement alone, that's all.

Chapter 565 The Absolute Accelerator

Since then.

More than a week has passed.

Rick arrived at his secret base with the ghosts as usual, and from the entrance of this cave-like location, he gazed into the distance.

It's obvious that you can't see the sun. There's no sky in this world where you can see the sun and the moon; all you see is a crimson, deathly horizon.

But it's okay, it will be over soon.

Rick murmured to himself, though only a week had passed, he was well aware of what kind of intelligence his side had obtained during that time.

immediately.

It's true, soon it will all be over.

"Ah...is it Kron?"

"I was speaking so softly, trying my best not to disturb you, yet you still managed to sense me..."

Footsteps came from behind him, and the familiar figure entered the room.

She is Rick's older sister, Chloe Dora.