Just then, March 7th noticed her phone buzzing. Her lips pursed slightly as she hurriedly spoke up.
"Himeko just sent me a message!"
Taking advantage of Tom's ongoing cartoonish battle against the Engine of Creation, March pressed a button on her phone. Instantly, a miniature holographic image of Himeko appeared above it and began to speak.
"Everyone, the situation doesn't look good."
"We've spotted a massive swarm of True Stings heading towards Jarilo-VI. Even with their rapid reproduction, such numbers shouldn't be possible in this short span of time."
"So we moved the Astral Express to investigate nearby, and just as expected…"
"—We found their hive."
"They've turned an entire planet into a breeding ground, constantly sending reinforcements toward Jarilo-VI. We tried firing the orbital cannon, but it barely made a dent."
"Because from within that planet, there emerged energy close to the level of an Aeon's Emanator."
"This means there could be a Swarm Mother of near-Emanator power."
"Of course, that's only a possibility. We can't rule out the chance that multiple Giant Stings self-destructed simultaneously, creating a similar effect."
"There might even be other anomalies. Once we know more, I'll update you again."
A brief silence descended after Himeko's message.
Noticing their quietness, Himeko added softly,
"All we can do from our end is help you eliminate as many True Stings as possible from space."
"The rest of the decisions are up to you."
With nothing more to add, the communication ended, and the tiny hologram vanished.
As everyone considered the worst-case scenario in silence, March 7th quickly broke the ice again, scratching her head awkwardly with a faint laugh.
"Ha…haha…"
"I don't think we need to assume the worst, right? We're already this far in—why overthink it? We'll deal with things as they come!"
Dan Heng lightly shook his head, exposing her typical behavior a bit.
"Whether you think about it or not, you've always been dealing with things as they come."
"But this time, your words make sense. We have no choice but to fight."
Stelle chimed in with a question.
"Bronya, do you know how to deal with that giant robot?"
Upon hearing Stelle, Bronya set aside her concern about the True Stings for the moment, focusing on the immediate threat. She studied the Engine of Creation briefly before answering softly,
"My mother controls the Engine of Creation using the ice spear in her hands. If we manage to take it from her, or somehow reach her at the top of the machine directly, there's still a chance we can defeat her!"
"Let's move!"
With no more time to hesitate, they swiftly devised a simple plan and rushed towards the Engine of Creation.
Just in time, they saw Tom knocked flying by the Engine's punch, slamming into an icy glacier before dropping limply to the ground like a puddle of clay.
Seeing this, Yevenko quickly dashed over.
He pulled out a Tom-shaped mold from behind him.
Carefully scooping up Tom, he placed him into the mold.
Then, Tom's puddle-like form gradually reshaped itself. Crawling out, he casually sprawled on the ground, one paw supporting his head in a carefree lounge, tapping rhythmically on the ice with his other paw. He glared sourly at the distant Engine of Creation.
Suddenly, Tom's eyes bulged as a bright bulb appeared above his head—before promptly exploding.
He had an idea.
Jumping up eagerly, Tom rushed to whisper animatedly into Yevenko's cat-ears, causing Yevenko to nod repeatedly in agreement.
Moments later, the duo sprang into action.
Tom swiftly crafted a snow-plane, flicking the propeller at its nose, causing it to whirl rapidly.
The propeller spun faster and faster, letting out a loud whirring hum.
Satisfied, Tom nodded proudly.
Meanwhile, Yevenko laid down an inclined runway. He stuck two poles into the snow and stretched a rope between them to serve as a launch slingshot.
Yevenko and Tom placed the plane onto the runway and pulled the rope taut. Tom sat in the pilot's seat at the front, then Yevenko quickly released the rope.
Instantly, the tension flung them forward at blinding speed.
Left behind were two pale-blue translucent souls—Yevenko and Tom's spiritual forms—still stunned, fumbling in confusion before realizing their physical bodies had already left.
Their souls' eyes bulged cartoonishly out on springs, staring in panic at the rapidly departing plane with their unconscious bodies.
Frantically, the two souls built another snow-plane on the spot. With lightning speed, they launched themselves forward, merging seamlessly back into their bodies mid-flight.
Blinking groggily awake, Yevenko and Tom realized they were now directly above Cocolia.
Immediately, Tom dove, launching his attack.
The plane's guns spewed a stream of snowballs towards Cocolia, atop the Engine of Creation.
Hearing a faint sound, Cocolia instinctively glanced skyward—
—And received the entire volley of snowballs straight to her face, knocking her head backward sharply.
Eyes flashing angrily, the violet-haired woman recalled past humiliations inflicted by these two meddling cats. Lips slightly parted, she spoke coldly.
"Are you trying to provoke and mock me?"
"But I no longer care. With the Stellaron's power, I'm no longer weak like before. I'll reshape the world."
Seeing Tom's playful snowball barrage, Yevenko rolled his eyes helplessly, deciding to up the ante himself.
Forming a snowball into the shape of a missile head, Yevenko opened the bomb hatch beneath him and tossed it down.
Whoosh——!
The whistling sound of an air raid approached. As Cocolia was distracted controlling the Engine against Stelle and the others, she again looked up impatiently.
Another snow sculpture?
Annoyed, she raised her ice spear and casually struck the incoming snow-missile.
And then—
BOOM——————!!!
An ear-splitting explosion erupted, shaking the earth violently. A mushroom cloud of snow burst upward dramatically.
A shockwave roared outward, flattening everything in its path.
Stelle braced herself, baseball bat shielding her against the violent gusts.
Yet at that very moment, the ice spear gently rolled to a stop right at her feet.
Blinking blankly, Stelle bent down to pick it up, her eyes filled with puzzled disbelief.
"That…was all it took?"