"Have your men pull back." Cloud told Heidern. "From here, leave it to me. No matter what happens, don't interfere."
With that, without any visible effort, he simply took a light step forward. His body passed through the energy barrier as easily as breaking through water, entering without the slightest resistance.
"ROARRRR—!!!"
Sensing a stranger's presence, the berserk Leona immediately redirected her attack toward Cloud.
She let out a bestial howl, her form blurring into a streak of blood-red lightning, her blade-hands aimed straight at Cloud's heart!
Yet facing this strike—capable of shredding battleship armor—Cloud merely extended two fingers.
Clink.
A crisp sound rang out like metal striking metal.
Leona's supposedly unstoppable blade-hand was effortlessly caught between Cloud's two fingers.
"Still got that explosive temper, little lady." Cloud looked at this beautiful face twisted by madness and shook his head. "Looks like external firewalls can't suppress the virus in your system anymore. Time for... a complete system reinstall."
His other hand shot out, lightning-fast, and gently touched Leona's brow.
A wave of spiritual force—gentle yet dominating, capable of suppressing gods and demons—instantly flooded into Leona's mind!
The berserk girl's body stiffened. In her crimson eyes, a flicker of struggle appeared.
Then, like a robot whose power had been cut, she went limp and collapsed, caught securely in Cloud's embrace.
"Alright, step one—forced shutdown—complete."
Cloud held the unconscious Leona and sat down cross-legged, closing his eyes.
"Step two—entering safe mode—initiating... virus scan!"
His divine soul emerged from his body once more, transforming into a stream of golden light. Following the link between their spiritual forces, it entered Leona's inner world—now engulfed by a crimson storm.
Leona's mental landscape had become a living hell.
The sky was an eerie blood-red. The earth burned with eternal black flames.
The air was saturated with despair, pain, and hatred.
At the center of this world, a small girl in a blue dress sat hugging her knees, curled up in a corner, trembling.
Around her, countless grotesque black monsters formed from negative emotions circled, whispering malicious words.
"It was you... you killed mommy and daddy..."
"You're a monster... a cursed child..."
"Everyone died because of you..."
This was the nightmare and inner demon left behind when Leona's Orochi blood first went berserk in childhood, and she killed her parents with her own hands.
Cloud's divine soul descended into this land of despair. Looking at the little girl being devoured by shadows, he sighed softly.
"Such a pitiful child."
He didn't approach immediately, knowing that the current little Leona was filled with fear and rejection of the outside world.
What he needed to do first was help her clean out these annoying "junk files."
"Hey, you spiritual pollution entities over there." Cloud beckoned to the black monsters. "Your administrator is here. Line up and wait to be formatted."
Those heart-demon monsters seemed to sense the powerful aura emanating from Cloud—filled with "light" and "life"—and roared in fury, surging toward him like a tidal wave!
However, the instant they were about to reach Cloud, a figure in an elegant priest's robe, wearing a "God loves the world" smile, suddenly appeared between Cloud and the monsters.
It was Goenitz's spiritual remnant!
Originally, when Goenitz injected Leona with Orochi blood, he'd left a "backdoor program" in her mental world for future manipulation.
"You again, Cloud." Goenitz's spiritual remnant looked at Cloud with that hypocritical smile.
"I really didn't expect you'd chase me here... But this is my home turf. In this world built from despair and hatred, your light will be useless!"
As he spoke, he spread his arms wide. All those black monsters merged into his body, making his aura even more evil and powerful!
"Embrace despair!"
"Heh, a guy I've already locked in solitary confinement singing 'Tears Behind Bars,' and his leftover trojan program dares act cocky in front of me?"
Cloud curled his lip dismissively.
"Perfect timing—saves me from cleaning them up one by one."
He extended his right hand. In his palm, a golden dancing "Divine Flame" slowly rose.
"Let me show you what real administrator privileges look like."
"Orochinagi—Spiritual Purification Version!"
A sea of golden fire instantly swept across the entire mental world!
Those filthy entities formed from negative emotions, under the illumination of the "Divine Flame," let out piercing screams like snow meeting scorching sun, rapidly purified and evaporated!
Goenitz's arrogant spiritual remnant didn't even get to finish his line before being reduced to nothing in the inferno—not even a data fragment remained.
The world fell silent.
But Cloud knew this wasn't over yet.
The moment Goenitz's remnant was destroyed, the blood-red world's core—that earth burning with black flames—began to writhe violently!
An enormous phantom slowly rose from underground—a monstrous form composed of eight hideous serpent heads, condensed purely from the will of destruction!
The Eight-Headed Serpent's will fragment!
This was the true source of Leona's berserk power!
"HISSSS—!!!"
All eight serpent heads simultaneously opened their cavernous maws, releasing roars capable of shattering souls as they lunged to devour Cloud!
"Excellent!" Cloud's reaction was excitement rather than fear.
He held nothing back, releasing the intent of his Ultimate Power completely!
...
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