That Was Very Elegant, My Lady!

"What was that thing?"

"Was it a special weapon of the Fractsidus?!"

The defenders looked puzzled when they saw the Book of the End. The sword emitted a frequency they had never encountered before, ancient and profound, like light seeping through a crack in time.

Squelch!

Before everyone's eyes, Phrolova plunged the sword into her own chest.

The Book of the End changed the past!

She changed the fact that she had been defeated and grievously wounded.

The instant the blade sank into her chest, her body arched violently and she bit her lips white. But in the next instant, light burst from the wound. Her pierced chest closed, her broken bones clicked back into place, and her depleted frequency surged anew.

Phrolova stood up, her frequency stable. She had not fallen!

"What happened?"

"What kind of technique was that?!"

Someone stared wide-eyed, their face full of curiosity.

"I knew it! How could she possibly sacrifice herself to protect us? So she had a backup plan like that. She was obviously putting on an act to win our sympathy!"

For a moment, many people looked puzzled, and similar thoughts occurred to them.

Phrolova did not listen.

She was completely absorbed, having cast everything aside.

The world around her fell silent. She could no longer hear the people's slander and abuse.

All color drained from everything, and she could no longer see the shouting and disgust on the faces of others.

Only one thought remained in her heart: hold on, protect them, and atone!

"Kill!!"

She played the Full Moon again, sending out puppet strings to control the Tacet Discords. This time, even the Impermanence Heron was among her targets.

She did not even spare a Calamity Class opponent, intending to use it against the Faceless Inferno Lord.

Just then, the chest of the colossus in the distance split open, spewing a black hole from the crack.

The black hole erupted with boundless suction. In an instant, every Tacet Discord in the sky, including the Impermanence Heron, was sucked inside. Then came a grinding, crushing sound that set everyone's teeth on edge!

At the sight, everyone's heart sank.

No one thought the Faceless Inferno Lord was acting out of kindness. Something even more terrifying was bound to happen next.

Sure enough, the black hole transformed into a dark cocoon that throbbed violently.

Within ten breaths, the black cocoon split open, and a figure stepped out.

It, too, was a Tacet Discord, half human and half ghost, tall and well-proportioned. One of his eyes was a crescent moon, while the other held a solar eclipse.

Not even a trace of frequency could be sensed from him. He seemed like an ordinary person.

Only Phrolova's hands and feet turned ice-cold. She sensed an extreme terror.

This was an avatar of the Faceless Inferno Lord, a killing machine created for ease of movement. It surpassed nearly every Calamity Class!

The next moment, the war puppet moved, vanishing from where it stood.

Hecate seemed to notice something and hurled Phrolova away.

A fist appeared immediately afterward, crushing Hecate and severing her at the waist!

"Ah!!"

Phrolova suffered the backlash as well. She coughed up mouthfuls of blood and grew weak again.

"Book of the End, again!"

She gritted her teeth and plunged the sword into herself once more, then stood up again.

But her opponent was merciless and even more terrifying. It charged straight at her, leaving her no chance to dodge. Blood sprayed in an instant, her arm was nearly torn off, and a heavy punch pierced her chest, sending her flying.

"Again!"

The second time, the sword pierced her chest and her wounds healed. She climbed to her feet and met the half-human, half-ghost figure.

The puppet's fist smashed into her shoulder, and her bones cracked as crisply as a snapping branch.

"Again!!"

The third time, before she could steady herself, a kick sent her flying into a rock wall, smashing spiderweb cracks into it. She crawled out of the rubble and stabbed the sword into her heart again.

The fourth time, her fingers could no longer hold the sword steady. Trembling and gritting her teeth, she aimed its tip at her chest and drove it down hard. Light flared, and she rose again, staggering on her feet.

Again!! The fifth time, the sixth, the seventh...

Each time she rose, she was broken more brutally. Each time she healed, the pain sent her whole body into convulsions.

Her clothes were torn, her hair had come loose, and blood and dirt streaked her face. Her features were twisted, fierce and stubborn!

"She's suffering so much. We have to help her!" A young defender could no longer bear to watch and was about to enter the battle with a weapon in hand.

"Stop! What could you do there besides throw your life away?!"

"But... she's fighting for us. Are we just going to stand here and watch?!"

"Fighting for us? Would she really be so noble? We don't know whether she's friend or foe. It's better to stay alert and watch!"

The crowd grew noisy again, dividing into two sides, each holding to its own opinion.

In that brief span, all ten uses of the Book of the End had been exhausted.

Vines spread out from behind the war puppet and wrapped around the weakened Phrolova.

Her clothes were in tatters, and her limbs and slender neck were bound as she was hoisted upside down.

"Humm..."

Murky lightning surged along the vines and pierced her entire body!

"Ah!!!"

Phrolova struggled in agony. Hecate, too, was weakened to the extreme and had lost the strength to resist.

"Save her, quickly!!" someone shouted, unable to bear watching any longer.

"But..."

"No buts! Isn't the very meaning of our existence to save people who are suffering? Is turning a blind eye to the pain of someone right in front of us our creed?!"

"General Jiyan, please give the order!"

"General, give the order!"

Jiyan tightened his grip on his spear, his long emerald hair whipping wildly in the wind. He looked at Phrolova hanging upside down among the vines, his teeth grinding.

"All right, then I'll go mad this once too!"

He raised his spear sharply. "All troops, hear my order! Support Phrolova! Together, we'll crush the Threnodian underfoot and march into a new era!"

"That's right! That's what we're fighting for!"

Boom!!

With a thunderous rumble, the cannons deployed above the canyon fired in unison at overload. Driven to their limits, their barrels burst one after another, unleashing their most brilliant beams of killing light!

The war puppet took the attack head-on. Every vine shattered, and it was sent flying, embedded in the mountainside!

"Ugh!"

Phrolova had just hit the ground and had yet to get up when her opponent charged again. This time, it intended to go around her and strike the people in the canyon directly.

The crisis had not eased in the slightest!

"Don't even think about it!"

She struggled to stop it, but now her opponent did not consider her a threat at all.

At the critical moment, sacred white light swept across the area. Sentinel Jué appeared once more, and the light shone down, enveloping Phrolova.

In an instant, her exhaustion vanished, and her frequency surged and roared, far surpassing its former peak.

"Sentinel, you're helping me?"

"I heard everyone's call and felt your resolve. I have decided to entrust my power to you for now!"

"Then I won't hold back!"

The next moment, Hecate appeared again and waved a slender arm. This time, colorful musical notes floated out!

"Remnant Moon, Final Melody of the Underworld!"

A dark red halo burst open in the air, spreading into ripples. Wherever they passed, all life crumbled away, and even the earth turned to fine sand.

The war puppet was struck full-on. Its body shuddered, then it disintegrated into nothing!

"Finally... it's done!"

After that strike, Phrolova sank weakly to her knees. It had been her last trump card, and fortunately, it had worked.

"We won... we won!"

Disbelief filled everyone's faces, but before they could cheer, an even more violent tremor came from afar!

The true body of the Faceless Inferno Lord was strolling toward them. It was joining the battle!

"Roar!!"

A roar of destruction rang out, followed by a thick pillar of light that swept straight toward the crowd!

"No, we can't block it!"

In an instant, despair enveloped the area!

Whoosh!!

At that desperate moment, the sound of something slicing through the air tore across the sky!

A stone pillar came crashing down at an incredible speed. Atop it, three figures stood in plain sight and raised their swords in unison!

The strongest fighters had arrived!

Kneeling on the ground, Phrolova raised her head and looked at the figure standing before her, a slight smile curving her lips.

"I must look like such a mess now, and be so unlikeable, right?"

"What are you talking about?"

Rover looked over, light flowing through his golden eyes.

"That was very elegant, my lady!"