A tooth-grinding loud noise rang out as the Giant Chicken-Headed Fish chasing your true body was struck head-on by a Crimson Giant Hand even larger than itself! Although the Chicken-headed Fish reacted quickly despite realizing too late, Earthen Armor appeared over the surface of its scales at once. Yet it was not a defense prepared in full, and the slight deviation greatly diminished its effectiveness. It could only make the sky-obscuring Crimson Giant Hand pause for the briefest moment before it crushed the vast stretch of space containing the Chicken-headed Fish as well...
The huge explosion rumbled out. Lian, standing near your Clone Projection, felt exceptionally safe at that moment. She looked toward the direction ahead, where you had originally been pursued, now engulfed in smoke and dust. As the smoke and dust faded, Lian finally saw some things clearly and regained part of her senses. What remained ahead? Even a vast expanse of space seemed to have been removed out of thin air like building blocks. All that remained was hollow darkness, devoid of any Aura. What she sensed was only emptiness, making a chill rise from the depths of her heart and awakening the most primal fear of life.
Everything had happened with astonishing speed. From the moment the Chicken-headed Fish recognized that the Strange Stone had fallen into your hands, to when you devised your plan and pretended to flee toward where Lian was. This caused the Giant Chicken-Headed Fish fighting Lian to abandon its original opponent and chase after you instead. Then came the seemingly ordinary yet profoundly mysterious one strike from behind, an attack you had plotted for a long time.
That sneak attack had been launched precisely when the Giant Chicken-Headed Fish looked down on Lian's strength and was at ease about her, when