In that instant, under the interference of his mental projection, charged particles transformed from omnipresent wave states into particle states capable of exerting force fields. The speed was instantaneous.
And the force field... connected to the energy within the Imaginary Path, shaping slashes like lightning cutters.
In theory, as long as Fang Jie was willing to invest enough energy and had sufficient instantaneous power to exert force, he could project force fields onto particles throughout the entire space in an instant, shape them, materialize them, and make every inch of space erupt with blade light, tearing apart all matter in this space—even space itself—and shattering all phenomena.
This already involved the microscopic realm. This was but a glimpse of the true authority possessed by the Herrscher of Thunder, rather than the mere manipulation of macroscopic phenomena and electrical discharge he had been capable of before.
But using the authority of the Herrscher of Corruption to wield that of the Herrscher of Thunder...
Welt had done it too!
Then what was binding me now? If Rin went berserk, what else could I do?
The more Fang Jie developed this power, the more it drew him in—and the more he understood. I have already been so easily shaped into this kind of person.
He could not help thinking about how to go further... perhaps he had to break free from the restraints of this human shell.
Even emperors, the galactic emperors of this world, created scepters to assist their calculations.
The limitations of an individual were there. Only by no longer being human could one...
Forget it.
Compared to himself turning into a star, the Stellaron Spirit, under the gaze of an Aeon, still appeared as "he," "she," or "itself," floating in the universe.
Fang Jie did not know which manifestation was stronger, but without question, humanity's limits were not so easily reached that one would simply stop being human.
A voice interrupted his thoughts.
"We're here. Up ahead is that... Belobog you mentioned."
Rin's tone carried heartfelt joy, along with unease.
This mad galaxy—she was about to come into contact with unfamiliar monsters. Hopefully, she would not get eaten.
She could not help stopping, allowing Fang Jie to pass her and move ahead to protect her as he strode forward without pause toward—the City of Preservation, the Everstanding City, humanity's sole bulwark against The Eternal Freeze.
It sounded imposing, but Belobog was a place where this planet's humans could only survive within its iron walls.
"Hey, listen to me! There seems to be... something up ahead!"
Rin called out to stop him, shouting her warning.
And there were two things whose depths she could not see through. No, three. No, four.
Damn it! This was clearly the outskirts of a city so impoverished and regressed that it resembled a candle in the wind, yet monsters could be encountered so casually.
The galaxy was way too dangerous.
Only that blond guy was easy to understand, along with that patch of Belobog—that city protected by some kind of power, possessing the same power.
The owner of that power was whom Fang Jie called the Aeon of Preservation, Qlipoth.
A god...
Rin silently shielded Yae Sakura behind her, rather than using her to defend against attacks like that scumbag Fang Jie. She wanted to call him back; after all, he was the only one around who could be a teammate.
Fang Jie did not stop. He did not want to stop, and he could not stop.
"Is it strange for Belobog to have people? Rather, this is the only place on this planet with people at all. Were you even listening to me, little floating thing?"
He strode ahead, some kind of light gleaming in his eyes, ignoring Rin's visible unease.
Belobog lay ahead.
What a brief, yet long-awaited encounter. At this moment, his heart was stirred even more intensely, so... unbearably impatient.
"Do you know? 'The Han dynasty declines, and the imperial court falls into chaos' is a phrase I like. That means... holy shit?"
Porcupine Fang Jie had been trying to talk therapy Porcupine Rin. That alone was enough to soothe his loneliness.
There was no response. Facing a great enemy, she silently retreated behind Fang Jie. Not only that, she hid behind a frost crystal covered in ice, peeking out with only half her face exposed, her eyes filled with ferocity—
|>_<)
You...
Fang Jie wanted to remind her that, at the very least, she should hide Yae Sakura properly.
Wait, what just darted past?
"What the hell was that?"
He instinctively slashed, but did not feel the hit connect. That thing was like a wild man, twisting its body and speeding across the snow before vanishing in a flash.
He had not seen it clearly, only caught a strangely lewd scent.
And then, beyond the hill, at the end of the snowy plain, a scene of people fighting in a tangled melee entered his view.
So whatever that had been was not important.
Fang Jie watched. Fang Jie was puzzled. Fang Jie understood.
"What is this, Belobog Spring? Though those Silvermane Guards seem to be getting beaten up... that bat is swinging more than six times a second, isn't it? That's too brutal. Hahahaha..."
He grinned like a local.
Because he could identify both sides at a glance. The Silvermane Guards were easy to recognize; every one of them looked like canned food.
And the other side...
The adorable pink-haired girl March 7th, who looked like a living Intertwined Fate and whom Fang Jie knew all too well, was happily swinging her bow and smashing Silvermane Guards to the ground—stop it, bows were not meant to be used like that.
I'll use it however I want.jpg
Beside her stood the young man Dan Heng, casually thrusting Cloud-Piercer to cover their flank. Mature and steady, he had clearly noticed the approaching newcomers behind him. He cast them a wary look, which gradually froze after he saw who they were.
There was also the Stellaron Spirit, who ignored everything and said nothing, only charged forward and swung her bat with single-minded focus.
Mm, gray hair flowing, legs surpassing supermodels, free and uninhibited in every movement, utterly careless about restraint... it was Stelle.
She had knocked down the most Silvermane Guards, and she had even been aiming for their heads. The Silvermane Guard squad had only come to arrest fugitives, yet they were suffering terribly. That bat could be considered a Curio based on its hardness alone.
"Hahahaha..."
Fang Jie stopped at the sight, feeling inexplicably moved, delighted, and impulsive.
Not the teammates I wanted, but the teammates I wanted, arriving at just the right time.
Compared to when he had met Kiana, he now had more ability to act. He was no longer so embarrassed, though in some sense, he was even more embarrassed.
He also realized why Rin had stopped.
This scene might have come a little too early for her.
But for him, it was just right.
"'How can mortal eyes recognize an immortal's transformations' is a phrase I hate." As he said this, Fang Jie did not doubt his life in the slightest, question the coincidence, or wildly wonder why Kiana had only just arrived at St. Freya Academy while things here had already fast-forwarded to Belobog...
He only grinned and continued laughing.
And he could not merely stand and watch.
"I'll help you!"
With a loud shout, he joined the group battle.
Before Gepard's reinforcements arrived, he and the Nameless beat up the fallen Silvermane Guards.
He used his feet.
"'If it is not a heroic undertaking, I will not scheme for it; once I have plotted it, I shall see it through' is a phrase I like."
Where was the arrow?
"Stop it! Stop hitting them! You have no sense of restraint at all!"
The Stellaron Spirit smacked a Silvermane Guard over the head with her bat, producing resounding clangs before he fell unconscious.
March 7th, however, was kind-hearted and could not bear to watch... she could not stand seeing Fang Jie viciously kick the crotch armor of fallen Silvermane Guards. Beneath those helmets, they were sobbing their hearts out, hey!
She hurriedly shouted for him to stop.
"And who are you? A passing... good Samaritan?"
Even March 7th felt that if he were a local, there was no reason for him to decisively beat up the Silvermane Guards—the law enforcers—rather than them, the outsiders.
And that Sampo, damn it, he was a wanted criminal!
March 7th gave Fang Jie a suspicious look, considering him a suspicious person.
The Stellaron Spirit immediately followed without hesitation, gripping her bat and glaring menacingly... she was already swinging at him.
Had you eaten? Eat my bat!
And Dan Heng... Dan Heng stared rather seriously at Rin, who had approached with a conflicted expression. And at what she was carrying on her back... a Foxian?
What kind of combination was this?
A Suiyang and a Foxian? Had her tail already been eaten? Dan Heng seemed to have heard of a similar situation somewhere...
Cloud-Piercer was in hand, poised to strike.
Even after looking more carefully and discovering that it was not a Suiyang—not a formless energy life-form born from the accumulated resentment of evil things—but rather... a viral body?
Cloud-Piercer alone might not be enough!!
The clang-clang-clang of metal rang out as the Curio bat collided with a suddenly materialized sheathed Composite Blade: Willow Leaf. The latter kept shattering under the blows, and Fang Jie could only exclaim that the Stellaron Spirit was unbeatable. This brute force was way too S-Rank Valkyrie.
"Calm down. We're not suspicious people."
The Stellaron Spirit said nothing, merely swung six times per second—six was only an approximation. Blades formed through continuous mental projection shattered one after another, until Fang Jie began using various trash can lids instead. Those were easier to project, and with material hardening, they were usable enough.
The Stellaron Spirit seemed to be hitting even more enthusiastically!
March 7th mercilessly quipped, "Suspicious people all say that."
She had plenty of experience with that, yes—experience with being treated as a suspicious person.
Hands on hips!
"Then you're not the one to say it. None of you are from Belobog, and neither am I. We're all outsiders, okay? Hello, my name is Fang Jie." Fang Jie deftly parried the Stellaron Spirit, who had not yet powered up further. He leapt and dodged, unwilling to take any of her attacks head-on. The two were perfectly in sync as they faked their fight, creating a racket like gongs and drums.
"Ah, you're not a local either? You're an outsider too?"
March 7th, who had not found this scene strange, was shocked. Wasn't this planet blocked off by the Stellaron, cutting off the Silver Rail... oh, right, then you were someone stuck here and unable to continue on your journey.
Hahahaha, how miserable~
She looked again at the strange, adorable pink-haired child who could fly, and the adorable pink-haired girl with her eyes closed and a mature air about her, carried on someone's back.
Pink hair!
Seeing that Fang Jie's companions had pink hair too, rather than white hair, March 7th immediately approved of him.
Mm, though this group was a little strange and looked suspicious no matter how she viewed it, they had to be good people.
Before March 7th could stop the Stellaron Spirit, Dan Heng had already stepped forward, aiming Cloud-Piercer at Rin. "Stop. Since earlier, you have been continuously emitting a strange power that surrounds us. If this is your declaration of war..."
"Rin." Fang Jie also realized that she was not emergency food. Little floating thing, back off, back off, back off. He shook free of the Stellaron Spirit's entanglement and stepped between Dan Heng and Rin, speaking concisely and without joking:
"Don't fight, Nameless. This is Rin, and this is Yae Sakura. I swear in Welt's name that we are not enemies."
Dan Heng, who seemed mature and steady but would explode at the slightest provocation, paused at last. He also stopped the eager Stellaron Spirit, who wanted to keep smashing.
"What? We're not fighting anymore?"
The Stellaron Spirit asked innocently, her eyes full of longing.
"Fight your head. He knows Uncle Yang." March 7th quickly ran to the Stellaron Spirit's side, and together they confronted Fang Jie and the silent floating thing behind him.
Though they had not spent long together, Dan Heng had already grown accustomed to any of their antics. He merely looked at Fang Jie in confusion. "Welt... who are you?"
They could not contact the Astral Express right now. The Stellaron's blockade of the planet was extremely severe, but they would find a way later.
"Just as I said, they come from that Mr. Welt's hometown, though there are some subtle differences. As for me..."
Fang Jie wore the expression of someone adrift for half his life.
"I have actually been a Nameless for a long time."
That really did not show.
Though Nameless were spread throughout the galaxy and all admired the sacred Astral Express, you... Dan Heng examined him closely, yet he truly could not see where Fang Jie resembled a Nameless.
What he could not conceal was an aura of Destruction. At least three stages of Path power, causing the Stellaron Spirit—accustomed to fighting the Anti-Matter Legion—to instinctively swing at him.
And that "Suiyang" and Foxian?
Before you continue