Chapter 138: Alexander's Guardian
"Huh?"
"Caelus?"
Stelle and March 7th were stunned, looking at Caelus as if he were being waited on by the world's most professional and loyal team of nannies. Dan Heng's expression shifted slightly, his eyes reflecting a multitude of thoughts.
"After the battle, everyone must be hungry, right? Heh, freshly baked flatbread, eat it while it's hot."
With a thought, Caelus had the Black Shadow Ninjas, still bowing, respectfully present the food to everyone.
"Oh, oh, then... thank you?"
After hesitating for a few seconds—her stomach rumbling and the tempting aroma wafting into her nostrils with the warm steam, making her appetite soar—March 7th took the flatbread from the Black Shadow Ninja's hand and thanked him.
The pink-haired girl chewed rapidly like a hungry little squirrel.
"You're welcome," Caelus said, as he enjoyed the Black Shadow Ninja's massage service and his own meal.
"March, don't mind these things. They're not real living beings, just existences similar to a wizard's familiars."
"Wizards?" Welt looked surprised at his words.
Dan Heng, having seen the Candy Man and the Magic Mech, quickly accepted this concept.
"Where'd you get 'em?" Stelle asked, her words muffled by a mouthful of flatbread.
"I bought them, of course~!"
Though he could have had the Black Shadow Soldiers "borrow" them like Uncle Long, Caelus was a person who had received the highest moral praise. How could he possibly do something so immoral?
"Everyone, rejoice~!"
Facing the Astral Express crew, Caelus struck Otto's pose, raising both hands high and proclaiming loudly: "The new king of the Black Shadow Army has been born! This is the strongest, most versatile, most convenient army in the whole world!"
Hearing Caelus's passionate, almost chanted pronouncement, March 7th initially thought he was just having one of his usual fits. But when she heard his next sentence, she abruptly lifted her head.
"Stelle, March, with the Black Shadow Army, we won't have to do train chores ever again!"
March 7th instantly perked up, so excited she nearly choked.
"Caelus, you mean...?"
Stelle threw her head back, forcefully swallowing the flatbread in her mouth. Her golden eyes almost emitted tangible light.
"Indeed! From now on, all cleaning duty on the Express will be handled by the Black Shadow Soldiers under my throne!"
Caelus's face was full of arrogance, letting out an unrestrained, boastful laugh—exactly like a heinous villain from a movie.
"Yay! Caelus, I love you!"
March 7th excitedly raised her pink fists, bouncing up and down like a nimble kitten. With a radiant smile, she hugged Caelus tightly.
No more chores ever again!
Welt, having understood about the Black Shadow Ninjas after Dan Heng's explanation, was now silent alongside Dan Heng.
An immortal shadow army used for cleaning?
One could only say, it fit Caelus's way of thinking.
"Yay! I can be lazy and sleep now!"
Stelle was even more excited than March 7th; she hugged Caelus and even wanted to take a bite, but seeing the mask on Caelus's face, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
However, Stelle quickly discovered the crucial detail.
"I want to be a Black Shadow King too, Caelus! Let me play with it!"
Stelle unceremoniously reached out to snatch the mask, grabbing it by both sides and pulling hard.
To Stelle, this mask wasn't just ugly anymore; it was completely unfitting for the Galaxy Beauty she was. But the ability to summon and command Black Shadow Ninjas was just too enticing!
Under its allure, 'ugly' transformed into 'ugly-cute'!
"Why is this wretched mask stuck so tight?"
With a strong pull, Stelle felt like her face was being stretched. It didn't hurt much, but it was uncomfortable, so she immediately eased up.
"Don't mess around, you can't use it." Caelus raised a hand, pressed Stelle's soft cheek, and pushed her away.
"Why?" Stelle puffed up her cheeks and kneaded Caelus's face forcefully.
She and Caelus were the same person! Why could Caelus use it and she couldn't? Caelus definitely just didn't want her to play!
"Why do you think Cocolia turned out that way?"
"Cocolia... wasn't she corrupted by the Stellaron?" March 7th asked, a little uncertainly.
"That was just one reason."
"Could it be related to this mask?" Dan Heng's expression stirred slightly.
"Precisely. Inside the mask is sealed the Black Shadow Army's true emperor. Once someone wears it, the Shadow King within the mask will influence the wearer."
Caelus tapped his face with a finger: "Normally, the wearer would eventually be possessed by the Shadow King. But it was still weaker than the Stellaron, so it couldn't fully possess Cocolia's body. Instead, it ignited the darkness and negative emotions within Cocolia, turning her into a true demon."
"It's that dangerous?! Why are you still wearing it?!"
March 7th was startled, quickly raising her hand to join Stelle in trying to pull the mask off Caelus's face.
"Relax, relax, I have a way to deal with it. It can't affect me, but you two can't."
Caelus didn't wear the Tarakudo Mask directly. Between the mask and his face was another layer, Caelus's own Joy Mask.
A special Persona Mask. Unless Caelus actively willed it to manifest, it wouldn't normally appear externally.
The method to resist the corruption of darkness and its influence on one's mind was simple, the same principle as resisting Stellaron consciousness pollution.
Create a false personality as a shield. Let it get polluted all you want, then destroy the polluted personality and create a new one to replace it.
The only thing that couldn't quite be called a drawback was that to keep the Black Shadow Army active, he had to constantly wear the mask.
For example, the Black Shadow Ninjas Caelus had just summoned to find Clow Cards were currently searching through Belobog City. If he took off the mask now, those Black Shadow Soldiers would stop moving and return to the shadows.
And this thing couldn't be made invisible like the Persona Mask. Wearing it all the time was really ugly.
"I see." Dan Heng nodded lightly.
Caelus had already shown an ability to ignore Stellaron whispers during their earlier assault, so Dan Heng wasn't surprised.
"As long as you can manage it." Welt didn't think Caelus was the type to willingly step into a trap he knew about.
The small hand kneading Caelus's face stopped. Stelle's exasperated yet delicate face suddenly puffed up like a bun, with a hint of melancholy.
Darn it!
They were the same person, so why didn't she have the ability to ignore mental influence?
Stelle was unhappy. Suddenly, she sensed something. She put her hands on her hips, looking down at her shadow like a domineering empress.
"Come out!"
As her words fell, a Black Shadow Ninja materialized.
"Huh? Stelle can too?" March 7th looked surprised.
Caelus even paused, carefully sensing the mask's power, deep in thought: "After all, we are one person."
If the Stellaron could transmit the mask's power to Cocolia through their mental connection, then with Stelle and Caelus's even closer relationship, Stelle could naturally also call upon it.
March 7th propped her chin on her small hand, observing the Black Shadow summoned by Stelle: "But, why do I feel like it's a bit different from the ninjas before?"
It looked a bit stiff.
Subsequently, Stelle began giving commands, confirming March 7th's words.
Stelle could leverage their "being one person" connection to use the mask's power. However, the summoned ninjas were less intelligent than those Caelus summoned, and their numbers were limited.
The good news was that Caelus could help Stelle block the mask's mental corruption.
"Hehe~! I'm the Black Shadow Queen now!"
A cheerful smile quickly reappeared on Stelle's delicate face. Even with a few flaws, being able to play was great!
After eating their fill, the Express crew split up.
Seele had already gone to the Underworld with the other Seele some time ago.
Dan Heng took Welt to familiarize himself with Belobog and see if there were any places they could help.
Stelle, Caelus, and March 7th, meanwhile, began their mischief, scavenging trash cans and treasure chests in the Overworld.
"Waaah! My trash can! My treasure chest!"
Stelle hugged a trash can damaged in the battle, shedding noodle-like tears, utterly heartbroken.
"Ugh, a miscalculation." Caelus stomped his foot in regret.
The battle between the Black Shadow Ninjas and the Silvermane Guards, along with the chaos in the city, had led to many trash cans meeting their demise. Though he didn't know how many treasure chests were lost within them, even losing one pained him!
Even March 7th showed a look of pity. Although she couldn't see treasure chests or crystals, she had come to believe in the existence of crystals—good stuff that could be exchanged for cool mechs!
At the same time, at Qlipoth Fort's Administrative Hall.
Around the circular high platform, behind the Grand Guardian's desk, stood two nearly identical silver-haired girls. Their resemblance was so striking that even identical twins would struggle to match it.
With a pale hand, Bronya held a stack of documents, flipping through them one by one, then spreading them all out on the desk. Her eagerness was easily discernible from her gestures.
"Abolishing noble land ownership and private mining rights, abolishing noble judicial privileges..."
"Only honorary titles retained, almost all real power stripped away..."
"All this... you did this?!"
Even the usually calm Bronya couldn't help but tremble at the lips with excitement. Her heart pounded, and her expression was tense and shocked.
Policies that eliminated the noble class and centralized power were undoubtedly hugely beneficial for all of Belobog.
But even her aggressive and radical mother hadn't dared to go this far, otherwise, she would have faced a frantic backlash from the entire noble bloc—a force even the Grand Guardian couldn't ignore!
If forcefully implemented, it would have plunged all of Belobog into turmoil!
But now, these decrees were already being implemented!
"Those great noble families, they didn't... do anything to you, did they?" Bronya looked at the silver-haired girl beside her, who wore an elegant smile, asking with concern.
She was afraid the nobles would band together to overthrow or even assassinate her parallel self.
"Great noble families? Are there still any 'great' nobles?"
Silver Wing pointed to the next document. Bronya turned to look, and her eyes widened even further.
"K-killed them all?!"
"No, the sensible ones survived," Silver Wing replied with a light, playful tone that left Bronya unsure what expression to make.
She had just wanted to ask, with such radical measures, wasn't she afraid Belobog would fall into turmoil?
But she quickly realized: what noble could stir up more city turmoil than a "Guardian's successor" raising a rebellion?
Seizing this opportunity, it was the perfect time to eliminate the noble class!
Bronya's breathing grew increasingly rapid. When she saw the subsequent documents, her face flushed even more with excitement.
"These! Where did all these things come from?!"
Silver Wing glanced at the blueprints for electrical equipment and the crops cultivated under extreme cold conditions. "Oh, these? I got them from Caelus."
"Caelus..." Bronya remembered the mushrooms in the Underworld, her silver eyes shimmering. "Caelus gave them to you?"
"More like I bought them."
"Bought? Where did you get the money?"
Bronya was confused. Unless Silver Wing had sold all of Belobog, it would be impossible to gather that much.
A thought flashed, and Bronya's expression changed. Silver Wing couldn't have actually...
"Don't worry, I'm here to help you, not sell you out."
A hint of a smile flickered in her pink-silver eyes, and the corner of Silver Wing's mouth curved upwards: "As for the money, you can just owe it for now."
"That's how it is." Bronya nodded.
Caelus had helped Belobog far, far too much. If she continued to accept his favors, Bronya truly didn't know what to do.
"Ah, this is the patent fee amount."
Silver Wing took out a device and projected a document. It was the patent fee, calculated by professionals, required for cultivating the crops at Belobog's current scale.
"This...!"
Seeing the long string of zeros, Bronya couldn't help but gape, her face turning somewhat pale.
She knew from ancient texts that "Credits" were interstellar currency, but Belobog, isolated for seven hundred years, had long since deviated from the Credit system!
A huge mountain immediately weighed down on Bronya's heart, the pressure directly exceeding that of Syrian President Assad, who daily sought international support.
"Don't worry, I've already helped you pay off a part of it."
"?" Bronya was confused.
You said you didn't have money?
"No money? Then pay with your body~!"
A single, light, cloud-like sentence, yet it echoed continuously in Bronya's mind, striking her like lightning and leaving her frozen in place.
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