"This mission will be led by March 7th, Stelle, Phainon, and Welt, heading to the Xianzhou Loufu."
Himeko's voice echoed in the parlor car, her gaze calm as it swept over everyone.
"Don't worry, Himeko!" March 7th patted her chest, full of energy. "With Uncle Yang and Phainon, my sense of security is through the roof!"
"Mm…" Himeko nodded slightly.
Her gaze first fell on Stelle, then finally turned to the silent, black-robed figure.
"Phainon, I know you'll protect Stelle well. However, this is the Xianzhou Loufu, one of the most powerful civilizations in the universe."
"If you act impulsively on the Loufu, the consequences will be far more severe than on the Herta Space Station."
Welt Yang pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses incredibly serious.
"Not only that, but the Xianzhou Alliance is one of the very few factions that can directly draw power from the Aeons."
"Once they fully set their sights on you, what you'll face is an endless hunt spanning across the star seas."
Under Phainon's mask, a faint sneer escaped.
"Sounds… not bad."
He paused, his tone returning to their usual flatness, as if the earlier mad ramblings were all an illusion.
"However, I will be mindful of the boundaries."
"Besides, with Mr. Welt here, Miss Himeko doesn't need to worry."
Hearing this, Welt Yang subconsciously felt his pocket to see if he had any emergency heart medicine.
"Alright." Himeko said no more. "Everyone find a seat. I'll go inform the Conductor that we're about to prepare for the jump."
At her words, everyone returned to their respective positions.
Phainon settled back into his seat by the window, lost in thought.
There were two objectives for the Xianzhou trip.
First, to make contact with the Stellaron Hunters and obtain Elio's "script."
Second, Phantylia!
That Lord Ravager, whose creed of destruction was "interesting," was a Tsyang, an energy being.
Her authority… the power to inject the concept of destruction into all things.
Destruction was closely related to the Kindling.
That was the key to igniting more Kindling.
I need to intercept that power.
It's far from enough right now.
"Attention, all passengers, we are about to begin the warp jump. Please fasten your seatbelts, Pom-Pom!"
Pom-Pom's voice interrupted Phainon's thoughts.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
The next instant.
The Astral Express was enveloped in blue light, and the scenery outside the window instantly transformed into a kaleidoscope of colors.
When the starlight outside the window became ethereal once more, the train had already arrived at the Loufu.
Phainon slowly rose, and along with the others, walked to the enormous porthole.
A colossal ship floated in the cosmos.
It didn't resemble steel, yet it possessed a style born from the fusion of traditional anime aesthetics and cyberpunk.
Countless ornate buildings, pavilions, and palaces were stacked layer upon layer, clinging to the ship's hull, which coiled and sprawled like a giant tree.
At the tips of the upturned eaves, a gentle, flowing light shimmered, like stars breathing.
Golden Star-Skipper tracks wove a spiderweb, wrapping around the giant ship, connecting different grotto-heavens, with tiny points of light silently shuttling within them.
The entire colossal ship was shrouded beneath a light curtain as thin as a cicada's wing, separating the mundane world from the celestial realm.
Solemn, ancient.
And yet, it harbored hidden dangers.
Dan Heng had arrived beside Phainon at some point, gazing at the familiar star region, his eyes dark, holding an unresolved melancholy.
Phainon slightly turned his head to look at Dan Heng.
"I remember this is your homeland."
Dan Heng paused. Phainon, who was usually colder than him, had actually asked this question.
"Mm… However, I have no memories of my homeland. I was only warned never to set foot here again when I was expelled from the Loufu."
"That's good. Remembering too much isn't a good thing." Phainon responded indifferently.
At this moment, March 7th, behind the two, nudged Stelle's arm.
"Hey, did you notice? These two actually get along surprisingly well, huh?"
Stelle smacked her lips. "How did you only just notice?"
…After several twists and turns, the Loufu's port finally opened a passage.
The group stepped onto the ground of the Star-Skipper Sea.
It was deserted.
Terribly quiet.
"A deserted port?! So many horror movies start like this." March 7th scared herself, shivering twice.
Welt Yang coughed twice, about to speak.
"Uncle Yang, if you were going to say to be careful, it's too late. Phainon has already moved." Stelle reminded him from the side.
Everyone looked, and saw Phainon, neither fast nor slow, summon the Dawnbreaker, gripping it in his hand.
The next moment, he spread out like a pool of ink, transforming into a shadow, rapidly flowing along the dark street.
A cold voice echoed from afar, carrying a hint of uncontrollable excitement.
"I'll clear the way, and incidentally… sharpen my sword."
"You… sigh…" Welt Yang let out a helpless sigh. "Follow him."
Welt led March 7th and Stelle, hurrying to catch up.
The sights along the way were shocking.
Because the path ahead had been cleared too thoroughly.
Strange corpses lay by the roadside, their bodies burst open from within by some force, growing gnarled, grotesque branches and leaves.
But without exception, they were all precisely split in two right down the center.
The cuts were as smooth as a mirror, without a trace of superfluous damage.
A cold, pure, and madly beautiful aura of destruction lingered on this path of death.
"The atmosphere wasn't that scary to begin with, but now it's even more like a horror movie." March 7th muttered to herself, looking at a vertically split Mara-Struck body.
Just then, a hurried cry for help came from ahead.
"Hey, what are you all standing around for? Come help!"
Turning the corner, a scene of a trapped beast's struggle came into view.
A Foxian woman, protected by two Cloud Knights, was being forced back by Mara-Struck monsters.
Welt's staff was slightly raised, Stelle already gripped her baseball bat, and March 7th drew her bowstring, ready to rescue.
But a shadow was faster than all of them.
The shadow didn't descend from above, but appeared silently from behind the Foxian woman.
The two Cloud Knights guards immediately felt a killing intent, and turned back in horror, "What?!"
In an instant.
A black sword light swept across.
Pfft—
The foremost Mara-Struck monsters were neatly severed at the waist; their upper bodies were still lunging forward, but their lower bodies had already crashed to the ground.
The sword's momentum did not diminish, carrying a bone-chilling coldness, it grazed the Foxian woman's hair, passing by with perilous closeness!
A wisp of soft brown hair silently drifted down.
Immediately after, boom—!!!
The sword heavily pierced through the large metal container ahead.
The ten-meter-long container was silently split in two, like butter under a hot knife.
"Ah—!"
The Foxian woman reacted half a beat late. After she came to her senses, she was so frightened her face turned pale.
She screamed, her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.
She glanced at the Mara-Struck monsters split in two, then, still shaken, looked up at the black-robed masked man slowly sheathing his sword, her voice trembling uncontrollably:
"This, this benefactor? You… you almost cut me."
Phainon let out a low laugh.
"Heh heh heh heh…"
He looked down at her from above, at her pitiful face.
He knew, this was Phantylia.
"No, that wasn't 'almost.' That was a miss."
Phainon's tone was full of regret,
"What a… what a pity."
"Ah?" Tingyun's eyes flashed with confusion.
But only she knew that beneath that soft exterior, the being named "Phantylia" felt a resonance.
She smelled it.
An origin of the same source, yet purer, more chaotic, more insane destruction.
The aura of a Wounded God?!
What was truly hidden within his body?
The surprise in Tingyun's eyes flashed and disappeared, then she pointed behind Phainon, urgently shouting: "Benefactor, be careful!"
The severed Mara-Struck monsters, dragging their half-bodies, charged again!
Phainon did not turn his head.
The shadow beneath his feet suddenly came alive, peeling off and transforming into a pitch-black phantom identical to him.
The phantom, holding a longsword condensed from shadows, cleanly delivered a second strike to the resurrected monster.
And Phainon himself walked step by step in front of Tingyun.
He bent down, his golden mask almost touching her face.
Their eyes met.
Under the mask, a crazed laugh erupted.
"Heh heh… Isn't this interesting?"
"Heh heh heh heh heh!…"
The laughter seemed to be substantial, making the air hum.
The Cloud Knights guards nearby finally reacted, raising their spears in terror and aiming them at Phainon.
"Oh no!"
"This person is laughing so maniacally… he might also be about to fall into Mara!"