Penacony
Dewlight Pavilion.
"Lord Head of the Family, as per your orders, we have investigated all factions that received invitations."
"Mm."
"But we have also received news from the Bloodhound Family… it seems the Everflame Mansion of the Annihilation Gang intends to declare war on us."
"…What?"
Inside Dewlight Pavilion, the young man with wing-like ornaments behind his head rubbed his temples in frustration.
Sunday was currently dealing with a major headache.
Who exactly had sent out so many invitations?
This was the first time in countless Amber Eras that Penacony's festival had invited factions outside the Family.
The Charmony Festival had always been a celebration hosted by the Harmony faction.
As one of Harmony's core forces, the Family held the festival at the beginning of each Amber Era.
But normally—
It was strictly internal.
This time, however, things were different.
Someone—
Someone with extremely high authority—
Had sent invitations to multiple external factions.
And according to Sunday's investigation…
The list of involved powers was alarming.
First, the Harmony Family itself.
Then the Interastral Peace Corporation of Preservation.
The Astral Express representing the Path of Trailblaze.
The Genius Society of Erudition.
The Garden of Recollection of Memory.
The Masked Fools of Elation.
Galaxy Rangers of the Hunt.
And even the Annihilation Gang of Destruction.
At this point—
The entire festival seemed to have slipped beyond Sunday's control.
Penacony itself was originally an IPC prison world, used to exile criminals.
The prisoners' work involved collecting memoria.
Which suggested the original disaster here might have been a massive memoria leak.
From the information Sunday had gathered—
The IPC would soon send a high-ranking representative.
That alone made things troublesome.
Penacony had once belonged to the Corporation.
If someone invited the IPC here now—
It was practically a challenge.
Sunday couldn't help but think of the IPC's Strategic Investment Department.
The Ten Stonehearts.
A professional debt-collection team.
Every member was an elite among elites.
The only question was—
Who exactly would the Corporation send?
"By the way, Lord Head of the Family."
"Miss Robin will soon arrive in Penacony."
"…What?"
"My sister is coming back?"
Sunday's expression changed instantly.
"Do we know her arrival time?"
"I want to personally welcome her."
Hearing that Robin was returning, Sunday could hardly believe it.
There was still time before the grand festival.
Yet his sister had already decided to come back.
Robin was no ordinary celebrity.
She was a galactic superstar, famous across countless star systems.
Having such a sister—
Of course Sunday was proud.
After hearing the full schedule from the Oak Family messenger, Sunday finally relaxed.
"Two days, huh… that's fine."
"Next time, don't stutter when you report. I thought Robin had already arrived."
He waved his hand.
"Tell the Bloodhound Family to ensure security."
"Eliminate all hidden threats."
"I will personally welcome my sister home."
"And also—bring me her latest album."
Sunday's tone returned to calm authority.
But the excitement in his heart was obvious.
"Robin…"
"My dear sister."
"You're finally coming home."
After the messenger left, Sunday opened his communicator.
News headlines flooded the screen.
Breaking! Galactic superstar Robin's next album title revealed!
"INSIDE – Air Cocoon"? New album confirmed!
IPC special concert confirmed? Tickets for Robin's tour sold out instantly!
Punklorde concert system hacked by unknown hackers!
Mysterious tycoon becomes Robin's #1 supporter!
Rumor: Robin secretly kept by a mysterious sponsor! Galactic paparazzi investigating!
Sunday stared at the headlines.
His fists clenched tightly.
Then—
Using an anonymous account—
He began replying to the comments furiously.
"What do you people know? Do you even understand Robin? Stop spreading nonsense!"
"Robin is a Halovian singer whose voice resonates through Harmony across the galaxy!"
"Exactly! She believes that if she keeps singing, someone somewhere in the universe will be comforted by her voice!"
"If you don't like her, just leave!"
"Robin is unparalleled! Robin is the best in the universe!"
After finishing his "battle" in the comment section, Sunday opened a music app.
Under Robin's songs, countless comments scrolled past.
"How did this composer HOYO-MiX sign Robin? Incredible."
"Excuse me, do you acknowledge that Miss Robin's beauty, wisdom, and voice are unmatched?"
"I acknowledge Miss Robin's beauty, wisdom, and voice are unmatched!"
"I'm Robin's loyal fan!"
"This song is unbelievably good!"
"Turn on EQ settings and adjust 31Hz and 62Hz to -3… come thank me later!"
"Whenever I'm sad, I listen to this song. It instantly heals me."
Seeing all the praise for his sister—
Sunday nodded in satisfaction.
He then opened the store page for Robin's new album and branded headphones.
Without hesitation—
He ordered 1,000 copies.
As Robin's biggest supporter, Sunday happily closed the shopping app.
Meanwhile—
On the Astral Express.
After returning from the battlefield where Ifrit had died—
Evan and the others brought back four items.
"Hmm?"
Himeko looked at the pile of equipment on the floor with confusion.
"March?"
"Don't look at me!" March 7th immediately protested.
"He's the one who insisted on bringing them back!"
"Yeah yeah!" Stelle agreed.
"It was Evan's idea!"
Dan Heng calmly folded his arms.
"They're relics from Ifrit."
When the four of them visited the Everflame Mansion's wreckage—
They found almost nothing.
Except—
A ceremonial suit left behind on the fiery throne.
"Ifrit?"
Himeko frowned.
She could hardly imagine what had happened in that star system.
The entire Annihilation Gang had been destroyed.
Even the infamous Lord of Everflame had been killed.
Who could possibly do something like that?
At that moment, Welt Yang slowly walked over, leaning on the Star of Eden.
"If I remember correctly," he said thoughtfully,
"The Annihilation Gang is quite powerful."
"To destroy them so easily…"
"Could it have been the Galaxy Rangers?"
After all—
Ifrit had long been seen as a demonic figure across the galaxy.
Yet Penacony had invited him.
That alone was strange.
And now—
He had died before even arriving.
"Unlikely," Dan Heng replied.
"If it were Galaxy Rangers, they would have left their mark."
"But the Everflame Mansion showed no sign of them."
"The killer only used one strike."
"Exactly!" March added.
"One single slash!"
"All those ships were swallowed by that strike!"
"It looked almost like the black hole Evan uses!"
"Black hole…?"
Welt fell silent.
A black hole-level attack…
Perhaps antimatter weapons?
But that wouldn't work on the Annihilation Gang.
Ifrit himself had destroyed countless civilizations.
Entire planets had watched his followers descend from flames.
He saw those acts as offerings to Nanook.
Yet ironically—
Because his destruction was never pure—
Nanook had never even glanced at him.
Even within the Annihilation Gang—
Ifrit had enemies.
The Yeperla Brotherhood.
Their rivalry had been vicious.
Eventually, the Brotherhood was annihilated by the Stellaron Hunters during the Yeperla Incident.
Many suspected Ifrit had played a role.
All of this information existed in the Astral Express archives.
Which made one fact even harder to accept—
A figure like Ifrit…
Had been killed so easily.
Whoever did it—
It was terrifying.
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