Shock. Unmatched shock.
Terror. World-shaking terror.
At this very moment, in every corner of the galaxy, even among those who had originally had no interest in the broadcast, countless eyes were drawn by an invisible force and nailed to the screen—to that figure who should have been bathed in the glory of Preservation, but was now radiating the aura of Nihility instead.
Silence.
A silence heavier than the one that had fallen when they first beheld Qlipoth's form, clamping shut around the throat of the entire galaxy.
[Ding! Your lie has greatly shocked Taravan, Diamond, Oswaldo, Herta, and countless others. The lie has become truth. Nihility authority has increased enormously, and you have gained 1,000,000 fabrication points!]
[Remaining fabrication points: 1,022,909]
One million points. She was rich on the spot.
At that moment, even though the livestream was still ongoing, Kallen could barely suppress the corners of her mouth.
She really wanted to laugh.
Now that she was sitting on more than a million points, it would not be an exaggeration to say she had achieved complete financial freedom.
Who would dare claim invincibility now? Who would dare speak of being unbeaten?
Never mind buying several more max-level accounts. Even if she spent all one million points on Kiana alone, she could buy ten thousand Stellaron cores.
Ten thousand Stellarons thrown at someone?
That was genuinely horrifying.
In the game's plot, Stellarons might as well have been lying around in the street, and the Trailblazer's combat power with one of them was often unstable.
But the title "Cancer of All Worlds" was not given for nothing.
All one had to do was look at what had happened in Penacony—or to Phantylia—to understand that.
If she really smashed someone with ten thousand Stellarons, even if an Aeon showed up, she ought to at least be able to碰瓷 them once.
To reach this moment, she had laid far too much groundwork.
After all, even with the identity of an Emanator of Preservation, if Kallen had simply declared her so-called mission to the whole galaxy, she probably would have earned no more than a "somewhat inclined to believe" verdict.
But now?
She had personally fought half-ascended Sunday in Penacony.
With that achievement as a foundation, and the IPC pouring incalculable amounts of publicity into her image, the credibility of her words naturally rose with it.
"My mission is to use this Nihility to defile Preservation!"
That sentence spread through trillions upon trillions of screens, reaching every corner of the galaxy.
The cheers and praise had not even fully died away before they were frozen by an even greater tide of horror.
Especially among the IPC employees—at this moment, the smiles on their faces froze completely, then twisted into pale, disbelieving horror.
Everyone who heard that sentence thought they must have misheard.
And because of the influence of Nihility, even the livestream signal itself suffered a brief distortion.
The image flickered. Pixelated static danced across the screens.
But only for a moment.
The signal stabilized again.
Kallen's face reappeared across the galaxy, and behind her, those black mists were gradually beginning to wrap themselves around the subspace.
"Impossible…"
Pinned to the ground by a spear of light, blood pouring from the wound in his shoulder blade, Oswaldo kept his eyes locked on the black mist.
It was not that he doubted the fact he had been attacked.
He doubted what Kallen had just said.
To defile Preservation?
With Nihility?
What in the world was this madwoman talking about?!
"You've gone insane." Oswaldo's voice echoed through the subspace, trembling with fear.
He recalled the introduction Kallen had given herself just moments ago.
Damn it—to hell with your mission. This woman was never some orthodox servant of Preservation.
The "Saint of Preservation"?
This was clearly the Witch of Nihility.
"Do you even understand what you're saying? The one you're facing is an Aeon! Qlipoth! Preservation itself!"
"Kallen Kaslana, don't tell me that just because you defeated a Sunday, you now think you can contend against the Amber Lord!"
And it was precisely because of that cry of alarm that countless others were shaken awake from their daze.
That was right.
It was not as if Kallen were alone in this subspace.
Never mind whether an Emanator like her could possibly shake a star god—there was still someone else here, wasn't there?
Even though, by Kallen's own special request, Pier Point had been emptied of all people…
there was still one person who had entered this subspace with her.
Oswaldo Schneider. P47 executive of the IPC's Market Development Department.
Though both the man and his department enjoyed terrible reputations across the galaxy, when it came to strength, someone who had risen to his present position—and even competed with Diamond, an Emanator of Preservation, for a place on the board—could not possibly be weak.
Oswaldo himself understood that very well.
Only, his mood was wretched beyond words.
A功劳 that had been all but secured, enough to crush Diamond outright, had been destroyed in the blink of an eye.
No one in his position would have taken that well.
But now Oswaldo could not afford to care about that.
He might have committed more than his fair share of vile deeds over the years, but his faith in Preservation was absolutely genuine.
If what Kallen claimed was true, and she truly managed to defile Preservation here, then the IPC would become the greatest joke in the galaxy.
After spending a fortune, they would have done nothing more than invite the whole galaxy to watch themselves get backstabbed.
At the thought of that, even Aha would probably show up just to laugh twice before leaving.
With that realization, Oswaldo endured the agony in his shoulder blade and began to draw upon his strength.
As a P47 executive, his power was far beyond that of any ordinary Pathstrider. Even if he was no Emanator, the countless years he had lived had given him more than enough strength and hidden cards.
Golden light erupted around him—the amber radiance of Preservation—wrapped in a sharper, harder edge.
He intended to break free of the spear and turn the tide himself.
However—
"With that little strength? Don't bother."
Kallen did not even bother to turn and look at him.
As far as this Market Development Department executive was concerned, she had already long decided how he would end.
Given the things he had done, if she killed him here today in front of the whole galaxy, there would probably be no shortage of people thanking her for it.
Besides, Kallen was a very vindictive person.
Before she had maxed out and before she had gone to Penacony, this very man had threatened her in the shadows.
Surely he had not imagined she had already forgotten that debt?
With a casual wave of her hand, more black mist poured from the void and wrapped itself around the light-spear that had pinned Oswaldo through the chest.
The mist seeped into his wound, into his Path, into every gap between every one of his cells.
Oswaldo's pupils constricted sharply.
He could feel his strength being corroded.
It was a kind of suppression he could not understand at all.
"You… what is this…?"
"Nihility," Kallen replied calmly. "Didn't you just see it yourself?"
At last she turned around and looked down at the executive nailed to the ground.
"You really thought I'd leave you any chance to turn this around? You thought that in a situation like this, I'd allow even the slightest variable to remain?"
To be honest, Kallen really was a little surprised that instead of running, Oswaldo had actually chosen to attack her.
The company knew perfectly well what she had done in Penacony, didn't they?
Never mind Oswaldo—even if the IPC's two public Emanators of Preservation arrived here right now, so long as the P49s did not appear, she would still beat them to death just the same.
And yet Oswaldo clearly did not think so.
"Don't underestimate me!"
He gritted his teeth, his voice squeezed out from deep in his throat, carrying a nearly fanatical determination.
The wound at his shoulder blade began to heal under the amber glow. Slowly, yes—but unmistakably.
Then he jerked his head up. There was no merchant's cunning in his eyes anymore, no politician's falsehood—only a near-deranged faith.
"All for the Amber Lord!"
At the instant those words fell, Oswaldo tore free of the spear of light.
The wound at his shoulder blade split wider, blood surging out in a spray and condensing into droplets in the weightless subspace.
But Oswaldo no longer cared.
He stood upright, the light around him flaring and dimming under the erosion of Nihility, as though mounting a last struggle against an irresistible force.
"Oh?" Kallen lifted a brow, genuine surprise in her voice. "You actually broke free?"
She really had not expected that. It seemed that someone who had reached a position like his did, in fact, possess a certain level of strength.
True, she had not poured much power into that spear—but being able to break free of Nihility's erosion was enough to show just how deep Oswaldo's faith in Preservation truly ran.
A pity.
Faith had never once saved anyone's life.
"Kallen Kaslana," Oswaldo said, straightening fully.
"You think you've already won?"
He raised a hand. Amber light gathered in his palm, gradually forming a sword forged entirely of radiance.
Its blade was engraved from hilt to tip with the inscriptions of the Builders, every character burning with light.
"Do you think Preservation's will can be shaken by a few words from you?"
His voice rose with every sentence, more fervent each time, as though he were not only trying to convince the galaxy—but to convince himself.
"You're wrong. Today, I will stand for Preservation, stand for the company—and rid the world of you, witch!"
He swung the sword. A blade of amber light ripped through the void and came slashing toward Kallen.
Kallen did not move.
She simply stood where she was and let the slash hit her.
The sword-light exploded across her chest, scattering fragments of amber radiance in all directions.
She did not budge even an inch.
There was not the slightest change in her expression.
Only a shallow cut now marred her clothes.
[Preservation resistance: 50%… 50.01%…]
Kallen:
…Seriously, man? That damage was basically a scratch.
It only gave her 0.01% more resistance?
Sure, maybe resistance really did become harder to raise the higher it got, but 0.01%…
Honestly, that was basically nothing.
So her idea of abusing the system to farm resistance really was not going to work.
Fine.
Since this Oswaldo was not even good enough to help her farm resistance, Kallen had no interest in wasting another second on him.
Countless spears of light poured forth from Judah.
Every spear-tip was wrapped in black mist—that was the authority of Nihility.
They descended like a torrential storm.
Oswaldo lifted his head and saw them growing larger in his vision.
He tried to dodge—
but the first spear pinned him in place.
Then the second.
The third.
The fourth—
Every spear struck with exact precision, avoiding his vital points but stealing away more and more of his ability to resist.
The golden glow of Preservation around him flickered desperately, struggling to survive.
And then the black mist swallowed it whole.
"W-wait…"
The words went unfinished.
Then Oswaldo Schneider died.
Though it was by no means a noble or uplifting end, because of his abysmal reputation, a good many among the audience watching this broadcast actually started cheering.
Kallen stood beside the corpse and glanced down at it.
"What a shame. If you'd chosen to run just now, you might've lived a little longer."
That was a joke.
If he had run, he still would have died in an instant.
Then Kallen turned away and no longer spared the corpse another look.
The cameras followed her movement and framed her face once more.
"Sorry about that, everyone. A tiny little interruption came up just now."
She gave the camera an apologetic smile.
It was elegant, refined, perfectly mannered—as though she had merely spilled a cup of coffee, rather than killed a P47 IPC executive on live broadcast before the entire galaxy.
"Now then, back to the main subject."
"What was I saying? Ah, yes—my mission is to defile Preservation with Nihility."
"So everyone, do try not to blink. Make sure you witness this moment with your own eyes."
Kallen smiled knowingly at the lens.
Then the aura of Nihility surged once again.
And after that, Kallen's body began to change.
The first thing to transform was her hair.
Her carefully arranged white hair began at the ends, as though dipped into ink, turning inch by inch into a deep black-violet.
The transformation was neither too fast nor too slow—just enough for everyone watching to catch every detail.
Black mist poured from her body and coiled itself around the amber-colored dress.
The golden lines embroidered along the hem began to dim, as though eroded by some invisible force, gradually becoming dark violet markings instead.
At last, the entire dress turned black-violet, save for the faint halo of amber still clinging to the hem, like the last remnant of a final resistance.
Kallen opened her eyes.
A pair of golden pupils revealed themselves.
Perhaps, in all of her appearance, only those eyes still held even the slightest resemblance to Preservation.
"Well?" Kallen asked the camera, her tone touched with a hint of laughter.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
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Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 165)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter125)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter250)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 220
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 185
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 248
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 230
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/40
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 125
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 145
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 115
Summoning an Evil God, but the 75
Supernatural Multiverse 110
My Harem Is Indescribable 100
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 105
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 67
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 80
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 85
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 78
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 80
Checking In in Demon Slayer 85
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 100
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 85
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 90
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 75
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 80
Why did they assign me to Uma 75
MYGO Beauties 70
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 70
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 80
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 80
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 57
The Uma Musume Who Became 55
I'm Definitely Not the King of 60
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
Naruto: I'm Konoha's Local Men 35
Honkai: World Modulation Mode 34
I, the Elden Sword Saint 27
Dio Brando Is Challenging FGO 24
No One Knows Pokémon Better 18
I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 20
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