Cold Beauty pointed at the sky, and Chu Lian let out a cold laugh. "What, finally can't sit still anymore? Taking advantage of Ayase's absence, coming to deal with me at my weakest?"
"Don't think that just because you're hiding up there I don't know who you are. Even if I can't wipe you out all at once right now, I can still leave you gravely wounded. Come then—let me..."
"Let me see what gives you the nerve to invade this place, what makes you think you can defeat us, what makes you think that without Ayase, I can be kneaded and toyed with however you please..."
"Weaklings..."
As Chu Lian spoke, her attitude was completely different from before. Instead, she exuded an overbearing arrogance, as if the enemies before her were nothing more than weaklings she could dispose of at will.
"I really have to thank you for these past days. Because of you, I've constantly been forced into danger, nearly losing my life again and again."
As she spoke, the cold smile on her lips deepened, like a white rose blooming in the snow—cold and noble. In her eyes, white roses slowly blossomed, an image of unparalleled beauty.
"I've never minded having enemies. But I hate it when those enemies keep scheming against me and the people I care about."
"Still, this is about the limit of your capabilities. If I force you to show your true forms, would you dare? You wouldn't, would you?"
As if provoked by her words, a gust of black wind suddenly swept across the sky, causing the long hair of the girls standing on the rooftop to flutter wildly.
"Big Sis..." It was Chu Chu's first time seeing her like this. Such authority and dominance—she had never imagined it could exist within her elder sister's seemingly fragile body.
What kind of enemy could force such a transformation in her?
Biting her lower lip, a figure appeared behind her—the Thunder Empress Lia—who wrapped her arms around Chu Chu, shielding her from the raging black wind.
Sensing something was wrong, the white-haired girl who had left earlier returned, twin blades in hand, standing beside Chu Chu. She raised her head to look at the sky, where a faint black-red glow had begun to shimmer. That should be the barrier enclosing this place.
What kind of enemy would it be? She felt a trace of anticipation. In a bad mood, she might as well use them as toys to vent her frustration. Hopefully they wouldn't be too weak.
Her white hair and black garments danced wildly in the wind, yet her expression remained unchanged. She simply watched the sky, watching as it gradually shifted, a hint of expectation in her gaze.
"Master, meow..." The third to arrive was Tina, now fully awake. Leaning against the railing, she looked at Chu Lian standing proudly, a strange glint flashing in her eyes—thoughtful, nostalgic, recalling something she had once seen.
A small white cat tail slipped out from beneath her skirt, swaying gently. Tina looked at Chu Lian, then at the sky. After biting her finger lightly, she seemed to understand something.
"Lian." The moment Inori stepped onto the rooftop, her gaze locked onto Chu Lian, who stood with her blade pointed skyward. Her delicate figure looked fragile, yet within this massive black storm, she stood unmoving—like an ancient rock that had existed since time immemorial.
She stood there, just as before, shielding everyone from harm. But this time, none of them would be her burden. Instead, they would become her greatest support.
With a flicker, Inori summoned her great void blade without hesitation. Her white dress flapped violently in the wind, pink hair swept to one side, yet she walked straight forward against the freezing gale, standing shoulder to shoulder with Chu Lian.
"Lian, I stand with you." She spoke softly, waiting for the next wave of attacks. How long had it been since they fought side by side like this?
Not the life-and-death struggles in the valley, not silent observation in Miami, nor fighting separately in the royal estate—but standing together like this, facing the enemies of the entire world.
As long as you are here, I fear nothing. Even if the enemies are too many for me to handle, so what? I only want to stand by your side.
"Mommy... Anna is hungry..." A small girl appeared on the rooftop. No one saw how she arrived. In a moment no one noticed, the pajama-clad child was simply there.
Rubbing her eyes, she seemed to understand that now wasn't the time to disturb Mommy. Instead, she looked up at the sky. There was so much delicious food up there—please hurry down so Anna could eat it.
As for the deathly aura clinging to her shoulders? She had already eaten quite a bit. What remained couldn't be dealt with quickly anyway, and she didn't feel like working that hard. Besides, it wouldn't harm her. The little one was quite clever.
"Hmph. I smell a rotten stench of sulfur... is it hell?" Ming was the last to arrive, yet she immediately discerned the nature of the opponent. Those filthy creatures of hell—had they come to meddle in the living world as well?
Did they not know this place belonged to someone else? No matter. Since they had come to die on their own, she would take the opportunity to test the current strength of hell. Could they still withstand the charge of the Umbral Knights' iron cavalry?
"What? Still too afraid to come out? Or are you waiting for reinforcements? I can't break this barrier right now, so I can't go up and kill you—but if you don't come down, that's fine too. One hour. After one hour, once the barrier disappears, you won't be able to deploy it again."
Chu Lian continued to stand there, taunting coldly. She didn't care how many enemies would come. What she wanted most right now was to charge up and slaughter them. If that wasn't possible, then she'd wipe out all their minions.
"Heavenly Demon? You might as well call yourselves useless trash. You're afraid of just this many of us? Want me to send everyone away?" Chu Lian's words were pure provocation, but she knew these creatures would take the bait.
These prideful beings would rather pay an enormous price to complete their so-called invasion and erase her existence. Every action of theirs told her the same thing—they couldn't stand provocation.
Every time they were provoked, they'd lose control, more volatile than a powder keg. If creatures like this didn't care about pride, that would be the real joke.
"Then again, after all this time, all you've managed to do is try to kill me. Unfortunately for you, I'm still alive and well. Those so-called death traps not only failed to harm me—they've only made me stronger. Are you all here just to deliver benefits?"
Chu Lian found herself speaking more and more freely, as if venting all the anger and resentment she had accumulated.
Ever since the second main quest began, these bastards had been working against her. Not only did they use special abilities to leak information about her to the forces of the Otherside in the real world after she released her songs...
They had those enemies come after her when she was completely unprepared, trying to capture her. If she guessed correctly, that piece of paper detailing her background had also been deliberately brought by them. She still didn't know the exact reason, but it undoubtedly concealed some secret.
But it was also because of that incident that she began to understand what kind of existence she truly was in this world, allowing her to genuinely integrate into reality.
After that, almost every change in system missions and every inexplicable appearance of enemies had been their doing.
Not only that, Ayase's imprisonment and departure, the slumber of the system's main consciousness, and even certain hidden system functions—all of it was the work of these system invaders, the so-called "Heavenly Demons."
Now that Ayase had left and she had only just awakened from her slumber, they were eager to eliminate her, weren't they?
They had even made thorough preparations, confining Li Mingxue and Yukari Yakumo in the hall to prevent them from interfering and instantly dismantling this killing formation.
Even if it meant exhausting all their remaining resources, a desperate gamble might still yield results.
As long as they killed her and seized control of the system, they would complete their mission—and obtain something that could practically be called a divine artifact among divine artifacts. For them, the reward would far outweigh any cost.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're the ones at a disadvantage right now, aren't you?" Chu Lian's smile faded, her tone calm, yet her words were infuriating enough to make anyone jump in anger. "This is your last chance to turn from losers into victors. Miss it, and it's gone forever."
The wind howled fiercely. The black gale, like a Siberian night wind, gradually covered everyone's clothing with frost, turning the entire area into a frozen wasteland.
"Awooo~" As Chu Lian and the others waited patiently, a resounding canine howl echoed from the sky.
With that howl, as if it were the signal to begin, ripples spread through space, and countless monsters emerged from the black-red barrier.
They had arrived.
"Tch. So you really don't dare show your true forms and instead called in reinforcements? Hell... hell... what a fine hell this is..." Chu Lian clenched her teeth lightly but said no more. If they still refused to show themselves even after all that, it meant they had truly retreated into cowardice.
"Hell... is the tastiest..." Seeing the strange beings in the sky—some wreathed in black, yellow, or red flames, in grotesque human and beastly forms—Anna's eyes filled with black particles that gathered into a phantom hexagonal shape as she spoke excitedly.
"All of them are above Spirit rank... the strongest are at peak Earth rank. Three of them. Quite the lineup. While this force is nothing more than a drop in the ocean for hell, anywhere in the real world, it's an enemy not to be underestimated." Chu Lian couldn't help but sigh. A dying camel was still bigger than a horse.
To Ayase, these enemies were nothing more than punching bags—beaten down every time they appeared, leaving them with no room to resist. Even now, these so-called Heavenly Demons were steadily losing ground and would soon be completely wiped out.
But they had once forced the system's main consciousness into slumber. Even if it came at an unimaginable cost, even if it wasn't a complete success—they had still done it. That alone proved their strength was far from simple.
Chu Lian knew that when Ayase fought them, it was in another space, with her full power unleashed—reaching the peak of the Transcendence Realm.
Such beings could create or destroy entire worlds with a mere gesture. And yet these enemies had endured until now. That alone showed they possessed combat power at least at the Transcendence level or beyond.
"Then let's assign targets. Anna, can you handle one of the peak Earth rank ones?" Chu Lian stopped addressing the hidden Heavenly Demons and instead turned to the girls, arranging their battle plan.
"Of course! Anna can play with it in the palm of her hand. But it'll take a little time, so I won't be able to help Mommy or the others right away." Anna's eyes lit up as she looked at the three-headed hellhound Chu Lian had pointed at, eagerly agreeing.
"I'll take the demons and the remaining dark warriors. The rest of you deal with the others. That shouldn't be a problem... right?" Chu Lian nodded. These three posed the greatest threat. The rest were no stronger than mid Earth rank. As long as they avoided being surrounded, fighting together posed no issue for the girls.
Taking on two peak Earth rank enemies wasn't arrogance or blind confidence. It was trust—she believed the girls would not disappoint her. They would finish their battles and come to support her.
"Don't worry. This space is already isolated—a replicated miniature domain. No matter how much destruction we cause, once the barrier disappears, it won't affect the real world." Chu Lian's words were essentially a declaration:
Go all out, girls.
"Tina, you handle enemies with undead traits. Inori, eliminate the fragile casters. Chu Chu, deal with the large numbers of fodder. Hiyori, take on their warriors. Satsuki, the assassins are yours. Now... let me begin."
Although the enemies had appeared, they had yet to act, hovering in the sky as they gathered their numbers.
Seeing this, Chu Lian smiled...
She raised her hand. A silver bell materialized in her palm.
"It's been a while since I used this..."
Her gaze sharpened.
"Seraph—activate!"
A radiant white light enveloped Chu Lian, transforming her instantly from a human into a mechanical maiden. The magnificent Seraph-Type IS Armor materialized around her, turning the graceful girl into something akin to a valkyrie.
"Before their true powerhouses make a move... let's have some fun! Begin~"
She raised her hand.
The bullet storm roared to life...