"Hime… Himeko?"
After recognizing the person before her, Stelle froze for a moment before urgently saying, "Dan Heng, March, and the others…"
Before she could finish, Stelle stopped short, noticing four figures of varying sizes standing beside them, all looking bewildered, as if they hadn't yet processed how they ended up here.
Stelle swallowed hard, a shocking realization dawning on her: Could it be that, in the instant the destructive force erupted, Himeko saved all five of them at once?
What kind of speed was this? Was it the speed of a racing cat?
Quickly regaining her composure, Stelle clung to Himeko's neck, wailing, "Big Sister Himeko! I thought I'd never see you again! That Phantylia almost wiped us out! You have to stand up for us!"
"Alright, alright, I know you've been through a lot," Himeko said, comforting her with a pat on the back. "Don't worry. Now that I'm here, you all can step back and rest."
"The battle from here on is mine."
On the other side, Phantylia, who had been certain of victory, was stunned to see the group unscathed. With her keen perception, she could tell that the five who had been trapped in a deathly situation were saved by a single person. But that speed… wasn't it a bit too fast?
Damn it! To deal with those five insignificant ants, she had taken a direct hit from the Divine Lord. If she had actually eliminated those annoying ants, it would've been worth it, but the result…
This damned woman!
Phantylia was seething with rage, but the Divine Lord's relentless assaults kept her pinned down, leaving her utterly frustrated.
"You all watch closely."
Himeko chuckled lightly, setting Stelle down and flexing her wrists before walking toward Phantylia.
The moment she turned, the gentle, warm smile on Himeko's face vanished, replaced by a resolute determination to "fight to the end."
"Star, is Redhead really going to fight Phantylia alone? Can… can she handle it?" Bailu tugged at Stelle's clothes, whispering.
Stelle gazed at the invincible figure ahead, pausing for a moment before saying, "Are you talking about Phantylia or Big Sister Himeko?"
…
"Phantylia, though you see us as mere ants, to struggle so much against ants makes you the first among Lord Ravagers!"
Having repeatedly suppressed Phantylia, Jing Yuan was in high spirits, not missing the chance to taunt her.
"Arrogant!"
Phantylia was pushed back a hundred meters by the Divine Lord. Just as she prepared to counterattack, she saw a small red figure walking straight toward her. A sense of absurdity washed over her—had the world changed so much that even a mortal dared to face her head-on?
She was a Lord Ravager, an Emanator of Destruction!
"A mere mortal, not only refusing to flee but daring to approach me?" Phantylia laughed in fury.
"Miss Himeko, this enemy is an Emanator of Destruction. Leave her to me," Jing Yuan said, quickly stepping in to stop her. "I trust in your strength, but the Express has already helped me greatly. I can't let you take this risk."
"This isn't about helping you."
Himeko shook her head slightly, her gaze fixed on Phantylia's massive form as she continued forward. "She nearly killed three of my companions. As the navigator of the Astral Express, they might let it slide, but I can't."
"Such arrogance!"
Phantylia sneered. "What can a mere mortal like you do?"
Himeko replied calmly, "I'm the navigator and mechanic of the Astral Express, so I know very well that to defeat a big thing like you, all it takes is unscrewing one tiny bolt."
Crack—
Before her words finished, the ground beneath Himeko's feet split open. In Jing Yuan's shocked gaze, she transformed into a crimson blur, appearing in front of Phantylia's face in the next second, delivering a punch—
"Ora—"
Bang!
Phantylia let out a muffled grunt, staggering back a few steps under the force of the punch, nearly falling.
The onlookers: She's practically a superhero…
Bang bang bang bang bang—
But this punch was only the beginning. Himeko didn't intend to stop there, attacking Phantylia's weak points from every angle. Even someone as powerful as Phantylia could only retreat under Himeko's relentless barrage of "Ora" strikes.
"Tch… Annoying fly, is this all you've got?!"
Phantylia, enraged by the onslaught, scoffed, "Besides harassing me, what real damage can you do?!"
"I don't need to bring out my full strength to deal with you," Himeko said coldly. "And as I've said, I'm the navigator of the Astral Express, which means…"
"I can summon it to lend me a hand."
Rumble—
At that moment, a sound like muffled thunder echoed from the horizon, this time accompanied by the faint wail of a siren—
Beep—
The Astral Express suddenly roared into the Ambrosial Arbor's sealed entrance, its afterimage showing just how fast it was moving.
"This one, this one, this one, and this one—full speed ahead! Ohohoho!"
Pom-Pom sat in the driver's seat, brimming with excitement. "Wakaka—It's been ages since I got to have this much fun!"
"This is way more exciting than crashing into that old fossil Qlipoth's wall! There's nothing in the universe that I, the great conductor, can't crash into!"
—"Pom-Pom, aim for Phantylia and ram her!" Himeko's voice came through the intercom.
Pom-Pom: "What'd you say, pa? Ram who?"
Pom-Pom: "Eh, whatever! We're going too fast to stop now. Let's crash first and figure it out later. This one looks like an eight-foot-tall lady—let's do this, pa!"
From the moment the Express entered the sealed entrance to reaching Phantylia, the entire process took less than a second.
As the Astral Express was about to collide with Phantylia, she finally saw what was coming. A chill of dread surged through her—wasn't this Akivili's blazing spirit?
This thing could smash through even Qlipoth's wall. If it hit her… she'd be done for, wouldn't she?!
"Argh—"
The Express pierced through Phantylia's body without suspense. Under her horrified gaze, the terrifying kinetic energy spread instantly, completely shattering her form.
The Express's momentum didn't stop, crashing into the Arbor's roots, shaking the entire sealed space with tremors.
Pom-Pom lounged in the driver's seat, lighting a cigarette with a satisfied look. "It's been a while since I felt this good, pa."
"…My goodness, was Phantylia… one-shotted?"
Stelle stared in disbelief at the spot where Phantylia's body had disintegrated. What about phase three? She couldn't have been taken out so easily that Pom-Pom speedran her, could she?
Phantylia, an Emanator wielding both Abundance and Destruction paths, taken out just like that?!
…
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"Seriously, why's she in such a rush?"
Huohuo, hands in her pockets, kicked aside a pebble in her path. Two minutes ago, she and Miss Himeko had arrived here together, but in her impatience, Himeko had vanished in the blink of an eye.
Young people were so impulsive.
"No overtime pay, and I still have to help out. I just finished investigating the source of the heliobus's power, and I don't even get a break. Ugh, I won't say it, but Jing Yuan really deserves to be punished!"
"Hey, little miss, hello?"
At that moment, a voice came from behind Huohuo. She turned to see a middle-aged man with brown hair standing there, wearing a "kind" smile.
"Little miss, did you just see a group of people pass by here? There was a gray-haired girl, a pink-haired girl, a black-haired boy, and…"
Huohuo had no patience to listen further. Hands still in her pockets, she walked up to Welt, forcing a polite smile. "Young man, I'm a bit hard of hearing at my age. Could you repeat that one more time?"