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Stelle had been scanning the surroundings sharply, fully alert—but the moment she saw March 7th crying, panic surged in her chest.
When it came to talking someone into self-doubt within two sentences, she was extremely experienced.
But comforting someone who was sad, helping them regain optimism and sunshine? She wasn't in the top ten—she simply didn't understand how to do that at all.
Ugh, why aren't Himeko and Uncle Yang here right now… Even Dan Heng would do!
No matter how her thoughts spun uselessly in circles, Stelle finally attempted, cautiously, "March… did you… remember something?"
"Uu… I…" March 7th wiped her tears, her voice full of confusion. "I don't know. It just feels so strange. I clearly didn't remember anything… I just… feel really sad."
She stared at her hands, examining the memory power that had erupted moments ago. "Could it be that… my past has a lot of really terrible things in it?"
Fear seeped into her words. She stood there, arms curled toward her chest as if trying to protect herself.
I've imagined it so many times… that if I finally learned everything about my past, I could throw away all my worries, untangle everything pressing on my heart, and live happily…
But I never expected just regaining power to make me this sad.
If I truly recover all my memories, then—what happened back then? Will it affect the present?
Will enemies from the past follow the scent of those memories and come hunting, putting me—and even the Express—in mortal danger?
And worst of all—
What if the person I used to be is fundamentally different? What if she was… someone everyone despised…
"March!" Stelle grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard.
"Huh? Stelle?" March jolted back to awareness, the sadness startled out of her for a moment.
Looking at that familiar, close-at-hand face, an unprecedented feeling of closeness rose in her heart—but also a faint tremor of fear.
It's so good to have my friends here. But if I…
"Stelle… if—if one day, I become really evi—"
"No! That day will never come!"
Stelle cut her off before she finished, conviction blazing in her eyes. She looked straight at March with a seriousness she had never shown before.
"March. No matter what happened in the past, the you right now is our companion. As long as you believe you won't be controlled by whatever came before—then you won't be."
"And anything that tries to hurt you—every last one of us on the Express will kick their butts across the stars!"
"Stelle… you…"
Hearing Stelle side so firmly with her, warmth surged in March 7th's chest.
Yunli, equally heartbroken for her disciple, stepped up and spoke sincerely, "That's right, Little March. And even if you warp somewhere far away someday—if anything happens, you must tell your teacher first. I'll grab Old Mettle and beat whoever hurt you into a pig's head!"
At this moment, she wasn't posturing as a master at all—she sounded like a close, trusted friend.
"Miss March," Yanqing added, voice crisp and forceful despite his youthful face, "Yunli is correct. I may have limited ability, but if Miss March ever needs help, even across the Sea of Stars, I will never refuse."
Lingsha followed, gentle but firm. "Miss March must not despair. The Express and the Luofu are bound as allies—your well-being is tied to us. Anyone wishing to harm Miss March must consider whether they truly have the strength to pry away half of the Xianzhou's iron wings… or even a single wheel of the Express."
"Everyone…"
Seeing her companions all trying to shield her, emotion finally overwhelmed the grief. March 7th's nose stung, her voice trembling slightly.
"Ah~~ Miss Lingsha is absolutely right!" Stelle brightened, confidence returning. "March, don't worry. Even if we meet some super-dangerous enemy—worst case, we'll have Pom-Pom shovel extra coal into the engine and blast off at full speed to run it over!"
Watching Stelle's clowning, March 7th burst into laughter through her tears.
"Pff—!" She covered her mouth. "The Astral Express doesn't burn coal! It's not actually a steam train!"
She wiped her face, her smile blooming again, light returning to her features.
Facing everyone, she bowed deeply. "Thank you, everyone. Having you all here to help me… feels wonderful."
"No need for thanks—it's only right," they replied, relieved to see her calm again.
"March," Stelle grinned, "maybe after today, it'll be your turn to help us every time. With great power comes great responsibility—you'd better not slack off."
"Ah? Oh no, now I suddenly don't want to get stronger anymore."
March joked back in the same playful tone.
She took a deep breath, smacked her right fist into her left palm, and declared with vigor, "Alright! Heroine March 7th—making her grand entrance!"
Knowing she was finally ready to use [Unlimited Blade Works], Stelle and the others stepped back.
March 7th closed her eyes, her expression solemn. Guided by impressions rising in her mind, she chanted the profound words.
"I am the bone of my sword."
The moment the words left her lips, a surge of distortion rippled outward—and the bounded field unfolded instantly.
Everyone stared, shocked. The familiar lush Xianzhou landscape vanished, replaced in an instant by a blistering, barren wasteland. On the distant horizon, a scorching sun blazed fiercely.
"Where… is this?"
They looked around, more shaken than when March had erupted with memory power.
Their strength ranked near the top of the Luofu. For all of them to be pulled into a space with no resistance at all—what kind of Impossible Artifact could do this?
And at this point… just how strong was March 7th?
There was no doubt—just this spatial relocation alone meant they had no chance of resisting her.
Only Stelle quietly felt the environment more deeply. With an Emanator's senses, she understood the mechanics.
This bounded field wasn't as absolute as Yanqing and Yunli thought—but it was still terrifyingly powerful. In a battle here, March 7th's advantage was so overwhelming that Stelle genuinely wasn't sure she could win.
As the others were stunned speechless, March continued chanting.
"This body is made of swords. Steel is my body, and fire is my blood. I have created over a thousand blades."
"Unknown to death, nor known to life."
"So as I pray—'Unlimited Blade Works.' My whole existence was made for forging swords!"
With the final verse, March 7th's eyes snapped open, brilliant light bursting from them like roaring flames.
She raised a hand. A sword outline appeared, floating.
March grasped it. The illusionary blade glittered, scattering motes of light—until a complete sword took shape in her hand.
Yanqing recognized it instantly—Massacre Ruler.
He compared it to the genuine weapon in his own possession. From appearance alone, there was no visible difference.
But the shocking part wasn't the resemblance—it was March herself.
The last time she duplicated an incomplete sword body without sword-soul, she'd nearly passed out from exhaustion. And now? She just casually pulled out a perfect copy?!
Then duplicating Massacre Ruler for real… wasn't that practically guaranteed?
Yunli swallowed hard.
This was a conceptual power artifact. And they were about to witness it being duplicated… right in front of her eyes?
For a moment, she felt she must be dreaming. Once upon a time, this was a power only Aeons could touch.
Little March, if you just hold steady, you could… I—I—
Wait. Little March—what are you doing?!
Yunli nearly leapt out of her skin.
Because before everyone's eyes, March 7th raised her other hand—grabbing at thin air—and another sword outline appeared.
A massive blade, etched with runes.
That was—Excalibur, and Avalon.
Others might not know, but Yunli did—that was the source of Old Mettle's conceptual power!
But the copy of Massacre Ruler wasn't even finished yet.
And she actually wanted to copy two at once?!
Is this still the March 7th who collapsed yesterday from making a single incomplete sword embryo?!