At this very moment, the Bewitching Swarm King felt increasingly certain that the strategy it had developed after the Swarm Disaster—retreating behind everyone else and using illusions to conceal itself—was unquestionably the correct way to handle things.
Meanwhile, in a distant corner of the cosmos, Asat Pramad lowered his hand. His dice-shaped head rotated gently as he sighed and posted a message in the Lord Ravagers' group chat:
"The Supreme Destroyer has lost one of Their great generals. My rescue operation failed."
Celenova: "My power of Destruction and Harmony allows me to sense... Phantylia's life force rapidly weakening, even disappearing entirely."
Zephyro: "Hmph. What a useless fool. She could not even hold out for three minutes before being taken down. As expected, those who rely on schemes and trickery are all weaklings. Far too feeble.
"I truly cannot understand what the Supreme Destroyer was thinking, recruiting a Lord Ravager like Phantylia, who knows only how to toy with schemes and possesses little strength. @Asat Pramad, of course I am not talking about you. The power you displayed during this rescue operation was quite impressive. An Emanator of Trailblaze and an Emanator of Elation. Truly astonishing."
Celenova: "Regardless, one of our colleagues has passed away. We should observe a moment of silence for her, and the Antimatter Legion should suspend its campaign of destruction for half a day."
Zephyro: "A moment of silence? Completely unnecessary. The Legion has no reason to halt its advance for a weakling. When the Lord Ravager Zhuluo fell in the past, we did not mourn either. On the contrary, we should spur the Legion onward, bring even greater destruction to the cosmos, and burn everything to ashes!"
Archforger: "I am already using Warforge to transform the matter of three star clusters the Antimatter Legion has just conquered. Trillions upon trillions of Legion warriors will soon be born. Celenova, make good use of them."
Luxbane: "There is no need to grieve over Phantylia's departure. What awaits the cosmos's countless beings is an even more horrifying destruction. I shall extinguish all hope and light."
Celenova: "Then we will proceed as you have said. I will mobilize the Legion to destroy even more worlds and let the flames of the war of Destruction consume the entire cosmos..."
Celenova: "Also, with Phantylia's fall, the Supreme Destroyer will likely begin searching for a new Lord Ravager. Perhaps They will recruit fresh talent from another faction."
After posting those messages in the group chat, Celenova silently added in her heart.
Just like me. I was born after the Supreme Destroyer Nanook personally killed Eternal Centurion, an avatar of Harmony, and refined what remained!
Moreover, Harmony is hardly the only faction the Supreme Destroyer has poached from. Asat Pramad, the Lord Ravager who intervened from afar, unleashed impressive powers of Trailblaze and Elation. Both had reached the level of an Emanator.
Without question, our colleague Asat Pramad was a talent whom the Supreme Destroyer recruited from Aha, the master of Elation, and Akivili, the Aeon of Trailblaze, during an ancient Amber Era. And Asat Pramad was not the only one. The great heliobus Phantylia, who has now died, was the same.
As Celenova thought this, she suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise, her voice filled with astonishment.
She discovered that after Phantylia's aura weakened to a certain point, it did not disappear entirely. Instead, it stabilized.
"Phantylia... isn't dead?!"
...
Within a shattered planetary ring, Phantylia's consciousness awakened at that moment, and the flame of the great heliobus' consciousness began burning once more.
And she owed all of this to Herta, the person who had killed her.
That was right. The supertechnology developed by Herta had helped her revive—the technology known as the Soul Gem.
To explain why, one had to go back a month. Through possession, Phantylia had controlled a group of women from different backgrounds and civilizations, using them to purchase countless Soul Gems from the IPC.
Moreover, every time she destroyed a civilization, she used Soul Gems to contain the souls of the dead, imprisoning those souls so she could... absorb their emotional energy.
Heliobi fed on emotions. A great heliobus like Phantylia was even more dependent on them. During the past month she had spent within the shattered planetary ring, she constantly used the heliobus race's illusions to make the dead souls sealed inside the Soul Gems dream. Through those dreams, she made them experience excitement, happiness, despair, pain... and countless other emotions.
Through experiment after experiment, Phantylia discovered that the souls residing within the Soul Gems could survive for an extremely long time, allowing them to serve as batteries of emotional energy. Upon discovering this, a thought occurred to her: If the souls of the dead can reside within Soul Gems, could a great heliobus do the same?
Phantylia had not merely entertained the idea. She had acted upon it.
She divided her sense of self and soul, splitting away a portion of her soul essence. She then shaped that fragment into the form of a finger and placed it inside a Soul Gem, where it fell into slumber.
Furthermore, this fragment of her soul would only completely reignite at the instant her main body died...
And now, the consciousness that had awakened within the shattered planetary ring was precisely the great heliobus and Lord Ravager Phantylia, reactivated after sensing the death of her main body.
The newly revived Phantylia realized that her hypothesis had succeeded!
By dividing her soul and implanting part of it within a Soul Gem... she truly could restore herself and obtain a chance at resurrection.
At the same time, after examining her current condition, she discovered a terrifying fact. Her newly awakened soul did not merely suffer from a debilitating negative status effect. It had also become completely bound to the Soul Gem, preventing her from traveling too far away from it.
Or rather, the Soul Gem... had become her true body.
And that was the most crucial issue. Phantylia had no idea whether a genius like Herta had installed a backdoor within the Soul Gems. Had Herta truly done so, then Herta would possess the means to control her life and death.
"Damn."
Phantylia could not stop herself from cursing aloud. At the same time, she began analyzing the battle she had fought against Herta before her death. The more she analyzed it, the uglier her expression became. There was no other reason. Herta countered her far too thoroughly.
During the battle, she had taken the initiative to use emotional energy in an attempt to trap Herta within illusions and hallucinations, or force Herta into states of compulsory laziness and exhaustion.
However, all those inducement abilities had failed... or rather, all of them had been blocked by the terrifying psychic energy emanating from Herta's soul projection, that black sun within the Warp.
Once a heliobus who specialized in manipulating emotions lost the ability to control the emotions of others, her combat strength naturally declined by ninety-nine percent... and Herta ultimately blasted her apart.
"Haa..."
Phantylia drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the turmoil in her heart. She raised her head and looked across the shattered planetary ring, where she saw densely packed Soul Gems. Souls struggled within them, some wearing expressions of happiness, others twisted in pain.
Every living being residing within those Soul Gems was dreaming, continuously producing emotional energy for Phantylia and becoming batteries of emotion and soul.
These were the objects Phantylia had created after shattering several worlds, as well as the contingency she had prepared for herself.
With a single inhalation, she swallowed the emotional energy accumulated by the souls within trillions of Soul Gems. Her soul essence began to grow.
At that moment, Phantylia's soul essence rapidly expanded and recovered.
Of course, returning to her peak would still require an extraordinarily vast amount of emotional energy and a very long period of time. However, her current recovery was enough for her consciousness to leave the Soul Gem and return to reality.
Within the shattered planetary ring, the Soul Gem housing Phantylia began to glow and flicker repeatedly. Finally, a flame rose from it. The fire burned and converged, gradually forming a human figure.
The humanoid Lord Ravager Phantylia clenched her fists. Feeling the direct rays of the shattered planetary ring's sun upon her body, she smiled.
"I, Phantylia, have begun my second life..."
Then Phantylia noticed that something was wrong. She lowered her head and discovered that the clothes she wore were no longer dark and gloomy garments filled with an air of slaughter, destruction, and conspiracy.
Instead, they had transformed into a yellow outfit brimming with youthful and adorable energy.
What is going on?
Aren't these the clothes that only righteous magical girls wear in television dramas?
I'm a Lord Ravager. Isn't there something terribly wrong with me wearing magical-girl ceremonial attire symbolizing justice?!
The smile on Phantylia's face became incomparably rigid. She immediately tried to change clothes, only to discover a tragic reality. The yellow magical-girl outfit on her body could not be removed at all.
More importantly, after emerging from the Soul Gem and beginning her second life, her power as a heliobus had also undergone a subtle and miraculous transformation.
At that moment, the emotional energy produced by the countless nightmares woven together throughout the shattered planetary ring under the influence of her heliobus power began changing from overwhelmingly negative to entirely positive.
It was as though the dreams she had created... had become perfect, beautiful dreams! Dreams of the Infinite Tsukuyomi!
This reality twisted Phantylia's expression.
Is this some kind of joke?!
She was a Lord Ravager blessed by the Supreme Destroyer, a destroyer and despoiler who had used conspiracies to overthrow and annihilate more than one hundred and fifty ancient civilized worlds.
Yet now, she had become a creator of beautiful dreams... weaving pleasant dreams for the very people she had killed!
Phantylia's mentality nearly collapsed at that moment. At the same time, she raised her head and looked toward the stars in fear, terrified that the Supreme Destroyer would directly revoke Their blessing.
After all, she, a Lord Ravager, was now creating beautiful dreams.
Although this method allowed her to harvest emotional energy and accelerate the recovery of her heliobus power, she still feared that the Supreme Destroyer would believe she had betrayed Destruction.
Stop! Stop creating beautiful dreams! I'm not a magical girl! I'm a Lord Ravager!!
Damn you, Herta! You really did install a backdoor in the Soul Gems!
While Phantylia roared inwardly, she exerted her full strength to control her heliobus power, attempting to transform the pleasant dreams back into nightmares. However, no matter how hard she tried, all her efforts were futile.
This reality left her incomparably dejected. However, one thing brought her some relief. The Supreme Destroyer had not revoked Their blessing.
She, Phantylia, remained a Lord Ravager.
After pondering for some time, Phantylia concluded that since she could not change reality, she could only accept the fact that she was wearing magical-girl attire and that her heliobus power could now only grant others pleasant dreams.
Damn you, Herta. How despicable... She turned me, a Lord Ravager who walks the Path of Destruction and brings despair and annihilation to endless living beings, into someone capable only of granting others beautiful dreams...
After sighing, Phantylia finally logged into the Destruction faction's Lord Ravagers' group chat. She saw that the other Lord Ravagers were mourning her death, apart from Zephyro, who believed she had been too weak, had died far too carelessly, and had displayed none of the bearing or dignity a Lord Ravager ought to possess.
Phantylia was displeased by this. She believed that her rapid defeat and death had not resulted from her own incompetence. The main reason was that Herta perfectly countered her.
Warp technology was extremely effective against great heliobi who fought by manipulating emotional energy. She had to find a way to resolve that weakness. She also had to address the fact that soul projections within the Warp were far too conspicuous...
After finishing her internal summary, Phantylia posted a message in the Lord Ravagers' group chat:
"Everyone, I'm fine. There is no need to mourn me, nor any need to avenge me."
Asat Pramad: "Who hacked Phantylia's account?"
Archforger: "Could it be Aha?"
Asat Pramad: "It isn't Aha... Aha isn't in particularly good condition right now. However, according to my observations, Phantylia was indeed killed."
Celenova: "According to my senses, Phantylia's aura weakened dramatically not long ago, and she entered a state of death. Yet at that very moment, her aura appeared again."
Phantylia: "That's right. I died, and then I returned to life. I have begun my second life."
Celenova: "Have you successfully seized a miracle of Abundance? Have you achieved immortal rebirth?"
"No, no... My revival this time was not a miracle of Abundance. It came from Herta, the person who killed me... Her Soul Gems still possess enormous undeveloped potential." Phantylia explained solemnly in the group chat that she had achieved resurrection by splitting her soul and implanting the fragment within a Soul Gem.
Asat Pramad: "Start a video call and prove that you are truly yourself."
Phantylia: "..."
Asat Pramad: "Why are you hesitating? Could an Aeon truly have taken over your account?"
Phantylia quickly explained, "No. The main problem is that I have only just revived. My condition is poor, and I'm suffering from certain side effects. However, since everyone wishes to verify my identity, I will start a group video call."
Phantylia swiftly activated the video feed, revealing herself before the camera in magical-girl ceremonial attire, looking extraordinarily youthful, adorable, and filled with a sense of justice.
The Lord Ravagers' group chat fell silent. No one spoke until several minutes later, when Celenova finally typed a message:
"Phantylia, why have you changed into that outfit? You look like a champion of justice who has somehow appeared among a group of villains."
Asat Pramad also typed, "And you look extremely strange in those clothes, do you know that? You are clearly an ancient relic who has lived for countless years, yet you are dressed like a magical girl."
Reading the messages in the chat, Phantylia's beautiful face revealed a trace of helplessness. "This is a side effect of reviving through the Soul Gem... After I returned to life, I could no longer remove this outfit. I suspect Herta installed a backdoor program within the Soul Gems. Damn you, Herta."
Asat Pramad: "The side effect of resurrection is merely changing your clothes and altering your temperament? If that is truly all, then you were right when you said the Soul Gems possess enormous potential for further development."
Phantylia: "You could also divide your souls and place fragments inside Soul Gems. They may prove useful if you encounter a crisis in the future."
Asat Pramad: "Completely unnecessary. I have no desire to wear an outfit like that."
Zephyro: "With my strength, I can travel unhindered throughout the universe. I could never possibly encounter danger!"
Celenova: "I will consider it, but I will not immediately split my soul and place it within a Soul Gem... After all, whether Herta left contingencies within the Soul Gems remains uncertain."
Within the Lord Ravagers' group chat, they discussed the potential of the Soul Gems at length, as well as whether Herta had implanted hidden contingencies within them.
...
At the same time, the Xianzhou general Yao Guang and Yabuli began leading their personnel and starships away from The Blue star system, accompanied by the newly manufactured and modified psychic Herta puppets. They also carried with them the news that Herta had killed the Lord Ravager Phantylia.
The cosmos was shaken, and even more factions began investigating whether the news was genuine.
A Pure Child of Anāsrava from the Garden of Recollection's Eden of Blessed Insight, a pink-haired Pure Child, contacted the frontline reporter and Memokeeper Black Swan to ask whether Herta had truly killed Phantylia.
"Yes, Your Highness," Black Swan quickly replied through the power of the Path of Remembrance. "In this Amber Era, during the second month after Miss Herta became a genius and joined the Genius Society, she killed the Lord Ravager Phantylia! She dealt a heavy blow to the faction of Destruction!"
"I also recorded the moment Phantylia was killed and intend to turn it into a Light Cone commemorating the fall of a Lord Ravager."
"Unbelievable... The emergency bulletin from the Interastral Peace Entertainment News was actually true. And Herta is far too formidable!"
Black Swan: "I agree with your assessment, Your Highness."
Elsewhere, the reason the Interastral Peace Entertainment News Company had urgently announced the good news of Phantylia's death to the entire universe was that its influence extended into every corner of the cosmos, allowing it to confirm one fact:
After Yabuli, Jade, and the others reported that Herta had killed the Lord Ravager Phantylia, the forces of Destruction and the Antimatter Legion throughout the cosmos began to riot.
Without question, Herta had truly dealt a severe blow to the faction of Destruction... Only such an explanation could account for the collective unrest among all forces of Destruction throughout the cosmos. Naturally, the IPC had to publicize Herta's achievement across the entire universe in order to inspire the many factions that upheld cosmic order...
As for the Xianzhou Alliance, after Yao Guang and Fu Xuan brought back the news that Herta had killed the Lord Ravager Phantylia, everyone in the Alliance, including Marshal Hua, began treating this newly risen genius with even greater importance.
The Family did not particularly care that Herta had killed a Lord Ravager of Destruction. However, they cared about another piece of news they had received from The Blue star system.
Dominicus, an avatar of Harmony, had appeared within The Blue star system and recruited Herta on behalf of Harmony's will. Most importantly, Herta had actually refused.
She had dared to refuse. How outrageous!
Countless members of the Family became furious and wanted nothing more than to confront Herta. However, the moment they remembered that Herta possessed the strength to kill a Lord Ravager, their gazes became extraordinarily clear and rational.
After all, within the Family... under ordinary circumstances, the only beings who possessed Emanator-level combat power were the avatars of Harmony, the puzzle pieces of Xipe.
There were also the History Fictionologists. After witnessing and learning that Herta had killed Phantylia, who had been causing chaos throughout the Eastern Federation, every one of them panicked beyond measure.
Herta was far too formidable!
She appeared to have killed a Lord Ravager with extraordinary ease. More importantly, Phantylia was not the only one who had been causing trouble within the Eastern Federation. The History Fictionologists had been doing the same.
Of course, the Bewitching Swarm King had also been involved, but the Swarm King had fled long ago.
No. We need to run too. Otherwise, once the Enigmata shrouding us is seen through, Herta may very well kill us as well.
The History Fictionologists began considering how to escape.
Elsewhere, the Doctors of Chaos whom Herta had exiled were equally dumbfounded when they learned of Phantylia's death.
At that moment, all of them began to feel that Miss Herta merely expelling them had been a blessing. At least they had not suffered the same fate as Phantylia.
...
Phantylia herself naturally saw the news spreading throughout the cosmos that she had died, and it made her extremely furious.
However, she merely became angry for a moment. She did not dare appear publicly and announce that she was still alive.
After all, her condition was currently terrible. She had lost seventy to eighty percent of her strength. Were she to emerge now, countless people throughout the cosmos would be eager to hunt a Lord Ravager.
For example, those damned Galaxy Rangers, as well as the IPC...
Of course, an even more important problem was that she was still wearing magical-girl ceremonial attire that she could not remove.
Were she to reveal her true form in public, she would die of humiliation. Those Masked Fools would certainly mock her without mercy.
No, one Masked Fool had already ridiculed her relentlessly. That was Asat Pramad, the Emanator of both Destruction and Elation. Although he had not openly displayed much in the group chat, Phantylia could sense through her great heliobus abilities that Asat Pramad was laughing in the distance, mocking his colleague.
To avoid being mocked by even more Masked Fools—or even by all living beings throughout the cosmos—she first had to remove the magical-girl attire. Only then could she reappear, stir up chaos, and bring destruction to more worlds.
Elsewhere, Elio of the Stellaron Hunters had also witnessed the fact that Herta had killed Phantylia before bringing her back to life. The sight startled him tremendously.
There was no other reason. Phantylia's survival was connected to his script. Had Phantylia truly died, the script leading to the perfect future would have needed to change.
After all, Stelle, who would join the Nameless faction of Trailblaze in the future and board the relaunched Astral Express, had to establish a good relationship and alliance with the Xianzhou Alliance. The Jade Abacus of Allying Oath was equally indispensable.
At that moment, Kafka, standing nearby, spoke. "Elio, why did your fur suddenly stand on end?"
"I just saw Herta kill the Lord Ravager Phantylia. However, Phantylia was then brought back to life through Herta's own technology."
Kafka froze upon hearing this. "Herta killed and revived a Lord Ravager? Her strength has already reached such a level?!"
Beside them, Stelle clutched her head with both hands, revealing an expression of extreme astonishment. "Holy crap, Herta is that powerful?"
Blade said nothing. He was wondering whether Elio's claim that Herta had revived a Lord Ravager was true. If it was, did that not mean Herta had mastered a heaven-defying technology capable of resurrection?!
Silver Wolf, who loved gaming above almost everything else, stopped playing at that moment. She could not resist glancing over before quietly asking the consciousness of αWolf within the Soul Gem:
"A Lord Ravager. Herta killed one and then revived her. I feel like Herta activated a universal cheat engine and became a cheating player."
"By the way, αWolf... in the universe you came from, could you kill and revive a Lord Ravager?"
The αWolf consciousness residing within the Soul Gem remained silent for a long while before answering, "The power of αWolf LV.999, the Invincible Player, represents the pinnacle of an Emanator. At full strength, I might have had a chance of killing a Lord Ravager.
"But even an Invincible Player could never accomplish resurrection..."