Celenova stared at Acheron, who looked calm and composed, as if she were out on a peaceful stroll. Her gaze was dark and unreadable.
An emanator of [IX].
But rather than calling them followers who walked on the Aeon's path, it would be more accurate to say they were travelers walking a path destined for self-destruction.
And Acheron, a standout even among them, bore a power that was even more terrifying.
Even if Acheron did nothing and merely stood there, the field she naturally carried would erode everything around her, even the environment itself.
This was [IX].
The location of [IX] was no secret among those who sought it. Many had devoted themselves to tracking the footsteps of the Aeons, and indeed, some had witnessed an Aeon crossing the starry void in overwhelming grandeur.
But no one dared to enter the star region where [IX] resided, nor even approach it.
An existence that countless interstellar adventurers did not even dare to think about.
This was Nihility.
"[IX] does not concern itself with conflict. Your reason for doing this shouldn't be for yourself, should it?" Celenova said calmly.
"A friend's request." Acheron replied indifferently.
Before Celenova could ask further, a fierce offensive erupted.
A cold flash of light streaked forth. An overwhelming sense of danger made every hair on Celenova's body stand on end as she reacted instinctively.
Retreat! A streak of red cut across the starry sky in an instant, leaving a shallow scar on the activated planet.
Brushing past that strike, Celenova's heart sank.
"That blade..." She knew Acheron was strong, but she had never imagined she would be this strong!
Even among Emanators, there were clear differences. If Celenova herself was a commander-type talent...
Then Acheron, with just that single strike, could be called frontline-type talent!
With a single slash, she severed illusion itself!
"Are all of you this insane?!" Celenova felt her worldview tremble.
The Emanator of Nihility had never appeared before. She had never encountered one. Her pride had always made her dismiss everything beneath the Aeons .
This was arrogance.
And she, Celenova, a Lord Ravager under Nanook, had the capital and qualifications to be arrogant. But that arrogance had been heavily cut down by the radiance of Acheron's blade just now.
Both were Emanators. Neither would ever willingly admit inferiority, yet her danger sense told her clearly,
If they truly fought, she would be at a disadvantage!! However... that was in a one-on-one fight!
"Since you've chosen to act, then come." Her gaze shifted. A terrifying aura surged from Celenova's body as the exclusive presence of Destruction erupted without restraint.
At the same time, the planet Rahu slowly began to transform.
The transformation wasn't complete yet, but it was already enough. Celenova let out a cold hum.
An activated planet possessed raw power no less than that of an Emanator. It was only because no one controlled it that it could act solely on instinct, completely wasting that power.
Now that she was in control, she could fully unleash strength rivaling that of an Emanator.
Two Emanator-level forces acting together, plus the legion she commanded, forget capturing Acheron, severely injuring her would be effortless!
"Weng!" Upon receiving their commander's order, countless Void soldiers abandoned their current enemies and began to converge.
They blotted out the sky.
The oppressive presence of the legion gradually revealed itself. Under Celenova's command, this overwhelming military force, one that had brought destruction to countless worlds, was displayed in full!
Such a massive legion was not only the result of Celenova's own efforts, but also because she followed Destruction's path.
Nanook might know what was happening here. Or might not.
But while none of this mattered to an Aeon. It mattered immensely to the Aeon's followers!
As more and more forces converged, the surrounding Imaginary energy surged exponentially.
Without warning, the image on the communicator screen was lost. The Astral Express crew was caught completely off guard.
"It should be that the Imaginary energy fluctuations from both the legion and Celenova herself are too intense. Miss Acheron's communicator can't withstand an impact of this scale."
Himeko analyzed calmly.
"Ah! Miss Acheron will be okay, right? Oh no, oh no, she really shouldn't have gone over there!" March 7th looked frantic.
Dan Heng remained silent.
He truly didn't want the Cloud Knights to lose their lives in this mission, but Acheron's involvement had never been part of the plan.
Even if she had wandered into the Hisei Star System by getting lost herself.
In the end, her actions were helping the Xianzhou.
"Believe in Acheron." Stelle spoke up. "She's someone who scared The Family so badly they rushed out overnight. Celenova is nothing, she could wipe her out with a flip of her hand!"
Only those who had faced that blade being drawn would truly understand how powerful Acheron was.
She existed far beyond ordinary Emanators. She was an Emanator of [IX].
"Sigh... at this point, all we can do is trust Miss Acheron." March 7th let out a powerless sigh.
"Why can't the Express just warp directly to the Hisei Star Region!!!"
"Because the Express doesn't have enough fuel to reach the Hisei Star Region, Pom."
....
Hisei Star Region.
The stars themselves became a battlefield, shattered again and again by the collision of Emanator-level might.
A massive stellar structure charged forward recklessly. Its enormous size appeared clumsy to those at this level, yet within that clumsiness was an incomparable sense of power and an unstoppable, terrifying momentum.
Nothing along its path could withstand the impact of the planet.
They were either crushed into dust, or gave birth to life only to be devoured.
Yet such massive consumption produced no noticeable change in the planet Rahu.
It couldn't even slow its advance. The edge of Destruction spread across countless stars nearby.
This disturbance was so immense that even a few outer civilizations of the Hisei Star Region sensed it.
Realizing that two world-destroying horrors were clashing at the heart of their home, all prior conflicts were cast aside as they fled together in terror.
The Stormbringer drew its arrows. The Doomsday Beast unleashed beams of light.
Terrifying monsters deemed invincible in mortal eyes were, at a certain moment, all erased by crimson light, leaving no trace behind.
Acheron's steps were firm, neither hurried nor slow, as she walked forward.
With every next step, the surroundings grew increasingly silent and estranged.
The domain of Nihility enveloped them, gray despair shrouding every day of their future, and today marked the end of all those days.
The legion was enormous beyond measure. Streaks of dark red carved out thousands, tens of thousands of empty spaces in the void, only to be filled again in less than two seconds by Void Troopers surging in from all directions, repeating the same process over and over.
This was the power that allowed the legion to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Swarm.
Yet under those crimson beams of light, that power appeared utterly dim.
Like fireflies set against the bright moon, merely placing them side by side was enough to seem laughable.
Celenova knew she could not delay any longer.
She knew far too little about this Emanator of Nihility.
In fact, the entire galaxy possessed very little intelligence on them, and the scant information that did exist came from the slash Acheron had unleashed in the Asdana Star System last time.
The longer this dragged on, the worse the situation would become for her.
As the vanguard general, she naturally possessed her own decisiveness. Facing Acheron head-on at this moment meant bearing the heaviest pressure, but hesitation was no longer an option.
Gradually, Acheron was the only figure left in Celenova's eyes. Every strike was flawless, sharp, and decisive.
As if she would never make a mistake.
But there is nothing in this world that is truly without error. Even Aeons can perish instantly due to a momentary lapse.
Her intent sharpened. Celenova's gaze condensed, and in the next second, countless streams of gray energy erupted from her body and spread outward.
Rising lines of energy appeared on innumerable Void Troopers, continuously extending, and in the blink of an eye, they had connected into a vast network.
The gray lines were thin. Acheron could sever them with a casual slash, or even shatter them with nothing more than raw pressure, without drawing her blade.
But these threads were only the surface. What truly mattered was the Imaginary energy constantly flowing through them.
It was the Path power that symbolized Destruction, endlessly pouring into the activated planet above.
The planet Rahu began to show large-scale reactions. Countless beings who had been wailing moments ago fell silent, entering deep slumber.
Acheron saw it clearly. This was not release brought by Destruction.
Rather, it was the fusion of Destruction and Abundance, a twisted result born of their forced coexistence.
The power of Abundance prevented them from dying, while the power of Destruction pushed them toward transformation into Void Rangers.
At the same time, the inherent power of the activated planet, along with the blessings of Abundance they bore, maintained a bizarre balance.
The most critical reason was that after the activated planet devoured the people, over countless days and nights, they repeatedly died and reassembled, over and over, until they had fused into a single entity.
Their auras intertwined.
"Buzz!!" Three forces overlapped.
Celenova, countless Void Rangers, the activated planet.
At this moment, the power of the planet Rahu reached a terrifying level, as if it could crush this stretch of starry sky at any time.
"Don't die, okay?" Celenova let out a soft laugh and gently pointed forward with her slender finger.
The massive body of the planet immediately charged toward Acheron like a bowling ball rolling across an arena.
Its constantly writhing body was the very essence of an activated planet.
The planet had not become a weapon of war for Destruction, but instead transformed into a horrifying existence where Abundance and Destruction were fused.
The current the planet alone could easily devour another Xianzhou ship with its own power!
Acheron lifted her gaze slightly, her expression still calm.
Whether an Emanator or anything else meant nothing to her. Faced with this situation, she simply needed to slowly raise her arm.
"Clang." The sword left its sheath.
"I weep for the departed..."
"Dusk's rain... it too shall fall."
Brilliant and dazzling, yet so overwhelming it stopped the heart, crimson light eclipsed all radiance in that fleeting instant. Even the planet paled in comparison.
This was the Emanator who walked out of Izumo, the witness of the Blood-Sin Spirits, the one who stepped onto the Path of Nihility.
Every person who walks the path of the Nihility ultimately shares the same fate, though each journey differs.
All traces of their existence vanish from the cosmos, leaving behind only fragments of memory in the minds of those who once walked alongside them.
Likewise, Nihility can turn many things into the same kind of existence as itself.
Just like this moment. As the blood-red curtain fell on the far shore, the planet was split in two.
The smile froze upon her face, vanishing without a sound.
Watching everything unfold, Celenova's pupils shrank, disbelief filling the eyes of the Lord Ravager.
One strike. A single overwhelming slash.
"It was cut in half!"
Celenova's pupils trembled as the massive the planet Rahu slowly split into two. The cut was eerily smooth, as if proving that the colossal structure had been cleaved cleanly by a blade.
Between the two halves falling apart, one could see the Emanator standing there. Her once-lustrous purple hair had turned into lifeless white at some unknown moment.
Crimson patterns stood out starkly against her snow-white skin, impossible to ignore.
She was... Raiden Bosenmori Mei.
She lifted her gaze slightly, the name surfacing within her mind.
Drawing her sword, Acheron's gaze, utterly different from before, pierced through the planet Rahu and locked onto the stunned Celenova behind it.
"How is this possible, so strong..." Celenova choked on her words.
No matter how she imagined it, she could never have expected this woman to be so powerful.
With a single slash, she cleaved apart the planet Rahu, an activated planet reinforced by multiple forces!
That was a structure far beyond an ordinary planet, further empowered by Path energy. Larger beings existed in the galaxy, but very few could defeat it.
And someone capable of cutting it down in a single strike should not exist among humans at all!
A question echoed within Celenova's mind.
She could not understand this women!!!
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T/N: Note: This was written before the Lord Ravagers trailer, so not sure who will win in their fight in canon.