---o---
Ron's words struck a chord deep within Phantylia.
Truth be told, she had never imagined she would meet someone like Ron.
Someone who, despite never having met her, could so effortlessly voice all her thoughts, as if he were another version of herself.
Ron was right. As an Emanator of [The Destruction], Phantylia followed in the footsteps of Nanook, the Arbiter of Destruction, and acted according to his will. But that didn't mean she truly, willingly embraced [The Destruction].
As a Heliobus, Phantylia hadn't been so malevolent in the beginning. Such was the nature of their kind; these formless beings simply followed their instincts, drawn to the emotions of intelligent life, possessing them to feast upon the delectable meal that was "emotion."
And depending on the host, a Heliobus would gradually develop a will of its own. In any case, this will was invariably linked to its host.
In most cases, Heliobi had no clear concept of good or evil; their will was shaped by their experiences. Phantylia was one such case.
The reason she had become what she was today was the result of being elevated to an Emanator by Nanook of [The Destruction], and subsequently being reshaped by the will of [The Destruction].
Therefore, Phantylia wasn't actually a great admirer of [The Destruction]. While her postnatal development and Nanook's modifications had given her a certain aesthetic appreciation for destruction, and she took pleasure in bringing ruin to different civilizations, deep down, she could never get over that one hurdle.
The most difficult threshold to cross on the Path of [The Destruction].
Although the Emanators of [The Destruction] accepted Nanook's will and power, becoming the embodiment of his desires and receiving his favor, it did not mean they were granted a new destiny.
After they had brought sufficient destruction for Nanook, when all things came to an end, Nanook would earnestly commend their achievements—and then, he would immediately grant them their final destruction.
Such was the Path of [The Destruction]. Its final destination was inevitably a conclusion of self-annihilation.
Though Phantylia was an Emanator of [The Destruction], she had never accepted the fate of being destroyed by Nanook.
Every time she followed the supreme edict of [The Destruction] and annihilated one civilization after another, her heart remained unmoved. Yet, she would awaken with a start in the dead of night, curling up in fear, dreaming that she too would one day be destroyed like those civilizations, burned to white ash in Nanook's hands.
It was out of fear for her own preordained fate that Phantylia had come to the Xianzhou Luofu, intending to usurp the Ambrosial Arbor blessed by [The Abundance], relying on its power to resist her fated destruction.
But tragically, she had just arrived at the Luofu, entered the Scalegorge Waterscape, snuck into the ancient Wave-Moon Sea, and found the mystic roots of the Arbor, which were tightly bound by a Dragon-Lord's seal, when she was caught by HooH of [The Equilibrium] and his Arbitrators. With a power she was utterly incapable of resisting, they issued her a [Equilibrium Mission].
It was just as Ron had said. Since she was being used by Nanook of [The Destruction] and threatened by HooH of [The Equilibrium], why should she sell her life for them?
Phantylia had never been particularly loyal to begin with. Now, under Ron's gentle persuasion, she finally made a choice that satisfied him.
"...Fine, I admit defeat."
The mass of greenish-blue flame gradually calmed, no longer burning so fiercely. The entire ball of fire had been fluctuating wildly, as if being blown about by a strong wind, trembling nervously.
Phantylia's tone became somewhat placid, yet tinged with helplessness. It was impossible to tell what she was truly thinking, but she had completely and utterly submitted.
Two slits, like a pair of eyes, opened within the mass of greenish-blue flame. It was only then that Ron and the others realized Phantylia had been keeping her eyes closed the entire time, all her tough talk just a bluff to save face.
But now that she had submitted, there was no need to be so fearful, no need to keep her eyes tightly shut to avoid seeing the three terrifying figures before her.
Her gaze swept across the three of them, and when her eyes met Herta's, a fear that came from the depths of her being flickered forth.
She quickly averted her gaze and looked at Ron, who had been smiling amiably the whole time and seemed easy to talk to. She sighed and said, "If you want to know what HooH of [The Equilibrium] and I discussed, it's not exactly a secret that must be kept..."
Phantylia held no great sense of belonging to HooH. She was merely being threatened by the Aeon's power, forced to do his bidding.
And now that she was thoroughly defeated, what did it matter if she revealed everything about HooH?
...Perhaps she could even get a little revenge on that bastard this way.
Holding onto this thought, Phantylia recounted all her interactions with HooH and his subordinate Arbitrators, not leaving out a single word for Ron and the others to hear.
After hearing her story, Ron rubbed his chin thoughtfully, finally understanding what had happened.
In truth, everything that had occurred before was identical to the memories Ron had seen in the soul fragment he left on Phantylia. There were no particular changes. Phantylia had indeed seen the shattered reality before the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor, and after seeing HooH staring her down, she had been so terrified that her soul had nearly scattered, and she had fled for her life.
However, in the parts of her memory Ron hadn't seen, Phantylia had been in contact with HooH and his Arbitrators again.
Only this time, the ones she dealt with were all ordinary Arbitrators, not the Aeon of [The Equilibrium] himself, who still stood upon the branches of the Tree of Existence, holding his scales, observing the balance of the sea of stars.
These Arbitrators contacted Phantylia's consciousness time and again in different worlds, informing her of the mission's details bit by bit and placing immense pressure upon her.
The Arbitrators wanted Phantylia to destroy the Xianzhou Luofu with the utmost speed, because an object that would disrupt the balance was about to emerge there.
And if Phantylia failed to produce results after all this time, she would receive a most severe warning from the Arbitrators.
These Emanators of [The Equilibrium] were certain that if Phantylia's actions failed, and the object that should not exist successfully came into being, then HooH would personally intervene and thoroughly clean up everything that could possibly arise.
...Clearly, this threat was not an empty one.
Although HooH of [The Equilibrium] rarely entered the cosmic chessboard to act as a piece himself, having always been the chessmaster overlooking the grand board, manipulating the threads of fate to maintain balance in the sea of stars…
That didn't mean He would never intervene and become a piece that influenced the grand scheme.
His Path itself was intrinsically linked to the balance of this sea of stars. Now that He had noticed the events on the Xianzhou Luofu, if He discovered that the underlings He sent out were incapable of resolving the world's imbalance, He would most certainly not hesitate to personally step in and resolve the problem completely.
After all… that was the prime directive of his Path, the very embodiment of his Path's core philosophy.
However, after listening to Phantylia, Ron found himself relaxing.
Because while what Phantylia said was important, it was all things Ron had already foreseen.
HooH of [The Equilibrium] would inevitably be an enemy, and would inevitably intervene. Phantylia's words now only served to confirm Ron's previous speculations and allowed him to better estimate the timing of HooH's arrival.
Although HooH had decided to personally intervene after Phantylia failed to resolve the trouble on the Luofu and after the existence that would affect the cosmic balance appeared, it was obvious that this would hardly affect Ron.
That object, capable of influencing the balance of the sea of stars, was clearly the Guiding Spirit Lantern that Ron was currently trying to forge.
After all, only an artifact capable of piercing the veil of fate could possibly shatter the current cosmic balance and break all established destinies.
Although HooH was not necessarily going to wait until everything was settled before making his move—He might even be preparing to intervene right now—it was obvious that there was still some time.
Even if He was truly prepared to act, He wouldn't do so at this very moment. They had only just captured Phantylia. For HooH to learn of this, it would take a little time.
So… Ron wasn't worried.
After confirming that HooH would only make his move after some time had passed, Ron felt completely at ease.
Because he could return to Belobog at any time and contact Aha of [The Elation] through that blue-haired old rat, Sampo.
Although he had his suspicions about Aha, a big brother was a big brother, and you use them when you need to. Besides, no other Aeon would offer him aid like Aha did.
Use the power you can use. There's nothing to worry about. The worst-case scenario was just ensuring he could buy two or three days to forge the Guiding Spirit Lantern. After that problem was solved, he didn't care what happened. Even if he got wiped out on the spot and the game ended, it wouldn't matter.
With this thought in mind, Ron looked at Phantylia with a relaxed expression. Figuring that since she had already completely surrendered, he might as well get all the use he could out of her, he casually asked, "So what about your plan to 'destroy' the Xianzhou Luofu? How were you planning to destroy it and complete the equilibrium mission HooH gave you?"
"You're already our prisoner, so there's no point in hiding anything else. Why don't we all just be civil about this? Tell us where you've hidden your pawns of [The Destruction]. How about it?"
Ron spoke casually, his mind already starting to plan his next moves, trying to figure out where he should go to fish out that old rascal, Sampo.
But before he could think it through, he heard Phantylia speak in a slightly embarrassed tone, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"I… I didn't plant any pawns…"
"No pawns?" Ron frowned. "I already told you, you're a prisoner now. Hiding things is pointless. Why are you being so stubborn?"
"N-no… I'm really not lying to you!"
Phantylia's emotions grew a little agitated, and the greenish-blue flames flickered back and forth.
Listening to Phantylia's explanation, Ron grew a bit impatient.
What is this woman playing at? What can the Antimatter Legion do on the Xianzhou Luofu? Not knowing their exact locations just makes cleaning them up a bit more troublesome, but they aren't a real threat. Is it really necessary to keep quiet about something like this?
Just as Ron knitted his brow and was about to warn Phantylia, he heard her speak in an extremely awkward, yet resigned and hoarse voice—
"The reason I didn't plant any pawns from the Antimatter Legion… is mainly because it wasn't necessary…"
"Not necessary?" Ron's frown deepened, and a faint, unsettling feeling began to sprout in his heart. "What do you mean… how could it not be necessary?"
"Because…" Phantylia swallowed dryly, as if trying to muster up the courage to speak. "Because I have already summoned Lord Nanook. He will arrive at the Xianzhou Luofu within half a day and completely destroy this ecological dreadnought."
"The Legion's pawns would only get in the way, and converting them to Voidrangers is too easily discovered. So I simply didn't prepare many Voidrangers. Almost all of them were left at the Cloudford."
"I was originally planning to use the Stellaron I had prepared to foster the Ambrosial Arbor as a sacrifice, summoning the calamitous fire of world-destruction to directly burn the mystic roots of the Arbor on the Luofu, to leave a good impression on Lord Nanook before his arrival…"
Listening to Phantylia's slightly awkward words, Ron's breathing stopped for three full seconds.
Nanook… Nanook of [The Destruction].
He had been summoned by Phantylia. And though he hadn't arrived yet, he would be here soon. Within half a day.
In that instant, Ron felt a wave of oxygen deprivation wash over his mind. He felt a bit dizzy and steadied himself with a hand on his forehead, nearly stumbling to the ground.
After a moment of silence, Ron managed to recover, and the way he looked at Phantylia became somewhat… teeth-grindingly furious.
What the hell kind of good impression?! We're in the middle of a war between two armies! Who summons their own Aeon to the front lines?!
First the underling gets beaten, then the master shows up. What is this, some kind of classic, generic cultivation novel?!
Now… this is some real trouble…