The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy-Chapter 485: The Heavens Shall Fall (XXVI)

Five weeks later...

One week until the invasion.

Christina was waiting for me at the entrance to the research wing, a tablet in one hand and her hair pulled back in the casual style she wore when she was working.

She looked up when I approached and smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

Stress.

She’d been running on minimal sleep for the past two weeks, coordinating final preparations across all departments simultaneously.

I could see it in the way she held herself.

"You’re on time," she raised an eyebrow in actual surprise.

"You told me this was important."

"It is." She turned and started walking, and I fell into step beside her.

"We’ve made significant progress on three of the primary systems. They’re ready for field testing, which means they’re ready for you to test them."

"What changed?"

"The counter-resonance weapon had a breakthrough. The research team figured out how to extend the operational duration from forty seconds to three minutes without increasing the power requirements."

That got my attention.

"Three minutes?"

"Three minutes of sustained counter-resonance output at full intensity. That changes the tactical applications significantly." She glanced at me.

"It also means we need live testing against a high-ranking divine target to verify the effect scales properly."

"And you want me to be the target, huh?"

"You’re the highest-ranked god we have access to who won’t try to kill the research team if something goes wrong." She paused.

"Also, you heal faster than anyone else, so if there are unexpected side effects, you’ll survive them."

"Reassuring."

"I’m practical." She stopped at a security door and pressed her hand to the scanner. It opened with a soft hiss.

"The second system is the domain interference technology. It’s moved from theoretical to functional. The team successfully disrupted a test domain two days ago."

"Completely?"

"No. Two percent coherence deficit, exactly as predicted. But two percent was enough that the domain collapsed after sustained pressure."

She led me down a corridor lined with observation windows. Inside, I could see various teams working on equipment I recognized and some I didn’t.

"We’re testing it against progressively stronger domains to establish the upper limits. That’s where you come in again."

"You want me to form a domain while they try to disrupt it."

"Yes. Your domain is significantly more complex than anything we’ve tested against so far. If the interference technology works on you, it’ll work on anyone in the Primordial Court."

We reached the end of the corridor and entered a large chamber that had been converted into a testing facility.

The weapons development team was already there, along with several researchers I recognized from various departments.

In the center of the chamber sat the counter-resonance device.

It was larger than I’d expected, roughly the size of a person, with an array of focusing crystals arranged around a central power core that pulsed with contained divine energy.

Christina walked over to the lead researcher, a 7✯ goddess named Seren, who had been with the organization since the early days.

They spoke quietly for a moment, then Christina turned back to me.

"We’re ready whenever you are, but first, Seren will explain the testing protocol."

Seren stepped forward, tablet in hand.

"Lord Aestrea. Thank you for volunteering for this."

"I was volunteered," I corrected.

She smiled slightly.

"Yes, well. Christina is persuasive." She gestured to the device.

"The counter-resonance weapon works by analyzing your divine frequency signature and generating an opposing frequency that interferes with your authority output. The process requires approximately ten seconds of initial scanning to lock onto your specific signature, then maintains the disruption for the duration of the power supply."

"Three minutes."

"Correct. During that time, any attempt to use your authority will be disrupted. Not blocked, but completely disrupted. The energy will still be released, but it won’t be directed or controlled. It’ll essentially backfire."

"What are the risks?"

"To you? Minimal. Your authority output will be unreliable for three minutes, then return to normal once the device powers down. To the device? If your authority output is significantly stronger than our projections, you might overload the system and cause a catastrophic failure."

"Define catastrophic."

"The device explodes and takes out everything in a fifty-meter radius."

I looked at Christina.

She met my gaze calmly.

"The projections are solid. You won’t overload it."

"You’re certain?"

"I ran the calculations myself. Twice." She walked over to stand beside me. "But if you’re not comfortable with this, we can find another test subject."

"No. If this needs testing, I’m the correct choice." I turned back to Seren.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Stand in the center of the chamber. We’ll activate the device and begin the scanning sequence. Once we have your signature locked, I’ll signal you to attempt using your authority. Just don’t use your full strength initially, then escalate if the disruption holds."

"Understood."

I walked to the center of the chamber.

The research team moved to their positions behind reinforced barriers. Christina stayed in the observation area, her eyes on me through the transparent wall.

Seren’s voice came through a speaker.

"Activating device in three... two... one... now."

The counter-resonance weapon hummed to life.

The focusing crystals began to glow, and I felt something lock onto me. Like someone had taken hold of the fundamental frequency that defined my divine nature and was examining it.

It was invasive and deeply uncomfortable.

But surprisingly, not painful.

"Scanning complete," Seren announced. "Frequency signature locked. Beginning disruption sequence."

The hum changed pitch.

The crystals flared brighter.

And suddenly, my Karma Authority felt... wrong.

It wasn’t exactly... blocked, but it felt... unreliable, like trying to control a limb that was no longer receiving signals from my brain correctly.

"Lord Aestrea, please attempt a simple authority manifestation," Seren said.

I reached for my authority, trying to form a basic barrier in front of me.

The energy released.

But instead of forming a coherent barrier, it scattered, fragmenting into a dozen unstable pieces that sparked and dissolved almost immediately.

"Disruption confirmed," Seren said, her voice carrying clear satisfaction. "Attempting escalation."

I tried again, pushing more power into the manifestation.

The result was worse.

The energy was released chaotically, creating pressure waves that rippled outward before dissipating uselessly.

It was like trying to write with my non-dominant hand while blindfolded.

I could feel the energy moving, could sense what should happen, but the connection between intent and execution was severed.

"Excellent," Seren murmured.

"Lord Aestrea, please attempt your domain manifestation."

That was more concerning.

"[Domain of Silence]"

FWOOOOOOM!

The energy responded.

But when I tried to shape it, to impose the structure and rules that defined my domain, everything fragmented.

The space around me flickered, trying to shift into my domain configuration, then snapped back to normal reality.

I tried again, just to fail again.

It was deeply disorienting.

"Domain formation disrupted," Seren announced. "Counter-resonance is holding against high-tier authority output. Maintaining for the full duration of the test."

Three minutes had never felt longer.

I stood there, unable to trust my own power, feeling it respond to my will but refusing to cooperate in any meaningful way.

This was what we were going to do to the Primordial Court’s defenders.

Three minutes where their authority became their enemy instead of their weapon.

Finally, the device powered down.

The hum faded away, and the crystals dimmed.

And finally, my authority snapped back into proper alignment like a dislocated joint being set.

"Test complete," Seren stated in complete satisfaction. "All parameters nominal. The counter-resonance weapon is fully functional."

Christina was already moving toward me, crossing the chamber quickly.

"Are you alright?" she asked. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"I’m fine. That was deeply unpleasant."

"I know. But it works." She looked back at the device, then at me. "Three minutes of that against an 8✯ True God changes everything."

"It does."

"Good." She touched my arm briefly.

"Ready for the next test?"

I looked at her.

"There’s more?"

"Two more systems. Domain interference and the new containment arrays." She smiled slightly.

"I did say you were going to test everything."

"You did... but how is that Domain Interference different from what happened right now?" I asked curiously.

"Oh! This is against Domains that have already manifested, so yeah, it’s indeed a little different," Christina explained, grabbing my hand lightly.

"Come on then. The domain interference team is waiting in Testing Chamber Three."

...This is more amazing than I originally thought.

I didn’t expect Christina to actually have such a talent at managing organizations; after all, the only thing that I did was conquer bases and get tons of resources for them to work with.

I also gave them tons of ideas based on my past life knowledge, and they were able to create exactly what I intended.

...Phew.

I’m really thankful that I forgave Christina, because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to get such a great and strong organization in such a small amount of time.

...But yeah, next week... I’ll need to be extra careful.

Those fucking outer gods aren’t escaping me.