After Dan Heng saw Ye Yan there and confirmed that Arlan was safe, he left without looking back.
Before long, he returned to the monitoring room with two figures, one pink and one gray.
"How come you two are together?!" March 7th was very surprised.
After a brief explanation, Ye Yan and Arlan joined the three-person team.
Stelle looked at Ye Yan and felt that he seemed familiar, but her mind was a muddle, and she couldn't remember.
"Yay! The Voidranger-bashing squad is assembled!" March 7th cheered.
"Let's get out of here first..." Dan Heng said.
On the way to the elevator, Stelle saw Dan Heng press something on his weapon. The spearhead shot straight out, piercing a large centaur-like Voidranger.
"This thing... can shoot too?" Stelle had her eyes opened.
"Ye Yan modified it for him," March 7th explained beside her.
The all-capable Teacher Dan Heng led the four of them through every obstacle and enemy, returning safely to the Master Control Zone, where Stelle also met Himeko and Asta.
"Phew, that was easy! Come on, Ye Yan, get me a cup of milk tea. A girl needs something sweet after all that hard work!"
Beep, beep, beep!
A red alert suddenly sounded in the control center. A Doomsday Beast appeared in the center of the screen, attempting to destroy the protective barrier outside the space station.
"Take the Express and leave. I'll stay."
Asta made her decision immediately and told Himeko.
Stelle froze for a few seconds at the sight, then turned to check on the others, only to see the corners of Ye Yan's mouth lift into the look of someone whose scheme had succeeded.
Could it be... he's the mastermind behind all this?!
Wild thoughts swirled through Stelle's head, and she somehow pulled out her baseball bat.
"Punishing evil and upholding good is my duty!"
Just as she was about to act, Himeko held her back, brought along March 7th, who also wanted to say something, and gestured to Ye Yan.
"Miss Asta, do you need help?"
Himeko left first with Stelle and the others, while Ye Yan stayed behind. He was in no hurry to leave.
"Mr. Ye Yan, please hurry and leave on the Express too. I'll take care of... huh?"
Asta realized who she was speaking to. Looking at Ye Yan before her, she forcibly swallowed the words she had yet to say.
If she remembered correctly, this man seemed to be about as strong as Ms. Herta.
"You're an Emanator of... Eternity, aren't you?" She wasn't quite sure.
"Not quite an Emanator. Just a passing Pathstrider of Eternity."
Ye Yan spoke lazily. Right now, he only wanted to see Nanook and teach him a lesson.
"Miss Himeko didn't ask you to leave. It seems she had something else in mind."
Looking at the Doomsday Beast still attacking the barrier on the screen, Asta couldn't stop worrying.
"Miss Asta, rebuilding the space station after this attack will probably be quite troublesome, won't it?"
"Yes. With the Antimatter Legion's invasion, some areas might show signs of Fragmentum corrosion. Funding the reconstruction won't be a problem, though. My family's allowance is enough."
"I'm not talking about money."
Everyone knew Asta was rich. She wouldn't run short of money even if she built several more space stations.
"Think about it. This surprise attack has caused casualties among the space station's personnel. Some have even lost their precious lives, and Arlan suffered considerable injuries too."
"Shouldn't all of this be credited to the Antimatter Legion... to Destruction?"
Silver Wolf, who was playing a game, sneezed.
"Mm... you have a point." Asta nodded.
"So the Aeon of Destruction is a complete and utter bastard!" Ye Yan ground his teeth, making Asta think he had some past grudge against Nanook.
"Are you on very bad terms with the Destruction faction?" she asked timidly.
"Nothing associated with Destruction is any good. Only that Annihilation Gang is somewhat passable."
Ye Yan insisted on going against Nanook. Since he thought the Annihilation Gang was worth less than a newborn who deliberately broke a vase, Ye Yan would praise the Annihilation Gang instead. The Annihilation Gang understood destruction best!
Nanook? What the hell did he know about destruction?!
Supply Zone
"Are we going back? A reminder: that's a Doomsday Beast, the Antimatter Legion's anti-planet weapon."
Dan Heng spoke with his arms folded across his chest.
"Herta built this space station. Unless a Lord Ravager acts, nothing too serious will happen here."
"Besides, Ye Yan stayed behind." Himeko wasn't worried at all. With someone at an Emanator's level holding the fort, there was no need to panic.
"Ah, however strong Ye Yan is, he can't solo a Doomsday Beast, can he?!"
Neither March 7th nor Dan Heng had seen Ye Yan's combat strength. They only knew he had maxed out his evasion, and the Voidrangers' attacks couldn't touch him.
"The Doomsday Beast can tear through the barrier effortlessly. With Herta absent, the defenses here are too fragile against the Antimatter Legion."
"The Antimatter Legion has the blessing of the Aeon Nanook. They've come prepared. With another powerful Pathstrider, we should be able to hold them off if we go back now."
Dan Heng calmly analyzed the situation. He knew Ye Yan was strong. The man could tear open space itself; how could he not be?
"That's precisely why we must leave-and take Stelle with us."
Stelle suddenly felt three pairs of eyes on her and grew rather embarrassed.
"I see. She's... crucial?" Dan Heng understood.
"She's the one who can break this deadlock. Of course, I could be mistaken."
If Himeko's guess was right, the Doomsday Beast's target was Stelle, so she first led the team toward the platform to see whether it followed.
If it followed, she would have Dan Heng contact Ye Yan. If it didn't, they would hurry back to help.
"In that case, all right. What do we do next?" Dan Heng chose to trust Himeko.
"This is the maintenance staff's Supply Zone. It leads to the nearest platform. We'll go there and meet Welt."
"Uncle Yang? Uncle Yang finally decided to get off the Express?" March 7th asked delightedly. Welt had spent the past few days aboard the Express, studying the machine model Ye Yan had given him.
"The Astral Express's navigation instruments record our movements in real time. With such a commotion at the space station, Mr. Welt couldn't possibly miss it."
"Yes, I can guarantee that your Uncle Yang is on his way."
"For now, we can still handle just a Doomsday Beast, but if an Emanator of Destruction comes too..."
"We can handle that too."
Himeko no longer kept it from them and told the three that Ye Yan was an Emanator of Eternity.
"Wow, is our Astral Express Crew really that strong?!"
The more they talked, the more March 7th wanted to see Ye Yan fight. Maybe he really could solo the Doomsday Beast!
"Dan Heng, get your communications device out. Message Ye Yan at any time if we encounter the Doomsday Beast."
Himeko looked at Stelle, whose face was full of questions. "Let's hurry out of here first. I'll explain everything properly afterward."
Then Himeko and the other three rushed all the way to the platform, with March 7th running fastest, charging at the very front.
"Wait, March!"
Dan Heng called out to March 7th, who was still sprinting.
Whoosh!
A four-winged black shadow swept past the space station, letting out a deafening roar.
"So noisy... get down here!"
March 7th wasn't about to put up with this thing. She pulled out her bow and taunted it!
The Doomsday Beast, still soaring freely: ?
It seemed to really understand March 7th's words. It swooped down, dragging both hands outside the platform, and unleashed another deafening roar that whipped up a gust of wind.
March 7th fired an ice arrow into the Doomsday Beast, doing little more than scratching it.
"Prepare for battle!"
Dan Heng and the others drew their weapons in unison. Dan Heng looked at the button on his spear's shaft. That was his trump card for a decisive strike, so he would leave ranged mode unused for now.
If the spearhead got knocked away and drifted off into space, it would be difficult to find.
"Ugh, I should've asked Ye Yan to modify my weapon too!"
March 7th regretted it a little. All she could do now was draw her bow and shoot arrows, dealing negligible damage. Rounded off, she could do nothing at all.
"Watch out!"
Stelle batted away a ball of Imaginary Energy spat out by the Doomsday Beast.
"I'm getting the hang of this!" Stelle gained confidence and made a contemptuous gesture at the Doomsday Beast.
The next second, a blast of the Doomsday Beast's breath sent Stelle flying.
"No fair!"
Stelle struggled to her feet. Why was it launching sneak attacks?!
I'm furious!
She picked up her baseball bat and shouted, "March, make a path!"
March 7th did as she asked. The instant Stelle jumped, several square blocks of solid ice appeared beneath her feet.
Stepping on this Six-Phased Ice, Stelle made a huge leap to the Doomsday Beast's face, raised her arms, and smashed down with all her strength.
Bang!
A massive bat-slap landed an extraordinary blow on the Doomsday Beast.
The Doomsday Beast cried out in pain and retaliated, giving Stelle a slap in return.
Stelle had been born less than half an hour ago. How could she withstand that blow? With a muffled grunt, she flew backward.
By the time Ye Yan reached the platform, the battle had reached a fever pitch.
Through the tireless efforts of Himeko and the other three, they had successfully reduced the Doomsday Beast's health by half.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are all you Doomsday Beasts this good at taking a beating?!" Even kneeling on the ground and panting, March 7th didn't forget to taunt it.
She could barely damage this thing at all. It was infuriating!
It had to be said that March 7th generated a truly impressive amount of aggro.
After fighting them for so long, perhaps the Doomsday Beast had grown tired. It simply unleashed its ultimate!
The dark matter engine in its chest continuously drove Imaginary Energy into the core above its head, and a purple-gold wave of light shot toward March 7th.
At the sight, Stelle, who was closest to March 7th, spread her arms without hesitation and stood in front of her, taking the attack head-on.
Boom!
The purple-gold beam poured ceaselessly into Stelle's body, and her consciousness abruptly arrived in a new place.
She felt lighter than ever, floating upside down in the universe.
[It's time to set out.]
A gentle voice woke Stelle, and she opened her eyes.
"What is this..."
What greeted her was a branching river of gold...
No, this seemed to be someone's blood.
Beneath the pitch-black starry sky, the girl saw golden blood flowing through brown skin, with two white braids draped across the chest.
[Go and reach that destination.]
"Who's there?"
[Reach that ending through your own will.]
Countless unfamiliar fragments flashed through Stelle's mind, and the Stellaron inside her grew increasingly restless.
[They have already noticed you.]
Stelle looked up and finally saw the enormous figure's face clearly.
White hair, golden eyes, and gleaming golden blood flowing through a light-brown body.
There was also a strangely shaped scar across his eight-pack abs.
For some reason, Stelle thought the wound on his abdomen looked like a...
Trash can?
The instant their eyes met, the Stellaron could no longer hold on and was at risk of exploding.
Before Stelle could feel any pain, another invisible energy flowed into her back. The two energies immediately canceled each other out, and her mind cleared considerably, leaving Nanook before her somewhat surprised.
Then Stelle's eyes widened as she saw something terrifying behind Nanook.
"B-behind you..."
Nanook whipped around. A muscular trash can twice as brawny as him stood behind Nanook, eyeing him like a predator.
"Got you."
The enormous muscular trash can picked up the pointed iron lid on its head and, in the most primitive fashion, struck Nanook's ears from both sides, one in each hand!
Faced with such a bizarre scene, Nanook took the blow completely unprepared.
Bang!
Golden blood sprayed from his mouth. The tremendous impact sent Nanook flying out of the star system, and the remaining blood splashed onto the trash can.
After watching Nanook fly away, Stelle rubbed her eyes.
Had she been dragged into some kind of... fantasy movie?
Then she saw the muscular trash can turn its gaze toward her.
Their eyes met once again. Stelle's eyes rolled back, and her consciousness scattered once more.