"Bleeeh~~!" Perhaps because the impact of the neutron star explosion was too intense, even a "demonic sword" like Black Cutter had been greatly affected. Up until now, it had already let out a third strange cry.
Although the continuously strengthening shock hitting its body made Black Cutter feel unbearable pain, as Nero's weapon, it understood the boy somewhat.
The pain it was feeling right now was probably still less than the pain that boy endured when he went all out.
Every time that boy used his full strength, cracks would appear all over his body, making him look like a piece of crystal craftwork that had been shattered and then carefully stitched and glued back together.
Every crack was a wound, and every wound was proof of having once been broken.
As a sword with its own thoughts, caring about its master was just part of daily life. It knew the pain Nero suffered when he went all out, and it thought about it often. In the end, it concluded that this must be related to Nero's identity.
He was a child pieced together from fragments of Pure Beauty. So, when he fully used his power, that power would tear open the fragile connections between those fragments, and that was what caused the tearing pain in Nero's body.
This was the conclusion Black Cutter reached through its own thinking. As for whether it was correct, it couldn't give a definite answer.
Maybe it was because of the power of Pure Beauty, maybe because of the appearance of Pure Beauty, or maybe because of Nero's overwhelming strength, or perhaps simply because of Nero's cheerful personality, ever since it had been taken and given to Nero as a weapon, Black Cutter had almost never thought about harming others. Instead, it cared deeply about Nero.
Even now, while resisting the terrifying shock from the enemy, it still kept most of its attention on Nero.
"Nero! What did you just say?"
Black Cutter asked. Even though the neutron star explosion brought immense shock and deafening noise, it still caught Nero's faint, mosquito-like voice amidst the turbulence.
"I've got a way!", Nero said, then moved around Black Cutter and charged toward that point of light.
Everyone who was resisting the shock, or barely holding on, was startled when they saw Nero suddenly rush forward. Clearly, they were shocked by the boy's action.
Seeing Nero rush out of the barrier's protection range, Dan Heng immediately shouted, "Xiao Nero! What are you doing!?"
It was rare to see Teacher Dan Heng this emotionally shaken. But Nero's reply made everyone's heartbeat stall for a moment.
"Aemdo said that thing is a recording left behind by his shattered mirror, right? I'm also made of fragments!"
The boy's voice was light and brisk as his frail divine body rushed toward the direction shrouded in intense light and heat.
Aemdo and Phantylia were also extremely surprised by Nero's action. Watching that boy charge toward the terrifying explosion, Aemdo's eyes widened slightly.
He fell into self-reflection.
Should he really do such a thing just to collect fragments? Bringing Him back was important, but would causing those who uphold justice and fairness, or even innocent lives, to disappear for that purpose… be something He would like?
Some distant memories resurfaced in Aemdo's mind, recording how he had become the Omen of Burning Stars…
Back then, Aemdo was still traveling across the galaxy to spread praise. When he landed on that land, the humans under that yellow sky were struggling to survive.
The stone-like fruits in the Silver-Gray Mountains were their main source of food.
After countless Amber Eras of development, those people had managed to carve out cultivation areas for this strange fruit within the mountains.
Though not vast, it was enough to sustain their small tribal civilization.
Aside from that, some small creatures roaming the Silver-Gray Mountains became one of the few delicacies for the humans there.
Those little things were about the size of foxes, long and thin in body, yet they looked somewhat like pigs. They were very fast and hard to catch.
Most importantly, the water source that humans relied on for survival was also found within the Silver-Gray Mountains.
The people there marked paths inside mountain caves, recording several small sources of running water.
The largest one was still not as wide as the ordinary small streams Aemdo had once seen on green planets.
This was a harsh place, close to a primitive society. Yet the people here were simple and guileless.
When Aemdo, completely different from them, with elegant features and clad in silver armor, arrived in his small ship, they almost treated him as a god and welcomed him with their rarest food, those small pig-like creatures.
Aemdo was moved by the firm will to survive and the rare innocence and simplicity of these people.
He took out gifts he had received during his travels, some extremely drought-resistant, sand-resistant, and high-yield edible crops, and gave them to the people here, teaching them how to farm.
At the same time, Aemdo would venture into the Silver-Gray Mountains every day to observe.
He hoped to find a suitable water source and figure out a way to guide it into the caves and down to the human settlement at the foot of the mountains.
His well-trained body allowed him to carry out high-intensity exploration work in the mountains.
At first, everything went smoothly. Aemdo got along very well with the people there.
Until one day, after finding a water source that could be redirected, he hurried back to the settlement to share the good news.
At that moment, a blazing white beam descended from the sky and landed in the settlement.
The scorching heat instantly melted everything there, and Aemdo was thrown away by the shock of the explosion.
The Silver-Gray Mountains suffered a devastating impact. They began to tremble and collapse. Aemdo couldn't find a single person to save.
Covered in blood, he could only rush out of the mountains in a miserable state. Then he saw countless shadowy figures covering the sky. One after another, radiant light sources hung like suns over the planet's dome.
Beams filled with destructive energy bombarded the planet in a sweeping attack, plowing through the entire surface.
Amid the rain of destruction formed by those beams, Aemdo had no time to dodge and nowhere to hide. Lacking power, he couldn't withstand such bombardment.
Amid deafening explosions, scorching heat, and the upheaval of earth and shattered rocks, Aemdo bled heavily, fell to the ground, and finally lost consciousness.
When Aemdo woke up again, this already barren and decaying planet had become even more ruined. The humans who lived there couldn't even be found as ashes.
He heard some voices, along with footsteps. Someone was talking.
"This place is way too harsh."
"Ha, harsh, but undeveloped. There are plenty of useful resources."
"But I still wish I could work somewhere with a better environment. Look at this place, it's too broken. Remember before we landed?"
"Even after being bombarded, the surface barely changed! If it weren't for the high pay and promotion chance for this job, I wouldn't come here. This isn't a place humans can live."
"Maybe not necessarily. Even with such a harsh environment, there might still be people living here."
"What kind of people? Savages? Wouldn't that just be monkeys? Hahaha!"
"Hahahahaha! Let's go. Finish checking this area and head back to eat. If we find a suitable mining spot, we might both get promoted."