"More and more irritating little bugs keep crawling out of the woodwork! Galaxy Rangers! Heh, I've got to admire your nerve, coming right before me like this!"
Zephyro's mood grew fouler as he stared at the pests swarming around him. Worse, he'd even recognized who they were.
Aside from Phantylia, who'd fallen at Sylvia's hands, the last death of a Lord Ravager to shake the cosmos had been the work of the Galaxy Rangers.
After that great battle, the Rangers had vanished without a trace. The Antimatter Legion had never managed to find them, which was the only reason the hunt hadn't continued to the bitter end.
"Fortune really is smiling on me! Two enemies of Destruction have shown up at once! Die!"
Zephyro's flames expanded again.
But this time, a sharp rebuke thundered across the battlefield.
"You seem to have forgotten that you're the one at a disadvantage!"
Those Galaxy Rangers had been carried here by that bullet. Sylvia didn't know exactly what they were supposed to do, but even if Acheron said nothing, she wasn't about to stand by and let Zephyro slaughter people who'd crossed the stars to reach this place.
She pushed her Cloudhymn Arts to its limit. In an instant, a vast formation large enough to cover an entire star system unfolded across space, with Sylvia herself at its heart.
Permanence. Propagation. Abundance. Destruction.
All four powers erupted at once.
Chains strong enough to shatter planets burst from the void and wrapped around Zephyro layer after layer. Crushing pressure descended, and the flames he'd released seemed to lose all strength in an instant. They sagged helplessly, able to do little more than flicker inside the formation.
"Sylvia, you can't hold me."
Flames surged from Zephyro's whole body as he shot straight toward her. Sylvia's move was impressive, but it also drained both her strength and focus while locking her in place.
All Zephyro had to do was charge up and land one solid blow. The seal wasn't sturdy enough to survive that.
A little trick like this couldn't hold him for long.
Sylvia smiled.
"I never planned to hold you for long. This much time is enough!"
The moment Zephyro's flames were about to engulf her, Sylvia released the seal and shot backward at full speed.
As she moved aside, a woman suddenly appeared behind her.
The world turned gray-white.
The surging flames vanished into it, along with Zephyro himself.
He had no time to react. All he saw was that black sun.
Then—
A long, narrow arc of blade-light swept straight toward him, carrying the dead silence of oblivion.
"You—?!"
The strike had come too fast, and its timing was viciously precise.
Who was she?
Zephyro hadn't even had time to form the thought before the dazzling blade-light reached him. What looked like one slash was actually three, layered so perfectly together that they appeared as a single stroke.
The combined power of Nihility immediately showed its unmatched ability to erode everything it touched. Even the raging, ever-expanding force of Destruction was ruthlessly canceled out by it.
Destruction was already an extreme power, yet even it couldn't clash with Nihility on equal terms. The only answer was to meet it head-on and overwhelm it with several times the raw force until the Nihility was worn away.
Zephyro stared hard at Acheron.
Where in the universe an Emanator of Nihility come from?
Unbelievable.
Phantylia, that useless fool—had she really failed to leave behind information this important?!
Zephyro clutched his chest.
In only those few moments, Nihility had already begun eating toward his core, and even his thoughts felt heavy. Zephyro had abandoned the need for sleep countless years ago, yet for the first time in ages, he felt as though closing his eyes and drifting off might not be such a bad idea.
Sylvia clearly had no intention of passing up the chance to kick an enemy while he was down. With a shout, she charged Zephyro again.
The woman who'd appeared from nowhere didn't stop either.
Acheron raised her already-drawn blade and slashed once more.
She attacked again and again without holding anything back.
When she'd struck Duke Inferno, cut down the wounded Phantylia, or even swung her blade inside Ena's Dream, she'd restrained herself to avoid harming innocent people.
Now, there was no need.
Power as silent and lifeless as an abyss poured toward Zephyro without reserve.
Acheron had come here intending to end this fight for good.
She'd already been delayed for far too long because of The Great Septimus. Sylvia had been forced to face Zephyro alone, while Acheron hadn't even been able to remain nearby and protect her.
There was more than a little pent-up frustration behind these last two slashes.
As for Penacony, once the Galaxy Rangers had assembled and Acheron's slash had awakened everyone trapped there, the battle against Sunday's Great Septimus could be left to those who were already present.
Acheron herself had stepped straight into space and rushed toward Sylvia's battlefield.
Sylvia didn't know why Acheron had suddenly become so aggressive, but this clearly wasn't the time to tell her to go easy on Zephyro.
So Sylvia had done everything she could to restrain him for a single moment, giving Acheron the perfect opening.
Judging by the result, it had worked beautifully.
At the same time, it showed just how powerful Zephyro was.
Back then, one slash from Acheron's power had left Phantylia badly wounded, and Sylvia had been the one to deliver it. Zephyro wasn't lightly hurt now either, but he clearly hadn't been pushed nearly that far.
"Did you finish things over there?"
Sylvia spotted part of the swarm trying to attack from behind and found a spare moment to ask.
"Not yet, but Ena's Dream has already been broken."
Acheron glanced toward the weakened Zephyro, then turned her gaze aside.
Back at Penacony, The Great Septimus had already begun fighting the Astral Express crew.
Two Astral Expresses were racing around Penacony and repeatedly ramming straight into The Great Septimus.
Sylvia's eyelid twitched.
'Since when did Pom-Pom get this reckless?'
'They're not seriously going to wreck the Express, are they?'
Then Sylvia heard Robin singing with everything she had. She was pushing herself to her limit, as though nothing else mattered, all so the power of Harmony could pry open a weakness in Order's hold.
"Giant Sting, stop fighting here. Go help Robin with the tuning."
Zephyro's condition had worsened, while their side had gained Acheron, a truly overwhelming fighter. Sylvia also understood that the other battlefield was fundamentally a struggle between Order and Harmony.
Pathstriders of unrelated Paths would have trouble interfering. It made more sense to send this swarm, which believed in Xipe, to lend Robin a hand.
They could consider it an early introduction.
"Screee~"
The swarm was still worried about Sylvia, their new Swarm King.
But the swarm had one major advantage: whenever both a Swarm King and a Swarm Emperor were present, they followed orders without hesitation.
That was also why they'd managed to remain devoted to Harmony for so many years without anything going wrong.
For a group that was already united as one, practicing Harmony came as naturally as eating or drinking.
The assembled Giant Sting quickly broke apart, and countless insects surged from the abyss below. Their cries rang out as they gathered around Robin and merged their voices into the song she'd been struggling to sustain alone.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Rangers gathered at Penacony learned what was happening from Boothill and looked over the battlefield.
They wanted to help with the fight above, but there simply wasn't a way in.
They could fight on the ground, but with Xipe watching and Ena's power reviving through The Great Septimus, that battle had become a conflict between Paths. The Galaxy Rangers weren't exactly suited to barging into something like that in force.
The representative of Preservation and even a Xianzhou general were standing off to the side and watching, after all.
After thinking it over, the Rangers reached a simple conclusion.
They charged straight at the Antimatter Legion Zephyro had summoned.
Once fighting broke out inside Penacony, its defenses would inevitably weaken. If the Antimatter Legion managed to break through, there was no telling how many people might be caught in the chaos.
No one knew who took the lead.
The Galaxy Rangers scattered almost at once, each covering the others as they crashed into the army of Destruction.
--+--
Sylvia finally felt some of the tension leave her shoulders.
Zephyro was still putting up a stubborn fight, but now Acheron was here as their anchor. Zephyro was already badly wounded, too. Forget winning—if he managed to escape today, that alone would be an incredible feat.
Just having Acheron beside her made Sylvia feel as though strength were pouring into her without end.
There was nothing left to fear.
It was almost strange. Acheron merely standing there gave Sylvia an endless sense of security.
Zephyro, meanwhile, showed no intention of running.
Unlike Phantylia, his urge to destroy seemed far stronger.
Despite his injuries, he forced down Nihility's interference through sheer will and unleashed another barrage of flame and light toward Sylvia.
Sylvia met him head-on.
She activated her Cloudhymn Arts once more, and water appeared from empty space, spreading as though it meant to turn the entire starry battlefield into an ocean.
Zephyro showed no fear. Flames blazed from both hands as he tore the sea apart by force.
The fire twisted into chains and spikes before crashing down toward Sylvia.
"You want to kill me? Then today, you're the one who'll be destroyed!"
Zephyro laughed as he charged at Sylvia, who seemed too slow to react.
Then—
Clang.
A clear ring from a blade seemed to echo through the depths of the soul.
Another slash came from a vicious angle, sweeping toward Zephyro's chest.
"I was waiting for that!"
Zephyro wasn't some mindless brute. Of course he'd been watching for Acheron's attack.
The moment the blade rang out, he moved.
The attack he'd launched at Sylvia suddenly detonated. A violent explosion turned into a wall of flame, blasting apart the surrounding water while also stopping Sylvia from interfering.
Zephyro seized that instant.
He brought his hands together, and a long polearm made of flame formed between them.
With a fierce grin, he met the incoming blade-light head-on.
Clang!
Zephyro swung his weapon and smashed it into the slash just as it reached him.
The violent impact knocked him aside, and he followed the force of the collision to slip past Acheron's blade.
Then he laughed and closed the distance between them in an instant. Blazing fire poured out light and heat as Zephyro thrust his weapon like a spear, aiming straight at Acheron with the speed of lightning.
Acheron remained calm.
She'd clearly expected this.
Zephyro's strength covered every aspect of battle. His technique was no exception.
He understood very well that letting a master swordswoman remain at range and wait for chances to strike was the worst possible choice. Ignoring Sylvia and forcing Acheron into close combat was an obvious answer.
That might've been what Zephyro wanted.
Acheron had no reason to play along.
This wasn't a duel. Who said they had to fight fair?
Acheron heard Sylvia's thoughts and turned with her blade.
Their weapons collided hard, forcing the two of them slightly apart.
Before Zephyro could close the distance again, a long, powerful white dragon tail burst through the wall of flame, glowing with blinding light.
Violent golden power crashed down.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!
Zephyro immediately pulled back to defend himself.
But the combination of Destruction and Abundance still left him furious.
Using Phantylia's power against me now?!
The attack itself hurt.
The insult hurt even more.
The roar of the impact sent Zephyro flying.
The endless sea around them immediately transformed into chains under Sylvia's control. They wove themselves into a vast net, cutting off Zephyro's attempt to leave the battlefield.
He'd planned to create some distance and take a few shots at those reckless Galaxy Rangers.
If nothing else, it would've been satisfying to provoke Sylvia and Acheron.
But Sylvia had never intended to give him a chance to widen the gap.
What if he ran?
Having a Lord Ravager she'd offended this badly lurking somewhere in the shadows and waiting for revenge wasn't a life Sylvia wanted.
So Zephyro had to fall here today.
If they couldn't kill him, then they'd seal him away.
That was why Sylvia had already prepared another Cloudhymn spell before she attacked. The moment Zephyro was sent flying, she cast it.
She didn't need it to truly imprison him.
She only needed it to slow him for an instant.
Acheron's blade was already driving toward his vital point.
Something about all this felt strange to Sylvia.
Normally, she hadn't thought much of the ring. She'd assumed it was basically just something that let Acheron overhear her thoughts. But this was the first time the two of them had truly fought side by side.
Now that both were completely focused, Acheron's intentions became clear inside Sylvia's mind as well.
What Acheron planned to do next. What she was thinking.
Sylvia's own plan. How she intended to move.
Their thoughts were transparent to each other. In the fraction of a second that decided a battle, they could coordinate an attack without saying a word.
So the instant Acheron moved into close range, Sylvia ignored the threat of Zephyro's flames and attacked without hesitation.
She forced Zephyro back and created another opening for Acheron at the same time.
'Whew~ That slash was brutal.'
Sylvia gave two playful whistles in her head, making sure Acheron would hear them.
She knew perfectly well that she could.
'We're still fighting. Stay focused.'
Acheron's reprimand immediately appeared inside Sylvia's mind.
The feeling was oddly fascinating.
They'd never communicated like this before.
Sylvia swished her tail, then tried to imagine herself making a little pouty face and going, 'Mwah.'
She had no idea whether Acheron could hear that too.
'If you don't focus, you can fight him yourself.'
'No, no! I'm sorry, sis!'
Faced with Acheron's harmless threat, Sylvia instantly surrendered with a grin.
She was confident Acheron wouldn't actually abandon her.
Still, there was no point annoying her too much.
Things weren't like before. Back then, even if Sylvia got on Acheron's nerves, Acheron still had to hold back.
Now Sylvia was sturdy enough to serve as a training dummy even when Acheron went all out.
If she pushed her luck too far these days, she might genuinely get sent straight to IX.
"…"
Every last bit of Sylvia's rambling had, unsurprisingly, reached Acheron.
All her complaints eventually became a single sigh.
How had Acheron never noticed before just how much Sylvia could talk?
She really was a glutton for punishment.
Clearly, Acheron hadn't hit her enough lately.
As that thought crossed Acheron's mind, she watched the giant dragon streak past and knock Zephyro away again.
Her figure blurred.
She slipped into Sylvia's shadow, waiting for another opening to continue fighting like an assassin and stack one troublesome debuff after another onto Zephyro.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL