"...I didn't expect Miss Sparkle's intelligence network to be so unexpectedly well-informed. That's right, just as you said, Topaz and I indeed hold two Cornerstones, and…"
At this point, Jade paused slightly. Her gaze sharpened like a blade, landing heavily on Sparkle as if it were a boning knife ready to carve the person before her apart.
"And the Cornerstones are currently in our hands."
Upon hearing Jade's words, Sparkle's face showed no other expression. The girl's smile remained unchanged as one hand gently touched the mask on her forehead.
"Hehe, is that so? How interesting. In that case… might Miss Jade allow me to witness the power of this [Preservation] 'Cornerstone'?"
As Sparkle's voice fell, a powerful Path energy suddenly surged forth.
"This is the power of [Nihility]?"
Sensing the [Nihility] Path energy bursting from the girl's body, our Lady of the Emerald could not help but frown slightly. She had not expected that this Masked Fool was not a Pathstrider of [Elation]; the path she walked was actually [Nihility].
Although she felt a slight surprise in her heart, Jade was someone who had seen truly grand spectacles. After a brief moment of astonishment, she was the first to enter a combat stance and did not forget to remind the person beside her.
"Jelena, prepare to engage the enemy."
"Yes!" Topaz nodded, then drew the pulse pistol from her waist and aimed the muzzle at Sparkle in front of her. If the other party made even the slightest movement, she would pull the trigger without hesitation.
The Masked Fool before them had most likely lost the power of the Stellaron by now, but even so, she could not be underestimated. In that instant just now, the aura erupting from her body was already comparable to that of a top-tier Pathstrider.
There was still a small gap compared to the 'Stoneheart Ten' after using the 'Cornerstone' to transform, but… who could guarantee that the other party had no other hidden cards?
"Fool of a Thousand Faces, Playing in the Human World."
Sparkle murmured softly. Vaguely, a peculiar power spread outward along with the girl's words, pulling both Jade and Topaz into it without them noticing.
To Jade and Topaz's eyes, Sparkle's actions looked somewhat comical.
A girl lightly touched the mask on her forehead, then murmured something as if talking to herself, and then… there was no "then." That was the Sparkle they saw.
"Sister Jade, what is that Masked Fool doing? Is she sending a signal for help?"
Having taken in all of Sparkle's movements, Miss Topaz found the other party's actions somewhat difficult to understand, but maintaining a cautious attitude, she did not lower her guard.
"Be careful and prepare to use the 'Cornerstone' at any moment. I have a feeling that something is off."
Jade's voice was very low—so low that only the little Jelena beside her could barely hear it, and even then not very clearly.
However, right after our Lady of the Emerald finished speaking, Sparkle seemed to have noticed something and revealed a 'pure' smile toward this senior executive of the Strategic Investment Department.
"Not good… Jelena, prepare to attack."
That somewhat eerie smile from Sparkle seemed to have alerted the cautious lady. Without hesitation, Jade no longer planned to hold back.
After all, the conversation between the two of them had been encrypted through Path energy. Unless one possessed overwhelming power on the Path or the other party had some special ability, it was absolutely impossible to eavesdrop.
With that thought, as Jade's words fell, the emerald-green 'Cornerstone' that sealed the authority of the [Preservation] Emanator bloomed with brilliant light, flying out from the tall woman's chest. It had to be said that this 'Lady Jade who embraces the world' had hidden the 'Cornerstone' in quite an excellent sheath.
"I come to pay homage, I come to add wine, I come to possess. I bestow hemlock upon the sweet dew, sow in spring and reap in autumn, quietly awaiting the branches heavy with withered fruit. All is offered to—the Amber Lord!"
Gripping the 'Jade Cornerstone' that had flown out of the sheath, our Lady of the Emerald sincerely prayed and chanted the words to activate the 'Cornerstone.'
'Buzz—!'
After receiving the woman's prayer, the emerald-green light on the 'Cornerstone' grew even brighter. Immediately afterward, the light enveloped Jade, forming a giant crystal of colored glaze.
'Crack, crack—!'
Accompanied by sounds resembling breaking glass, the giant colored-glaze crystal shattered with a boom. The already transformed Jade stepped out from the broken stones with light, leisurely steps.
"So that's how it is…"
Borrowing the power of the Cornerstone, Jade temporarily touched a portion of the [Preservation] Emanator's authority. This opportunity allowed the senior executive of the Company to experience a qualitative leap in 'vision,' enabling her to see many things 'ordinary people cannot touch.'
In Jade's sight, the surrounding world had already been dyed by a special power into a dreamlike realm of miracles, while the original real world was separated from it by this power, like a thin membrane.
In other words, the three of them were not currently in the real world, but in a special space similar to the dream world of Penacony.
"Not bad at all. As expected of a true high-ranking member of the Company, Miss Jade. You are far more cautious than that little brat beside you."
Seeing her technique so easily seen through, our Miss Sparkle also put away the contempt in her heart and became slightly more serious.
The power she had just used was built upon her own understanding and application of the [Elation] Path, combined with guidance from a portion of [Causality] authority, creating a space similar to a dream world.
This was not an ordinary illusion, but a space that truly existed.
Within this space, Sparkle was the creator, and everything inside would obey her commands. In other words, within this space, the girl's power could be called 'infinite.'
"Lady Jade, since you can see through my technique, would you like to try and see if you can break it?"
In Jade and Topaz's sight, Sparkle merely tilted her head, and the next second she suddenly vanished from her original spot. A hand then gently rested on Jade's shoulder, and, as if teasing, blew lightly into her ear.
'Whoosh—!'
Accompanied by a sonic boom, a purple long whip made of fiber metal lashed fiercely toward Jade's back. The whip was imbued with the power of the 'Cornerstone' and possessed the might to split mountains and shatter stones.
However, this unexpected, chilling strike ultimately hit nothing. It lashed heavily onto the wall behind Jade. With a loud boom, the wall collapsed, broken stones flew everywhere, and clouds of dust rose.