Cocolia, You Have Committed a Crime

"What is this?!"

The expressions of everyone nearby suddenly turned exceptionally grave.

The power radiating from Cocolia in mid-air had clearly surged far beyond what it was before, elevating her presence to an entirely different level.

If the previous Cocolia could be compared to a massive boulder, she now felt like a towering mountain suspended in the sky.

Below, those watching her figure felt an involuntary tremor in their hearts.

Not only that, but the freezing winds swirling around Cocolia also shifted abruptly, changing from their usual snowy white to a faint, shimmering gold.

Yet, this did not make Jing Yan retreat a single step.

Naturally, when March 7th saw those black-and-gold glowing ice shards hurtling toward Jing Yan, a flicker of unprecedented worry crossed her heart.

She felt that Jing Yan was in danger.

No matter how powerful Jing Yan's strength might be, it was unlikely he could withstand such an assault with his physical body alone.

After all, Jing Yan was a living human.

In the distance ahead, Stelle also stood dazed, clutching the crimson spearhead that housed the power of Preservation. She took a step toward Jing Yan, wanting to shield him from the blow.

However, she froze in place, unable to take another step.

The reason was that she realized her own speed was completely incapable of matching the velocity at which the ice shards were piercing toward Jing Yan.

In just a fleeting moment, the black-and-gold ice shards, imbued with the power of Destruction, would run Jing Yan through and attempt to shatter him from within.

"Jing Yan!"

In the distance, Seele also cried out.

She realized that even with her quantum-phasing speed, dodging such an attack would be incredibly difficult—the probability of success was likely only 50%—and Jing Yan's abilities did not seem suited for rapid displacement.

Jing Yan did not walk the Path of the Hunt.

Generally, only those on the Path of the Hunt possessed extraordinary attack speed, and Jing Yan was not on the Path of Preservation or Destruction either; his resistance to such an attack should not be strong.

Looking at it this way...

Clang!

A sharp sound rang out by their ears.

Everyone fixed their eyes on the space in front of Jing Yan.

They hoped to see a miracle, for Jing Yan to have successfully blocked the ice shards, but unfortunately, things did not go as they wished.

It seemed Jing Yan had indeed been struck by the cold.

However, in the next second, Jing Yan's body underwent a change right where he stood.

"Cocolia, you seem a bit impulsive."

Jing Yan's voice echoed from the side.

The figure that had been pierced and pinned to the ground by the black-and-gold ice shards flickered a few times in the distance before vanishing into nothingness.

Immediately after, his true form appeared in another spot nearby.

"This... how did he do that?"

Bronya had not yet reacted. She had just raised her rifle, intending to use her wind-infused bullets to intercept the ice shards Cocolia had fired.

She had been a step too slow; by the time she was ready to pull the trigger, she already realized the shot could not catch up to the ice.

Yet, she remained deeply puzzled by how Jing Yan's figure had vanished.

Even so, her impression of Jing Yan remained profound.

Because Bronya had now fully awakened the sealed memories of her childhood, remembering the time spent at the Rivethown orphanage.

Seele and Jing Yan had both cared for her deeply.

She had once sewn a plush bear and given it to him; that bear had a very beautiful red ribbon.

In the Underworld, owning such a toy was a source of immense happiness for a child.

Jing Yan had once told her that if they could grow up safely, he wanted every child in the Underworld to have toys to play with.

Back then, Bronya had laughed, "Toys? They won't matter when we're grown up. I want to be a Guardian; I want to protect all the people of Belobog!"

Thinking back on her confident declaration, Bronya felt a sense of bewilderment.

Jing Yan had helped her recover the memories Cocolia had sealed, but due to her own hesitation, she had ultimately failed to take radical, decisive action against her mother, or to secretly uncover the true intent of the Stellaron before her mother noticed, exposing everything to the public to halt her mother's overly idealistic and wishful plans.

He had not managed to do that in the end, or rather, before that could happen, her own compassion and lack of resolve had led to her being discovered and imprisoned by her mother.

The oath she once swore to "protect Belobog" seemed to have become a joke.

She felt as though she had wasted the effort Jing Yan put into unsealing her memories with his special ability.

If Jing Yan hadn't done that, and she had remained oblivious, only to be taken by her mother into the "new world" after the Fragmentum spread—would her heart have been at peace?

A sense of inner conflict stirred within Bronya.

However...

Seeing Jing Yan's pinned figure flicker and vanish into a phantom, only to reappear nearby, a spark of hope reignited within Bronya's heart.

"To protect... the power of Preservation is all about never giving up!"

Watching Jing Yan's silhouette in the distance, a renewed sense of fighting spirit surged within Bronya.

Everything was not yet over; she needed to fight until her very last breath. Her mother had clearly been completely bewitched by the Stellaron, but...

Perhaps the city could still be saved.

Perhaps her mother could be, too.

But that was only if...

Bronya leveled her rifle and fired toward Cocolia in the distance, intending to use this method to distract her.

"Bronya, my daughter, do you still remain so obstinate at a time like this? However..."

"It matters not. Once we reach the brand-new world, you will understand my painstaking efforts!"

Cocolia's voice rang out from high above in the sky.

The wind-elemental bullets were ground down and scattered into dust the moment they neared Cocolia, obliterated by the golden gale of Destruction.

Yet, just as Bronya pulled the trigger, Jing Yan, who had reappeared beside her, also began to move.

"Cocolia, every person's words and actions are a reflection of their inner heart."

"Humans possess five senses, six desires, and seven emotions. These feelings, moods, and cravings are a person's allies, helping them to strive, to Trailblaze, and to achieve their goals. But at the same time..."

"They can also lead a person into an abyss of sin."

Jing Yan's voice gradually rose.

Everyone listening felt their eardrums vibrate, as if something within their own hearts resonated with his words.

"Cocolia, you have committed three sins."

"Greed, pride, and envy!"

"The voice of the Stellaron may have seduced you, but is it not also a true reflection of your own heart?"

"Do you truly believe that you can defeat me by relying on the power of Destruction from the Stellaron?"