"How could this be... how could it turn out like this..."
"The power of the Stellaron was supposed to be..."
"How could humans possess power capable of shaking Him...?"
"The promise He made... and the new world..."
"I... I failed...?"
Starlight poured down through the crack in the sky, and the Mother of Deception was already utterly exhausted.
She staggered forward step by step...
The power of the Stellaron was fading. She no longer had the strength to fight.
With every step she took, the new world promised by the Stellaron drifted one step farther away from Belobog.
The solid ice began to crack, then slowly peel away. The brilliance of the stars gradually faded as well, revealing the true face beneath the Mother of Deception's ugly exterior.
Thud!
Everything granted by the Stellaron dispersed.
Like fragile grains of dust, swept away by a violent storm.
Scattered with ease.
Cocolia felt deeply weary and finally knelt on the ground, her eyes dull and lifeless.
Nero descended from the sky, raised his head, and glanced around with a blank expression.
"Ah, looks like the snow has stopped."
Then the boy narrowed his eyes. "This skill is really tiring to use, but the power is a bit too much... Hopefully tearing open the sky didn't have any effect on Belobog."
Cocolia gasped heavily.
There was no doubt, she had failed.
The power of the Stellaron began to surge, Imaginary energy climbing sharply as countless cracks spread across Cocolia's body.
Everything has a price...
The Stellaron was about to go berserk...
Bronya realized what was happening and immediately rushed forward, only to be firmly pulled back by Seele behind her.
"No... don't take her away!"
The young Silvermane Guard commander cried out as a daughter.
"The Stellaron... promised the future... It will consume everything!"
Cocolia raised her head and looked at Bronya.
Her stubborn path had slammed straight into an insurmountable mountain.
But in the end, seeing her daughter's growth was not without meaning.
'If... Bronya...'
'If the future you all believe in is truly better, then... you must, you must protect it well!'
For the last time, Cocolia took up the identity of the Supreme Guardian. Already at the end of her strength, perhaps she could still do one final thing for the city she loved.
She raised her hand and pressed it to her chest. Power from Preservation surged forth, doing everything it could to control the spread of the Stellaron's energy.
"Mother! Stop it now!"
Realizing what Cocolia intended to do, Bronya cried out and rushed forward, but she could not break through the barrier formed by Preservation's power.
'Goodbye... Bronya.'
For the final time, Cocolia lifted her head, looked at her daughter, and showed a gentle smile.
Leaving, for her, was also a kind of release.
'Goodbye, Belobo...'
BOOM!
Cocolia's final farewell in her heart was cut short.
A pitch-black sword blade came down from the side. Its unmatched sharpness instantly severed both Preservation and the Stellaron's rampage.
Boundless sword energy roared outward, splitting the land and mountains apart and carving yet another new canyon into the land of Jarilo-VI.
In that instant, everyone froze, staring blankly at the owner of the black sword.
The boy's white hair and robes billowed in the shockwave, his face cold and expressionless.
At this moment, the most stunned person was Cocolia herself.
She had already been saying goodbye to the world, so what was the meaning of that sword strike?
'The barrier I formed with Preservation was cut by you, and the berserk Stellaron power was cut by you too?'
'The power I had placed all my hopes and trust in, the power that brought catastrophe to this world, was really nothing in front of you outsiders?'
If you had this kind of strength, you should have said so earlier!'
'Would I have gone all the way down this dead-end path like an idiot?'
'I took a beating for nothing!'
Nero kept his face tense, looked at the ground split open by his sword, and pressed his lips together as a drop of cold sweat rolled down his temple.
On the surface, he looked cold and cool.
But inside, the kid was a bit panicked.
'Crap, am I way too strong? I accidentally cut another mountain open... I hope it didn't affect Belobog. Wait, Bronya and Seele won't be mad at me, right...'
[Ding! The server has not been open for long. For the host to reach this level of strength on their own still requires time to settle and spread through secondary creations. However, the power provided by Aha and Lan currently makes up for this quite well.]
The system suddenly popped up to explain things to Nero.
It probably thought that explaining it like this would make him feel more at ease.
But that was not the issue...
'Who cares whose power it is? I'm the one who swung that sword!'
After a brief silence, Nero carefully and gently stuck Black Cut into the ground beside him, then scratched his head.
Then Nero pointed at the canyon on the ground and said awkwardly to Bronya, "Ahaha... It's my first time using this move, so my control wasn't very good. It's fine, right...?"
"Huh?" Bronya blinked twice.
Even someone who grew up receiving elite education in Belobog had her brain short-circuit at this moment.
She subconsciously shook her head. "No... after all, the only human settlement left is Belobog..."
Behind them, March, Stelle, and Dan Heng gathered together.
March poked the other two with her elbow and said, "Speaking of which, Nero really does have hidden power! I thought he was just messing around when he summoned Sampo!"
"And in this state, he looks so cold, but his personality doesn't seem to have changed much!"
After March finished speaking, Stelle raised a hand and rubbed her head, looking like she was recalling something.
"Stop, stop. My head finally stopped hurting, and now it hurts again after you said that."
Dan Heng half-squinted his eyes and let out a long sigh.
"No one's changed much, and Nero has suppressed the Stellaron. The crisis on this planet can be considered resolved for now."
He lifted his gaze and happened to see Nero yank the Stellaron out of Cocolia's chest.
There was not the slightest bit of gentleness in his technique.
If the Stellaron got stuck and did not come out, Dan Heng had no doubt that this kid would have stepped on her to force it out.
After another dozen seconds, Bronya finally came back to her senses.
She reached out toward Nero, then pulled her hand back and said, "Um... thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?"
Nero turned around and looked at Bronya in confusion, still gripping the Stellaron in his hand.
"N-no... um... you saved my mother..." Bronya said.
"Oh, that?" Nero blinked. "But I never said I was going to let her go."
"Eh?" Bronya stared at Nero in a daze.
Nero looked down at Cocolia kneeling on the ground. "She offended me and still wants to run? There's no such good thing in this world."
"Dying and being done with it would be too easy for her. I think she's pretty good. My future plans include building factories, and I just happen to be short on talent like her!"
"Huh?" Bronya was even more confused.
"Anyway, this woman definitely can't be the Supreme Guardian anymore. You can tell the people of Belobog whatever you want." Nero shrugged, then turned to Cocolia. "You don't have any objections to my decision, right?"
"I..."
Cocolia had just started to speak when Nero cut her off. "Forget it. Your opinion doesn't matter."
Cocolia, "..."
'Might as well have died.'