686 FAFO 2
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{That’s all,} Nova said as she finished updating Aron on the situation. It had taken only a few seconds for her to do so since she delivered just the bullet points, and Aron filled in the gaps himself.
“Thanks, keep updating me on any changes,” Aron said before looking down at the cocoon, which now appeared as intact as it had been from the beginning. It had fully healed and was no longer under attack from the ships, giving it a moment of respite.
He waited to see if the cocoon would react or shift its focus toward him, but even after a few moments, nothing happened.
{I think they're still maintaining it to imprison her and are planning to deal with you first before returning to handle her,} Nova hypothesized to Aron.
“I would have done the same if I were the one attacking us,” Aron agreed. He understood their strategy: imprisoning Rina would force him to fight while constantly worrying about her safety. This divided focus would make it easier for them to overwhelm him, allowing them to defeat him more quickly and with minimal damage before returning to deal with Rina, who, although hypothesised to be slightly weaker, might still pose a threat if he turned out to be more powerful.
“Then let’s mess with their plan,” Aron said, extending his hand toward the cocoon below. Shortly after, runic sentences appeared and activated, immediately forming a skin-tight shield around the cocoon. But he didn't stop there. With his extended hand, he shifted his focus from the outer shield to the runes that were still projecting active shields around Rina, Ayaka, and Lee, taking control of them as well.
The runes immediately had a few of their letters change. All three runic words projecting three different shields moved and joined, merging into a single rune. The new combined shield began growing while still in its passive mode, allowing anything to enter and leave freely as it expanded. It extended through Birch's palace until it reached the outer side of the palace walls.
Once there, the shield entered active mode, activated fully, enveloping the cocoon from the inside as well.
Aron then turned to Lee, pointing at Ayaka. “I need you to protect her while she heals anyone on the verge of death. Once they’re stabilized, they should be placed in a stasis pod for further treatment.” Lee nodded immediately, understanding the urgency of the task.
Turning to his wife, he added, “I need you to assist me if they try to attack other locations.”
With that, Aron deactivated the shield, ready to address the next phase of their plan.
As the shield deactivated, everyone inside immediately cast flying magic on themselves to stay airborne, except for Ayaka, who struggled with any magic other than life magic.
Despite her ability to heal herself, no one wanted to risk unnecessary harm. Nova, quick to act, ordered a nearby ship—Aron's personal vessel—to deploy its tractor beam, catching Ayaka before she could fall.
The tractor beam also latched onto the three tree folks and Rayyan, pulling them into the ship alongside Ayaka. The tree folks would use the ship as a base for communication, while Ayaka was to be provided with a newly created suit from the ship's atomic printer, ensuring her survival for the demanding tasks ahead.
Having completed his preparations, Aron turned towards his ship.
“Nova, connect me with all available government personnel who can assist with the situation,” he instructed.
{You are connected} Nova replied, linking Aron to the fleet he had brought, the exploration fleet’s military forces, the Proximian temporary government’s military, the Proximian police, the Proximian fire department, and all Proximians who had opted for magic training. Despite being awakeners, not all had chosen to learn magic, preferring to focus on their individual interests.
The live stream, now with eight billion viewers, was also set to broadcast his communications.
“I won’t beat around the bush. I need everyone to work together to resolve this situation swiftly and minimize damage,” Aron began, addressing all the targetted personnel, as usual, keeping to his word of not beating around the bush from the start.