The Galaxy.
The two were returning the way they came.
The men were the same, but the ship certainly wasn't.
"I don't know what it is, but I have this strange feeling."
Leon, sitting in the rear pilot's seat, spoke in confusion.
"What kind of feeling?"
Boothill, who was piloting the ship, didn't understand what he was getting at.
"It's hard to say. It just feels like the whole Balanza affair is still to be continued."
Leon's gamer senses told him there was still a hidden gimmick boss that hadn't been defeated.
He'd have to use his stats to teach this boss the meaning of love.
"You're being too paranoid."
Boothill felt a little guilty, thinking it was his fault his bro was developing a persecution complex.
"Sigh, you'll understand sooner or later."
Leon didn't dwell on the topic, because he had discovered another problem.
Compared to Boothill's reassurances not to worry, he undoubtedly trusted his own intuition more.
It wasn't worth arguing. A stinky B-cup like him would never understand this kind of profound feeling in a million years.
"Speaking of which, how many times have you crashed?"
Leon felt their ship was having some minor issues.
He'd noticed that no matter which way he turned the steering wheel, the ship's body didn't react at all, as if it had lost control.
If nothing unexpected happened, then something unexpected was about to happen.
"Don't know. Lost count."
Boothill thought for a moment and answered seriously.
"?"
Leon had a "what is this guy talking about" expression on his face.
"You son of a bitch, you messing with me? Didn't you tell me you don't normally crash?!"
"Goddammit, I really don't crash normally!"
Boothill argued back, refusing to concede.
"The problem is, when do we Rangers ever have a 'normal' day? Isn't every day a life of dodging bullets and barely escaping death?"
"Getting our ship shot down is just a minor detail."
"But don't worry, this time it's smooth sailing. No one's shooting us in the ass from behind. I guarantee we won't crash!"
Boothill explained his past crashing experiences and told him to relax.
"I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" Leon said with a polite smile.
"Uh, let's hear the bad news first."
Boothill didn't understand what he was up to.
"The bad news is, something's happened to our ship. A lot of the equipment is malfunctioning, like all the controls here in my back seat."
Leon chuckled dryly.
"What?"
Boothill exclaimed, "Then for god's sake, hurry up and give me full control!"
"The good news is, I already did."
Hearing this, Leon delivered the rest of the news.
Boothill didn't even bother to reply, trying to pilot the ship with an "I'll save the day" attitude, only to find it was useless.
Just as Leon had said, all the functional controls had failed.
The sabotaged ship drifted aimlessly.
Although it was fine for now, the final outcome—a crash—seemed inevitable.
"Bro."
Boothill looked back, gazing at Leon's flawlessly handsome face.
"What's up, bro?"
"It's no use, bro."
Boothill looked at him with an overly dramatic expression, blinked, and his lips curled into a mysterious smile.
"Takeoff equals crash. You get it?"
Leon laughed in resignation.
"I get it, bro, I get it."
Boothill looked as if he completely empathized.
How could he not? The two poor bastards were on the same goddamn ship!
"Take your 'getting it' and go stuff yourself!"
Leon made up his mind.
If he ever got on any vehicle piloted by Boothill again, he'd be the free six-star character from the half-anniversary event.
"Hahaha!"
Boothill finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
Leon laughed too, out of sheer frustration.
"Hahaha!" x2
Amidst their laughter, the ship they were on, as if with a mind of its own, began to plummet toward an unknown planet.
...
...
"Lady Jade, what did you say?"
Topaz was a little stunned.
According to her, this group of Antimatter Legion was brought by someone else, not Iron Tomb.
"[At least, that is the case according to the Corporation's records.]"
"[Unlike other Lord Ravagers, Iron Tomb's arrival has never once been accompanied by the Antimatter Legion.]"
"So you mean to say...?"
Topaz didn't dare to imagine the possibility.
Emanators were usually elusive, and now three of them had appeared at once.
This wasn't even the War of the Gods yet!
"[While it's possible they came on their own, the probability that they were brought by another Lord Ravager is higher.]"
Jade took a deep breath and stated her hypothesis.
"[The key to this hypothesis lies with the Heliobus.]"
"[The appearance of a Heliobus on Balanza is bizarre in itself.]"
"[Even setting aside the fact that most Heliobi are found within the Xianzhou, don't you think the timing of this one's appearance is too much of a coincidence?]
"
"[It's almost as if it came for something specific.]"
Jade explained her reasoning.
"[So what did it come for? I believe the answer is right in front of us—]"
"[Iron Tomb.]"
"[The Heliobus is also related to Destruction, so the candidate is basically confirmed.]"
"[According to IPC intelligence, there is one Lord Ravager among them who is a Heliobus not under the Xianzhou's control. The two Galaxy Rangers were likely after her as well.]"
"[Phantylia.]"
Jade softly uttered the Lord Ravager's name.
"If it's really as you say, then why would Phantylia come to Balanza?"
Topaz hadn't expected reality to be a scenario she couldn't even dare to imagine.
A Xianzhou Heavenly General, and two Lord Ravagers.
Three top-tier combatants like Emanators, all at once.
It was too terrifying.
"[She probably just came to support her colleague. Otherwise, she wouldn't have just stood by and watched without making a move.]"
Jade felt this was the most likely possibility.
If Phantylia had decided to act, as long as she could tie down Leon...
...then Balanza would have likely been truly annihilated today.
Topaz couldn't have stopped it alone.
There would be a delay between shattering a 'Cornerstone' and 'Diamond' arriving, enough time for the newborn Emperor to destroy everything.
"So Phantylia just retreated like that?" Topaz was confused.
She just observed the whole situation and then left gracefully? That's more like a follower of Elation than Destruction.
"[I suspect it wasn't a retreat. Rather, she had chosen her target early on.]"
Jade thought Leon's arrival was outside of Phantylia's plans, but it ended up playing right into her hands.
"Are you referring to that Xianzhou Heavenly General?"
Topaz understood what she meant.
"[If I'm not mistaken.]"
"[This Heavenly General recently fought an avatar of Celenova. Phantylia must have heard about it and wanted to personally probe his strength.]"
"Celenova?"
Topaz hadn't heard of his exploits yet.
The mysterious arrow-pulling weirdo suddenly became a Xianzhou Heavenly General. A comic relief character suddenly turned serious. It was a change that was hard to accept all at once.
"What is the Corporation's stance?"
He was a true Galaxy Ranger.
If her homeworld had met him before the Corporation, perhaps she would be a Ranger now, too.
Topaz shook her head and smiled.
Regardless, she still hoped that good people would be rewarded.
"[If necessary, Diamond will intervene.]"
"Is that so? That's good."
Hearing this, Topaz immediately stopped worrying.
"Now, all I can do is hope Mr. Shockwave isn't actually a complete scrub."
He called her a tornado, so Topaz felt it was only fair to call him a shockwave in return.
She didn't even have the qualifications to enter a game played by Emanators, let alone help him.
But since Diamond said they would protect him, at least his life wasn't in danger.
______
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