On the other side, Mavuika was swept down by Gosoythoth's massive tail, plunging deep into the platform.
Less than ten seconds later, Lumine crashed heavily into the platform as well.
Gosoythoth had always been formidable, and after Jiang Mumu's temporary possession, it had grown even stronger. Facing Mavuika and Lumine, it felt no pressure whatsoever.
From the crater in the platform, Mavuika crawled out.
Her condition was dire; her perpetually burning hair now flickered erratically.
Staggering to the crater Lumine had created, Mavuika pulled her out.
"Traveler, are you alright?!"
Aether, who had been knocked unconscious earlier, regained consciousness and rushed over anxiously.
"Lumine!"
Lumine shook her head, coughing up a mouthful of blood. "No... it's too strong. We can't keep fighting like this!"
Mavuika's expression darkened. The Abyss in Natlan shouldn't be this powerful! Could the recent Abyss surge have amplified its strength?
"Traveler," Mavuika said, her voice strained, "I'll hold it off. You two escape now. My life doesn't matter—yours do!"
Lumine still had a mission to fulfill. Though storming past this guardian seemed impossible, as long as she survived, there would be another opportunity.
Five hundred years ago, when Mavuika devised her plan, she never expected to survive its execution. As long as the sacrifice had meaning, it would be worth it!
"No! There has to be another way!" Lumine vehemently refused. How could she possibly stand by and watch her friends die before her eyes? Absolutely not!
Aether interjected from the side, "Wait, something's off about that guy!"
His words drew the attention of both Mavuika and Lumine, and the three of them finally realized the truth.
Though their conversation hadn't been long, it was more than enough time for Gosoythoth to attack. Yet, not only had he remained motionless, he hadn't even made a sound...
They looked up and saw Gosoythoth staring blankly, as if lost in some kind of illusion, his body enveloped in a faint pink energy.
Tap-tap-tap—footsteps approached from behind them. Angie extended her right hand, and the pink energy emanating from it was the source of Gosoythoth's state.
"Angie!"
Angie glanced at them and smiled. "Sorry for the delay. The bridge was destroyed, and I can't fly. It took me a while to get here on foot."
She extended her left hand, and a soft yet remarkably resilient pink energy flowed from her fingertips, rapidly condensing into a nearly transparent strand of energy.
The shimmering thread snaked forward, piercing the dim space and pointing deeper into the unknown darkness.
"Leave this to me," Angie said, her voice remaining reassuringly steady, though a careful listener could detect a faint tremor she was desperately suppressing. "Hurry! The thread leads directly to the Goddess's Slumbering Place. I assure you, there will be no further obstacles ahead."
"Go ahead, I can handle this guy!" Angie insisted, her tone resolute.
Lumine glanced at Angie, then at Gosoythoth, who remained temporarily frozen in place, tightly bound by the seemingly delicate pink thread.
Flames of hatred burned in her eyes. Ignoring Angie's assurances, Lumine clenched her Unrelenting Will, ready to seize this opportunity to strike a fatal blow against the monster.
"No! Lumine!"
Angie's heart leaped in her chest. She urgently called out to stop her. "Don't attack! You can't break its defenses. A forced assault will only awaken it prematurely, and everything we've accomplished will be for nothing!"
Lumine's charge halted abruptly. She turned, her gaze locked onto Angie, her golden eyes instantly welling with tears, her voice thick with emotion:
"Angie... tell me the truth. You can't truly defeat it either, can you?"
Angie sighed inwardly. Lumine was sharper than ever.
Time was running out, leaving no room for lengthy explanations or hesitation among the group.
Angie took a deep breath and met Lumine's gaze. "Yes! I can't kill it, but I can temporarily restrain it! This is our only chance!"
"Go! Wake the Goddess and then come back to deal with it! I can only hold out for half an hour at most!"
Lumine's eyes locked with Angie's resolute and earnest gaze, seeing the deep-seated determination within.
Finally, she gritted her teeth and forced out two words: "Wait for me!"
With that, Lumine turned without hesitation and signaled to Mavuika and Aether.
Mavuika's expression was grave as she solemnly said to Angie, "Thank you! We'll return as quickly as possible!"
Aether also gave Angie a deep look, his voice heavy with concern: "Take care!"
Lumine cast one last glance at Angie, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "You have to wait for me to come back! You have to!"
Angie nodded forcefully, her face blooming into the brightest, most reassuring smile she could muster.
"You've got this! Hurry back!"
Three figures transformed into streaks of light, following the pink energy strands that guided them deep into the Ruins, until the light was completely swallowed by darkness.
Only after confirming their disappearance did Angie's strained smile crumble, and she let out a long, silent sigh of relief.
She murmured to herself, her voice tinged with weary amusement:
"Hmm... As expected, she's gotten a little smarter, but Lumine's still that gullible ditz she always was..."
But her moment of respite lasted only an instant.
Almost as soon as Lumine and the others vanished, Angie's body shuddered almost imperceptibly.
Controlling Gosoythoth was directly tethered to the core of her soul.
A minute later, fine beads of sweat had already formed on her forehead, trickling down her pale cheeks.
Two minutes later, her body began to tremble uncontrollably, and the pink energy strand connecting her to Gosoythoth flickered erratically, as if on the verge of snapping.
Angie bit down hard on her lower lip, tasting the faint metallic tang of blood, yet she stubbornly clung on with her indomitable will.
Five minutes...
It felt like centuries had passed.
Angie's vision began to blur, her ears rang, and a searing pain tore through the depths of her soul.
"ROAR—!"
With a deafening, savagely resonant roar, Gosoythoth's purple-black energy erupted. The pink thread, like spider silk scorched by flames, snapped apart inch by inch and dissipated.
The restraints were completely severed!
Gosoythoth's colossal form regained its freedom. It slowly turned its monstrous head, its massive eyes burning with eerie flames, their icy, murderous gaze locking onto Angie, who staggered backward from the backlash of power, nearly collapsing.
A colossal shadow loomed over her, and the stench of death washed over her like a tide.
Angie barely managed to steady herself, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. Yet as she gazed at the invincible, terrifying entity, a complex, resigned smile crept across her face. She murmured softly, as if bidding farewell to someone in the distance:
"Ah... I'm sorry, Brother... It seems I'll have to break my promise after all... Well, then...I'll see you...tomorrow..."
Her eyes held no fear, only the serene calm of one who had fulfilled her promise and burned herself out completely.
She slowly raised her trembling right hand, and the ice-blue longsword that had been her companion for over a decade appeared in her grip.
Angie held the sword aloft, its tip aimed directly at Gosoythoth's enormous compound eyes, which swirled like vortices of the abyss.
She could even see her own tiny yet resolute reflection mirrored clearly on the sword's cold, smooth surface.
Fear pierced her limbs and bones like icy spikes—the primal instinct of a living being facing absolute annihilation.
Yet her arm didn't falter; instead, she gripped the sword even tighter.
She drew a deep breath, summoning every ounce of her strength, and declared clearly and resolutely, both to the colossal monster and to her own trembling soul:
"Come, monster!"
Even knowing she was a mantis trying to stop a chariot, she was determined to use her meager frame to sound humanity's final battle song of courage, until her very soul burned to ashes.