"Stellaron Hunters? Such a familiar name..."
Hearing this familiar title, Liu Xiyue tried hard to recall where she had heard it before, confusion written all over her face.
Unfortunately, as someone who rarely browsed the Extraordinary Forum, she couldn't remember for the moment.
That absentminded expression immediately earned her a merciless roast from Silver Wolf.
[No way? You're bad at games, and you don't even go online?]
Liu Xiyue's face instantly flushed red.
Even though they supposedly didn't know each other, was she already getting crushed right from the start?
"Target appeared. All units, stay alert."
As Sam's voice rang out, Liu Xiyue's attention snapped back to the battlefield.
Right before her eyes, the flesh-and-blood remains that should've been completely annihilated by Sam suddenly began twitching again.
The shattered remains wriggled and spread like a virus, multiplying endlessly beneath Liu Xiyue's disbelieving gaze until they transformed into a countless, squirming swarm.
...
Piercing whispers exploded outward like a storm, tearing through the entire venue.
Even with Silver Wolf's protection, Liu Xiyue instinctively covered her ears, as if trying to block out the soul-piercing noise.
The shrill buzzing in her head felt like thousands of needles stabbing directly into her brain, forcing her brows tightly together as cold sweat slowly formed on her forehead.
But unlike Liu Xiyue's reaction, Firefly beneath Sam's armor—and Silver Wolf herself—remained completely unaffected.
The deafening shrieks echoed endlessly through the air, yet to them, it was nothing more than annoying background noise.
Seeing this, Silver Wolf—who had originally planned to throw a support buff onto Firefly as well—couldn't help but pause in surprise.
[Huh? I didn't know your mecha could filter out noise.]
Meanwhile, the swarm had already lost patience.
Like starving wolves spotting prey, the countless Flesh Worms surged forward all at once.
Especially after sensing the strange yet familiar aura emanating from Sam, the swarm instantly descended into complete frenzy.
The countless blood-red pupils trembled violently as the entire swarm rushed toward Sam like a tidal wave.
Silver Wolf watched the approaching sea of flesh calmly and explained:
[According to my analysis, aside from looking disgusting, these bugs basically operate on instinct alone.]
[They're more like puppets running on a fixed program than intelligent lifeforms.]
[High-level life energy is basically irresistible bait to them.]
[So naturally, they noticed the energy inside you—the kind powerful enough to blow up all of Blue Star.]
"Attack, execute."
Sam slowly raised a hand to chest level.
Scorching flames burst from the gaps between the white armor plates like erupting magma, igniting the surrounding air as temperatures skyrocketed in an instant.
"Commence cleansing."
The moment Sam swung his arm downward—
Boom!!!
The raging inferno surged outward like a crimson tsunami.
Wherever the flames passed, the swarm was instantly crushed and incinerated into ash.
Countless Flesh Worms exploded apart mid-charge, turning into splattering waves of blood that painted the walls dark red like overturned buckets of ink.
"Hiss—"
Liu Xiyue sucked in a cold breath.
The crimson glow flickering within her pupils visibly dimmed, and even the fiery red hair she had partially transformed earlier unconsciously reverted back to black.
Her eyes trembled violently.
Liu Xiyue (*ﾟﾛﾟ)!!: Too... too strong!!!
If he hadn't deliberately restrained the temperature just now, even I probably wouldn't have survived that heatwave...
Flame Heart might be able to reach this level too, but the problem is—this guy isn't just ridiculously powerful.
He's also completely immune to this bizarre mental pollution...
And he casually did all of THAT with a single wave of his hand?!
At this moment, Liu Xiyue suddenly realized something.
Compared to the terrifying "Swarm Disaster" unfolding before her eyes, the identity of the person standing in front of her might actually be even more dangerous.
Whether it was the terrifying flames capable of reducing everything to ash—
Or the mysterious power hidden within that white armor—
Neither could possibly be ignored.
Her aunt would definitely start having headaches again once she found out about this.
Liu Xiyue (๑òᆺó๑): "Should I transform into Flame Heart and test them...? But after what happened just now..."
If another Stellaron Hunter hadn't intervened in time earlier, she might've already collapsed under the pollution.
Liu Xiyue couldn't bring herself to repay kindness with hostility.
At the same time, she finally remembered where she had heard the name "Stellaron Hunters" before.
Weren't they the globally wanted fugitives who had caused an international uproar not long ago?!
...
[As expected, fighting becomes ridiculously easy whenever Sam's around.]
Seeing Sam effortlessly suppress the battlefield, Silver Wolf immediately entered full "lying down and spectating" mode, casually providing support only when necessary so she could at least steal an assist.
Sam didn't object.
Behind the visor, the armor's visual systems continuously scanned the battlefield as streams of data silently flowed across the interface.
Finally, Sam spoke.
"Target life signs still detected."
"What?!!"
Liu Xiyue's expression instantly changed.
Even after all that destruction, these Extraterritorial Creatures were still alive?!
Silver Wolf, however, looked completely unsurprised.
[Yeah. These bugs are basically manifestations of the same red-black mist leaking out from the other world.]
[They're condensed forms of negative emotions—pollution entities capable of corroding minds and distorting reality.]
Hearing this, Liu Xiyue finally understood what she meant.
A chill immediately spread through her chest.
"In other words... as long as the mystic realm still exists, these Extraterritorial Creatures can regenerate endlessly like cancer cells?"
"And if we can't kill them completely... then maybe..."
Her voice stopped abruptly.
Maybe this mystic realm could never truly be resolved.
An endless cycle with no escape.
Just as Liu Xiyue was beginning to feel despair creeping in, Silver Wolf calmly dropped another horrifying revelation.
[Not only that, but the mentally polluted people inside this convention have basically become living nutrient sources for these bugs.]
[They're like mobile nests continuously feeding the swarm.]
[That's why these things can endlessly regenerate and multiply like a virus.]
Liu Xiyue: (●—●)
At that moment, she genuinely couldn't understand how Silver Wolf could say something so horrifying in such a casual tone.
Even Sam, standing nearby, showed no reaction whatsoever.
If Liu Xiyue hadn't already experienced countless bloody battles as a Special Grade Esper, she probably would've mentally collapsed on the spot.
Silver Wolf was just about to continue when Sam suddenly spoke first.
At some point, Sam's gaze had shifted toward the eerily silent Anime Convention.
"Why not evacuate the civilians?"
[I know what you're thinking.]
[But because of this mystic realm, the best I can currently do is leave behind a safety mechanism for the people here. As long as they don't actively seek death, they'll be fine for now.]
[I'll explain the details later. Right now isn't the time.]
Sam nodded silently, showing complete trust in Silver Wolf's judgment.
Then the white armor turned once more toward the rebirthing swarm.
"Sam, in position."
"Wait—you actually have a way to deal with this?!"
[I never said we were helpless, okay?]
[A game at this difficulty level isn't enough to stop us.]
[Besides... we have more than one strategy to clear it.]
The instant those words fell—
The blood-red swarm erupted once again.
Like a surging tide, the Flesh Worms regenerated at terrifying speed, their numbers exploding from barely over a hundred into more than five hundred in the blink of an eye.
Their sizes varied wildly.
The smaller ones resembled gigantic pythons several meters long.
The larger ones were practically mountains of flesh seven or eight meters in size.
The massive crimson swarm spread across the convention center like a sea of blood, almost completely covering half the rooftop beneath its writhing bodies.