Mercy’s punch, condensed with all her power and aimed at the energy node, landed squarely on the pale ring before Zephyro.
DANG—!!!
A thunderous crash, like an ancient star shattering!
This time, it was not silent annihilation, but the most primal explosion born of ultimate forces colliding!
Dark-golden destruction energy and the pure white “returning-to-nothing” force clashed like two vicious dragons, frenziedly biting and consuming each other!
For the first time, a clear ripple crossed Zephyro’s perpetually calm pure white eyes.
He had clearly not expected Mercy to so precisely locate the fleeting node in his power cycle in such a short time, and to unleash such a decisive attack!
CRACK…
A faint but chilling sound of fracturing came from the pale ring.
A clear crack spread like a spiderweb!
Though the ring did not shatter completely, the pure white light flowing across it visibly dimmed and destabilized for an instant!
An opening!
Mercy gave no quarter, not allowing Zephyro any chance to recover.
Her left fist followed immediately, dark-golden energy highly compressed like a drill, striking the same spot again!
BOOM!!
This time, the pale ring could no longer withstand it.
It let out a mournful cry and abruptly shattered into countless pure white light fragments that scattered in all directions!
The stable, suffocating “returning-to-nothing” field around Zephyro also violently shuddered and cracked!
“Your ‘silence’ just cracked!” Mercy shouted.
Her battle instincts seized the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
She rammed into Zephyro’s now-open guard, her shoulder condensed with immense force, slamming into his chest!
Simultaneously, her right knee drove upward like a battle axe!
“Ugh!” Zephyro let out a muffled grunt.
His entire body, like a starship struck head-on, transformed into a white meteor, hurtling downward at a speed far exceeding freefall toward the already ravaged surface of the dead star!
RUMBLE—!!!
A cataclysmic explosion erupted at the impact point!
Dust mixed with rock powder churned up by destruction energy formed a massive, slowly rising mushroom cloud.
The ring-shaped shockwave from the impact spread unchecked, flattening the already fragile terrain around it!
And this was only the beginning!
The terrifying kinetic energy from Zephyro’s fall did not dissipate.
Like an indestructible drill, it continued to pierce toward the planet’s interior!
The ground shattered and collapsed layer by layer like a fragile eggshell!
A massive rift valley, bottomless and edged with glowing lava, spread frantically from the impact point toward both ends of the planet!
In mere moments, accompanied by what seemed like the death cry of a planet (the thunderous sound of structural collapse), this already dead star was actually punched clean through!
From the opposite side of the impact point, Zephyro’s form, wrapped in scorching lava and planetary core fragments, was ejected like the planet spitting him out, hurled back into cosmic space!
The pure white light around him flickered erratically.
His ancient robes were torn, and a trickle of golden blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Though he still hovered in the air, his aura was clearly disordered.
Mercy’s chain of attacks had clearly cost him dearly.
Mercy hovered above the planet’s crumbling orbit, breathing slightly hard, watching the knocked-back Zephyro.
Yet she felt no relief.
She could sense that Zephyro’s core power had not been truly wounded, only temporarily suppressed.
Moreover, the consecutive bursts, especially the final planet-piercing blow, had drained her immensely.
“Tch, tough hide…” Mercy clicked her tongue inwardly, the thought of retreat growing in her mind.
The strategic objective had been achieved.
She had proven her “fallacy” could bite.
There was no need to fight to the death.
She planned to take advantage of Zephyro’s temporary setback to immediately activate a spatial method and slip back to the train.
However, just as she turned to communicate with Daria and activate some kind of spatial jump ability— A completely different yet equally icy will descended without warning!
This will was not aimed at matter, but directly at the mental plane!
It carried a malicious power that toyed, bewitched, and dismantled all hope and faith, like countless icy tentacles instantly wrapping around Mercy’s soul!
“Heh heh heh…
The new Lord Ravager seems…
a little worse for wear?” A lazy, seductive female voice, dripping with endless malice, sounded directly in the depths of her mind.
Mercy’s vision blurred.
She seemed to see countless civilizations self-destructing through internal suspicion and collapsing faith and heard the wails of billions of beings in despair!
A wave of exhaustion, doubt, and negation of all meaning surged from the depths of her soul like a tide, threatening to completely overwhelm her will to fight!
“There’s more?!” Mercy was both shocked and furious.
She forcibly focused her spirit to resist the erosion, but caught off guard, her consciousness still flickered for an instant, and the energy circulating through her body stalled.
And that instant of vulnerability was all it took!
An invisible mental shock slammed into her soul barrier!
“AGH—!” Mercy let out a pained groan.
The energy she had just gathered scattered instantly.
Like a bird with broken wings, she lost control and plummeted once more toward the surface of the disintegrating dead star!
Beside her falling trajectory, in the void, a massive, sinister black lotus bloomed slowly.
Upon the lotus stood a woman of graceful figure, dressed in gorgeous, revealing attire, barefoot and floating, with a giant black lotus ornament floating behind her.
She gazed down at the falling Mercy with amusement through eyes patterned with lotus markings.
It was another Lord Ravager—Phantylia!
“Zephyro, it seems you’ve run into a little trouble,” Phantylia chuckled, her voice like a venomous snake hissing.
“This little sister doesn’t seem to appreciate your ‘aesthetics of destruction.'” Zephyro stabilized himself in the distance and wiped the golden blood from his lips.
His pure white eyes swept coldly over Phantylia, but he did not respond.
He clearly did not appreciate her sudden interference, perhaps even feeling she had disrupted his “artistic creation.” Mercy crashed heavily onto the ravaged surface, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The mental shock left her head splitting, her soul feeling as if it had been torn apart.
Facing two Lord Ravagers at once?
How was she supposed to fight this?!
[Stupid host!] Daria’s anxious voice rang in her mind, carrying a note of exasperation.
[Is your brain fried by destruction energy?!
Have you forgotten what other trump cards you have?!] “Trump cards…
I…
I can’t beat them…” Mercy’s consciousness was hazy.
The aftereffects of the mental attack were manifesting.
[Can’t beat them?
Who told you to only use destruction power to fight head-on?!] Daria’s sneer carried a tone of “Are you an idiot?” [Have you forgotten what that Halovian body of yours is for?
Forgotten the songs you listen to every day?
Forgotten the power contained in the ticket that brought you to the train?!
You still have the power of ‘Harmony’ and the power of ‘Trailblaze’ unused!
Idiot!] Like a bucket of cold water to the face!
Daria’s words were like lightning, splitting through Mercy’s chaotic thoughts, scrambled by battle and mental shock!
Right!
She was not just an Emanator of Destruction!
She was also a descendant of the Halovians, carrying blood that resonated with Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony!
She was also the Astral Express’s “supply keeper,” holding a ticket blessed by Akivili, the Aeon of Trailblaze!
Destruction was only one part of her power, not the whole!
“I…
understand!” Light reignited in Mercy’s eyes, a light mixed with resolve and rebirth.
She struggled to her feet from the crater, ignoring her physical wounds and mental stinging, and took a deep breath.
Under the cold gaze of Zephyro and the amused gaze of Phantylia in the distance, this blue-haired girl, who had just been sent crashing down by a mental attack, slowly began to sing in an ethereal, resolute voice.
No longer an unconscious hum, but a clear, ancient hymn filled with the power of coordination and resonance.
It was a hymn praising Xipe, the Aeon of Harmony!
The melody her mother Emily had taught her, the melody her mother had sung with her life in Radiant Star’s final moments!
The ethereal song rose, not grand, but carrying a strange penetrating power.
With the song, a faint, dawn-like golden-pink halo emanated from her body, coexisting eerily with the dark-golden destruction energy on her surface.
Where the halo reached, the tearing sensation in her spirit rapidly subsided, her soul barrier grew more solid, and even her physical wounds healed faster!
This was the power of “Harmony” coordinating her own being, healing wounds, and stabilizing her spirit!
“This is…
a hymn of ‘Harmony’?” The amused smile on Phantylia’s face stiffened slightly.
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
“A Lord Ravager, singing to Xipe?
What a…
ridiculous and fascinating sight.” Ripples also appeared in Zephyro’s pure white eyes once more.
He could not understand how such opposing forces could coexist in one individual.
However, what they could not understand was yet to come!
Mercy’s singing did not stop.
She simultaneously began to channel another power within her—the lingering blessing of “Trailblaze” from the [Astral Express Single-Use Group Ticket] that had already merged with the train but still maintained a connection to her!
A power full of the unknown, exploration, and breaking through limits!
She made a crazy, bold move—forcibly blending the violent dark-golden destruction energy within her, the warm golden-pink Harmony light around her, and that thread of Trailblaze power representing infinite possibility…
together!
BOOM—!!!
An unprecedented energy storm erupted with Mercy at its center!
No longer a single dark gold or pure white, but a magnificent, sunset-like blend of brilliant gold-orange and crimson!
Her [Martial Artist] form underwent an astonishing transformation!
Her body, previously covered in flowing molten-gold shimmer, now seemed to wear a suit of battle armor constructed from sunset light.
The armor bore complex patterns flowing with the tyranny of destruction, the rhythm of harmony, and the sharp edge of Trailblaze!
Her aura skyrocketed like a rocket!
Speed, strength, energy sustainability, and stability, even her perception and control over surrounding space, all received an unimaginable, massive boost!
Martial Artist: Second Stage—Twilight Dawn!
Mercy raised her head.
Her pupils were no longer cold, bright gold.
They had transformed into a burning sunset orange-red, reflecting the shocked and uncertain forms of the two Lord Ravagers in the air.
She shook her arm, freshly regenerated and covered in the twilight armor, feeling the unprecedented, immense power within her, wild yet balanced under her will.
A grin with a hint of madness curled at the corner of her mouth.
“That…
felt pretty good, didn’t it?” She bent her knees slightly.
The ground beneath her cracked again under the pure pressure of her power.
“Now…” Twilight flashed.
Her form vanished from the spot, leaving only a sonic boom’s echo and a battle cry thrown down with force: “It’s my turn!” Her fist, carrying the power of three Paths—Destruction, Harmony, and Trailblaze—rose again, charging head-on toward the two veteran Lord Ravagers in the air!