["Miss Tingyun!" March 7th cried out.]
[Before she could approach, Tingyun's body collapsed like a marionette with cut strings, and a small glowing orb slowly floated from her chest.]
["Dear Benefactors, allow me to reintroduce myself—I am Phantylia, Lord Ravager. I've come to bring this Xianzhou to ruin, to let it destroy itself!"]
[As she spoke, countless Antimatter Legion troops suddenly appeared, blocking the group's path.]
["Miss Tingyun is… a Lord Ravager of the Legion? W-What's going on?!" March 7th's face was still filled with disbelief.]
["Everyone, stay calm! We face a great enemy; we must not lose our composure!" Fu Xuan's voice came from behind as the Cloud Knights swiftly engaged the Antimatter Legion in battle.]
["It's not [Zephyro] or [Celenova] targeting the Xianzhou. You're quite lucky."]
[Phantylia's voice drifted in the air, looking down at the group's struggle as if admiring an amusing piece of art, savoring it. "As for me, I'm the least fond of creating destruction with my own hands… But that General forced my hand, so Phantylia must make an appearance."]
["It's time for my appointment. Please allow me to take my leave. I hope you enjoy playing with these performers."]
"The mastermind behind the scenes has finally shown herself. Tingyun was suspicious all along," Satoru Gojo yawned, stretching lazily. "Since the Ambrosial Arbor, I've been waiting for Tingyun to reveal her true self. She's a big fish, alright."
"But she's an Emissary of Destruction…" Yuta Okkotsu rubbed his chin. "And I don't think Phantylia would act without being fully prepared."
"Doesn't the Xianzhou have an Emissary of the Hunt?"
Gojo smirked. "You've seen General Jing Yuan's strength, haven't you? Forget him— that golden, radiant figure behind him is no ordinary being. It's ridiculously powerful! Plus, the Astral Express crew is helping… That Welt is hiding his true strength. It's hard to say he doesn't have some trump card."
"So, Teacher, do you think they'll win?" Yuta asked, still worried.
"Hah, if there were two more Lord Ravagers, it'd be trouble. But with just Phantylia alone…" Gojo's lips curved into a confident grin.
"They'll win!"
["Tch… So, the Miss Tingyun who traveled with us was part of the Legion?" March 7th was completely flustered. "What was that fire that came out of her? Where… where's Miss Tingyun's body?!"]
[She looked up at Welt. "Uncle Yang, you're well-traveled. What just happened?!"]
["…" Welt sighed. "That flame called itself Phantylia, Lord Ravager. I've heard that name from other Nameless before."]
["She's one of the seven Lords under Nanook, obsessed with mortal self-destruction. Many beings have been led by her into irredeemable ruin…"]
[Fu Xuan's gaze darkened. "So, you're saying the girl from the Sky-Faring Commission was long ago bewitched and became a pawn of the Legion?"]
[Stelle and Welt exchanged a glance. Neither could easily accept such a conclusion.]
["…I don't think so. Phantylia revels in the dual destruction of mind and body, leading from mental collapse to physical annihilation," Welt analyzed. "But Tingyun's speech and behavior didn't seem bewitched or controlled. If she wasn't the real Tingyun, it's more likely she was Phantylia's shapeshifted form."]
["Uncle Yang, are you saying the real Tingyun is still…" March 7th looked at Welt with worry.]
["I'm sorry, March 7th, I can't give a definitive answer. Where the real Tingyun is, or when she was replaced, we can't investigate now that her body has dissipated."]
"If Miss Tingyun is dead, how are we supposed to go on… sob…"
"Come back, Miss Tingyun! Revive, my beloved—!"
"Nooo, I'd trade ten years of Boss Itto's single life for Miss Tingyun's revival!"
In Inazuma City, a group of men clutching the latest Tingyun-themed folding fans wept bitterly, their heart-wrenching wails drawing sighs and headshakes from passersby, even stirring pity in the Tenryou Commission officers tasked with dispersing them.
"Hahaha—My Miss Tingyun can't be dead! How could she die? Hehe…" One man, wearing a shirt with Tingyun's image, wiped tears while laughing, his face a mix of madness and delusion.
"Ugh, another one's gone mad…" Kuki Shinobu sighed. Suddenly, she spotted her boss and a few Arataki Gang members in the crowd, sobbing. Furious, she yanked Arataki Itto out.
"Boss, they're crying their hearts out, but why are you joining in?" Kuki Shinobu demanded.
"Huh?" Arataki Itto wiped his tears, pulling a limited-edition Tingyun fan from his pocket and waving it proudly in Shinobu's face. "Shinobu, I'm now the president of the 'Tingyun Fan Support Association'! Of course I had to show up!"
"So, the gang funds you withdrew the other day were for registering a fan club with the Tenryou Commission?"
"…"
Kuki Shinobu rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "So what now? Your fan club's been active for less than three days, and Tingyun's dead."
"Shinobu! I need to correct you! Miss Tingyun isn't dead!" Seeing the crowd, Itto leaned close to Shinobu's ear, whispering emphatically, "There's no evidence she's dead, right?"
"…But there's also no evidence she's alive," Shinobu retorted, mercilessly shattering his hopes.
"Stop it, Shinobu!" Itto's face turned pitiful. "If you keep this up, my fan club, which I worked so hard to establish, will disband! I don't want my half-month's wages to go down the drain in three days!"
["This is just my personal theory… and hope. If that was the real Tingyun, why would Phantylia go to the trouble of erasing the evidence? Wouldn't leaving the body in front of her old allies align better with her aesthetics of destruction?"]
["I believe this is Phantylia's goal—to plunge us into confusion and suspicion, fully ensnaring us in her poisonous scheme."]
[Welt's analysis was thorough, and Fu Xuan nodded in agreement. "No wonder the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus sparked a rebellion. They were secretly colluding with a Lord Ravager. She disguised herself as a Xianzhou native, brought the Stellaron to the Luofu, and let us destroy ourselves…"]
["Her target must be the Ambrosial Arbor! Tainting it is like seizing the Luofu's very foundation. Destroying the Xianzhou would be effortless then. We must stop her at once!"]
["Board the starskiff. Ahead lies the delve sealing the Ambrosial Arbor, [Scalegorge Waterscape]."]