“Quite an interesting trick you have,” Ciel said. “A vision hampering field that is impossible to breach from the inside, filled with uniquely brewed strains of alcohol to impair even Nuan. I presume you use this trick to remove a troublesome element from battle many times.”

Decimo paused. He knew something was up.

“It is an honor to receive commendation from the great Unity Lord,” Decimo said. “Sadly, this will not save you.”

“I doubt it,” Ciel said. “Nothing in this world is foolproof. This dome is likely a type of ancient, reusable artifact. I don’t know how you created it, but it must have restrictions. The fact that Nuan survived is the biggest proof.” The silver helmet of the EXOS: DURANDAL looked up. “I guess there must be a time limit.”

Decimo knew there was no point in confirming that Ciel was right. That piece of information will be self-evident. Yes, this artifact—the Lightless Wine Cellar—had a time limit of roughly five to ten minutes, depending on how much damage it receives from the entrapped targets. Another weak point was that it was limited to only a once-deployment rate. Yet, that was nothing compared to the greatest limitation: Decimo himself.

Yes, Decimo was strong. Anyone who walked to the top-tier fighter who could decimate a small army on a bad day couldn’t be weak. However, that didn’t change the fact that Decimo couldn’t finish Nuan off with that advantage. Had anyone else above him used the Lightless Wine Cellar, history would be much different.

Alas, Decimo was the only choice to wield this artifact for a simple reason—he was the only thing in the Blackwing immune to an artifact that affected everything indiscriminately.

“I will take your silence as a confirmation,” Ciel continued. “Not that it really matters.”

“Matter?” said Decimo. “Are you aware you have been completely cut from your allies with no prospect of reinforcement?"

Ciel almost felt sorry for Decimo. “I have to say two things. First, they will do just fine without me around. Second, you are wrong.”

The silver armor lifted its hand to the silver helmet and activated the mechanism to take it off. The metal plating fashioned into a face slid along its pre-determine path to reveal... nothing.

Decimo was astounded by the headless armor.

“As you can see..."

…

“This armor is being remote control,” Ciel said into the MATRIX auxiliary module he made for this situation. “I am sorry, but I was never there on the battlefield.”

…

THEATRE MATRIX

Rank Unique

Function

• Remote Operation

• Long-range Ether Sensory Relay

• Identification Jamming Shroud

Awakening: Personality Cloning

…

THEATRE MATRIX was a piece of glassware rigged to a long-range remote control system that could operate any EXOS from virtually anywhere thanks to the Personality Cloning option. Instead of actual on-keyboard control, the MATRIX made a replica of Ciel’s personality and synchronized it with the main body through the Ether Sensory Relay.

With his [Calculative] skill, Ciel multitasked, controlling the remote-control armor while accomplishing his true mission from the safety of the Harriet House nestled in his alternate dimension.

Mission, such as trying to deduce how Decimo was controlling Neptunus’ curse and finding the counter for it.

Yes, taking out those Pirate Lords was indeed the title of this battle, but Ciel didn’t expect to succeed with the unknown variables flying around. Instead, he counted on more in-depth data collection to help make strategic breakthroughs.

It was why he and Caislean were compiling all the available data from the automatic drones he sent to survey the battle, while the others fighter acted as chaotic distracting gremlins.

As for Amy, she was up in the kitchen, making food to feed the entire army of the coming war. The girl invested in that job. She was so invested that she took some liberty to drag Caislean off to the kitchen to perfect certain 'surprises' upon receiving some inspiration.

…

Decimo didn’t take the revelation well. He tried not to show it to his face. Being a living ghost, it was a simple task to accomplish, but Ciel was smart enough to predict his emotions.

“Quite a shame; you made all this effort to remove me from the equation and only succeeded in removing yourself,” Ciel said. “You have the right call. Getting rid of me is the right move; hence, it is why I don’t bother to attend as a bullseye.”

Decimo chuckled dryly. “I want to believe I have been treating you seriously, but it appears I am still underestimating you.”

“Even now you are still underestimating me,” Ciel said, activating his countermeasure. “Do you think this suit is only here as bait?”

The countermeasure came in the form of sound waves knocking on Decimo like the relentless ant-colony of jackhammers. The high-ranking member fell to his knees in a pain he experienced for the first time in his existence.

Through a mind-breaking migraine, Decimo gasped, "What?"

“Consequences,” answered the empty suit of armor. “You should have known I had asked Nuan for extensive details about you. You two might fight only once, but that is enough for her to hypothesize about what you are: a ghostly organism based on Aura. That is how you manage to exploit this artifact with almost no downside. The lack of a respiratory system and eyes makes you immune to every effect this field has.”

Decimo couldn’t do anything but gasp as the high-frequency sound waves danced to a tune of Scottish metal inside his hippocampus.

To no one but himself, Ciel continued to explain his countermeasure. Yes, it might be too grandiose, but I gave it to him.

“I don’t know how you become an Aura ghost, but the very fact we are having a conversation means you still have some sense left—namely hearing or echolocation. All that was needed to use that to incapacitate you was picking the right frequency, and then the lock-room and rebound noises did the rest. That is why I need to be here and exchange blows with you to pinpoint the number.”

Decimo attempted to get up, but his ‘vision’ blurred. No longer could he distinguish up or down.

The armor then delivered his sentence.

“I have a few more redundancies against you, but from what I see, only one will be enough. You have two choices: either survive until the timer runs out or die as I tune the amplitude. Trust me. The first option is luxury for your cooperation. Now…”

Ciel’s next sentence illustrated what he was here to do.

“Tell me about your boss; Sophia.”

….

As Decimo got duped and cornered by Ciel, Nuan was getting reacquainted with being on the losing side of a fight.

Nuan might hate how her raw power isolated her from the rest of humanity, but she was confident in her might. She never retreated from a battle. Yes, there were a few who managed to land hits on her, but Nuan always pulled through despite the overwhelming numbers.

But that was against a human opponent. The enemies fighting her this time have already left that realm.

The Dragon Maiden burst around the ship, circling and defending against attacks faster than normal eyes could see. Nuan didn’t even have time to catch her breath with the living ship attempting to tie up her feet with every opportunity it had. However, she wasn’t taking this lying down, retaliating and cutting up the troublesome vessel with several hundred slashes of the Aura Blade.

Yet, despite that, the ship remained intact enough to support her opponent.

Black Hand, the sea urchin, slammed down like a spiky meteor as Brine Eyes John’s weed cut off Nuan’s escape. In response, Nuan flipped over the wiry pirate and blasted the seaweed with Aura Sphere. The full power blow should have disintegrated Brines Eyes, but Black Hand blocked the attack.

The Aura-coated spikes interacted with the devastating sphere, forcibly poking holes in the delicate structure of the attack and exploding it prematurely.

The explosion tore apart the ship and blasted Nuan back to meet the waiting coral-cladded body of Pangdu. The monster sliced with a sword, aiming to end the fight with a gruesome trophy.

Nuan, not being generous enough to give her head, refuted the killing attack by rolling under the slice. Retaliating with renewed vigor and silent outrage at these morons' annoying teamwork, she attempted to deliver an upward kick supported by a razor-sharp Aura Blade.

Nuan failed. Lightning, courtesy of Rank 6 Red Magic, speared toward her. The superhuman reflex allowed Nuan to circumvent a direct hit, but a slight graze with the voltage still paralyzes her body for a second. It was a second long enough for Pangdu, joined by Chrysler from the ocean, to flank both her back and front with a slash of the blades.

Nuan spun her Mana, activating Mana Spiral with a grimace. She successfully blasted back the foes descending from her. Alas, the eldritch magical jellyfish creature didn’t plan to let this hard-won opportunity go to waste. With the surge of Red Mana, the creature lit up in the sky. A humongous, meteoric fireball hovered above the ocean. Its Mana pressure shoved Nuan to her knees.

The miniature sun dropped to the ocean, steaming the water surface and parting the cloud in a grandiose death sentence for the enemy.

It was only when the blazing sun seemed imminent that the spear of light pierced the orb of flames, pinning in the sky like the mass of apocalyptic flames was nothing but mere decoration.

Nuan couldn’t help but voice her complaint.

“Do I have to be dead before you move?” Nuan yelled.

From the sky, a woman clad in a shining coat draped over the white armor descended. Her platinum-blond hair shone with providence.

“Don’t blame me,” said Xia, brandishing her blade. “I originally believed you had this in the bag. Moreover, my priority is to protect the data collection process.”

Nuan groaned, “Is it over?”

“Yes,” Xia confirmed, swinging her sword and unleashing such a wave of power that the ocean roiled. “Get a hold on something; I am dropping down full-force.”