[Cocolia, the Stellaron is in danger. Return immediately.]
Just as Cocolia chose to temporarily surrender and was placed under house arrest in her office, she suddenly received this message.
The Stellaron had long since bestowed its power upon Cocolia, allowing them to communicate through this radio-like method.
Cocolia, who had originally planned to wait and see, grew anxious. If the Stellaron were destroyed, who would deliver the future it had promised her?
She had just been pleased with Bronya's growth—for the first time in years, the obedient and sensible young woman had mustered the courage to defy her mother. This was a good thing; as a Supreme Guardian, one shouldn't only possess gentleness and orderliness but also the courage to embrace a new order.
Only then could they watch over the future together in the new world.
But the current situation left no room for delay—she had to act immediately.
Cocolia stood up and slowly walked to the door, gently knocking.
Creak~
The door opened a crack, revealing half of Pela's round face.
"Is there something you need, Guardian?"
Pela's voice was filled with vigilance. Having resolved to stand with Bronya, she naturally showed Cocolia little respect.
"I want to see Bronya."
"Lady Bronya?"
Pela nodded.
"I will convey your message."
"...Make it quick."
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Felicity disappointedly discovered that the Stellaron had reached its limit.
She had only injected about one and a half times the life energy of Jarilo-Ⅵ, and the Stellaron was already full. If she added even a little more, it would burst on the spot.
"Strange, I thought Stellarons had infinite capacity—otherwise, how could they throw entire star systems into chaos?"
Felicity scratched her chin, muttering in confusion.
[Guh... Just kill me if you have the guts...]
The Stellaron's glow shone brighter than ever, but its voice carried a strange weakness. It stared despairingly at this Emanator of Abundance who toyed with it so effortlessly, yet it felt no fear of death.
The path of Destruction tolerated no hesitation.
Having chosen to walk the road of destroying others, one must be prepared to be destroyed.
Even so, it searched for an opportunity to self-destruct when Felicity wasn't paying attention. Even in death, it wanted to drag the Emanator of Abundance down with it.
"Oh?"
Felicity keenly sensed the Stellaron gathering its energy, her expression turning intrigued.
"If I give you a chance, are you confident you can kill me?"
She asked.
[I will make you experience the blessing of Destruction!]
The Stellaron replied, almost through gritted teeth.
"Good."
Felicity nodded cheerfully. With a wave of her hand, a colossal tree shot skyward, carrying Felicity and the Stellaron straight into the heavens.
In the blink of an eye, the giant tree pierced through the sky and surged directly into cosmic space.
Upon reaching the cosmos, Felicity released her restraint on the Stellaron, then spread her hands open, revealing an expression full of anticipation:
"Come, show me everything you've got."
[...]
The Stellaron felt its tiny brain shrivel up.
The next moment, it was enraged.
It felt underestimated, blatantly looked down upon. This arrogant Emanator of Abundance actually believed it could never kill her no matter what.
Driven by fury, terrifying imaginary energy surged endlessly from within its form. Its body swelled continuously, eventually growing to the size of a mountain, then twisted and transformed into a monstrous beast.
[I will make you witness the most brilliant and terrifying light in this world!]
The Stellaron roared, shining like a sun as it charged straight at Felicity. With power seemingly capable of destroying worlds, it prepared to self-destruct without hesitation.
It unleashed all the energy it had accumulated in one explosive burst, dragging Felicity into the abyss called death at the cost of its own annihilation!
Rampant imaginary energy instantly devoured Felicity's body, the power of Destruction continuously spreading, growing, and destroying until it consumed all vitality, leaving behind only a lifeless hollow shell.
[Destruction! Destruction! Destruction!]
The Stellaron let out one final roar. Having lost all its energy, it could no longer maintain its form and began to visibly shrink until it became a small sphere the size of a fist.
Stripped of all power, the faint intelligence it had barely managed to develop was on the verge of vanishing completely.
But it didn't matter. As long as it drifted to a planet with life, it could regain its vitality.
There was nothing left to fear.
It had even defeated an Emanator—what could possibly stand in its way now!?
However—
Just before it lost consciousness, it saw a brilliant emerald light flash once more.
[You...]
"Looks like you failed to kill me."
Felicity propped her chin on her hand, gently pinching the Stellaron between her fingers, her tone dripping with undisguised disappointment.
"Now it's your turn to die."
*Crack.*
Without Felicity even exerting much force, the Stellaron shattered into fragments, naturally dissipating into the cosmic void.
In its final moments, it felt a strange sense of relief.
[I'm sorry... for failing to make you use your full strength, Emanator of Abundance.]
"..."
"Ah, damn. I should've saved half to give to Herta as a gift."
After a moment, Felicity seemed to suddenly remember something, shaking her head in frustration.
The Stellaron Herta originally kept couldn't talk—she would have definitely been interested in this one.
She sighed and turned to look in the direction where the Astral Express was parked.
Welt's figure slowly floated into view.
"...What happened here?"
Welt asked hesitantly.
"Nothing much. A Stellaron tried to blow up with me, so I took care of it."
Felicity replied casually.
"And the Stellaron?"
"Shattered."
"..."
Welt covered half his face with his hand, suddenly feeling grateful that Felicity was on their side.
He had sensed that terrifying power from the Astral Express earlier and, after discussing with Himeko, had come alone to investigate.
This confirmed the presence Felicity had detected before disembarking—this Stellaron's power was exceptionally strong. It was hard to imagine that merely corrupting Jarilo-Ⅵ could grant it such formidable strength. Was this truly the cancer of all worlds?
Welt shook his head, trying to clear his chaotic thoughts. Adjusting his glasses, he turned his attention back to Felicity.
"Are you... alright?"
He was met with a look that said 'are you an idiot?'
"Do I look like I'm about to die?"
Felicity retorted exasperatedly. She shrugged, then floated back to the giant tree that had carried her away from Jarilo-Ⅵ. With a light tap of her finger, the massive tree rapidly shrunk downward.