As before, the team departed in two vehicles.
Oenone rode with the regular Force users in one vehicle, while the Lost Ones took the other.
Yinbing drove them toward the Concept Demon's reported location—the Western Cliffs.
Ethel sat in the passenger seat. Even he was finally beginning to feel nervous.
The back seat was completely silent.
"Very different from going out with the First Squad?" Yinbing asked.
"Completely."
"I figured. This is actually my first time deploying with this group too. Everyone from the last team either retired or was killed in action. Only Captain Oenone, Lyle, and Oak are still here."
"What kind of demon did you face back then?"
"Concept: Whirlpool. At first we thought all it could do was create whirlpools with Force to drag people in. But at the last moment, it suddenly opened a massive vortex beneath its own feet out of nowhere. Some people didn't even have time to react before they were swallowed. Those kinds of surprise attacks are what cause most casualties."
"Just like Concept: Spring."
Ethel recalled his very first subjugation mission. Even the veteran Quint had nearly been caught.
"At least we have you now. I believe you won't let something like that happen."
Yinbing smiled at him, her eyes filled with trust.
"I won't."
About twenty minutes later, they reached the area and continued on foot.
Oenone led the formation, prepared to respond to any unexpected situation.
Yinbing followed a short distance behind her, with Abby and Lyle at her side.
The left and right flanks were each covered by a squad of Force users.
Ethel remained at the very rear of the formation, keeping some distance from the main group. A massive pack hung from his back. To be safe, he had already activated his Concept, scanning everything ahead.
Before they saw the demon—
They heard it.
Hiss—!
A high-pitched sound rang through the air, like an enormous kettle coming to a boil.
The squad continued forward until the demon finally came into view.
A bull?
That was Ethel's first thought.
Its head resembled that of a bull, complete with two large horns that swayed constantly. Every movement sent thick clouds of steam blasting from its nostrils.
Its body was even stranger.
It was covered in what looked like a metallic shell, twisted and warped into countless chimney-like structures. Every chimney continuously vented torrents of scorching steam.
The demon was currently moving along the base of the steep cliffs, heading toward Sunblaze City.
"Concept: Boil."
Oenone's voice came through the earpieces.
Judging from its appearance, the Concept likely converted and superheated the Force inside its body before releasing it as high-temperature steam.
Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, they had identified its Concept immediately.
The problem was that none of them could think of a safe way to kill it.
Anyone who tried to approach would likely be cooked alive before reaching its body.
Oenone gathered everyone together to formulate a plan.
"Abby, take the snipers to the opposite cliff and test whether your bullets can penetrate its steam curtain. We'll try to create an opening in its defense. Fire when you see one."
"How many bombs did you bring?"
"Twenty."
"Good. Don't rush. Use two as test shots. Aim at the chimney openings and the base to see if we can disable them."
"Everyone, don't ignore Ethel's warnings over the comms. It may have long-range attacks."
"Next—Lyle!"
After Abby departed with the right-flank squad, Oenone continued issuing orders.
"Here!"
"You'll lead the left flank as a decoy. I'll coat your team with foam. It should block some of the heat, but don't get too close. Your job is only to draw its attention."
"Lyle, keep an eye on its face as well. When it attacks, it should clear the steam directly in front of it. The moment it does, create a rain cloud in front of its eyes. The heat should instantly vaporize it and generate even more steam to block its vision."
"Understood."
Lyle stood up and led the remaining members into position, waiting for Abby's team to report ready before moving.
"Yinbing, you're attacking with me. You'll take the lead. I'll cover you with the thickest foam I can make. Wait for the right moment and deliver the killing blow. I'll support you the whole time."
"Ethel, hand me the equipment."
Ethel removed the heavy pack from his shoulders and unzipped it.
Inside was a launcher resembling a rocket launcher.
"This was designed specifically for enemies like this," Oenone explained.
"I'll fill it with foam and adjust its density and hardness, turning it into something that functions like artillery shells."
Normally, firearms couldn't be built like cannons.
Conventional weapons compressed the user's Force into bullet-sized projectiles before firing them. Once Force left the user's body, however, it became highly unstable. Unless controlled by a Concept, anything larger than a bullet simply couldn't be maintained.
"Yinbing, don't push yourself too hard."
"I know."
"Ethel, your role is the same as it was with the First Squad."
"Understood."
"If a situation arises where you believe you need to enter the fight, then do it. I won't stop you. Use your own judgment."
"But remember your most important responsibility."
"I understand."
"Good."
"Abby's team is in position."
"Everyone..."
"Good luck."
Chapter 9: Standby Day (2)
After finding a position with a clear view of the battlefield, Ethel devoted his full attention to the fight.
He memorized the position of every member of the Third Squad and watched the demon's every movement.
As expected, nearly the entire area surrounding the demon was covered in red lines. Only when the steam vents shifted could he catch brief openings.
Meanwhile, Lyle's decoy team had already moved into the demon's vicinity.
"Hey! You stupid bull!"
Unsure whether it could hear him, Lyle shouted at the top of his lungs.
The demon turned its head toward the source of the voice.
That answered the question.
"Get down!"
Everyone immediately ducked.
A torrent of scorching steam roared over their heads.
The Concept: Boil demon itself was slow and clumsy, but its superb control over superheated steam kept Lyle's team at a constant distance. Again and again they tried to close the gap, only to have their path blocked by jets of steam erupting from seemingly nowhere.
The demon had cleverly divided the chimneys covering its body into two groups.
The chimneys facing the squad fired indiscriminately to prevent anyone from approaching, while those farther away built up pressure, allowing the demon to unleash concentrated attacks against individual targets.
The barrage was so dense and relentless that Ethel could do little more than guide everyone as best he could.
After watching the demon unleash another indiscriminate sweep of steam for the third time, Ethel suddenly noticed something.
After confirming it several more times, he spoke into the comms.
"Everyone, pay attention. Right before it attacks, the vent it's about to fire from contracts slightly."
"Nice catch, Ethel!"
Oenone praised him through the earpiece.
Those fighting on the front line likely wouldn't have discovered that until much later. As an observer watching from afar, Ethel had given the entire squad valuable information ahead of time.
With that knowledge, combined with Ethel's guidance, Lyle's team gradually began pushing closer.
Across the canyon, Abby's sniper team continued firing.
Unfortunately, almost every shot was blocked by the curtain of steam.
Suddenly, a red trajectory entered Ethel's vision from outside his field of view.
A sphere tightly wrapped in countless chains flew through one of the openings in the steam and landed at the base of one of the chimneys.
BOOM!
The entire chimney was blown apart.
Ethel instantly recognized that power.
It belonged to Tia's Concept.
"Abby, concentrate your bombardment."
Earlier, Abby had mentioned carrying only twenty bombs, while the demon possessed far more than twenty chimneys. Since destroying all of them was impossible, they at least needed to create an opening they could exploit.
"Aim for its neck!"
Before the demon noticed her, Yinbing climbed the steep cliffside until she was directly above it.
Directly above its neck.
Lyle also spotted Yinbing overhead.
Risking everything, he rushed toward the demon to draw its attention.
Annoyed by the persistent pest, the demon let out a furious roar and immediately aimed every chimney around its head at Lyle.
In Ethel's vision, everything around Lyle turned red.
There was no way he could escape in time.
"Captain Oenone!"
"I'm on it!"
"Slithering Serpent."
From everyone else's perspective, it looked as though a giant white serpent wrapped itself around Lyle before swallowing him whole.
Steam engulfed the area.
When it finally dispersed, Lyle was still standing there without a single injury.
Only the protective foam surrounding him had completely vanished.
The demon stared in disbelief.
It had never expected Lyle to survive that attack unharmed.
"Localized Rain Cloud."
Lyle activated his Concept, summoning the largest rain cloud he could directly before the demon's eyes.
The surrounding heat instantly vaporized it, creating a dense cloud of white steam that completely obscured the demon's vision.
The snipers on Abby's team didn't miss the opportunity.
Several bullets flew straight through.
Without its steam barrier protecting it, the rounds struck flesh with dull, unmistakable impacts.
Hiss—!
In pain, the demon erupted with steam in every direction, launching another indiscriminate barrage.
Fortunately, Lyle had already retreated with the rest of his squad the moment he finished using his Concept.
Above them, Yinbing seized the opportunity everyone had created.
She leaped from the cliff, diving straight toward the demon's vital point with one hand extended.
The steam in front of her might as well not have existed.
She landed directly on the demon's body.
Her hand slid from the top of its neck downward.
Just before pulling away, she grabbed onto its hide and used the momentum to swing herself clear.
This time, she concentrated a tremendous amount of Force into her leg.
She delivered a devastating kick to the section she had just stripped of its Force-based defenses with Concept: Extinction.
The blow split the demon's neck halfway through.
Before it even understood what had happened—
The next attack arrived.
Concept Release: Friction Erasure.
In an instant, all friction disappeared.
Unable to resist its own momentum, the demon toppled forward, exposing the massive gash Yinbing had torn open.
Oenone fired the foam shell she had prepared in advance.
It struck the exposed weak point squarely.
The explosion nearly blew the demon's head completely off, leaving only a small section still attached.
The heavily wounded demon stopped producing steam altogether.
Lyle's team immediately charged into melee.
Everyone Oenone had assigned to Abby's team had been marksmen.
That meant everyone remaining specialized in close combat.
Oak led the charge, hacking at the demon's face with a pair of one-handed axes.
The others focused on severing the last remaining connection holding its head in place.
Occasional gunshots echoed across the battlefield, showing that Abby's team had also joined the final assault.
Even with its head nearly detached, the demon's body continued writhing violently.
Dragging its remaining intact chimneys behind it, it struggled desperately in its dying moments.
Even on the verge of death, the steam it spewed remained lethal.
Fortunately, Ethel continued warning everyone from afar, preventing the excitement of victory from making anyone forget to dodge.
Finally—
Under the Third Squad's relentless assault—
The demon's body stopped moving.
It collapsed.
Cheers erupted across the battlefield.
After so long, the Third Squad had finally achieved another successful field demon subjugation.
Only Oenone, Yinbing, and Oak remained on guard.
They continued watching the corpse until it completely crumbled into ash.
Only then did they relax.
Seeing that, Ethel finally deactivated his Concept.
The workload had been several times heavier than when he supported the First Squad.
Even so—
He couldn't help smiling.
They had completed an almost flawless field demon subjugation.
"So?"
"Not bad, right?"
Oenone's voice came through Ethel's earpiece.
But she wasn't talking to him.
"Not bad."
"You all did well."
The familiar voice made Ethel immediately look up.
Just in time to see a streak of light crossing the orange sky like a shooting star beneath the setting sun.
Realizing exactly who that shooting star was, Ethel chose to remain where he was.
He asked no questions.
He simply waited quietly for his teammates to return.
ns216.73.217.139da2
and then Add to home screen.