Somewhere in the cosmos.
Having just slipped beyond the sphere of influence of the Xianzhou Alliance, Phantylia stood on the surface of a barren planet, staring at several projected silhouettes hovering before her.
[How embarrassing, Phantylia.]
The phantom of Annihilation Gang's Emanator—"Gui Ji" regarded her with open mockery. [Didn't you boast your disguise could fool even Emanators? And yet you were exposed by a brat. Truly enlightening.]
"Shut up, Gui Ji. You don't get to question my methods." Phantylia's voice was cold.
[Question?] Gui Ji tilted its head. [I'm merely stating a fact. Your plan failed, your avatar was destroyed—how is that not incompetence?]
"Failed?" Phantylia gave a short snort. "That Wei Qing… there's something wrong with him."
Just thinking about what he'd done to her was enough to rekindle her irritation.
She'd tried to reason it out. Maybe his power was time suspension. Maybe it was some kind of neural freeze.
But she rejected those hypotheses in the end. His vessel was undeniably frail, yet with her status as an Emanator and millennia of experience, she still couldn't find a single tell.
Could he really freeze the entire universe's time? That was absurd on its face.
["Strange?" Anyone blessed by an Aeon is rarely simple.] Gui Ji replied.
Phantylia was about to fire back—when another figure spoke first.
[Enough of this pointless bickering.]
[Tell us your conclusion, Phantylia—about that so-called Emanator of the Hunt.]
The speaker was "Fen Feng." His appearance instantly extinguished the petty sparks between Phantylia and Gui Ji.
Among the Emanators, he was widely acknowledged as the most terrifying, and he had no patience for unnecessary talk.
Phantylia reined in her temper. Facing Fen Feng's question, she paused, then answered with a noticeably more serious tone.
"That hound of the Hunt… feels unusual."
"On him, I can sense something inside—something that seems able to draw me in."
"When he acted, I couldn't see a single movement. Even the ambient scent didn't change. I suspected time suspension… but being able to completely block my perception is not something an Emanator should possess."
[There is always someone beyond you, and skies beyond skies, Phantylia.] Fen Feng said.
[It's precisely because of this arrogance that you've achieved no decisive progress against the Xianzhou Alliance for a thousand years.]
[An Aeon's gaze never falls without reason. If he can receive blessing outside the Hunt's rules, you should not underestimate him.]
Fen Feng's words cut like ice across her face. Phantylia fell silent, unable to refute him—because he was right.
For a thousand years on the Xianzhou front, she'd only ever treated the Hunt's generals as worthy opponents.
Wei Qing—Emanator or not—had been dismissed by her instincts as "not that serious."
"So what's your recommendation?" she asked.
"The Hunt's ability to pierce causality is well-known. If we let him grow, he will become an obstacle to Destruction."
[Kill him.] Fen Feng answered, blunt and absolute.
"Easy to say." Phantylia's tone sharpened. "Luofu's combat strength isn't trivial. Are you offering to help?"
[I have my own task.] Fen Feng replied, flat as stone.
Gui Ji chose that moment to add poison:
[Phantylia, the Hunt is "your territory." If you remain this useless, I'll start to wonder whether you're even qualified to be our peer.]
Phantylia didn't react much. She was used to it by now.
Among the Emanators, aside from a few… special cases, only four—including her—were still remotely "conversational."
And the two in front of her sat at opposite extremes—both exhausting in their own ways.
But she hadn't convened them for their sake.
[So even you can't handle him?]
A new silhouette appeared—this time, Xing Xiao.
She was one of the most frequently sighted Emanators in the universe; her infamous name was spoken almost everywhere.
Yet at this moment, she looked like a serene lady, observing her colleague with quiet curiosity.
She too operated in Hunt warzones for years, and she'd been paying close attention to the Xianzhou. She'd long heard of the Emanator blessed "outside the Hunt's rules."
"It's not that I can't handle him," Phantylia said. "It's that I'm wary of Luofu's current power."
"If he can pierce my disguise, then I lose my greatest advantage."
"Attacking Luofu head-on—even I would need a meticulous plan and sufficient force. Teng Xiao, Jingliu, even that Vidyadhara High Elder… none are easy prey."
"And now this Wei Qing, who I can't read at all. Too many variables."
Xing Xiao's phantom dipped her chin in agreement. Strange, resonant Harmony notes curled around her fingertips like a thin melody.
[Understood. Pure Destruction sometimes requires a little… detour.]
[So—do you want my help?] Xing Xiao's voice carried an eerie cadence. [My main battlefield lies elsewhere, but changing flavors now and then… causing the Xianzhou some trouble… sounds fun.]
Phantylia's eyes flickered with temptation. That had been her goal from the start—and Xing Xiao had offered without even being prompted.
"That's exactly what I'm asking for," Phantylia said, no longer hedging.
[Good.] Xing Xiao's phantom seemed to solidify slightly. [We can work out the details slowly. As for Gui Ji and Fen Feng…]
Her gaze swept over the two nearby phantoms—one silent, one sneering.
[They have their own way of Destruction. Don't force it. We'll do this our way. I look forward to your script, Phantylia.]
With that, Xing Xiao's projection dissolved, and the eerie Harmony melody faded with it.
Gui Ji let out an ambiguous snort and dispersed into distorted motes of light. Fen Feng had already gone still, as if he'd never been there at all.
Phantylia remained alone on the desolate world, eyes shining with calculation and cold intent.
"Wei Qing… the Hunt's favored child…" she murmured. "Let's see—when the storm rises because of you… can you still stand aside, untouched?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter50)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter50)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter50)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 10
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 10
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin