"What kind of destructive power is this?"
Gepard propped up the heavy guitar case with one hand, standing in front of several Silvermane Guards to shield them from the oncoming heatwave.
A burst of powerful music rang out.
The flames expanded violently in the air, the temperature rising instantly, and the accumulated snow within a fifty-meter radius turned into thick steam and white smoke.
Sam stepped directly onto the scorched ground, easily crushing the twisted Fragmentum monsters, and those fragments exploded under the influence of the high-temperature airflow. Even the powerful monsters that the Silvermane Guards usually needed tacit cooperation and even the sacrifice of many elite warriors to defeat could not last a single move against Sam.
"Sigh, I really need to make some Henshin Device."
Aidan said, then shouted down below.
"Officer Gepard, I suggest you have your subordinates retreat. There will be a secondary blast!"
"Secondary blast?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the ground beneath Sam's feet suddenly collapsed, and a shockwave erupted outward again with Sam as the center.
"Everyone, fall back!"
Gepard's command sounded exceptionally distant amidst the roar of the explosion. He raised the heavy guitar case with one hand to form a barrier for the Silvermane Guards behind him. The shockwave slammed into his shield with a dull boom, and his feet plowed two deep furrows into the ground.
Sam shook his hands.
"Mission complete."
— — —
By the time they returned to the Administrative District, the sky had already darkened.
Aidan and the others were arranged to stay at the hotel, while Gepard went to report to the Supreme Guardian.
Gepard's report had concluded. He described in detail every move of that group of outsiders—how that person detected the Fragmentum, how they discussed the origin of the Stellaron with their companions, and how that silver mechanical armor cleared an entire area of Fragmentum creatures in an instant.
Cocolia stood by the office window, her back to the door.
"Solved a whole wave of Fragmentum monsters in an instant..."
She repeated the sentence.
The whispers of the Stellaron rang in her ears again.
"Accept me... accept the power... you can save them... you can make all this end..."
She closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously.
Although that damn outsider was annoying, he was right about one thing—the Stellaron is the root of all this.
"Tomorrow," she whispered, "let them go tomorrow."
Cocolia had no reason to stop them.
"Strengthen the security of Qlipoth Fort. Tomorrow morning, you will lead that squad of Silvermane Guards to accompany them to Everwinter Peak. Before then, if they try to approach the Lower District, stop them."
"As you command."
At midnight, Aidan and Dan Heng were sitting in the plaza.
There were Silvermane Guards on patrol nearby. Aidan had come to the plaza to prevent himself from becoming too large.
"How much longer?" Dan Heng asked.
"About... ten minutes?" Aidan glanced at his terminal. "What, are you more nervous than I am?"
"It's not nervousness." Dan Heng paused. "It's worrying that you'll turn into something difficult to handle."
"Like?"
"IX, the Nihility."
"Maybe," Aidan raised an eyebrow.
"If it's Nihility, it'll be a big problem, and Voracity too."
Dan Heng was silent for a while.
"What you said on the observation tower today... about the Stellaron conjectures, how certain are you?"
"This topic isn't suitable for a deep conversation right now. Once we leave this planet, I'll compile a complete set of data."
Time passed minute by minute.
Aidan glanced at his terminal; one last minute remained.
"Dan Heng."
"Hmm?"
"If I turn into Nihility or Voracity, remember to take everyone and run far away. Don't worry about me; I can handle it myself."
"...Understood."
"I'm serious." Aidan stood up and stretched his muscles. "No matter what I become, I'm still me. It's just that sometimes... it's not very convenient to communicate."
"Like turning into a bug?"
"Yes, just like turning into a bug."
"Oi, aren't you guys sleeping in the middle of the night?"
March 7th and Stelle popped up from behind Aidan.
Sam stood in the shadows, while Delta stared at Sam from the other side.
"Why is everyone here?"
"That's the good thing about the Path of Trailblaze; we can stay awake for a long time or accumulate all our fatigue and rest all at once." March 7th spread her hands.
Snowflakes swirled down under the dim streetlights. Aidan stood in the center of the plaza, looking up at the gray sky, waiting for that familiar moment.
"Do you think if everyone accompanies you at this time every day, it would count as a kind of ritual?"
"It counts," Stelle nodded. "Call it the 'Accompanying Aidan's Big Transformation Ritual'."
"That name is too long."
"Then call it the 'Great Change Ritual'?"
"That's even weirder, okay! Why does it have to be related to 'Great Change'?"
— — —
The Supreme Guardian had not slept all night; she had spent the entire night in Qlipoth Fort thinking about those people.
When she drew the curtains, her legs almost gave way and she nearly knelt down.
A figure that blotted out the sun—to be precise, that appearance, although Cocolia had never seen it with her own eyes, she could be one hundred percent sure what that figure was. It wasn't abstract lines or the vague depictions in ancient texts, but a real, sun-blotting existence that inspired awe just by being there...
"Preservation..."
That giant figure holding a massive hammer was just watching the city like that.
Preservation was watching Belobog.
Of course, what appeared now was Aidan using a small part of Qlipoth's divine body.
He felt a bit strange. Fortunately, the Path of Preservation didn't have as strong an influence on him as the Path of Destruction; at most, his hands felt itchy and he wanted to pour concrete.
Stelle was already holding a cool red greatsword in her hand; that was the Blessing of Preservation Aidan had given her at dawn.
Yes, Aidan could give blessings!
The Aeon's smurf account said so.
Aidan casually brought down a hammer, adding a Crystal Wall to Jarilo-VI.
However, a Crystal Wall wouldn't work without a door; in case the Astral Express couldn't get in, they'd have to crash again.
Actually, Aidan's current body was considered small, only about the size of the planet Jarilo-VI; it wasn't impossible to grow larger.
Aidan turned his head and looked at the tiny Astral Express.
"Good~ mor~ning~ eve~ry~one~"