The perspective shifts, returning to the present.
Kazuki was teleported directly by Herta herself to the Seclusion Zone of the Herta Space Station—to put it bluntly, this place was a warehouse for high-risk hazardous materials, where even the Star-Crushing Swarm King created by Ruan Mei was sealed away.
“I haven’t kept an eye on things for a while, and Ruan Mei actually dared to sneakily raise a seedling of an Emanator of The Propagation right under my nose.” Herta muttered offhandedly, without the slightest intention of dealing with it; clearly, she trusted that Ruan Mei wouldn’t do anything reckless.
But Kazuki was different.
He was looking the Star-Crushing Swarm King below up and down, calculating frantically in his mind: This thing is at least an Emanator-level creature, right?
If I could get it to sincerely say, “Ms.
Herta’s beauty is peerless,” wouldn’t that complete another part of the mission?
Star-Crushing Swarm King — Skaracabaz The moment the thought crossed his mind, a sharp, blasting screech from [Emanator of Beauty Herta] exploded directly in his mind, making his brain ache.
Kazuki reflexively covered his ears, but it was completely useless.
He could only wail internally: “Herta!
Stop shouting, stop shouting!
You’re going to make my head explode!” The voice of [Emanator of Beauty Herta] carried bristling anger: “What exactly is your brain made of?
You actually want a disgusting, ugly, slimy bug to praise me?!” Kazuki was speechless on the spot: “Wow, do you think I want to?
I hate bugs too, okay?
Who made your wish so absurd?
Why don’t you be a dear and change it?” [Emanator of Beauty Herta] retorted irritably: “The wish wasn’t posted by me, how am I supposed to change it?” Kazuki was stunned on the spot, his brain lagging for a beat: “Huh?
It wasn’t posted by you?
Then who was it?” The voice of [Emanator of Beauty Herta] deepened: “You still don’t understand?
This is a shackle!
It is the restriction that allows those of us within the cards to descend into the world again!” Kazuki understood instantly: “Alright, I get it.” Just then, Herta, watching him covering his ears and his expression changing constantly, frowned and asked: “What’s wrong?
Are you feeling unwell?
Or are you allergic to something here?” Kazuki blinked, instantly regaining his composure, and pointed to the Star-Crushing Swarm King below, his face full of disgust: “I’m allergic to bugs.
I get itchy all over just looking at them.” Herta glanced in the direction he was pointing, adjusted the brim of her hat, and said offhandedly: “I’ve heard that after the Knights of Beauty are tainted by the filth of The Propagation, they eventually degenerate into mindless bugs.
As for what connection there is between the two, I haven’t studied it in detail.
If you want to know, you can go ask Ruan Mei.” As soon as she finished speaking, the tentacles of the Star-Crushing Swarm King, which had been sleeping inside the glass cover, suddenly twitched violently.
Its cicada-wing-thin wings began to flutter, emitting a faint buzzing sound.
“Oh no!
Is the safety measure Ruan Mei set up reliable or not?
Why did this Swarm King suddenly wake up?” Herta’s expression changed instantly, and she suddenly turned to look at Kazuki, immediately realizing the key: “Bugs are most sensitive to pheromones; it’s the aura of The Beauty that you are constantly emitting!
This thing can either induce living beings to sink into despair or pull them out of it.” “Bzzzz—” The piercing sound of wing-fluttering instantly filled the entire Seclusion Zone.
The Star-Crushing Swarm King had completely awakened, its compound eyes glowing with a cold red light, locking onto Herta and Kazuki outside the glass cover.
Its wing-flapping frequency grew faster and faster, and a layer of light blue protective film instantly surfaced on its body.
Following that, countless insect eggs, as fine as dust, spread along the airflow of its wings, floating densely in the air, as if they were about to hatch in the next second and devour everything living.
Seeing this, Herta didn’t hesitate at all.
She immediately raised her hand to contact Asta, her voice carrying an unquestionable urgency: “Asta!
Immediately take all staff on the Herta Space Station and evacuate urgently!
A Star-Crushing Swarm King has woken up in the Seclusion Zone!
The Propagation contamination is about to spread!” Kazuki watched from the side, his teeth aching.
He complained frantically in his heart: It was just a background BOSS in the game, but it’s actually this terrifying in reality?
How did that guy, Stelle, survive in a hellhole like this?
The protagonist’s halo is really unreasonable, isn’t it?
While raising his hand to use the power of the path of beauty to block the drifting eggs, he hurriedly threw the information he knew to Herta: “Although this Star-Crushing Swarm King touches upon the Emanator of The Propagation, its genes are defective!
From full awakening to complete demise, it can only live for 56 seconds!” Hearing this, Herta didn’t even blink, her tone as cold as ice: “56 seconds?
That’s enough for the Swarm to devour the entire Herta Space Station until not even a scrap remains.” The moment her voice fell, the key pendant hanging on her snow-white neck suddenly erupted with blinding purple light, and the scepter in her hand hummed along.
The power of the Erudition Path spread out in layers, attempting to add an isolation barrier to the entire Seclusion Zone.
The current situation: one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news is that this Star-Crushing Swarm King is not a true Emanator of The Propagation, and its destructive power hasn’t reached the level of destroying the world; The bad news is that Herta’s own combat ability is truly lackluster.
If given enough time, she could definitely formulate an insecticide to destroy this kind of Star-Crushing Swarm King, but now, distant water cannot quench near thirst, and hindsight is completely useless.
Just at this critical moment, the voice of [Emanator of Beauty Herta] rang in his mind, sounding exasperated: “Although I am an Emanator of Beauty, this genius is not like those vases who only know how to recite poetry!
I gave you the Emanator power, and you don’t know how to use it at all!” While using all his strength to output the power of the path of beauty, working with Herta to divide the battlefield and locking the sky full of eggs in the lower section of the Seclusion Zone, Kazuki complained frantically in his heart: “Herta!
Stop bragging about yourself!
Tell me what to do!
If you don’t say it now, people are going to die!” [Emanator of Beauty Herta] cleared her throat, her tone suddenly becoming serious: “Ahem, listen well.
This universe is essentially idealistic.
As for what I am about to say, absorb as much as you can understand.” “My Emanator power stems from the absolute practice of the path of beauty.
The essence of battle is [an unrepeatable aesthetic performance].
Killing is artistic creation; defeat is an aesthetic closed loop.
It is completely different from the slaughter of The Hunt, the annihilation of Destruction, the calculations of Erudition, or the assimilation of Harmony.
It is an elegant and fatal system unique to the path of beauty.” “There’s no time to explain the complex parts to you now.
Chant some of the core lines from the “Coronet of Light Dust · Hymn of the Knights of Beauty” with me.
It’s simple and crude, and you can instantly cast a big move.” Kazuki frantically deconstructed the core of [The Beauty] in her words in his mind, his hands never stopping as he locked down the swarm that kept crashing against the barrier, shouting urgently in his heart: “I’m listening!
Herta, hurry up and tell me!” …
Meanwhile, Herta, who was fully supporting the isolation barrier, suddenly caught a glimpse of Kazuki beside her, and his entire aura had changed.
Dots of silver-blue starlight lit up around his body, like a galaxy hanging upside down beside him.
The clothes he was originally wearing transformed into a flowing stardust gown, the hem swaying gently with the invisible wind, with fragments of the galaxy held within every fold.
His eyes were filled with light, and his originally lively expression became ethereal and solemn.
Even the restless eggs around him froze in mid-air at this moment, not daring to move forward even half an inch.
The next second, a clear and solemn chant slowly rose from his mouth, like an echo from the beginning of the universe, instantly drowning out all the buzzing of wings.
“Coronet of Light Dust · Hymn of the Knights of Beauty, First Movement: [Primordial Vowel · Charter of Beauty]” “I am the echo of the Primordial before light” “I am the unformed yearning of the universe” “I am the starlight blooming in the dust” “I am the immortal constancy in the end” “I am the perfection reborn from the broken” “I am the silent truth in the clamor” Area of the Star-Crushing Swarm King Location of Kazuki and Herta, looking down at the Star-Crushing Swarm King Part of the Seclusion Zone