As Stelle made her declaration, the surging power of Preservation flowed effortlessly into her baseball bat. In the next moment, the bat transformed into a spiked club, which she hoisted onto her shoulder.
The crowd silently parted ways as the young girl wiped her nose and confidently strode toward the Stellaron barrier.
"Ha!" With a light shout, the spiked club slammed fiercely into the golden barrier.
Boom—!
Ripples spread across the barrier. Though Stelle's strike, infused with the power of Preservation, was powerful, compared to the combined forces of the Stellaron and Sparkle's Path, the singular might of Preservation seemed somewhat insufficient.
Seeing this, Stelle paused for a moment in thought, and the spiked club in her hand instantly morphed into the shape of a giant hammer. This sight left the people of Belobog and Topaz utterly speechless.
"By the Amber Lord… Is that really how the power of Preservation is supposed to be used?" Topaz wiped away the nonexistent sweat on her forehead, feeling as though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through her mind. After years as a high-ranking executive in the IPC and encountering countless individuals, this was the first time she had ever seen someone wield the power of Preservation in such a way.
As for Gepard Landau, one of the two 5-star Preservation users among them, he discreetly glanced at the piano case on his back, seemingly contemplating the feasibility of replicating Stelle's technique.
"Ha! Ha! Ha!…"
Like the God of Thunder, Stelle raised the giant hammer high, delivering blow after blow, leaving cracks across the barrier.
"Break!" With a furious roar, the golden barrier shattered into pieces.
"Hahaha, not bad, not bad! As expected of the Galactic Baseballer!" Yun Fan applauded and laughed. The praised Stelle proudly lifted her chin, striking what she thought was a cool pose, leaving March 7th with no choice but to awkwardly chuckle along.
"Let's go in. The Fool inside the palace must be growing impatient by now, no?"
As everyone stepped into the palace, an icy chill instantly gripped their bodies.
"It's so cold…" March 7th couldn't help but shiver. Despite her innate ability to manipulate Six-Phase Ice and her natural resistance to cold, the bone-piercing chill of this frozen palace was still unbearable.
"Look out!"
Just as the group instinctively surveyed the palace's interior, Dan Heng, at the rear of the party, suddenly tensed. His spear, Cloud-Piercer, shot forth like lightning, shattering the incoming icicles in an instant.
"Welcome, honored guests~"
A playful, girlish voice echoed around them. Following the sound, they saw a petite and beautiful young girl seated on the throne at the center of the hall—though none could recall when she had appeared.
The girl wore exotic, lightweight red gauze, distinct from Belobog's fashion. Her attire more closely resembled that of a small nation on Earth.
Delicate red silk draped over her arms and calves, while a red brocade reminiscent of Hanfu wrapped around her slender waist, adorned with white plum blossom patterns.
Behind Sparkle floated scarlet ribbons, akin to Nezha's Hun Tian Ling, moving fluidly at her command.
Unlike the version Yun Fan remembered, perhaps due to the Stellaron's power, Sparkle now resembled a true goddess—radiant, noble, and divine.
"Allow me to introduce myself." Sparkle smiled sweetly, performing a graceful curtsy.
"I am Sparkle… or you may call me—" As she spoke, she slowly removed the mask symbolizing her identity as a Masked Fool from her ponytail.
"The World!" wait a sec— AhA
"—The Fool!"
The moment the words left her lips, an eerie fox mask concealed her face. In an instant, the power of the Stellaron merged with the Elation bestowed by Aha, surging forth violently.
An overwhelming pressure bore down on the group. The weaker Landau siblings felt their breath hitch, their eyes filled with disbelief. As natives of Belobog, they had never ventured beyond their homeland. Though Cocolia had informed them of other factions, the Masked Fools…
Exchanging glances, the siblings saw only powerlessness and shock in each other's eyes.
How could anyone be this absurdly strong? As Pathstriders themselves, they couldn't even muster the will to fight.
"To think there exists such a vast world beyond Belobog… Hah, I've been a frog at the bottom of a well all this time," Cocolia muttered self-deprecatingly. Even after receiving Yun Fan's gift, her strength now ranked among the highest of Pathstriders, just below Emanators.
Yet, facing the Masked Fool Sparkle, she still lacked confidence in victory.
"Mother…" Bronya tightened her grip on her rifle, her eyes flickering with conflict.
"A thousand faces of the Fool, playing amongst mortals~"
Sparkle's voice reverberated from all directions—now a roar, now a whisper, now a chuckle, now a sneer.
Like the illusions of the Sharingan, the fox mask on the girl's face shifted before their eyes, morphing into the visages of those they held dearest.
"Baiheng…" Dan Heng murmured the foxian girl's name, but within a blink, he shook off the hallucination. Having reclaimed the power of the Imbibitor Lunae, such mental assaults could no longer affect him.
"Kafka… Why did you abandon me…"
This was what Stelle saw—Kafka turning her back and walking away.
"Lynx…" "Sister…" "Mother…"
As the murmurs of the others filled the air, Yun Fan raised an eyebrow.
He was curious about what they were seeing—so much so that he almost wanted to experience it himself. But whether in terms of stature or Path dominance, Sparkle's current power couldn't influence him in the slightest, even if he lowered his mental barriers.
"Awaken."
Yun Fan's voice was like a pebble dropped into still water, sending ripples across its surface. In an instant, everyone snapped out of the illusion.
"Huh? What just…" March 7th blinked in confusion, her cheeks slowly reddening. It seemed the young girl had witnessed something rather… unexpected in the illusion.
"Miss Sparkle, your little tricks still need some refinement," Yun Fan remarked lightly. With a flick of his right hand, a surge of thunder erupted, streaking toward Sparkle's chest faster than lightning.
Of course, Yun Fan held back. Otherwise, even as an Aeon's avatar, his power would far surpass what any ordinary Pathstrider could withstand.
"Ugh—!"
In that split second, the scarlet ribbons behind Sparkle moved autonomously, weaving into a red plum blossom shield that blocked the sudden attack.
As the thunder dissipated, the ribbons reassumed their Hun Tian Ling-like form, floating behind her. Though her expression remained composed, inwardly, she was anything but calm.
While the defense had blocked the thunder's force, the residual shockwave still reached her. The impact sent a surge of energy through her delicate frame, leaving her breathless and her blood roiling.
Just who the hell is this guy?