As Twilight—or rather, Phantylia occupying Twilight's body—dropped her pretense, the originally tense atmosphere instantly plunged into dead silence.
Among everyone present, the one most unable to accept this, reacting most intensely, was undoubtedly Dan Heng.
He had personally carried Twilight's corpse into the Shackling Prison, personally manipulated the Transmutation Arcanum to revive Twilight... And now, he was being told the person before him wasn't actually Twilight, and the one he risked everything to revive was someone—or something—unknown...?
"N-No, impossible! You must be joking, right?! I saw Twilight revive with my own eyes..."
Dan Heng desperately tried to convince himself, wanting to hear affirmation from those around him. But his contorted expression already proved his heart had accepted this reality.
That sense of dissonance he had felt ever since reviving Twilight earlier... If Twilight wasn't Twilight, everything could be explained.
"Oh dear, how pitiful. Look at him, already denying reality" Phantylia covered her mouth, chuckling lightly. "It's alright, benefactor. You're my great benefactor. If you don't want to accept reality, I can pretend to be Twilight and talk to you—I've always trusted you the most, Dan Heng"
"You—!"
Dan Heng, already emotionally unstable, upon hearing Phantylia's words—especially spoken with his companion's face—felt his rationality instantly burn to ashes by fury.
The surging power of the High Elder gathered undisguised upon Cloud-Piercer, ready to strike in the blink of an eye amidst faint dragon roars!
"Is it really wise to attack me? Although I'm using it now, this is Twilight's body, you know~"
"—!?"
Dan Heng's furious expression froze. Cloud-Piercer, originally poised to strike, subconsciously calmed down. Seeing Dan Heng obediently stop, and the rest of the Express crew also looking hesitant, like mice fearing the trap, Phantylia finally burst into hearty laughter. "Yes, that's right, be good and obedient. Attacking me isn't wise, okay? If this body really gets damaged, I can just switch to another one at worst, but your Twilight will be in danger~"
Though Phantylia said this casually, if these people truly dared to harm this body, she would absolutely tear them limb from limb.
Such a perfect body, something impossible to find a second of even searching the entire galaxy, was like her dream of many years suddenly materializing—how could she possibly abandon this body? If it were a body condensed from something like the Ambrosial Arbor, discarding it, while regrettable, would be acceptable. But this current body... even in death, she would perish alongside her body!
"You've spoken so much. May I ask who Your Excellency truly is?"
Jing Yuan narrowed his eyes at Phantylia, Lightning Lord already prepared and poised—but he dared not move rashly.
Ever since the person before him brushed her hair back and dropped her pretense, Jing Yuan felt a direct and terrifying aura lock onto him. His intuition screamed that if he made any sudden move, unimaginable terror would descend the next instant.
Jing Yuan wasn't worried about danger to himself, but he was responsible for the Xianzhou and the Cloud Knights. No joke, the aura locking onto him now was far, far stronger than even the Xianzhou Marshal... Jing Yuan even felt this power might be faintly beginning to transcend the realm of mortals.
Dammit Dan Feng! Creating that abomination dragon back then was bad enough! After dying, his reincarnation creates this thing! Should have stripped his scales cleaner back then...
"Sigh, I must say, your Express crew should learn a thing or two from the Xianzhou General's way of handling things. Look, he clearly already guessed who I am, yet deliberately plays dumb, trying to brush this matter aside to save the Xianzhou from disaster," Phantylia chuckled. "Some things, once seen clearly, why bother exposing them? After all, there's no turning back then."
"But anyway, you are Twilight's friends. As repayment for her body, I'll answer your question—This humble one is Phantylia, just an insignificant Lord Ravager~ Though the current me is completely different from the previous Lord Ravager, please take note."
Although there was a hint of humblebragging, Phantylia describing a Lord Ravager as insignificant also held some genuine feeling.
What Lord Ravager? Ultimately just an Emanator walking the Path of Destruction. What level were they? How could they deserve to sit at the same table as her current self?
Even the strongest fighter, Zephyro, would be nothing but a jumping clown before her now.
Phantylia raised her arm, staring at her hand as if observing a peerless treasure. "Look, this perfect body, this flawless flesh seemingly crafted by an Aeon's own hands... Ageless, immortal, and this invincible power! This body is simply too perfect—"
"You bastard! I don't care if you're some fungus or mushroom..."
Caelus glared at Phantylia, eyes almost splitting, nearly crushing the baseball bat in his hand. "Get out of Twilight's body!"
"Oh my, how rude... It seems you aren't quite clear about your current situation." Phantylia's gaze turned cold. The next instant, everyone immediately felt the same bone-chilling cold and terror that Jing Yuan had experienced, freezing the very air.
But this terror didn't last. As her words fell, Phantylia smiled, spreading her hands, the previous horror vanishing without a trace. "But I'm someone who repays kindness. After all, I took your Twilight's body, so naturally, I'll do something to compensate... For example—your Twilight indeed wasn't revived, but you still have me! I can totally continue traveling with you. Being a Lord Ravager isn't a fixed 9-to-5 job; no one decreed I can't spend time on the Astral Express. Besides, I see you guys seem to leave chaos wherever you go. Perhaps I'll get along better with you than Twilight did~"
Phantylia's words were like pouring gasoline onto firewood, instantly reigniting the barely calmed fury within the group.
But what could they do? They couldn't win a fight, and with the enemy using Twilight's body, they couldn't continue fighting either...
"Annoyed at me? Want revenge? Unfortunately, you just can't do it~" Phantylia watched their expressions, her smile growing even more wicked.
"I originally wanted to hide my identity, watch you two sides slaughter each other, celebrating the birth of this body with blood... But since you refuse to fight now, I have no choice."
Smiling, Phantylia looked towards the Cloud Knight army arrayed before her, then waved her hand casually. The next moment, a storm seemingly generated from thin air blasted the originally disciplined soldiers, scattering them in disarray, causing countless casualties!
"Hehe, Xianzhou, Cloud Knights... Is that all?" Looking at the devastated scene before her, Phantylia's smile grew even more malicious. "Don't worry, the next move will send you all to—Oh? Are you serious?"
Staring at the Express crew members resolutely blocking her path, Phantylia's expression finally turned cold. "Really have no choice. I originally considered you friends of my body and didn't want to kill you all today, but... if you seek death yourselves, then you can't blame me."