[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Hidden Treasure Chest obtained!]
[Open the chest?]
Not long after Argenti left, the Astral Express burst out of the giant bug's mouth.
In the distance, March 7th's cheers echoed through the carriage.
And then—
Evan heard the system notification again.
Open it.
[Ding! Congratulations! You obtained: Blessing of the Knights of Beauty!]
[Blessing Effect: The next treasure chest you open has a 100% chance of containing a top-tier item!]
So Argenti left him a blessing too?
The Blessing of the Knights of Beauty.
Evan remembered this quite clearly.
In the Simulated Universe, two encounters were universally beloved.
One was Ruan Mei.
The other was the Knight of Beauty blessing event.
Both were considered the luckiest outcomes players could get.
So this reward actually made perfect sense.
After finishing the reward check, Evan leaned back onto the sofa.
But when he looked up—
March and the others were staring outside with strange expressions.
"What's wrong?"
March pointed out the window.
"Do you think… we might be prophets or something?"
"…What?"
Evan followed her finger.
Ahead of the train—
A massive field of destroyed starships drifted through space.
"What the hell is that?"
"Don't tell me we're running into another Tingyun situation?"
After observing for a moment, Welt Yang spoke.
"Judging by the markings on those ships…"
"They belong to the Annihilation Gang."
"The Annihilation Gang?"
"Should we go check it out?"
Soon after, Evan, Dan Heng, March, and Stelle boarded a small scouting vessel and headed toward the wreckage.
"Yeah… definitely their ships," Dan Heng confirmed.
"What's the Annihilation Gang?" Stelle asked.
Looking at the wreckage, Evan noticed something strange.
"These ships…"
"They were cut in half."
"Cleanly."
"No additional damage."
Dan Heng scanned the interior.
"No life signs."
"It's as if something… devoured everything."
The ships looked like they had been split by a single blade.
Inside, everything was unnaturally smooth.
Only the gigantic cut remained.
Nothing else.
"A blade?" March frowned.
"What kind of sword could do something like that?"
To slice a starship in half like that—
You would need power on the level of an Emanator.
Ordinary Pathstriders simply couldn't achieve something like this.
"...Nihility."
Evan finally spoke quietly.
Even though the blade's energy had already faded—
As the Herrscher of Reason, Evan understood singularity-like energy signatures better than anyone.
This cut felt familiar.
It was Nihility.
The power of a Self-Annihilator.
In other words—
Acheron.
Or by another name more familiar to Evan—
Raiden Bosenmori Mei.
Stelle raised her hand again.
"So… what exactly is the Annihilation Gang?"
"They're followers of the Path of Nanook," Evan explained.
"Believers in destruction."
"Though Nanook himself doesn't actually acknowledge them."
The Annihilation Gang wasn't weak.
Nanook rejected them not because of their power—
But because their destruction wasn't pure.
Their destruction had motives.
Goals.
Profit.
To Nanook—
Only pure destruction mattered.
That's why even someone as powerful as Ifrit—
Was still considered insignificant by the Aeon.
Evan hadn't expected to encounter this scene personally.
Ifrit's ideology was simple:
Declare war on Harmony.
Declare war on Elation.
Declare war on Preservation.
Why not the Hunt?
Because if they provoked the Xianzhou Alliance—
The Hunt would genuinely come after them.
"Look," Evan said.
"There's a bigger ship over there."
"That might be their Everflame Mansion."
Using spatial compression technology inside starships was common practice.
Building an entire palace inside one was nothing unusual.
But when they arrived—
They found the same result.
Total destruction.
"Whoa…"
"Even this giant ship was cut in half," March muttered.
"Who could possibly be this strong…"
The scouting ship entered the wreckage zone.
Inside—
Everything had been annihilated.
No members of the Annihilation Gang remained.
No signs of life.
The atmosphere was unsettling.
Then Evan spoke again.
"Nihility."
"The entire area is filled with it."
"Everything here has already lost its meaning."
"Let's leave. Back to the train."
Even without visible enemies—
The lingering Nihility energy was terrifying.
The Self-Annihilator responsible had power beyond ordinary Emanators.
Even with Evan's dual Emanator authority, staying here too long might drag him toward Nihility's abyss.
"Alright," March said.
"Let's report this to Mr. Yang and Himeko first."
The scouting ship turned around and flew back to the Astral Express.
Far away in space—
The shattered fleet drifted like a graveyard.
Nihility energy filled the region.
Anyone who lingered here risked slowly slipping into despair.
Even without the presence of IX, the Aeon of Nihility—
Its Path could still influence the area through a single Self-Annihilator.
Within the Path of Nihility, two major factions existed.
One was the Self-Annihilators.
People who unconsciously fell into Nihility's shadow.
Eventually losing everything—
Even the meaning of their own existence.
The other faction was the Chaos Doctors.
They too had glimpsed Nihility—
But they fought against it.
In this graveyard of starships—
Only one individual could have caused such devastation.
Several system hours earlier…
Inside the Everflame Mansion, headquarters of the Annihilation Gang.
On a massive throne sat a fiery demon.
The lord of this faction.
The Flame Demon from Turbid Fet.
Ifrit.
His homeworld had once been destroyed personally by Nanook.
The Flame Demons were plasma lifeforms born from that destroyed world.
Naturally violent.
Naturally destructive.
And Ifrit was their greatest leader.
Before him stood his four children.
Akash — The Tuner.
Dubra — The Scribe.
Caterina — The Shackled.
Constance — The Dahlia.
"My children of flame…"
"This will be your coming-of-age trial."
"Akash, my most emotional child…"
"Dubra, my most intelligent child…"
"Caterina, my bravest child…"
"And Constance—my most ambitious child."
The Lord of Everflame declared war.
Against four Paths simultaneously.
His goal—
Penacony.
The land of dreams.
The stage of destruction.
Then Ifrit stepped down from his throne.
Staff in hand.
He walked past his children.
Dubra's small puppet-like body cast a massive shadow behind her.
"Father," Dubra asked calmly.
"This mission is dangerous."
"What is our escape plan?"
Ifrit didn't even turn around.
"Escape plan?"
"There has never been one."
For them—
Destruction was a glorious moment.
Survival meant nothing.
Then suddenly—
A panicked voice echoed through the palace.
"My lord! Something terrible has happened!"
"A woman—she destroyed our entire fleet!"
Before Ifrit could react—
The doors of the Everflame Mansion exploded.
A white-haired figure walked in.
A blade at her side.
Her strike had shattered the palace gates instantly.
Ifrit laughed.
"Interesting."
"State your name."
"I never kill nameless opponents."
Flames erupted throughout the hall.
The four children felt the heat instantly.
But the woman remained completely unaffected.
Her hand rested calmly on her sword.
Ready to draw.
"I am a Galaxy Ranger."
"My name is Acheron."
"I came here for one thing."
"The invitation to the Penacony celebration."
She pointed her gaze at the object in Ifrit's hand.
"That music box."
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