Chapter 155: Creation Engine, Working Hard to Repay
"You're right, but the spear tip has already ignited!"
The breeze rustled through her gray hair. The gray-haired girl raised her right arm, her spear blazing with fire, burning fiercely as if molten lava flowed within it.
"Heavenly Fire, unsheathe!"
With a fierce cry from Stelle, she stomped hard on the ground, spear in hand, and launched into a charge. She streaked across the icy, snowy landscape like a fiery meteor, leaving a trail of intense flames that triggered a series of explosions along the way.
Finally, she brutally pierced a round, bulky monster, injecting incredibly hot lava into its body.
FWOOSH!
Like a volcanic eruption, it gushed forth, forming a torrent of crimson flames that burst out, incinerating the ice-forged, massive body until nothing remained.
Her posture as she wielded the spear, her sparkling golden eyes—it was truly heroic and spirited, unmatched in grace and brilliance, a perfect display of an overpowered big shot, invincible against the Honkai's evils.
"Seriously, don't you have your own lines? Even if you're copying mine, at least put some thought into it, right? Wielding a Flaming Lance and shouting 'Heavenly Fire, unsheathe'? Do you even have a sheath for a flaming lance?!"
In the Fragmentum's restricted area, Caelus, twirling his yo-yo, looked discontentedly at his 'Stellaron spirit' (Stelle), then paused as if remembering something.
"Ugh, scratch that last question."
Stelle did have a sheath for a flaming lance, but it wasn't a sheath for her flaming lance; rather, it was a sheath that held Caelus's flaming lance.
"What do you mean, your lines?!"
The moment she spoke, snapping out of her 'act', her imperious aura, like an empress of flame surveying her domain, immediately shifted to that of a playful, arrogant girl. Stelle, one hand holding her spear, the other on her hip, retorted proudly:
Stelle's 'subconscious' vaguely remembered that those were the white-haired uncle's lines.
"What 'white-haired uncle'? Think carefully! Isn't it my voice you hear shouting that move in your memories?!" Caelus declared righteously.
Believe it or not, if he shouted it a few more times, they wouldn't even need to look for Old Yang; Welt would just show up, drawn by the sound!
After a moment of thought, Stelle tilted her head. Her fuzzy 'memory' indeed contained Caelus's voice, but Caelus and she both have gray hair!
Mm.
Stelle scratched her head in confusion.
"I don't care, whatever's yours is mine anyway!"
Stelle began to act shamelessly and tried to get a third party's support, earnestly holding her flaming lance and asking March 7th.
"What's wrong with me calling the Flaming Lance's fire 'Heavenly Fire'? Right, A-Qi?"
"That's true," March 7th nodded after serious thought.
Who cares what kind of fire it is, 'Heavenly Fire' just sounds cool!
"Senior A-Qi, Senior A-Qi, have you betrayed me again?!" Caelus's expression dramatically changed at her words, looking utterly betrayed by a trusted ally.
The three of them chatted and joked, playfully bickering as they headed towards Everwinter Hill. They didn't encounter many monsters on the way.
The Fragmentum across Jarilo-VI had shrunk due to Cocolia's previous absorption of Fragmentum energy, and the number and strength of Fragmentum monsters had decreased accordingly.
The path leading to Everwinter Hill had already been cleared, so under normal circumstances, they wouldn't encounter any Fragmentum monsters. However, Caelus and Stelle, searching for treasure chests, had chosen a path they'd never taken before.
"I think I know why Uncle Yang came here."
As they approached the battlefield, where the mountainous terrain had been almost completely altered, Caelus looked up at the somewhat dilapidated ruins.
"Caelus! It's all your fault!"
Stelle playfully thumped Caelus's chest, without using any force—after all, if she hurt him, she'd hurt too.
"The Creation Engine is a seven-hundred-year-old antique, couldn't you have been more careful and aimed your attacks at the Abominable Engine's main body?!"
"You have the nerve to lecture me? You were the one swinging your weapon the most excitedly!"
Caelus returned the gesture to Stelle, hitting her chest back, also without force.
By now, this level of intimate physical contact no longer made Stelle feel even a hint of shyness.
Even March 7th had mostly gotten used to these two's no-holds-barred sparring; what surprised her was that the Creation Engine, which had been blown apart into scattered scrap metal by the Super Energy Wielder, had actually been dug up.
It had been reassembled and looked almost completely repaired.
"So that's what happened."
March 7th's expression was thoughtful, mixed with a hint of amusement: "No wonder we couldn't find Uncle Yang! He's here playing with giant robots!"
Little March, of course, knew Uncle Yang's hobbies. Uncle Yang had told them stories about the Arahath.
Before, she hadn't fully understood Uncle Yang's fervent passion for mechs, but now, March 7th wholeheartedly approved.
Cool mechs are forever awesome!
However, in March 7th's opinion, the Creation Engine was far inferior to the Stormbringer she had piloted before; they weren't even on the same level.
After walking into the battlefield, which had almost turned into a flat plain, Caelus also saw two unexpected figures.
"Big Brother Caelus, Big Sister Stelle, Big Sister March 7th~!"
Little red-hooded Clara stood beside Svarog, barefoot in the snow, jumping up and down to wave and greet Caelus and the others.
"This child, why doesn't she know how to take care of her food?!" Stelle watched, utterly heartbroken, at the 'food-grade' little feet.
"Clara, are your feet cold? Do you need me to warm them up for you?" Caelus also asked with concern.
"Thank you, Big Brother Caelus, Clara's not cold." Clara didn't mind him, and with a slightly flushed face, she replied with a sweet, lovely smile, blooming like a flower.
You better genuinely want to help warm them up.
March 7th gave Caelus a sharp, warning glare, then looked curiously at the white-haired girl: "Clara, Svarog, why are you here?"
"A kind uncle invited us,"
Clara, having just received a head pat from Caelus, wore a soft, gentle expression, and explained in a delicate, ethereal voice:
"That uncle said Mr. Svarog could help him fix this big robot, and Clara wanted to help too, so we came together."
As a Secondary Authority, Caelus quickly understood the reason after a brief exchange with Svarog.
As a prototype monitoring robot created seven hundred years ago, Svarog possessed a wealth of data related to the Creation Engine. Based on this data, there was a way to repair the Creation Engine's broken or missing parts.
At that moment, Welt was next to a large, broken section [of the engine], standing on a suspended platform, a yellow hard hat with the words 'Safety' on it perched on his head, directing the automatons to repair the damaged parts.
Welt was utterly serious, so focused that he didn't even notice their arrival until the three of them ran up to greet him.
"What are you doing here?" Welt used his gravity manipulation to descend from the high-hanging wooden board.
"We came to see what Uncle Yang was busy with," March 7th said with a vibrant smile.
"So, Uncle Yang, can it be fixed?" Stelle asked with keen interest.
"No problem! I swear on my honor as a mech designer, I will definitely make the Creation Engine stand tall on the earth once more!"
Welt pushed up his glasses, their thin frames unable to conceal the determination shining within.
"However…"
Welt's tone shifted: "I've discovered that this mech, named the Creation Engine, wasn't designed with independent AI programming. Even if repaired, it lacks the key that can issue commands to it."
"The key…"
Caelus pinched his chin with his fingers, frowning slightly in thought for two seconds, then blinked: "I think I know."
"How do you know?!" March 7th exclaimed, wide-eyed.
Caelus wasn't surprised, though. While he hadn't read the entire story, he had seen fanfiction of the boss fight against Cocolia, and he remembered that after Stelle pulled out her Flaming Lance and awakened the Path of Preservation, the Creation Engine would 'flip' and become an ally.
However, because it had merged with the Abominable Engine to become the 'Creation Killer', the Creation Engine was no longer controllable by things like keys.
"Uncle Yang, let us help too!"
Stelle eagerly stepped forward, full of enthusiasm. Although it was more than a little inferior to the Super Energy Wielder, the Creation Engine was still a decent giant Gundam!
March 7th and Caelus expressed no objections; they both wanted to control a giant robot for fun.
The system even triggered a quest: 'Repair the Creation Engine', with a reward of 30 Water Crystals.
Donning yellow hard hats, the two gray-haired ones and one pink-haired one joined the mech repair team.
Time shifted to evening. Dusk slowly fell over the icy mountains.
In Rivet Town, whose reconstruction was nearing its end.
In the completely revamped Grand Guardian's office, Bronya was diligently handling official duties. Her workload, with military and political power now consolidated in her hands, was steadily increasing.
Belobog was currently in a state of rebuilding after devastation. Whether it was the reconnection between the Administrative District and the Underworld, land rezoning, or the completely new power structures and policies, she basically had no time to rest.
And that was with the help of Silver Wing, who acted as a one-person, one-team think tank.
After being busy for so long, even someone as resilient as Bronya couldn't help but feel utterly exhausted.
Just as she felt her eyelids growing heavy with sleep, a high-pitched, child-like voice suddenly sounded in her ear:
"Grand Guardian, you still have many things to handle. You can't rest just yet, oho~."
That voice, mimicking a certain mischievous child, startled Bronya awake. She then saw Silver Wing and Caelus looking at her.
"You're right, I can't rest yet."
Bronya shook her head sharply.
She silently admonished herself to learn more from Silver Wing. They were both working, yet Silver Wing wasn't tired, while she was yawning nonstop.
"Just kidding~"
"One core, one thread; of course, that can't compare to four cores, seven threads, ah~."
"The important matters are mostly handled. You need to rest. Don't forget there's the coronation ceremony later."
Silver Wing raised a hand and rested it on Bronya's shoulder. The two looked like identical twins with 99.9% similarity.
The new Grand Guardian's inauguration naturally required a grand ceremony and a speech.
Bronya and Caelus's marriage contract would be announced at the ceremony. Silver Wing was planning something big for the coronation speech.
Bronya looked at the mountain of documents piled on her desk.
Much of this was Silver Wing's achievement. Just as Silver Wing said, the urgent matters were nearing their end. Next, Belobog was about to usher in a brand-new era.
However, as a consequence, Bronya was now becoming increasingly muddled, as if all reason had been completely emptied from her mind.
She really needed to rest.
"Come on, I have a very efficient way to relax both body and mind."
Silver Wing, smiling slyly, took Bronya's hand.
With her head heavy and feeling completely drowsy, Bronya let 'herself' lead her.
She entered the familiar yet unfamiliar villa estate, and muddle-headedly followed into a room, until, after shedding the silver robe and battle attire of the Grand Guardian, she stepped into the steaming artificial hot spring.
The warm, slightly hot water soothed her pores, enough to make Bronya's long-held, extremely tired and tense spirit relax at light speed. She almost completely collapsed, melting into the hot spring.
With her eyes closed, Bronya quietly conversed with 'herself'.
"You've never been to a hot spring before? It's a hot spring, you know."
Silver Wing sat beside Bronya, and said with a teasing smirk: "Don't you feel bad about Caelus? Then you'd better work hard later."
"Heh." Bronya nodded groggily, then muttered, "Huh?"
It took a dozen or so seconds for her brain, now relaxed after its extreme fatigue and tension, to process what was said. Bronya suddenly opened her eyes.
What did bathing in a hot spring have to do with Caelus?
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