(The Jarilo-VI acceleration has ended; next, we return to the main body's universe, where over ten years have passed.)
"Cocolia, it seems you've truly forgotten my skills?"
Serval returned to Cocolia's side and gave her a wide grin.
"Serval..."
"Hmm...? Cocolia, you..."
Serval noticed a change in Cocolia, leaning in to stare closely at her face for a moment.
Hmm... "Cocolia, you're back to your senses!?"
Seeing a look in the other's eyes that resembled her past self, Serval exclaimed with pleasant surprise and excitement.
There was absolutely no mistake; she would never forget the Cocolia of that time, and the look in her eyes now held shadows of those years!
Cocolia's eyes flickered slightly, and then she slowly nodded.
Back then, she had been lured by the Stellaron with the bait of a beautiful new world of 'eternal energy' and 'melting snow.' Her will was constantly eroded, gradually amplifying her obsession with saving Belobog.
She had gradually succumbed, becoming a puppet of the Stellaron, withdrawing the Silvermane Guards from the Lower District, and issuing a lockdown order—all while actually gathering life energy for the Stellaron.
After abdication, she would spend the rest of her life atoning for the sins she had committed in the past.
Seeing Cocolia nod, Serval looked intently into her eyes, then gave a warm smile and extended her fist toward her.
"Since you've recovered, you shouldn't be driving me away. Let's fight side by side again, Cocolia."
"..."
Looking at the fair-skinned fist before her, Cocolia wore a 'there's no helping you' expression and likewise extended her fist.
The two fists bumped gently, and a look of relief appeared on Cocolia's face.
"Serval, about the past... I'm sorry..."
"We'll talk about that later. What exactly is the situation that caused you to assemble all the Silvermane Guards in Belobog?"
Serval waved her hand dismissal, then asked with a serious expression.
Since her friend had recovered, she naturally wouldn't be so foolish as to gamble with Belobog's future.
She knew Cocolia's long-standing determination to save Belobog.
"Listen to me, Serval. The hope Belobog has waited centuries for has finally arrived. After tomorrow, the Eternal Freeze will completely recede."
Cocolia placed her hand on Serval's shoulder, her voice trembling as if she could hardly suppress her inner joy.
"So what exactly happened? Stop being vague and just explain it clearly."
Serval crossed her arms and spoke calmly, looking at Cocolia, whose cheeks were flushed from excitement.
Can't you just get to the point?
You're making me think you haven't fully recovered and are still in a semi-delirious state... Serval felt concerned about her friend's current condition, wondering if she had just escaped the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's mouth... Suppressing her emotions and seeing that the time for the final battle was still early, Cocolia began to explain the origin of everything to Serval.
After the explanation... "So, you were able to break free from the Stellaron's control, and this assembly of troops for a general offensive against the Rift is all because of that mysterious outsider?"
And the person Cocolia mentioned—hadn't she chatted with them yesterday during the day?
Given the characteristics of foreign clothing and white hair, only the Kiana she met yesterday fit the description.
Did that lively and cute white-haired girl actually have such great ability?!
Truly, one cannot judge a person by their appearance... "Since it's still early, I'll go back and prepare."
After saying that, Serval turned and ran back to the workshop to change her outfit before returning to Cocolia.
Once everyone was ready, they all waited with anticipation for the arrival of dawn.
As they waited, time quickly reached early morning.
On the other side, Kiana and the others had rested early and were already on their way to the Outlying Snow Plains.
Not far away was the entrance to the Pillars of Creation, and Kiana and her group could already see that it was filled with various Divergent Creation.
"Whoa... that looks like quite a lot of them."
March 7th summoned her bow and arrows, looking ahead with an exaggerated expression.
"Prepare for combat, March, Stelle."
Dan Heng summoned the bow-form of the Angel, holding cloud-piercer in his other hand. He then placed cloud-piercer on the bowstring and drew it to full power.
Whoosh—
A violent green whirlwind, carrying the surrounding snow, transformed into a blue-green frost storm that swept toward the Divergent Creation at the entrance.
The storm raged, severed limbs flew everywhere, and the enemies were all shredded by the tornado, eventually dissipating into energy.
"Seems like I don't need to do anything after all."
Seeing this, Stelle lowered her bat, which was wrapped in throne fragments, and scratched her head.
Dan Heng's single AOE attack had taken all the kills, giving her no chance to show off.
She still wanted to try the power of the Final Bat; as for the fully deployed obliteration... she felt the bat was more comfortable to use.
Enchanting the bat with the throne was a technique Stelle had researched, and it felt very practical.
March 7th's eyes lit up when she saw what Dan Heng did, and she immediately summoned scorching ruin ghost, a giant battle-axe wreathed in flames.
"I can't possibly fit this onto the bowstring. This bow is way too small!"
March 7th looked at the small bow in her left hand and the flaming battle-axe in her right... she couldn't imagine getting it in no matter how she thought about it.
It's too big... Kiana glanced at March 7th's bow and reminded her:
"Just use your Six Phases of Ice to make the bow a bit bigger."
"Oh, right!"
March 7th had a sudden realization and then used her ability to construct a much larger Six Phases of Ice bow.
But... the bow was too large, the string was too long, and she... couldn't pull it back fully!
"Forget it. The battle-axe is for melee, and the bow is for long-range support. I'll just treat it as a stance change..."
With a helpless sigh, March 7th changed the bow back to its original form.
The four of them then cleared out the small fry along the way as they went deeper into the Pillars of Creation.
After they went deep inside, the Rift army also arrived at the Outlying Snow Plains, and what greeted them was the Empire—cough—was Belobog's fearless army of Silvermane Guards.
"For the tomorrow of Belobog, crush them!"
Standing at the very front, Cocolia raised her spear and pointed it directly at the countless Divergent Creation. After shouting with eyes full of resentment, she was the first to charge in.
"Honestly, this woman..."
Serval felt a bit of a headache, but she still kept pace with Cocolia. Upon reaching her side, she gave her a glare and said:
"Are you trying to get yourself killed by charging so fast!"
Even though it was said that under Kiana's watch, no deaths would occur, that was just talk.
Serval believed those were likely just words to boost morale.
Before actually witnessing a miracle, she wouldn't easily believe such nonsense.
Cocolia looked at Serval beside her, seemingly recalling the times they spent together years ago.
Their eyes met, their lips curved upward, and they charged in together.
Under their leadership, the morale of the Silvermane Guards soared, and they pounced on the Rift army like a silver tide.
"Mother...!"
Bronya looked at the reckless Cocolia with slight worry, but the charge of the soldiers around her momentarily obscured her mother's figure.
"Bronya, don't daze out. It's time to go."
"Okay... Seele."
The two of them then followed the main force.
Seele swung her scythe like a reaper harvesting Divergent Creation, while Bronya provided cover from not far away, their coordination seamless.
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