Cocolia, You Have Sinned

"What?!"

Everyone around them suddenly grew grave!

Cocolia's power in midair had clearly increased enormously, making her seem to have ascended several steps to an entirely higher level.

If Cocolia had been like a boulder before, now she was like a mountain suspended in the air.

Just looking at her from below made the people feel their hearts stir uneasily.

What was more, the icy wind swirling around Cocolia changed abruptly. Its usual snowy white turned a faint gold.

Yet Jing Yan still didn't dodge or take a single step back.

Of course, when March 7th saw the black-and-gold icicles streaking toward Jing Yan, an unprecedented pang of worry flashed through her heart.

She thought Jing Yan was in danger.

No matter how powerful Jing Yan was, it was unlikely he could take an attack like that with his bare body.

After all, Jing Yan was a living person.

Far ahead, Stelle stared blankly at the crimson spearhead that housed the power of "Preservation." She turned toward Jing Yan and took a step, intending to block the attack for him.

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

She had realized that her speed couldn't possibly match the icicle as it pierced toward Jing Yan.

In the blink of an eye, that black-and-gold icicle, imbued with the power of "Destruction," would pierce Jing Yan's body and try to destroy him from within.

"Jing Yan!"

In the distance, Seele called out to him as well.

She realized that even with the speed of her quantum movement, dodging an attack like that would be extremely difficult. Her chances were probably only fifty percent, while Jing Yan didn't seem particularly adept at moving quickly.

Jing Yan wasn't on the Path of the Hunt.

Generally, only those on the Path of the Hunt could achieve extraordinary attack speeds. Jing Yan wasn't on the Path of Preservation or the Path of Destruction, either, so he shouldn't be able to withstand an attack like this.

In that case...

"Clang!"

A sound rang out beside them.

Everyone looked closely toward the space in front of Jing Yan.

They hoped a miracle would happen and Jing Yan would successfully block the icicle, but unfortunately, things didn't go as they wished.

Jing Yan did indeed seem to have been struck by the icicle.

But the next second, something happened to his body right there.

"Cocolia, you seem to have acted a little impulsively."

Jing Yan's voice rang out nearby.

The figure pinned to the ground by the ice spike, impaled through by the icicle with its black surface glittering gold, flickered several times in the distance before vanishing completely.

Then Jing Yan appeared somewhere else nearby.

"How... did he do that?"

Bronya hadn't had time to react. She had just raised her gun and tried to shoot down the icicle Cocolia had launched with a bullet imbued with the power of wind.

But she was a moment too slow. By the time she was about to pull the trigger, she realized her shot wouldn't catch up with the icicle.

Even so, she was still bewildered by Jing Yan's sudden disappearance.

After all, her impression of Jing Yan was still quite vivid.

By now, Bronya had completely recovered the memories of her childhood that had been sealed away. She remembered what had happened at the orphanage in Rivet Town.

Back then, her classmates Seele and Jing Yan had cared for her very much.

She had once sewn him a stuffed bear with a beautiful red bow.

For a child in the Underworld, owning a toy like that was already a source of great happiness.

Jing Yan had once told her that if they managed to grow up safely, they would make sure every child in the Underworld had toys to play with.

Back then, Bronya had laughed. "Toys won't matter once we're grown up, right? I want to become a Guardian. I want to protect everyone in Belobog!"

Bronya remembered how confidently she'd said that, and her expression turned uncertain.

Jing Yan had helped her recover the memories Cocolia had sealed away. But after hesitating, she had ultimately failed to take decisive action against her mother. She hadn't even secretly figured out the Stellaron's true intentions before her mother could notice, exposed everything to the public, and put an end to her mother's overly idealistic, one-sided plan.

But in the end, she hadn't managed to do any of that. Or rather, before she could, her compassion and lack of resolve had led to her mother discovering her and having her imprisoned.

The vow she had once made to "protect Belobog" seemed to have become nothing but a joke.

It felt as though she had wasted all the effort Jing Yan had spent using his special ability to unlock her memories.

If Jing Yan hadn't done that, she wouldn't have remembered anything. If her mother had simply taken her to the "new world" after the Fragmentum spread, wouldn't she have been better off?

A trace of conflict welled up inside Bronya.

But...

Seeing the pinned figure vanish like an illusion and Jing Yan reappear nearby, Bronya felt a flame flare up inside her once more.

"Protecting people with the power of 'Preservation' means never giving up!"

Looking at Jing Yan in the distance, Bronya felt her fighting spirit rise again.

It wasn't over yet. She needed to fight until she had nothing left. Her mother had clearly been completely bewitched by the Stellaron, but...

There might still be hope for the city.

There might still be hope for her mother, too.

But first...

Bronya raised her gun and fired at Cocolia in the distance, hoping to distract her.

"Bronya, my daughter. Even now, are you still refusing to see reason? But..."

"No matter. You'll understand my good intentions once we reach the new world!"

Cocolia's voice rang out from the sky.

The bullets of wind elemental energy were ground to dust and scattered by the golden gale of "Destruction" as they approached Cocolia.

But as Bronya opened fire, Jing Yan reappeared nearby and began to move.

"Cocolia, a person's words and actions reflect what's in their heart."

"People have five senses, six desires, and seven emotions. Sensations, emotions, and desires can help people strive, pursue new horizons, and achieve their goals. But at the same time..."

"They can also lead people into the abyss of sin."

Jing Yan's voice gradually rang out.

His words seemed to make everyone's eardrums tremble, and something inside them seemed to resonate with him.

"Cocolia, you have committed three sins."

"Greed, Pride, and Envy!"

"The Stellaron's voice led you astray, but doesn't it also reflect what's truly in your heart?"

"Do you think you can defeat me with the power of 'Destruction' from the Stellaron?"