"Wait, you mean there are two magic items generating the barrier? We have to destroy them both?"
"Is there any chance we could manage by only taking out one...?"
"Most likely not," Anhel replied, offering her technical perspective after hearing Raiha’s report. "If one was enough, there would have been no reason to split the power source. Destroying one might weaken the barrier’s intensity, but it won't shut the system down completely."
There were two targets. Unless both were neutralized, they couldn't even touch the [Finale]. As this reality sank in, a look of severe desperation began to cloud the faces of everyone present.
"If we have to split the team now, destroy both items, get back here, and then take out the [Finale]... we’re going to run out of time."
"Woz and Torin are almost certainly guarding those items. And there's no telling what else Abyss might have waiting for us..."
"It’s already been a while since Abyss announced the firing of the [Finale]. Moving out, fighting, destroying the generators, and then coming back to finish the weapon itself... forget time, we don't have enough magic power for all that."
Abyss had planned for this. He had used the [Finale] to draw their attention, successfully distracting them from the barrier-generating magic items that served as the weapon's true defense.
Melt and the others were left grappling with the situation, wondering if there was any way to salvage the mission, when Marcos turned to Anhel.
"Ann, do you have your communication device?"
"Hmm? Yeah. Why? What are you planning?"
"...There are three of those devices. Yugo has one, you have the second, and the last one... Fee has it. He should be evacuating with the other students right now."
"...!"
The members gathered here weren't enough to break the deadlock. They were short on time, short on magic, and short on hands.
In that case, they simply had to find enough people to make up the difference. Having found his answer, Marcos took the device from Anhel and spoke with a conviction meant for both his comrades and himself.
"From here on, this is an all-out war. We’re going to pull everyone together... and we are going to win!"
『Fee! Can you hear me, Fee!?』
"M—Marcos-san!? What’s happened?"
Fee was currently aboard the Sunlight, the sightseeing boat the security force had repurposed as an evacuation vessel. He jumped in surprise at the voice suddenly crackling from the device.
Hearing the boy’s reply, Marcos continued to shout urgently.
『I'm sorry, but I don't have time to explain the details! I need your help!』
"My help...? What am I supposed to do?"
『Anyone will do! I need to talk to anyone who can fight! Just find a way for them to hear my voice!』
"People who can fight? But—!"
Fee looked around frantically. Only his fellow Elementary Division children were nearby. The teachers were all busy coordinating the evacuation elsewhere on the ship, and there was no telling where the security force members were stationed.
Fee’s heart raced as he wondered how he could possibly find combatants in this chaos, but Yui, who had been listening in, spoke up.
"Fee! The communication room! If we use the ship's radio, everyone on board and in the surrounding area will be able to hear him!"
"Oh—right! That’s it!"
With the problem solved so simply, Fee scrambled to his feet and bolted out of the room where the younger students were gathered.
Having been on this ship once before, he had a decent grasp of the layout. He knew exactly where the communication room was. However, the corridors were packed with fleeing island residents, making it nearly impossible to move.
"Whoa! Dammit...! I have to hurry...!"
"Hey! You there! Stop that! You can't just go running around!"
Fee tried to weave through the crowd, but his small frame was no match for the press of bodies. Worse, an evacuee grabbed him, slowing him down even further.
"Please, let me through! I have to get to the communication room!"
"Look, it's dangerous right now! Don't be selfish. Go back to the room with your friends—"
The passenger, assuming Fee was just a scared child trying to flee the cramped quarters, tried to haul him back. But a massive hand, extending from an arm as thick as a log, reached out and stopped the man.
"C—Crewman? What are you doing?"
"Kid... you're that student's younger brother, aren't you? The one who helped stop the sea-jack incident?"
"!"
The crewman, remembering the crisis that had previously struck the vessel, looked down at Fee.
Thanking whatever luck had brought this man to him, Fee hurriedly explained the situation.
"My brother and the others are fighting in the castle right now! I have to make sure everyone hears this message, so—!"
"...I see. I've got the gist. You need to get to the comms room, right?"
Fee nodded so hard it looked like his head might fly off.
The brawny crewman turned and bellowed to his colleagues nearby.
"Everyone! Clear a path! We're getting this kid to the communication room!"
As if on cue, the crewmen scattered throughout the area began enlisting the evacuees to part the sea of people. While the passengers looked on in confusion, the crewman turned back to Fee.
"Go on. And hey... we were saved by your courage back then, too. Thank you."
"Th—Thank you so much! You're a lifesaver!"
Fee gave a quick shout of thanks to the crewmen who stood at attention to see him off, then sprinted through the newly opened lane.
He reached the communication room, worked the controls, and set the ship-wide broadcast to maximum volume. Then, he shouted into the device.
"I'm ready! Marcos-san, go ahead!"
『Good work, Fee!』
Marcos praised him from the other end. Then, after a brief, steadying clear of his throat, he began to address every soul on the island.