"Don't overthink it!"
Stelle pointed the baseball bat sharply at Phainon, "Just knock him flying with one hit!"
Seeing this, Phainon felt genuinely relieved.
You shall bear the scorching sun until the grey dawn appears!
That's right.
No matter how hopeless the situation!
Phainon was absolutely certain that Stelle was the only key to saving Amphoreus!
"Look! That guy is still smiling!"
March 7th's angry shout exploded, "He's definitely mocking us! We must show him the true power of the Astral Express!"
Phainon's eye twitched almost imperceptibly: "…"
He wasn't smiling.
The next moment.
Stelle moved without the slightest hesitation, transforming into an afterimage and charging straight towards Phainon!
However, Phainon merely turned slightly to the side.
Stelle's charge missed, the strong wind rustling his white hair as the two brushed past each other.
Stelle herself was stunned.
What was going on?
Was this guy really going to fight her?
He was too weak!
She quickly looked back, only to see the white-haired man had already raised his wooden sword, blocking Dan Heng and the others.
His gaze swept over the crowd and landed on Stelle. In that dead-silent ice-blue, there was no hostility, only a sense of composure.
High above, Cocolia watched this scene, a flicker of doubt in her eyes.
Something was wrong.
Khaslana's actions seemed intentional?
Wait… I understand!
He's doing this so I have no worries, so I can concentrate my strength on dealing with this most troublesome grey-haired girl first!
That's why he actively divided the battlefield for me!
Excellent! He did too well!
The will of the Stellaron was indeed correct!
With him joining, the arrival of the "New World" will be unstoppable!
Cocolia's thoughts settled, and her gaze refocused on the grey figure, her killing intent fully exposed.
"Crush her, Engine of Creation!"
[Current Emotion: Anger (Intensifying)]
Phainon slowly turned his head, his eyes glancing at Cocolia.
Just one glance.
Yet, Cocolia felt a raging flame of anger, capable of incinerating all things, burning her soul!
This… what was happening again?!
Stelle no longer had time to think. She gripped her bat tightly, pushing off the ground with force, charging straight towards the mountain-sized Engine of Creation!
Phainon still stood in place.
Holding a wooden sword, his figure was thin, yet he transformed into an insurmountable chasm, firmly blocking Dan Heng, March 7th, and Seele behind him.
"Get out of my way!" Seele's scythe flashed with cold light, her tone anxious.
Phainon didn't look back, his eyes as calm as an ancient well.
"Damn it!" March 7th drew her ice bow, the cold air surging around her arrow, "I don't believe I can't shoot through your weird clothes!"
A hand steadily pressed down on her bow.
It was Dan Heng, his expression extremely solemn.
"Don't be impulsive, March. He… isn't fighting us."
"What?" March 7th and Seele both froze simultaneously.
"He isn't stopping us," Dan Heng said in a deep voice. "He's dividing the battlefield."
"He's creating a dueling ground for Stelle, undisturbed by anything, in his own way."
This conclusion was even more chilling than Phainon directly engaging them.
How confident must he be to dare play the role of a "referee"?
At the same time, at the center of the battlefield.
Stelle ran at full speed under the giant mechanical shadow, dodging attacks that stirred up storms.
Cocolia looked down from above, at the struggling ant desperately trying to escape.
"Humans are always so weak and foolish, always overestimating themselves."
As her voice fell, the Engine of Creation's eyes glowed fiercely red!
It raised an arm, their five giant steel fingers spread open aggressively, forming a dark cloud that obscured the sky, pressing down towards Stelle's head with a roar!
Shadow swallowed the earth.
Time, at this moment, was infinitely stretched.
Stelle looked up. Under the colossal steel palm, capable of crushing mountains, she had nowhere to escape.
"Stelle!" March 7th's scream was heart-wrenching.
It's over.
These two words appeared in everyone's minds.
Just at this critical moment!
A pitch-black sphere appeared out of nowhere behind the Engine of Creation.
It had no sound, no light, only pure, all-consuming "nothingness."
That black hole emitted an irresistible gravitational pull, locking the Engine of Creation's downward motion!
"What?!" Cocolia's face changed drastically high in the sky.
This power… didn't belong to anyone here!
Everyone looked towards the source of that power.
Amidst the wind and snow, a tall figure had appeared there at some unknown point.
He wore a refined trench coat, held a walking stick in his hand, and his hair was meticulously combed.
Years had left their mark on his face, but they had only added maturity and composure.
His eyes were gentle and firm, but at this moment, they held a hint of undisguised astonishment.
"Uncle Welt!" March 7th cried tears of joy.
The newcomer was none other than — Welt Yang.
He didn't immediately respond to his companion's call, his gaze fixed on a corner of the battlefield.
Seele was protecting Bronya behind her, looking at him, the uninvited guest, with vigilance.
"Seele… Bronya…?"
Welt muttered to himself, his brows tightly furrowed.
No.
The Seele before him had sharper eyes, full of wild aggression.
And Bronya, though equally heroic and spirited, had a temperament in her brows that was completely different from the figure in his memory.
Dopelganger?
This thought made his heart sink.
Immediately after, his gaze swept over the crowd and saw Cocolia suspended in the air.
This crazy woman, that familiar aura… "How is she here too?" Welt's temples throbbed wildly.
Was this really Belobog?
Finally, his gaze fell on the most incongruous and attention-grabbing presence in the entire scene.
The man in white, with snow-white hair, holding a wooden sword.
The moment he clearly saw that face, Welt Yang felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
All the composure and calmness on his face crumbled, leaving only unspeakable shock and horror.
Welt's breath was completely stolen.
His brain buzzed, and everything before his eyes: the roaring Engine of Creation, the swirling ice and snow, his companions' exclamations — all faded, leaving only that white-haired figure.
Calmness? Rationality?
Those things that had accompanied him for half his life were shattered by a shudder from the depths of his soul the moment he saw that face!
Not an illusion!
Not a resemblance!
That face!
That name he considered synonymous with the strongest Fusion Warrior!
How could it suddenly appear on this planet!
"No… impossible!"
His voice was dry, "Khaslana?"
However, the white-haired man just slowly turned his head.
His eyes, calm, fell on Welt.
That glance held no ripple of old friends reuniting, no surprise of crossing time and space.
Extreme indifference, sharper than any blade.
"Let me bestow upon you… ultimate despair!"
Cocolia's roar pulled everyone's thoughts back to reality.
Cocolia poured all her anger into her new attack.
She stretched out her hand, aiming at Stelle.
The wind and snow of Everwinter Hill gathered frantically in her palm.
A spear of extreme ice instantly formed.
On their tip, a deadly light flickered, enough to freeze the soul.
"Disappear! Intruder!"
Whoosh—!
The ice spear flew from her hand, tearing through the air with a sharp whistle.
their target was Stelle.
Everything happened too fast.
The ice spear cut through the sky, leaving a trail of death in everyone's pupils.
The ice spear pierced Stelle's chest, replacing the sound of wind and snow.
Leaving everyone with stunned expressions.
At this moment, Phainon leaped up and caught Stelle as she slowly fell.
The surrounding temperature began to turn scorching hot!
[Current Emotion: Frenzied]
[Emotion Threshold: 500%]