The reason Celenova had acted with such lethal decisiveness this time was simple.
She could sense that her opponent's current body was relatively frail.
During their previous encounters, her foe had always manifested with the formidable status of a Lord Ravager, boasting power that commanded respect. Naturally, Celenova's combat preparations had been calibrated to that elite standard.
But this time was different.
Celenova hadn't expected that while she could still sense Bai Ming's distinct aura, the physical vessel hosting it would be so remarkably weak.
If you've lost your edge, how do you still have the nerve to come knocking on my door?
It wasn't that Celenova had failed to notice the woman accompanying her. However, Celenova could channel the collective might of the Legion and the strength of her new colleagues into her own form.
She doubted Bai Ming could do the same. In fact, judging by the dangerous, oppressive aura radiating from her companion, it would be downright unnatural if Bai Ming were capable of such a feat.
And even if she were to look at it from a thousand leagues away...
The enemy had shown up on her doorstep in broad daylight. With a massive fleet at her back, Celenova didn't exactly have the luxury of retreating.
After weighing the pros and cons, Celenova made her move instantly, locking onto Bai Ming's position and launching a full-scale assault.
If anything caught her off guard, it was the fact that while this body felt fragile to her senses, it fought with a surprising, savage ferocity.
Still, despite her slight miscalculation, this version of Bai Ming was nowhere near the level of a threat like Irontomb.
The woman she brought along, however... that pitch-black blade light, capable of swallowing existence itself, was another story. It felt genuinely dangerous.
But it wasn't an insurmountable problem. Celenova felt she could handle it.
Moreover, looking at Bai Ming—whom she was slowly but surely suppressing—Celenova felt her mood brighten considerably.
She couldn't even help herself; she shrank her massive form down, charging forward to engage in the messy, intimate chaos of a melee.
'Saber' had to admit: without tapping into the power of Remembrance, and relying solely on the upper limits of this Servant's Saint Graph, it was truly difficult to go toe-to-toe with the current Celenova.
But the point was, she wasn't exactly in a dire spot either. At most, she was being pushed back a little.
Besides, the surrounding battlefield wasn't exactly leaning heavily in anyone's favor. Given the stalemate, she wondered where Celenova got the ego to think a close-quarters brawl was a good idea.
"...You seem awfully smug, Celenova. So eager to get up close and personal?"
'Saber' swung her longsword, her movements precise as she intercepted every one of Celenova's strikes. Those claw-swipes, capable of shredding the very fabric of space, failed to breach her defense.
It was only natural. Since she wasn't being utterly overwhelmed, Celenova's decision to dive into a melee felt like a lapse in judgment. What was she thinking?
"Hmph, you weren't nearly this chatty in the past!"
Celenova let out a cold snort, slamming a palm against the blade before driving her knee upward toward 'Saber's' chest.
'Saber' countered with an elbow, meeting the ruthless knee strike head-on.
Immense power erupted within that narrow gap.
Their bodies remained rooted in place, but to counteract the recoil, the shockwaves exploding behind them vaporized every scrap of matter in the vicinity, clearing a fresh vacuum in the middle of the crowded battlefield.
However, as the grayish-white horizon suddenly expanded and black blade light flashed from all directions, 'Saber' realized why Celenova had insisted on closing the distance despite it not being her forte.
Acheron seemed to have taken their pre-battle conversation to heart.
Celenova was hard to kill, but this brand-new Lord Ravager didn't possess her legendary survivability.
Now, Acheron seemed to have judged that since Celenova was pinned down here, and her own opponent's aura had weakened, it was time to unleash.
The aura of Nihility began to saturate the entire battlefield. Yet, the small pocket of space where 'Saber' stood perfectly evaded those terrifying blade lights that had woven themselves into a lethal web.
Celenova must have sensed the precursor to Acheron's outburst.
That's why she had intentionally glued herself to 'Saber'. Otherwise, her colossal original form would have been nothing more than a giant target for Acheron.
The dense rain of blade light fell almost entirely upon the pitch-black giant. The overflowing energy was barely intercepted by the Legion, as the erosion of Nihility was distributed across every Antimatter Voidranger and every insect in the swarm.
This allowed the Legion to avoid catastrophic losses under the aftershocks of Nihility.
However, compared to Celenova, the giant looked to be in much worse shape.
Huge cracks appeared in the thick chitin on its chest, and blood—turning into a swarm of insects—gushed from the wounds, desperately purging the encroaching Nihility.
Ignoring its gruesome injuries, the giant turned to face Acheron's blade once more.
Celenova didn't even look back, seemingly indifferent to her comrade's plight.
After observing for a few rounds, 'Saber' found the situation odd.
Celenova certainly had the ability to consolidate the power of others, but the other party was a fellow Lord Ravager.
They held the same rank—why would the swarm-bringer sacrifice its insects to shield Celenova and put itself in danger?
The Lord Ravagers weren't exactly known for their "one big happy family" vibes.
She could understand Celenova wanting to use the other's abilities to replenish the Legion, but going this far?
'Saber' reflected on it.
Unless it was Acheron or Herta—the few women she actually had a bond with—she wouldn't just lend her power to someone else, especially while she was busy fending off an enemy.
Something felt off, though she couldn't put her finger on it yet.
In the middle of her musing, 'Saber'—who had subconsciously stayed on the defensive—was pushed back again by Celenova.
"What's wrong?! Done already?!"
Celenova's exhilarated voice echoed in her ears, accompanied by roaring flames. Seeing that pale hand hooked like a claw, stabbing toward her heart, 'Saber' decided she'd seen enough.
"Right. Time to get serious."
'Saber' let out a soft sigh and looked up, meeting Celenova's eyes directly.
The competing pressures of Harmony clashed, and in that instant, Celenova felt her opponent's inner calm and... curiosity?
Inevitably, a sudden chill washed over her.
Before Celenova could pull back, a tide of Memoria swallowed her like a deep-sea vortex. In her vision, the golden-haired figure right in front of her dissolved into bubbles.
Then, the massive skeletal ruins of Hertatomb and the equally towering Lord of Propagation climbed out from Celenova's own memories.
Endless swarms of insects buzzed toward her, bound by silken threads yet connected by them as well.
The two powers merged, granting the new swarm an exaggerated, terrifying strength that began to drown Celenova's Legion.
"No! No—this is fake! You can't fool me, Bai Ming!"
Keen as ever, Celenova sensed the inconsistency through the power of Harmony and realized exactly what was happening to her.
At that moment, the gargantuan Hertatomb spoke:
"It seems my dream-weaving is still a bit rusty if you spotted the flaw so quickly. But Celenova, I'm not letting you escape."
She looked at Celenova with an expression of genuine interest.
"I will trap you and your entire Legion in this beautiful dream until I've killed your fellow Lord Ravager."
"You're bluffing! You think you can drag every single Voidranger into this illusion?"
Celenova retorted instinctively; it sounded impossible. Even if most Lord Ravagers walked two Paths, someone like this—who seemed to have a finger in every pie—was just too bizarre.
To pull a Legion of this scale into a dream of Remembrance... only an Emanator should be capable of that.
How could someone who dipped into so many different Paths still earn favor from Aeons other than Destruction?
And yet.
The feedback from the Harmony kept telling her that this woman wasn't lying. She could actually do it.
But was it even possible? To be an Emanator of multiple Paths simultaneously?
Celenova told herself it was the power of Remembrance deceiving her, feeding her false data.
But 'Saber' wasn't in the mood to argue.
"Think what you like. Regardless, I'm going to hold you here, deal with that new Lord Ravager, and see what secrets he's hiding. As for after... well, since you have so many bodies, you can just stay by my side as a little pet."
"You—what are you planning to do?!"
The first half of the sentence only made Celenova angry and skeptical, but the last bit made her mind jump straight to images she was far too embarrassed to name.
'Saber' had actually just been speaking off the cuff—thinking of keeping a hostage to squeeze for information. She hadn't expected Celenova to react like that.
How did this woman's brain even get there?
"You look like you're actually looking forward to it..."
"..."
'Saber's' dry comment was a critical hit.
For Celenova, in the hundreds of years since her birth, the only person who had ever "humiliated" her in such a way was 'Saber'.
Naturally, it left a deep impression, and she had branded her as someone who enjoyed toyed with her opponents.
But this bastard! She was acting like nothing had ever happened, giving her that "I can't believe you're that kind of person" look. Why are you acting like that? You know exactly why!
Celenova didn't explode purely because she was trapped in the illusion. After a moment of silence, her repressed emotions boiled over into a hissed curse:
"One day, I will definitely kill you!"
"Yeah, yeah, heard it before."
'Saber' didn't get why Celenova was so hung up on this.
They were both centuries old; surely there were more important things to worry about?
Even if she were the one to lose and get tied up for a photo shoot, she wouldn't start fantasizing about it just because someone mentioned "capturing" her.
"For now, just be a good girl and stay put, Celenova~"
With that, 'Saber's' voice faded into silence.
--+--
Reality.
Celenova hadn't fallen unconscious, but she was effectively neutralized. Her body still reacted, but the vortex of Remembrance had swallowed her mind, overwriting her reality with a constructed dream that twisted her every perception.
'Saber' didn't try to use chaotic memories to completely break Celenova's psyche.
For one, it wasn't her style; for another, Celenova had countless clones scattered across the cosmos. Messing with just one body wouldn't do much to her overall self.
It was simpler to just blind her senses with a dream and rob her of her judgment.
Simultaneously, the tide of Memoria churned through the entire star system, casting an illusory veil over the Legion and even the trembling Borisin.
Even the other Lord Ravager was caught in the shroud. While it didn't get the "VIP treatment" Celenova did, it was fed enough false memories to induce confusion and prevent it from fleeing.
Of course, with Celenova's abilities, she could eventually break free if given enough time.
But since 'Saber' had to focus on helping Acheron take down that massive humanoid Swarm King, she wasn't looking for perfection—just a temporary lock-down to cut off the hive mind's coordination.
But just as 'Saber' secured Celenova and prepared to strike the black giant, the chaotic Legion suddenly snapped back into perfect, synchronized order.
A power from afar reached out through a unique channel, completely overriding the will of the Voidrangers. It turned them into hyper-precise war machines that swarmed the duo.
The previously aggressive giant suddenly surged with newfound power.
It tanked a hit from Acheron's blade, forced the two women back, and immediately turned tail. The swarm shrieked as they closed ranks, sacrificing themselves to stall any pursuit.
"Huh?"
A golden pillar of light pierced the swarm, slamming into the giant's back.
Chitin shattered, and golden blood flowed from the wound, but the creature remained chillingly rational.
It chose to soak up 'Saber's' attack and used its own blades only to parry Acheron, using the momentum of the impact to rocket out of the Memoria vortex's range.
This wasn't right.
'Saber' could feel that the influence she'd placed on the giant hadn't been broken.
Theoretically, even if it wanted to run, it shouldn't have been able to move with such decisive clarity. Losing one's senses usually leads to a bit of a stumble, at the very least.
And even if they could move, the coordination between the two of them was way too perfect.
She looked at the fleeing giant, then back at Celenova. Was there a script error here?
Celenova had clones; she could handle remote control. But why could a Lord Ravager born of Propagation pull off the same trick? Did it really just hand the reins over to Celenova?
Trapped and immobile, Celenova let out a mocking sneer:
"Trapping me is useless. My clones will take over command, and my colleague will shake off your illusion."
"I know you want him dead, but I won't let him fall here. In the future, he will create an infinite, inexhaustible army!"
"..."
'Saber' ignored the taunt, turning her full firepower onto the swarm and the Legion instead. Even if she didn't, the insects were already launching suicide charges to protect their new master.
It seemed that, after all that walking in circles, they were right back where they started.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL