"Hmm... So why is this thing here?"
Looking at the motionless blue-green flame before him, Wende cast a confused glance at Jingliu.
Jingliu simply rolled her eyes at Wende. How was she supposed to know?
"It's ironic, isn't it? I am a Lord Ravager, yet now I've been reduced to a mere pawn living under another's roof... If word of this were to get out, I probably wouldn't have to bother returning to the Legion..."
Phantylia's flame flickered slightly, her tone laced with helplessness.
Who could have imagined it? She had merely coveted a sliver of a chance to escape Destruction, and as a result, she was cast aside by it. And now, she served a new master.
"Phantylia, what is your purpose here?!"
Tingyun stepped forward alone, questioning the faint flame.
"Purpose? What purpose could I have? I am merely following orders..."
Before Phantylia could finish, faint points of dim light suddenly appeared within the dark space, surrounding her. Wende recognized at a glance that the energy was none other than Yin energy...
"You've already met that big oaf outside, haven't you? Though for you all, defeating him was likely an easy task."
Phantylia spoke to herself, as if she knew something.
"What a fine method... Yin and Yang, Yang and Yin, ultimately unifying everything, all to test a single possibility, not even hesitating to use an entire planet..."
"I must say, it's a very worthwhile trade. Using just one planet for a test... on the scale of the entire cosmos, what does one Punklorde even count for?"
Indeed, what did one Punklorde count for? What did one Lord Ravager... count for? In the end, they were all just pawns, discarded in a game played by gods.
"If that's the case, little fox, let me see what progress you've made during this time!"
Phantylia's tone turned cold in an instant. A vast amount of Yin energy gathered upon the soulfire. With incredible speed, it shot past Wende, who had just reacted and tried to intercept it. The pitch-black soulfire plunged violently into Tingyun's body!
"Tingyun!"
Wende quickly caught the collapsing Tingyun in his arms. He channeled his Chaos energy, sending a tendril into her body to investigate.
"This is..."
Wende frowned in confusion. Inside Tingyun's body... Yin and Yang were spinning rapidly, as if clashing with each other, yet they were perfectly balanced?
"This is Tingyun's own battle. Let her handle it," Jingliu said softly.
"I suppose that's the only way."
Using his thigh as a pillow for her head, Wende gently laid Tingyun on the ground. His Chaos energy constantly monitored the fierce battle between Tingyun and Phantylia. If any mishap were to occur, he would intervene directly.
Seeing Wende's serious expression, Jingliu smiled lightly and leaned against his side, watching over Tingyun with him.
"This is a metamorphosis she must experience. You can't spoil things by rushing her growth," Jingliu whispered, her lips close to Wende's ear.
"...Speaking of rushing things... have you ever done any less?"
Wende gave Jingliu a speechless look. This woman was the very definition of "rushing things"!
"Have I?"
Jingliu pondered for a moment under Wende's accusatory gaze, then smiled in acceptance.
"Tsk..."
Seeing that bad woman smile, Wende had a feeling he was in for it.
---o---
"This place is?"
Tingyun opened her eyes, looking at her surroundings with a sense of helplessness and confusion.
"This is your memory. The last time I was here, it wasn't nearly this rich... It seems you've been living quite well on the Astral Express."
"Phantylia," who had taken on the form of the brown-haired, green-eyed Tingyun, browsed through Tingyun's recent memories, clicking her tongue in wonder.
Tingyun's brow furrowed slightly, her face filled with displeasure as she watched Phantylia stroll around as if she owned the place.
"Aren't you being a little too forward? Rummaging through the owner's belongings without an invitation... that's what a thief does."
Tingyun's face was cold. A pure white flame ignited on the folding fan in her hand, as if she were about to "catch a thief."
"A thief? If we're putting it that way, you're using his power. What's the difference between that and being a thief?" Phantylia gave Tingyun a sly smile, a folding fan of her own appearing in her hand.
"Oh? And just who was it that stole power from Benefactor Wende? And with such despicable means, no less."
"Pfft..."
As if she'd heard something hilarious, Phantylia covered her smiling face with her fan, but there wasn't a trace of mirth in her emerald eyes.
"Little fox, did you know? The worlds I have destroyed with 'despicable means' are innumerable. And it was never I who destroyed them, but they themselves. I simply took what they couldn't see and lit a fire to it."
"Just like this!"
Streams of pitch-black flame surged toward Tingyun. Seeing this, Tingyun immediately countered, waving her fan to unleash a torrent of pure Yang flames!
The two flames, one Yin and one Yang, intertwined and clashed within Tingyun's consciousness. For a moment, they were evenly matched, neither able to overcome the other.
"Hehe, little fox. Such pure power. It seems you've received quite a bit from him as well. In that case, you and I are two sides of the same coin in the end. Neither of us is in a position to laugh at the other!"
"Hmph..."
---o---
"Eat my Lightning Cyclone Cleave!"
March, wielding her longbow, traced an elegant arc through the air. The bow, encased in Six-Phased Ice, slammed viciously into her rift projection's forehead. Caught off guard and unable to summon its own pirated Six-Phased Ice for defense, the projection took the full force of March's blow right between the eyes! Its eyes rolled back into its head, and it collapsed, its form slowly fading away on the grass.
"Hehehe! The final victor is me, the universe's number one invincible cutie, March!"
Striking a pose on the grass, March shouted with immense pride.
"Bleeeghh!!!"
"Alright, alright, if you're going to get dizzy, you should stop using that move. If Wende were here, maybe a single needle from him would fix you right up..."
Gently patting Stelle's back, Himeko's face was a mask of helplessness.
This proved that it was generally not a good idea to fight by spinning in circles. It was very easy to make yourself throw up!
"I wonder how Wende's group is doing..."