Nessa usually acted cold and collected, she didn't have a normal childhood, and her adult life was quite unusual, but... now she looked like a kid caught on a horror island.
'Holy shit... Plague Reaper did all this...? And Adam is fighting him right now? This is insane!' Nessa internally exclaimed, looking at the ground far below.
XH-01 flew hundreds of meters in seconds, passing through a genuinely vast area that was covered by black air for a long time.
Angel's Embrace protected her and XH-01, but there was nothing to be seen around, only darkness caused by the thick black air... On the ground, the situation looked even worse.
Dozens, no, more like hundreds of bird-like monsters, all of them had wings, whether they had feathers or webbing, it didn't matter because they were all dead.
They realized too late that the black air was not some strange weather phenomenon or trivial smoke. A few breaths during the fast flight caused many Light Yellow Monsters to collapse to the ground like dead birds.
None of the monsters were injured, they didn't fight, it was just a normal day for them as they spent hours flying through the vast sky to find their prey on the ground.
But... now they were all submerged in the cold ground, and their bodies were partially covered in thick dust.
Nessa gulped.
She didn't know if she could defeat several of these monsters if she had to fight them. She was confident in her strength, anyway, they were Light Yellow monsters.
And... they were all killed by the Top-1 Purple Threat Level.
What scared Nessa more than ever was that the Plague Reaper wasn't even here. It was just a consequence of strategically using one of his main abilities.
Nessa was wary, clenching her fists tightly. She realized that it wasn't the black air that frightened her, but how smart Plague Reaper was.
Not all humans would be able to prepare such a defense if they had the same abilities as Plague Reaper.
'Fine, if Adam had already lost, then I would have known about it. In that case, the father would have canceled the operation immediately, and Refesa would have deployed XH-01. If they haven't done that yet, then Adam is still alive, and fighting against Plague Reaper is possible.'
Nessa had become much stronger amidst the incident at Miracle Observatory. She had no trouble killing Snow Follow, a Top-9 monster, in an instant, but... she was still far inferior to Adam.
'Father said that I became stronger after my mind got used to the new abilities and my body adapted to the changes. But... will it be enough to fight against Plague Reaper? Will it be enough to approach Adam's level? I hope that bastard hasn't gotten any stronger... That couldn't happen, right?'
"Hey! Can you hear me?" Magnus shouted, about to walk over to the control panel and take charge of things himself.
Whooooooooooooosh.
Before he could do anything, Refesa's miniature foot crashed right between his legs, completely unrestrained in her strength.
No matter what Magnus was going to do a few seconds ago, the only thing he could think about now was the bright pain going through his entire body in active waves.
"Fuck... Sick bitch, what the hell are you doing?!" Magnus said furiously, gritting his teeth.
His face was red, veins swollen, and eyes wide open, staring at Refesa, who stood arrogantly in front of him.
"Calm down. I know you care about Nessa more than anything and would never put her life in danger, as I know how important she is to you." Refesa said calmly, her face was cold, devoid of any emotion.
Then, she slowly turned her head, looking at the screens.
"You sent Nessa to fight against the Plague Reaper, and I don't doubt your decision, as Nessa is your best work, a unique creature of our world."
Refesa returned to the control panel, sitting down in her chair with a serene look.
"I demand that you treat my designs with the same trust that I do. I am well aware of what the XH-01 is capable of, as I assembled this fighter with my own hands, creating a way to use the artifact to enhance the machinery."
"RAAAAGGGHH!!!"
Magnus wanted to say something, but Air Krukko's roar interrupted him.
At the same moment, Air Krukko crashed into XH-01 at full speed.
And...
As soon as the monster's body made contact with the protective blue barrier around the fighter, Air Krukko's exploded, scattering chunks of flesh and bone attached to the already lifeless feathers.
That scene would forever be etched in Nessa's mind. She had never seen technology capable of such power, it was hard to believe, but it was a reality she was a part of.