"Communication is exceedingly difficult—only action can convey. I yearn for you to understand Beauty!"
Facing Argenti's sudden assault, Stelle calmly drew her flame lance and effortlessly parried without rushing.
"Hold on… give me a second to prep. Gotta swap gear."
Argenti was, after all, a Knight of Beauty—he surely possessed a knight's spirit. He simply watched as Stelle changed equipment.
Hm…
The City Builder's starstone, the Mask of Fools… and a bat… she'd never seen before?
What was this sudden oppressive pressure?
"Such familiar power… Eternity?" The instant they clashed, Argenti fell into disadvantage, only able to defend against Stelle's relentless strikes.
"You've got a good eye!"
Stelle transformed the baseball bat into a staff. Too bad she couldn't fire ranged attacks like the church priests—she could only use it in close quarters.
"Forgive my interruption. Ladies and gentlemen, I just discussed matters with Himeko—the current situation may be more urgent than we imagined."
Welt arrived just in time, stopping Stelle and Argenti from fully committing to battle.
"My apologies, Mr. Welt. I became too absorbed in my exchange with Stelle. Allow me to properly introduce the purpose of my visit: I have come aboard to cooperate in resolving the crisis before us."
"I was originally piloting my vessel, the One and Only, across the galaxy—when by chance I discovered the stranded Bertnis and rescued him from the enormous cavern he had accidentally fallen into."
"After saving Bertnis, I intended to deliver him safely to his original destination and altered course accordingly. Unexpectedly, this coincidence brought me close to the Express's route."
"Sorry… who did you say?" Stelle asked again.
"According to Bertnis himself, he is a knight of the Eternal Church. While aboard a starship bound for the church, he consumed excessive alcoholic beverages and accidentally stumbled overboard."
"Regrettably… due to our differing ideologies, we also engaged in a contest concerning faith not long ago."
Stelle's interest instantly spiked—this was her favorite part: a good old debate!
"A draw."
"Thank you for your arrival. This is the Express's first collaboration with a Knight of Beauty."
"So what do we do now?"
"Enjoy the moment."
Stelle: ?
"And then?"
"Continue enjoying the moment."
"You really did come here just to make friends…"
No matter which side, knights never compromised on faith in their Aeon. By comparison, Stelle felt a little lacking—she dabbled in every Path.
"You do not understand. I must focus on savoring the crimson night of the cosmos to detect discordant notes. They share a common trait—once discovered, I will eradicate them without fail."
"…Best not to delay too long. The situation could worsen at any moment."
Meanwhile, March 7th was whispering complaints:
"Why'd those two just start fighting?! Though after the fight… they seem to get along pretty well."
Himeko leisurely sipped her coffee. What a peculiar encounter.
Indeed, the unpredictable future was the most captivating thing beneath the stars. As the Express's navigator, she couldn't help but look forward to what came next.
"But… who's that red-haired guy in armor again?"
March 7th grumbled, turning her head in annoyance to glare at Bertnis, who was tumbling around the car.
"Ah~ So thick, such intensely thick Eternity aura! Screwlloyd wasn't kidding—this Trailblaze really has something!"
Bertnis wore a downright perverted expression, eventually locking his gaze on Pom-Pom.
Pom-Pom squeaked and hid behind Dan Heng, clutching his pant leg.
"Screwlloyd… no way, this guy's really from the Eternal Church?"
At the sight, Dan Heng silently drew his Cloudhymn spear. No matter how he looked at it, this red-haired youth didn't seem like a good person.
Then again… considering everyone in the Eternal Church was personally endorsed by Adrian… Ite's top pick—this level of madness was understandable.
"I just heard from Lady Himeko that you were originally heading to a car-wash planet for the Express's big cleaning day, correct?"
Bertnis looked down at Pom-Pom.
"Y-yes, that's right pa!"
"Then it's simple! As you may know, the church's stronghold was also converted from a car-wash planet. If you don't mind…"
Bertnis listed out a series of cleaning tools, including the one most familiar to the crew: soap.
"Wait! This isn't a bomb, right?!"
"Normally, only the wide-area destructive soaps appear on Pontiff Blake. Lowly positions like mine get the bath-grade ones—perfectly safe~"
Bertnis carefully selected from the tools and finally pulled out a bar of soap nearly as tall as himself.
"Ten thousand years ago, the church used to contract cleaning for starships across the entire cosmos… Ah, those carefree days."
"Back then I was just a deck-swabber. To reach my current position—I owe it all to Lord Ite and Pontiff Blake's support."
Bertnis said gratefully, though upon second thought… his current rank wasn't exactly high. Even prayer priests could order him around.
"Huh? You've got a story like that!" Seeing Bertnis suddenly reminisce, March 7th's opinion of him improved slightly. Fellow galactic wage slaves.
...
Eternal Church, inside the sanctuary
Watching the righteous Brother Hughes charge sword-first at the crimson mask, Screwlloyd's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He dropped the act and teleported Hughes away.
Ah… let Brother Hughes soak in the hot springs and cool off.
He never should have come back. He should've followed his heart and explored that planet in person. Still, one thing bothered Screwlloyd.
After pondering for a long while, Master Screw chose the simplest method—he called Blake.
"Hm~ You say on a certain planet you detected faint yet intensely thick Destruction aura?"
"Correct. It was like… a Lord Ravager on the verge of birth. Unfortunately, I stayed too briefly to confirm its true form."
Silence on the other end. Screwlloyd faintly heard sounds of a struggle, then Freesna's bell-like voice rang out.
"Heh! Just an unborn Destruction insect. Screwlloyd, send the coordinates."
"Uh… Lady Freesna, if I may ask—where exactly are you two?"
"On the way to the Planet of the Festivities. Care to join?"
...
Scene shift to a private hot-spring room. Adrian, wrapped in a towel, blissfully soaked in the springs.
In just a short millennium, the church's hot springs were still this comfortable—only this time there was a chattering mask ruining the mood.
"They are blessed by Nanook, antimatter warheads born to walk the Path of Destruction. If life feeds on negative entropy, every action is doomed to bring about Destruction—don't you find that terrifying?"
"Especially that Lord Ravager called Asat Pramad—they say HE's the destroyer of Elation. Even more terrifying!"