The illusory labyrinth realm Huiyan had conjured was blown apart the very moment Yue'er drove Ruby into that surge of magical power. Every battle that followed took place in the fully real Fyxestroll Garden's Grotto-Heaven.
So — repairs were worth making, if they could be made.
It was easy enough, after all.
A rainbow-colored beam of light spread like silk ribbons across the sky. Scorched earth knit itself back together, azure brick-patterned tiles mending of their own accord. Ice-cracked eaves and glazed-tile shards reassembled into whole, upturned corners. Wisteria trellises, withered and charred by the lingering miasma of the DanteMon, revived as though time were flowing in reverse.
When the last courtyard wall was restored by that prismatic glow, the Color Timer on Goss's chest abruptly went dark. The blue-silver body shimmered, dissolved into countless particles of light, and scattered — sweeping away the last of the lingering dark clouds.
A crystal-clear night sky full of stars was revealed.
Stelle and Caelus' silhouettes materialized from mid-air. Hand in hand, they tumbled down through the rain of light-dust.
"YEAH~! That felt incredible! Best shot I've ever fired!"
Like Ice Emperor Haibodong after a top-tier battle, riding high on a Refreshing Spirit, Stelle's little hands patted Caelus hard on the shoulder.
Last time, when she'd transformed into Tiga to fight Phantylia, she honestly hadn't gotten enough out of it. Blowing through lesser mobs with a transformation device wasn't worth the expense. Finally — finally — an enemy worthy of her going all out.
Sure, the cost was that her already-shrinking little treasury had shrunk even further. But Crystals were made to be spent at moments like this!
"By the way — for a classic scene like this, shouldn't you be the gentleman and carry me, Caelus-cub? You know, the princess-carry."
The gray-haired girl's expression flatlined into dead-fish eyes as she turned sideways to look at the younger brother who had his arms wrapped around her smooth swan neck, dangling off her.
"Then you carry me princess-style," Caelus said. "I don't mind."
His arms tightened around her neck. Like a kid on a swing, Caelus lifted both legs and tucked them into the crook of her arms.
"Who told you to fire off every last drop of energy? I have absolutely nothing left in my body right now — no magical power to summon Sister Wind for flight."
"Your physical constitution is better than mine. Shouldn't you be my landing cushion?"
Caelus looked at the Stellaron spirit's flawlessly smooth cheek and declared this with complete righteousness.
"The last of the energy was YOUR doing and you know it!"
Stelle pried his hands off by sheer force, wrapped her own slender fingers around his neck, and swung her legs up in the exact same fashion — sliding those ice-cool, silk-smooth black stockings and warm, soft, beautiful legs right into the crook of his arms.
"As your big sister, it is your duty as little brother to protect me~"
Stelle put on the air of dignified grace and spoke with the weight of the world behind every word.
The Galactic Succubus side of her was on full display.
"I'm your DAD!"
Faced with the succubus lady's wiles, Caelus raised a single middle finger and gave her the simplest, most grounded answer with a light laugh.
"Freeload off someone and then turn on them the moment you're done, huh? Is that any way to talk to your father?"
Stelle rolled up her sleeve and reached over to tickle the younger brother. Caelus dropped those legs that could entertain someone for a hundred years, and both their palms met in mid-air with a smack — then were pushed down by mutual resistance.
Seeing that he actually dared fight back, Stelle got even more into it. Both hands working in alternation, faster and faster.
Caelus refused to be outdone and reached over to retaliate. The two of them escalated, faster and faster.
"Hehehe~ Brother Caelus, Stelle — you two look just like a pair of adorable raccoons wrestling~!"
The night sky burst open with a vivid blaze of butterfly-wing arcs in crimson, violet, and gold. Yue'er's pink-violet skirt billowed and churned. Iridescent butterfly wings scattered glittering 'scale-dust' like a fairytale sprite.
"Catch you both~!"
The magical girl — the very pinnacle of cuteness — called out in cheerful delight.
The flutter of butterfly wings kicked up a rainbow-hued wave of air, carving a trail of brilliant color across the night sky — as though the Milky Way had been kneaded into streamers and flung into the heavens.
"Left-and-right-embrace time~!"
Yue'er's left arm hooked around Stelle's shoulders and her right arm wrapped around Caelus's waist. The butterfly wings cushioned them both like silk padding.
"Yue'er — how come Caelus-cub gets to be 'Brother,' but you just call me by name? Shouldn't I be 'Sister'?"
Stelle was a little put out.
Yue'er flicked Stelle's forehead with indulgent, playful affection and giggled. "I'm a fusion of March 7th, you know~ Stelle, do you really think you come across as a big sister in March 7th's eyes?"
"What about him, then? Don't tell me Ah Qi actually thinks of Caelus-cub as a big brother?"
Stelle tilted her head, one eyebrow dropped low in exaggerated bafflement.
"For Seele, Brother Caelus is simply Brother Caelus~!"
Yue'er gave a cute tilt of her own head and a mischievous wink.
Aside from 'White' Seele, the fusion components also included Caelus's Seele — Yue'er honestly wouldn't mind calling Caelus 'Darling' or 'My Honey~' or something even more intimate.
It was just that the shyness inherited from March 7th and Seele made those words slightly hard to get out. But with the fusion state contaminated by the narcissism virus, what resistance those two still had was thinner than paper.
"Seele~ has Sister ever been anything but good to you?"
Stelle squeezed out a shimmer of tearful light in her eyes and adopted a look of profound, wronged sorrow. One fair hand pressed lightly to her chest; she stretched her neck out with aggrieved restraint:
"Have you forgotten the trials and hardships of Sister carrying you to rank up in 'Starry Sea: Love and Blade'?"
Yue'er blinked her blue-violet crystal eyes. "But… in Seele's memory, it was Silver Wolf who duo-queued with her…?"
Stelle instantly short-circuited. Then, as if she hadn't heard a word, she threw an arm around Yue'er's shoulder and drew a wildly dramatic arc in the air with one hand:
"To buy you that black-pepper jerky from that famous Xianzhou roadside BBQ stall, I queued for three hours!"
"And in Belobog's snowfields, I waded through a blizzard to bring you ten orders of hot sand-baked potato flatbreads!"
Her voice climbed sharply. Stelle's fingertip hovered, miming the wiping of nonexistent tears. "You were cradling those flatbreads and crying and saying 'Sister Stelle is the best!' — have you really forgotten all of that?"
"Oh, and there was that time you got lost on the Xianzhou…"
"Don't even try, Yue'er won't buy it — even Ah Qi wouldn't believe this fabricated history," Caelus said, one palm settling over the small hand Yue'er had around his waist. Her skin felt like the finest gelatin — fine, soft, and silky smooth.
"Also — the one who got lost on the Xianzhou was you. And in the end, it was Seele who took your hand and led you back."
Stelle had been about to argue her case further, but a warm, jade-smooth sensation transmitted through her hand — the shared perception…
Her eyes sharpened immediately, locking onto the hand Caelus had placed over Yue'er's.
Something was off.
With her several fusion experiences under her belt, she naturally understood — post-fusion, personality is dictated by the base components. Stelle had no trouble believing both Ah Qi and Seele were fond of Caelus-cub.
But to not feel even a trace of embarrassment under these circumstances? That simply didn't fit either of their personalities, no matter how she thought about it.
Caelus's brow lifted slightly. Hachi-Stelle, this one — her instincts were surprisingly sharp at certain moments.
Yue'er giggled and fluttered her butterfly wings:
"Stelle is so cute~ But whether it's true or 'fabricated history,' Seele definitely remembers all the kindness Sister Stelle has shown her! — That's Yue'er saying it on Seele's behalf."
Though — that said — sometimes Seele felt Stelle was even more childish than she was. After all, Seele would never mutter to herself at a potted plant and give the leaves names.
"Next time… put some logic into the story, and Yue'er will believe you're the big sister~"
The corner of Yue'er's mouth curved into the quirky, impish expression born from the fusion of March 7th's and Seele's personalities. She flapped her butterfly wings and sent all three of them spinning in a lazy spiral through the air.
Then — Stelle blinked in blank confusion. She'd been let go.
Mid-shriek, Stelle went into a ten-meter low-altitude freefall and hit the ground. For a Stellaron spirit's constitution, it barely even registered as a tap.
"Mm."
A faint flush crept up Yue'er's pretty face. She made the adorable motion of 'sneaking a peek,' glancing with those eyes that seemed to speak on their own toward the crowd now hurrying over from the distance.
"No one to interrupt us now~"
A rosy blush diffused across her small face. Yue'er patted the full, delicate curves of her chest with one soft hand, took a gentle deep breath as if steadying herself, and gave herself a little mental pep talk.
The sight was so endearing that even Caelus — whose resistance to beautiful girls was approaching maximum capacity — felt a distinct flutter.
"Ahh~ ahh~ A maiden's first flush of love, it truly is…"
Ruby, as if she'd gulped a glass of something intoxicating, went completely soft all along her entire staff length — writhing and bending back and forth like an electrocuted snake, twisting into all manner of chaotic, irregular shapes.
"Don't say another word, Ruby."
Before she even finished speaking, Yue'er flung the magical staff away.
She waved her butterfly wings — vast multiples larger than her petite frame — and wrapped herself and Caelus together into a spherical cocoon of iridescent wing. Whatever was happening inside was invisible to the outside world.
"Insufferable Caelus-cub!"
Stelle lay spread-eagle on the ground, glaring up at the colorful sphere of butterfly wings gathered in the sky above, grinding her teeth.
Others might not be able to see inside — but she shared a perception with Caelus. Did she really not know?
That was Yue'er's own warmth and butterfly fragrance. The sweet, honeyed taste of golden nectar. And then, going even further… mm.
"Forget it. Same thing either way."
Stelle instantly dropped her grievances. Involuntarily, her tongue curled as if she were tangled up in something.
"What's happening with them?"
Haxxor Bunny pointed at the butterfly-wing sphere slowly drifting downward at the gentle pace of falling cherry blossoms, and looked over at Stelle still lying on the ground.
"Mm…"
Stelle worked her jaw thoughtfully, considered for a moment, and offered an answer: "Mana restoration."
"Mana restoration?"
"Yue'er burned through a lot of magical power earlier. Caelus-cub is replenishing it for her."
Stelle said this with a completely straight face.
"Ah, I see."
She said that — but Haxxor Bunny couldn't shake the feeling that there was something heavy pressing down on top of her head.
The sphere touched the ground. The butterfly wings did not unfurl — they dissolved directly into particles, revealing Caelus and Yue'er within.
"Are you both alright?"
Haxxor Bunny asked with concern.
They both looked perfectly fine. It was just that Yue'er's face was a little flushed, the butterfly-shaped ribbon on her chest slightly disheveled, and her eyes shimmering with a liquid, glittering light — which, paired with that adorable face of hers…
Yue'er's form gradually overlapped with Seele's. Haxxor Bunny felt as though she were about to melt.
"We're fine~"
Yue'er lightly pursed her cherry lips, and smiled with bewitching sweetness.
"That all of you are safe and sound shows the Ten-Lords Commission's fortune has not run dry today."
Xueyi gave Stelle, Caelus, and Yue'er a gentle bow. "Many thanks to all of you for putting down this disaster that fell on us from nowhere. Xueyi extends the Ten-Lords Commission's gratitude."
"Sister, are you alright? Were any of your components damaged?"
The great judge Hanyan's first act upon rushing over was to check on her big sister.
"I am unharmed."
Xueyi shook her head, then turned to instruct her younger sister: "Nevertheless, this matter warrants thorough investigation — how did that demon appear on the Xianzhou? There may be a hidden hand behind all this, seeking to bring harm to the people of the Xianzhou. The Ten-Lords Commission will get to the bottom of it."
At those words, Caelus and Yue'er's expressions flickered — just for an instant, before smoothing over.
"It was obviously Phantylia! Heh heh heh!"
Caelus pointed at the sky, righteous indignation in full effect.
"Lord Ravager's desire to destroy the Xianzhou is undying. She lured a demon from beyond the boundaries, released it onto the Xianzhou, and schemed to throw Luofu into chaos."
Xueyi inclined her head. When her brow lifted slightly, each word fell like ink on paper: "That is my assessment as well."
Who else but Lord Ravager Phantylia would do such a thing?
Let alone Xueyi — even Jing Yuan, sitting in the Seat of Divine Foresight, had concluded after brief reflection that Phantylia was the culprit behind this incident.
Sending that demon into the interior of the Xianzhou without a sound — only an Emanator-level being could pull that off.
But Phantylia had taken Moonscar's Sword God strike full on. She shouldn't have recovered this quickly, should she?
Cooperation with other Lord Ravagers? Or a contingency laid in advance?
Jing Yuan's lion eyes half-closed as he sank into contemplation.
"Lady Xueyi, what about our assignment?"
Huo Huo meekly spoke up — they had originally come to suppress and contain the Heliobus, but now…
"Little sister — how does it stand on your end?"
Xueyi looked toward Hanyan and asked.
"The majority of the Heliobus were drawn into the illusory labyrinth realm. Very few escaped into the outside, and those have been almost entirely suppressed."
Hanyan raised the Yue-Hiding Gourd in her hand.
The possibility of some having slipped out into the civilian population couldn't be ruled out.
As for the Heliobus tainted by the demon's darkness — the Form-Binding Warding Array was no longer needed, because…
"Bronie, Stelle — let's go. Round up all the Heliobus Yue'er froze, and I'll show you what an Alchemy Chef can do!"
Not a shred of technique — all raw power and science!
Xueyi opened her mouth, but said nothing. It was a little brutal, yes — but if Stelle and Caelus hadn't been here, the Ten-Lords Commission would very likely have been wiped out to the last, herself included.
Having one's soul tainted by that kind of darkness — even a new body might not be enough to scrub it clean.
Besides, the Xianzhou had long wanted to dispose of the Heliobus. They simply hadn't had the means. If the Xianzhou's Trailblazer could refine these abominations, the Ten-Lords Commission could only welcome it.
Tail, standing off to the side, sucked in a sharp breath upon hearing this. "I knew you people were ruthless. Didn't realize you were this ruthless."
"Mm? What — you want to try and stop us?"
Fuyan trembled, not with emotion.
Tail shuddered as well. "Wouldn't dare! Wouldn't dare. You all have fun with it — whatever you want to do, Tail supports you completely. Please, after you! Please, after you!"
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