The Company employee opened it.
Inside, there was only a single video file. The moment it was accessed, it began to play automatically.
After a brief, calm intro and a cut…
"In that prophesied future, a mysterious horn has sounded. One Lord Ravager shall have their wish fulfilled, while one Aeon shall fall into silence…"
The original perspective of the Xianzhou Alliance had been deliberately edited out, and any mentions of the Astral Express were scrubbed clean.
This re-edited video was now playing before the eyes of the investigator.
'This feels really bad…'
Watching the progress bar march steadily forward, a deeply unsettling premonition bloomed in their heart.
Coming right after that first video about the Aeons—whose credibility had already been proven—this second video immediately pointed its finger at a Lord Ravager?
Even with her P44 clearance, this wasn't something she should be seeing first.
And what was she looking at?
A prophesied future… where Irontomb would destroy the Aeon of Erudition?
And all those previously recorded disturbances attributed to Irontomb… were they merely side effects of its gestation?
Compared to the Xianzhou Alliance, the Interastral Peace Corporation clearly knew more about the Lord Ravagers.
Add to that the civil war among the Ravagers centuries ago, and the strange case of the second Celenova, the Corporation had spent considerable effort probing the existence of these Destroyers.
Because of that…
She could actually recognize several Ravagers in the video—their appearances matched the profiles the Corporation had confirmed!
Except for Phantylia.
But Phantylia was a Heliobus, after all. Her form was inherently mutable, and the aura she projected couldn't be faked.
"Just who is this 'Sparkle' account…? And what's the purpose of making all this?"
She never expected a simple diplomatic exchange mission to land her in such a mess.
Then again…
At least it was better than having to face the Masked Fools' Idol, or Aha directly.
And so…
Information concerning the Lord Ravagers was once again delivered to the upper echelons of the Interastral Peace Corporation.
The bigshots, all P47 and above, who had just wrapped up a meeting not long ago, were once again gathered together.
This time, however, the atmosphere was decidedly less relaxed than before.
The footage of the Aeons was awe-inspiring, sure, but life had to go on. They were more concerned about the identity of whoever was capable of producing such material.
But the Lord Ravagers were a different matter entirely.
After lying low for years, Celenova had reappeared, acting like a completely different entity.
She'd taken to hurling Stellarons across the universe, clogging up who-knows-how many star rails, severely disrupting the IPC's profit-making ventures.
Even with the Galaxy Rangers on her tail, Celenova's clones remained elusive and unpredictable.
And the star of this video, Irontomb, was even more alarming.
This entity focused its attacks on any and all technological creations.
If the tragedies so far were merely caused during its incubation period…
Then if this thing were truly born… even the Synesthesia Beacons might fail overnight.
No one could guarantee such a thing wouldn't happen.
After careful analysis, everyone's attention converged on two elements from the footage:
The image representing the infinity symbol, and the oddly-shaped Intellitron at the end.
"If even we can't find a matching location for this world in our databases, then either it hasn't been born yet, or we'll have to ask the Intelligentsia Guild for help."
"Then make contact swiftly. If we can actually find some clues, then—"
"I know, save the speech. Other Ravagers we might tolerate, but Irontomb? It cannot be allowed to exist! We must kill it utterly, before it ever hatches!"
Compared to other Ravagers, Irontomb—capable of directly crippling technology—was clearly far more threatening to the Corporation.
If that happened, the Corporation's military edge over other factions would be erased.
Such a thing was obviously unacceptable.
Elsewhere, aboard a starship, a certain 'Sparkle' was hunched over, meticulously working on a crystal.
Another Sparkle, propping her chin in her hands, watched curiously.
"By my count, the Corp folks should have seen the video you left by now, right?"
"Mhm. It's already been viewed."
"You're so weird. You don't broadcast it publicly, but you still make sure the Corporation sees it."
"Because the Corporation will never allow Irontomb to exist. They will search for it in earnest."
"And so? You're targeting Irontomb?"
"Do you like it or something? If it's born, you won't have any ships left to zip around the universe looking for fun."
"That would be annoying. But what I mean is, why don't you just openly rally forces?"
Sparkle rested her chin on her hand, looking at her other self.
She still didn't know this double's true origins, but her capabilities were undoubtedly formidable.
If she wanted to, it felt like she could probably raise a massive coalition army for a crusade.
"Of course not. I'm just one person. Why would I do such a thankless task? Besides, I can't even find the place."
'Sparkle' chuckled.
A lone individual like her couldn't match the efficiency of an organization the size of the IPC.
That's why she deliberately hid the parts about the Astral Express—to prevent the Corporation from slacking off, waiting for the Express to handle it.
You're a galactic giant. Get to work and do your job properly!
--+--
The ship smoothly arrived in the star system where Aeragan-Epharshel was located.
The intel from their investigation held true.
This was a world that hadn't yet developed the capability for interstellar travel.
Aeragan-Epharshel's orbital space was docked with logistics fleets belonging solely to the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Their firepower configuration wasn't particularly high.
But against a single world like this, it was more than sufficient.
The moment their ship exited the star rail and completed its jump, it was promptly detected by the Corporation.
Sparkle glanced at the "Do Not Approach" notification from the IPC, then grinned mischievously at a fist-sized, amber-hued crystal in her hand.
"You made this so convincing! I feel like I could actually use Preservation's power."
"Of course. Did you think I was joking?"
'Sparkle' gave a light laugh, toying with another crystal in her own hand.
She'd just specially contacted Screwllum to have those History Fictionologists—who had grown for another few centuries—brought over to craft these.
The power of the Giants of Light already contained strands of Preservation's philosophy.
With the History Fictionologists' help, replicating a power similar to the Cornerstones of the Ten Stonehearts was child's play.
Those Historians were still inside her ring right now.
She'd need to borrow their power for this little performance.
"Feel free to use it as you wish. I'll sneak this one down to Aeragan-Epharshel to set things up. As for here…"
"Hehe~ Leave this side to me! Don't worry, I'll record everything nicely for you to see later."
Sparkle giggled, tapping her wrist. The little device's functions were even more comprehensive than she'd imagined. The more she used it, the more she liked it.
'Sparkle' nodded in response.
Truth be told, she was quite curious to see how the original Sparkle would manage to fool that Oswaldo fellow.
Even if Sparkle made it sound like such people were easy to trick, if Oswaldo were truly an idiot, he'd never have climbed to the position of Director of the Market Development Department in the future.
It's just…
Setting the stage on Aeragan-Epharshel required 'Sparkle's' personal touch.
Otherwise, the whole show wouldn't play out right.
--+--