At the very top of the Tower of Glory, amid the piercing wails, Huai Shi raised his hand. Iron-cast light extended from his fingertips, instantly outlining the shape of a bow.
Then, as his eyes lowered, a dreamlike melody rose from the cello in his arms.
The gentle, mist-like movement spread its wings and soared into the sky, radiating in all directions amid the resonance of the nautilus. As countless threads of melody stirred fresh ripples and intertwined, they became like a gauzy veil draped between heaven and earth.
The ultra-wide-area Source Matter suppression from the Gospel Throne was swiftly dispersed beneath the isolation of that soul melody.
Even if Huai Shi exhausted all his strength, he could cover only a small area. But the instant the Creator reacted, support from Solano's framework descended from above, guiding the melody outward and sheltering every soul.
Huai Shi's movements stalled slightly.
A muffled groan escaped him involuntarily.
"C-Commander, are you all right?" Sandra stared blankly.
Right before her eyes, Huai Shi's skin was cracking at a visible speed. The color drained from his face; bloodshot veins filled his eyes through his split features, and blood ran from his nose.
He could barely hold on...
He could barely even keep breathing.
"I'm fine—"
He gritted his teeth, enduring the Source Matter impact from the Gospel Throne, and forced out a twitching smile. "This little noise won't kill me."
At most, the resonance of the screams was merely battering his soul.
But that little negativity was entirely within his capacity to digest. As for physical injury, so long as it did not kill him immediately, it was nothing more than a minor wound to the Great Siming—not even worth a bandage.
The shadow of Returning Ruin surged like a tide, crawling up from the