Facing Cocolia

"Cocolia has captured Bronya."

Seele said anxiously.

Jing Yan nodded upon hearing this.

He understood why Seele was so anxious.

Even though Bronya's previous memories had been tampered with and she had forgotten, Seele still remembered.

They were both children who had grown up in the Rivet Town orphanage.

Furthermore, the fact that Bronya had been captured by Cocolia now meant that the other side understood that the Supreme Guardian's actions were not about protecting Belobog at all.

And Cocolia was leading her toward yet another abyss.

Seele's question did not receive any response.

Because Bronya seemed to be in a state of unconsciousness at this moment.

"The Guardians have exchanged huge sacrifices for the people's chance to breathe; from the first to the eighteenth, it has always been so."

Cocolia said in a deep voice.

"The blizzard that the people of Belobog are currently experiencing is caused by their own wishes; otherwise, they would have already perished. Yet, the people who came after still naively believe that they can control the Stellaron through the off-worlders' company and the suppression devices developed by the Architects. It is truly ridiculous."

Cocolia spoke.

"Now, it is time to lead the people into a brand-new era."

"In the new world, people will thank me for everything I have done!"

As she spoke, she casually unlocked the suppression device beside her.

"Bronya!"

Seele called out.

Hearing the voice, Bronya's brows twitched slightly. She opened her eyes from her unconscious state and looked at Seele in front of her. Her heart seemed to stir, but she could not recall much.

Clearly, after Jing Yan's power helped her lift the seal on the memories in her mind earlier, she had regained some of her past memories, though they were still quite limited.

She felt the purple-haired girl in front of her, Seele, looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place her.

At this moment, a huge commotion came from behind the Creation Platform. As Cocolia broke the cage device that imprisoned the Stellaron, even more terrifying movements followed.

Beneath the platform, a massive mechanical body gradually rose.

"This is..." March 7th was stunned, unable to process what was happening for a moment.

"This is the true form of the Engine of Creation," Mr. Svarog said.

However, at the same time, March 7th's phone suddenly rang, and the voice of Auntie Himeko from the Astral Express, far away in space, came through.

"March 7th, are you there?"

Hearing the voice, March 7th felt quite excited.

"Auntie Himeko?"

March 7th couldn't help but ask back.

"The giant machine behind you has started up, but we are still watching you from the sky, so it would be better if this thing stayed quiet for a while."

Auntie Himeko said.

Immediately, the massive Engine of Creation robot seemed to be affected by the signal from space, its movements becoming sluggish and swaying.

But every move it made was like a landslide or a tsunami. Cocolia's figure had already been lifted by the Engine of Creation, appearing higher in the sky.

At the same time, Bronya's figure fell, but she was immediately caught by the approaching Seele.

"Cocolia!"

Jing Yan looked at Cocolia in the sky and said slowly.

The other party looked down from above, seemingly feeling unfamiliar with Jing Yan's existence, yet she did not pay him much attention.

Even though Jing Yan's reputation in the Underworld was already thunderous, it had only been a few days, so Cocolia, the Supreme Guardian of the Overworld, was still not very familiar with him.

Even if she noticed something unusual from the positioning of the people who had appeared.

She didn't understand why this strange man was standing at the very front, as if he were the leader of these stubborn rebels.

However, such questions didn't seem very important now, not once she had merged with the power of the Stellaron.

Undoubtedly, according to their experiments, it was confirmed that under the influence of the Stellaron, a portion of humans affected by the Fragmentum could retain their memories, though they would be transformed into a different life form.

Of course, many others would be unable to retain them and would turn into mindless Fragmentum Creatures, but that was the limit of what she could do.

Compared to letting all the people of Belobog die in the bitter cold, this approach was, in Cocolia's view, nothing short of an act of mercy.

At this moment, Jing Yan stood below, looking at Cocolia above, his gaze devoid of sorrow or joy as he said, "Cocolia, why not try resisting the power of your former self?"

Jing Yan's words reached Cocolia's ears, and she felt a sense of absurdity.

She completely failed to understand the meaning of his words.

On one hand, the other party was a complete stranger from the Underworld who should have had little chance to come into contact with her, and likely hadn't seen her heroic fighting style much, yet he dared to make such a boast. His words even carried a tone of reprimand, as if he were a senior.

This left her feeling puzzled, yet she did not take the matter to heart.

Because at this very moment, nothing could hinder the progress of her plan.

However, just as Jing Yan had yet to make a move, another figure suddenly appeared in the vicinity, charging toward Cocolia.

"This is..."

Seele said, somewhat surprised.

"Is that a Shadow of Cocolia?!"

Stelle was also startled.

The so-called "Shadow of Cocolia" was a manifestation of the Fragmentum under the influence of the Stellaron.

The closer one was to the Stellaron, the more the Fragmentum would be exposed, to the point where it could merge with the surrounding area.

One of the functions of the Fragmentum was to "imprint" the existence or memories of parts of the world.

Thus, down below, at the boundary between Everwinter Hill and the Forbidden Zone, Cocolia's form had been imprinted, including conversations with her adopted daughter Bronya, as well as an imprint of herself that, under the influence of the Fragmentum, even possessed some of her original power.

Originally, this "Shadow of Cocolia" was more like an inanimate object.

Even though it had been imprinted with some of Cocolia's combat stances and even fragments of her memories, it had simply stood there without any autonomous consciousness.

But because of Jing Yan's appearance, and his infiltration and control of the Stagnant Shadow's divine power, the "Shadow of Cocolia" could now be manipulated, just like other Stagnant Shadows—and it went even further than that.

Jing Yan had taken the power of Stagnant Shadows from other locations, manifested it, and injected it into this "Cocolia," so that unlike the Cocolia in the sky above, this "Shadow of Cocolia" controlled by Jing Yan was clad in a suit of gold and silver armor.

She looked just like a Valkyrie.

"This is..."

High in the air, Cocolia watched as the existence resembling herself charged toward her, stunned for a moment.

But she immediately realized that this must be a product of the Fragmentum's influence.

She simply did not know why it had been controlled by Jing Yan.