"Oh?"
Streams of data flowed rapidly within her gray pupils.
Despite her hacking expertise, not only had she failed to take down the Titans immediately, but the Iron Warlords, mentally fused with their Titans, were actually interfering with the progress of her [Aether Editing].
"New technology from the [Garden of Recollection]?"
Silver Wolf's fingers tapped in the empty air, their speed so fast they had become a complete blur.
"A little interesting."
A red, segmented, semi-circular cursor began to rotate slowly around her pupils.
"But!"
The green streams of light on the Titans began to flicker and break, one by one. The heads of some Iron Warlords had even overloaded and burned out as their Titan's optical sensors turned red.
"It's just for the novelty."
"I don't even need fifteen seconds—"
VMM!
A black device coalesced in front of Eden into the shape of a heavy cannon. A gravity field of over 90,000 times normal compressed a cluster of high-energy charged particles into a dark red sphere.
Silver Wolf could take care of all the Titans in fifteen seconds. In fact, if she had used brute-force physical disassembly, it would not have even taken one second. However, to Silver Wolf, these Titans were like new toys prepared for her by the [Garden of Recolollection].
To be precise, the entire world was just a game to Silver Wolf.
While she was devoting her processing power to breaking through the Titans' mental defenses, the [Gravity Mortar], transformed from the [Star of Eden], had already finished assembling at top speed.
However!
Eden's own combat power was what it was.
Although Silver Wolf was considered the weakest among the [Stellaron Hunters], she was still no match for Eden, who could only barely "graze" the threshold of the star-destroying class at full power.
Aside from the [Demon God Armament] already entangled with March 7th—a big toy created by Silver Wolf that also possessed star-destroying combat power—the two-heads-tall doll guard by Silver Wolf's side was also on the verge of breaking Jorah.
As a commander, Jorah's qualities were beyond question, but his raw strength was only at the [Higher Primordial Species] level. While this rank was not mere cannon fodder in any civilization, the enemy they were currently facing was, after all, one of the top organizations in the cosmic sea.
It was truly hard to say who would fall first, Jorah or the Iron Warlords.
Even while maintaining two battlefronts simultaneously, Silver Wolf still reacted to the [Star of Eden]'s attack. The skateboard-like mobile device under her feet instantly "reconfigured" the moment it was locked onto by the [Gravity Mortar]. The muzzle of a massive photon cannon appeared, and a blue-white spherical energy mass rapidly condensed within its counter-rotating barrel.
The next instant—
Two perfectly matched colors, red and blue, collided head-on!
BOOOOOM!!!!!
---o---
The cannon duel between Eden and Silver Wolf wasn't exceedingly powerful, but its area of effect was certainly wide enough. The contraction of the Fragmentum visibly accelerated.
"Meaningless resistance."
Silver Wolf's voice came from directly opposite her.
SCREEECH—
A piercing screech of metal against metal rang in her ears.
Eden dodged in a flash, avoiding an iron fist that descended from the sky... the attack came from a Titan.
Silver Wolf was getting serious.
The surface of her slender, pale hands was glowing with a distinct red hue. Even the blinding white light around them was briefly distorted by the high temperature. Finger manipulation was a habit for Silver Wolf, not a necessity. Her current state was less like a surge of blood and qi, and more like a CPU entering an overclocked state.
Regardless, the ten or so seconds they could have bought no longer existed.
All the Iron Warlords had collapsed to the ground with smoke rising from their bodies, and their Titan mechs were now under the enemy's control. And they weren't the only captives: Jorah, after cutting down one opponent, now had the blades of two identical dolls holding mini-lightsabers pressed against his neck.
March 7th's fight with the [Demon God Armament] had turned against her. Although Dan Heng could still hold his ground, he was also being suppressed by Kafka.
"I'm waiting for the virus to take effect."
Eden, having just dodged the Titan's fist, was once again locked onto by the "skateboard cannon" under Silver Wolf's feet. From charging to firing, while the [Star of Eden] was barely a match in terms of power, it was far inferior in terms of reload speed.
"What are you waiting for?"
Silver Wolf's hands left her keyboard. In her palm, a cube extremely similar in shape to the [Star of Eden], but colored a more silver-purple hue, was slowly rotating.
In an exchange that lasted but a single round, Silver Wolf had successfully copied the Star of Eden's ability and recreated it with [Aether Editing]. The gravitational field Eden used to constrain and compress the charged particle cluster was now being released by Silver Wolf onto Eden herself.
The gravity field completely locked down Eden's movements.
Contrary to the bold claims made before the fight, the battlefield had become completely one-sided. Unless March 7th chose to have the Astral Express fire upon what little was left of Planet V...
"I believe,"
"?"
Eden's unwavering voice left Silver Wolf somewhat puzzled.
"The thing [The Nameless] are best at, besides exploring, probably isn't fighting."
"It's—"
Swoosh!
A purple meteor descended from the heavens!
A massive fireball crashed into the [Demon God Armament], just as March 7th escaped its attack range!
BOOOOOM!!!!!
A new wave of energy once again washed over the surroundings, and a dense network of cracks appeared on the surface of the "eggshell" that nurtured the Stellaron.
"Making friends."
---o---
THUD!
The Fragmentum Lord fell from a great height.
Its terrifying skeletal body was now smashed to pieces. Even if it could reassemble, it had already lost its combat capability. A certain Path power "accumulated" in its bone joints was suppressing the Fragmentum creature's regeneration. Compounded by the contraction of the Fragmentum caused by the battle, the Fragmentum Lord, which originally had the home-field advantage, found its combat power greatly diminished.
Right in front of the [Demon God Armament], which had nearly been knocked over, Horkos arrived as promised, rapier in hand.
CLANG!!
Dan Heng, after another direct clash, proactively distanced himself from Kafka.
"I see."
Kafka flicked the handle of her umbrella.
The special power coiling around it, which had made the weapon increasingly heavy, dissipated along the trajectory of the umbrella's tip.
"The head of the [Mirror Holders]..."
As a renowned wanted criminal, the Stellaron Hunters' intelligence network was no joke. Kafka recognized Horkos's identity at once.
"A Fallen Knight of the [Knights of Beauty]."
And with that, she revealed a truth unknown to the others.
"If Idrila were still here, no, even if Grand Monarch Simidis were still alive, I would be willing to yield."
"He was, after all, an opponent respected by Lord Elio."
"But now..."
"..."
Kafka did not continue.
Everyone felt that something was wrong. Horkos's aura was rapidly weakening. In the short time since his appearance, he had already fallen from his peak Stellar-class to star-destroying class, and it showed no signs of stopping.
Most terrifying of all, Horkos's once incomparably handsome face was rapidly decaying... a sign of the [Path of Beauty] dissipating.
"Did you release the Fragmentum creature!?"
"Are you really looking for Idrila's relic!?"
"..."
The questions were asked in unison.
There was no answer, but both sides had found theirs.
"Tch."
Kafka clicked her tongue.
"Have we been played...?"
As Elio's second-in-command, when a situation could not be resolved by force, Kafka's intellect would take command.
Kafka did indeed possess a relic of Idrila.
Her hobby was collecting various coats, and the most precious piece in her collection came from Idrila, the Astral God of Beauty.
However, she had gone to great lengths, through various overt and covert means, to obtain this coat (or perhaps, armor) after Idrila's death. For March 7th and the others to demand it upon their first meeting was clearly seen by Kafka as a blatant provocation... Her temper was not very good to begin with, especially when her opponents were weaker than her.
Therefore, there was no relic of the Astral God of Beauty on Planet Keya V. Both Horkos and the Astral Express had been misled.
As for who had done it...
It was a faction that disliked both [The Nameless] and the [Stellaron Hunters], and whose plans had been foiled by both—
"Kafka."
A will extending from the depths of Nihility rippled directly through Kafka's mind. It was a warning from her leader, Elio.
But just as Kafka was about to respond...
It was too late!
SWOOSH!!!
The [Destruction Stellaron], which had already completed its harvest and been stabilized by Kafka within Imaginary Space, suddenly erupted with a torrential light!
"Ka—"
Before Silver Wolf could finish,
BOOOOOOM!!!!!
---o---
Planet Keya V completely vanished in a world-shaking explosion.
The shockwave from the Destruction Stellaron's explosion undoubtedly possessed the purest star-destroying class power. However, this attack did not kill anyone present. Even Kafka "only" lost half of her body.
The reasons for this were twofold.
First, a protective shield that appeared from "nothingness" had enveloped everyone present. Second, a blurry human figure was supporting Kafka's remaining half, "reforging" her body.
This was the highest expression of the [Authority of Nihility], and the ability that the inverse-retainers, the [Doctors of Chaos], were most skilled at.
"Elio."
Dan Heng slowly uttered the name of the newcomer's... projection. The leader of the Stellaron Hunters, the "Slave of Destiny," Elio.
"Nameless."
"This projection has only thirty percent of my main body's power. I need your help."
Elio did not dwell on the previous misunderstanding.
He was repairing Kafka's body while speaking to March 7th and the others behind him. Though he said it was thirty percent, the protective shield and the healing of Kafka's injuries had caused Elio's projection, which had displayed the strength of an [Emissary], to weaken rapidly.
"This is a trap."
"I do not know who it targets, so I dared not commit too much power here."
Elio spoke very quickly, and his voice carried a clear sense of urgency, completely unlike the infamous wanted criminal of the cosmic sea. Rumor had it that Elio was very protective of his subordinates... It was likely that his main body was also facing, or about to face, some kind of danger.
"My remaining power should be able to trap this thing for a while."
"You all contact the Astral Express immediately. Hit this place with the rail cannon."
The "this thing" Elio spoke of was the second reason the Stellaron hadn't blown them all to bits. The [Destruction Stellaron], having completed its harvest, had lost its ability to explode. The massive shockwave that had just obliterated Planet Keya V...
...was merely the sound of "this thing" hatching from its shell.
It was a creature made of "texture."
Floating in space, it had octopus-like tentacles, a single-eye-like core, and a massive divine ring hovering above its head.
No matter from which angle one looked, one could only see the "two-dimensional creature's" front, and the ominous sphere in the center of its body. Intertwining streams of light orbited this eyeball like a planetary ring.
The Antimatter Legion...
Correction.
This creature did not belong to the Antimatter Legion.
It was a life form created by Nanook, the Astral God of Destruction, himself. The pinnacle existence among the warped creatures born from a Stellaron—
[The Fragmentum Integrator]
Elio's suggestion to "hit it with a cannon" was not to kill the [Fragmentum Integrator], but to suppress its movements...
...and then run.
The [Fragmentum Integrator]'s combat power was equivalent to an [Emissary], but thanks to its special properties, its destructive power could even touch the threshold of a Grand Monarch.
Simply put, even if Elio's main body were here, he could only say he could repel it. Whether he could eliminate it was another question entirely.
"Alright!"
March 7th's response was equally swift.
The moment they saw the [Fragmentum Integrator], they had all realized the gravity of the situation. Although none of them had seen it in person before, they had some knowledge of its existence. This decisiveness came from the deep reserves of knowledge of [The Nameless]. If it were some newborn Astral God or faction, they probably wouldn't have even heard of this thing's name!
March 7th immediately opened her communicator.
"Conductor."
"..."
"Conductor!?"
"..."
The communicator in March 7th's hand was a creation of an Astral God, paired with the Astral Express. With the authority of the [Path of Trailblaze], almost no power could interfere with the connection between the two.
Unless—
---o---
BOOOOOM!!!!!
The location of the "Cosmic Island" spaceport... The reason for using "location" is that the "Cosmic Island" no longer existed. Aside from a vast amount of new debris drifting in space, the only thing that remained relatively intact was the Astral Express, its locomotive caved in, its once sleek and shiny body now covered in scratches and craters.
That's right.
The only thing that could affect their communication was a problem with the equipment itself.
And the perpetrator of all this...
A celestial weapon, a destroyer of star systems, a corrupted "creation of peace" from the [Path of Light]—a mechanical life form floating at the edge of the star system, seemingly assembled from countless crystals:
[Hyper Zetton]