In the future...
---o---
"Did you truly believe I failed to notice your arrangements? While I don't know how you little bugs managed to see through my disguise, your mistake was in making your intentions far too obvious. From your perspective, you were subtle enough, but to me, your movements were deafeningly loud."
Having successfully used the power of Abundance to shape a body from the thing called the Ambrosial Arbor, Phantylia now sneered down at the people groveling at her feet.
Earlier, after that strange fellow had appeared and met with the people from the Astral Express, the Aeon of Elation, for some unknown reason, had suddenly decided to pull a prank on everyone present. It had made Phantylia laugh so hard that she almost revealed her true form.
From that point on, Phantylia had sensed that something was amiss. Or rather, while she had no concrete evidence, a sense of crisis, from a source unknown, had begun to rise in her heart.
Phantylia had then maintained her disguise as Tingyun and began to pay close attention to the reactions of those around her. Although the crew of the Astral Express were good actors, the little pink-haired girl's performance was simply too poor. It was easy for Phantylia to perceive the wary emotions she harbored.
With that alone, Phantylia basically confirmed that she had been exposed. She altered her plan on the fly and severed her connection with those fools from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, never receiving the intelligence they had tried to send her.
She immediately used some of her own methods to manipulate ordinary Xianzhou citizens, having them probe the internal movements of the Luofu from various angles. As a result, she discovered that the Luofu had already begun a swift purge of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, and their main base in the Alchemy Commission had been placed under strict lockdown.
Although Phantylia didn't know what had gone wrong with her plan, she had no intention of giving up. To simply flee in disgrace would be far too damaging to her pride as an Emanator of Destruction.
Phantylia split off a small part of herself to maintain the Tingyun disguise. While this facade would inevitably be imperfect, with vulnerabilities that could be discovered, it no longer mattered. Since she was already exposed, even if she revealed some flaws, her enemies would not have any suspicions.
In fact, if the timing wasn't right, they would deliberately ignore her abnormalities, not wanting to force a direct confrontation.
And so, having slipped away from the group's sight and returned to the shadows, Phantylia had successfully used the Tingyun decoy to draw the vast majority of their attention. This allowed her to complete her plan, successfully using the Ambrosial Arbor to forge a body of Abundance capable of containing the power of Destruction.
With this, she had caught the Xianzhou completely off guard and had even managed to ambush them successfully.
And now, they no longer had the strength to fight her.
"While I am very curious as to how you saw through my disguise, that matter is of no importance now. I will not waste time on such curiosities..."
Phantylia sneered, looking down at the assembled heroes. The two who posed a threat to her—the Xianzhou General—had been struck down by her surprise attack, left without the strength to resist. As for the former High Elder of the Vidyadhara, he no longer possessed his past power. Without the amplification of that secret realm, he was even less of a match for her.
"Then allow the people of the Xianzhou to witness how their own General is turned into a mere pawn by my power of Destruction."
Just as Phantylia was about to use her power to transform Jing Yuan, a strange ripple suddenly spread through the air. Her hand froze for a moment. When she broke free from the bizarre stasis, she found that the fallen heroes on the ground had been moved to a spot not far away.
Several figures in white robes appeared, a burning candlestick painted on their backs.
Phantylia frowned. Just as she was about to act and crush these ants who had suddenly appeared, a faint light flickered before her eyes—it was a single, slowly burning candle.
Another person, dressed similarly to the others, appeared before Phantylia.
This person felt particularly strange. His features were that of a young man, yet he carried the withered air of an elder. His eyes, however, were as clear and bright as a child's, revealing an innocence that could only come with great age.
"Lord of Annihilation, Phantylia, you who take pleasure in the destruction of others are, to us, an unequivocal evil," he said.
"Hmph! Just a little bug with a somewhat special power, and you dare to posture before me... What!"
Before Phantylia could finish her sentence, she saw the person before her suddenly swell up like an inflating balloon and then explode. A peculiar energy washed over the fallen Astral Express crew and the wounded Jing Yuan.
In an instant, all their injuries were healed, their stamina and spirit restored to a state of extraordinary vigor.
"You are right. Before a powerhouse like you, we are but bugs with special powers, nothing more than a single candle in a raging storm."
"But even a single, insignificant candle can bring forth light."
"Everyone, fight to your heart's content! The wounds you suffer, the fatigue of your spirit, the pain of your bodies, and the damage to your weapons will all be healed in an instant!"
"The Candle Bearers are with you."
---o---
One by one, figures in white robes, each holding a burning candle, emerged from unseen corners. There were twenty-four of them in total, as if representing the twenty-four hours of a day.
Six were youths, six were young adults, six were middle-aged, and six were elders.
"I feel like I'm full of power!"
Stelle raised her lance, feeling as if her body had limitless energy. She charged toward Phantylia without hesitation. After being knocked back by the power of Destruction, the wounds and damage she sustained were completely restored in less than a second. She then raised her lance and charged forward once more.
"Lance, charge!"
Welt removed his glasses, feeling the boundless energy coursing through his body.
His cane dissolved into black motes. An immensely powerful gravitational sphere erupted around Phantylia, pinning her body firmly in place, making it difficult for her to even move.
"Star of Eden, Zeroth Power!"
"Azure Dragon's Descent!"
A torrent of majestic water transformed into a dragon and surged forward.
"Let me show you what I'm made of!"
A sky-blotting barrage of ice arrows fell like a torrential downpour.
"This is truly an unexpected reinforcement. But it's all thanks to your help... By the august authority of the Lightning Lord, heed my edict! Strike!"
A colossal golden spirit towered between heaven and earth, its lightning-wreathed longsword slashing forward.
Every single person unleashed the strongest power they could manifest without causing damage to the Xianzhou itself.
Phantylia had expected their burst of power to fade after a short while, but to her shock, their onslaught never ceased. Everyone's ultimate attacks fell upon her like basic strikes.
Worse, Phantylia felt her connection to this body growing weaker and weaker, as if some malfunction or interference was occurring. The power she could exert was rapidly diminishing.
"Damn it, damn it! Why do these accidents keep happening!"
"Hahahahaha! Ah-ha, I don't know!"
"Aha!!!"
With a wretched scream, Phantylia abandoned the physical form and fled the Xianzhou in a panic.
"Hahahahaha! This is part of the Equilibrium! How could you blame Aha? Ah-ha, you poor thing, taking the fall for a two-faced person!"
"What was that saying again? It's from a memory of my new best friend. 'A two-faced person has a rotten ass'... no, wait! You don't even have an ass! Ah! Hahahahaha!"
The mad laughter of Aha echoed through the cosmos.