With Stardust's death, the dust cloud it had spread began to fade, diluted into nothingness by the vast, boundless universe.
The process was relatively slow, though. It would take quite some time before the cloud drifted into the area where the Academic World and the Superhumans were directly clashing.
At that moment,
Reilo had only been struck by the aftereffects of the Artificial Sun's laws, but he had still sustained some injuries. He could easily suppress lower-level creatures, but facing beings of his own level—including those so-called Titleholders—would be a considerable challenge.
As for why Reilo had been harmed by the Sun's laws, the reason was easy enough to understand.
It was like how he could feel warmth when sunlight fell on him; naturally, he could also be harmed by it.
Fortunately, his wish-fulfilling Star Body True Body was so tough it defied belief. Even under the might of the Artificial Sun's laws, it could endure for quite some time. His waxen skin was already beginning to harden again.
The battle had seemed long, but from the moment Reilo left the battleship to the end of the fight, less than half a day had passed. It had been remarkably swift.
He didn't leave right away. Instead, he raised a hand and unleashed a Fourth-Level Singularity Technique.
A dark orb, like a mysterious substance that swallowed all light, twisted the space around it under Reilo's control. Even the dust cloud nearby, not yet fully dispersed, was gradually drawn back together and absorbed into the singularity.
But he soon felt disappointed.
The dust cloud didn't transform into the Philosopher's Stone he had hoped for.
If it had worked, that much Philosopher's Stone would have been an astronomical fortune, even for him—enough to raise the Academic World's overall strength by an entire tier.