At that moment, all the Nightmare Demons eyed him like predators, their gazes cold, already showing signs of moving to surround him.
To them, whether they could kill him was secondary. If they could hold him back long enough to destroy history, the very foundation sustaining his existence would vanish. They had countless chances to try and fail, but for him, a single defeat would mean losing everything.
He could not retreat, nor did he have anywhere to retreat to.
The atmosphere turned ice-cold.
War was on the verge of erupting.
But just then, Lynn suddenly glanced sideways and spoke, as if to himself, or perhaps to the distant void:
"I thought you weren't coming."
The Nightmare Demons' pupils abruptly contracted.
Even the figure hidden entirely beneath a black robe stirred slightly and looked in that direction.
At that moment, ripples shimmered through the dark, silent void, like a drop of ink mingled with frenzied colors falling into that vast darkness.
Drip-
When that azure figure appeared beside Lynn, everyone present fell into a momentary daze.
Her expression was calm.
Fading ripples shrouded her entire body, making her face impossible to discern. Those twisted, chaotic colors seemed like her flowing dress, or the terrifying trails cast off by her boundless power. Her arrival instantly introduced a new variable.
The black-robed figure raised his head slightly, his gaze seeming to pass through time and fall upon the girl's face.
"It seems you've already reached the end of this road."
The azure figure spoke.
"Though this isn't the first time we've met across time, I'm glad to be fighting by your side."
Zuo Zuo stared at that figure, too shocked for words.
That's right!
It really is Painter!
*But she already knew that, in the era the two of them came from,