Chapter 21: Your Radiance, My Radiance—Why Are They Not the Same?

"I'm currently in my hometown in Chiba Prefecture. Did something happen?" asked Meng during the call.

"A new invader has appeared. Find an open space—I'll come pick you up right away," Director Tsuji replied before abruptly ending the call.

Seeing his urgency, Meng felt a wave of dread rising in his heart.

Beside him, Qiao Zhe already understood what was happening.

In the scene he witnessed, in just an instant, the city center was reduced to collapsing sand! Parents strolling with their children, busy office workers, elderly men basking in the sun beneath trees, people driving on the roads, and those in tall buildings—all were caught off guard, turning into heaps of sand in the blink of an eye.

Above the city floated a gigantic, transparent, jellyfish-like creature, drifting through the sky.

It was the Hyperspace Wave Monster, Mezzard!

This monster had two forms; its current jellyfish form was the "wave lifeform" state. In this state, Mezzard moved via discontinuous quantum fluctuations, traversing space itself. It existed simultaneously in multiple locations, but in each, only a phantom of its true body could be observed, rendering any attack futile.

Worse still, Mezzard, in this state, could send out special vibrations that caused matter to disintegrate at the molecular level.

As its phantoms flickered, shifting locations and reappearing, building after building turned to sand, their inhabitants perishing silently within. These were no mere models as seen in special effects shows—Mezzard's assault was instant and deadly, claiming countless lives.

Gas lines and other facilities exploded with thunderous roars! The deafening sound sent people fleeing in terror from the affected areas.

"What happened? Is it an earthquake?"

"Run! Run for your lives!"

The crowds surged away from the disaster zone. Fortunately, since the first monster invasions, the authorities had regularly conducted evacuation drills in anticipation of these "Doom Summoner" incursions.

Most people, though panicked and screaming, managed to maintain some order as they retreated. No one foolish enough remained behind—faced with a real crisis, survival instincts took over.

Of course, some were likely paralyzed by fear.

However, the police and the Land Special Forces responded swiftly, evacuating masses of people from danger.

But those caught in Mezzard's initial attack—everyone and everything in those buildings—had already been reduced to sand, drifting down to the ground. Perhaps among them were someone's husband, someone's child, a friend or relative—now to live on only in memory.

Those who survived, having lost all that was once warm and familiar, suffered all the more. Homes destroyed, families torn apart.

Witnessing this, Qiao Zhe felt a storm of frustration rise within him. The last time he'd seen such devastation was during the Primordial Alien Beast's rampage.

On his wrist, the blue sapphire transformation device's red Y-shaped emblem pulsed like a beating heart.

"Don't be rash! Even if I transformed now, my attacks wouldn't reach it!" he reminded himself, forcing his emotions down and thinking rapidly.

The old mystic was still in his Nexter state, deep in slumber; they couldn't always rely on him.

Qiao Zhe glanced at Meng, who seemed about to speak.

Qiao Zhe spoke first. "Meng, the invader this time is the Hyperspace Monster Mezzard!"

"What? Mezzard?" Meng, who had been about to report the invader, froze in surprise.

Wait, how did he already know so much?

Meng hadn't hidden his earlier video call with Director Tsuji from Qiao Zhe, but he hadn't expected Qiao Zhe to already know the monster's name before he even spoke.

"It's a function of the sapphire device," Qiao Zhe explained, raising his wrist. "It allows me to locate the monster and see what's happening in the affected areas."

Meng blinked in confusion.

Looking at Qiao Zhe's transformation device, Meng couldn't help but think of his own sapphire drill. Compared to Qiao Zhe’s, his seemed utterly ordinary, and resentment bubbled up.

Why? We both received Earth's power—why do you have so many features?

He recalled moments ago when Qiao Zhe’s device could vanish or appear at will, stirring envy in his heart.

"Why doesn’t mine have these functions?" he muttered inwardly.

As Meng pondered this, Qiao Zhe continued, "Mezzard is currently using discontinuous quantum movement to exist in multiple places at once! What we see are only its phantoms. We need a special device to break this state and force its true body to appear!"

Qiao Zhe’s expression grew solemn. "Meng, can you do it?"

Hearing his description, Meng set aside his feelings.

"Microscopic properties within the realm of physics, hmm."

As a genius scientist, Meng immediately grasped the situation from Qiao Zhe’s explanation, though he needed more details to devise a solution.

He activated his communicator and connected to the XIG main base. "Atsuko, please send me footage from the affected areas."

"Meng, can you analyze it?" asked Staff Officer Chiba.

In the XIG airbase command room, Meng’s video feed appeared on the main screen, Qiao Zhe half-visible beside him.

"I should be able to," Meng replied, frowning as he watched the footage Atsuko transmitted. "This thing really is a wave lifeform."

On screen, three Thunder Squadron fighters fired heat-seeking missiles at Mezzard.

But their attacks passed right through its body, inflicting no harm.

Explosions thundered on the ground as the missiles struck.

Mezzard’s transparent, jellyfish-like body vanished from one spot, only to reappear elsewhere.

"Commander, our attacks are useless in this state. We must revise our strategy!"

Having observed Mezzard’s movements, Meng now had an idea.

"Understood," Commander Ishimuro agreed without hesitation. "Recall Thunder Squadron to base!"

"Roger!" Atsuko replied, relaying the order through the comms.

Chiba, seeing Ishimuro so readily adopting Meng's plan, couldn't help but caution him. "Commander, isn't this a bit hasty?"

"Meng is a professional researcher," Ishimuro replied, his gaze steady on Meng’s image. "We should have faith in him."

Meng was deeply moved by the trust. "I won’t let you down, Commander!"

"Director Tsuji has arrived—I'll be right back!"

With that, Meng hung up the video call, but as he lowered his communicator, the camera briefly tilted downward.

On the main screen, Meng's hand covered the lens, and Qiao Zhe’s arm came into view—his wrist, in that moment, empty.