Michelle was in despair.

She had been betrayed by Jegyll, the one friend who she trusted and could be real with.

Her body could not move.

Her brain had been disconnected from it, and now her own body felt like it was far away.

Ah, I’m so tired—Michelle thought.

When the ideals that her father had dreamed of were shattered, Michelle decided to live while hiding her true feelings.

As a leader, she decided to prioritize the values of the majority over her own.

Save those who needed to be saved, even though it came with sacrifices.

You couldn’t save everyone, but save those that you could.

And in the worst-case scenario, you might have to sacrifice a hundred to save one. She had that resolve when it came to politics.

Kill your emotion and only act based on the logic of numbers you could trust.

It was people who could do this that were fit to lead.

So, no matter how much she agonized over something, she didn’t complain in front of anyone.

She had always acted as if what she was doing was right. And she would lead them with pride.

—However, it had been different with Jegyll.

And now she was betrayed. It dealt more damage to Michelle than she could have ever imagined.

And that was why the lock to the door had broken.

(I don’t care about what happens now…)

She muttered without a voice.

Despair and then resignation. It seemed natural enough.

But…

–Don’t give up, Michelle. If you give up, the Mobius System will become uncontrollable—

Her father’s voice awakened her consciousness.

(Yes… It’s too early to give up…)

Even though she could not move her body, her mind was healthy.

The Mobius System was already running, but she could still…

Besides, there was something strange about Jegyll’s betrayal.

(Yes, now that I think about it…)

When she thought back on it, Jegyll had seemed odd.

Her voice and movements were the same as usual. Michelle had occasionally said things that referenced their past as they talked. And Jegyll had reacted properly every time.

And so Michelle assumed that the strangeness she had felt must be nothing. However, now she considered the possibility that something she wasn’t aware of was at play here.

The ‘brain’ was an important organ and was protected in several ways. That meant that hypnosis and brainwashing should not work, but she couldn’t be completely confident about it either.

After all, something similar was happening to herself currently.

Perhaps Jegyll had also had her ‘brain’ isolated from her body and had the information stolen—in spite of knowing very little, Michelle was able to make a guess that was very close to the truth.

(If that’s true, then I cannot give up here!!)

Her fighting spirit burned anew, and she considered what it was that she could do now.

Her body wouldn’t move.

The only thing that she could do now was to pray for Jegyll and the resistance.

However…

Michelle’s consciousness was combined with overwhelming energy that overflowed from her. Her thoughts now moved silently, but faster than the speed of light, towards the hearts of those she believed in…

◆◆◆

Michelle’s prayer reached Jegyll as well.

However, it was too late to change anything.

……

…..

…

Karman had transformed most strangely. And Jegyll could no longer handle him.

At first, Jegyll had had the advantage with Machinery Arts, but now, none of the attacks could deal a finishing blow.

Karman had incredibly healing ability—it was superior to even the Super Beasts, and he healed immediately after Jegyll dealt any damage.

No. If anything, it seemed like his defense ability was improving every time he healed. Just as a broken bone is stronger after being healed, the Dragonic Armor seemed to react as if it were a living creature.

Furthermore, Karman showed that he could adapt to Jegyll’s movements.

While Jegyll should have been the more skilled of the two, her attacks were no longer hitting their target.

Yes, it was as if he had eyes on the back of his head. He was able to deal with attacks from all directions.

And it wasn’t just that.

She was able to place her palm on his armor, but it was poisoned.

The powerful acid would burn her hand.

The shock from the hits and the plasma that hit her upon contact. It was so bad that all of the previous damage did not seem like much to Jegyll.

The various firearms and methods of counterattack.

It was at the same level as the Machinery Four or even higher in terms of energy output.

And this perfect defense that Jegyll could not penetrate.

Karman had completely stopped Jegyll’s most powerful method of attack, End Vibration.

It took apart molecules and atoms by causing a certain area to vibrate. It was an incredibly destructive skill that was supposed to be impossible to defend against.

As far as Jegyll was aware, the only way to do this was to create a special barrier that rejected and sealed away any external forces…

Yes, Karman was using the Ether Ring Barrier.

(What’s happening? You shouldn’t be able to control the Ether Ring Barrier without the Star System… You have to create ‘ethers’ with the use of a linked particle accelerator…unless, he recreated it!? Do those strange suits they wear come with the Star System installed!?)

Jegyll could not help but come to that conclusion.

She didn’t want to believe it, but when it was happening right before her eyes like this, she did not have much of a choice.

(How could the resistance of all people have access to such technology…?)

She had so many questions, but now was not the time.

As her strongest attacks had been ineffective, Jegyll had no way of defeating Karman.

And before she knew it, Karman’s men had joined the fight as well.

They were wearing the Powered Suits that should have been destroyed as they toyed with Reiz and his men.

The Super Beasts were there as well, and the battle turned into chaos.

She could not expect reinforcements or the possibility of being revived after death.