"Damn—so cold!"
Jarilo-VI, Everwinter Ridge.
The coldest region of the Upper Zone—and the place where the most war relics are buried.
After casually knocking out the Silvermane Guards using very physical methods, Evan and Seele finally arrived.
This place felt even colder than the snowfields.
Compared to Everwinter Ridge, the Mechanical Settlement was practically paradise.
The moment they stepped in, razor-sharp winds slammed into them.
The biting blizzard tore across the land—if they weren't Pathwalkers, their exposed skin would've been shredded long ago.
Luckily, Evan was wearing a coat.
As for Seele—
Evan genuinely couldn't understand why girls insisted on style over warmth.
Even though the storm posed little real threat to someone like him—a Path-empowered Herrscher—there was still a psychological chill.
"Yeah… it's freezing," Seele muttered, shivering slightly.
She immediately received a deadpan look from Evan.
"If you're cold, why don't you wear more clothes?"
"Here—take a coat."
As he spoke, Evan reconstructed a long coat on the spot and tossed it over.
"Nope!"
"Too ugly. And it'll mess with my fighting!"
Seele stepped back.
Seele refused.
Seele waved goodbye.
"Oh. Then freeze."
Evan turned his gaze toward the distance.
"This place is close to the Stellaron—the source of all of Jarilo-VI's winter."
"Honestly, I wonder if Stellarons have attributes."
"Is this one ice-type or something?"
No one actually knew.
Jarilo-VI's Stellaron had brought seven hundred years of winter.
The Stellaron on the Xianzhou Luofu revived the Ambrosial Arbor.
Penacony's Stellaron built an entire dream world.
Each one behaved differently.
But one thing was certain—
The blizzards caused by this Stellaron were cold enough that even Pathwalkers felt it.
Especially here.
Everwinter Ridge.
A land of eternal winter.
A true frozen wasteland.
Even Seele—walking the Path of the Hunt and protected by Preservation—felt the cold seep in.
The wind howled.
Then—
A transparent barrier suddenly formed around Seele.
The cold receded almost instantly.
"This is…?"
"Just a little trick. Don't underestimate the Path of Erudition."
Seele poked the thin-looking shield curiously.
Evan withdrew his hand.
It was essentially a standard ship-grade energy barrier.
Missiles couldn't break it—let alone cold air.
Still…
Even if her body wasn't cold anymore, the endless white wasteland made the chill feel inescapable.
Then—
Seele's eyes widened.
Behind Evan, the Moonlight Throne cannons—the ones she'd already seen in the Underworld—materialized.
"Tch… not enough."
"The enemy is a Stellaron. I'd better be thorough."
In an instant, the twelve cannons multiplied.
Twelve became twenty-four.
Twenty-four became thirty-six.
Thirty-six became forty-eight.
It wasn't comparable to the thousands deployed when Bronya supported Kiana against the Herrscher of Sentience—
But on this narrow frozen path?
More than sufficient.
These were Imaginary-powered Moonlight Thrones.
And if needed—
Evan could still deploy the super-sized pre-Era Moonlight Throne capable of suppressing the Herrscher of the End for half an hour.
Yes.
He had already analyzed it.
The overwhelming, almost paranoid level of firepower spread outward.
Fragmentum monsters blocking the path—
Were erased.
Crushed.
Reduced to nothingness before they could even react.
Elsewhere—
The Stellaron continued to manipulate Cocolia, tightening its grip on Bronya.
Even with Bronya's resolve, the Stellaron—having failed once—refused to let another chance slip away.
But—
Just as it was about to succeed—
A single instant.
An Imaginary cannon blast from the Moonlight Throne tore through the air.
At the same time, a scythe flew straight toward the Stellaron's core.
And a voice echoed—
"Don't go near it!"
"Bronya!"
Cocolia froze.
The Stellaron froze.
Forty-eight fully charged Moonlight Thrones locked onto them.
The moment Cocolia saw that formation—
She activated the Engine of Creation without hesitation.
Cold weapons against cold weapons.
Hot weapons against hot weapons.
Then what about the Engine of Creation?
The Stellaron erupted in rage.
So did Cocolia.
Fury.
Wrath.
Madness.
"Damn you—underworld scavengers!"
"Why are you stopping me?!"
"Why?!"
"Embrace the Stellaron, and we can have a world without poverty, without cold, without suffering!"
"A world that doesn't need the gaze of gods to survive!"
"A world without Preservation!"
"You underworld dogs—why interfere?! WHY?!"
She spread her arms—
And embraced the Stellaron.
Her body began to transform.
Her voice grew hollow, distant, unreal.
"Bronya… come."
"Come to your mother's side, my good daughter."
"Help me eliminate these underworld rebels."
"And together—"
"We will welcome the new world."
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