"So… should I also say something like 'surrender now'?"
The Silvermane Guards who had come to arrest someone were quickly surrounded by hundreds of insects.
But that wasn't all—the sky over Belobog had already been swallowed by the swarm.
Day and night were indistinguishable.
Bronya felt a headache coming on. She had only intended to capture Sampo, a repeat offender, and just happened to run into his accomplice.
And now?
The entire situation had completely reversed.
Although the Fragmentum still continuously spawned Antimatter Legion forces, and they were used to fighting them—
The swarm was something else entirely.
Faced with an unknown enemy like this, no one dared act rashly.
"The Silvermane Guards will never retreat!"
Bronya stubbornly raised her rifle and aimed at Su Ran.
She knew he was the one controlling these creatures.
If she could capture him—
"Wouldn't it be better if I took the Stellaron? At least then, the eternal blizzard on your planet could subside."
Su Ran stepped forward into the encirclement, calmly facing the commander of the guards.
Her face was even more stern than that of the "Bronya" from Snezhnaya.
"…What you're saying—is it true?"
Bronya hesitated.
She had been ready to pull the trigger.
"I won't bother explaining too much. But I can tell you this—every disaster here was caused by that Stellaron. If I take it away, at the very least, the snowstorm won't worsen."
"…Why should I believe you?"
Even if it sounded plausible, why should she trust an enemy?
"Because I can have these insects wipe out everyone in Belobog within a minute."
There it was.
A threat.
Su Ran was an Emanator—why would he waste time explaining?
"Commander Bronya, you really need to think this through! This guy is absolutely not someone you can afford to mess with!"
Even Sampo didn't dare claim he could escape unscathed in front of the swarm—
Especially with an Emanator present.
He didn't want Jarilo-VI to end in tragedy.
Bronya shot him a fierce glare, then turned back to Su Ran with a restrained expression.
"But the Stellaron is only mentioned in historical records… that was hundreds of years ago. We know nothing about it now…"
As far as Belobog was concerned, almost no one truly understood the Stellaron.
"Your mother does."
"…How would you know that?"
Even Bronya herself wasn't sure what her mother knew.
How could this stranger know?
"Because every Supreme Guardian is influenced by the Stellaron. She's already accepted her fate."
"…."
Bronya glanced at the overwhelming swarm surrounding them.
She suppressed the urge to argue.
"I will report this to the Supreme Guardian."
She had no intention of bringing someone this dangerous directly before her.
This was merely a temporary measure.
After all, the swarm above them—like a surging tide—was utterly terrifying.
Even if she wasn't afraid of battle,
The civilians of Belobog did not deserve to suffer such a disaster.
"In your eyes, I'm already some kind of villain. When you report this, tell your mother not to struggle pointlessly. The Stellaron's power means nothing to an Emanator."
Knowing just how far Cocolia's judgment could fall,
Su Ran fully expected her to think she could fight back—
Perhaps even attempt one last desperate resistance using the Stellaron.
"…Understood."
Bronya accepted it.
She wasn't weak—
But she didn't have the courage to gamble the lives of all Belobog's people.
"But you must guarantee that your… subordinates won't harm a single citizen of Belobog!"
What she feared most was that Su Ran would go back on his word after obtaining the Stellaron.
"If you hadn't come looking for trouble, I wouldn't have bothered using them against you. You're not even worth stirring the swarm."
His arrogance—
Oddly reassured her.
The more arrogant he was, the better.
At least it meant Belobog might survive.
Su Ran waved his hand.
The swarm surrounding the Silvermane Guards instantly scattered and flew back into the sky, merging with the larger mass.
Sampo quickly leaned in.
"Boss, how are you controlling the swarm? These things are like the Antimatter Legion—mindless monsters!"
The Swarm was even more terrifying than the Destruction.
"I revived a Swarm Emanator."
"…."
Sampo instantly wilted.
Since when could Swarm Emanators be revived so casually?
Was this what a genius was capable of?
Even something like that… just done on a whim?
"Boss is amazing! Heh…"
He laughed awkwardly.
Above them, the swarm still churned endlessly.
It cast a shadow over Bronya and her squad's minds.
But they had no choice.
They couldn't seriously fight Su Ran—
That would be suicide.
They weren't afraid of war.
But only when facing enemies like those in the Fragmentum—
Enemies that gave them no chance to survive.
They fought to protect their home and their families.
But this?
This conflict could be avoided.
And the target was something that had been harming Belobog all along.
There was no reason to treat him as an enemy.
Bronya arranged for Su Ran to stay at the Goethe Grand Hotel.
She hoped that the best accommodations in Belobog would help stabilize this dangerous existence.
The commander of the Silvermane Guards personally escorting a strange man into the city—
And even placing him in the most luxurious hotel—
Quickly drew attention.
Belobog was an isolated city.
Just surviving was already difficult.
There weren't many topics for casual conversation.
But this one incident—Was enough to become widespread gossip.
After all, Bronya herself was a well-known figure.
And now she had suddenly brought back a handsome stranger—
Personally escorted him to the finest hotel—
Even instructed staff to treat him well, without explaining his identity.
No matter how one looked at it—
Something seemed off.
Of course,
Bronya had no time to care about that.
She had already headed to Qlipoth Fort—
To report everything to the Supreme Guardian.
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