Without the assistance of the Ancient Artifact: Elysium, Kraken and the others saw their coordination collapse.
The tide of battle had turned.
The Light of Feigning Transcendence condensed into a single beam, piercing through the Dragon-rank peak-level Dimensional Beast that had brought down the Super-large Star Ring.
Even for a being of such a level, its body was like mere paper before Tier Zero Magic, shattering instantly.
Even the fundamental matter within its body, partially converted to the Light-Seizing Rank, could not save its life.
Its entire form dissolved into a rain of light that showered the earth.
This scene struck terror into the hearts of the surviving members of Kraken’s group.
The outcome was decided.
Xingyue breathed a long sigh of relief in her heart.
After killing these foes, she would no longer have the strength left to subjugate the Black Candle Giant Spirit that was to follow, but she wasn’t worried.
She knew that someone else would naturally deal with the Black Candle Giant Spirit.
This process would inevitably lead to the loss of lives and property, but how could one subjugate a Light-Seizing Rank entity without casualties? As long as the losses weren’t too excessive, it was acceptable.
[I just need to clean up the pests here… Ugh?!?]
Xingyue’s hand suddenly trembled as she looked into the distance.
On the battlefield, every individual of high strength felt a sudden, violent jolt. Their bodies instinctively reacted with fear, and they all looked toward the same direction—
Toward the heartland.
Jiyue and the others, who were taking Xingyue’s place in guarding the box, shuddered as a cold wind chilled them to the bone. Fear surfaced in their eyes.
“The Black Candle Giant Spirit… it has made landfall!”
“No, it appeared directly in the heartland!?”
Xingyu immediately grit her teeth and added, slapping her thigh in frustration.
“I knew they would mess things up by being over-cautious!”
If only they had kept the icebergs at the Boundary Sea Pass like she said. That way, they could have at least controlled the landing point of the Black Candle Giant Spirit at the border, keeping the losses manageable.
Now, things had gone south. The Black Candle Giant Spirit had appeared directly in the deep interior. Even if they subjugated it now, the damage caused would be ten times worse than expected!
This situation was also far beyond Xingyue’s expectations.
Logically, a Light-Seizing Rank Dimensional Beast lacks self-awareness. Upon sensing a land devoid of Boundary Sea matter, it should instinctively choose to land at the nearest possible point. There was no need for it to enter hyperspace unless it had a specific target.
And—what was with this presence, which was far more powerful than imagined!?
It was too strong… Even from a glimpse across hundreds of miles, it felt more terrifying than the Rage-Devouring Giant Spirit.
Xingyue was shocked. Could Tier Zero Magic even do anything to this thing?
“You must have been entertaining a lucky thought—hoping that as long as the Black Candle Giant Spirit didn’t land in a densely populated area, you could exhaust your strength here to annihilate us first, then slowly deal with it later, right?”
Provoked by these words, Xingyue turned her head to look. It was Kraken.
His face was weary, but a ferocious light remained in his eyes. He said, “But reality has gone against your wishes.”
“What are you trying to say?” Xingyue asked, nodding slightly.
“Stop here. You should save your strength to deal with the Black Candle Giant Spirit. You’ve already killed the mastermind. Rather than continuing to hunt down us remnants who can’t cause much trouble, why not go save the people you are supposed to save?”
Surprisingly, these words caused the previously firm Liyun and Jiyue to waver. Only Xingyu’s expression remained unchanged.
A Magical Girl’s fundamental duty was to protect the lives of the people. It wasn’t that eliminating the hidden danger posed by the remnants of the Rage-Devouring Giant Spirit wasn’t important, but saving people was their top priority.
If they abandoned the pursuit of the Rage-Devouring Giant Spirit and the others, the monsters wouldn’t be able to cause any major trouble for at least twenty or thirty years.
But if they ignored the Black Candle Giant Spirit now, the heavy price would be something they couldn’t repay even in fifty years.
“Sigh.”
Xingyue let out a long sigh, as if she had been burdened by worry for a decade. Her eyes were filled with exhaustion.
Kraken and the Rage-Devouring Giant Spirit felt a jolt in their hearts. Was she going to give up?
“It really has been a long time…”
Xingyue mentioned those words for the second time.
She lowered her eyes feebly, looking at her blood-stained palm. Her voice was full of melancholy and bitterness.
“My arrangements over these seven years… I revised the plan time and time again. I was absent during many critical moments, all so I could eradicate you pests once and for all. I thought I had survived the most difficult period and everything was nearing its end, only to be faced with this kind of test at the very last moment… It has truly taught me a painful lesson. It made me realize just how much painstaking effort one must pay and how much unbearable pain one must endure to win a strategic struggle of this level…”
The joy of surviving a disaster slowly vanished from Kraken’s heart.
What did she mean?
Was she giving up on millions… no, if the Black Candle Giant Spirit drove straight in and wantonly released its fundamental matter, it could destroy an entire city in less than a minute. That was enough to cause tens of millions of casualties, and the subsequent chain reaction would affect over a hundred million people!
Was she abandoning over a hundred million people!?
“You are acting perversely! This is a complete reversal of priorities!” Kraken roared.
Xingyue shook her head. “I am simply making a personal judgment. I feel that leaving you alive would lead to an even greater disaster. Moreover—”
Her lips moved slightly, but no one knew what she said.
“…”
Kraken finally stopped clinging to the hope of survival, showing an aura of being prepared for death.
There was nothing left to say. If they couldn’t get past Xingyue, nothing they said mattered. If his death could take a hundred million people with him, then his life would be considered maximized in utility.
The battle of annihilation entered its final stage—
***
Ten minutes before the Black Candle Giant Spirit made landfall.
Snow was on the phone with Luoyou.
“Hello? It seems like a fight has started over there. Is everything okay on your end?”
“You.”
“You my foot, answer me!”
“Everything is fine.”
Snow climbed out the window to take a look, then peeked through the peephole of the door a few times to confirm everything was okay.
Luoyou saw all of this through the surveillance as well. It was truly reassuring.
“Haaa~~ Where are you, You?”
“I’m preparing to head over to Wugang City to join the fun. The officials are really something… keeping the news so tightly locked down.”
Although Luoyou was complaining, her mood seemed good. Snow took the chance to ask, “When can I play games?”
“At most a few more days, so bear with it. If you really can’t take it, play cards with yourself. Anyway, didn’t you feel that your life of eating, playing, and sleeping would have to end eventually? This is perfect. Start building a self-disciplined life by casting aside low-level interests right now.”
“…Mm, I’ll try.”
(Click)
Snow lay by the bed, looking at her slippers and picking them up to make music out of boredom.
But even this could not alleviate her sleepiness.
*Thump—*
Snow accidentally rolled off the bed, and her groggy eyelids snapped open for a moment.
“You said before… I can’t sleep.”
But soon, they closed again.
As the frequency of her blinking increased, darkness shrouded her consciousness.
“Eh…?”
Looking at the unrealistic scenery around her, Snow shivered.
Oh no, she fell asleep anyway.
Forget it. Since she was already asleep, she wouldn’t worry about it!
***
In the dream, she quickly lost the memory of the fact that she was “dreaming,” becoming a mere passerby within the vision.
In a certain place, the sky was an eternal long night. A Seven-Colored Pumpkin Carriage appeared on the road and stopped in front of her.
“Do you want to get on?”
“I want to! I want to!”
Entering the pumpkin carriage, she pulled the curtain closed. The wheels rolled forward into the eternal long night.
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