The voice belonged to "Van Gogh"—to Shimazaki Yuna—but the one truly speaking was an existence behind her.
It borrowed Van Gogh's voice, directly projecting its words into everyone's minds.
"Leave this place. All your efforts are futile."
"Your world's barrier cannot stop me. Your desperate resistance will bear no fruit."
"This is my final mercy. Cease your defiance, and I guarantee that once I've completed my invasion, intelligent life shall experience no pain; you might even find pleasure in our coexistence."
"You can't believe anything it says!"
Van Gogh suddenly shouted a warning. "It's a deity from beyond—just spouting words we can comprehend. Its logic fundamentally differs from ours; don't expect it to keep its promises!"
"This is hardly the first time you've refused my offer and hindered my plans. Though you were the one who guided me to this realm, your reckless bravery remains among the worst I've ever encountered. You've evolved intelligence envied by countless beings across the universe, yet you discard rationality, reject negotiation, and resort to brute force. I'll speak plainly—you amuse me."
Unexpectedly, the deity from outside the world complimented Van Gogh.
"Go ahead and continue your hopeless struggle. Should you thwart my invasion once more, I shall reward you with even greater attention than before."
No thank you.
Attention from an Outer God? Even a dog wouldn't want it. Just look at what becomes of those lunatics who worship Outer Gods—they either go mad and die miserably, or go mad and never die no matter how much suffering they endure.
Knowledge from an Outer God is like poison, corrupting the mind and driving mortals insane. Their "blessings" are even crueler than wishes granted by a corrupted Holy Grail.
"Unfortunately, your current companions pale compared to those of your past. But if you can overcome even these dire straits, you might bring me greater amusement yet."
Meteora and the others also heard the conversation clearly. Though the Outer God compared them unfavorably to Van Gogh's past comrades, they didn't particularly mind. Rather, what caught their attention was Van Gogh's history with the Outer God.
They knew Van Gogh was an existence from beyond the stars, but hearing she'd actually thwarted an Outer God's invasion before—that was new.
In their minds, Van Gogh was already unfathomably powerful, so surely those who'd fought beside her were no ordinary beings. Rather than feeling slighted, they merely lamented their own inadequacy. If Van Gogh's former allies had been here instead of them, their chances of victory would surely have been much higher.
The Outer God's primary attacks came from the thick, massive vines. Each vine was thicker than an adult's waist, lashing out faster than lightning. The crack of their impact arrived only after the strike itself, and as time passed, the vines multiplied rapidly.
Altair ignored the vines, desperately trying to reach Shimazaki Yuna. Yet every time she briefly disabled the vines using her abilities and tried to close the distance, more would block her path, forcing her to retreat.
Blitz Talker's ordinary bullets couldn't scratch these vines. Even Altair's sabers required multiple strikes to sever a single vine. His bullets simply bounced off, leaving only his gravity bullets capable of temporary suppression—but even then, each bullet could restrain only a single vine.
Meteora had no attack-type magic, but using her storage magic, she brought forth heavy weapons like rocket launchers and grenade launchers, pouring heavy firepower onto the vines. Yet even these couldn't inflict serious damage.
This space had long since been warped into another reality, its physical laws altered. Thus, Blitz Talker's powers and Meteora's weapons from the real world were greatly weakened. Some of Meteora's heavy weapons wouldn't even detonate here, turning useless.
Vines strong enough to shatter Altair's sabers made Meteora's defensive magic crumble like tofu. Thus, Blitz Talker and Meteora depended entirely on Van Gogh's protection.
To their surprise, Hoshikawa Hikayu performed remarkably well, refusing to hide behind Van Gogh and tenaciously resisting the vines' onslaught, occasionally even counterattacking.
But as vine numbers surged, Altair and Hoshikawa Hikayu faced increasing pressure, their strength dwindling rapidly. Danger grew imminent.
Moreover, once it saw that the vines alone couldn't finish off the intruders, the Flower God resorted to new attacks:
Poisonous mist filled the air.
Curses enveloped Altair and her companions.
Massive blasts and shockwaves erupted continuously.
Yet all these attacks were effortlessly neutralized by Van Gogh.
Against the poisonous mist, Van Gogh painted a black "door" overhead, drawing it away instantly.
She absorbed every curse placed on her allies, pulling them into her own body.
And when faced with destructive energy beams or space-distorting shockwaves, Van Gogh conjured grotesque, warped paintings that nullified them completely.
Though they appeared as a tiny vessel adrift in a violent storm, they persisted—refusing to sink.
Clearly, the greatest credit belonged entirely to Van Gogh.
"Hehehe… Van Gogh shines brilliantly. Van Gogh is cool. Van Gogh is the MVP…"
"You can still laugh at a time like this? The curses you've absorbed have become visible to the naked eye. Is your body really okay?"
Blitz Talker's eyes betrayed deep concern. He'd personally experienced the horror of the curses, his mind refusing to revisit the unbearable agony. Yet Van Gogh had absorbed all four of their curses into her body, and now a thick, almost tangible black haze of malice surrounded her.
"Hehehe… Van Gogh is fine. For Van Gogh, these curses actually… make my power stronger… So, please rely on Van Gogh even more… I'll be happy… Ufufu…"
Though surrounded by suffocating malice, she laughed and spoke casually, as though what was instant death to Blitz Talker was merely a stimulating tonic for her.
Suddenly, a special message reached Meteora through her Book of a Thousand Miles, instantly revitalizing her.
"Van Gogh! It's coming!"
"Roger!"
At those words, Van Gogh's eyes glowed sharply. She swiftly raised a finger toward the towering tree-like structure, gathering a flash of crimson light.
"Hah!"
The crimson brilliance erupted, overwhelming the entire space—but the strike's power was disproportionate, loud thunder without rain, not even cutting a single vine. Van Gogh hadn't put much power into it.
Yet that blast seemed to signal Altair and Hoshikawa Hikayu. Upon seeing the crimson light, they immediately abandoned the vines, charging recklessly toward Shimazaki Yuna, ignoring all danger.
Was it foolishness to expose their backs so completely?
The Outer God didn't care, nor did the vines. Instantly, they whipped violently toward them.
Then—it appeared.
A flash of silver.
But calling it mere "light" was incorrect, for true light carried no such oppressive weight.
Yet its speed rivaled lightning itself!
Impossibly heavy, far surpassing sound, it pierced the air instantaneously, slashing the vine pursuing Altair to pieces.
Vines that took multiple strikes from Altair shattered in an instant.
But more vines rushed in, repairing instantly, encircling Altair and Hoshikawa.
Undeterred, the two pressed forward, trusting implicitly in the distant figure firing the arrows.
And he fired again, responding to their trust.
The arrows transformed into radiant meteors, ripping through the sky like shooting stars.
Impossible power—what target required such devastating arrows?
Instantly, all vines encircling Altair and Hoshikawa shattered, torn apart by the arrows' impossible trajectories.
Yet, sensing its own divinity in those attacks, the Outer God swiftly located their source.
Inside [Gigas Machina]'s cockpit, Kanoya Rui vomited massive amounts of blood, hemorrhaging from eyes, ears, and nose, losing 80% of his blood instantly. With control lost, [Gigas Machina] collapsed.
"Using my blessings against me—utter foolishness."
Though swiftly eliminating Kanoya, the Outer God was too late. Altair and Hoshikawa seized the chance, nearly reaching Yuna.
"I won't allow it."
More vines surged in a final strike.
Abruptly, Altair turned, confronting the vines as Hoshikawa pressed forward.
[The Ninerteenth Movement of Cosmos: Root Collapse]
A wave of pure annihilation radiated from Altair, vaporizing vines into nothingness, buying just enough time for Hoshikawa to reach Shimazaki Yuna.
"Yuna! I'll save you now!"
She stretched out her hand—
"Eh?"
Her eyes widened in shock.
Her hand bloomed into flowers. Her flesh turned to plants, rapidly consuming her arm, swiftly reaching her neck.
She lost sensation—her transformed hand now harbored murderous intent toward her!
Too bizarre!
Just as her own hand tried to kill her, Altair appeared, gripping Hoshikawa's shoulder.
[The Ninth Movement of Cosmos: Causal Replacement.]
The curse would turn anyone approaching the giant tree into plants—except one person…
"Time to switch."
With a gentle smile, Van Gogh stood before the giant tree, gently grasping Shimazaki Yuna's hand.
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T/N: i should cliffhang you guys