"It isn't venting pain, it is... executing a plan. A plan we cannot see through at all."
The immense pressure escalated again, but this time, it wasn't the fear of a Spirit rampaging, but rather a deep apprehension toward this opponent whose motives were a mystery, hidden beneath layers of performance.
They watched the screen as Chinatsu maintained that cold, resolute posture, extending its hand toward Tohka, awaiting a response.
But now, in the eyes of the Fraxinus crew, its perfect performance of "despair" had taken on a chilling hue of falsehood.
They didn't know what it truly intended.
This uncertainty was more frightening than known destruction.
On the main screen, Chinatsu's expression, a mix of sorrow, mockery, and final resolve, was magnified.
It was a state more unsettling than simple rage.
When it extended its hand to Tohka and said, "This world does not deserve us," Kotori instinctively clenched her fists, her nails nearly digging into her palms.
(The worst script... is it really about to play out? Two Spirits joining forces, completely disillusioned with humanity...)
However, Tohka's subsequent reaction caused everyone's heart to skip a beat.
They saw Tohka's expression of intense struggle, saw her close her eyes in pain, tears streaming down, and then... she actually shook her head!
...No.
"I... I can't go with you."
"This place... is Shido's world... I cannot destroy it..."
Tohka's refusal, tearful yet incredibly firm, was clearly transmitted back to the bridge.
In an instant, the dead silence of the bridge was broken by gasps of relief, as if they had narrowly escaped disaster.
"It... rejected it?!"
"The Princess... she rejected the Heavenly Judgment's invitation!"
"That's great! The worst possible situation has been averted!"
They saw a fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of surprise cross Chinatsu's cold golden eyes after Tohka's refusal, but it vanished instantly.
Its expression remained completely unchanged, still the hollow look of someone whose heart had died.
This utterly illogical emotional stability, combined with the boiling Spiritual power and the realistic performance, formed a massive, unsettling enigma.
The crew members showed expressions of incredible relief.
After witnessing Chinatsu's near "darkening" state, Tohka's refusal was undoubtedly a lifeline, temporarily avoiding the doomsday scenario of two high-risk Spirits simultaneously turning against humanity.
However, this relief lasted only for a very brief moment.
At the command seats, the expressions of Kotori, Reine, and Kannazuki did not relax at all; instead, they grew even heavier.
"idiot...! It's too early to relax now!" Kotori cursed under her breath, gritting her teeth, her gaze locked on Chinatsu on the screen, which had fallen into a momentary pause due to Tohka's rejection.
Murasame Reine adjusted her glasses, her voice low and serious: "Tohka's refusal, while temporarily preventing an alliance, may have... triggered a deeper problem."
She pointed to Chinatsu's Spiritual power fluctuation graph on the screen.
"Its Spiritual power nature is becoming more unstable, more... isolated. Losing Tohka as a potential 'comrade' means that its ideal of establishing Anti-Entropy has been denied by the Spirits themselves in the very first step."
Kannazuki put away his cynical expression and offered a rare serious analysis:
"This means that the Heavenly Judgment may conclude that even its own kind cannot Understand its path.
It will completely devolve into a 'lone wolf.' A 'lone wolf' with no scruples, no ties, and filled with disappointment toward humanity and even some Spirits."
"...Its unpredictability and destructive potential will likely be more dangerous than an organized Anti-Entropy."
Kotori sank heavily back into her chair, grinding the precious jewel in her mouth.
"Ugh... this is such a pain.
That idiot Tohka, being so 'kind' at a time like this!" She rubbed her temples.
"Now we're in trouble.
We might not be facing a Spirit leader trying to build a faction, but rather a... walking catastrophe, whose heart is completely dead and who believes the entire world is against it."
Her gaze swept across Shido, still lying on the ground on the screen, then to Chinatsu, isolated in place, its aura growing increasingly cold and strange, and finally landed on Tohka, who looked even more helpless and sad because of her refusal.
"Sure enough... the worst-case scenario is still..." Kotori muttered to herself, her fingers turning slightly white from the pressure.
She could already foresee what kind of terrible disaster a Spirit with a dead heart and dual Authorities would bring upon this world.
Far from clarifying, the situation had instead spiraled into a more complex and unsettling abyss because of Tohka's choice rooted in kindness.
The Spirit Emotion Monitoring System, the pride of the Fraxinus, seemed so utterly powerless for the first time in the face of the Heavenly Judgment.
They couldn't Understand it, couldn't predict it, and could only watch helplessly as it hovered on the edge of losing control, like a programmed destruction terminal, without even knowing where its true "switch" was located.
"All personnel, highest alert level!
Target priority changed!
Re-evaluate all behavioral patterns of the Heavenly Judgment Herrscher!
I need to know what every single minor action it takes next represents!"
Kotori's voice carried unprecedented pressure, "Also... how long is that Shido guy going to keep playing dead on the ground?!
Tell him to hurry up and get up to clean up this mess!"
The hearts of the Fraxinus crew, which had just settled, were now raised even higher.
They realized that the true storm might only just be beginning to coalesce now.
What would a Heavenly Judgment Herrscher do next, whose ideals had collapsed and who had fallen into absolute isolation?
So this is how it is?
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"