---o---
The simultaneous appearance of Phantylia and Stelle on the screen sent a wave of excitement through the countless viewers across the infinite dimensional cosmos.
After all, aside from the not-so-bright Swarm King, Phantylia and Stelle were the only characters from the world of Honkai: Star Rail to have appeared in the video.
Compared to the Ultra universe, which everyone was now quite familiar with, the unknown Star Rail universe was obviously more intriguing.
[Light Curtain Comments]
[Yukino Yukinoshita: "Next should be Nexus's time to shine. There's no way Phantylia can be a match for Stelle and the others. However, knowing that woman's personality, she's bound to pull some despicable tricks, especially with the Ultra Brothers captured."]
[Detective Conan: "Direct combat is not Phantylia's forte. Her fighting ability depends on the person she possesses. Since the Darkness Armor couldn't even defeat Belial, it goes without saying it's no match for the current Zero and Nexus."]
[Great Emperor of the Dark Universe: "Heh, how could my armor be weaker than a mere Ultra Warrior? It's just that no one besides myself can control it. If I were the one wearing that armor, the entire Ultra race of the Land of Light would be nothing to me! Even Phoenix Brave wouldn't be a match for me!!"]
[Galaxy Baseballer: "But... it seems like you never got to wear it, and you even lost it......"]
[Great Emperor of the Dark Universe: "..."]
[Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Speaking of which, the video mentioned before that Phantylia is a Suiyang, which means she's essentially immortal. I thought Yapool already had strong life force, but he still 'died' at Phantylia's hands. Does this prove... that Phantylia has even greater survivability than Yapool?"]
[Director of the Land of Light Meatpacking Plant: "It's hard to say. Yapool has been committing evil across the universe and has been destroyed countless times, but his vengeful spirit always returns. While we don't know what a Suiyang is exactly, if Phantylia is a similar existence, then the universe... will never know peace..."]
In the Land of Light, Ace let out a deep sigh. Phantylia was far more difficult to deal with than Yapool.
Although the Super Beasts created by Yapool were extremely powerful, they were still within the range that the Space Garrison could handle. Moreover, the more powerful the Super Beast, the longer the time and cycle required for its creation.
But Phantylia was different. That creature... while she couldn't create Super Beasts, she could manipulate people's hearts, sow discord, and even twist black into white.
She had effortlessly severed the bond that even Alien Empera couldn't break, and she could cause an entire race to be completely destroyed by infighting and internal strife.
From this perspective, Phantylia was an absolutely dangerous element, ten thousand times more terrifying than Yapool!
---o---
[In the video, having discerned the complex nature within Stelle, even Phantylia, as a Lord Reaver, did not dare to be careless.]
Any of the complex elements within Stelle's body held nearly infinite potential. Even with the divine power granted to her by Nanook, she wasn't guaranteed to be a match.
Of course, if Phantylia knew that Stelle had been just an ordinary Stellaron-infused human before this, her jaw would have hit the floor.
After all... a mere Stellaron-human couldn't possibly be a match for an Emanator. Yet, the current Stelle possessed the ability to fight one. The leap in her power was a bit too exaggerated.
"Who are you? A Nameless? Or a follower of the Amber King?"
Carefully sizing up Stelle, who came from the same universe as her, Phantylia asked with considerable interest.
A being sent by the Amber King, even if they weren't an Emanator, was absolutely not to be underestimated. He was one of the most ancient gods, after all. Even Lord Nanook was but a newborn infant before the Amber King.
Phantylia thought to herself. Though her words were casual, her heart was filled with vigilance towards Stelle.
In truth, neither [The Trailblaze] nor [Preservation] were easy opponents.
But if she really had to compare, the Amber King was a bit more terrifying in the grand scope of the cosmos.
After all, Akivili, for all his power, had already fallen. The Amber King, however, was not only alive, but his followers were spread across the entire cosmos. In a sense, the Amber King was the most popular Aeon with the most believers.
Faced with Phantylia's question, Stelle looked at the endless darkness before her with her golden eyes, her hands on her hips. "I am the Galaxy Baseballer from the Astral Express! I am here now to end your evil!!"
This childish and naive act made Phantylia laugh. Enveloped in a gloomy, dark light, she chuckled, "So you're a Nameless. Is the Astral Express starting to trailblaze another universe now?"
As she spoke, a floating, dark-colored sphere appeared before everyone.
Seeing this, Sakomizu Shingo at her side's eyes sharpened at once!
"That sphere is... Phantylia!"
"Is that thing her true body? Captain, should we shoot it down now?"
Aboard the Phoenix, the members of GUYS were repairing the weapon systems while asking Sakomizu.
The special magnetic field here hadn't just destroyed the Phoenix's engines; it had shut down all of their equipment.
Hearing his team members, Sakomizu's gaze fell upon Stelle. "Don't be hasty. That girl... she's an Ultra Warrior, just like Mirai. It seems she has a grudge with Phantylia."
At this point, Stelle was unaware that she already had a grudge with Phantylia. She clearly didn't even know who Phantylia was. Right now, she was simply carrying out justice.
"If the Astral Express learns of the existence of another universe, perhaps they would cross the barrier between cosmos to trailblaze here. But... we would definitely come to this universe for peaceful exchange, unlike you... who has been assisting the Swarm King and abetting a tyrant!"
Why did the Amber King send someone to stop Phantylia? Wasn't it because she was an Emanator of Destruction?
If it were a believer of any other Aeon, even the Masked Fools, they would absolutely be better than Destruction.
Hearing Stelle's answer, Phantylia sneered, "Peaceful exchange? Isn't it because of trailblazers like you that the universe has become what it is today?"
["Alright, stop with the hypocritical act. I don't know why the Amber King would assign a Nameless to come here, but... since you want to obstruct [Destruction], then let me test your skills!!"]
As Phantylia's voice fell, the stable ground suddenly began to tremble. Countless streams of darkness flowed into the sphere that was her true body.
Immediately after, the pure darkness that could only appear on Alien Empera himself completely enveloped Phantylia.
With a loud bang, a pair of scarlet eyes appeared in the endless darkness.
The Darkness Armor, a longsword at its waist and a trident in hand, descended upon the land, its very appearance causing a massive tremor.
This was Alien Empera's spaceship. The reason Phantylia had chosen this place as her stronghold, besides for concealment, was for another, very important reason... after Alien Empera's death, the darkness here could be converted into her energy.
Without a doubt, Phantylia's current combat power was at least ten times what it was before!
The Darkness Armor was also one of Alien Empera's weapons, and it perfectly synergized with the energy here. Under this premise, defeating Phantylia within Alien Empera's spaceship was absolutely impossible!
"Hahaha, the things that emperor left behind are really useful, be it the Darkness Armor or the spaceship."
"Do you feel it? This is the radiance of [Destruction]. Once this universe is completely destroyed, I will take this power back and use it... to completely destroy the Astral Express, and annihilate all those who try to obstruct Lord Nanook!" Phantylia laughed, her words filled with arrogance.
But as Stelle heard Phantylia's words, her expression suddenly changed, becoming extremely dangerous!
Destroy the Astral Express?
If Stelle's previous actions were merely due to the Amber King's guidance, forcing her to fight Phantylia, then the moment Phantylia declared she would destroy the Astral Express, this matter no longer had anything to do with the Amber King.
Stelle had no memories of her past. The first people she saw when she opened her eyes were March 7th and Dan Heng. During her time with everyone on the Express, Stelle had already come to see them as her family.
Anyone, not just Phantylia, even if the Aeon of Destruction himself came, would have to step over her dead body to destroy the Express!!
As the almost tangible anger welled up in her heart, a bright light shone from Stelle's palm.
Immediately after, the Evoltruster materialized in her hand.
[She raised it high above her head and then coldly declared, "Nexus!"]
[A seven-colored radiance appeared. This time, the light curtain presented Nexus's complete transformation sequence to the audience across the infinite dimensional cosmos.]
---o---
[Light Curtain Comments]
[March 7th: "So... so scary! So this is what Stelle looks like when she's angry. I've never seen her get so mad before. That look in her eyes... it's like she wants to eat someone alive!!"]
[Cold-Faced Young Dragon: "...Phantylia set her sights on the Express. It's no wonder Stelle is this furious. If it were me, I'd feel the same way."]
[March 7th: "Dan Heng would get angry too? Hmm... let me picture that... huh... I can't picture it. It's already a big deal for you to even crack a smile. But threatening the Express... if it were me, I absolutely wouldn't allow it either!"]
[Welt on His Knees: "Phantylia is worthy of being a Lord Reaver. After realizing the power disparity, she quickly used Alien Empera's legacy to strengthen herself. This is going to be a bit troublesome."]
[Himeko of the Astral Express: "Even after his death, the legacy left by Alien Empera is still so astonishing. He is truly a worthy nemesis of the Land of Light. If all the darkness he accumulated over thirty thousand years were brought to Earth, I fear that just as he said, even Phoenix Brave would not be his match..."]
[Great Emperor of the Dark Universe: "The power I left behind was inherited by a mere rat... a detestable usurper! If I have the chance, I will make you wish you were dead..."]
---o---
[In the video, the battle between the Darkness Armor and Nexus began.]
Having to use Nexus's body for the first time in a fight, Stelle was at a disadvantage from the very beginning.
One reason was her lack of combat experience. After all, no matter how talented Stelle was, she couldn't compare to the Lord Reaver Phantylia, who had lived for who knows how many years.
Another reason was that Nexus drained life force. Compared to the zero-cost consumption of Phantylia's Darkness Armor, the toll Nexus took on its human host was far more severe.
This was especially true since Stelle had applied the power of the Path of Destruction to Nexus's body, which caused her physical functions to be overdrawn even faster.
"Stelle, don't worry about the cost, just go all out! Even if Nexus is defeated, you still have me! This guy who's neither human nor ghost has been talking way too much. I've been wanting to beat him up for a while now!"
While Stelle fought, Zero, hidden within her body, encouraged her from her ear.
For Stelle to use Nexus's body and the Path of Destruction to fight an Emanator of Destruction, a Lord Reaver, a representative of the Aeon of Destruction... in Zero's eyes, it was a bit like showing off in front of an expert.
"BOOM!!"
As Zero was thinking, Nexus's arm collided with the Darkness Armor's trident, creating a violent sonic boom.
"Haha, a Nameless following the guidance of the Amber King, using the Path of Destruction to fight an Emanator of Destruction. That's quite a good joke."
"Is the Amber King getting senile? To actually send a non-Emanator so confidently."
Sensing the weak power from Nexus, Phantylia laughed, her eyes filled with disdain.
No matter how complex her body's composition was, she was ultimately just an ordinary person. Compared to her, an Emanator of Destruction, the difference was like heaven and earth.
"Can you stop talking? You talk way too much. I just wanted to simply feel the combat power of an Emanator, and now it seems... you're nothing special!"
Stelle gave Phantylia a cold glare and kicked the Darkness Armor, sending it staggering back several steps.
Then, Nexus raised a single hand over his head, reverting from his original Destruction form to a simple red Junis form.
In fact, if Noah were in control, the Junis Red form alone would be enough to defeat Phantylia. But the gap between Stelle and Noah was truly too vast to be compared.
After reverting to the Junis Red form, Stelle took a deep breath. The power the Amber King had given her hadn't been used yet. She calmed her mind and began to feel the sliver of divine power that the Amber King had bestowed upon her.
It was a scorching divine power, a flame, and also... a Flame Lance!!
A power welling up from the bottom of her heart once again enveloped Nexus's red Junis form. A blazing flame arrived with Stelle's call.
[Nexus Preservation Form, Deployed!!!]
---o---