At this critical moment!
"Erios!" Celestia roared, ignoring her severe injuries. Her four wings erupted with the last burst of lightning, transforming into a resolute bolt of electricity. Taking advantage of the gap in Virginia's attack and the chaos caused by the dome's breach, she finally charged to the massive incubation tank in the center! She didn't attempt to shatter the indestructible tank wall but instead condensed all her power at her fingertips, aiming at the main extraction pipelines connected to Erios's spine, which were flickering with the most dangerous red light!
"Wind-Thunder Judgment: Severing Blade!" A highly condensed wind blade, entwined with destructive black thunder, shot out with precision!
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
Several of the most critical extraction pipelines snapped in response! The instruments emitted piercing alarms, the red lights flashing wildly, and the extraction process was forcibly interrupted!
"Urgh—!" Inside the tank, Erios's body shuddered violently, letting out a groan of relief that was extremely weak. He then fell into a deep coma, but the silver-blue glow of his life force being forcibly extracted finally ceased to drain.
"Lin Ya! Hurry!" Fa struggled to stand, shouting hoarsely.
"Leave it to me!" Lin Ya struggled to his feet, his emerald green light dim but incredibly resolute. With both hands across the transparent wall of the incubation tank, he aimed at Erios inside. "All Things Revive: Hymn of Life!" A dense, almost tangible emerald green life energy, carrying the most primal blessings of the forest, penetrated the tank wall and gently enveloped Erios's battered body. Visibly, his ashen skin regained a faint vitality, and his rapid breathing eased slightly. Lin Ya's healing acted like the toughest bandage, temporarily sustaining Erios's life flame on the brink of extinction.
"Damn it!" Virginia witnessed Erios being saved and her plan disrupted, her rage completely burning away her reason. She abandoned ranged attacks, her figure turning into a dark purple streak of light. Wielding her dual scythes with a space-tearing screech, she lunged straight at the utterly exhausted Lin Ya and Celestia who had just finished casting! "Give me back the test subject!"
"No way!" "Protect them!" Kayla, TISK, Fa, Arya, Zhamisi, Yuyuer, Rex, Salsa—all who could still move erupted with astonishing willpower in that moment! No words were needed; the tacit understanding honed through life-and-death trials reached its peak in an instant!
Kayla roared as she blocked in front of Lin Ya again, her thunder-frost giant claws boldly meeting the scythe blades!
TISK's molten lava hammer, carrying the remnants of ice-fire explosions, smashed toward Virginia's flank!
Fa's short blade, infused with extreme cold frost, locked onto Virginia's movement trajectory with her star eye. She narrowly evaded fatal slashes multiple times with instant teleportation and launched cunning counterattacks!
Arya's light-dark spiral arrows precisely targeted the weak points in Virginia's energy flow, attempting to disrupt her attack rhythm!
Zhamisi moved like a ghost, her venomous fang curved blade carrying corrosive poison mist, specializing in attacking Virginia's lower body and joints!
Yuyuer manipulated the remaining water flows and frost in the lab, forming barriers and slowing effects!
Rex's armor thrusters fired at full blast, enduring damage as ion cannons and micro-missiles poured out like they cost nothing, bombarding Virginia's protective energy!
Salsa pressed forward with her remaining undead legion—the remnants of shadow behemoths, dark wolf knights, skeleton soldiers—like a suicide squad, lunging at Virginia, using soul bodies and bones to block her scythes!
No matter how strong Virginia was, facing ten opponents with seamless coordination, fearless resolve, complementary abilities, and full outburst, she fell into an unprecedented bitter struggle! Her shadow dual scythes were unmatched in power, each swing able to severely injure one (Kayla's thunder-frost armor nearly shattered, TISK was swept away by a scythe and vomited blood, Fa's left arm was sliced open with a deep bone-visible wound by the scythe wind), but the opponents' assaults came like waves, continuous and unrelenting. Even more terrifying, they completely abandoned their own defenses just to create opportunities for their comrades!
"Get out of my way!" Virginia was hit in the back by Rex's plasma cannon, her protective energy fluctuating violently, her figure slightly staggering.
In that instant!
"Now!" Celestia's eyes flashed with madness. Ignoring the scythe phantom stabbing toward her (blocked by Kayla with her body), she condensed her last power at her fingertips. A highly compressed "Spear of Delusion-Breaking" mental spike silently pierced toward the sliver of gap in Virginia's soul defense caused by the energy fluctuation!
At the same time, Fa's right eye star glow burst brightly. She captured an extremely brief "weak point" in Virginia's energy circulation, born from continuous high-intensity attacks and injuries! She exerted all her strength, channeling the remaining cold solitude origin magic through her short blade into a nearly solid "Eternal Freeze Ice Fang" emanating absolute zero aura, stabbing straight at that weak point!
Pfft! Buzz—!
Celestia's mental spike caused Virginia's head to split with pain, her movements stiffening!
Fa's Eternal Freeze Ice Fang precisely pierced the energy weak point! The extreme cold erupted instantly, madly eroding and freezing Virginia's internal shadow magic flow!
"Urgh—!" Virginia let out a shrill scream, her surrounding shadow energy exploding like shattered mirrors! She was struck as if by a heavy blow, her entire body smashing to the ground from mid-air. Her shadow dual scythes flew out of her hands and dissipated into energy. Her ornate dark purple robe shattered, revealing charred armor beneath. Dark purple blood overflowed from her mouth corners, her aura instantly wilting to the extreme, clearly suffering severe internal injuries! She struggled to get up but was pinned down firmly by Kayla's massive thunder claw, with TISK's molten lava hammer hovering over her head, locked with cold killing intent.
They won... though it was miserably hard-fought, everyone injured, magic, stamina, and armor energy all overdrawn, but they finally defeated one of the ten leaders of Doomsday Rebirth!
WingSeris's Descent and the Cruel Truth
Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to capture Virginia, another change occurred!
At the massive breach in the dome, the dense mist was dispersed by a pure white and sacred glow. A figure, bathed in holy halo, slowly descended.
Six plump, pristine white, flowing with gentle light halo huge feathers elegantly spread behind her. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, carrying a compassionate, overlooking all beings noble temperament, her lips curved in a gentle smile that seemed capable of purifying all worldly sufferings. It was none other than another leader of the Doomsday Rebirth organization—WingSeris.
Behind her, hundreds of wing clan warriors (traitors) with fanatic eyes, clad in uniform silver-white battle armor, stood solemnly like guardians of a deity. Even more chilling were over three hundred variant wing people of various forms, emanating cold and violent auras, with numb eyes. They hovered in the air like killing machines awaiting orders.
WingSeris's gaze swept over the chaotic battlefield below, finally landing on Virginia, suppressed by Kayla's claw and in a wretched state. A trace of undisguised contempt and mockery appeared on her compassionate face. Her voice was ethereal and pleasant, yet carried icy sarcasm: "Oh dear, isn't this our elegant and composed Lady Virginia? What a... utterly disheveled sight. To be bitten into this state by these 'rats' you spoke of—truly unbecoming of the dignity of the 'Doomsday Rebirth Ten Heads.'"
She chuckled lightly, her laughter like silver bells, yet it sent chills down one's spine.
Virginia spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, her eyes burning with humiliated rage, roaring: "Seris! Shut up! Stop pretending up there! Kill them now!" She struggled to point at Fa.
WingSeris's gaze then shifted from Virginia, landing on Celestia. Those eyes filled with "mercy" instantly turned cold and disappointed, as if looking at a failed creation. "Fallen angel... my sharpest spear." Her voice lost its warmth, "I sent you to the Light Feather Dome to seize the Star Fragment, yet you vanished without a trace. So, you chose to betray me and join these... rabble?" Her gaze swept over Fa and the others, with undisguised disdain.
Celestia guarded in front of Erios's incubation tank, her ice-blue eyes burning with flames of hatred, staring fixedly at WingSeris: "Betray? WingSeris! You demon spouting righteousness! You promised to cure Erios, that's why I served you! And what? You treated him as a test subject, extracting his life essence! You exploited my trust, trampled my hope! Today, I'll make you pay blood for blood!" Her voice trembled with anger and weakness, yet was utterly resolute.
Upon hearing this, WingSeris's compassionate smile grew even brighter. She elegantly waved her hand, pointing to the silent variant wing people army behind her: "Cure him? Dear Celestia, look at these perfect warriors. They are the greatest continuation and sublimation of Erios's 'life'! His pain, his power, have all gained eternity in these exquisite creations! His sacrifice has achieved a more glorious future! Isn't that more valuable than lingering on?" Her words were like the most venomous curse, tearing open the cruel truth in bloody fashion.
Fa's heart sank to the bottom. Looking at the massive legion behind WingSeris, feeling her aura even more unfathomable than Virginia's, and then at their own group of ten, all injured and auras wilted. Having just endured a life-and-death battle, with magic and stamina nearly exhausted, how could they fight another full-strength Doomsday Rebirth leader and her army? She gripped her short blade tightly, her right eye star eye sending stabs of pain from overuse, whispering to her companions: "This is bad... Virginia is severely injured, but this WingSeris... is stronger! We... probably have no chance of winning."
Virginia struggled and roared: "Seris! What are you waiting for? The Star Fragment is on them! Kill them! Seize it!"
Upon hearing "Star Fragment," a flash of extreme greed and coldness passed deep in WingSeris's compassionate eyes, like a ferocious demon hidden beneath a holy painting. Her gentle smile remained unchanged, but her voice carried undeniable killing intent: "It seems fate has delivered this generous gift to me. In that case..." She slowly raised her slender, perfect finger shimmering with faint light, pointing at the exhausted Fa and the others below.
"Then please... disappear peacefully. Kill them all." Her voice was still ethereal, yet it proclaimed the descent of death upon Fa and the others.
Dozens of the closest variant wing people had red lights blazing in their eyes, letting out inhuman roars. Like hunting dogs given orders, they spread their ferocious wing membranes, baring sharp claws and fangs, diving like black lightning toward Fa at the forefront below! The shadow of death instantly enveloped them!
Aftermath of Battle and the Elven Queen's Aid
Just as the variant wing people's sharp claws were about to touch Fa!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!!!
Hundreds of arrows composed purely of highly condensed light elements, like meteors streaking through the long night, carrying a sacred aura that purified evil, shot in with supersonic speed from outside the massive dome breach!
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The five or six variant wing people charging at the front were instantly pierced by the light arrows, melting like snow under sunlight! Their bodies burned and disintegrated violently in the sacred glow, turning to ash without even time to scream! The remaining variant wing people were deterred by this sudden strike and sacred aura, their assault halting abruptly!
Immediately after, an even vaster, purer, and supremely majestic aura of life and nature surged into the shattered lab like an invisible tide! At the dome breach, gentle yet irresistible silver-white moonlight sprinkled down, dispelling WingSeris's holy halo.
The Elven Queen—Sylvia Sunshine, cloaked in moon radiance, descended like the goddess of the moon, surrounded by countless elite "Dawnlight Guardians" of the elves! Thousands of elven warriors rode light-feathered birds, wielding enchanted longbows and blades, descending like divine soldiers, densely filling the sky outside the dome breach, surrounding the entire misty reef area impenetrably! Their arrow tips and blades shimmered with the forest's fury, all aimed at the opposing Doomsday Rebirth forces!
Sylvia Sunshine hovered at the center of the breach, her silver moon-like pupils calmly sweeping over the chaotic lab below, finally landing on WingSeris and Virginia. Her ethereal and majestic voice resounded through heaven and earth, carrying the forest's wrath: "Doomsday Rebirth organization... how dare you! To forge such a blasphemous furnace that defiles life and taints nature within the domain of my elven clan's Bosera Island! Do you think the Emerald Tree Sea is unmanned?!"
WingSeris's gentle smile showed obvious fluctuation for the first time. Looking at the overwhelmingly powerful Elven Queen and thousands of elites in the sky, a trace of wariness flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly masked by hypocritical elegance. She slightly bowed, performing an impeccable courtesy, her voice still pleasant: "So it's the esteemed Her Majesty Sylvia Sunshine in person. Pardon the rudeness."
She pointed at the severely injured Virginia suppressed by Kayla, and the battered Fa and the others below: "It seems Your Majesty has come for these little friends and to clean up this small workshop? Very well, since Your Majesty wishes to protect your subjects and territory, I, WingSeris, am not unreasonable." Her tone shifted, becoming unyielding: "However, I'll take my incompetent companion (Virginia) and her worthless subordinates with me first. Let today's matter end here, how about that?" It sounded like negotiation, but carried threat.
Sylvia Sunshine's queenly face remained calm and impassive, her silver moon pupils swirling with nebulae deep within, not answering immediately. Letting go of the severely injured Virginia and WingSeris was akin to releasing tigers back to the mountains, endless future troubles.
WingSeris seemed to see through the Queen's hesitation, her smile deepening with a hint of mystery. In a volume only the Queen and a few nearby could hear clearly, she softly said: "Oh, right. Your Majesty, before leaving, our 'BOSS (Roman)'... specially instructed me to send his regards to you. He said... 'old friend' has been long without greetings, and he misses you dearly." Her words were gentle, yet like an icy key, instantly touching some taboo deep in the Queen's heart.
Sylvia Sunshine's silver moon pupils, calm as eternal moon wheels, suddenly contracted upon hearing "BOSS (Roman)" and "old friend"! The swirling nebulae in her pupils seemed to freeze for a moment, an indescribable complex emotion—shock, wariness, even a trace of... deeply buried fear?—extremely rarely flashed across her flawless face, though fleeting, it was keenly captured by Fa, who had been watching her.
Silence, like heavy lead weights, pressed over the shattered lab's airspace.
A few minutes later, Sylvia Sunshine slowly closed her eyes, reopening them to restore that eternal depth and calm, but her voice carried an undeniable decisiveness: "Scram. Take your people and leave Bosera Island immediately. If you set foot here again, kill without mercy!" Her words carried the forest's decree, not to be defied.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty." WingSeris's smile bloomed like a flower, as if she had anticipated this outcome. She elegantly waved her hand, a holy glow enveloping the severely injured Virginia and her three key subordinates (Bloody Mary, Gin, Tequila), easily pulling them from under Kayla's claw and the encirclement. At the same time, her wing clan rebel army and variant wing people legion behind her retreated like ebbing tide, orderly passing through the dome breach under the cold gaze of the elven legion, swiftly vanishing into the mist.
Before leaving, WingSeris gave one last look toward Celestia and Erios, her eyes filled with playful and cruel anticipation, as if admiring an unfinished masterpiece. Then, her six wings lightly spread, turning into a holy streak of light, following the army away.
Salvation and the Journey Home
The oppressive feeling receded like tidewater. Fa and the others' taut nerves finally relaxed, intense fatigue and pain instantly sweeping over their bodies, nearly making them unsteady. Celestia staggered to Erios's incubation tank, stroking his comatose face through the glass, silent tears sliding down.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the timely rescue!" Fa endured her pain, deeply bowing to Sylvia Sunshine in the air, her voice hoarse and sincere. Arya, Lin Ya, and the others also bowed in thanks, their faces filled with the relief of surviving calamity and gratitude toward the Queen.
Fa raised her head, her right eye star eye carrying deep confusion, looking at the Queen: "Your Majesty... why? Why let them go? Virginia is severely injured, WingSeris isn't unbeatable... They are Doomsday Rebirth leaders; releasing tigers back to the mountains will bring endless troubles!" This was the question in everyone's hearts.
Sylvia Sunshine's gaze fell on Fa, those silver moon pupils profound as endless starry skies. She didn't directly answer Fa's question, only slowly saying: "This place is filthy, not suitable for lingering. Take your companions and follow me back to the 'Eternal Crown.' All the reasons... will be revealed at the royal court." Her tone carried undeniable majesty, also hiding indescribable heaviness.
The Queen said no more. She elegantly raised her hand, pointing at the sinful core of the lab below—the suspended rhombus purple crystal control hub.
"Purify."
With her clear, cold voice falling, hundreds of elven "Dawnlight Guardians" drew their longbows. In an instant, thousands of emerald green light arrows poured down like a storm! These light arrows weren't pure destruction; they contained the elves' purest life purification power. The arrows precisely hit every energy weak point, incubation tank, control console, variant remnants... Wherever they went, evil machinery wailed, twisted biological tissues rapidly withered and decomposed in the green light, polluted energy dispersed and purified. The entire "Emerald Heart" lab, under the elves' sacred purification light rain, melted like snow thrown into a furnace, swiftly dissolving, collapsing, returning to dust and pure natural energy. Even the shattered dome was quickly covered and repaired by gentle green vines, isolating the external mist.
Watching the miraculous purification scene before her, Fa's heart was shocked, yet she understood that the Queen's decision to let the enemies go must involve secrets far beyond their imagination. She silently took out the moonshadow leaf bestowed by the Queen from her bosom; the leaf still emanated gentle silver glow and laurel fragrance, but unnoticed, a faint, almost invisible crack had appeared on its edge. She gently, firmly pinched the leaf, as if drawing courage from it to face the unknown answers.
Under the escort of the elven legion, the battered group, carrying the comatose Erios, rode the massive light-feathered birds summoned by the elves, leaving this thoroughly purified misty reef area reduced to ruins, flying toward the heart of the Emerald Tree Sea, the elven royal court "Eternal Crown." The sunset's afterglow dyed the horizon golden-red, stretching their weary shadows long. Though the battle had temporarily ended, the Doomsday Rebirth shadow looming over Bosera Island and the entire world, along with the Queen's profoundly enigmatic attitude, foreshadowed deeper mysteries and tougher challenges.