"Teacher, the situation is getting worse. Even with the power of four hundred million Coreflames, the black tide still cannot be pushed back. Can you borrow abilities from Mr. Lucian again?"
Aglaea spoke helplessly, visible exhaustion and fatigue covering her beautiful face after maintaining such a massive defensive network for so long.
"Mm, I'll try—"
Tribbie nodded lightly, intending to once again borrow a conceptual ability from Lucian, but before she could even finish speaking, a slightly teasing yet incomparably familiar voice suddenly echoed out from behind both her and Aglaea.
"Dux Goldweaver~"
Clear and soft, almost as though someone were whispering directly beside their ears, the teasing voice carried a faint trace of amused mockery and leisurely playfulness.
"You've really fallen into quite a sorry state without the Imperator and me, huh?"
Even though the voice was neither loud nor imposing, it still struck Aglaea's heart like a thunderbolt exploding beside her ears, causing her entire body to stiffen instantly.
Aglaea quickly turned around and immediately saw a familiar face standing not too far away.
In that instant, her whole body froze stiff.
"Hy...silens...? You... You're not dead?"
Right before her eyes, the famous Dux Gladiorum, who had disappeared for a thousand years and had long since been presumed dead, was actually standing there alive and well?
At this very moment, Aglaea was genuinely shaken.
Just moments ago, she had been talking about this legendary female warrior, and now, precisely when Okhema desperately needed more manpower, Hysilens had suddenly appeared before them as if answering their prayers.
Tribbie also turned around at the same time, her eyes widening the moment she saw that familiar figure.
'Could it be...'
Seeing someone who had vanished for a thousand years suddenly return naturally made her think of only one person.
Lucian.
"Me?" Hysilens said as she slowly walked toward the two of them with a faint smile on her face. "Of course I'm not dead. Long time no see, Aglaea, Tribbie."
"Fufu, it's even better that you're alive..." Aglaea chuckled softly, a rare look of relief appearing on her face. "Okhema really needs you right now."
Hearing her laugh like that and even seeing her reveal such a genuine smile, Hysilens could not help but feel slightly surprised.
"Aglaea, it seems your humanity is still intact?"
"Ahh, it was all thanks to the Deliverer."
Back then, when Castorice had borrowed the Godly Bandage from Lucian, she had also conveniently helped Aglaea restore the humanity she had once gradually lost.
"Um... Hysilens, did you run into Big Brother Lucian?"
Tribbie skipped past the pleasantries altogether and directly asked the question that mattered the most to her. No matter whether Hysilens had truly been resurrected or not, asking whether she knew Lucian could never possibly be wrong.
Meanwhile, the instant Hysilens heard the name 'Lucian' from Tribbie, her expression subtly shifted and immediately became serious.
"How did you know him? Has he already come back?"
Logically speaking, in this current life, unlike the life contained within her second set of memories, Lucian had never appeared before the people of Amphoreus, so no one should have known about his existence at all.
Given that, the fact that Tribbie was directly asking about him instinctively made her assume that he had already returned.
"Well... because we were also helped by him, and..." Tribbie replied softly before gently shaking her head. "No, he hasn't come back yet."
As soon as she heard Hysilens's response, Tribbie already understood the answer she wanted.
Hysilens had apparently been brought back by Lucian, and after doing so, he had most likely left Amphoreus once again immediately afterward, just like how he had once quietly left her and her mother behind.
"My teacher was the first one blessed by Mr. Lucian," Aglaea added from the side with a faint half-smile. "And you were the third—oh no, the fourth."
"Agy, stop stirring things up!"
Tribbie immediately turned toward Aglaea and helplessly scolded her, while beside them, Hysilens widened her eyes in complete shock.
"Wait, what? I'm the fourth?"
Hysilens stared at the two of them in disbelief as she questioned them again.
All this time, she had always thought that she was the only one connected to Lucian in such a special way, but apparently, that was not the case at all.
Now that everything had finally come to light, it was no wonder that back when she and he confronted the Flame-Chase Army together, he had casually mentioned that he was Tribbie's old friend.
"In that case, who are the first two?" Hysilens asked while looking at them with a complicated gaze. "Don't tell me the Death Titan is one of them."
"Oh? You already knew?"
"How did you know?"
Aglaea answered with a satisfied smile, while Tribbie looked genuinely surprised by Hysilens's guess.
"In another life of mine, you... appeared there..." Hysilens explained softly as she looked toward Tribbie with an unusually complicated expression. "And Lucian... Lucian took very good care of you, so I guessed."
Hearing those words, Tribbie instantly felt a warm feeling spread throughout her heart.
It was only natural.
How could she possibly not feel happy after learning that even across different lives and different timelines, Lucian was still taking care of her?
Just as Tribbie slightly opened her small mouth, wanting to say something else, both her lower abdomen and Hysilens's suddenly began glowing at the exact same time.
*Zing—*
A resonance between those blessed by Lucian was clearly taking place.
When both Tribbie and Hysilens sensed that subtle connection, the same thought appeared in both of their minds almost simultaneously: the other party had also 'slept' with Lucian.
Tribbie herself was completely fine with Hysilens doing the deed with Lucian, but Hysilens, on the other hand, simply could not remain calm.
Honestly, how could she possibly stay calm?
Tribbie looked so small and youthful—how could Lucian possibly bring himself to do that kind of thing with her?
Hysilens unconsciously frowned as her gaze drifted toward Tribbie's lower abdomen, the expression on her face becoming increasingly complicated and peculiar.
Seeing the strange look in Hysilens's eyes, Tribbie blinked her large eyes in confusion for a brief moment before suddenly realizing what Hysilens was misunderstanding, causing her entire face to instantly flush red.
"It's not what you're thinking! We were in the form of Tribios! Not Tribbie, Trianne, Trinnon, or any of the others!"
Upon hearing that explanation, Hysilens immediately let out a long sigh of relief.
Indeed.
In her eyes, Lucian was not that kind of person.
He clearly understood where his limits were and absolutely would not bully a little girl.
"Forget it. Since things have already come this far, there's nothing left for me to say. We'll talk about everything after Lucian comes back."
Hysilens quickly adjusted her mentality and accepted the situation.
Right now, she had no intention of dwelling too much on Lucian's relationships with other women, since there were far more urgent matters to handle.
"Well, our situation is really terrible right now," Aglaea said as she calmly explained the current circumstances to Hysilens. "The stability we're maintaining is only temporary. Even with four hundred million Coreflames, we still can't completely suppress the black tide invading Okhema."
When the words 'four hundred million Coreflames' entered her ears, Hysilens was instantly stunned into confusion.
"Four hundred million Coreflames? What?"
For a brief moment, she even began wondering whether she had truly isolated herself from the world for far too long.
How had the world changed this much?
And more importantly, where in the world had those four hundred million Coreflames even come from?
Noticing the obvious confusion on Hysilens's face, Aglaea quickly began explaining everything that had happened during her absence. Only after hearing the entire explanation did Hysilens finally gain a complete understanding of the current situation.
"So... this recurrence really is different from before..."
Hysilens muttered softly while falling into thought for a moment.
"Well, none of that matters too much. Lucian's power hasn't changed."
"As long as we can borrow several of his abilities, the crisis before us can naturally be resolved."
"At the very least, we won't have to keep standing guard at the city walls every single day while living in constant fear of the black tide breaking through."
Right after saying that, she immediately began explaining the method of borrowing conceptual abilities from Lucian before personally starting the process together with Tribbie.
Meanwhile, Aglaea was responsible for coordinating all those blessed by Lucian—the followers connected to him through his blessing.
While instructing them on how to borrow his conceptual abilities, she also carefully distributed the workload among everyone to maximize efficiency. As for those who had not received his blessing, they could only continue relying on the power of the Coreflames to resist the black tide.
Needless to say, this was exactly why Lucian suddenly began receiving a constant stream of borrowing requests one after another.
Aside from Sham Diviner, which he deliberately chose not to lend out, he naturally approved nearly all of them without the slightest hesitation.
Of course, there was a reason behind that decision.
Sham Diviner was, after all, something akin to a double-edged sword, since its divination results were completely random and impossible to reliably control, so he was genuinely worried that, instead of helping his women turn the situation around, it might accidentally create an even greater disaster and throw the entire battlefield into even greater chaos.
"With BGM, the black tide is nothing to fear."
Hysilens borrowed BGM and the Law of Calamity, while Tribbie borrowed River God and Disarm.
"Let's start~!"
After learning how to use River God, Tribbie immediately activated it and copied all of her split selves without the slightest hesitation, instantly causing the entirety of Okhema to be flooded with three thousand lively little Tri running all over the city.
As a result, Century Gates rapidly appeared on nearly every street corner and plaza throughout Okhema.
From the eastern side of the city to the western side, it took only a single step.
From Okhema to Castrum Kremnos, it likewise took only a single step.
Facing black tide creatures?
Just use Disarm!
No matter how frenzied or terrifying the black tide creatures were, the moment they encountered the little Tri, their bodies would instantly be stripped of any weaponized or armored appendages they could use to resist, leaving them completely unable to fight back.
Meanwhile, Hysilens instructed Aglaea to broadcast a song across the entirety of Okhema through her golden thread network before activating BGM and designating that song as its background music.
Not long after, Aglaea's calm and dignified voice echoed throughout every corner of Okhema through the countless interconnected golden threads.
[Attention, all citizens of Okhema. I repeat, attention, all citizens of Okhema.]
[I'm Aglaea, here to announce that, at this very moment, the protection and blessing of the Deliverer have finally descended upon our city.]
[As long as you remain within the reach of the sacred song, you will suffer no harm and remain invincible against all threats. I repeat, as long as you remain within the reach of the sacred song, you will suffer no harm and remain invincible against all threats.]
As Aglaea's announcement echoed throughout the entire city, dazzling golden light erupted together with the sacred song as it began to play, followed by tangible waves of golden sound rippling outward layer after layer like tides sweeping across Okhema.
In an instant, as the warm radiance gently enveloped the streets, buildings, and crowds alike, everyone within the sacred song's coverage felt their courage rapidly surge upward, while the fear and panic brought about by the black tide quickly faded away.
===
"Aglaea's announcement? What'd she mean by the Deliverer's protection? Is it Kephale?"
Cipher, who had just arrived atop the northern city wall, frowned in confusion as she listened to Aglaea's announcement echoing throughout Okhema.
Just as she began to lose herself in thought, a distant song suddenly drifted into her ears, gentle yet solemn, followed immediately by a golden wave of light that swept across the battlefield like a rising tide.
Bathed in the golden radiance, she instantly felt an indescribable sense of fearlessness surge through her body, as though every trace of hesitation and anxiety had been completely erased.
At this moment, she felt that even if countless Titans were charging toward her from every direction, she felt like she wouldn't even blink.
"What a crazy buff... what kinda power is this? Is it based on lies, too?"
Cipher muttered in disbelief while subconsciously clenching and unclenching her fingers, carefully feeling the overwhelming enhancement flowing through her body.
No matter how hard she tried to think about it, the deeply shaken Cipher still couldn't understand the principle behind such absurd power at all.
However, her shock didn't end there, because she soon encountered yet another unbelievable sight.
And that was...
"Princess Homebody?"
Cipher's eyes widened slightly as she stared at Castorice's valiant combat form in astonishment.
In her vision, the enormous horde of black tide creatures that had once seemed overwhelming was now being effortlessly suppressed by Castorice alone. With a casual swing of her scythe through the air, terrifying waves of power instantly swept across the battlefield.
Some of the black tide creatures suddenly knelt with their hands clasped together as though worshipping some unknown existence before being completely obliterated by dragon breath, while those without limbs were instantly cleaved apart mid-charge, their bodies splitting cleanly into two before collapsing onto the ground.
"Why does she have the aura of the Coreflame of Trickery on her...?"
"And why is she so strong? Like, even stronger than me?"
"I've only been away from Okhema for a few years. What the hell happened here?"
As Cipher continued questioning the absurd situation, one thing after another, Zagreus finally couldn't help but chime in as well.
"Boss, it feels like we've seriously fallen behind the times..."
Floating beside Cipher, Zagreus scratched their head awkwardly, looking completely helpless while staring at the chaotic battlefield before them.
===
At the eastern city wall, after Khaslana was encompassed by the song played by Aglaea, he quickly discovered that the endlessly surging black tide could no longer erode anything around it.
Now, the pitch-black corruption that had previously devoured everything in its path was being completely blocked outside the range of the song, unable to advance even a single inch further, no matter how violently it surged.
"What on earth is this power... there's actually something that can directly block the black tide?"
Khaslana muttered in disbelief, his eyes filled with astonishment as he looked toward the source of the song.
"It has to be Lucian's power, another one of those bizarre abilities... As expected of the Deliverer I've been waiting for."
After going through so many recurrences, he had never once seen or even heard of an invincible soundwave domain like this before, so it could only be a power from outside Amphoreus, and if it was a power from outside Amphoreus, then the only logical explanation was that it belonged to Lucian.
Still, the fact that it could actually prevent the black tide from advancing even a single inch so effortlessly was simply outrageous—it was even more unbelievable than the power contained within his four hundred million Coreflames.
"Finally... we're finally getting through this, the Deliverer who would save Amphoreus truly exists..."
Feeling the suffocating pressure that had weighed on him for countless recurrences finally begin to ease slightly, Khaslana couldn't help but let out a long, relieved breath.
===
Just as Khaslana had witnessed, when the song, affected BGM, echoed throughout every corner of Okhema, people quickly discovered that the unstoppable black tide had actually been blocked outside the song's range of influence, unable to advance even a single step, no matter how violently it surged forward.
In an instant, the suffocating feeling of apocalyptic disaster that had weighed heavily on everyone's hearts completely vanished, replaced by a blazing courage and hope that spread through the city like wildfire.
"Let me fight! I can take on a hundred of those damn monsters!"
"I'll take on a thousand with the Deliverer's protection!"
"Great! We're saved!"
All across Okhema, the citizens erupted into cheers of joy—some even cried and laughed like madmen as they completely cast aside the despair, fear, and anxiety that had been tormenting them every single day for so long.
Even Aglaea herself was affected by the song's influence, feeling as though she had returned to her peak condition, as if the exhaustion and pressure weighing on her body had all been swept away in an instant.
===
At the same time, inside the observation chamber of the Scepter δ-me13, countless streams of data rapidly flickered across the surrounding floating screens as Lygus suddenly received a series of alerts from the Scepter itself.
[An unknown force is interfering with Okhema and the Sea Siren Kingdom.]
[Data cannot be merged, reboot impossible, process forcibly suspended, extreme anomaly detected, suspected virus, scanning in progress…]
[An unknown virus has enhanced the twelve factors, locking two data streams, unable to forcibly advance.]
[Administrator notified.]
Seeing the endless strings of alerts continuously appearing before his eyes, Lygus could not help but feel puzzled.
"A virus? Who could bring a virus into Amphoreus?"
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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