Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2838: Bolas Supernova

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Three Mischief Encampment

The bolas have been a deceptively simple yet ingenious hunting tool—weights tied to cords that, when thrown, spin through the air and wrap around an animal’s legs, tripping it in an instant. It’s essentially physics turned into a self-wrapping lasso.

Corey’s Bolas Supernova was modeled after that principle. An improvised variation of her Supernova, it was devised by Park, drawing on her childhood experience as a hunter, with a touch of refinement from Princess Corey Stuart’s knowledge of wichcraft—or astrophysics, to be more accurate.

Here, the three suns acted as the weights, while their interlocking magnetic fields served as the cords binding them together. As those fields latched onto the target, they tightened and wrapped around it, constricting its movement. The orbital motion of the suns ensured that the binding force continuously adjusted, keeping the target trapped until the three suns were pulled into a forced convergence. Upon collision, they detonated in a combined supernova, producing a far more concentrated and destructive blast than a regular supernova.

What made this technique particularly effective was the rotational dynamics. The rapid spin of the three suns, both around their own axes and around the target, amplified the local temporal distortion. This ’time drag’ intensified the interaction window, effectively slowing the target’s ability to react while accelerating the buildup to detonation, making the attack harder to evade than a conventional supernova.

The true ingenuity lay in Corey’s decision to increase the number of suns rather than their size. Enlarging a single sun would have exponentially increased the difficulty of control, risking instability and backlash. By distributing the energy across multiple smaller bodies, she maintained precision and stability while still achieving a greater cumulative effect. It was a safer, more controlled approach—one that didn’t gamble her plan on something that could just as easily turn against her.

Not waiting to see whether her attack landed, Corey grabbed the Field Marshal and dragged her into the void to take cover. But in that fraction of a microsecond, she caught something unexpected—Sandalphon’s ability had allowed Konjur to use his faith to dissolve her attack.

The shock hit her hard. Corey barely lingered in the void before rushing back out, determined to find out what the hell had just happened.

"What just happened?" she blurted, turning to the Field Marshal for answers, knowing the latter’s starry eyes could perceive far more than her own.

"Isn’t it obvious? Not all the faith Konjur has gathered comes from desperate prayers for salvation or guidance. Some of it is genuine devotion—people praying for the well-being of the very beings they worship as gods. When Konjur was in mortal danger, that portion of faith was interpreted by the Sandalphon and converted into protection.

"Which means the Sandalphon’s ability isn’t something it consciously controls—it simply responds to the nature of the faith it processes. That makes this far more complicated than you made it out to be.

"No wonder Konjur didn’t immediately retreat at the sight of the Sandalphon. Also, it has to be why Peyote doesn’t rely on Sandalphon to land decisive blows and instead plays along with this battle of attrition. With abilities like these in play, we can’t fully predict how things will unfold. It’s getting harder to tell what either of them is really planning."

The Field Marshal realized Corey’s confidence wasn’t born from understanding the situation, but from not understanding it enough.

The less you know, the easier it is to feel certain. The more you learn, the more questions begin to surface. Those with limited knowledge often overestimate themselves, blind to what they’re missing. Meanwhile, those with real experience hesitate more, precisely because they grasp how complex things truly are.

"Wyatt would figure it out, so we should too. I’m Corey Bright of the brightest generation, and you’re Field Marshal Lorn—the strongest, unparalleled descendant alive. Look closer. There has to be something we’re missing."

The Field Marshal stared at Corey in disbelief, a creeping suspicion taking hold that the girl might actually be smoking her own vapor venom. At this point, it was the only explanation that made any sense.

"Corey, we’ve been spotted. We need to retreat."

"No—look at the pattern of Sandalphon’s attacks. It’s guiding us, pushing us to keep targeting Konjur. Cover me. I’m going to rain Bolas Supernovas on him—"

"No." The Field Marshal cut her off with a firm and unyielding stare. "We don’t understand the laws governing Sandalphon’s abilities. What if this is bait? What if it’s using Konjur to draw us in? You said it yourself—trigger even one of those laws, and we’re as good as dead. Let’s not gamble on guesswork. We fall back, regroup with Wyatt, and reassess. This fight is beyond us right now. With him, we might actually stand a chance of figuring it out."

The Field Marshal’s tone left no room for argument. It was painfully clear they were in over their heads—defeating Konjur and Peyote was already a stretch, and killing them bordered on fantasy. What troubled her more was that Corey couldn’t see it. The realization only deepened her regret for ever backing this plan. What had she been thinking? Corey might be strong, but emotionally and mentally, she was still a hot-blooded teenager.

Abandoning the attempt to reason with her, the Field Marshal called out to Park instead—but received no response. Since becoming a sentinel of Corey’s upgraded title demon core, Park had lost much of the freedom she once had, even as her strength had grown significantly.

"You can leave if you want. I’m seeing this through to the end."

"Fine. I’m leaving. Hope you know what you’re doing—"

The Field Marshal appeared to give in, her posture easing as if conceding the argument. But in the same motion, she stepped in and struck Corey at the temples with precise, controlled force—aimed at disrupting the soul-pathway arrangement there. It wasn’t meant to injure, only to overload the pathways just enough to cut off her consciousness.