After the small interlude of Silver Branch's appearance, the game's perspective returned once again to Stelle's side.
Siberian Duck continued forward following the quest guidance.
Heading to the Silvermane restricted zone and entering the Fragmentum, aside from occasionally receiving messages from Nero, there were no major changes elsewhere.
So Siberian Duck proceeded with the quests step by step, ran into Cocolia and Bronya, and then started listening to Cocolia brag.
Until, during the dialogue, one of the selectable responses appeared with the words "Too lazy to listen, you're not worthy to speak."
It was hard for her not to make that choice. When a certain armored summoner who once fought against countless foes in childhood memories resurfaced in her mind, most people would choose that response.
"I'm too lazy to listen to your reasoning. You're not worthy to speak!" Siberian Duck shouted as she made the selection.
[Dan-heart Eternal: Damn! That's straight-up righteous to an extreme!]
[Qlipoth's Favourite Wall: Alright, alright, Heroic Stelle, huh?]
[Team Rocket: I smelled it and came right over.]
[Wind-Boy Solo-Stan: Alright, alright, copying Nero, huh! Stelle has already started turning into a fish.]
[Team Rocket: I feel like Heroic Nero suits me even more.]
[Belobog Savage: Nero, a summoner more suited to the Shura baby constitution.]
Cocolia and the protagonist's group stood on opposing sides. Different choices, no common ground. After Bronya chose Preservation, the two sides started fighting.
And after the left arm of the Engine of Creation was wrecked by Mr. Yang using the Star of Eden, the game moved into a cutscene that showed off miHoYo's technical prowess.
Players cried out in satisfaction.
But the most hype part started when the MC drew the lance, received a glance from Qlipoth, and began.
The player obtained the Preservation protagonist and then launched into the great battle with Cocolia.
Here, when the flaming lance pointed at Cocolia, some "strange" lines were added.
"Hiss..." Siberian Duck sucked in a sharp breath. "Why is this line here! I suddenly kind of regret not choosing Caelus."
[In the Name of Salvation: Hehe, I chose the male lead, felt amazing instantly!]
[Aimen: Heavenly Fire! Unsheathe!]
The Mother of Deception had two health bars. The first phase showed off the Preservation protagonist's skills and had her attack using the Engine of Creation.
In the second phase, when the Mother of Deception took her second action and released the Echo of Creation, the background music switched from "No Return from the Charge" to "Wildfire."
Watching Cocolia throw imaginary steles down from the sky, this boss fight reached its most hype moment.
Siberian Duck kept yelling "holy shit."
After the player's team endured this Echo of Creation, the game entered a cutscene.
The Preservation protagonist barely withstood the previous attack, but the Mother of Deception's assault had not stopped.
Before everyone could recover, a second Echo of Creation had already been cast.
Immediately after, a black shadow burst into the frame from off-screen, followed by a sword slash.
The camera followed the sword energy, like a hawk tearing through clouds, rapidly pulling upward into the sky.
In the end, the scene shifted to a wide-angle, upward-looking shot.
The distant sky filled with rolling dark clouds was split open by a single sword. Morning light poured down through the long, narrow crack, illuminating the cold snowfields of Jarilo-VI.
Below, the severed body of the Mother of Deception was slowly regenerating, while the Echo of Creation was shredded into fragments by the massive sword energy.
The youth stood expressionless, white hair flying, robes fluttering, holding a pitch-black greatsword as he blocked the space between everyone and the Mother of Deception.
The next moment, the game returned to the battle interface. The player characters' energy, HP, and skill points were all fully restored, and the assist changed once again from the Engine of Creation to "Stars Exhausted, Heaven Unleashes a Ray."
Clicking the assist triggered a cutscene, where Nero swung the Black Cutter and slashed out with a sword.
Then the camera pulled back, showing the Mother of Deception, as well as distant snow mountains and snowfields carved into abyss-like ravines by the slash.
Just like before, the "Heaven Unleashes a Ray" assist dealt massive Wind-type damage to enemy units and applied a 20% vulnerability effect lasting one turn.
"Holy crap!" Siberian Duck cried out as she watched the cutscene. "Who are you? Are you Nero? Seriously? Why are you this cool now?"
[Comparing Combat Power Is Also Fine: Worthy of being a Sword Immortal, is he really this strong? Seriously?]
[Jump-Slash Immortal: Nero! Calm down, Nero! You can't be like this, okay? Please, come back! My favorite jump slash!]
[Dan-heart Eternal: One sword splits the heavens, one sword cleaves mountains. Is Nero really this strong? That sky-rending, earth-splitting effect... it wasn't this strong when fighting the Doomsday Beast on the space station, was it?]
[I Use Pantene: He really wasn't this impressive on the space station. That shows Nero's growth is truly fast. He's definitely a genius. When we first met him, it was his first time flying on a sword, and on his first time he shot straight out into space. Doesn't that also prove how high his talent is?]
[Herta Fans Support Club: What you're saying makes sense, but it feels a bit like hindsight.]
[My Pee Is Yellow: I really want Nero to cut me! Hehe!]
[Glue Man: Brother Pee Yellow, calm down. That door-panel-sized greatsword would really kill you with one hit.]
After a not-so-intense battle, Siberian Duck decisively finished off Cocolia, and then the game entered another cutscene.
The following cutscene of beating up Cocolia pushed the tension of the attacks to the max.
Flaming lance charge, iron fists smashing mountains, sword energy tearing the ground apart.
After taking a brutal beating, Cocolia's eyes immediately became much clearer.
In the end, even her act of self-sacrifice was stopped by Nero with a single sword strike.
In the dialogue that followed, players also learned that this pitch-black door-panel greatsword was given by Silver Branch, and that Nero had already made many plans and arrangements for the Fragmentum industry project.
Of course, this also included Mr. Yang piloting the robot, and the chat records with Aha, and so on.
"Alright, alright, I really haven't played enough. I completely don't understand Nero," Siberian Duck said, pursing her lips. "I thought Nero saved Cocolia out of kindness, but who would've thought this kid did it to grab labor!"
[Interstellar Peace Corporation Promo Ambassador: Nero is born to work for the company!]
[Aha's Messenger: He still can't let go of his Fragmentum industry plan.]
[Qlipoth's Favourite Wall: All I can say is, Heroic Stelle and Heroic Nero, two great trailblazing generals.]
[Glue Man: What Cocolia thought: Bronya only has you left as a mom, that's too pitiful, so you shouldn't die. The actual situation: Nero: "You want to die and be done with it? No way! You've got hands and feet, you can move, you can refrigerate, you can open up wasteland. Get to work!"]
[Herta Fans Support Club: If this weren't Star Rail, there would definitely be a spot for Nero on a streetlamp.]
[Nero's Sword: So that door-panel greatsword was given by Silver Branch, huh...]
[Jump-Slash Immortal: No need to say more, Nero definitely likes this sword. If you ask why, it's because he likes jump slashes.]
[I Am a Sniper: I care more about Nero's connections. This kid really has a big background, doesn't he? Feels like he can connect with anyone.]
[So Handsome I Get Beaten in the Street: From the story, Nero is good-looking and has a lively personality. It's normal for him to be popular.]
[Young Talent of the Xianzhou: Even if he's popular, it's not to the point where a merchant group travels thousands of miles just to meet him, right?]
[Mr. Yang's Cane: By the way, when did Mr. Yang climb onto the Engine of Creation?]
[I Use Pantene: All I can say is, Nero definitely has a special identity. From what he said himself, this time he carries blessings from two Aeons, and he can even chat with Aha. That's really strange, okay!]
After defeating Cocolia, what remained were all just epilogues.
Siberian Duck decided to end the stream first and continue playing tomorrow.
After all, the most exciting part was already over, and she felt completely satisfied.