"Looks like we're about to thrash the Flame Reaver."
In the live stream, Little Bear inexplicably started to feel a bit excited.
Under normal circumstances, Little Bear might have been somewhat intimidated by the Flame Reaver.
But let's not forget, our team has a "Little Physician" and "Little Researcher" who need Trianne's "protection." What's there to fear from this Flame Reaver?
Little Bear simply refused to believe that this Flame Reaver could be stronger than Herta and Lumina.
Even if you're pretty damn strong, maybe a bit stronger than Herta, could you possibly be stronger than Lumina?
He was just waiting for Lumina to slap the Flame Reaver into oblivion with a single palm strike.
"Let me see what this Flame Reaver is really made of!" Although this power wasn't his own, with Lumina right beside him, what was wrong with Little Bear borrowing her might to act tough?
Absolutely nothing.
Controlling his in-game character, he continued forward, heading toward the golden marker.
"The Luminary Throne is just ahead..." After using a device to reach another platform and seeing the ground littered with Black Tide corpses, Castorice took a deep breath and alerted the others.
Castorice could now perceive it, the faint aura of "death" emanating from the Luminary Throne.
"Everyone, please be careful and protect yourselves." With danger so close, Castorice had to maintain maximum caution at all times.
"Little Sister Castorice, and... Little Sister Trianne, you must protect me and Herta well." Hearing Castorice's words, Lumina smiled and hummed softly.
"Of course, Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta! The great Trianne will protect you both." Trianne placed her hands on her hips, a bright smile on her face, her energetic demeanor slightly lightening the tense atmosphere.
In response, Lumina simply smiled and nodded without saying anything.
Seeing that Castorice's expression remained unchanged, Lumina felt a bit bored. She briefly used her perception to observe the Black-Robed Swordsman on the Luminary Throne. Seeing that he had completely given up struggling and was waiting for his restraints to be released, Lumina chuckled inwardly.
Leaning close to Herta's ear, she whispered, "Herta, Herta, you can release the power restraining that Black-Robed Swordsman now."
"So I'm just a tool to you, huh?"
"Order me around when you need me, then ignore me when you don't?"
Herta crossed her arms and let out a cold snort.
She was extremely annoyed that Lumina was treating her like a mere tool.
Still, she did as Lumina said and withdrew the power restraining the Black-Robed Swordsman.
Well... to be precise, it wasn't exactly "power."
The method used to restrain the Black-Robed Swordsman was the effect of one of Herta's Curios.
This Curio could unconditionally restrain anything weaker than its own power. Simply put, it had absolute restraining ability against any existence below Emanator-Class energy levels.
Madam Herta knew what she was thinking, but unfortunately, Lumina's energy surpassed the Emanator-Class. This Curio had no effect on her.
So... could Lumina just go crazy for once and pretend to be restrained by her?
Herta began to indulge in some wishful fantasies.
Even if those fantasies might never come true.
"Little Herta, stop daydreaming. Focus on the battle ahead." Seeing Herta lost in thought, her expression unreadable, Lumina couldn't help but smile.
Though Lumina didn't know what Herta was thinking, she was certain it had something to do with her.
After all, she had just treated Herta like a tool. Based on Lumina's understanding of Herta, she was probably plotting how to get revenge for being used.
But Lumina wanted to say, "Little Herta, if you want revenge, you'll need to train for tens of thousands of years first."
As for whether she could get revenge after tens of thousands of years...
Lumina really wanted to add:
"Just kidding! Even tens of thousands of years multiplied by tens of thousands more wouldn't be enough for you to get revenge on me~"
Though Lumina desperately wanted to say this out loud, right into Herta's ear, she reconsidered.
If she crushed Herta's hopes from the very beginning, wouldn't she miss out on a lot of fun later on?
Therefore, to preserve this path for future amusement from Herta, Lumina refrained from cruelly saying those words that would have plunged Herta into despair.
And then have her completely give up.
If Herta gave up, where else would Lumina find such entertainment?
This was what Lumina thought. Herta was the first person to express her feelings so openly and without hiding her intentions.
So, Lumina certainly wouldn't let her give up so easily.
This woman had successfully captured Lumina's attention.
Putting those thoughts aside, with the "great battle" looming, Lumina had to temporarily abandon such romantic notions and "seriously" prepare for the impending storm.
"Hmph." After Lumina's thoughts returned to the present, Herta snorted coldly again.
She no longer looked at Lumina, instead turning her gaze toward the path leading to the Luminary Throne.
No matter what schemes Lumina was plotting, Herta would remain steadfast in her own convictions.
"Ah, this..." Just as Lumina and Herta finished sorting their thoughts and came back to their senses, Mem's mood suddenly sank as she stared at the Luminary Throne at the end of the passage before them.
"What's wrong, Mem?"
"The memories here... their scent is so strong..." Mem placed her hands on her hips, her expression slightly downcast and solemn. "This is the scent of grass, sand, and the scorching sun."
Swoosh—
Just as Mem finished speaking, the power of time suddenly manifested before them.
A memory remnant of a man appeared.
"Professor Anaxa..." Even in this memory form, and without uttering a single word, Castorice recognized the man's identity at a glance.
They exchanged glances, nodded in understanding, and then stepped forward, walking down the path toward the Luminary Throne.
"Heh... My eyes can't see anymore." After they had walked some distance, Anaxa's Memory Crystal appeared before them again.
His voice was weak. He had one hand on his hip and the other covering his eyes.
From his words, it was clear that his condition was already quite dire.
His legs trembled slightly, as if he would collapse to the ground at any moment and pass out completely...
But the distance to the Luminary Throne was still quite long.
For Anaxa, who seemed on the verge of collapsing and fainting on the path, could he really keep going?
As they continued forward, Anaxa's Memory Crystal appeared once more.
This time, they were nearing the platform where the Luminary Throne stood.
"It doesn't matter... I just need to place this body into the Array Core..."
Anaxa mustered all his strength, his steps heavy as he forced himself forward, one foot after another.
He drew closer and closer to the Luminary Throne.
"For Amphoreus, die with me, Titan."
When the Luminary Throne came into Anaxa's view, he burst out laughing.
It was a crazed smile; he seemed about to make a reckless decision.
"Professor Anaxa..."
Anaxa's voice echoed in Castorice's ears again and again, causing her to press her lips tightly together.
Though she hadn't witnessed these events firsthand, just seeing Professor Anaxa's lingering Memory Shards was enough to make Castorice feel distressed and heartbroken.
When the pain reaches a level that cannot be described by any words, it begins to spread, to infect...
And the pain Anaxa endured at that time had clearly reached this level.
Through the Memory Shard, it vividly infected Castorice.
Making her feel the same indescribable pain as Anaxa...
But this was no time to dwell on such things.
Arriving at the Luminary Throne, the group saw a Black-Robed Swordsman standing before the Throne, his back to them.
"Everyone, be careful."
Castorice could feel an extremely dense aura of Death emanating from the Black-Robed Swordsman before them.
Just how many people must one kill to accumulate such a dense aura... Castorice couldn't even imagine.
"Who's that guy in the black robe?" Trianne, not yet realizing the gravity of the situation, asked with confusion as she looked at the Black-Robed Swordsman.
But when Mem saw the Black-Robed Swordsman, her entire body tensed up instantly.
She quickly said, "This person, it... it's the source of that scent, that memory from before... No, it... it's the memory itself!"
"Slaughter, Death, and Destruction..."
Mem whispered softly.
"So, Lumina, should we just watch and intimidate it, or should we act directly, capture it, and give it a thorough interrogation?"
While Castorice and the others were talking, Lumina and Herta had also begun a conversation.
"Hmm... Let's just watch and give her a little bit of intimidation." After a moment of thought, Lumina reached a conclusion.
It wasn't that Lumina wanted to see the beautiful girls get slashed a few times by the Black-Robed Swordsman.
It was simply that if Lumina or Herta acted and instantly defeated the Black-Robed Swordsman, wouldn't the Players lose a Boss?
For the Players' sake, Lumina decided it was best to watch from the sidelines.
Besides, with her present, the Black-Robed Swordsman couldn't actually harm Castorice and the others.
"Alright, fine." Herta nodded without saying much more.
Her gaze fell on the Black-Robed Swordsman before them, and she seemed lost in thought, as if pondering something.
"Herta, what's wrong? Did you figure something out?" Seeing Herta's expression, Lumina asked curiously.
"Hmm..." Herta hummed softly, continuing to think for a moment before raising her head, her gaze landing on Lumina's face with extreme seriousness.
She asked Lumina seriously, "Lumina, didn't you take the Black Robe off him?"
"How come he's wearing a Black Robe again now?"
Herta glanced at the Black-Robed Swordsman, who was currently wrapped tightly in a Black Robe, a hint of confusion appearing on her delicate face.
"..."
Hearing Herta's words, Lumina's small mouth fell slightly open, and she froze in place.
She seemed completely caught off guard that Herta would even ponder such a thing.
A member of the Genius Society, an Emanator of Erudition, actually puzzling over where his Black Robe came from—this was something Lumina had never expected.
Hey! Yokai, you're not Herta! Who are you?!
Get out of my Herta's body right now, or don't blame me for getting rough!
Lumina mentally performed an exorcism on Herta for a moment before, just like Herta, turning her gaze to the Black-Robed Swordsman.
"Hmm..." She stared at him, thinking for a moment.
"Indeed, that is a question worth considering."
Lumina nodded, and after just a brief glance, she too became lost in thought over the problem.
"Little Herta, look, his Black Robe is still right here in my hands."
Lumina held the Black Robe she had yanked off the Black-Robed Swordsman and dangled it in front of Herta, showing that his robe was indeed still in her possession and hadn't somehow returned to the Black-Robed Swordsman's body.
"Hmm... so that means," Herta understood instantly upon seeing the Black Robe in Lumina's hand.
"During the time I released his restraints, he went and found another Black Robe to wear."
"Exactly, exactly! After you released him, Herta, he immediately left, found a Black Robe, put it on, and then rushed back to the Luminary Throne..." Lumina agreed with Herta's line of reasoning.
Released from restraints—left the Luminary Throne—found a Black Robe—put it on—returned to the Luminary Throne—turned his back to them, then dramatically swept his robe aside to look cool.
And he did all this in the time it took the group to walk the path to the Luminary Throne. If this scene with the Black-Robed Swordsman had been recorded with an Image Stone, it would have been incredibly amusing.
But unfortunately, Lumina hadn't witnessed this hilarious moment firsthand.
"Hmm... Come to think of it," Lumina suddenly realized as she pondered.
"Aren't we a bit bored, actually discussing this issue?"
Who else would get into a whole discussion over a Black Robe?
The Black-Robed Swordsman used the time it took them to walk to the Luminary Throne to find and put on a new Black Robe. What was there to even discuss?
Once this is all over, I'll just strip his Black Robe off him again, right?
Lumina thought with great satisfaction, deciding to do just that to the Black-Robed Swordsman later.
"Not... a Demigod."
After Lumina and Herta's conversation concluded, the Black-Robed Swordsman in front of the Throne finally moved.
His gaze first fell upon Castorice.
"Stand down, or... die!"
He then threatened her with extreme arrogance.
The cold, deathly voice reached everyone's ears.
Lumina and Herta: ?
Huge question marks appeared over Lumina and Herta's heads.
Perhaps because Lumina and Herta were at the back of the group, the Black-Robed Swordsman hadn't noticed them at first.
That must be why he dared to utter such arrogant words.