Border Between Realities AKA the Dimensional Gap…
Noah moved across the Force Platforms like a ping-pong ball, jumping from one to another as several homing spheres of dark purple fire chased after him through the Dimensional Gap.
"Oh, come on! Can you give it a rest already?!" Noah complained as another sphere curved around a floating landmass and continued following him.
"Ha! Now you finally understand how I feel about you, Trailblazer!" Dormammu replied with contempt.
Noah's cheek twitched. "Okay, that was uncalled for."
He jumped from another platform and twisted his body in midair, looking back at the incoming spheres. His eyes narrowed as his Trailblaze authority activated, allowing him to see the trails each attack would follow to reach him. Once he understood their routes, Trailblaze energy gathered around him, and Noah reached out toward those paths.
The spheres suddenly changed direction.
Instead of continuing toward Noah, several slammed into the floating landmasses around him and exploded, while the rest flew harmlessly past his position.
Noah created another Force Platform behind himself, landed against it with both feet, and immediately used it to launch himself straight toward Dormammu.
"So now you intend to come directly at me?!" Dormammu shouted as several massive stone pillars formed around him.
"Well, I can't hit you if I don't!"
Dormammu grunted and sent the pillars flying toward him. Noah did not slow down. He simply raised one hand, found the trails of the approaching attacks, and altered them one after another. The pillars suddenly changed course and flew past him, leaving Noah a clear path toward Dormammu.
"Tsk!"
Seeing another ranged attack fail, Dormammu raised his arm and threw a massive punch instead.
Noah's eyes widened for a moment before he burst into laughter and pulled back his own fist. "Ahahahaha! You've been getting pretty physical with your attacks lately! Running out of ideas?"
Their fists collided.
BOOM!
Noah's Force and Imaginary-powered fist met Dormammu's directly, and the impact shook the space around them as both remained locked against each other.
"Your use of Trailblaze is infuriating!" Dormammu growled. "Every time I attack you from a distance, you simply force it onto another path!"
Noah's grin widened.
"Ahahahaha! Thanks for the compliment. I trained my ass off with my dear Hii just to properly control the ability Lord Akivili gave me."
Dormammu's glare became even worse, which only amused Noah further.
"Hii got curious about what else my Trailblaze could do, so naturally she kept making me experiment with it until we found more applications." Noah pushed harder against Dormammu's fist. "And eventually, we discovered that changing where something travels isn't the only thing I can do."
Dormammu's eyes narrowed.
"What are y—?!"
The force pressing against his fist suddenly disappeared.
Dormammu's arm shot forward and sent Noah flying backward, but before he could even react to what had happened, a powerful impact hit him directly in the torso.
"GAAAH?!"
Dormammu was blasted across the Dimensional Gap and crashed violently into a distant landmass, destroying a large section of it on impact.
Noah flipped through the air before landing safely on another Force Platform. He straightened himself, raised two fingers, and smiled toward the wreckage.
"Trailblaze Application Two, transfer where the existing end point is."
Dormammu began forcing himself out of the destroyed landmass as Noah continued.
"To simply put, I can switch, transfer, or completely change the end destination where something is supposed to arrive."
Dormammu's expression twisted with fury. "TRAILBLAZER!!!"
He exploded out of the rubble and charged straight toward Noah.
Noah grinned as Dormammu charged toward him. "Trailblaze Application Three…"
Dormammu's fist was already coming down when the positions of the two suddenly switched. Noah appeared where Dormammu had been while Dormammu found himself occupying Noah's previous position, his attack hitting nothing but empty space.
His eyes widened. "Whaaa…?"
"… Swapping, which is the start and end of the trail."
Dormammu barely had time to turn around before Noah raised one palm toward the damaged landmass behind him.
"Trailblaze Application Four… If I can switch positions of start and end points of a path, I could also switch their conditions."
The broken landmass suddenly began restoring itself. Massive chunks of stone moved back into place, cracks closed, and the damage caused by Dormammu's earlier impact disappeared one section at a time.
At the same moment, that damage appeared across Dormammu's body instead.
"What are you… KAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!"
Large cracks spread across his arms and torso before several sections of his manifested body burst apart. Dormammu roared in pain as he was thrown backward, now carrying the same destruction that had previously covered the landmass.
Noah did not give him time to understand what had happened. Trailblaze energy spread from his body and surrounded Sirin, Hayate, and Reinforce Zwei as well.
"Trailblaze Application Five… like every travel, there will always be a time when we will go back to the starting point."
Warm golden light passed over all four of them. The exhaustion accumulated throughout the battle began disappearing as their bodies, stamina, magical energy, and other reserves returned to the condition they had been in before the fight began.
Sirin immediately felt the difference and grinned as Quantum energy gathered around her hands again. "Yosh! Back to my A-game!"
Hayate slowly exhaled and rolled one shoulder, almost laughing when she realized the pain and fatigue were gone. "Fuuu… I really do feel completely fine again."
[My mana reserves are restored too!] Reinforce happily announced from within the Unison. [Even the strain from maintaining our Unison is gone!]
"How could this be?!" Dormammu stared at them in disbelief.
He had spent much of the battle forcing them to exhaust their energy, only to watch all of that progress disappear in seconds. Worse, while Noah and the others had returned to their peak condition, Dormammu remained heavily injured and had already burned through much of the energy he had stolen from the planet.
"Tsk!"
Dormammu hurriedly pulled more of the remaining life force toward himself, trying to repair both his body and dimensional defenses before they could attack again.
Sirin immediately noticed. "Not so fast!"
Several Void bullets hit Dormammu before his regeneration could properly begin, and Hayate followed almost immediately.
"Brionac!"
A white beam hit him from the opposite side. Both attacks hit within moments of each other, sending Dormammu backward and destroying several of the dimensional protections he had only just managed to restore.
"You troublesome women!" Dormammu glared furiously at the two women.
Sirin gave him a bright smile. "Thank you!"
"That was not a compliment!"
While Dormammu's attention remained on them, Noah spread both arms.
"Trailblaze Application Six…"
Trailblaze energy flared around him as dozens of different trails began opening across the space behind and around him.
"…What are you doing?!" Dormammu snapped his head at Noah.
Noah's grin widened. "…Summoning items across the multiverse."
Weapons began emerging from the trails one after another. Spears appeared first, followed by enchanted swords from worlds Dormammu had never seen. Then came cannons, magical weapons, mechanical launchers, missiles, and several objects that even Noah himself stared at for a second because he had absolutely no idea what they were.
"WHAT?!" Dormammu's eyes widened as the number continued increasing.
Noah pointed toward him. "Yeah… I'd probably start running."
Every weapon fired at once.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The entire barrage crashed into Dormammu, and the resulting explosion swallowed him completely.
Noah landed on a Force Platform, watching the massive explosion continue swallowing Dormammu.
Sirin and Hayate had already stopped attacking. Instead, both women simply stared at Noah as he grinned proudly at the ridiculous number of weapons he had just summoned.
"Waaaa…" Sirin's cheek twitched. "Noah has the exact same expression Hajime gets whenever he starts showing off his Reason Arsenal."
Hayate could only give a wry laugh. "Ahahahahaha… Well, at least Dormammu is occupied while we wait for news from the others."
The explosion suddenly burst apart as Dormammu forced his way out. Most of his manifested body had been damaged again, with large sections still struggling to regenerate while his dimensional protections slowly rebuilt themselves. Despite his condition, however, his attention remained fixed entirely on Noah and the trails still surrounding him.
"What are you taking out now?!" Dormammu demanded, narrowing his eyes as another trail began to open.
He immediately raised his arms and prepared himself for whatever weapon was about to emerge.
Instead, a completely ordinary chair came floating out.
"…What?" Dormammu's expression flattened.
"Is that… a chair?" Hayate blinked several times.
"…Seriously?" Sirin slowly pointed toward it.
"…Ahh." Noah stared at the chair for a moment before shrugging. "Well, the objects I summon can be pretty random. I can usually call out something I need or want, but sometimes completely unrelated stuff gets mixed in."
Dormammu stared at him with an increasingly dark expression. His shoulders began trembling while one side of his face twitched.
"You mean to tell me that after all those weapons, you summoned a ch—"
The chair suddenly flew straight toward him.
WHACK!!!
It smashed directly into Dormammu's face and shattered into pieces.
An awkward silence followed.
Noah slowly crossed his arms and nodded to himself. "…I believe anything can become part of the Trailblaze."
Dormammu's entire body started trembling. "JUST HOW COULD TRAILBLAZE BE EXPLAINED LIKE THAT?!"
"Wahahahaha! Rule Breaker!" Noah laughed.
"SHUT IT, TRAILBLAZER!!!"
Dormammu immediately threw a black-purple spear straight at Noah's head. Noah bent backward just in time, watching the weapon pass only centimeters above his face before disappearing into the distance.
"Whoa!" Noah quickly straightened. "Hey, that almost hit me!"
Dormammu glared at him in irritation.
"THAT IS THE POINT!"
Dormammu charged straight toward Noah in anger, completely ignoring everything else around him. Noah immediately turned and ran, creating Force Platforms along the way as Dormammu continued chasing after him. In the middle of their pursuit, Void Archives finally returned to their communication channel.
[Captain.]
Noah glanced over his shoulder and saw Dormammu rapidly closing the distance. Trailblaze energy flashed around him as he altered Dormammu's trajectory, sending the enraged being straight toward a broken pillar floating nearby.
Dormammu crashed through it with a deafening impact.
[A little busy, VA!] Noah shouted through their connection while continuing to move. [Just give me the short version! Good news or bad news?!]
[Good news.]
Noah's eyebrows immediately rose. [Alright, now you have my attention.]
Dormammu burst through the debris behind him and resumed the chase without slowing down, but before he could reach Noah, several Belkan magic circles suddenly appeared directly in his path.
"Balmung!"
Hundreds of mana swords formed around Hayate and rained down on Dormammu, forcing him to stop and defend himself. Noah finally released a breath of relief, only for Sirin to suddenly appear beside him, grab the back of his coat, and shove him straight through a Void Rift.
"Eh?! Sii?!"
"Go! I'll help Hachan!"
The portal closed behind Noah as Sirin turned and rushed toward Hayate.
[The Alliance accepted our proposal,] Void Archives continued.
[Welt-san agreed?!] Reinforce asked hopefully.
[Without hesitation.]
[That's… great.] Hayate released a relieved breath as she dodged Dormammu's arm and quickly moved out of his reach.
Noah emerged from another Void Rift several hundred meters away, rolled one shoulder, and looked back toward Dormammu. [Great. What about Hyperion? How long until Ai-chan can prepare the Imaginary Bomb?]
[That will no longer be necessary.]
Noah raised an eyebrow.
[…What?]
[Miss Himeko volunteered to provide the second attack herself,] Void Archives explained.
Before Noah could ask anything else, Dormammu forced his way past Hayate and Sirin and charged straight toward him again. Noah sighed and activated Trailblaze just before Dormammu reached him, switching their positions and leaving Dormammu attacking empty space once more.
[…Miss Himeko?]
[Yes.]
Sirin immediately took advantage of their switched positions and fired several Void bullets past Noah, striking Dormammu directly and forcing him farther back.
[Miss Himeko has something capable of matching Shamash Unleash?] Noah asked.
[Apparently.]
[What is she planning to use?] Hayate tilted her head as she regrouped beside Sirin.
Void Archives remained silent for a moment. [She refused to tell me.]
Noah, Sirin, and Hayate looked at each other.
Then Sirin slowly narrowed her eyes. […Should we be worried or something?]
[VA.] Noah slowly frowned.
[Yes, Captain?]
[Did she say anything else?]
[She told me that whatever her attack was, it would be a "big surprise."]
[...Big surprise?] Sirin immediately raised an eyebrow.
[Yes.]
Hayate could not stop a small giggle from escaping, but Noah only became more suspicious.
[So Miss Himeko has something powerful enough to replace a star-system-level attack, refuses to explain what it is, and just told you to leave everything to her?]
[That is an accurate summary.]
Noah stared ahead while Dormammu raised both arms and opened several dark tears around himself, using them to intercept the objects still coming from Noah's summoned items.
[...Why do I suddenly feel more scared than relieved?]
Sirin snorted. [Just think about it this way. At least you're not the one firing Shamash three times.]
Noah blinked, then his expression immediately brightened.
[You know what? That is actually an excellent point. I completely trust Miss Himeko!]
[Your standards for trust are concerning, Captain.]
[I get to keep my internal organs where they belong. My standards are perfect.]
Hayate laughed despite herself.
[Fine. If everyone is set on it, we'll proceed with the plan.] Void Archives finally surrendered. [Once Little Zwei finishes her calculations, I'll send the Alliance the exact firing coordinates and timing windows for my old friend, Miss Himeko, and Captain's attacks.]
[Yes! Leave it to me desu!] Reinforce answered quickly. [Once the first attack hits, I'll only have a short window to analyze how Dormammu's dimensional protections react and adjust the coordinates for the second attack.]
Sirin understood the problem almost immediately.
[Which means we can't let Dodon-san move wherever he wants while you're calculating.]
[Hai desu!] Reinforce replied. [If he gets away and has enough time to repair the damage or rearrange the dimensional protections again, we'll have to start over!]
Hayate looked toward Dormammu, who was still tearing through the hundreds of weapons Noah had summoned from across the multiverse. Even now, more weapons continued firing from the open trails around him, forcing Dormammu to remain on the defensive.
"So until everyone is ready…" Hayate began.
"…our job is to keep the big guy in one place," Noah finished with a grin as he adjusted his hold at Shamash.
Sirin smiled and raised the Key of Void pistols again. [That part sounds easy enough.]
Hayate gave her a doubtful look. [Sirin-chan, please don't say things like that during a battle.]
[Eh? Why?] Sirin tilted her head in confusion
[Because something usually goes wrong immediately afterward.] Hayated answered plainly.
[Hachan has a point.] Noah nodded.
[Muuu!] Sirin puffed her cheeks at their words.
[…Going back to the plan,] Void Archives cut in with an exhausted, dry tone. [Once little Zwei finishes her calculations and I share the timing with the Alliance, Miss Sirin will open a Void Rift so their attacks can reach us here in the Dimensional Gap.]
[That part won't be a problem. Opening the path should actually be the easiest part of the plan, but…]
Sirin trailed off as she looked toward the distant silhouette of the world. Thousands of Quantum Shadows were still gathering around the five massive breaches in its dimensional barrier, many of them already trying to force their way through. Her eyes remained there for a moment before moving back toward Dormammu, who was still being harassed by the seemingly endless weapons coming from Noah's open trails.
[Rein, can you adjust Uncle Yang's firing path so his black hole also catches the remaining Quantum Shadows trying to enter the world?]
[Sirin-san?] Reinforce asked in surprise.
Hayate raised an eyebrow as well. [Sirin-chan?]
Sirin ignored their confusion for the moment. [Well, Rein? Can you do it?]
[Well… yes desu. It would only require a minor adjustment to the firing coordinates, so I can do that easily.]
Noah glanced toward Sirin while keeping an eye on Dormammu. [Sii, what are you thinking?]
[I'm thinking that since we're already preparing attacks this big, we might as well use them to clean up those pests too.] Sirin gestured toward the distant world. [Why leave thousands of Quantum Shadows behind if Uncle Yang's black hole can take them out at the same time?]
[I see,] Void Archives replied, immediately understanding what she intended. [You want to use the same attack to deal with Dormammu's dimensional protections and clear the Quantum Shadows gathering around the breaches.]
[Ding Ding!] Sirin grinned. [If I have a cookie with me, I'll give one to you, VA!]
Hayate looked toward the distant world again and quickly saw the advantage. [That would also reduce the pressure on every defensive front. If Mr. Yang clears most of the Quantum Shadows near the breaches, everyone on Earth can focus on clearing up the remaining enemies in those areas instead of immediately dealing with another wave.]
[And with fewer Quantum Shadows entering the world, Dormammu loses another way to keep damaging the dimensional barrier,] Void Archives added.
Several calculation windows appeared around Reinforce as she quickly adjusted the firing path. [I'll include all five breaches in the calculations desu! I'll make sure Welt-san's attack can pass close enough to pull in the Quantum Shadows without targeting the world itself.]
[Perfect.] Sirin grinned.
Reinforce immediately returned her attention to the calculations. Numbers and magical formulas continued changing around her while Noah, Sirin, and Hayate kept Dormammu occupied.
After several seconds passed, Reinforce finally finish her calculations.
[Finished desu!] Reinforce's eyes lit up.
[You got everything?] Hayate smiled.
[Hai!] Reinforce nodded quickly. [Firing coordinates, the path through all five breaches, and the timing windows for all three attacks are complete!]
Void Archives immediately received the data.
[Confirmed. I have everything.]
Noah glanced toward Dormammu while tightening his grip around Shamash.
[So that's it?]
[Yes, Captain.] Void Archives answered. [I'm transmitting Little Zwei's firing coordinates and timing to the Alliance now. Once everyone confirms they are ready, we begin.]
Noah then turned at Sirin and Hayate. [Are both of you ready?]
Sirin stored the Key of Void into her storage space and took out her Astral Gear: Embrace the Void. [Ready!]
Hayate brought Schwertkreuz forward while Reinforce prepared the spells needed to keep Dormammu in position. [Let's finish this Noah-kun.]
[And you our dear Rein?] Noah asked their little helper.
[Hai desu!] Reinforce answered cheerfully.
Then a grinned slowly appeared at Noah's face.
[Then shall we end this war already?]
====== Chapter 232 END ======