"Hey, what's going on? How did Teacher Adrian and Priestess Sister get locked up?!"
March 7th ranted wildly. Banning their two strongest fighters right at the start—how were they supposed to fight?
"March, get ready for battle."
With his seasoned combat experience, Dan Heng summoned Cloud-Piercer instantly.
Adrian and Freesna's absence meant facing Cocolia would be tougher, but it shouldn't require tapping into his hidden power.
"Man, this Great Guardian knows how to play—targeting the high-damage squishies first in a team fight."
"Uh, I don't know about Elf Sister, but does that description… really fit Teacher Adrian?"
"Is that the point?!" Himeko snapped. Weren't they even a little nervous about their allies being trapped?
"Don't worry about them. Teacher Adrian's super strong."
As March 7th spoke, she drew her ice bow. Seeing Cocolia's ice spear, she suddenly felt her weapon was embarrassingly underwhelming.
No way. After this [Trailblaze] journey, she'd go straight to Adrian to get her weapon upgraded.
She turned to check her allies' weapons.
On the left was Cloud-Piercer, switchable between ranged and melee modes. On the right was Stelle's morphing mimetic weapon. And then there was her ice bow, crafted from Six-Phased Ice. No comparison, no pain.
Hm… Six-Phased Ice wasn't exactly ordinary. Why couldn't she unleash its hidden power?
March 7th pondered. Meanwhile, Adrian tapped the scarlet barrier, stroking his chin.
"Damn, have we hit an insurmountable [Wall]…?" Freesna covered her face with one hand, still indulging in her chuunibyou flair even at a time like this—worthy of a Church priestess.
"If that's the case… then we'll just have to break it!" She gathered energy in her staff again, attempting to shatter the cage.
Boom!
The barrier stood unscathed, not even scratched. Freesna sank into thought, then knelt in repentance.
"Curse it! Even with [Eternity]'s blessing, I can't overcome it? I've let YOU down! My understanding of [Eternity] isn't profound enough!"
The last time she faced a similar situation was against that aloof Galaxy Ranger. That was when Freesna first realized there were such powerful beings in the cosmos beyond the Aeons.
She had to admit, she'd underestimated the [Hunt] faction. Who'd have thought there'd be such a master among the Galaxy Rangers?
After her defeat, Freesna rushed back to the Church overnight, promptly updating the Book of Eternal Virtues:
When encountering a lost Galaxy Ranger, one must extend a helping hand in the spirit of [Eternity].
(Addendum: The same applies to the Xianzhou Alliance.)
Sadly, despite Blake sending countless alliance requests to the Xianzhou, they never replied.
Galaxy Rangers were truly unique, especially that pink-haired girl spouting ninja jargon. Freesna felt the charm of ninjutsu and language for the first time.
They hit it off, and she even promised Freesna she'd visit the Church of Eternity if she had free time.
"Quiet, I'm thinking."
Adrian's consciousness drifted to somewhere in the cosmos, facing a grinning mask.
"Hmph, Aha's playing dirty. Trapping me is one thing, but locking up this kid too?"
"Oh, my old friend, I must correct your lack of linguistic artistry—you're missing the charm." The mask leaned closer to Adrian, then fell silent.
"Tch~ An hourglass? Old friend, this isn't like you."
Opposite the mask was a crystalline hourglass, each grain of star-sand within it a collapsed galaxy.
"Should I turn into a grinning mask too?"
"No way!" the mask shrieked. "This is Aha's exclusive! Anyone turning into a mask owes Aha royalties~ Even [Eternity] isn't exempt."
"How much?"
"At least one [Destruction] Nanook." The mask named an astronomical price.
"As expected of you, using Nanook as a currency unit."
"Who says royalties have to be credit points? The Interastral Peace Corporation?"
Adrian thought for a moment. "How about this: I sell you the hourglass copyright, and you hand over the mask copyright. Deal?"
"Oh, old friend, it's a pity you're not replacing that scrap heap as the [Erudition] Aeon."
The mask sighed, getting back to business with a lecture:
"Let's return to our earlier topic. Statement: Aha isn't playing dirty! Before you lot started this fight with the Guardian, did you consider the power gap? Or the numbers?"
"My friend, you've got seven people! Led by the [Eternity] Aeon, ganging up on her. Good grief~ Are you really a proper Aeon?"
Seeing Adrian's silence, the mask pressed on:
"Who's the one [playing dirty]? I think you know better than Aha."
"On that note, I think we should ask the robot head for answers."
"Good idea… but that cold piece of metal answering? How boring~"
"That's not like you."
From Adrian's understanding of Aha, no matter how much THEY chased fun, THEY wouldn't care this much about Cocolia—unless he was stirring the pot.
"Not stepping in to watch you mob the Guardian would be fun, but Aha's current persona is [Friend of the Guardian]."
"So… Aha's making a move!" The mask tilted upward, a gesture Adrian found familiar, like something he'd seen from a certain Memokeeper.
"So you're indirectly admitting that the Stellaron Core's voice beguiling Cocolia was you in disguise?"
…
Jarilo-VI, Everwinter Ridge.
Cocolia raised her head confidently, lifting her ice spear as a mysterious force propelled her into the air.
"Without breaking the old, the new cannot rise. In my name as Great Guardian, I command you to rise…"
"Creation Engine!"
Hearing Cocolia's textbook boss-battle line, March 7th panicked:
"Teacher Dan Heng, hurry and use your hidden power again!"
March 7th hid behind the group. She was just here for fun, not to charge in recklessly like Stelle.
"I had no intention of escalating things…" Dan Heng recited his familiar line, preparing to unleash Cloud-Piercer's ultimate mode.
"No, the ground isn't shaking at all. It's too calm."
Bronya frowned. She knew ancient automatons left by the builders were here. With the [Great Guardian]'s power, there should've been some reaction.
"The battle experience needs a patch." Stelle quipped. Ever since witnessing Silver Wolf and Screwllum's fight, she'd been gaming with her, nearly getting assimilated.
"Hm?"
Cocolia, seeing no response from the Creation Engine, hesitated… then repeated her line.
"In my name as Great Guardian, I command you to rise… Creation Engine!"
…
The air fell silent. The Creation Engine still didn't respond.
Cocolia: ???
Was the script broken? Wasn't the advantage hers? Why was it bugging out at the critical moment?
"Is it possible… you abandoned [Preservation]'s power and turned to the Stellaron Core, so your [Great Guardian] title was stripped?" Himeko speculated.
"That makes sense." Stelle nodded. "Then let's try a different chant. Let me think…"
"Got it!" She glanced at Adrian and Freesna, then at her mimetic bat.
"Ahem! Without breaking the old, the new cannot rise. [Preservation] is gone, [Eternity] shall rise! In my name as [Bathed in Eternity], I command you to rise!"
"Creation Engine!"
Boom!
The moment her words fell, the ground trembled violently, and a massive mechanical arm burst through the snow.