As the Antimatter Legion advanced into the Jarilo system, it was as if another sun had risen on the horizon of New Belobog. A dim solar wind enveloped the ferocious humanoid figure. Herta watched the fire of annihilation in the distant sky, momentarily lost in thought.
The smile that the authority of the [Elation] Aeon had forced onto her lips vanished the instant He departed. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and the bionic fingers of her puppet clenched so tightly that the light alloy skeleton within emitted an ominous crack.
Lord Ravager · [The Burning Wind].
This was the first time Herta had faced such an enemy.
Although they were both Emanators, and Herta shared the same status as Burning Wind—executing the will of an Aeon, wielding the infinite power of her Path with impunity—there was always a difference in strength between individuals.
Herta could oppose Burning Wind, could play a game of chess with him on the board of the cosmos, could even test his strength a little... but that did not mean she had the ability to defeat him.
In fact, in a true, no-holds-barred battle, even if Herta were to abandon her puppet shell and appear on the battlefield in her true form, she would have absolutely no chance of defeating Burning Wind unless she was on her home turf, like the Azure Star, or on familiar ground where she could maneuver, like Planet Screwllum or the banquet-plane anchored by Elias Salas.
And now, appearing only in the body of a puppet and facing a Lord Ravager backed by the full might of the Antimatter Legion, the most she could do was delay his ash-treading steps... and that delay could be measured in days, at most.
While the Genius Society had its share of [Erudition] Emanators renowned for their destructive power—madmen like [The Silent Lord] Polka Kakamond who could maintain their mystery across the universe, and calamities like [The Emperor] Rupert who had sparked a cosmic disaster, a machine rebellion whose harm was on par with the "Cosmic Locust Plague"—Herta's own combat power could not compare to theirs.
Herta's strength was more evident in her research on the universe's many difficult problems. While she wasn't purely a scholar, she was by no means an Emanator famed for her martial prowess.
But Burning Wind, on the other hand... this Lord Ravager had followed a path of extreme, violent destruction ever since he was first observed. Every world he invaded was utterly annihilated in an apocalyptic tableau. In his wake, even the stars themselves were burned to cinders.
In the year 6804 of the Stellar Calendar, he ignited the sun of New Bethlehem, scorching its surface with massive radiation until it vitrified.
In the year 7143, he whipped the atmosphere of Planet Adyllan into a colossal cyclonic storm, tearing its ecosystem to shreds.
In the year 7658, he drilled through the crust of the Shield of the Moon-Guardian and delivered a strike to its core, crushing the entire world...
Although Herta was not incapable of achieving such feats of ultimate destruction, it would require meticulous planning and the assistance of tools. She was more inclined to use the tools she had researched to accomplish such "great works," rather than relying solely on her physical body and the power of her Path.
But Burning Wind would not give you time to prepare.
The Antimatter Legion was always like this, suddenly swarming from the horizon like locusts, sweeping over civilizations and leaving behind only a desolate land, devoured to the last.
And now, the pitch-black "swarm" was flying in from beyond the sky, about to sweep over New Belobog, burn everything to ash, and greedily stuff it all into its maw to chew on the civilization's remains.
The ferocious, flame-wreathed humanoid figure stood at the very front of the army. This Lord Ravager never hesitated to act personally; in fact, a cathartic, hands-on destruction was what fit his aesthetic. Only by personally thrusting his hands into a planet's core, detonating the fires of calamity from within, and witnessing the world's collapse with his own eyes could he achieve the destruction he craved...
Looking at the figure wreathed in calamitous fire on the horizon, Herta hesitated for a moment, but finally sighed, made up her mind, and took a step, preparing to ascend to the heavens and face this notoriously vicious Lord Ravager.
Although she had no chance of defeating him and could only struggle to hold on, New Belobog unfortunately had no other Emanator-level combatant to step up and stop this great enemy who could incinerate their ecumenopolis all by himself.
If Herta went to hold him off now, New Belobog might last a while longer. If she failed, it wouldn't be long before Jarilo-VI repeated the fate of Adyllan and the Shield of the Moon-Guardian, meeting a cold, final destruction.
But just as Herta took a step, Ron, who had just drained the mead from his cup, casually tossed the goblet aside. He let the crystal glass, formed from the divine power of [Elation], dissolve into scattered motes of light. Savoring the burning sensation born from the depths of his heart and now flowing through his body, he smiled and stopped Herta.
"No need... Herta. You don't have to be the one to deal with this guy."
"You have another way?" Herta looked at the frantic fireworks on the horizon, her tone grave. "That is a [Lord Ravager] who focuses on destruction... As the second-most observed of the seven Lord Ravagers, Burning Wind's strength cannot be underestimated."
As she spoke, her steps did not halt despite Ron's intervention. She continued forward. "If you're not absolutely sure, let me handle it..."
"No, there's no need."
But Ron blocked Herta again, shaking his head with a light smile.
"Herta, it would be a waste to use your power on him... This guy isn't without someone to handle him. We just need to wait a little."
Ron spoke with a grin, looking at the empty air beside them.
"Although it seems someone was just here, I don't think that counted as a divine descent of [The Elation] Aha... Someone's bold promise from earlier should probably be fulfilled now. How about you drag that big, fiery guy a little further away—"
"Right, my dear friend, Mr. Sampo Koski?"
The "air" beside them distorted for an instant. A greenish scratch appeared, and a pair of hands reached out from it, tearing open space. Then, a blue-haired man with a sycophantic grin stepped out of the rift.
He had returned to Jarilo-VI right after [The Elation] Aha left, hiding nearby...
As a lone [Elation] Emanator, when Sampo was serious, he could use the authority of his Path to "play tricks" on reality to a certain extent, such as completing a leap that crossed an entire star system.
But now he was full of regret. He regretted not running away completely, instead wanting to get a closer look at the fun, to see what would happen to Ron after Aha left...
But to his surprise, Aha's actions had not been a prank on Ron at all. The cup of mead he gave Ron was not a bone-dissolving poison coated in a beautiful layer of sugar, but a true, genuine blessing from the master of the Path of [Elation]...
He didn't get to see any fun. Instead, because of his earlier chest-thumping words, he was about to be extorted by this guy with a knife hidden behind his smile.
As a Masked Fool, an Emanator of [Elation], it had always been old Sampo who extorted others. When had it become his turn to be extorted?
But... he still had to swallow his pride.
Even if there were often deviations between the thoughts of an Emanator and their Aeon—and this deviation was even greater on the Path of [Elation]—Sampo was still Aha's Emanator. In the grand scheme of things, he still had to carry out his Aeon's will...
Others might not know, but as an [Elation] Emanator, Sampo knew with absolute certainty that Aha had truly come to this world just now. He hadn't even expected the coin he casually made to have such an effect, summoning Aha himself in the flesh.
Furthermore, after bestowing the mead and drinking with Ron, it was clear the mead was not poison... [The Elation] Aha himself treated Ron with such favor. What could a mere Emanator like him do?
He could only do as Ron said... Aha had gone off to fight [The Destruction] Nanook for Ron's sake. As his subordinate Emanator, even if it was just to avoid being turned into a joke by Aha in the future, he should probably step up and show some loyalty now.
Damn it all... What was the deal with this guy? Could he be [The Elation] Aha's illegitimate son?
Sampo cursed the injustice in his heart, but thinking of his Aeon's flighty style, he quickly accepted it.
Whatever... If Ron said [The Elation] Aha was never here, then he was never here.
If old Sampo had to do some work for free, then so be it.
It's not like he was losing anything, right?
After consoling himself for a while, Sampo looked at Ron, rubbed his hands, and put on a smile that was both awkward and elegant.
"Hey now, don't be in such a hurry, boss. Old Sampo's word is as good as gold. When have I ever gone back on it? If I said no charge, then no charge! Old Sampo will definitely fight this battle beautifully for you today, boss!"
He pointed at the ferocious, flame-wreathed figure on the horizon and swore with a righteous expression.
"It's him, right? Just you watch, boss. For the future of Belobog, I will not let him touch a single superconducting cable of our New Belobog, even if I have to bet old Sampo's life on it!"
Then, a fierce wind suddenly howled past. Herta saw Sampo vanish in an instant, and the flame-wreathed figure on the horizon suddenly seemed to take a heavy blow, a gash being cut through the calamitous fire around him.
The next moment, a verdant gale swept over the Lord Ravager [The Burning Wind], carrying him far away from Jarilo-VI, and he vanished from everyone's sight.
The scene on the screen faded, and new lines of text appeared:
[You successfully summoned [The Elation] Aeon, Aha, and drank divine blood with him, clinking glasses in delight.]
[The Antimatter Legion approached New Belobog like a swarm of insects. The flame-wreathed figure arrived with an aura of destruction. The Lord Ravager stretched his ferocious body, preparing to launch the first wave of attack and set Jarilo-VI ablaze.]
[You felt a power gradually emerge from the mead that went down your throat. As you digested this power, you used the lingering authority of [The Elation] Aha to command the [Elation] Emanator, Sampo, to confront the Lord Ravager · [The Burning Wind], who was leading the Antimatter Legion toward Jarilo-VI.]
[The first wave of the Antimatter Legion's attack was forcefully neutralized by the intervention of the [Elation] Emanator. In an instant, Sampo swept Burning Wind away to an unknown location. The two Emanators will now begin a duel, just like their Aeons. It is unknown which star system will suffer the consequences, becoming the unlucky victim destroyed by the aftershocks of their battle.]
[But that is of no concern to you. Burning Wind's forced departure became the signal for a counterattack. The once menacing Antimatter Legion, before they could even begin their destructive feast, fell into a brief moment of chaos due to their commander's disappearance.]
[And the starship fleet of New Belobog was already prepared. You terminated the fleet's concealment order and activated the databank AI's authorization to fire. In an instant, countless pitch-black warships outside Jarilo-VI shed their optical camouflage. Like a swarm of bees, they enveloped the Antimatter Legion's vanguard within their cannon range, revealing their cold, sharp light in the cosmos.]
[The main cannon modules began to charge. The Imaginary energy, squeezed from the Stellaron and stored in the energy modules, condensed into a mass. Golden-yellow antimatter fission rays shot out in an instant, piercing through the Legion's vanguard like a dense cluster of needles.]
[For the first time, these war machines suffered such a heavy blow without achieving any results. Countless warships forged from twisted antimatter were torn apart by the fission rays, exploding and annihilating in an instant, meeting the purest form of destruction.]
[If an uninformed observer were to watch this battle, they might suspect that the Antimatter Legion had inexplicably started a civil war. Otherwise, what were these pitch-black warships that used the Legion's own weapons and mercilessly tore their vanguard to annihilation dust?]
[However, although this surprise attack yielded considerable results, the counterattack came to an abrupt halt—]
[The pawns of the Antimatter Legion, despite their heavy losses, were no longer a disorganized mob, nor did they panic due to Ron's surprise attack.]
[The great Lord Ravager hiding in the back, the master strategist, finally began to guide the legion's blade. She effortlessly threaded the needle, using these pawns as thread to weave a thick, heavy net of destruction. The Antimatter Legion began to advance steadily across the battlefield, launching a fierce counterattack against the enemy starships, locking them in a stalemate with the New Belobog fleet...]
[This was clearly [The Destruction] Nanook's most frequently deployed general, the [Destruction Emanator] whose legion's footprints covered the sea of stars, who could effortlessly weave paths of march and destruction among the stars—]
[Lord Ravager · [The Star Howler].]
[You watched as the tiny, pin-like starships and the Legion's pawns traded explosions on the horizon, everything turning to the dust of destruction under the fires of war. A slight tremor arose in your heart...]
[The burning sensation that rose from your chest now flowed through your veins. Your heart stopped for an instant, then beat with incredible force in the next—]
[You have digested a blessing bestowed by [The Elation] Aha, with divine blood as the medium.]
[You have obtained the trait—[Elation] Blessing: Player Piano · Saint Nicholas (Divine Authority).]