One Star Core Acquired

"Cocolia, you've overestimated the power of the Stellaron you wield!"

Even after Cocolia's attack ended, the dazzling Pride still hung in the sky.

It had even grown more brilliant.

"Or rather, you've been continuously supplying my Pride with energy. That energy also possesses the power of Destruction, but though it was once in your hands, it no longer belongs to you."

Jing Yan's words left Cocolia confused.

A trace of fear seeped into her heart.

In her eyes, her last attack should have been enough to completely destroy the energy monster in the sky. But the facts seemed to point in precisely the opposite direction.

She was at a loss.

The reason was that the power of Pride, one of the seven deadly sins, which Jing Yan had extracted from Cocolia's body using the power of Eros, contained the power of Destruction from the Stellaron.

In other words, Jing Yan had used the power of Eros to envelop and capture a portion of the power of Destruction.

He had quickly adapted to it and begun trying to control and devour it.

As an Aeon, his ability to sense and wield the power of other Aeons far surpassed that of someone like Cocolia.

So when Cocolia had just hurled the Stellaron's power at Pride, it had caught and swallowed it.

Now, Pride had become even more prideful.

Part of this was because new arrogance kept springing up in Cocolia's heart, only to be stripped away and assimilated into the prideful monster. The other part was the result of its fusion with the Stellaron's power of Destruction.

"Cocolia, it seems you aren't the true master of the Stellaron after all."

"If you can't even subdue the monster born in your own heart, how can you hope to remake all of Belobog? What's more, you've embarked on a path of Destruction."

Jing Yan spoke calmly.

By now, the others had also reacted and begun to help.

Stelle used the power of Preservation she had just obtained, planting the tip of her flaming lance in the ground. A warm shield of fire immediately lit up before the group, driving away the freezing wind.

At the same time, the others began to surround Cocolia.

High in the sky, Pride's dazzling form seemed to have grown more solid.

The Stellaron Hunters—Kafka and Silver Wolf, for example—used Artificial Bodies like Stelle's to house Stellarons.

By the same principle, Jing Yan was using a monster symbolizing the sin of Pride to house the Stellaron's power.

The Stellaron's power of Destruction was continuously transformed into the power of Pride through Eros. Its blazing flames were like the hottest stars, annihilating, melting, and evaporating the frost wind below!

"Hmm..." Jing Yan mused, Pride makes up the largest part of Cocolia's sins.

So much so that she's nearly unable to hold on, even though I haven't brought forth the manifestations of the other two sins, Greed and Envy.

Cocolia's heart was gradually sinking from calm into despair.

Doubt about everything she had ever believed began to surface.

"How is this possible? The Stellaron—the Stellaron formed a pact with me. How could anyone possibly resist its power?!"

"This monster—what is this monster?!"

Cocolia kept gathering power and attacking Pride in the sky, but she was already in a panic. Her words only made the scene all the more pitiful.

She kept calling Pride a monster, yet failed to notice that her own form had become monstrous as well.

Under the Stellaron's influence, the Fragmentum had already transformed her into the shape of a Fragmentum Creature.

"Cocolia, you've lost!" Jing Yan called from below.

At his words, Cocolia suddenly froze. She trembled a few times, then seemed to be bound by invisible shackles and plunged from the sky.

[Emotion Manipulation] had taken effect.

Jing Yan thought to himself, a trace of delight appearing on his face.

He immediately began using [Verbal Domination].

"Cocolia, it's time to submit."

"Open your heart and hand over the Stellaron's power inside you!"

Cocolia crashed into the snow, leaving a deep crater.

Behind them, the gigantic Engine of Creation also started up.

With Mr. Svarog and Himeko aboard the Astral Express in orbit connecting to it, they successfully awakened and took control of the giant mechanical construct.

It stood upright. Previously, because of Cocolia's authority as Supreme Guardian, it had been all the others could do to keep it from attacking. Now that Cocolia's will had weakened, Mr. Svarog and Himeko had taken complete control.

It raised its fist and brought it down on Cocolia.

"Boom!"

A thunderous crash rang out from the ground!

The giant mechanical fist, flames bursting from its joints, struck the already weakened Cocolia and knocked her unconscious.

As her consciousness faded, the Stellaron's power began to break free.

But rather than flying out of her body, it gradually expanded, about to explode!

"Cocolia's been subdued?!"

"Damn it! What's happening now?!"

March 7th, Seele, Bronya, and the others were about to go check on Cocolia when they saw the familiar, dazzling dark-gold light spreading through the drifting snow. They immediately realized what was happening.

It was the Stellaron's power. Now that it had broken free of its seal and Cocolia's restraints, was it about to erupt completely?

"Get out of the way!"

In that instant,

their instinct was to shield the people beside them.

Seele reached out and shielded Bronya with her body.

Stelle raised the flaming lance granted by the power of Preservation, putting herself between March 7th and the blast.

Then they braced themselves for the impact of the Stellaron's power.

But, unfortunately, the power didn't spread.

A flash of crimson light streaked through the air.

A man appeared.

He was a passenger aboard the Astral Express, Welt Yang.

Sensing that something was wrong below, he had immediately rushed over to see if he could help.

But it seemed he wouldn't need to.

The Stellaron's power didn't spread. It was instantly suppressed, wrapped in a mass of multicolored energy.

This was Jing Yan's power of Eros.

He had successfully sealed the Stellaron's power—or, rather, devoured it into his own body.

After a long while, everyone gradually came to their senses and got up to check their surroundings.

Seeing that everything around them was unharmed, they felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

"The Stellaron—right, where did the Stellaron go?" March 7th asked.

Then she saw Welt Yang descending from the sky and greeted him with a smile. "Uncle Yang, what are you doing here too?"

But Welt Yang's gaze was fixed on Jing Yan.