TRC 43

TRC

Chapter 43

Within the shattered barrier,
a woman slowly revealed herself.

“……”

Golden hair cascaded down her shoulders,
and her amber eyes seemed to pierce through everything.

“Julie Pearson……”

“……Ruby-17?”

On Earth, she was called Julie Pearson.
To the Order of Reversal, she was known as Ruby-17.

But regardless of the name—one fact never changed:
She was the head of Bluestone Megacorp,
one of the Three Seats,
and the founder of Magi-Engineering—its ultimate pinnacle.

“……”
“……”
“……”

She quietly surveyed the battlefield, where stray mana still raged.
Then she murmured,
“Mana’s great, but you shouldn’t underestimate the power of tools.”

Swoosh—

Julie Pearson reached into the air,
and pulled out a small, cube-shaped mechanical device.

“[Seal Release].”

At her brief incantation, the device clicked open.
Circuit lines and metal parts unfolded into the air.

“Th—that’s…”

Before Seo Gyeoul could finish speaking,
the pieces attached themselves to Julie’s left arm and shoulder.

Seo Gyeoul’s keen eyes recognized the artifact immediately.

“The Icarus Monowing…”

A masterpiece of Magi-Engineering,
and Julie Pearson’s signature artifact.

Whirrrrr—

The device vibrated and unfolded into the shape of a wing,
while a glowing halo appeared above her head.

“I heard Lord Belmut crippled her for good…”

Kradder and the cultists stirred at her appearance.
But Julie didn’t react.
She simply did her work.

“Output: 40%. Combustion pressure, rising.”

At the edge of her mechanical wing,
the blade-nozzles glimmered and opened.

BOOM—!

A blue flash struck the ground, followed by an explosion.

“Gahhh!”
“Urrgh—!”

The shockwave hurled the cultists away.
But that was only the beginning.

Julie Pearson shot forward like lightning.

“[Descent].”

Her lips moved, and her metal fist plunged down like a meteor.

KWA-AAAAANG!

The ground split apart, dust and stone falling from the ceiling.

Screams?
Shouts?
No such luxury.
They were simply deleted.

“……”
“……”
“……”

No one could speak at the unbelievable sight.
Only Kradder and Rebecca managed to regain their senses.

“Hey! Snap out of it! She’s alone—just swarm her!”

“Left behind are ashes; gone are memories. Burn, burn bright!”

But even together, they couldn’t stop a member of the Three Seats.

“You should worry less about me,” Julie said coolly,
“and more about your equipment.”

She hovered into the air, her monowing stirring the wind.

“Wind—[Injection].”

It wasn’t a grand spell—just a breeze carrying “something.”
But the effect was fiercer than a storm.

Crackle—!

Suddenly, the enemies’ weapons and armor began to twist and smoke.

“My arm! My armor’s melting!”
“W-what the hell?! My sword’s rusting!”

This was her other talent—
the one that stood beside [Seal Release] as Bluestone’s legacy.

[Injection]

Rank: S
Info: Allows “commands” to be injected into equipment.
Forced interference can trigger system “immune responses,”
potentially causing severe malfunctions.

Julie frowned slightly.
“What are your item ranks? If it’s Rare or below, I’d ditch it now.”

Moments later, a shield glowed red-hot from within and burst apart.
Its wielder screamed, unable to remove his gear before collapsing.

It was sheer terror.

Whirr—

Julie folded and spread her monowing again,
the circuits on her back glowing finely.

No one approached her.
In fact, no one could.
They were frozen—paralyzed by fear.

Leaving them behind, she walked toward Seo Gyeoul.

“H—hello…”

“You’ve been using this treasure like that? That’s blasphemy against the item itself!”

Her gaze wasn’t on Seo Gyeoul’s face,
but on the gloves she wore.

“I’m a wizard too, but these one-track types think
raising their own stats is all that matters. Tsk.”

“N-no, I didn’t mean to—”

Julie took out a radiant gemstone—an A-grade mana stone.

“I could use a B-grade, but I only have A’s right now.”

She pressed it to Seo Gyeoul’s glove and murmured,
“[Seal Release].”

A surge of mana burst from the glove.

Seo Gyeoul stared in shock as her once-Rare glove
gained a new title—White Night (Baekya)—
and transformed into a Legendary artifact.

[Fingertips of Snow: White Night]

Rank: Legendary
Info: Gloves made from the pelt of a snow leopard.
Reveals its hidden form through mystical power.
Optimized for mana control and sensory precision.
- Agility +11
- Mana +25
- HP −8
- Ice Damage +75%
- Skill: White Night Awakening (Max A)
- Skill: Deep Snow Insight (Max A)

Two A-rank skills.
Additional elemental damage.
A chill even deeper than before emanated from the gloves.

“T-thank you…”

“No need. You saved my life—I should thank you. Now…”
Her gaze hardened toward the enemies.
“Let’s get serious.”

Kradder and Rebecca immediately reacted.

“Flesh and blood are my nourishment—my proof of existence.”
“Experience within consciousness is the greatest strength,
the firmest foundation.”

Kradder tore his own flesh to draw mana,
while Rebecca ignited flames with a cold face.

But the battlefield was already under Julie Pearson’s control.

“Thermal regulation release. Switching thrusters.”

Blue light flared from her wings as she spun midair like a swallow,
slicing diagonally through the frontlines—
a single, precise strike reaching even Kradder and Rebecca.

“Guaaah! My death will become hope—!!”
“I-I don’t want to die!”
“Damn it! Stay focused, you bastards!”
“Calm down, Kradder.”

The ground burned gray,
and anyone brushed by her wings melted away.

Truly, divine power incarnate.

‘That’s a wizard worthy of the Three Seats…’
Seo Gyeoul thought, awed.
That overwhelming strength was her aspiration.

‘Good thing my gamble paid off.’

With her on their side, victory seemed certain.

But—

“Ugh…”

Suddenly, Julie’s body trembled mid-flight.

“!?”

Sparks erupted from her wing.

With the last of her strength, she swung it once more—

Fwoooosh!

A wall of blue fire split the battlefield in two,
devouring everything and blocking sight and approach alike.

Then, trailing smoke, Julie crashed to the ground.

SCRAAAAPE—

She skidded to a stop—right at Seo Gyeoul’s feet.

“Are you all right?!”

Seo Gyeoul quickly helped her up.
Blood dripped from Julie’s lips.

“Cough!”
She spat a chunk of blood onto the floor.

Clack… clatter—

Her original artifact reassembled into a cube
and vanished into subspace.

She gave a bitter laugh.
“Tried to hold back, but… it’s not easy, ha… ha.”

“Residual effects of the seal?”

“Yeah. My mana circuits are unstable. I can’t cast properly anymore.”

“……”

Seo Gyeoul’s mind raced.
It was too early to give up—
the tide was still in their favor.

“Can you still use support-type spells?”

“That much, yes.”

“Then please cover the rear.”

They had already held out with just three people—
and now, not only did they have support,
the enemy was badly wounded.

Besides—

‘These gloves, upgraded by Julie Pearson herself…’

Seo Gyeoul was eager to test their limits.

She met the eyes of her two wolves.
“I’ll manage the flow. You two hold the front.”

“Woof woof!”
“Grrr—!”

Even as they bled, the wolves barked fiercely.

Julie’s eyes sparkled as she watched them.
“I’ve been wondering—whose kids are they?
You’re not a tamer. Oh… maybe they belong to that sleeping boy?”

“No. You’ll meet him soon enough.”

“Huh. Now I’m curious…”

Julie thought briefly, then smiled.
“By my calculation, our win rate’s about 65%.
But that expression of yours says you think we can’t lose.
Is that because of that ‘nameless tamer’?”

“No. My estimate is 78%.
Of course, if he were here, it’d be 99.7%.”

“Hmm… you’re making me really curious now.”

While they talked,
Rebecca burned away part of the blue flames—
but her face was pale with exhaustion.

Kradder, drenched in blood, took the lead.

“They’re half-dead! Crush them all!”

Growl! Roar!
Fwoosh!

Despite their wounds, the wolves charged fearlessly.

“Heal. Strengthen. Sharpen… ngh.”

Julie cast buffs, blood trickling down her chin again—
but she ignored it, just like the wolves did.

“……”
“What are you waiting for? Let’s finish this.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Seo Gyeoul dashed forward,
and the fading frontlines flared back to life.