Boom!
The explosion engulfed the entire platform, with billowing dust and fiery mist rising and spreading from the epicenter.
"Did we get it?"
March 7th lowered her bow.
Himeko's orbital cannon was linked to a satellite bound to the Astral Express, rumored to have been personally modified by the clever and skilled Himeko herself.
The ability to execute a beyond-visual-range strike with an orbital cannon meant the Astral Express was nearby—in other words, Mr. Yang would arrive soon.
If nothing went wrong, the crisis would be resolved quickly!
However, according to murphy's law, then something will go wrong
A dazzling golden beam shot out from the center of the explosion, heading straight toward one of the sources of the earlier attacks—March 7th.
In the sudden chaos, only Stelle, who had subconsciously learned that "no smoke means no injury" was a basic rule and was closest to March 7th, reacted in time.
She shoved March 7th away, but was instantly engulfed by the terrifying beam of light.
Her vision was shrouded in a death-like darkness, but soon, an intense, piercing glare forced Stelle to open her eyes.
She saw it—scorching, brilliant golden blood trickling from a massive wound.
The moment Stelle looked up, the white-haired, dark-skinned deity opened his radiant golden eyes, casting his gaze upon her.
Stelle frowned as she met those eyes. She didn't know who this arrogant figure was, but whatever was projected in that gaze—she didn't like it one bit.
So.
A faintly mocking smirk spread across her delicate face, exuding an almost provocative arrogance, Stelle pointed at the dark-skinned, white-haired figure and shouted:
"What are you looking at?"
She raised her left hand, middle finger extended.
"Left hand!"
Then her right hand shot up
"Right hand!"
"One slow motion!"
"Get lost!"
Perhaps Stelle's provocation had an effect. Nanook's gaze, which had been about to withdraw, solidified once more, focusing on Stelle's soul.
Or rather, peering through her soul at something existing behind her.
Boom!
A violent roar exploded in her mind. Before she could even finish her sentence, Stelle was back in reality.
A shimmering, golden radiance surged from between her ample chest, forming an energy shield in front of her that blocked the Doomsday Beast's beam.
Huh?
Since when did I have a skill like this?
Stelle was just starting to feel smug, but the next moment, she was consumed by agony.
Her chest was heating up—from a mild warmth like a hot water bottle to an unbearable, searing heat like a branding iron.
The dazzling golden light even pushed back the Doomsday Beast's beam, slamming heavily into its antimatter engine.
Having first endured the orbital cannon's bombardment and then withstanding the Stellaron's instinctual counterattack influenced by the will of Destruction, the Doomsday Beast instantly fell silent and collapsed to the ground.
A frenzied will rampaged through her mind. Stelle felt as if her head were splitting apart and couldn't help but let out a pained cry:
"aaaaaaaah!"
"Dammit!"
Caelus had already been running toward March 7th's position but hadn't expected Stelle to beat him to it.
The Doomsday Beast seemed to have been taken down by the Stellaron's instinctual counterattack, but now… was the Stellaron going out of control?
Without a moment's hesitation, Caelus charged through the energy radiating from the Stellaron toward Stelle. The waves of spreading energy forced March 7th back.
The Stellaron didn't hinder Caelus's approach; instead, it surged into his body.
Caelus reached out, his hand aiming for Stelle's chest.
Previously, the imaginary energy within Caelus's body had felt like a water pipe connected to a vast sea called the Stellaron. But now, it was a raging storm, with colossal waves crashing tumultuously.
Driven by instinct, Stelle wanted to unleash all the scorching heat within her. She clung tightly to Caelus, as if trying to merge her entire being into his.
Under Stelle's immense strength, their positions shifted from what seemed like Caelus taking advantage to a full-frontal embrace.
Caelus could distinctly feel two different kinds of warmth against his chest—one searing and intense, the other soft, springy, and warm.
But Stelle was unsatisfied with the efficiency of this level of release.
In the next instant, Caelus's struggling voice was stifled in his throat.
Soft lips pressed heavily against his, and Caelus's pupils widened abruptly, meeting a pair of identical golden eyes, now brimming with chaos.
As their lashes fluttered, the curled tips brushed against his skin, sending a tingling, ticklish sensation through him.
Stelle had initially been "biting" with force, but upon realizing it hurt her as well, she eased her grip.
Completely stunned, Caelus momentarily forgot to react, simply enduring Stelle's actions in a daze.
First kiss.
Though, as a guy, he hadn't paid much attention to such things, this was undeniably the first time in both of his lives that he had kissed a girl.
With looks strikingly similar to Caelus's, Caelus had no shortage of admirers during his university days—seniors, juniors, even coworkers at his part-time job.
But due to the impact of his upbringing, Caelus harbored a deep-seated distrust of marriage and relationships, leading him to reject all advances.
He had never once considered romance.
And now, in his second life after crossing over, he never imagined he'd experience a kiss so soon.
Moreover, from another version of himself.
A whirlwind of emotions surged within Caelus, and somewhere deep in his heart, it felt as though a seed had taken root and begun to sprout.
As the Stellaron's energy was absorbed by Caelus, the madness and destructive will subsided, and a glimmer of clarity finally returned to Stelle's dazzling golden eyes.
Then, she became aware of their current state and was instantly horrified.
It was like a drunken older sister coming home, pushing her younger brother onto the sofa, gripping the "control stick," and halfway through sitting down—only to panic at the thought of Kafka finding out and breaking her legs.
(TL: Huh?!)
Especially when Stelle noticed the four pairs of eyes fixed on them, each filled with emotions too complex for her to decipher, she froze completely.
March 7th gasped, raising a hand to cover her mouth.
Dan Heng remained silent, his expression unreadable.
Even the dark Seele, who controlled the body, showed a look of surprise.
Himeko, who had genuinely believed Stelle and Caelus were twins from the start, was utterly shocked. Staring at the embracing, kissing pair, her gaze was filled with bewilderment and a trace of confusion.
What in the world is going on?
"Take it out"
Caelus mumbled indistinctly.
"Oh."
Stelle withdrew her hand from inside Caelus's clothes.
She licked her lips, savoring the lingering sensation. The subconscious sense of security and a strange feeling made her instinctively crave more.
"Mmm! It's full! I'm filled to the brim!"
In less than a minute, Caelus's body was saturated by Stelle, and violent imaginary energy began to overflow from both of them.
Darn it, why hasn't Welt arrived yet?
We can't just sit here and wait!
We need to find an outlet for all this energy.
[Other me, give me control of the body! I'm going to help!]
Thinking quickly, Caelus Seele turned off auto-battle and, amid the exclamations of the two Seele, charged into the torrent of imaginary energy.
Due to the shared soul and dual bodies of Caelus and Seele, Seele had a slight control over these imaginary energies.
The quantum power within her nearly boiled over upon sensing the intrusion of imaginary energy, the two forces clashing head-on.
[Other Seele, what are you doing?]
In her mind, the voice of Dark Seele rang out, tinged with urgency and irritation.
Whether out of concern for this Seele herself or for the sake of allowing White Seele's consciousness to leave the dark void of the Sea of Quanta and move freely in this world, she did not want to see this Seele come to harm.
[Leading the way for His Excellency.]
[Huh?]
Caelus Seele's reply left Dark Seele gaping in astonishment.
Caelus Seele offered no further explanation, instead focusing entirely on manipulating the energy within her, which was boiling like potassium permanganate meeting glycerol.
She couldn't control it, but guiding its direction was no problem.
"Your Excellency Stellaron, this way please! I'll lead you—the Stigmata Space is right over there!"
If I can't open the treasure chest from the outside, I'll just blow it up!
As expected, the mixed energy of imaginary and quantum forces shattered the barrier between her and the Stigmata. The power of the Stigmata within began to fall under Seele's control.
Honkai energy was rising, increasing!
In turn, it neutralized the imaginary energy from the outside.
When the Honkai energy reached a certain level, everyone present heard a tremendous roar.
Various debris on the platform floated up due to the imbalanced gravitational forces, and a massive black hole dozens of meters wide appeared in the outer space. Gravity, like an invisible hand, dragged the enormous dragon-like beast into it.
The space station's defensive firepower continued to barrage the dragon-like monster.
"It's Welt." Himeko instantly recognized the source of this power.
"There's another Doomsday Beast?" Dan Heng's brow twitched slightly.
"No wonder Uncle Yang was so slow." March 7th let out a soft sigh of relief.
Elsewhere.
Having reached the vicinity of the platform, Welt learned from the space station's communications what had happened: the Legion had invaded, and they had even deployed two Doomsday Beasts.
Considering that Himeko was on the other side, Welt decided to first cooperate with the space station's defenses to deal with this one before heading over to support.
But then, he felt a familiar energy surging explosively.
He instantly lost his composure.
He immediately unleashed his ultimate move to restrain the Doomsday Beast, handed the half-dead creature over to the space station's defenses to finish off, and hurried toward the source of the familiar energy.
As he rounded the corner of the passage, the figure that came into view made Welt's pupils contract, and he couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
"Seele!?"