283: Progressive Phenomenon Collapse

"A large-scale, chain-reaction phenomenon collapse!?"

Phenomenon collapse.

It reverts the laws that form the foundation of the world into nothingness, and with it, releases an energy so vast that describing it as immense is almost an understatement—causing the laws to collapse in a chain reaction, resulting in continuous destruction.

The extent of this depends on the type and scale of the broken laws, but a large-scale event breakdown would evaporate everything within about one light-year around it.

Then, what if such breakdowns occur in a chain reaction?

If things go wrong... No, considering Funaka's ideology and personality, such a breakdown could potentially extend not just to the Vanilla Side system and its surroundings, but even farther, possibly leading to the complete destruction of the entire Vanilla Universe Empire.

"Yes. I sense something similar to the 'Event Collapse Cannon' that Satā once used... but with a far more ferocious presence emanating from the object before us."

"Satou-sama. The 'Hishui Mirror' is also reacting. Around the polyhedral object pierced by Magatsuki, not only Magatsuki's OS but also a 'Blank OS' response is detected. Additionally, the appearance and disappearance of an unknown OS response is believed to be a precursor to an event rupture."

As I listened to the tale of Viridianiara, I worked on the mod that dissects the lingering presence of Magatsuki clinging to our bodies.

Construct, deploy, and isolate it so it can't be used.

Isolate even the sample left behind with an extra layer of protection, ensuring it cannot be interfered with from the outside at all.

That way, even if Funaka tries to exploit whatever has stuck to it, the damage will be contained.

『But it feels a bit off... The response is unusually sluggish, almost as if it's deliberately slowing down its own collapse...』

Is it deliberately slowing down the event horizon collapse?... Judging by a rough calculation, it does seem to be on track to consume the Imperial Star Vanilla Sid over the course of three days and three nights.

Now that our safety is secured, the question is what to do about the object before us.

Just as Joharis said, the object before us appears to be deliberately slowing down its event horizon collapse, gradually increasing in brightness while simultaneously amplifying the energy it contains.

It looked just like a bomb moments before detonation.

But why deliberately slow down the reaction?

As far as I can tell, if we triggered the reaction instantly, we'd be able to escape into the ether space, but the Imperial Star Vanilla Sid would vanish completely, leaving nothing behind.

Yet by proceeding slowly like this, we're giving them time to respond.

After three days and three nights, it wouldn't be surprising if the majority of the inhabitants of Imperial Star Vanilla Sid had managed to escape, or if measures to halt the event rupture itself had emerged.

If that's the case... could there possibly be something more important than causing an event rupture and erasing the Vanilla Sid system?

No, that couldn't be...

Just as I reached that thought—

『Sataa!』

「!?」

My body moved under Vilegianira's control, and before my eyes, light—extremely high-density energy—passed through.

"That was..."

『Vee-sama, reporting. The laser beam just now destroyed a spacecraft attempting to launch from a colony near Planet Vanilla Sid P3. Additionally, a new energy sphere has appeared centered on the location where the ship was destroyed.』

『……』

I felt a chill run down my spine at Memokushi's words.

I had grasped what Funaka intended.

"You're planning to torment and kill every human in the star system... is that it?"

Funaka deliberately intended to start with those who tried to flee, eliminating them one by one.

And in the process, exploiting the various conflicts that arise as people struggle to survive just a little longer, turning them into her own power.

That was truly a thought so evil it could not be described any other way.

"Wha—? But if we all flee at the same time, we might just—well, I never thought this could be possible. The cosmic monster Shuu, which became Magatsuki's material… was it some kind of group creature or something like that?"

"Looks like it. That's exactly why Magatsuki. No, that's why they brought the cosmic monster Shuu here in the first place. It makes sense—maybe they didn't care about anything but their main asset from the start."

"Lord Sata. What the memos should be considering right now is how to ensure our safety from here. If we can't stop the entity before us—whether it's the cosmic monster Shuu or the bomb-like Magatsuji—we may need to consider abandoning the Imperial Star Vanilla Sid in order to secure Lord Vee's survival."

Before they realized it, the polyhedral object and Magatsuji had merged into a swirling mass of light, resembling a distant galaxy, spinning far away.

Yet each particle of that light carried immense energy—touching it would surely result in disaster.

Upon closer inspection, some of the light particles resembled teardrops—no, even more elongated, taking on shapes like fish, and those that had transformed into fish-like forms were beginning to turn their heads, as if observing their surroundings.

At the same time, it was also evident that they were consuming the surrounding rock formations, transforming them into new particles of light.

Moreover, it appears a similar phenomenon is occurring in the spacecraft that was apparently shot down earlier, as images are being transmitted from Memokshi.

In other words, if left unchecked, the entity Memokshi refers to—whether a cosmic monster named Shuu or a bomb-like Magatsuki—will consume surrounding objects and multiply.

It will aggressively target anything attempting to flee, ultimately sealing off the entire star system.

Once it reaches sufficient numbers, it will explode through event-horizon collapse, erasing the Vanilla Sid system entirely.

And depending on circumstances, this explosion might carry over to other star systems... repeating the process endlessly.

Meanwhile, Funaka observes the dying star systems, growing stronger with each one.

What a horrifying combination.

This must be what "worst-case scenario" truly means.

"Satā. Is there any way to stop it?"

"...I think it should work in theory."

"Then let's go. We must stop the Space Monster Shuu at all costs."

"I understand."

We set out to stop the Space Monster Shuu.