Chapter 284: Lumine and Stelle, Supersized
The miraculous sight brought the entire battlefield to a standstill, from the front lines to the rear command.
Every soul was shaken by the light—a radiance that originated from within themselves, yet surpassed all imagination.
"This is... the light in everyone's hearts..." Mualani murmured, her gaze lifted to the heavens.
The next moment, that vast ocean of light, gathered from the power of hope of every living being in Natlan, surged across the sky. As if it had found its ultimate destination, it transformed into a golden torrent, roaring towards the Crag Gorge battlefield where Lumine and her companions fought.
Simultaneously, the stone scepter in Lumine's hand began to vibrate violently. It was as if a divine artifact, dormant for ages, had finally found the catalyst for its awakening.
It broke free from Lumine's grasp, floating into the air to meet the surging tide of hope.
Crack... crack...
Enveloped and scoured by the endless golden light, the rough stone skin encasing the scepter peeled away inch by inch, flaking off like weathered rock. Beneath, its true form was revealed, gleaming with a metallic luster and crystalline texture.
It was a device of wondrous simplicity. A clear, transparent crystal was embedded in its center, flanked by two sides that unfolded like wings.
Bzzzz—!
As the last fragment of stone fell away, the scepter let out a clear, resonant hum. The central crystal erupted with an unprecedentedly fierce white light, and the entire device seemed to be infused with life as it fully unfolded and activated.
Immediately after, two pillars of light—one purple, one red—burst forth. Though different in nature, both contained immense energy. As if possessing a will of their own, they shot from the winged scepter, streaking accurately toward two figures on the battlefield.
The purple pillar, like an ethereal aurora, carried an agile and mysterious aura as it instantly merged into Lumine's body.
The red pillar, however, was like boiling lava, brimming with raw power and explosive force. It shot straight toward Stelle, who was precariously weaving her way through Bakunawa's minions.
At that moment, Stelle was entirely focused on evasion. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a red blur rocketing toward her and instinctively thought it was another one of Bakunawa's long-range attacks.
"Again?!" she yelped, forcing her flight pack into a clumsy tactical roll in an attempt to evade.
But the red light seemed to have locked onto her, following her movements like a shadow.
"Stelle! Don't dodge! That's the power from the item Belle gave us! Accept it!" Venti's urgent voice, carried on the wind, reached her just in time.
Stelle's evasive maneuvers stuttered to a halt.
"Huh? It's friendly fire?" She was stunned for a half-second, but in that brief pause, the scorching red pillar of light had already caught up, merging into her body without any resistance.
"Ugh—ah!"
The moment the two masses of differently colored energy were fully absorbed into Lumine's and Stelle's bodies, an unimaginable change began.
A colossal, indescribable energy erupted within them. It wasn't destructive; rather, it was like a seed sprouting, a creative and expansive force akin to the birth of the universe itself.
Their bodies—from their limbs and bones to every last cell—frantically absorbed and converted this power born from the light of hope. They began to expand, to giantize, at a speed that defied all logic.
The Prototype Rancour in Lumine's hand and the Star-Shattering Sword that Stelle wielded seemed to be in perfect sync with their owners' wills, enlarging in the same proportion. The elemental and Path energies flowing along their blades surged, emitting a pressure that made the heart pound.
The crisp cracking of stretching bones, the roar of proliferating muscle fibers, the thunder of energy rushing through newly enlarged meridians... all of it intertwined into a violent display of life's sublimation.
Their vision rapidly elevated. Bakunawa, a beast they once had to crane their necks to see, now seemed not so tall after all.
This counter-intuitive spectacle left everyone, both on and off the battlefield, completely dumbfounded.
"They... they... got bigger?!" March 7th's mouth hung open, her bow nearly slipping from her grasp.
Dan Heng's pupils contracted. Even with his extensive knowledge gleaned from the archives, he had never witnessed such a direct and shocking giantization of a living being.
Welt pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his gaze behind the lenses filled with a mixture of disbelief and a scientist's fervent curiosity (along with a tiny, well-hidden sliver of envy).
Zhongli stood with his hands clasped behind his back, a flicker of surprise in his amber eyes that quickly deepened into contemplation. 'Gathering the collective will of all living beings, manifesting it as light, and using it to rewrite physical form...'
And in the center of the battlefield, Lumine felt the immense, surging power within her—many times greater than her peak. She looked down at the sword in her hand, which now seemed large enough to cleave the clouds, her heart filled with an indescribable shock.
"Is this... how the scepter is supposed to help us?" she murmured. Her voice was a deep, booming baritone, a strange and unfamiliar sensation that made it feel as if the entire world had shrunk around her.
The only one whose reaction was completely different from everyone else's was Stelle.
After the initial bewilderment, an unmatched surge of euphoria and excitement instantly overwhelmed her.
She remembered.
In that bizarre dream she had in Penacony, she had once transformed into the "Super-Sized Trailblazer's Ultimate Bucket" to confront Sampo, the "King of Trash Cans." The sense of power and the sheer visual impact of that massive body still left her with a pleasant aftertaste. Unfortunately, Firefly had interrupted her before she could fully enjoy it.
And now! Her dream had become reality! She, Stelle, was no longer the "little one" who had to look up at giant beasts. She had become a giant capable of rivaling mountains! A true, physically giant hero!
"Haha! Hahahaha!" Stelle couldn't help but burst into laughter, her booming voice echoing through the canyon. "It's here! It's finally here! This is the real big scene!"
Bakunawa's chaotic consciousness, steeped in the abyss, prevented it from understanding the situation. It only knew that these two "bugs" before it, though larger, were still obstacles that had to be eliminated.
It let out a muffled roar, and its tail, like a colossal steel whip, swept violently toward Stelle, who had just completed her transformation and seemed to still be adapting to her new size. The attack came with a shriek that tore through the air.
If this had been the old Stelle, she would have had no choice but to awkwardly dodge. But now...
"Good timing!"
Stelle was not alarmed but delighted. Her massive body sank slightly, her center of gravity as stable as a mountain. She gripped her Star-Shattering Sword tightly, holding it horizontally before her in a perfect, textbook blocking stance.
CLANG—!!!!!!
It was like two metal mountains colliding at supersonic speeds. A deafening, terrifying impact, loud enough to instantly rupture the eardrums of an ordinary person, erupted violently.
A visible shockwave spread in a sphere from the point of contact. Dust and debris shot into the sky as if a small nuclear bomb had been detonated.
However, amidst the swirling dust, Stelle's hundred-meter-tall figure merely swayed. Her feet plowed two deep furrows in the ground as she steadily received the terrifying tail whip—an attack capable of leveling a town.
Her golden eyes burned with a fierce battle intent. She hadn't been repelled; instead, she let out an excited roar. "Is that all the strength you have, big guy?!"
On the other side, Lumine, too, was quickly adapting to her new size.
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