On the other side of the cosmos, the new Lord Ravager was led away by Nanook.
However, the Aeon didn't immediately cast it out to seek its first contractor.
That massive swarm-bug had chosen self-destruction to rebel against the Swarm, surrendering everything to Nanook.
Now, this puppet—resembling a Lightning-Lord in form—didn't even have a settled name. It lacked a complete sense of self, appearing even dimmer than the headless Irontomb.
Throwing it out into the wild just yet felt premature.
It wasn't out of concern for the puppet's safety, but rather a matter of timing.
The resurrections of Ena and Tayzzyronth had only just shaken the universe; unleashing an overt Lord Ravager now might result in it being jumped and suppressed by a coalition before it could even make a move.
When Nanook forged this Ravager, half the intent was to secure its ability to churn out endless troops based on memory.
Such a tool couldn't be tossed away haphazardly. Furthermore, Celenova was currently in dire need of such high-efficiency reinforcement.
Following her successive clashes with Bai Ming, Celenova's legion had been nearly decimated.
High-end elite expansion was never an efficient process, causing her strength to plummet to the point where she had barely made a move lately.
This creation of Propagation and Destruction, however, could manifest a wave of Antimatter Legion soldiers based on the enemy's numbers before an invasion even began.
It could then turn around, infect the originals with Destruction, and convert them into more Voidrangers.
Doubling recruitment efficiency with such blunt, brutal force was exactly what Celenova needed.
Thus, she was summoned by Nanook and entrusted with the newborn Lord Ravager.
Though the pitch-black giant didn't quite fit her aesthetic, the inherent power of the Swarm made it hard for her to keep her cool.
Beyond the raw doubling of troop numbers, the Voidrangers spawned would appear directly within the enemy's ranks.
If paired with Celenova's legendary precision and micro-management, the sheer efficiency made her pulse race with excitement.
There was just one catch. This ability to birth Voidrangers from the memories of others... why did it look so much like the Swarm ability that Bai Ming fellow used?
Coupled with the obvious traits of Propagation on the summon's body, she even wondered if the Blemished One had personally made a move against Bai Ming.
Where else would such a peculiar power come from?
Celenova, who had been cooped up lately, was still in the dark regarding the incidents at Amphoreus.
"Tch, I hope Bai Ming hasn't been suppressed by the Blemished One already..."
For some reason, when that thought crossed her mind, Celenova didn't feel as satisfied as she expected.
Instead, there was a faint sense of regret—regret that she hadn't been the one to take Bai Ming down herself, drag her back, and hang her up for a good thrashing.
But soon enough, after catching up on recent reports, that lingering shred of worry vanished instantly.
Others might not know, but Celenova could recognize her at a single glance even without sensing her aura.
That Halovian woman standing so out of place in the middle of the battlefield was absolutely Bai Ming!
Confirming that Bai Ming was alive and well, Celenova's competitive streak flared up hotter than ever.
"Just you wait, Bai Ming! I'll be the one to take you down personally!"
Feeling the summon now bound to her, Celenova let out a cold snort.
With this power, her legion-building speed would skyrocket. It wouldn't be long before she could "catch up" with Bai Ming properly.
This ordeal had served as a wake-up call, though.
With Bai Ming's habit of stirring up trouble everywhere, it wouldn't be surprising if the girl ended up dead in some godforsaken corner of the galaxy one day.
She needed to replenish her forces immediately, take this new power, and go capture Bai Ming to lock her up at home, where she could beat her every single day!
Sure, she hadn't managed to win a single fight against Bai Ming in the past. But that didn't matter!
This black giant was a new Lord Ravager; the power within it was immense.
With the right coordination, they could achieve a "one plus one is greater than two" effect—and who among the Ravagers was better at coordination than Celenova?
With this superior troop-spawning ability, Celenova was feeling more than a little overconfident.
She truly believed that with a surprise attack, the day she finally claimed victory over Bai Ming was just around the corner!
--+--
Meanwhile, the 'Robin' in question had no idea that Celenova was getting cocky again and itching for trouble. She was still busy experimenting with various ways to record the songs of Harmony.
'Robin' was incredibly enthusiastic about the project.
Since the power of Harmony itself possessed such a strong infectious quality, if it could be embedded within a song, any melody would carry an intense emotional weight.
Therefore, the choice of song didn't really matter.
Plagiarizing existing songs was an option, but it felt unnecessary—besides, if Herta found out, she'd never hear the end of the mockery.
After some thought, she figured she might as well go for something abstract.
She imagined a scene where the entire galaxy was swept up in memes like "Hachimi Mambo Remix" or "Mambo~".
The mere thought of it made her struggle to stifle a laugh.
One truly never tires of being a bit of a troll.
However, her attempts hadn't yielded the desired results.
Relying on the power of Remembrance or Memetic Viruses made the lingering power too conspicuous.
The power of the Enigmata was a possibility, but if a loophole were found and the lie exposed, the whole foundation would crumble.
It wasn't stable enough.
She needed a better method—a way to anchor the power of Harmony within the music itself.
Eventually, a frustrated 'Robin' wandered over to Madam Herta's side to change her mood by enjoying the sight of the puppet frowning in a huff.
She overheard Herta complaining to Screwllum:
"Aha might indeed involve 'Existence,' but how on earth did THEY use the power of Elation to drag out Order and Propagation...?"
Since Aha hadn't bothered to cover THEIR tracks—or perhaps had left them specifically for Herta to find—they had confirmed THEY were the culprit.
But that raised new questions.
Herta was now curious about Elation.
She had originally assumed Aha stole the power of Remembrance or borrowed from Enigmata to pull it off, but it turned out Aha was the sole perpetrator.
'Robin' didn't join the discussion about Elation and Aha, but a thought suddenly struck her.
If the power of Elation could turn the fake into reality within the Simulated Universe, could it also be used to bolster the Harmony within her songs?
More importantly, 'Robin' actually possessed quite a bit of Elation herself.
It was just that usually, she used Destruction for fights, Remembrance for mechanics, and relied on her genius friends for everything else.
Her Elation had basically been a ghost in the machine, devoid of any presence.
However, 'Robin' felt she wasn't actually that well-acquainted with the path of Elation.
To achieve her goal within the time limit of her character card, she needed to find a veteran Fool to brainstorm with.
Without a moment's hesitation, 'Robin' dialed Sparkle's number.
For a project this absurd, how could she possibly leave little Sparkle out of the fun?
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL