Phainon transformed into a scorching flame that incinerated all things, charging towards the supreme Aeon of Destruction.
He was both a burning comet and a moth drawn to a flame.
Even if he was shattered, even if he was burned to ashes, as long as he could kill Nanook, then Amphoreus would still have a tomorrow!
However.
Just as the Dawnbreaker was about to touch the deity, time, space, causality, existence… all concepts were effortlessly erased by an invisible hand.
Phainon's figure, along with his rage that could incinerate the star sea, froze in mid-air.
He watched helplessly as he charged towards a phantom that didn't exist.
The moth flew towards a phantom that didn't exist.
Nanook dissipated silently, as if he had never appeared.
Like a bubble in the sunlight, silently dissipating.
Without any reason, without any concept, without any opportunity.
But that sword strike was not a mayfly trying to shake a tree!
It genuinely severed a drop of Nanook's golden blood, which ultimately vanished into the universe.
But.
The resentment accumulated over eons, the rage that burned away all reason, at this moment, completely lost their only outlet.
Boom—!!!
The terrifying power did not disappear.
Centered on Phainon, it transformed into indiscriminate hatred, exploding outward in all directions.
The Doomsday Beast was the first to bear the brunt.
It didn't even have time to let out a cry of agony.
their body was pierced by flames, disintegrating from the inside out.
This was only the beginning.
The out-of-control storm continued to spread.
their next targets were the nearby Herta Space Station and the Astral Express on the platform.
Seeing this, Himeko and Welt looked solemn and moved forward in unison.
March 7th, Dan Heng, and the unconscious Stellewere firmly protected behind them.
Himeko and Welt Yang exchanged glances, a flicker of determination in their eyes.
"He's lost control," Welt Yang said in a deep voice, "If this continues, the entire Space Station will be engulfed by these flames!"
Himeko picked up the briefcase beside her, and with the sound of precise mechanical operation, a railgun turret slowly emerged from the depths of space, locking onto the raging energy core.
Welt gripped his staff with both hands and slammed it heavily onto the ground.
The black core at the head of the staff spun wildly, and a miniature black hole slowly formed in his hand, emitting a terrifying gravitational pull capable of devouring light.
What they had to do was not attack, but defend.
To intercept the aftershocks of the flames!
"Sorry, Phainon."
They said in unison.
But just before they were about to make their move.
"Hahahaha!"
"Aha!"
A laugh filled with supreme joy and extreme mockery exploded without warning in the depths of everyone's minds!
The laughter seemed to possess a myriad of lives.
Sometimes it was the cry of an infant, sometimes the relieved understanding of an elder, sometimes the wild ecstasy of The Fool… Finally, a myriad of laughs converged into an irresistible divine will.
"He said—"
"Let there be laughter!"
The moment the words fell, that drop of Nanook's golden blood, severed by Phainon, re-coagulated and actively merged into Phainon's body.
In an instant.
The flames on Phainon's body mysteriously receded, and everything was put on pause.
His ashen body regained color, and the black robe covering Phainon reformed.
A golden mask slowly obscured Phainon's unseen face.
Only now, on the inside of the mask, in addition to the mark of Destruction, a mark of Elation had quietly appeared.
He lost all his power, like a meteor that had burned out their light and heat, falling straight down towards the platform below.
"He's going to fall!"
March 7th exclaimed, already spreading her arms, ready to catch a member of the Astral Expressfamily.
Almost simultaneously, Dan Heng also came to March 7th's side, making the same gesture.
On the platform, the faces of the Staff Members who had survived the disaster still showed fear of the black-robed masked man.
They instinctively took a step back.
Phainon had saved everyone, but the oppressive feeling he brought was even greater than that of the Doomsday Beast.
But looking at that powerless falling figure, among the crowd, the young Staff Member who was first saved by Phainon from the blade of a Voidranger bit his lip tightly.
Fear and gratitude intertwined in his heart.
"He's definitely a madman, but he also saved my life from the Legion!"
He trembled, took a step forward, and slowly extended his hands.
This action seemed contagious.
The others looked at each other, and then, the second, the third… it was the Stelle from the Express crew, the security personnel of the Space Station, those Staff Members he had just pulled back from the brink of death.
Countless arms intertwined, reaching out to the slowly falling "Deliverer."
Bang—
With a dull thud, Phainon's body landed on the cushion of flesh and blood built by the crowd, safe and sound.
He lay there quietly, motionless, like a cold sculpture.
In the last moment before completely losing consciousness, Phainon vaguely saw, through the slits of the mask, the faces around him filled with awe, fear, yet also a hint of clumsy concern.
These faces slowly overlapped with the faces of the Golden Descendants.
Finally, a familiar voice echoed in the depths of his soul.
In a trance, Phainon saw the figure of a pink-haired girl above the rice fields.
She swung her legs, pointing with a smile at a prophecy card.
"Is it this card? their name is Deliverer!"
"Is someone who hasn't accomplished anything still a Deliverer?" Phainon's voice was tired and hoarse.
"No, simply put, you will become a hero worshipped by everyone, using the sword in your hand to protect the world, saving many, many people from terrible enemies! How about it? Isn't that great!"
The girl paused, her gaze seemingly piercing through time and space, looking towards the present.
"Just like you are now, haven't you already saved many people? They also came because… they responded to your 'salvation'."
Is… that how it is…?
Cyrene… Phainon completely closed his eyes and fell into silence.
Only, no one noticed.
The corner of the cold golden mask seemed to subtly curl upwards into a strange arc.
Like a smile, and yet like a cry.