The black mist brewing above Penacony seemed to sense something, and suddenly paused.
Within that sunlit darkness, unknown colors seemed to flicker.
Naturally, that strange movement quickly caught Gopher Wood's attention.
"My god, has something happened?"
The Nightmare Walkers revived by DESTRUDOS could practically be called immortal within Penacony.
They themselves walked the Path of ORDER. They were absolutely not something ordinary people could withstand.
Not to mention that all of Penacony was now equivalent to the eggshell from which a god would descend.
Because of that, this place was in the exact same state as when Titanironia had descended before.
All other Path powers within it would be greatly restricted and suppressed.
Some Pathstriders on already-weak Paths would even be affected to the point of becoming weaker than ordinary people.
For example, the TRAILBLAZE, whose AEON had already fallen.
Though the renown of the Trailblazing Nameless had spread throughout the entire universe, the TRAILBLAZE had, in truth, already become a comparatively weak Path.
First came the Stellaron, severing the routes of TRAILBLAZE and returning most worlds to a state of isolation.
Then came the IPC's ceaseless expansion over the years.
Though the TRAILBLAZE still stretched across the cosmos, in reality, it could already be called a comparatively weak Path.
So he had paid no attention at all to that railroad filled with the power of TRAILBLAZE.
In his expectations, it was only a matter of time before the end of that railway was annihilated by DESTRUDOS.
But DESTRUDOS's hesitation just now filled him with doubt.
He thought again of Sunday's previous defeat.
Could Hoshigaki Sora have appeared there again?
DESTRUDOS merely shifted THEIR tones, releasing waves of indistinct notes.
Those tones gathered in Gopher Wood's mind and gradually became words he could understand.
[IT IS NIHILITY... YET IT SEEMS NOT TO BE NIHILITY...]
DESTRUDOS's gaze seemed capable of crossing that dark passage and seeing everything happening on that battlefield directly.
Meteors burning with seven-colored flames came from the distance, smashing through the battlefield like falling stars and tearing it apart.
Their combat techniques were extraordinarily refined. With every move, every strike, they could easily exterminate the Nightmare Walkers THEY had created.
Such incomparably practiced slaughter could absolutely not be achieved through ordinary means.
Only after countless desperate escapes from death on an unimaginably brutal battlefield could anyone become so clean and decisive.
And that was not all.
The seven-colored flames wrapped around those people actually revealed, to a certain degree, a quality that countered the Nightmare Walkers.
The Nightmare Walkers killed by these people did not disperse back into Penacony for THEM to take control of again.
The Nightmare Walkers killed by them vanished completely, as if the knots in their hearts had been undone.
If this continued, if those people were allowed to run rampant for a while longer, DESTRUDOS might very well become unable to summon Nightmare Walkers at all.
Because the techniques these people used covered far too wide an area.
This method of attack... was practically designed specifically to deal with endless enemies.
Which raised the question...
Because THEY had relied on Sunday's prior descent as a god of ORDER.
The melody THEY presided over and the other party's were, in essence, very similar existences.
And what was the melody of ORDER that Sunday had presided over?
It was the grace bestowed upon all living beings under the guidance of one great unified consciousness.
Therefore, at THEIR root, DESTRUDOS did, in fact, love people.
It was only that THEIR way of loving people had become somewhat unusual because of the death instinct.
One made people drown forever in satisfying dreams, while the other allowed people to vent the violence in their hearts before letting them sink into eternal STILLNESS.
In the logic at THEIR core, THEY were no different from Sunday.
So when THEY faced these people burning with seven-colored flames, doubt arose from within THEIR heart.
[YOU WHO HAVE STRUGGLED AT THE EDGE OF DEATH COUNTLESS TIMES, YOU WHO HAVE FELT STILLNESS COUNTLESS TIMES—WHY DO YOU REFUSE TO DROWN IN A WORLD OF STILLNESS?]
Flesh DESTRUDOS used the Nightmare Walkers to voice THEIR confusion to those who had entered the battlefield.
From their incredibly efficient clearing techniques, one could tell that these people who had suddenly appeared were definitely beings who had struggled desperately on the brink of death.
Then, when people faced the threat of death, could their desire to live remain forever high?
Impossible. Any living being with normal emotions could never accomplish such a thing.
As the saying went, morale surged at the first beat of the drum, faded at the second, and was exhausted by the third.
That saying was perfectly accurate no matter what it was applied to.
Under the constant threat of death, on a battlefield where death would come almost in the very next instant...
[HAVE NONE OF YOU EVER FELT THAT INTOXICATING STILLNESS?]
That was also why the instinct of death could shine so brilliantly.
Everyone had times when every step was difficult, when all they saw was devastation.
More importantly: [THE HATRED BORN IN BATTLE WILL DRAG COUNTLESS PEOPLE, ONE AFTER ANOTHER, INTO ITS DEPTHS.]
Penacony did not only have Dreamchasers. There were also those who had fled here because of war, or because of grave mistakes they had committed.
Even so, the sins of the past and their old traumas tormented them so deeply they could not free themselves.
That was why DESTRUDOS, as a god, granted them forgiveness.
Let go of everything, and sink into eternal peace.
Within such peace, there was no status, no hatred. All living beings were equal.
There would be no war, no conflict, no class, and no hatred clinging to anyone.
Everyone could equally enjoy that beautiful peace within it.
[YOU WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED ALL THIS SHOULD UNDERSTAND IT EVEN MORE CLEARLY!]
The Nightmare Walkers issued their question. A hundred thousand living beings raised demonic voices in unison, and the surging melody made the entire battlefield stop for an instant.
The melody gathered in the mind and linked into sentences. Carrying the god's questioning and confusion, it made living beings involuntarily turn inward and examine themselves.
"Tick-tock!"
Seeing this, Clockie bounced up as if a preset alarm had been triggered.
"If the fireflies get turned, we'll be in trouble!"
He started running, about to use his all-purpose Clockwork.
"Hmph."
But just then, a reassuring snort sounded from beside him.
Brother Hanu stopped the anxious Clockie.
He nodded, signaling Clockie to watch carefully what was happening before their eyes.
"Because we've already experienced what STILLNESS feels like."
Did the figures burning with seven-colored fire soften their attacks?
No!
Not in the slightest. They even took advantage of the other side's lack of resistance to strike harder!
For them, who had already sunk into NIHILITY, this bit of questioning was nothing at all!
STILLNESS still had things one could pursue, but NIHILITY was different.
The STILLNESS within NIHILITY was true and utter silence.
It was absolute nothingness, enough to make any living being that entered it forget everything, enough to make the world lose all meaning before their eyes.
Besides...
Did they not hate?
They had been treated as biological weapons, their thoughts shackled, their freedom stripped away.
For the sake of iteration, those bastards had even added Entropy Loss Syndrome into their genes.
But even so...
"The meaning of battle isn't only hatred."
At that moment, white flames burning in the distance rose into the air.
They were not flames confined within a hearth, meant to warm some specific existence.
"Battle is clearly about protecting the dream we once painted together."
They shone freely in the universe, bringing a tiny bit of warmth to the entire cosmos.
Now, they had gathered at the front line of this battlefield, facing more than a hundred thousand Nightmare Walkers head-on.
And the one who had made all this possible was... someone they had once protected with their own hands.
Even if they were called weapons of war, called the culprits behind destruction—
At this very moment, because of her, they could let their final flames bloom.
DESTRUDOS fell somewhat silent, but THEY still opened THEIR mouth to refute them.
[MUTUAL CONFLICT IS UNAVOIDABLE!]
Living beings were selfish. No existence could avoid it.
"But we also encouraged one another."
In despair, a single joke from another person was enough to help someone regain faith.
"Precisely because we once endured pain together, precisely because we once fell together, everyone searched for a path where we could help one another."
Was that not exactly how Penacony had once been built?
So what if this place had been a prison?
So what if everyone had once been a prisoner?
"As long as we don't give up on our dreams, all hope will gather together!"
Because everyone had better hopes for the future, they gathered together!
"That is what that man has always believed."
A fist formed from seven-colored light clenched tight.
Because he believed, he entrusted it to them.
Their future was bright!
So how could the remnants of the past not come out and lend a hand?
'Let us see the combat techniques of you juniors.'
"Then don't fall behind, seniors."
In the next instant, pure white flaming meteors mixed with seven-colored radiance swept away all the Nightmare Walkers before them like a blade.
The sight drew an exclamation from Clockie. "Wow!"
"Hmph!"
Brother Hanu gave a cool snort.
They could not let them steal all the spotlight!
Our town has to be protected by us!
CHOOOO~!
With the whistle of the Compass, Clockie and his friends boarded the Compass and charged forward!
DESTRUDOS's nightmare army was collapsing!
...
Gopher Wood felt DESTRUDOS growing more and more silent.
And with THEIR silence, the music rippling through Penacony also began to shift in strange ways.
It seemed to reflect the chaos in THEIR heart.
Seeing this, he naturally stepped forward quickly and offered a suggestion.
"My god, salvation does not mean saving everyone. It means saving those who can be saved."
Even gods were not omnipotent. There were things they could not do.
It was enough to save the lives that could be saved.
[THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO WORRY. WE ANTICIPATED THIS LONG AGO.]
DESTRUDOS naturally understood this.
And the reason THEY had shown this state was not because of what was happening on Dreamville's side.
Their resistance there was fierce, but it did not matter at all.
Although they could completely defeat the Nightmare Walkers and prevent them from being reborn again, how could the number of people who had died on Penacony over the past hundreds and thousands of years be only one hundred thousand?
New Dreamchasers arrived every day, and every day, Dreamchasers died unnatural deaths in the dreamscape.
Under such vast accumulation over time, the Nightmare Walkers DESTRUDOS could create would absolutely be able to crush them with ease.
THEY merely appeared to be declining on the surface because of Dominicus's numerical limits.
This decline could, in truth, be reversed in an instant.
And what was needed to reverse it was for THEM and the other DESTRUDOS to perform the final ensemble.
When that time came, the double performance of the music of STILLNESS would be able to soothe away all other emotions.
The reason Gopher Wood saw DESTRUDOS repeatedly showing signs of abnormality was because THEY had suddenly discovered that the music of ORDER being performed over there seemed to have weakened considerably.
Normally speaking, the other party, born from Sunday's body, should have been far stronger than a newly born existence like THEM no matter what.
This was not merely a matter of accumulated time, nor was it the difference in the way both sides had been born.
THEY had been created by the special Stellaron Gopher Wood had thrown down, while the other party had devoured Sunday and been born after absorbing everything Sunday had.
Compared to THEM, the other party was on a level of completion far beyond THEM.
So when both sides performed together earlier, this DESTRUDOS had existed as a supporting tone.
Their ensemble allowed the movement of STILLNESS to continue in an even stronger form.
But now, THEY keenly sensed that the main tone was actually showing signs of weakening.
And those signs were not temporary. They were continuous.
In an extremely short time, the main tone had nearly fallen to THEIR level.
This was simply unimaginably astonishing.
[WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED? WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED?]
DESTRUDOS was filled with doubt. THEY desperately wanted to know what was happening over there.
But the structure of dimensions meant THEIR curiosity had no room to act.
THEY could only wait.
Once the dimensions fully overlapped, THEY would be able to know what had happened there.
Even so, THEY faintly sensed that something was wrong.
What exactly...?
"Heehee. Is this place hiring?"
Suddenly, a voice different from Gopher Wood's rang out.
DESTRUDOS froze, suddenly sensing that something extremely similar seemed to have appeared opposite the black bird Gopher Wood had transformed into.
After Gopher Wood cast his gaze over, he could not help being somewhat surprised as well.
"Masked Clown?!"
That was right. The thing over there, about the same size as his current black-bird body, was none other than Masked Clown from Clockie.
"Wow, you actually know me! I'm so touched!"
Masked Clown squeezed out two tears and tried to move closer to Gopher Wood.
"Don't come near me!"
Unfortunately, Gopher Wood was extremely wary of this suddenly appearing fellow.
Others might not know, but how could Gopher Wood, who had been secretly planning behind the scenes in Penacony ever since The Family arrived, not know?
In the series created by Watchmaker Mikhail, the Masked Clown corresponded to the Masked Fools.
These people were a completely uncontrollable group in the universe.
No one knew what those bastards were trying to do.
As far as he was concerned, this Masked Clown should be the work of some Masked Fool who had infiltrated Penacony.
So at this critical juncture, Gopher Wood had to ensure that no accidents occurred.
DESTRUDOS had to successfully descend upon Penacony!
"How—how can you treat me like this!!"
Yet what he had not expected was that, after being scolded by him, Masked Clown sat straight down on the ground and started crying.
That crying could be called heartbreaking to hear and tear-jerking to witness. It was as if it had suffered some incredible grievance.
The sudden development left Gopher Wood frozen in place.
Why is this personality so much like the Masked Clown from the series?
In Clockie, Masked Clown was a fellow who claimed to be an ally of justice, yet went around committing all kinds of sabotage.
However, each of his schemes against Dreamville was foiled one by one by the all-purpose Clockie.
Normally speaking, after having so many good deeds ruined, the two sides should have counted as enemies no matter how one looked at it.
Yet this fellow was just as unfathomable as his original model.
It actually chose to call Clockie its dear friend.
As expected of something created based on the Masked Fools. When Gopher Wood had seen it back then, even he had sighed that this was absolutely something those people would do.
But Gopher Wood also understood that all of that had happened inside an animated series.
He had never imagined he would actually see Masked Clown crying pitifully in reality.
Even so, he did not lower his guard in the slightest.
"This is no place for you to cry. Leave at once!"
Gopher Wood spoke sternly.
He flapped his wings, preparing to throw this little Masked Clown down.
But at that moment, DESTRUDOS stopped him.
[WAIT.]
DESTRUDOS called Gopher Wood to a stop, because THEY had discovered this Masked Clown's true identity.
It was a Memory Zone Meme.
Simply put, it was the same as the Clockies who had appeared over in Dreamville.
There was no difference between the two. DESTRUDOS could sense the same power fluctuations from its body.
Then came the question: why had this Masked Clown come here instead of resisting the Nightmare Walkers on the front line?
Masked Clown's answer, however, left both Gopher Wood and DESTRUDOS surprised.
"Because I, Masked Clown, have a dream." Masked Clown's face turned solemn, and it spoke with great gravity. "And that is to become an ally of justice!"
Behind it, a phantom with a heart seemed to appear.
Was that the manifestation of its dream...?
As for the truth, perhaps only Masked Clown understood.
"An ally of justice?!"
Gopher Wood repeated the phrase.
Though the other party said it with righteous conviction, for some reason, he felt... something was fishy about this.
"That's right!"
Masked Clown nodded, puffed out its chest, and walked step by step up to Gopher Wood.
"There is nothing more just than saving the entire universe, so I must be here!"
It spoke with a face full of passion, and within that tiny body was a strange, childlike sincerity.
"So I'm going to join you and save this sick universe!"
After hearing that, Gopher Wood looked at it suspiciously. "Is... that so?!"
"Of course. Would I ever lie to you?"
Masked Clown said solemnly,
"I swear on the name of AHA—no, Masked Clown... that I am absolutely joining you in order to become an ally of justice!"
After saying that, it bowed directly toward the black mist surging continuously above.
"So please accept me!"
After it finished bowing, it raised its head, and tears began brewing in its eyes again. "As long as I can join you, I'll do anything!"
After that, the place fell silent.
Gopher Wood did not dare speak, because the existence who could decide this matter was DESTRUDOS.
And DESTRUDOS was currently considering all kinds of things.
Although Masked Clown's appearance was somewhat abrupt, it had indeed appeared at exactly the right moment.
Because with this fellow, DESTRUDOS could analyze a special creation like a Memory Zone Meme.
In this way, THEY would be able to pull those characters from the animated series into STILLNESS as well.
If successful, the other side's resistance would become a little weaker.
For THEM, this was absolutely a good thing.
But just as THEY worried, the timing of this fellow's appearance here was far too coincidental.
Those cartoon characters were currently riding the Compass and facing the Nightmare Walkers, yet this fellow had suddenly appeared here.
Though THEY had only just been born, THEY were absolutely no fool.
No matter how THEY thought about it, THEY could discover the enormous flaw within this situation.
So THEIR decision was...
The black mist surged, aiming at Masked Clown below.
Although Memory Zone Memes made THEM feel some difficulty right now, that was only right now.
For the sake of caution, it would be better to assimilate this fellow.
However, Masked Clown did not seem to notice the black mist churning above. After all, no matter how one looked at it, all black mist looked very similar.
So it could not help softly humming a short stretch of a special melody...
Yet that melody immediately made DESTRUDOS lose THEIR calm.
Those familiar notes. That familiar melody...
[WHY CAN YOU PLAY THIS MELODY?]
DESTRUDOS lost THEIR composure. Countless strands of black mist instantly wrapped around Masked Clown.
[WHY CAN YOU HUM THIS MELODY OF STILLNESS?!]
The reason DESTRUDOS became so agitated was because the melody Masked Clown had hummed was precisely the essence of the DESTRUDOS over there.
This was something that should only have been recognizable to THEM.
But why?
Why could such music be heard from this Masked Clown's mouth?!
And when THEY connected it to the inexplicable weakening of the other party's main tone...
DESTRUDOS suddenly had a very bad premonition!
So THEY had to learn from Masked Clown the other party's condition, as well as the reason it knew this song!
"Because—because I helped a little bird with broken wings!"
Masked Clown, hanging in the air, told the whole truth.
According to its description, it had helped a little mechanical bird with broken wings on the way here.
The other party said it was looking for its friend, and its friend was planning something to save the entire universe.
How could Masked Clown not be moved after hearing something like that?
After all, it was someone who was going to become an ally of justice.
So it followed the other party's words and came here at once.
[WHERE IS THAT PLACE?]
DESTRUDOS asked calmly again.
A little mechanical bird? Could it have something to do with the other side?
Under questioning, Masked Clown directly gave an address.
But after hearing it, Gopher Wood grew somewhat dazed...
Was that address not precisely where Sunday had been defeated?
That was right. After Gopher Wood matched it against the location in his mind, he discovered that he was very familiar with this place.
But he did not remember there being any little mechanical bird at the time.
Could this actually be a trap set by Hoshigaki Sora?!
Gopher Wood was startled, then hurriedly spoke. "My god, leave this matter to me!"
He absolutely could not allow Hoshigaki Sora to interfere with the ritual again!
DESTRUDOS pondered briefly before finally choosing to nod.
THEY signaled Gopher Wood to go and return quickly.
After receiving the order, Gopher Wood immediately flapped his wings and vanished from that place.
Only Masked Clown was left hanging in midair.
...
Gopher Wood frantically beat his wings, racing toward the target location.
At that moment, he could truly be said to be burning with anxiety, afraid that one careless mistake would let Hoshigaki Sora ruin this matter again.
And when he cast his gaze out, he discovered that the fusion of the two Penaconies had already progressed halfway.
One could say that the damaged places from before had already been completely covered.
But...
There were also some intact places where traces left by artillery shells had appeared.
There were no large-scale lethal weapons like artillery shells in Penacony's dreamscape.
In other words, these marks came from the other Penacony!
"Something has absolutely, absolutely gone wrong!"
Gopher Wood was alarmed.
He never imagined that even though he had guarded against accidents to such an extent, something could still go wrong again.
He had to make repairs quickly!
That thought seized his mind all at once.
And he also raised his guard to the highest degree.
He was afraid someone might be lying in ambush at that location.
Since the other party was so cunning, it was always better to be careful!
However, when he arrived there, he discovered that the place was completely still.
The ground still bore the traces left from Sunday's defeat last time.
Signs of Penacony's overlap had appeared here as well, but this place showed no sign of being repaired.
Because here, Gopher Wood saw something very familiar.
It was The Great Septimus's ruined body.
The ruined body had shattered the ground, making it impossible to restore.
"This—this is impossible!"
Gopher Wood cried out in shock. "How could this thing still be here?"
One had to know that after Sunday's defeat, he had directly taken him away from within it.
The Embryo of Philosophy, having lost its core, had slowly turned into golden particles and returned to being Dominicus, the avatar of HARMONY.
In other words, whether it was The Great Septimus or the Embryo of Philosophy, neither should still exist.
How could something like this remain in this place?
An ominous premonition kept echoing through Gopher Wood's mind.
Reason warned him not to approach lightly.
Yet for some inexplicable reason, he sensed something familiar within that broken body.
That thing seemed like some kind of object filled with temptation.
Like the venomous serpent that tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, it continuously drew Gopher Wood's gaze.
I shouldn't go over. I can't go over...
But why? Why is my body out of control?
The black bird body slowly flew toward the location of that broken husk.
The closer he got, the deeper Gopher Wood's mind was affected.
He seemed to see countless pieces of steel continuously converging before his eyes. He seemed to see surging energy erupting from a power furnace.
Further ahead was the mechanical core, the root of everything!
That was...
Gopher Wood's eyes suddenly became clear, but that clarity lasted only for an instant.
Because he clearly saw a mechanical bird open its mouth, which was filled with rotating saw-teeth, and lunge at him.
In the next instant, the black bird he had transformed into was sliced apart and shredded before it could even scream.
And it was not only sliced apart and shredded. Everything he possessed was absorbed completely.
COMPREHEND. ANALYZE... ASSIMILATE!
Just then, the birds watching everything from high above Penacony suddenly stiffened, lost consciousness, and fell downward.
But when they had fallen halfway, they regained their senses.
At the same time, the feathers on their bodies gradually began to be covered by bright silver blades.
Their eyes no longer flashed with expression, but instead transformed into mechanical cameras.
After the transformation was complete, emerald light flickered in the eyes of these mechanical birds, and they continuously converged toward this place.
In the end, a mechanical storm of crows even rose up there.
Its momentum was tremendous, yet it made no sound at all.
[AHA IS AMAZING. AHA HELPED SOMEONE FULFILL A DREAM.]
THEN BECOME A SACRIFICE TO HELP THEIR TRANSFORMATION.
AHA was simply a wonderful person.
[AHA NOT ONLY HELPED SOMEONE FULFILL A DREAM, BUT AS AN ALLY OF JUSTICE, AHA ALSO SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATED JUSTICE!]
Not only had THEY helped the other party fulfill a dream, as an ally of justice, THEY had also punished evil!
As for what consequences would follow from demonstrating justice, that was not something AHA had to care about.
In any case, the ally of justice AHA... no!
Masked Clown was now a special agent undercover among the enemy!
As for what THEY were going to do?
That was a very good question.
After all, as far as THEY were concerned: [AHA DOESN'T WANT AN APPEARANCE FEE. AHA JUST WANTS TO SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE END.]
No existence could know the words behind that laughter.
The mechanical flock of crows seemed to find its target and flew upward into the sky.
THEY only wanted to sit and watch the later show unfold.
After all, THEY were still very curious about certain things that had yet to be used.
A special object had been placed somewhere that could only be reached by warp.
A stream of pure white flames and seven-colored flowing fire were undergoing a special contest.
Clockie and his friends were helping too.
Only the ally of justice was being tormented by the enemy.
Oh, no!
There was still one more person. THEY had almost forgotten him. After all, it had been a bit of a shame not being able to see him lately.
What would that fellow without a train do?
Anticipation. This was truly far too exciting!
[HEEHEEHEE~]
---
T/N: hehiwaheiaheihaishdih aheeeheeeee michael jackson
my fav song of mj is chicago
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