Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 147 - The Mannequin Goddess

Chapter 147 - The Mannequin Goddess

The skies above this alien planet looked unreal, almost like a painting gone wrong. Thick gray clouds churned restlessly, their edges flashing with streaks of crimson lightning that split the heavens in jagged patterns. Each rumble echoed like the growl of some ancient beast. Below us stretched a barren gray wasteland, broken only by countless knife-edged rocks and jagged mountains that clawed toward the sky.

We had flown several kilometers from the battlefield where Cthulhu still raged, and a heavy, undeniable feeling told us that the final battle drew near.

"Look, over there!" Myrrh's voice crackled sharply through the radio.

I turned toward her flight path, following her gaze, and then I saw it.
The Cosmic Tree.

It no longer resembled a sapling as it once had; now it stood fully grown, an impossible giant dominating the horizon. Its bark glistened in a dark, blood-like red, and its trunk sprawled across several square kilometers. Its leaves shimmered between deep red and burning yellow, as though the entire canopy had been set aflame. At its base, nestled against the massive roots, lay a gigantic woman curled into herself, her face hidden behind her arms as if shielding it from the world.

"Neil!" Fei's synthetic voice rang through the comms.

"Where?" I asked, scanning the massive scene.

"I can't see him yet, but I can feel him," Fei replied, her voice trembling slightly. "It's... like a faint tingling in the air. Almost like a red string of fate connecting us."

I groaned. "I'm a man of science. I don't believe in feng shui or that mystical nonsense. Give me something more concrete!"

"I can sense something inside that tree as well," Myrrh added, her tone carrying a strange tension. "It feels like an analog signal... almost identical to the resonance of the KAWAII rings."

I squinted toward the Cosmic Tree, my gaze tracing its blood-red bark and fiery canopy. "That's probably Neil's HUSBANDO abilities at work. He must be broadcasting some kind of SOS. What's our move?"

"We go save Neil and take down the tree! Isn't that why we came here?" Fei answered without hesitation.

"It's a reckless plan... but you're right," I admitted. "Just make sure we circle around. We don't want to wake up that creepy giant woman."

"Understood," Myrrh replied, angling her phoenix-shaped frame into a graceful leftward tilt, gliding in a wide arc around the Cosmic Tree.

As we drew within several hundred meters, I focused on the massive woman resting at the tree's base. Up close, her stillness wasn't absolute. She trembled faintly, as though chilled by an unseen wind. A slow, weary breath escaped her lips, followed by another. Then, a low, almost imperceptible sound, like quiet sobbing, reached my ears.

The sight sent an icy shiver down my spine. Relief only came when Myrrh guided us behind the colossal trunk, letting the vast bulk of the Cosmic Tree shield us from that unsettling figure.

I lifted my gaze, taking in the impossible sight above me. The Cosmic Tree loomed larger than ever, its colossal frame swelling with unnatural life. Its tallest branch now pierced the clouds, scratching at the very skin of the sky.

"Over there!" Fei's voice rang sharply in my ear.

I followed her direction to the center of the Cosmic Tree, where a faintly glowing orb pulsed in a steady rhythm, like the beat of a colossal heart. Within its soft crimson light, I could just make out the shadow of a humanoid figure suspended inside. My chest tightened. It had to be Neil.