In an instant, the earth trembled, and the mountains shook.
A massive shadow loomed over the Creation Platform, the deafening roar of mechanical operations drawing everyone's attention.
March 7th's face paled. "That's…"
Bronya shouted urgently, "It's the ancient machine of the Architects! Everyone, get back!"
Sensing the Creation Engine raising its colossal arm, the group scrambled backward at full speed, dodging an attack that could pulverize them into dust.
The whistling wind from the strike stung their ears.
March 7th erected an ice wall to block the chaotic dust surging toward them.
Looking back at the Creation Engine, she finally finished her earlier sentence.
"Compared to Svarog, it's like… a robot a million times bigger?"
From atop the Creation Engine, Cocolia's voice, dripping with murderous intent, echoed down.
"Engine, crush them!"
The Creation Engine's face began to focus a terrifying surge of energy.
"Look out!"
Stelle swiftly grabbed March 7th, her legs propelling them high into the air.
A horrifying laser attack grazed the soles of her feet, sweeping from left to right, leaving a scorched trail on the ground that faded from red to black.
Landing back on the ground, Stelle noticed the Creation Engine didn't launch a second ranged attack and released March 7th with lingering fear.
March 7th's expression was grim as she pointed at Cocolia in midair.
"Come down here if you've got the guts!"
"Provoking her won't work, March. Save your breath," Stelle said, shaking her head, her mind racing for a way to break the stalemate.
Bronya tried firing a few shots, but Cocolia dodged them all.
Cocolia descended onto the platform on the Creation Engine's shoulder, making it impossible to continue shooting due to the angle.
March 7th gritted her teeth. "Ugh, if Leon were here, Cocolia wouldn't dare act so smug. She'd be his perfect target!"
Not to mention Leon's wings allowing him to fly, even without them, his wind-manipulating abilities would be enough to give Cocolia a run for her money.
Stay up there? Not a chance.
He might even flip the Creation Engine itself!
Seele furrowed her brows tightly.
"We have to find a way to stop this giant machine!"
Bronya's thoughts raced.
"It's tricky. Even I don't know how to make it stop."
Stelle's eyes quickly scanned the Creation Engine's structure, lingering briefly on parts that could be used as leverage.
After a rough estimate, she dismissed the idea.
No good. She couldn't climb it.
They needed to stop this thing, even if just one arm.
Cocolia pointed her ice spear toward the ground again.
"Engine, sweep everything away!"
The Creation Engine's four eyes flared with crimson light, raising its left arm once more to smash the group below.
"Dodge!"
The ever-vigilant group retreated swiftly.
At that moment, a blinding flash lit up the sky.
An orbital cannon strike from the heavens precisely hit the joint connecting the Creation Engine's body to its left arm.
The explosion was deafening, the firelight dazzling.
Cocolia, somewhat disheveled, dodged the blast and looked up with a grim expression.
The gray sky was empty.
Seeing the Creation Engine's left arm fall powerlessly toward the ground, her expression grew colder.
Another expert?
To destroy a critical part of the Creation Engine with a single strike…
Wary of another unknown attack, Cocolia didn't dare move recklessly for the moment.
Focusing her attention on the sky, she had no time to deal with the group below.
March 7th's eyes lit up.
"…It's Himeko!"
The Synesthesia Beacons of the three Trailblazers on-site buzzed simultaneously with a gentle female voice.
"Hello? The signal's really bad…"
"Himeko! I didn't expect you to come to the rescue!"
Despite her excitement, March 7th's gaze remained fixed on the Creation Engine and Cocolia.
"Hehe, Welt and I have been keeping an eye on you from the Express. This Trailblazing journey has been quite thrilling, hasn't it?" Himeko chuckled.
March 7th's lips curled into a grin. "You bet! No way we'd let the Nameless' reputation down."
"No time for chit-chat. That big guy's down for now. The rest is up to you."
"Himeko, can you see what's going on with Leon?" Stelle asked.
She had thought Leon was finally rejoining the team.
It seemed the trouble in the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone was still unresolved.
"We could track his movements earlier, but shortly after you left the city area…"
The signal noise surged, and Himeko's voice came through intermittently, masking the worry in her words.
They hadn't identified the source of the unknown Imaginary fluctuations at the Envoy level, and Leon had suddenly vanished from the Express's navigation system.
It was hard not to worry.
"Now… he's… in a state of… complete signal loss."
Though her words were fragmented, the meaning was clear enough.
The group exchanged glances, unease rising in their hearts.
At a time like this, no news was worse than bad news.
Had the Silvermane Guard Restricted Zone been overrun by Rift monsters?
Himeko's voice faded entirely. Stelle forced her worries aside, her eyes locking onto Cocolia.
Everything stemmed from this woman and the Stellaron.
If Leon was out of contact, they needed to end this quickly.
Stelle lunged forward, aiming to climb the Creation Engine's arm to reach Cocolia.
As she moved, Cocolia noticed immediately and didn't dare slack off.
In battle, one couldn't afford to be distracted. Since the people below posed less of a threat, she'd overwhelm them with sheer numbers.
In an instant, the Stellaron emitted invisible ripples.
Glimmering Rift portals opened, and countless enemies poured out.
"Cover me!"
Several Rift-born Faceless Mask monsters suddenly blocked Stelle's path, their faces stitched together from victims of Rift corrosion, emitting eerie roars.
Gunshots rang out behind Stelle, and the masks dissolved into black mist.
"Go! I've got your back!"
Bronya stood back-to-back with Seele, her gun unloading a torrent of bullets.
The Creation Engine's four eyes flickered, its mountainous half-fallen body beginning to rise.
Stelle's gaze sharpened as she accelerated, narrowly dodging a sweep from the other giant hand.
She leaped toward the engine's shoulder but fell short by half an inch—
Clang!
A dark green spear shot through the air, embedding itself into the machinery. Stelle grabbed the spear, using it to flip through the air and land on the Creation Engine's left shoulder platform.
Cocolia spread her hands, her body hovering half a foot off the ground, gradually encased in ice armor.
Stelle's eyes narrowed.
That power felt so familiar.
Cocolia was assimilating with the overflowing Rift energy of the Stellaron.
Crazy woman.
Even Stelle didn't dare recklessly tap into the Stellaron's power within her, but Cocolia? She welcomed it without hesitation.
"Look… this is the power of the Stellaron. It surges, it sings…"
Transformed into a singer manipulating Imaginary energy, Cocolia's human silhouette was barely discernible, looking more monstrous than the Rift creatures.
"The promise the Stellaron gave me is this world's only hope!"
"Seven hundred years ago, it crushed the Antimatter Legion. Today, it will crush you!"
Stelle sneered, charging forward, her bat wrapped in blue light as she swung it fiercely at Cocolia's body.
"Talk's cheap, pathetic Supreme Guardian."
As Stelle's words landed, countless players who had been watching the lengthy cutscene finally saw the screen split—
The final battle began.
Yet, to most players' surprise, the fight was a 1v1!
Ah Xian was fine; she already knew.
But Old Bear, without beta test experience, was dumbfounded.
"Damn, how do you fight this alone? Is this a scripted loss?"
"Or maybe, as the fight goes on, everyone joins in, including Leon?"