"So... should we start dictating our last wills and testaments now..." March 7th was beyond any strength to complain. Faced with Clara's move, "Heaven's Strike," the only solution March could think of was to settle her final words right then and there, so she could at least die with some peace of mind.
Beside her, Dan Heng, who had transformed into the Imbibitor Lunae, fell silent for a moment upon hearing March's words. Then, going against his own conscience, he offered a comfort: "March... don't lose heart. We're not entirely without a chance..."
Even Dan Heng didn't believe the words he was saying. All the courage they had mustered, all the buffs they'd stacked, were slowly dissipating under the pressure of this single attack...
Although Dan Heng, having unleashed the power of the Imbibitor Lunae, still couldn't gauge the upper limit of this strike, he knew one thing for sure: at the very least... half a star system would be utterly destroyed beneath it...
"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Probably..." Seeing the somewhat defeated mood of the group, Stelle spoke up. This wasn't her trying to comfort everyone, but rather stating what she believed to be a fact.
If her guess was correct, if Clara was indeed the person beside Kafka when she woke up on the space station, then she definitely wouldn't hurt Stelle...
She didn't know what Clara's relationship with Kafka was, but at the very least... at least she wouldn't harm Stelle.
As for the other members of the Astral Express, Stelle wasn't so sure.
"Thank you," Himeko said, misunderstanding the meaning behind Stelle's words and thinking she was just trying to offer comfort and lighten the mood. "The Astral Express will never retreat!"
Listening to Himeko, Welt took a deep breath, nodded, and then, looking at the descending Meteor, gently tapped his cane on the ground: "Astral Express Code, Article Six."
"Even when the situation is complex and difficult, keep looking forward."
"Come, let us uphold the will of The Trailblaze!"
"Mhm~" Watching everyone's suddenly boosted morale, Clara's eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint. Without anyone noticing, she quietly added another Heaven's Strike behind the first one...
...
The Meteor fell, and annihilating power erupted throughout the star system.
Jarilo-VI, located at the epicenter of the Destruction, felt the land around them wither and the rampant power of Destruction. Everyone fought with all their might to resist.
But before the absolute power of the Meteor, everything seemed so insignificant...
"Pom-Pom! Now!" Feeling the Meteor drawing terrifyingly close, Himeko urgently called out.
Then, a massive train descended from the heavens, crashing directly into the Meteor.
The next second, train and meteor collided, unleashing a colossal shockwave.
The surrounding planets, caught between the impacts of the Meteor and the Express, were completely destroyed, vanishing into nothingness...
Although the neighboring worlds were utterly laid waste, Jarilo-VI, at the very heart of the cataclysm, remained completely unscathed.
Yet, such an immense release of Destruction power in the star system didn't attract a single outside observer's attention.
Under normal circumstances, even March 7th would have sensed something off. But now, caught in the crisis, no one had the spare moment to think, and so the oddity was overlooked...
...
"I-Is it... over?" Feeling the dissipating aura of the Meteor, March 7th asked, confused.
"Yes... it's over..." Having just tangoed with death, even Dan Heng was panting heavily from exhaustion.
Welt and Himeko: ...
Hearing Dan Heng and March, Welt and Himeko both fell into a tacit silence.
"Wait, no!" Dan Heng soon sensed something wrong and hurriedly looked up at the sky.
There, another Meteor was slowly descending towards the land.
"It seems this time, it really is over," Himeko said, looking at the new Meteor with a bitter smile. "We still underestimated a Emanator too much."
(Actually, they hadn't underestimated. That strike from the Express could seriously injure at least one Emanator, being an artifact left by an Aeon after all.)
(But who asked them to run into this story's protagonist, the super adorable, invincible, and universally adored Miss Clara? Teehee~)
"Leave the next part to me..." Stelle took a deep breath, spread her arms, and stepped in front of everyone.
If her guess was right... she would be fine! The Astral Express would be fine!
"Stelle..." Seeing her move, everyone fell silent.
"I should be the one..."
Even knowing this was likely a doomed ending, the idea of seniors hiding behind a junior... better not let that happen...
"Let me act like a senior, one last time."
Welt moved to pull Stelle aside, ready to make his final farewell.
"Trust me," Stelle didn't comply with Welt's intention, standing firmly in front of him with a serious expression.
Welt: ...
Looking at Stelle before him, Welt seemed to recall his former self...
"Alright..."
After a moment of silence, Welt nodded.
Seeing that Welt had no objections, the others also remained quiet.
"Haaah..." Watching the ever-nearing Meteor, Stelle drew a huge breath.
If her gamble was right, then she, the Astral Express, and everyone on Jarilo-VI would live.
But if she was wrong... then it was ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
This was a high-stakes gamble, betting that Clara knew her!
All, or nothing!
"You will have companions who are like family..."
Kafka's words echoed once more in Stelle's mind.
Yeah... family.
My companions on the Astral Express, they are my family, right?
And family is meant to be protected!
A golden light emanated from Stelle's entire body as she slowly floated into the air.
"Stelle!" The others instantly understood what she intended to do.
They wanted to stop her, but it was clearly too late.
"This is me! My path of Preservation!"
Stelle shouted. The next instant, the Stellaron erupted. The aura of Destruction instantly bloomed, clashing with the Meteor.
And under that force, everyone's vision went black as they fell into unconsciousness...
The collision of the Stellaron and the Meteor didn't release an even greater power of Destruction. Instead, it produced a series of resounding hammer blows.
The sound reverberated throughout the universe.
And Stelle didn't vanish into nothingness from the Stellaron's explosion. Instead, she was surrounded by an incredibly pure power of Preservation, nourishing every inch of her skin.
The great hammer of Preservation, Qliphoth, descended slowly. The sound of the hammer strikes echoed across the cosmos.
It signified the conclusion of Amber Era 2157 and the official dawn of Amber Era 2158...
...
T/N: That was fast, 2 fucking week Amber Era.
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