Arknights, but Raising Terra in Captivity

Whether Isabella had held back was hard to say. And whether "seriously wounded" meant beating Isabella to the brink of death, or simply making her enter her second phase... that was hard to say too.

But Isabella was just that damn strong.

After Isabella unleashed a wave of Sea Creature apocalypse, she turned around and found that Sargol had gotten MVP.

Why? Before the Sea Creature apocalypse, Sargol had held off the Sea Creatures alone for two hundred years. Yet once Sargol fell, all the other nations of Terra combined couldn't hold them back for even a year or two.

Sargol was practically winning by default. The record was right there.

—Though perhaps Sargol had simply fed the Sea Creatures enough to give them a full six-item build.

If it had been the original Yelagund, it was hard to say whether she alone, as a Great Beast, could have beaten Sargol.

But the key was that Yelagund now had the identity of a "Divine Messenger," wasn't that right?

Just look at the Demon King Rabbit. Look at Heart of the Corrupted Skadi. Who knew how much Yelagund had been buffed by now?

So if they really fought, who won and who lost was another matter. The scary part was—

"I don't plan on coming back alive."

That was what Yelagund said.

Yal: "..."

That's exactly what I'm afraid of!

Yelagund now looked exactly like a suicide truck.

Who won and who lost? Yelagund didn't care.

And as one of Terra's kindest native gods, Yal truly couldn't bring herself to say something like, "Oh, then go ahead. Make it a big one."

But Yal wasn't some saint either. She couldn't tell Yelagund to give up her revenge.

After all, they were the same person from different Worldlines. Yelagund might have been telling it like a story, but Yal was listening as though she had lived through it herself, even putting herself in Yelagund's shoes.

Then Yal realized that if she had gone through something like that, she would probably have gone mad just like Yelagund.

So emotionally, Yal supported Yelagund's revenge. She even wanted to put together a team.

But rationally, Yal could never agree to let Yelagund become a suicide truck.

But what reason did she have to stop her?

And so she found herself stuck in that dilemma.

In the end, it was Chuxue, who had been listening in from the side the entire time, who spoke up. "Yal... I can call you that, right?"

Chuxue was speaking to Yelagund.

And upon hearing that familiar voice and familiar form of address, Yelagund couldn't help but space out for a moment.

Once she came back to herself, Yelagund nodded with faint delight. "Of course, of course. Um... Saintess? Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes."

In a tone as casual as if she were chatting about nothing in particular, Chuxue said, "I don't know where you're planning to go, Yal, but aren't you going to say goodbye before leaving on a long journey? I'm your 'Saintess,' after all."

"Huh...? No... I only wanted to..."

"Or are you planning to leave me behind, Yal?"

"No!"

The moment Yelagund heard that, she denied it without a second thought.

Seeing how agitated Yelagund was, Chuxue stepped forward and gently wrapped her in a hug. "All right, I'm not blaming you. Aren't I still here? So let's sit down and have a proper talk first, okay? Yal."

"Mhm..."

Since her own child had said so, Yelagund naturally wouldn't refuse.

Watching Yelagund gradually calm down, Yal also let out a sigh of relief and instinctively said to Chuxue, "As expected, Saintess, you know exactly what to do."

"Of course."

Chuxue released Yelagund and said, "I'm the Saintess who serves Yelagund, and also the Saintess of my little maid Yal. Naturally, I know how to comfort her. Oh, right—"

Chuxue turned to look at Yal.

Then, beneath Yal's suddenly guilty gaze, Chuxue's attitude became distinctly respectful. "I have yet to greet you. This humble commoner, Enya, pays respects to Lady Yal."

Yal: "..."

Yal knew that Chuxue was only making a joke now that the atmosphere had finally eased up...

But the way Chuxue kept subtly pointing out that Yal had deceived her for so long still made Yal feel a little guilty.

So Yal refused to take the bait. While stepping aside to avoid it, she changed the subject. "By the way, other me, since you said Lord God was the one who saved you, then... didn't you ask Lord God for help?"

"..."

Yelagund froze for a moment before saying, "You're right... Even if I want to destroy Sargol, my current size really is inconvenient... Should I ask Lord God to drop me directly above Sargol, then let me fall?"

Yelagund's true form was simply far too enormous now. Just moving could level entire stretches of cities to the ground.

And Siracusa and Sargol were separated by more than half of Terra.

If Yelagund set out from Siracusa, before she even reached Sargol, a great many nations would be buried with it along the way.

So she should ask that Lord God to deploy her again?

Yal: "?"

Yal was dumbfounded. Once she recovered, she hurriedly said, "No! I mean, other me, haven't you considered asking Lord God to bring your children back to life as well?"

That was what Yal had meant.

"Huh...?"

Yelagund said, "Can that be done?"

When Yelagund had seen those Sea Creatures, her mind had completely collapsed. She had never thought of that at all.

Now that Yal had reminded her, Yelagund realized it.

"It should be possible, right?"

Yal wasn't entirely certain either. "After all, that's Lord God. Shouldn't you understand His power better than I do? Lord God seems capable of anything."

Then, as her words fell, a massive palm descended from the sky.

As it seized Yelagund's mountain-like true form in its grasp as easily as picking up a little hamster, they heard Lord God say:

"All right, come on, Yelagund. I've prepared a little surprise for you."