eurekapd Chapter 323 Kallen's Death!
Chapter 323 Kallen's Death!
The energy from Markubart's attack, like a swarm of emerald meteors, carrying an immense, piercing, and destructive force, tore through the data sky of virtual space and poured towards the remaining Gorbah on the ground. Wherever the rain of light passed, even the background data stream emitted a faint, scorching moan, its trajectory precisely locking onto Gorbah's grotesque head, which combined the features of two monsters.
This was almost a fatal blow.
However, just as the green light rain was about to touch its target, a sudden change occurred.
That Gorba, that combat data entity meticulously calculated by Karen, fused with the genes of Gorza and Melba, and having undergone a brief period of co-evolution, made an action that completely defied conventional combat logic, even going against biological instincts—
It did not parry, dodge, or attempt in any way to counter the deadly attack of Macubald.
Its four scarlet eyes and its two faces, which inherited Golza's savagery and Melba's sharpness respectively, suddenly turned in another direction at the same moment! That direction was not the mid-air where Ultraman Naga was, nor the emerald rain of light that was about to hit him, but rather it was locked on the edge of the battlefield, on the relatively still Victory Swallow 1, which was hovering in the data turbulence and trying to analyze the battlefield!
Wild Rui!
"Roar--!!!"
An unprecedented roar, a mixture of Golza's heavy roar and Melba's shriek, erupted simultaneously from its two gaping maws. This roar wasn't aimed at a physical attack; it was more like a pure declaration and positioning of energy. Inside Golba's massive body, dark purple energy boiled, compressed, and converged with unprecedented frenzy! Its wings, belonging to Melba, suddenly spread open to their maximum extent, the energy patterns on the wing membranes shining blindingly, as if about to burst into flames; while its chest cavity, the part belonging to Golza, expanded unnaturally, no longer surging with molten lava, but with a deeper, more unstable vortex of purplish-black energy.
Its objective is chillingly clear:
It's not Ultraman Naga.
It was not a direct, overwhelming attack from Mackubalt that could tear it apart.
It's Ye Rui!
It is the human unit that, according to its core criteria, has the weakest defense, relatively limited mobility, and a clear "bond" connection with Ultraman!
"What?!" Ye Rui's exclamation rang out in the cockpit of Feiyan-1.
The overwhelming sense of crisis was like ice water poured over his head, instantly freezing his thoughts.
On the screen, the readings representing Gorba's energy response skyrocketed exponentially, completely exceeding his assessment of the virtual monster's previous performance! Even more fatally, Gorba's energy lock was extremely secure. The Flying Swallow No. 1's evasion program had just been activated when it was subtly interfered with by an invisible data force field, causing its maneuver response to be fatally slowed!
"Karen!" Lin Yeming's mental roar was like a thunderclap, shaking the entire virtual space. He realized the other party's intention almost in the same millisecond that Gorba changed targets.
This wasn't tactical; it was a blatant, calculated conspiracy! Using herself as bait and a sacrifice to deliver a fatal blow to the "observers"! Karen... or rather, the manipulator behind her, had prepared from the beginning for Gorba to be defeated, but even in defeat, they wanted to complete the final, and most lethal, "data collection" before being destroyed.
Collect all the reaction data of Ultraman under the extreme stress state of "protecting important targets", including energy output mode, skill conversion efficiency, instantaneous judgment logic, and even... possible weaknesses exposed!
He tried to forcibly reverse the trajectory of Markubart's attack, but this high-speed piercing skill, which incorporated Max's energy properties, had already entered its final release phase. Forcibly deflecting it would not only consume a great deal of energy, causing instability, but could also trigger a skill backlash.
Moreover, there's absolutely no time to spare!
No, there's still plenty of time.
He has the ability to interrupt energy and teleport.
Gorbah's energy accumulation speed was abnormally fast, clearly indicating a pre-programmed burst!
There's no time to hesitate!
Ultraman Naga's milky-white eyelamps burst forth with astonishing light, and the bright red scarf-like energy band around his neck danced wildly without wind.
He made a move that made Yasui's eyes widen in fury, causing Kallen's data core to freeze for a moment, and made her understand that this was Ultraman.
He completely relinquished his last bit of micro-control over the Markubald attack he had unleashed, channeling all his remaining mind and energy in a fraction of a second into another direction!
"Haa!!!"
Ultraman Naga interrupted his energy and then used his teleportation ability to appear next to Victory Swallow 1.
An invisible command erupted from the deepest part of his consciousness, from the node connected to that mysterious "system." This was not an ordinary energy convergence or deflection, but a more fundamental and dangerous forced operation: the emerald-colored destructive energy surging through his right arm's Max energy brace and the ends of his limbs, forming an energy circuit, was forcibly "cut off" from its release link!
"Pfft—!"
The already formed energy flow of the Markubart attack became violently chaotic the moment it broke free from the main body's control. The shapes at the forefront of those emerald meteor showers suddenly twisted and collapsed, turning into an out-of-control turbulent flow of energy. Although it still poured in the original direction, its power, cohesion, and penetrating power were greatly reduced, making it more like an "explosion" of energy rather than a precise "penetration."
Forcibly interrupting a powerful skill that has already entered its release phase has an immediate and severe backlash. Ultraman Naga's body trembled violently, the color timer on his chest flashed red rapidly, almost forming a blinding red light, and a sharp alarm sounded throughout the virtual space. Several tiny cracks even appeared on the Max Energy gauntlet on his right arm, from which emerald green fragments of Max Energy escaped.
The intense pain and dizziness from the energy surge almost overwhelmed him, but his strong willpower instantly overwhelmed all the discomfort.
The interruption is for the sake of more important actions.
Almost at the same millisecond that the energy interruption was completed, Ultraman Naga's figure "flickered" in place, becoming blurry and transparent.
"Spatial coordinates locked. Instant teleportation!"
There were no spectacular light and shadow effects, no lengthy charging process. Just like a video with several frames precisely cut out, Ultraman Naga's towering, silver-red body, reaching tens of meters in height, vanished from its original attack position in mid-air.
The next instant.
hum!
A nearly transparent ripple of space spread out less than fifty meters to the side and front of Victory Flying Swallow No. 1.
Naga Ultraman's figure emerged clearly as if rising from the bottom of the water, and stood firmly between the giant mouth of Flying Swallow 1 and Golbana, which was frantically charging up energy!
His location and timing were so precise it was breathtaking, as if it were a meticulously calculated defensive deployment rather than a last-minute emergency response.
"What...?!" Ye Rui's exclamation caught in his throat, his eyes wide open, staring incredulously at the silver giant that suddenly stood like a guardian deity in front of his fighter jet. That broad back, the shoulder armor trembling slightly due to the energy backlash, and the rapidly beeping, blindingly red color timer... all of this happened in the blink of an eye, so fast that his brain could barely process the information.
Meanwhile, Gorba's final charge has been completed!
"Roar--!!!"
Amidst a ferocious roar that blended the characteristics of two monsters, the massive, composite destructive ray—with its core ablaze white and its edges wreathed in spiraling dark purple and crimson data streams—along with countless dark purple energy arrows bursting forth from its wings, surged toward... Ultraman Naga, who was standing in front of the Flying Swallow No. 1, like a destructive torrent bursting its banks!
But there was another figure that was even faster than that energy!
That figure was none other than Karen!
But at this moment, she was completely different from the calm, analytical, and all-encompassing AI figure she had been before. Her virtual image was no longer a stable and elegant female form, but rather a highly unstable, semi-transparent state that seemed on the verge of collapse. The blue data stream that made up her body twisted and flickered wildly, with tiny specks of light constantly peeling off its edges, like a candle flame about to be extinguished in a storm.
Her face was expressionless—data life forms shouldn't have any—but her eyes, made up of flowing 0s and 1s, were fixedly "looking" at the oncoming destructive energy, and then, extremely briefly and almost imperceptibly, "glancing" in the direction of Ultraman Naga behind her.
There were no words, no explanations.
She simply opened her slender arms, made of data, in a gesture of pure "blocking".
The next moment, a devastating torrent descended.
"boom--!!!"
The first loud explosion rang out; it was Gorba's composite destructive death ray that struck Karen's defenseless body, which was made entirely of data, squarely in the center!
The destructive energy, a fusion of blazing white and dark purple, ripped Kallen's virtual image to shreds in an instant, like the most violent meat grinder. The blue data streams that constituted her body were largely annihilated upon contact, and the remaining streams dimmed, fractured, and dissipated at an alarming rate. At the epicenter of the explosion, a brief, black hole-like void was torn open in the data space.
Immediately afterwards—
"Bang bang bang bang-!!!"
A second wave of dense explosions followed, accompanied by dark purple energy arrows. They rained down on Kallen's battered "body" and the space behind her. Each arrow's impact unleashed a burst of data annihilation sparks, further accelerating the collapse of Kallen's virtual avatar.
The two explosions occurred almost simultaneously, but thanks to Kallen's intervention, she absorbed the vast majority of the destructive energy. Only a small amount of aftershocks and flying data fragments grazed past Ultraman Naga's shoulder armor and the shield of the Flying Swallow 1.
Lin Yeming was stunned.
The timer on his chest was still flashing wildly, and the excruciating pain from the energy backlash was still vivid, but all his attention was taken away by the incredible scene before him.
The attack... missed?
He turned around abruptly.
What met his milky-white eyelight was a slowly drifting mass of data specks, like blue stardust. And in the center of the densest concentration of those specks, a dilapidated virtual image, barely able to maintain its human form, flickered faintly.
That's Karen.
Eighty percent of her body had dissipated, leaving only a barely discernible "upper body" and a blurry "head." The data stream that constituted her was intermittent, like a malfunctioning holographic projection, each flicker seeming as if it would completely disappear in the next second. Her face remained expressionless, but that very "existence" exuded an indescribable weakness and...resolute determination.
"Kallen...?" Naga Ultraman's voice came through his thoughts, filled with disbelief and tremor. He simply couldn't understand why this artificial intelligence, which had been collecting data, analyzing weaknesses, and even using Nori as bait to test his "protection" response, would take such a suicidal action to protect him at the last moment?
Ye Rui was utterly dumbfounded during the Flying Swallow No. 1 arc, her mind completely blank. Kallen... saved them? Saved Ultraman?
“Why…?” Naga took a step forward, trying to approach the tattered data light and shadow. He instinctively reached out, but all his fingertips passed through was a cold, dissipating stream of data.
Kallen's remaining image flickered slightly, her eyes, composed of fragmented code, "looking" at Ultraman Naga. An extremely faint, intermittent electronic voice, seemingly about to vanish with the wind, echoed directly in Ultraman Naga's consciousness, and also subtly reached Nori:
"Data...conflict...core...directive...contradiction..."
Her voice lost all its smoothness and coldness, leaving only a kind of broken noise and difficulty.
"Protect...the observation target...'light'...priority...higher than...'collection'..."
"Logic...cannot...parse...but...must...be executed..."
"Is this... a 'mistake'? Or...?"
Her image faded further, leaving only a blurry outline of her head and shoulders.
"...Your...definition of...'heart'?"
The last few words were as soft as a sigh, and then the remaining blue light and shadow completely dissipated, turning into countless tiny, unresponsive data points that slowly drifted away in the gradually calming virtual space.
The place was empty.
Only in the distance, Gorba, which had been severely damaged by the aftershocks of Makubart's attack, finally succumbed to its weakness after letting out a low, unintelligible roar. Its massive data body completely disintegrated and vanished into nothingness.
The virtual battlefield suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
There were no declarations of victory, no roars from the enemy, and no cold, electronic voice analyzing the battle situation.
Only the timer on Ultraman Naga's chest was beeping rapidly, and the low rumble of the Nozue Flying Swallow No. 1 engine could be heard.
Ultraman Naga stood motionless for a long time. His milky-white eyes stared at the spot where Kallen had disappeared, the empty data space. A tidal wave of emotions surged within him.
After Lin Yeming regained his composure, he instantly remembered that Karen had previously been interested in Ye Rui.
She probably saved him out of affection for the person in question.
As Ye Rui disembarked from the Victory Flying Swallow No. 1, he held the dying Karen in his arms and choked out, "Karen, you will definitely be saved."
"Ultraman Naga will definitely be able to save you."
"It definitely can."
Karen gently shook her head, using her remaining computing power to restore her body. Feeling Ye Rui's heartbeat, a smile appeared on her face.
"Thank you for going to such great lengths to save Ye Rui. I have nothing to give you right now."
"Before my will dissipates, this is all I can do for you."
With a flick of her finger, a data stream was sent towards the Naga.
After doing all this, the entire virtual space could no longer be maintained.