"Heh… heh… heh…"
A lazy, seductive laugh sounded first as that eerie yellow glow condensed.
"Lord Shuhu, why such disgrace?" Phantylia purred. "A recipient of the Merciful Medicus' blessing—reduced to such a pitiful state. How… regrettable."
She still hadn't fully manifested—only a hazy, graceful silhouette flickered in the void. But the malice and ridicule in her voice cut deeper than any physical strike.
Her gaze swept over Shuhu's nearly extinguished remnants—barely held together by a thread of Destruction—and her amusement grew.
"So it seems the Merciful Medicus' gift… isn't quite omnipotent, after all?"
On the other side, the chord-like sound—like a war-horn made of strings—rose sharp and piercing. Space tore under an unseen force as Zephyro stepped out.
Tall and razor-edged, she wore immaculate white that made her coldness look almost ceremonial. She held no visible weapon, yet with her hands half-clenched, the surrounding space subtly warped under invisible shockwaves.
Her eyes didn't even linger on Shuhu's humiliation.
They locked onto Wei Qing.
"The Hunt's spearhead… forcing an Abundance Emanator to this." Her voice carried no emotion—only assessment. "You are worth including in Destruction's considerations."
Wei Qing looked over the two newly arrived Emanators. No surprise showed on his face—between the System's warning and the Destruction taint inside Shuhu, he'd already suspected this.
"Phantylia. Zephyro. I know who you are," Wei Qing said calmly, pressure radiating from every syllable. "Hiding backstage, using others as ammunition—then finally showing yourselves when the pawn is about to break."
"So this is how Destruction's 'Great Lords' operate?" he continued, almost mocking. "Small, stingy… or is this your so-called aesthetic?"
"Heh." Phantylia's laugh was like poisoned honey—sweet enough to rot the soul. "You overstate it, Lord Wei Qing."
"We simply didn't wish to interrupt your elegant sparring with Lord Shuhu. After all—watching a rising star of the Hunt almost unilaterally crush an Abundance Emanator… that kind of performance is rare in the universe."
Her figure swayed within the yellow light, eyes greedy on the blood-red blade in Wei Qing's hand.
"Especially…" she lingered, openly covetous, "that delightful weapon of yours—able to sever Abundance. It makes one's heart itch."
Zephyro remained icily direct.
"Nanook's will is above all. Process and method are irrelevant."
Her gaze felt like a scalpel, trying to dissect Wei Qing down to marrow.
"Your power is unusual. The Hunt… and more. You are qualified to join us. Why bind yourself to the ossified Xianzhou covenant?"
"Oh?" Wei Qing answered, dry. "You're sure this isn't just trying to scam me?"
"Isn't it more likely you were called in because Phantylia got furious and needed help saving face?"
The words landed like a thrown spear, puncturing the atmosphere the two Emanators were cultivating.
Phantylia's yellow-lit silhouette rippled—lazy amusement sharpening into something cold.
"Defeat is nourishment for growth," she said. "I remember your 'hospitality' from last time. I think of it often… and I intend to repay it with interest."
Zephyro responded with action: her half-clenched hands lifted slightly. The shockwaves intensified, as if countless invisible strings were plucked at once—aimed straight at Wei Qing.
"Verbal probing is meaningless. Nanook watches. Destruction's progress will not be obstructed. Hand over yourself—or your remains. The outcome is the same."
Right at the knife-edge moment—
"Cough… cough… you two… bastards…"
A weak voice, saturated with venomous hatred, rasped out as though squeezed through a crack in the underworld.
The hatred of betrayal in Shuhu's tone briefly overwhelmed even his fear of Undying Severance. Their "late arrival" clearly wasn't an accident.
Phantylia chuckled, speaking as if soothing a sulking child.
"Lord Shuhu, that's unfair. If not for the Destruction power I gave you protecting the last thread of your life… you would already be cosmic dust beneath that strange red blade. Isn't that right?"
"And besides…" she drawled, playful. "A recipient of the Medicus' blessing should appreciate the pleasure of waiting for fruit to ripen. We merely waited… for the most suitable moment to enter."
It was sophistry—throwing oil on Shuhu's rage.
Yet Shuhu abruptly went quiet.
He didn't believe for a second that they'd helped him out of kindness.
Then he made his choice.
Abundance life-force and that thread of Destruction were forcibly detonated.
Blinding light swallowed the area. A violent tide of power slammed toward the other three—not to kill them, but to create maximal chaos.
All to buy a single chance for the tiny, nearly untraceable "core" at the center to slip away.
Zephyro snorted.
The string-resonance formed a shield—precise and brutally efficient—deflecting and constraining the worst of the blast. It wasn't compassion; it was control. She refused to let the turbulence disrupt her lock on Wei Qing.
"How decisive," Phantylia sighed, her laughter carrying mild annoyance at having her entertainment interrupted. "What a pity. Such excellent material."
She didn't try to stop him—she knew it would be pointless.
"If you truly wanted Shuhu, you shouldn't have agreed to fabricate him such a body," Zephyro said coolly. "Now he escapes too easily."
"I didn't want to," Phantylia replied with a note of regret. "But if I hadn't agreed, that sly creature wouldn't have consented to enter the board at all."
It was obvious: to them, Shuhu was never a companion.
The ideal outcome was Shuhu and Wei Qing mauling each other into mutual ruin—then letting the two Destruction Emanators collect the profit.
As practitioners of Destruction, Abundance was also on their list—just lower priority than certain targets.
Wei Qing's eyes swept the turbulent aftermath of Shuhu's self-destruction, but the faint escaping point was already gone—like mud sinking into the sea, leaving no trace.
He wasn't surprised.
He simply turned his attention back to the two Emanators in front of him.
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 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 30
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 30
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