While Dan Heng and the others were locked in a fierce battle with Cocolia, the atmosphere on Nero's side was strangely light.
Aside from the howl of the cold wind, there was nothing else to hear. Instead, there was an eerie kind of quiet.
At least, that was what Martin, watching from the side, thought.
Watching the Pure Beauty Knight and the Nameless fussing around beside the Unparalleled ship, a drop of cold sweat slid down the company wage slave's forehead.
He imagined the situation from the perspective of the Flamespawn, and the result felt like watching a horror movie, filling him with despair and numbness over his dark and hopeless monster life in the future.
At this point, Martin could only sigh. Thankfully, the Flamespawn was a rift monster and not a human. Otherwise, using it like this would still come with some psychological burden.
Just moments ago, this company wage slave had personally witnessed how the two beautiful people in front of him clanged and banged as they partially dismantled and reassembled the Unparalleled ship.
He had also personally seen how these two beautiful people forcibly kneaded the Flamespawn into a ball and stuffed it into the Unparalleled ship's fuel tank.
He had even personally seen how these two beautiful people used electrodes and energy transmission modules as whips, lashing the Flamespawn like driving a slave, ordering it to burn.
Because of this, Martin had already made a decision in his heart.
From now on, during blind dates, he would not talk to a single good-looking person.
The two people in front of him were just too terrifying. They were both so good-looking, yet...
One kept shouting about purity, beauty, kindness, and such. The other kept saying things like 'I'll help you', 'do it this way', and so on. Crackle and bang, and just like that, they neatly dealt with a fairly powerful rift monster.
At this moment, Nero had his left hand pressed against the burning Flamespawn, while his right hand picked up an energy transmission connector he had just assembled together with Argenti.
Power belonging to the Hunt and Joy wrapped around Nero, firmly suppressing the Flamespawn.
Other people's suffering is like a mute eating bitter herbs, unable to speak.
Nero was prying open a rift monster's mouth and stuffing bitter herbs straight into it.
Pfft!
Nero acted decisively, inserting the connector into the body of the Flamespawn.
The next instant, the entire Unparalleled ship let out a series of cheers, then happily began to run.
Argenti walked out of the ship's cockpit and said to Nero, "Thank you for your help. The Unparalleled ship has now regained its vitality and can help me take Martin to the nearest company branch."
After speaking, Argenti looked again at the Flamespawn. "And thank you as well, selfless rift creature, for being willing to offer yourself to provide energy for the Unparalleled ship."
Flamespawn: "..."&@*!Y@)J!
Because rift monsters and humans could not understand each other's language, Argenti and Nero saw the flames on the Flamespawn growing more vigorous and simply assumed it had been encouraged and was working even harder.
Suddenly, both of them felt something and looked toward the north.
Vast ice and snow blocked their vision, but within the curtain of snow, beyond the mountains, it seemed that a massive, pitch-black shadow was still moving.
Martin blinked, staring blankly at the two people who had suddenly turned north and fallen into thought.
He also looked in that direction, but saw nothing.
So he asked, "What's wrong? What are you looking at?"
Argenti raised a hand to his chest and said, "Another disaster..."
Nero, however, smiled and said, "Looks like the Stellaron here is also reaching its final moment. I'll handle things here, so hurry up and take Martin away. Did you note down my contact info? If you have time, come find me to hang out!"
As he spoke, Nero sat down on Black Slash.
After waving goodbye to Argenti and Martin, he instantly flew toward the distance, crossing more than a thousand meters in a blink.
Only after his figure disappeared beneath the wind and snow did Martin turn to Argenti and ask, "So what do we do now?"
Argenti raised his hand and gently clenched it, and a crimson long spear appeared in his grip.
The Pure Beauty Knight said in a low voice, "Such a beautiful planet has met with calamity. We must naturally lend our aid. It is a pity that the Unparalleled ship is damaged, and I cannot move as quickly as he can. Still, I must do what I can."
"What do you plan to do?" Martin asked, puzzled.
"Though I have yet to find the chance to spread Pure Beauty to more people, my god will naturally point out the path for them. When the light of dawn rises, my road will become clear."
"My spear tip is already sharpened. When I come to know the enemy of justice, it will surely pierce through with the radiance of Pure Beauty!"
Martin blinked.
To be honest, he did not quite understand.
But it did not matter. Having known Argenti for so long, there had been plenty of times he did not understand him.
No matter what, he knew that Argenti was devout and steadfast.
There was no use in saying more. It was enough to quietly watch.
———
The battle between Stelle and Cocolia did not go smoothly. After several exchanges, Stelle fell into a disadvantage.
"Humans... are always weak and foolish, always overestimating themselves. I will grant you despair!"
Cocolia spoke words that sounded a bit overly dramatic, raised her hand, and the frozen knight's lance shot out, instantly piercing Stelle's chest.
Stelle was pushed into the sky by the remaining force and began to fall.
She could not muster any strength at all. An indescribable cold seeped through her body from the inside out.
Her vision became blurry, her eyelids heavy, even more powerless than when overwhelmed by sleepiness.
Below, Dan Heng and the others saw this scene and showed looks of shock and worry, their hearts skipping a beat.
Stelle gradually could no longer hear any sounds...
When she opened her eyes again, she arrived in a strange space that looked like the universe.
Galaxies spun, star rivers flowed.
Stelle vaguely remembered that the last time she came to such a place, Nanook glanced at her, causing the Stellaron within her to go berserk.
Nero had suddenly appeared and suppressed the Stellaron's rampage...
So this time...?
After a brief silence, Stelle began to walk forward.
There was no way to tell direction here, but moving toward somewhere was better than sitting around aimlessly.
Soon after, some phantoms appeared around Stelle.
Those phantoms seemed to be Belobog's past history. The first thing she saw was Gepard reporting the fall of the commercial district to Cocolia.
From these lingering phantoms, Stelle realized that even earlier than that, Cocolia had already accepted the Stellaron's temptation and even thrown herself into despair.
She had long since betrayed Preservation, earlier than imagined.
She walked on and on. Before reaching the end, Stelle finally discovered something.
A blazing knight's lance, embedded in an unseen barrier within the universe, and a little girl.
Some kind of voice poured into Stelle's mind, telling her, "This city is crying out... the power of Preservation is fading. At the very end... we still cannot resist the will of the Stellaron."
Stelle came behind the little girl, listening to the echoes of the Guardians' will, recalling everything she had witnessed since arriving in Jarilo. "Cocolia gave up Preservation," she said.
"Yes... but we have no right to blame her. For the past seven hundred years, the rift has continued to expand every second. What we left to our successors... was neither faith nor wealth, only boundless despair."
"To watch the homeland sworn to Preservation gradually vanish before our eyes... is a kind of torment. Added to that are the lingering whispers that stir the heart..."
"Even the most resolute will is bound to waver. This day was destined to come. His protection was destined to leave us."
"There will always be people who do not waver," Stelle said. "And before Cocolia, the other Guardians all held on, didn't they? Even though I've only been here a few days, I don't want to just watch a world perish like this."
The little girl in front of Stelle turned around and looked up at her. The echoes of the Guardians' will once again surged in her mind.
"You... just a passerby, yet you insist on bearing the fate of an entire world... Very well. What else is there to lose? What else cannot be tried?"
Then the little girl turned and pointed toward the flaming lance not far away.
"Go touch the light of Amber, Trailblazer. See whether the will of Preservation in your heart is strong enough... strong enough to draw His gaze."
Stelle was silent for a moment, then walked toward the fiercely burning lance with a determined expression.
She reached out and touched the spear shaft.
BOOM!
A thunderous sound exploded in her mind at that instant, like a beam of light tearing apart the darkness of the universe.
A colossal hammer that shattered the heavens descended from unknown deep space, sparking at the universe's unknown edge.
Scorching heat.
Blazing flames ignited along the spear, as if they would burn her body to ash in an instant.
Stelle recoiled at the touch.
But in the next moment, she clenched her teeth, stretched out both hands, and grasped the flaming lance.
The will to protect her companions and this world burned fiercely in her heart, just like the flames at the spear tip.
Stelle let out a roar, her body engulfed in flames, and then, with all her strength, pulled the knight's lance free.
A hum from the depths of the starry sky instantly pierced her consciousness and mind. In a daze, Stelle saw a colossal being standing in the dark sea of stars.
That figure was enormous, holding a giant hammer that reached heaven and earth. Light bloomed across His majestic body, flames burned within His chest.
Countless star rings revolved around the ancient giant. His form condensed with the firmest will, passing through all eternal stars, casting a glance that crossed time and space toward this place.
The Amber King's giant hammer had just fallen, and the universe had entered a new era.
The Amber Era: Year 2158.
Stelle suddenly opened her eyes and returned to the battlefield. The howling cold wind and the weightless sensation of falling from the sky quickly woke her up. From the moment she was pierced, it felt as though only an instant had passed.
Yet her body bore no wounds at all, and the flaming lance surging with fire was held firmly in her hand.
The Engine of Creation slowly moved, raising its hand to welcome the arrival of Preservation.
Stelle turned in midair and stood upon the palm of the Engine of Creation.
Looking back, her companions had all arrived.
Stelle nodded lightly. Then, the spear tip pointed at Cocolia.
"You still have room to turn back, Cocolia."
"Friend or enemy, choose!"