After Firefly and March 7th completed their friendly exchange, Firefly used the body data March had sent to craft a Sam-style suit of armor just for her.
Once she had set up the transformation device, Firefly handed it over to Pei Guang.
At the scene, many Family members still surrounded them. But instead of attacking immediately, they were waiting for reinforcements.
The Dreamweaver's failure hadn't discouraged the Family members: on the contrary, it had only made them angrier and more united in will.
After all, this was a dream. Even if they died here, they would only wake up briefly before re-entering the dream to continue dealing with Pei Guang.
Until then, the Family's only goal was to hold Pei Guang and Firefly in place: make sure they couldn't escape.
Because of that, Pei Guang wasn't being attacked for the moment.
He didn't think much about it, simply stuffing the transformation device Firefly had prepared for March into his storage space.
On the other side, March 7th quickly received the device. Excited, she activated her transformation right away.
Though she transformed, she didn't use the voice changer: she used her own voice instead.
"Transform!"
March became a slightly cute, blue-effect version of "Sam."
After transforming, she suddenly felt something strange: an exhilarating sensation, like secretly doing something forbidden but not being caught.
"This feeling…"
She clenched her fists. Even though the armor hadn't yet provided her any actual power, she could feel endless strength welling within her body.
In that instant, March understood the armor completely, along with how to charge it: through emotion.
She wasn't sure if she had enough emotional energy to fuel it, though.
"Ha! Why think so much? Here I come!" March 7th flew straight toward the Dewlight Pavilion.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of Dewlight Pavilion, Pei Guang and Firefly were confronted by a special opponent.
She was an artiste from the Iris Family. In terms of fame, right now she was second only to Robin—but given time, she would surely reach Robin's level.
The planners even said she carried the "heartstar of Penacony."
As an artist, she possessed no combat ability. But as a member of the Family, she held a pure form of Harmony power that ordinary members lacked.
Silver hair cascaded around her, and her eyes, red like stars, glowed faintly.
Her figure was as flawless as Stelle's. Simply standing there was enough to draw every gaze.
Even the Dreammaster would have to admit: in terms of quantity of Harmony, she fell short of him, but in purity, none in the Family could surpass her.
Seeing that their challenger was such a beautiful older woman, Pei Guang's eyes lit up.
As a player, Pei Guang in hostile encounters always let his morals follow his eyes.
He had originally planned for a hearty bout of fun, but faced with this stunning woman, all thoughts of fighting vanished:: he only wanted to admire her.
Seeing his unwillingness to fight, the artist smiled. "Stellaron Hunter, feel the brilliance of Harmony!"
She invoked her Harmony power, but before it could reach Pei Guang, a streak of blue light cut through the sky.
It descended at once, blocking the power completely. The newcomer was none other than the freshly transformed March 7th.
At the sight of this blue-colored mech suit, the Family members erupted in excitement again. The artist's expression shifted when she realized her Harmony had been neutralized so easily.
"Who are you?" she asked.
March 7th: "Eh? Me? I'm…"
Pei Guang: "Kafka!"
March 7th: "That's right! I'm Kafka!"
Artiste: "The Stellaron Hunter, Kafka?"
March 7th: "Exactly, I'm Kafka, the great me! Huh? An older sister from the Iris Family? Wow, so many cute, beautiful sisters~"
Because March 7th hadn't activated the voice changer, her natural voice rang clear. Hearing her enthusiastic praise, the Iris Family members couldn't help straightening their postures.
Compared to the usual flattery from others, being admired by an enemy was much sweeter: they all looked quite pleased.
See that? Forget the Bloodhounds or Dreamweavers! It was the artists who would save Penacony!
Pei Guang: "Kafka, since you're here, I'll leave eliminating the enemies to you."
March 7th: "No problem! Leave it to me! You want them all expelled, right?"
Pei Guang: "Yes."
March 7th: "Got it! Wait a sec, let me think of a cool line or two."
March recalled all the stylish lines Pei Guang had said along their journey. After thinking for a moment, her eyes lit up.
"Got it!"
Wearing her armor, March 7th straightened her posture. Six-Phased ice burst from her chest.
"Sisters of the Iris Family, leave now. No one will get hurt."
"Otherwise… otherwise…"
She suddenly froze. Pei Guang leaned over slightly and prompted her, "Otherwise, they'll all die."
March 7th: "Oh! Right! Otherwise—you'll all die!"
"Game over. You don't belong here."
"Begin the cleanup!"
"I shall… freeze the sea~"
The string of dramatic lines left the earliest Family members to arrive with a strange sense of déjà vu.
Wasn't Pei Guang shouting something just like this earlier? Did all Stellaron Hunters have some fixation with the sea?
And this "Kafka"? Why did that voice… sound like a cute girl? And what was that about freezing the sea?
While everyone else was confused, March 7th herself felt an indescribable thrill.
It was like doing something mischievous in front of a crowd, yet no one noticed—an exhilarating rush.
At that moment, she finally understood why Pei Guang in the livestream had seemed so different, even giving off that "middle school chuunibyou" vibe.
Now she got it. This armor really did mess with your head: whoever wore it would feel an urge to do something.
Letting that feeling carry her away, March 7th shouted, "Ladies of the Iris Family, be careful! I will carry out the Permafrost Project!"
Pei Guang: "You're oddly polite about it."
Firefly: "…"
Firefly glanced at March 7th's Sam-style armor, then listened to what she shouted. She felt like she was being publicly executed on the spot.
It had taken so much effort to get Pei Guang to stop setting fire to the sea—and now March 7th had appeared to start freezing it?
Meanwhile, watching the livestream through Silver Wolf's feed, Kafka fell completely silent.
Staring at March 7th in Sam's body, hearing her natural, unfiltered voice, and listening to her declare, "I'm Kafka," Kafka's head was buzzing.
Beside her, Silver Wolf chuckled softly. "Ha~ 'I'm Kafka, the great me~' Honestly, it actually suits you."
Kafka: "Oh? You think so too?"
Silver Wolf: "Yeah~ it's pretty funny, actually. Such a contrast. Why not try it out during our next mission? It would freak a ton of people out. I swear, if you said that line to anyone who knows you, they'd be scared stiff."
Kafka: "Let me think about it. Maybe I should try it. Not just the line: everything that girl said might be worth imitating."
A mysterious smile curved across Kafka's lips. Silver Wolf instinctively turned her head away.
Seeing that smile, she shivered slightly and took a moment of silence.
Not for March 7th, of course. After all, this was just the Trailblazers' fun and games: Kafka wasn't petty enough to be upset at her friends for joking around.
She was, instead, amused by the sight of the real Sam remaining motionless on the screen.
Though she usually hated encountering Masked Fools during missions, she had to admit: sometimes, their antics were downright entertaining.