Cocolia Suddenly Felt a Chill Down Her Spine on the Top Floor

The sharp click of high heels echoed across the marble steps.

One step. Two.

Supreme Guardian Cocolia descended the spiral staircase, wrapped in a heavy white fox-fur shawl.

The hall was so quiet that only the crackle of the Geomarrows furnace remained.

Bronya immediately lowered her rifle and stepped half a pace aside.

The metal butt struck the floor tile with a dull thud.

Cocolia lifted her chin slightly.

Her gaze passed over the brass railing and swept across the Astral Express Crew in the hall.

It was the arrogance of someone who had long held the power of life and death.

As though she were looking at a few stray cats that had dirtied an exquisite carpet.

She was about to reprimand Gepard for allowing outsiders into the fortress.

Then her eyes happened to fall on the center of the hall.

On the little white-haired girl.

Su Chen slowly raised his head.

Above the rim of his sunglasses, his azure eyes met Cocolia's gaze head-on.

Their gazes collided in midair.

In that instant, the air seemed to thicken.

Cocolia stopped midstep.

Her high heel hovered above the next stair, and she could not make herself put it down.

A violent spasm suddenly seized her deep in the chest.

It was the Stellaron.

That cancer of all worlds, which usually whispered temptations and painted grand visions in her mind.

Every day, it spoke in her ear of the power of Destruction and rebirth.

Now it had gone mad.

No whispers. No visions.

Only raw, instinctive terror, like a mouse encountering its natural predator.

The Stellaron's energy rampaged through Cocolia's veins, desperately trying to retreat into the deepest part of her heart.

It was afraid.

That fear of being suppressed by a higher-dimensional power struck back at its host.

Cocolia felt as if someone had seized her heart and squeezed hard.

Fingernails dug deep into the muscle.

The agony darkened her vision, and the marble stairs swayed violently before her eyes.

Fine beads of cold sweat sprang up across her forehead.

They gathered into drops as large as beans.

They rolled down her pale cheeks, slipped over her chin, and fell into the snow-white fur of her shawl.

She could no longer feel the warmth of the Geomarrows furnace.

The blood in her body felt as though it had been frozen in an icehouse, chilling her to the bone.

Cold sweat soaked the silk lining against her skin, leaving it clinging wetly to her back.

A passing draft sent a bone-deep chill through her.

"Mother?"

Bronya noticed something was wrong and called to her softly.

She stared in shock at the sweat that had suddenly appeared on her mother's forehead.

She was just about to reach out and steady her.

Cocolia ignored her.

She gripped the staircase's brass railing.

Her fingers clenched so hard that her knuckles turned deathly white.

The polished brass tube gave a faint metallic groan as it warped.

Crack.

One of the carefully manicured nails on her index finger snapped clean off.

The broken piece fell onto the carpet.

A piercing pain shot through her fingertip.

But it could not suppress the terror crawling up her spine.

Every instinct in her head was frantically tolling an alarm bell.

Do not provoke her.

Do not let this white-haired girl discover the Stellaron's secret.

Not even the faintest trace of its presence could escape.

She would wipe Cocolia and all of Belobog away as easily as crushing a bug.

Nothing would be left.

Cocolia did not dare blink.

Sweat stung her eyes, leaving their rims red.

She stared fixedly at the little girl.

She feared that the moment she looked away, an invisible force would snap her neck.

She had to get these people out of here at once.

Lock them up far away, out of her sight.

The sooner, the better.

Cocolia drew a deep breath.

Cold air caught in her windpipe, sending a sharp pain through her lungs.

She forced down the Stellaron's turmoil in her chest and made herself set her hovering foot on the stair.

She swayed, then barely managed to steady herself.

"Gepard."

Cocolia spoke.

Her voice echoed through the cavernous hall.

But it sounded nothing like usual.

Her normally stern, cold voice carried an unmistakable tremor.

The end of the word even wavered and cracked as she ran short of breath.

Gepard raised his head.

Sweat covered his face as he looked up at the Supreme Guardian on the stairs.

Blood was still seeping from the wound on his right arm.

"At your command."

Gepard's voice was just as dry.

Cocolia swallowed.

Her throat made a dry, rasping sound.

"Belobog is under martial law. The fighting at the front is intense."

She raised her left hand and pointed at the Astral Express Crew.

Her finger froze in midair, its tip still trembling slightly.

"These people's origins are unknown, and their behavior is suspicious."

"Treat them as Fragmentum spies! Seize them at once and lock them in an Iron Guard holding cell!"

Bronya whipped her head around.

Her eyes widened.

"Mother! They said they're from the Astral Express—"

"Silence!"

Cocolia roared.

The shout left her dizzy, and her knees nearly buckled.

She clutched the railing with both hands, barely holding herself upright.

Her chest heaved.

"Carry out the order! Gepard, take them away now!"

Gepard shuddered.

He looked at Cocolia on the stairs, then turned to the white-haired girl standing on the red carpet.

The searing pain in his right arm still reminded him of what had just happened.

Arrest these people?

Was she asking him to lead his men to their deaths?

But the Supreme Guardian's command was the highest authority in Belobog.

Gepard gritted his teeth.

The muscles along his jaw stood out sharply.

With his uninjured left hand, he drew the sword at his waist.

The blade scraped against its scabbard with a dry, grating metallic sound.

"Iron Guards, form up."

Gepard forced the four words through clenched teeth.

The guards at either side of the hall and the dozen or so Silvermane Guards who had followed them in reluctantly closed in.

Their spears pointed toward the Astral Express Crew.

But they moved slowly, their steps unsteady, as if they were walking on cotton.

Their armored boots crossed the carpet without making a sound.

The hands gripping their weapons shook uncontrollably.

Dozens of them formed a wide circle, trembling with fear.

Not one dared come within three meters.

The tension around the Astral Express Crew tightened at once.

All the anger they had held back in the snow came rushing out.

They had come to help, only to be arrested as spies.

Dan Heng drew Cloud-Piercer from his back.

The spearhead cut a gash through the red carpet, severing its expensive pile.

Teal water vapor swirled around the spearhead, ready for him to break through at any moment.

Xingbao had lost her baseball bat in the snow.

So she bent down and grabbed a heavy solid-copper candelabrum from a nearby low table.

The candles fell and broke against the floor.

Xingbao gripped the stem with both hands and took a textbook batting stance.

A low breath rumbled in her throat.

March 7th drew her Six-Phased Ice Bow again.

Moisture in the air rapidly condensed.

A crystal-clear ice arrow rested against the bowstring.

Its tip radiated a bone-chilling cold, aimed straight at Cocolia on the stairs.

Welt did not draw the Star of Eden.

But his thumb pressed firmly against the mechanism in his cane.

The hem of his suit stirred without any wind.

A purple quasi-gravitational field flickered across the hall floor.

Both sides were poised to strike.

The tension in the air was so thick that a single spark could set it off.

Su Chen, standing at the front, took it all in.

Little Satoru Gojo gave an indifferent smirk.

With his small hands in his uniform pockets, he slouched.

That old woman was a terrible actress. Her calves were cramping from fear, and sweat was pouring down her face, yet she still insisted on looking righteous.

Arresting spies?

Did she really think his eyes couldn't see the Stellaron inside her trembling in terror?

He was about to raise a hand and give these Iron Guards a physical demonstration.

Just then—

Ding!

A crisp notification rang out deep in his mind.

The translucent system interface that only he could see appeared without warning.

The blue interface instantly burst with dazzling golden light.

The light flashed wildly through his consciousness, bright enough to hurt.

The progress bar shot to full.

A line of bold red text, wreathed in flames, slammed across Su Chen's vision.

[Massive shock detected. New god-tier Avatar fully unlocked!]