?


    "[True Ice Magic: de Of Judgement]"


    No other word needed to be said.


    Nothing had to be uttered, and not one more statement was needed to fully express the nature of what was toe.


    From the very depths of the sky, something akin to a giant de emerged.


    It was pure white, with blue sigils glowing on the st surface of the de''s surface. The de glowed like pure metal, but it was simply made up of ice.


    True Ice.


    The descending de sliced through the clouds and parted the sky''s surface as it descended in a hum that caused a shattering vibration to permeate everything surrounding it.


    The Nether Beast was over a thousand meters, making him a towering entity that would make humans—whose average were not even up to two meters—seem even lesser than ants.


    Well, the de Of Judgement was nearly nine times as tall as the Nether Beast.


    That is… it was 9,000 Meters tall.


    ~WHOOOOOSSSSHHHHH!~


    Everything made way for its descent, and as its edge neared the pathetic creature that could only watch in horror as its end approached it, the Nether Beast could only silently ept its fate.


    So it fell… and it pierced.


    ~SQUELCH!~


    The single strike was enough to rip the entire creature''s body into a million pieces beforepletely crushing its form.


    Of course, Maria hadn''t forgotten about her promise to Ana, so she ensured the de Of Judgement was gentle in its approach.


    As such, afterpletely tearing the creature to shreds… everything about it froze.


    "Haa…" Misty breath escaped Maria''s lips as she closed her eyes and caused the still descending de to vanish before crashing upon the earth.


    She had never tried it before, but a de of that size interacting with the earth like that, especially from its initial height, would prove cataclysmic.


    But none of those irrelevant information mattered.


    Their opponent was defeated.


    "We won." Maria whispered, her face still exhibiting the same cold emotion she consistently showed throughout the fight.


    After all, even if they had defeated such a powerfull creature, it was a hollow victory.


    It was always a hollow victory.


    *****


    The aftermath of the fight was pretty simple. Ana was able to salvage the parts she wanted from the Nether Beast by sorting through its frozen gore.


    She took a lot of its fluids and other parts she considered ''relevent'' for her research.


    Once she was done, Serah used her Magic to eviscerate the remains of the creature,pletely removing any trace of its existence from the world.


    "All in a day''s work, I guess." Serah finally spoke to the crew, her smile spreading positively as her burning crimson eyes shed brilliantly.


    "We''re done investigating the rest of this zone, then. I suppose that''s fine." Ana muttered, sorting out the final piece of the Nether Beast into a special dimemsional that appeared like a gaping ck hole in front of her.


    Once she was done fitting thest piece of her experimental piece into her vial and storing it in her special space, she looked about ready to go.


    "Yeah." Maria simply muttered, and then, as if with an afterthought, she added. "Do you think we''ll be any closer to finding them?"


    The moment she said this, it felt like a hollow silence sudenly took over the entire space.


    Ana and Serah''s faces that once brimmed with optimism and excitement seemed to dull in almost an instant. Even Maria''s expressionless face had a hint of sadness in it, not that she could tell.


    "I… I am not sure. Based on the data and what we''ve gathered thus far, its not wise to assume—"


    "Well, there''s only one way to find out, yeah?" Serah cut Ana off before she could conclude her words.


    Her smile returned, and while it resembled the wide grin she had been disying all this time, it was clear to those who watched her that the confidence she now disyed was to cover up the true nature of the situation.


    No… perhaps her smile had always been for this purpose.


    "Let''s return to the base and ask Jane. She should be able to analyze the data and tell us." Serah finally concluded, and everyone else had no choice but to nod in response.


    Another round of silence permeated the environment, and all three women stared at each other for a brief moment.


    They had simr expressions on their faces, and it wasn''t difficult to tell what it was.


    However, before anyone could say or think anything else of the issue, the voice of Serah Crimson pierced the silence.


    "Bring us back."


    ~VWUUUUUSSHHH!~


    Just then, a swirling pool of energy washed upon them, instantly causing space itself to warp and all three of them to vanish from their position.


    This was the Remote Warp function, and it allowed them to map out them to map out the immediate system around them and navigate through it.


    As such, even if this wasn''t their homeworld, it was a ce they had arrived at using a Remote Warp. They had taken their due time to investigate this world for days—no, weeks—and the reward for all of that was an anticlimatic battle with a Nether Beast.


    None of the people they sought were here, and neither were there any obvious clues on how to find them.


    They could only hope that the one who developed this technology—Jane Urs—could map out more of their immediate system since they could navigate more of the world around them the more worlds they visited.


    This expedition would widen the scope of their expedition, and it could finally reveal a world where they could actually find the ones they lost.


    … Or the one who made caused the loss.


    As the Remote Warp brought Serah, Maria, and Ana back home, they silently contemted what this all meant for them.


    As well as how much longer they would have to continue this streak of despair.


    *


    *


    *


    [A/N]


    I hope you enjoyed the read.


    Hopefully, with one more chapter we can cut back to Jared and what''s going on with him.


    I wonder what exactly caused everyone to vanish too…