Snow Maiden held a very high opinion of the Salvation Church's combat capabilities. Although she hadn't personally experienced the Battle of Los Angeles, as the guardian of relics, she realized that the attack on the Oracle Book was enough to explain the problem—the enemy possessed the power to counter fate-rule class relics, something even the previous generation of Catastrophic Disaster Beasts couldn't accomplish.
These words left the room in dead silence.
She supplemented: "I don't mean to make everyone feel how threatening the magical girls are. Quite the opposite—we can be called allies."
"As far as I know, during this Disaster Beast storm, the Church provided a large amount of intelligence support and even helped us eliminate Black Wind Wing." However, Josh's tone shifted, "But some people are still uneasy and plan to unseal classified-level offensive relics targeting them."
"But you suppressed it, right?"
"My choice doesn't indicate preferences—it's just about winning over friends. If the demons of hell were willing to attack Disaster Beasts, I'd be willing to award Satan a medal too."
"Enough idle talk. Open the seal and prepare to transfer magic power—the faster, the better."
After Snow Maiden's command, countless mystical runes appeared on the glass cover before it was withdrawn. It turned out that thing was some kind of barrier rather than matter. Then soldiers brought in large quantities of magic crystals and placed them around. Wisps of free-floating magic power flowed into two ancient parchment books in Josh's vision, their pages turning faster and faster. Although relics required qualified users to ultimately awaken them, enriching their power with Disaster Beast materials was equally important—this needed time.
The Prophecy Book confirmed basic information about the Catastrophic Disaster Beast. Combined with think tank analysis, they finalized the plan: use nuclear bomb explosions to restrain its mobility.
As long as Aurora didn't cause ultra-large-scale disasters, there would be an opportunity to exploit. But while it sounded easy, implementation would be extremely difficult, because direct vanguard forces were never easy to deal with. Therefore, they needed the Oracle Book to constrain variables and guide the power toward the ending.
"It's your turn to charge up," Snow Maiden reminded.
Josh nodded, removed her gloves, and touched both halves of the ancient parchment books. The paper was rough, with an ancient aura rushing toward her as a line of text quietly appeared on the surface.
No one understood the magical script of the previous era, but they could be certain it depicted the ending they hoped to guide: the Disaster Beast being intercepted.
The more magic power supplied, the more precisely and clearly it could guide—this process was crucial.
Even Josh, experienced in countless battles and formidable in strength, felt a wave of weakness. Classified relics truly weren't something humans could control—they devoured magic power without negotiation. If she was even slightly careless, she might be drained of life force along with magic power. Unless Philomena was beside her, there'd be no saving her...
Boom!
A sudden overwhelming pressure swept in all directions.
A terrible force pressed on their hearts like gripping a windpipe, making breathing impossible. In just a moment, countless people fainted, and concrete walls creaked and groaned—magic power release had reached physical effects!
Li Yingge shouted: "A spatial rift has opened outside! A high-tier Disaster Beast is actively releasing pressure—please stop the power supply immediately!"
"Wait a bit more—"
Before Josh could finish speaking, she coughed up blood and nearly collapsed. A black smoke had penetrated the room, interrupting the magic power transmission. It condensed into a long spear that pierced through the military uniform girl's chest, with internal organs and blood of the same color flowing everywhere. The next strike followed immediately, aimed at her head. At the critical moment, Li Yingge embraced her superior and rolled aside—everything happened too fast and unexpectedly.
The next moment, solid ice firmly secured the storage room, and the surrounding Disaster Beast magic power finally receded somewhat. But Snow Maiden remained on high alert, not daring to relax at all.
An old friend—Black Tide. Once subordinate to the previous Catastrophic Disaster Beast, it had now come for revenge.
The essence of the black mist was more akin to extremely malleable fur—invincible when gathered, erosively penetrating everything when dispersed. To it, any defense was like paper.
"Don't tell me you're dead from just this level."
Snow Maiden said confidently.
As soon as she finished speaking, the spilled blood automatically returned to Josh's body, repairing her wounds to perfect condition. She protected her adjutant with one hand while using the other to shake off destructive-attribute fur with magic power oscillation. These things came from the direct vanguard commander—very troublesome.
"...That guy's purpose should be to block the relic's influence. It succeeded halfway—I only managed to make the oracle realize intercepting the catastrophe."
"That's fine, it's about the same."
"Far from it. What makes us think Aurora won't simply stay and go on a killing spree after being intercepted?"
The three felt their hearts tighten but couldn't say anything more. Things had come to this point—they had to first figure out how to deal with Black Tide. Sure enough, alarms blared as the entire Relic Treasury initiated maximum alert. The Antarctic base launched depth charges and torpedoes one after another, speeding toward the cracks beneath the frozen sea.
Boom!
The explosion resonated from the ocean through the glacier, conducting to the depths of the treasury. Such reaction speed benefited from detection-type relics, directly locking onto the crack's location for a lightning offensive.
Snow Maiden grabbed the intercom and angrily ordered: "Hit it hard—prepare to keep Black Tide here."
She waved her hand to release the frozen cage's protection while Josh instructed Li Yingge to stay behind and rendezvous with other squads to protect the relics. She herself left the shelter with the former to reach the surface.
Both belonged to the offensive type with rich combat experience and high compatibility rates with error tolerance, making them most suitable for reconnaissance.
Rumble—
Artillery fire filled the sky around the Antarctic base. Ordinary Disaster Beasts in the water charged forward one after another but were all pushed back, their corpses floating among the waves, blood staining the area red.
Josh beckoned, and the next moment blood mixed with seawater thunderously plunged down, creating shock waves that shook the ten-thousand-year glacier, causing torrential rain within a hundred-meter radius.
Snow Maiden was equally unwilling to be outdone. She took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully, freezing tens of thousands of tons of glacier beneath the water surface that violently pummeled countless Disaster Beasts' heads, producing even more blood. The two cooperated seamlessly in continuous slaughter, their damage efficiency surpassing even artillery fire.
"That bastard hasn't manifested at all—it temporarily can't get through," Josh frowned.
"So Black Tide's mission is limited to harassment?"
High-tier Disaster Beasts possessed considerable intelligence, even seemingly able to communicate—absolutely formidable enemies that could achieve strategic effects like now, severing the Oracle Book's power of fate. Obviously, the enemy had figured out the timing. Disaster Beasts occurring frequently everywhere were perfect for reconnaissance, scouting the Antarctic base in advance then locking onto the location. Just causing trouble for humans was sufficient.
Moments later, that terrifying, intense pressure gradually dissipated. The glacier stopped trembling, and some soldiers sat up dizzily, holding their heads.
Snow Maiden and Josh stood on the shore, their gazes locked on the water's depths. Actually, they had once wanted to dive down for a killing spree, but without fully liberating their relics, they'd easily walk into a trap.
"...The immediate priority is relocating the treasury. We'll wander throughout Antarctica, since we can't rule out the possibility of a second attack." The white girl looked directly into her comrade's eyes. "You're going to the front lines, right? Take care."
"See you later."
...
Ningfeng Harbor territorial waters, Fireworks Island.
Cargo ships arriving urgently from distant Europe reached the port one after another. They had departed from the English Channel, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, navigated the Suez Canal, witnessed the scenery of the Strait of Malacca, and finally arrived at their destination.
Splash! For speed and simplicity, Five-Color Narcissus Company didn't allow docking—they directly dumped Disaster Beast raw materials like garbage.
Countless remains piled up on the beach with eerie winds blowing, and even the seawater became inactive.
The crew witnessed their dangerous cargo so brazenly exposed in the open for the first time, feeling ashamed. But thinking that their client was the famous special medicine manufacturer, they didn't doubt anything—after all, no one in the world understood handling infectious diseases better than Five-Color Narcissus Company.
At the dock.
The ship owner removed his sailor's cap and bowed slightly: "Miss Mu, we've delivered the cargo at maximum speed as agreed. We hope this inspection satisfies you..."
Before he could finish, the black-haired, ponytailed woman in a business suit before him signed directly without hesitation.
"I have complete trust in your company."
After confirmation, the deliverer left with profuse thanks. Once back on deck, he immediately ordered departure from the vicinity of Fireworks Island as quickly as possible. Years of sailor experience made him trust his instincts—this group definitely had problems. Didn't he see a bunch of girls surrounding Disaster Beast remains looking completely casual... seemed fine, everything was normal.
The ship owner's expression froze for an instant, then his gaze cleared. Everything was as usual—no abnormalities existed. Five-Color Narcissus Company was very ordinary.
Hibiscus snapped her fingers, and the related documents in her hand turned to dust and disappeared.
She nodded to Nan Zhiyi beside her and asked: "Something happened in Antarctica three days ago. Did you find out anything?"
"The official story is that the high-tier Disaster Beast Black Tide appeared and attacked passing ships—after all, that guy's fur drifted for hundreds of kilometers, impossible to hide. But from what I understand, it seems some military arrangements were interrupted." The girl held her chin thoughtfully, murmuring: "The following is my speculation—could the legendary, possibly non-existent World Relic Treasury be located in Antarctica?"
"Correct!"
Almost the same instant they exchanged words, both felt their hearts struck by lightning, blood flowing backward momentarily. If not for their Seedling Stage magical girl physical qualities, they might have suffered brain hemorrhages.
Knowledge Poison, and quite potent. Usually it erased presence, but once concrete observers appeared, it would strike or even kill them.
Nan Zhiyi wiped her nosebleed with lingering fear: "Worthy of the joint military forces."
Hibiscus basically ignored this level of Knowledge Poison thanks to her solid basic stats, then explained: "There are relics in the treasury that can inflict Knowledge Poison."
"Even excluding this information protection, just the weird relics inside would be dangerous enough. If they flowed into the normal world, they'd definitely cause an uproar. I'm paying attention to it because it represents a certain weather vane—catastrophe is near."
The Prophecy Book!
Both thought of the same answer telepathically—probably activating powerful relics attracted Disaster Beast attacks, understandable. In other words, the Salvation Church had to act quickly. Coincidentally, vacation had ended, and today everyone gathered together.
Hibiscus snapped her fingers, and white mist rose from the ocean, enveloping the area around Fireworks Island with occasional mirror-like refractive glimmers.
During this period, she transmitted magic power to strengthen Hermit Island's formation, but the system still didn't show completion of the new suggestion:
[Deeply Develop Spatial Relic Thousand-Li Viewing Mirror and Combine With Hermit Island's Defensive Formations]
Still lacking a bit. If supplemented with large quantities of Disaster Beast materials, it should be sufficient. Actually, Hibiscus had once found it troublesome and wanted to give up, but always felt there was some kind of system hint—she had to take this checkpoint.
Supplies before great battles are essential.
The "rule" taught by netizens was worth applying. After all, system-generated suggestions seemed random but actually followed "logic for responding to crises"—also a kind of foresight.
Just as Hibiscus was thinking, Jin Yulu and her group arrived. She was responsible for transferring pharmaceutical factory personnel—after all, bases could be rebuilt, but the core strength of magical girls couldn't be lost. Both sides greeted each other from afar, with all factory personnel represented by Dr. Joan accounted for.
Soon after, Jin Ruochu also arrived on time. Along with the pink-haired girl came a large container ship loaded with living supplies.
People and goods were all set—everything was ready.
Hibiscus's original plan was to use Hermit Island as a base to support this long-term campaign. Now in mid-November, catastrophic war could break out anytime from month-end to end of December. On this point, netizen intelligence was useless because the changes brought by large numbers of magical girls to magic power enrichment would definitely lead to different timing, so they should gather forces as quickly as possible. Most importantly, without staying together for warmth, everyone would definitely be targeted by Disaster Beasts.
In the original storyline, this period had at most a few First Awakening magical girls, with more belonging to "magic power talent" ratings—actually unable to attract attention.
Now it was different. Thanks to Hibiscus spreading magical knowledge and hands-on teaching, they had forcibly raised by one level.
From the Disaster Beasts' perspective, the delicacies had become more delicious.
From the world's perspective, magic power further enriched, creating a snowball effect that made more magical girls rapidly stronger, accelerating the process.
Hibiscus had personally pushed the current situation—at least bearing partial responsibility. Then protecting compatriots was her duty. Moreover, she had always planned to militarize Hermit Island into a fortress. In the original work, Eagle Company nearly overturned the world order with this—definitely worth trying.
After sensing briefly that no one had dropped out, she announced: "Nan Zhiyi, do a final check of Fireworks Island facilities."
"Understood."
"Jin Ruochu, start unloading immediately. Too much quantity to use teleportation arrays—use small boats to transport to the outer sea fog zone. The edge barrier has already been opened there. Go."
"Leave it to me."
The pink-haired girl kicked off, simultaneously falling over and getting knocked silly by the falling containers.
At the same time, all containers rolled into the sea and were carried safely to Hermit Island's area by ocean currents—no manual work needed. Absolutely confidential and incredible, such exquisite causal magic manipulation was enough to prove the user's strength had reached a new level. No wonder she was so enthusiastic—she'd been secretly working overtime.
"Jin Yulu, arrange for everyone to bring luggage and move in. Finish before sunset."
"Yes, ma'am."
Everyone acted in orderly fashion.
The Salvation Church had only about five hundred magical girls total, and respecting personal wishes, some had to accompany family for various reasons, which was allowed. Therefore, fewer people meant easier management—small ships turn quickly, already moving rapidly.
Hibiscus no longer focused on trivial matters but unlocked her necklace to carefully observe the control core lying quietly in her palm—representing the key to the entire island's defense system, with highest authority.
Sure enough, it resonated weakly with the large quantity of Disaster Beast materials, but one question remained: how exactly to strengthen it?
When in doubt, ask netizens.
Hibiscus routinely updated her status, posting photos showing the current planning stage. The beach covered with materials and busy magical girls was enough to explain the situation. Those who'd been following understood. She took the opportunity to ask: "Can magic crystals really strengthen island formations? How exactly should it be done?"
As always, she received many answers. Thanks to the system's filtering, effective information appeared:
【Absolutely possible, easily possible】
【Actually can't call it strengthening—more accurately like replenishing its power, since Hermit Island's defense system is an old antique spanning an era】
【You're asking us but we don't know either—Boss Mu is the one using magic. But there is reference literature, like in the original where Quincy simply and brutally used living Disaster Beast blood to water the control core then stuffed it inside to create energy connection for absorption】
【Stuff it where?】
【...Like an enema, only mentioned in passing in background descriptions. I'm really not sure because this isn't fairy tale-like at all】
【No need to explain—we all know doing this fits the mad scientist personality】
【Want to become stronger? Eat forbidden fruit. This level is nothing】
【Intense enough】
Looking at the answer page, Hibiscus's vision went black and she almost couldn't keep it together. She had indeed heard that some relics even required going into Disaster Beast body cores to devour—the principle was correct, but couldn't they find another method? Simply not normal human behavior, just ridiculous.
On second thought, she suddenly understood—because Quincy as a Holy Relic could output relatively weak magic power, unlike magic power beings who could use external forces for resonant connection.
The silver-haired girl gripped the control core tightly and suddenly poured in magic power. Sand and stones flew around them in hurricane-like winds resembling missile bombardment.
Simultaneously, this magic power connected with energy inside nearby Disaster Beast remains, resonating, coordinating, and even condensing together. On the other side of the beach, magical girls stared in amazement, neither realizing Senior Hyacinth was this powerful nor understanding what was about to happen.
Hibiscus frowned because her magic power had sunk without a trace.
Strange.
Hermit Island's control core consumed more energy than imagined. Long-term aging made its functional performance sluggish—only massive magic power bursts could forcibly activate it. But where to find such opportunity?
The next moment, the world lost color. All magical girls froze in place, only silver sand slowly flowing.
Time Stop—new limit: 20 seconds!
Seedling Stage magical girl battles could be decided within one hundredth of a second. A full 20 seconds was quite sufficient for Hibiscus. She unhesitatingly accumulated power.
Sands of Time wasn't without burst capability—quite the opposite, accumulating power during time stop for explosive release was the correct usage. During this period, the silver-haired girl's magic power surged and concentrated at one point, stirring up sandstorms in the gray-white world. Then all phenomena regained color as world trajectories resumed, immediately followed by Hibiscus pouring 5 times the accumulated magic power without reservation.
"Welcome to the new era."
As soon as she spoke, her jade hand gripped the necklace crystal forcefully, making it hum and roar. The control core had activated. Almost simultaneously, it greedily absorbed magic power from Disaster Beast materials, with substantial energy sketching colorful, dreamlike sensations in the air.
The recovered magical girls each displayed their abilities to conceal this strange phenomenon with magic—otherwise it would definitely make big news.
Fortunately, the island at dusk plus sea fog was already blurry, attracting no attention.
The real commotion came from the outer sea. Everyone felt violent trembling from beyond the mist, like an earthquake, with surging waves splashing out startled fish.
Hermit Island was undergoing some special change.
Hibiscus proactively answered everyone's doubts: "Don't worry. I've activated the island's central formation. In a sense, it's just completed revival. In short, Hermit Island will develop toward a military fortress next. I want to focus on developing its mobility—everyone prepare."
"Not using that spatial relic, right?" A novice magical girl felt dizzy just thinking about it.
"We'll have to try hard to adapt," Hibiscus answered honestly, since their home base would have to wander around the Catastrophic Disaster Beast's attack route perimeter.
"So awesome—it'll definitely be a super cool floating island."
"I can experience flight before Triple Awakening."
"Long live the Church!"
The magical girls were extremely excited, working even faster. Under Jin Yulu's command, they quickly reached the other side through spatial teleportation arrays. As for supplies, they were naturally hitching rides on ocean currents to Hermit Island—Jin Ruochu just needed to rest since the upgraded Fortune and Misfortune magic's balance feedback wasn't simple either.
For safety, Hibiscus stayed on Fireworks Island until the last moment, seeing off every magical girl safely through teleportation arrays and confirming all supplies were accounted for.
Meanwhile, Disaster Beast materials on the beach vanished into thin air, all becoming nourishment for the control core.
This small detail was enough to prove how advanced the previous era's application of magic power beings was. Humans currently at most extracted magic-power-rich organs and eventually sold the rest cheap or processed special materials, but this thing ate everything clean without leaving a trace—quite an appetite.
Hibiscus looked at the necklace lying quietly in her palm with complex feelings.
Originally, excess materials could be sold profitably—they could be used for engines, high-strength shells, and other applications, even resisting cosmic radiation or high-heat friction.
Otherwise, humans couldn't reach other planets with just Levitation Rings, so developing material versatility was important. Now it seemed somewhat wasteful.
Hibiscus withdrew her thoughts and looked around. The beach was peaceful, all stored materials transferred away, and the city on the other end of the coast had built high walls in strict defense formation, with gunpowder scent in the air.
Sunset approached—time to part.
The silver-haired girl turned and strode toward the shelter within Fireworks Island military base ruins. Except for minimal guard patrol forces, everyone had returned to Hermit Island.
Buzz!
After a dizzy spatial transfer, Hibiscus arrived at Demon-Eating Insect Beach to see various newly unsealed containers piled on the sand, including but not limited to food, daily necessities, clothing, furniture... she even saw Jin Ruochu opening several containers with weapons and ammunition tumbling out. Such scale could probably overthrow a small African nation—what an arms dealer.
Nan Zhiyi, responsible for coordinating all aspects, wasn't surprised and calmly inventoried supplies before uniformly adding them to storage.
She'd always been suspicious of mercenaries and military forces—stockpiling weapons gave peace of mind.
However, Jin Yulu interrupted, clearly believing the instructor should first let magical girls unfamiliar with firearms adapt in advance, since magic power would eventually run out, and future conflicts with armed forces couldn't be ruled out.
Everyone busied themselves in orderly fashion when suddenly roars echoed over the island as hundreds of domesticated Disaster Beasts cheered joyfully.
"Roar—"
Only then did Hibiscus notice the control core's fluorescent flickering—these residents were welcoming their island master's return.