Jing Yan's words left Cocolia momentarily stunned, even though she was in the air, already fused with the Stellaron.
The surging power of the Stellaron filled her with a satisfaction she had never felt before.
Yet Jing Yan's words still made her hesitate.
She hesitated because, just moments ago, her heart had skipped a beat against her will.
It was something she had never expected.
But then Cocolia raised one hand and reached toward the sky.
Dazzling, dark-golden energy began to gather at her fingertips.
"Perhaps. But whether someone is prideful or not is never for a loser to say. Those words belong only to the victor!"
More and more of the power of Destruction gathered in Cocolia's hand.
Everyone below could feel an unprecedented danger emanating from her.
If that power came crashing down, would any of them be able to withstand it?!
Jing Yan looked up at Cocolia, his expression unchanged, as brilliant, multicolored light rose around him.
The colors shone like a nebula in the cosmos, dazzling and mesmerizing, filling the onlookers with wonder.
The power of the Path of Eros, unknown to others, spread outward from him.
Even now, as he acted, this still wasn't the real Jing Yan.
He was merely a replica created by combining the Illusion Domain with the power of the Fragmentum.
Jing Yan liked this feeling—the feeling of standing calmly to the side, controlling everything.
It wasn't arrogance. Quite the opposite: it was caution.
It was like using a lifelike double that no one could recognize as a fake.
Though the influence was illusory, the power was real, and the Illusion Domain made it impossible to spot any flaws in the double's appearance.
"Jing Yan" spoke again, his voice ringing out: "Cocolia, face the original sin within your heart!"
At his furious rebuke, Cocolia, suspended in midair and gathering the power of Destruction, suddenly sensed something was wrong.
Cracks appeared in her icy armor.
Then Cocolia noticed something strange happening to her body.
"What's going on?"
"What did you do?!"
The next moment, a bizarre transformation began within Bronya's body.
The first to appear was the embodiment of Pride's power.
As expected, beings capable of wielding immense power and possessing both consciousness and desire were easy to control.
Jing Yan mused with satisfaction.
He had succeeded in making Cocolia's original sin of Pride "manifest."
That, too, was one aspect of the power of Eros.
Cocolia still hadn't realized that after gaining the Stellaron's power of Destruction and standing above the people below, looking down on them,
the higher she stood and the more resolute her words became, the deeper she sank into the original sin of Pride.
And Jing Yan, who could manipulate Eros, had successfully separated that power from her.
Cocolia instantly felt that something was missing from within her.
But the feeling lasted only an instant, passing through her mind. Then she focused on how to deal with the monster that had suddenly appeared before her.
Even if the monster seemed to have crawled out of her own body?!
She knew Jing Yan had done something to her.
She just didn't know what this red demon was.
"Is your power an illusion?" Cocolia asked coldly.
Cocolia's words no longer carried the arrogance they had before.
Even so, they still conveyed strength.
Pride was an accessory to great power, but power itself did not depend on Pride.
So even though the monster named "Pride," which had split off from her, had taken some of the Stellaron's power of Destruction, Cocolia remained immensely powerful.
Being stripped of Pride wouldn't make her meek or timid; it had merely returned her tone and manner to normal.
"This demon..." Cocolia murmured as she studied the red creature before her.
She had never seen anything like it.
Now that she had, she couldn't help feeling curious.
Yet another thought took shape in her mind: this only confirmed her belief that Jing Yan's ability was to create illusions.
Even after Pride had been separated from her, her power still felt immense.
As for the power Pride had taken, Cocolia barely noticed its loss. She hadn't fully mastered the Stellaron's power to begin with; she was still drawing it out and building it up.
She had been preparing to kill everyone below with a single strike.
"For some reason, I feel as though my mind is a little calmer and clearer," Cocolia said evenly.
"If your power is what did that for me, then perhaps I should thank you. In return, I may grant you a quick death."
She continued.
"Don't rush," Jing Yan replied lightly.
"This is only the beginning. What's the hurry?"
"Pride, show her what she's lost!"
Jing Yan spoke to the monster in the air.
The red demon suddenly became even brighter and more dazzling.
It seemed to transform into a star suspended overhead.
Cocolia froze.
She sensed a threat from this blazing presence beside her.
The dark-golden energy of the Stellaron continued gathering in her hand, but she now aimed it at "Pride" in the air.
"Cocolia, what are you afraid of? Or are you wary—jealous of a presence that shines brighter than you?"
Jing Yan's words reached Cocolia's ears, but she didn't grow angry or anxious.
"I made a pact with the Stellaron and use its power for Belobog, to save its last surviving people."
"In our new home and world, there will be no more calamities of bitter cold. People will live together in harmony."
Cocolia spoke, her expression hazy.
The blazing Pride in the sky shone even brighter.
Jing Yan smiled. "Cocolia, thank you for the Pride in your heart. The monster named 'Pride' in the sky has grown even stronger!"
"Even if you may not realize it, you should still know that the Frost Wave came from the Stellaron, yet you made a deal with it anyway."
"Deep down, you believe what you're doing is right, because..."
"There's no other choice!"
"How is that not a form of Pride?!"
As Jing Yan spoke, the monster Pride charged at Cocolia.
"Stellaron, destroy everything!"
Cocolia immediately condensed the Stellaron's power into a massive, glittering golden crystal and hurled it at the radiant monster in the sky.
The next instant, a tremendous crash rang out across the heavens!
Before you continue