288: Securitization

"Looks like I was right."

"Sat?..."

The moment I began interfering with the mass of light, I felt it.

The structure that would have triggered an event collapse and caused a massive explosion, had I used the mod for the cosmic monster Shuu without modification.

Probably, after analyzing my mod through our battle up to this point, Funaka set a trap based on it.

Good thing I adjusted it in advance, guessing at the opponent's malicious nature—perfect timing.

"If handled incorrectly, it'll immediately trigger a catastrophic explosion from the collapse of the phenomenon. This is going to be a tough job."

"……We'll handle the surrounding area. Just let us take control of the tentacles."

"Please."

Even at a glance, it was clear there were numerous other traps set up as well.

Not by the cosmic monster Shuu, but by Funaka herself.

Some parts even appeared to be updating in real time... If things have gotten this far, blindly disabling mods, dismantling them, and securing safety won't cut it.

If we're not careful, the event collapse could progress at any moment.

Moreover, there was the sight of the cosmic monster Shuu launching a charge directly at my back.

Since Vilijanira and the others will handle that side, it might not be necessary to worry too much, but still, we should hurry as much as possible.

"First things first..."

However, there's a significant difference in processing capability between me here on site and Funaka, who's interfering from a remote location while keeping our position hidden.

I've begun interfering with the mass of light, aiming first to make Funaka's interference even more difficult.

However, that doesn't mean it's completely impossible to interfere with.

If interference became entirely impossible, Funaka would likely escape, and the speed of the event horizon rupture would accelerate dramatically as a result.

"Next..."

Having secured some time, I continued to slow down the appearance and growth rate of the cosmic monster Shuu, eventually pushing it nearly to a complete halt.

With this, the defense efforts by Virijanila and the others should become much easier, and the likelihood of the cosmic monster Shuu slipping through the defense net and escaping will greatly decrease.

In other words, a certain level of safety has now been secured.

"Alright, now from here."

And from here, we'll launch a full-scale assault.

Counter-interference against the delayed Funa-k.

Recall the three objects before becoming a cluster of light... the polyhedral object, Magatsuki, and Funaka's cigarette, then proceed with calmness and disintegration.

Interference with the currently appearing cosmic monster Shuu.

Carry out these tasks simultaneously and in parallel.

At the same time that the mass of light ceased rotating, its intensity diminished, and it began to split off toward the object it had been before becoming a mass of light.

Destroy Magatsuki

"Phew. So now, only the ones currently present remain."

I pulled out Magatsuki, wrapped both the anti-Extraterrestrial Monster Shuu mod and the anti-Magatsuki mod in ink around my feet, then stomped down on it.

Magatsuki was shattered, its will and all within it reduced to dust.

It’ll probably need to be recovered later, but it’s definitely neutralized.

"Funaka... managed to escape, and left a parting gift, I see."

"Are you alright, Master Satā?"

"Arm! The main body's arm is on fire!!"

"Fire's been put out, so it's fine. If some skin got burned, it'll regenerate later."

The counter-interference against Funaka... ended up close to a stalemate.

While we couldn't interfere directly with Funaka's body, we did manage to obtain several coordinates she likely used for teleportation, so next time, we can set traps.

We also managed to read her configuration fairly well, so we should be able to prepare some countermeasures.

Of course, dealing with Funaka, who interferes by intruding into mods or OS configurations, will probably be quite difficult.

Anyway, due to Funaka's interference, one of my main body's arms was burned off.

Honestly, it hurts quite a bit... but with pain suppression mods and regeneration mods activated, it can be healed, even if it takes some time.

The fire has been extinguished, and I've run multiple diagnostic checks with self-diagnosis mods, but nothing unusual has been detected, so it should be fine.

"Disassembly complete."

In the meantime, the glowing mass completely vanished, the separated Magatsuhi shattered into pieces, and Funaka's cigarette burned out and disappeared.

All that remains is the polyhedral object...

"Hmm?"

"Sat? Is something wrong?"

That object... was strange.

I initially thought the object's true nature was something related to Magatsuki, given that Funaka brought it in, but it seems that's not the case.

Um, Funaka interfered... meddled... with its shape and properties, leaving clear traces of tampering. So I need to erase those modifications while also checking whether any backdoor was installed...

"No, it's really an odd object... Just wait a bit longer. I want to secure it first."

As the influence of Funaka faded from the polyhedral object, its shape gradually began to approach that of a sphere.

At the same time, I reanalyzed the object's composition before me...

"Alright, it's safe now. Safe, but... what the hell is this?"

"Perhaps an egg?"

"It looks like a flower bud, too."

"It's reacting to the 'Strange Water Mirror'..."

Indeed, it was an odd object, without a doubt.

This object, roughly the size of my powered suit, resembles the egg mentioned by Viridianila or the flower bud described by Memoxi.

And just as Joharlis said, it possesses an OS different from 'VanillaOS.'

Yet, the structure of that OS is incredibly simplistic—so much so that it feels overly generous, with excessive room for interpretation... it was just too basic to understand clearly.

Still, within the limits of what I can discern, one thing is certain.

"Satou. May I look at it directly, just once?"

"Please do."

"...I see. It's definitely not something that can be left alone."

"Yeah... that's right..."

This thing draws in or extracts something from its surroundings, or perhaps draws them in.

Through the accumulation of that something and the immense energy hidden within, it's striving to become something else... and one thing was certain: leaving it alone would lead to nothing good.