Astral Express, Observation Car.
Adrian shivered, an ominous premonition creeping over him.
The moment he sent the Piercing Arrow to Aha, he returned to the car, pretending nothing had happened.
"Ouch... that hurts!"
March 7th clutched her backside. She was snapping photos of the azure star opposite when a sudden boom sent her sprawling to the floor.
"Why do I keep falling these days? Isn't a beautiful girl supposed to have good luck?"
She checked her camera—thankfully, it was undamaged.
"Are you all okay?"
Welt and Dan Heng entered the observation car, checking on Adrian and March.
"Mr. Welt, I think it's time we got March some protective gear," Adrian suggested.
"After last night's attack on Interastral Peace Corporation, shipments might be delayed," Welt replied, seriously considering the idea.
"No need, Uncle Yang! I'm pretty durable!"
March 7th straightened up proudly. "If I fall, ice will cushion me… though, uh, falling on ice might hurt more."
"Better safe than sorry. That loud noise earlier might attract something dangerous," Dan Heng cautioned.
"It sounded more like… some kind of signal," Welt speculated.
Adrian closed his book and stretched lazily.
"Uncle Yang's going into detective mode again?" March teased.
"Soap…"
Dan Heng was still fixated on that bar of soap.
That soap was genuinely amazing—bathing with it felt like a full-body purification, washing away exhaustion. After a good night's sleep, you'd wake up brimming with energy!
At least, that was March 7th's glowing review.
Ding!
Adrian's phone vibrated. The Piercing Arrow was probably lodged in Aha's backside by now, yet THEY still had the nerve to message him.
[Cosmic Paparazzi (Note): Sent an image]
[Fuli: The latest light cone from the Garden of Recollection—three Aeons intertwined: Eternity, The Hunt, Elation. A pitch-black arrow pierces the mask, screams erupt, utterly spectacular, sublime perfection. Specially shared with you.]
[Adrian: …]
[Adrian: You don't even use punctuation when typing?]
[Fuli: Typing same as speaking, feels unnatural otherwise.]
[Fuli: ,,.]
[Adrian: Am I doing a punctuation exercise for language class?]
[Fuli: An Aeon doing exercises, amusing, worth noting.]
[Fuli: ,..]
[System Notification: Cosmic Paparazzi (Note) has gone offline]
Going offline after tossing in some extra punctuation was the most infuriating part.
Adrian was tempted to ask Lan for a few more Cloud Piercing Arrows—fair treatment for every Aeon.
"After observing these past few days, I think the Express needs to invest in some medical equipment," Adrian said, steering the conversation back to the March 7th Fall Prevention Plan.
"Agreed," Dan Heng nodded. Ever since Adrian upgraded his Cloud-Piercer, he'd been focusing on practicing spear thrusts and sharpshooting.
The Cloud-Piercer was still the same old weapon, just with added ranged capabilities—nothing extraneous.
"Cloud-Piercer never leaves my side!"
The spear's handle stayed in hand, but the tip? That's another story, my friend—it could end up in your heart at any moment.
"I said we don't need that stuff!" March protested.
…
After a few days of peace, a new day arrived.
The Antimatter Legion launched a full-scale invasion two system hours ago, and their numbers were anything but small.
Countless Voidrangers appeared inside and outside the space station, wreaking havoc.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! The Legion's minions are way too many!"
March 7th swung her ice bow, knocking away a Voidranger trying to close in for melee.
"Melee archer, impressive, Miss March!" Adrian quipped, hands in pockets, effortlessly dodging every attack from the Voidranger Reaver in front of him.
"Hmph, a beautiful girl can fight too! Who says a spellcaster can't deal physical damage?"
Whoosh!
Cloud-Piercer whizzed past her ear, striking the heart of a centaur-like Voidranger Trampler.
"Watch your back. This is an ambush—we can't afford to be careless," Dan Heng warned, rushing to finish off the still-breathing Trampler. He retrieved the spearhead and reattached it.
These past few days, he'd been itching for test subjects to try the upgraded Cloud-Piercer's power, and the Antimatter Legion delivered.
So far, the feedback was great—except for the part where he had to run and fetch the spearhead himself.
"Watching the almighty Teacher Dan Heng do this feels oddly comical," March teased.
"Blame the almighty Teacher Adrian," Dan Heng shot back with a light chuckle, deftly shifting the topic.
"Haha, I'll stick a magnetic strip on it later," Adrian joked. "I'm heading to support the other cabins. You two be careful—if you need help, just shout, 'Help me, Mr. Adrian!'"
"No one talks like that!" March retorted.
With that, Adrian tore open a void rift and, under their stunned gazes, leaped in without looking back.
"Strong people are full of surprises! Do all Emanators of Eternity know that trick?"
March 7th regretted not capturing the moment on her camera. She and Dan Heng chatted as they ran.
"I think that move suits you, Teacher Dan Heng. Wanna learn it?"
"Can I not answer that?"
…
No sooner had Adrian left than an explosion rocked the space station, crippling the main control system.
At the same time, Kafka, the Stellaron Hunter, paused her violin-playing.
"Looks like I came at a bad time," she remarked.
"No, I think you're right on time," Silver Wolf said, appearing beside her.
"System time: 23:47:15. You're punctual, Kafka."
"I thought you'd contact me from inside the system," Kafka said, surprised.
"Shocked?" Silver Wolf blew a bubble with her gum. "I've been right beside you the whole time—you just didn't notice."
"Is this part of Elio's [script]?"
"Who knows? A few weeks ago, the script was crystal clear. But ever since that black meteor streaked across, it's all garbled now."
Silver Wolf didn't get it. All she knew was that her phone crashed the moment the meteor passed, costing her a promotion match.
"If I find out who did this…" Silver Wolf gritted her teeth, fuming.
"Elio hasn't said a word. Is this also in his [script]? A play within a play?"
Kafka had her doubts about the garbled script, but the ultimate goal remained intact.
Aside from Herta, there might be an Emanator-level presence on the station.
"The last few missions were dull. Hopefully, this one's fun," Kafka mused.
"Today's task is boring: just [put it in]. But it won't disappoint. Your [Eternity] friend is on the station too, right?"
"He's probably losing it over Herta's puppets. What's so great about those little dolls?" Silver Wolf scoffed.
"Hm?" Kafka sensed something off. There was a story here.
"Are you… jealous?"
"Not jealous."
Now wasn't the time for gossip, so Kafka didn't press. That kind of talk was best saved for downtime.
As they walked, there wasn't a single trace of the Antimatter Legion.
"When did the Legion get so sparse?" Kafka wondered.
She and Silver Wolf strolled through the corridor, utterly uninterested in the portraits of Genius Society members lining the walls. They only recognized a few, like Screwllum and Zandar.
"That's not right. We lured enough forces to nearly summon an Annihilation Lord…" Silver Wolf muttered, having sent the signal twice.
"If their numbers are low, they won't hold back the Astral Express crew," Kafka noted.
"Don't worry. At least two Doomsday Beasts showed up. The Annihilation Lords? No signal, no contact."
Sure, the grunts were few, but the elite monsters made up for it. Too many troops might've drawn a boss-level threat, which would've been overkill for the Express and the station.
"I haven't asked yet—how's your friend's combat ability?"
"Comparable to an Emanator."
Kafka: …
Her mistake. She should've asked sooner.
…
Boom!
"That explosion… impressive," Adrian remarked, strolling toward the control room. He let the Voidrangers' attacks hit him—dodging earlier was just for show. Their damage was zero, so why bother?
Wait, weren't there a few too many?
Adrian even sensed the gazes of several Doomsday Beasts circling the azure star.
"Am I some newly minted Annihilation Lord or what?" he muttered.
If he were an Annihilation Lord, these minions would be kneeling in submission.
So, the truth was clear!
Nanook had marked [Eternity] as the top-priority target, with [Elation] likely a close second.
"Damn you, Nanook. We're colleagues, minding our own Paths, and you secretly crank up your minions' aggro toward me? Top-tier hate, no less."
Another reason to thrash Nanook later.
As a Voidranger Eliminator's imaginary cannon hit Adrian, every Voidranger around him—including the shooter—vanished without a trace.
Damage reflection, kid!
"Might need to set up an auto-counter," Adrian mused. Back when he played games, he loved pairing Yunli and Clara, those barefoot lolis, in a team. Sure, they competed for taunt, but it was still fun.
Lolis are great… er, no, characters with auto-counter on hit are great.
"Wait, there weren't this many Doomsday Beasts before!"
Realizing too late, Adrian cloaked his presence and arrived at the azure star, spotting five lurking Doomsday Beasts.
"Did she accidentally add an extra zero when summoning the Legion?"
He'd have to grill Silver Wolf later. This many was enough to force the entire Express crew into action—maybe even Pom-Pom would join in.
"Who says I'm too kind? Finish the job early, slack off early." Adrian tugged his collar and charged toward the Doomsday Beasts.
"Damn Nanook, can't even control your own pets? Someone dangles bait, and they're hooked."
Another reason to pummel Nanook piled up!