Ye Yan won with an overwhelming advantage, but because he was on the Astral Express, all the awards he won were given to Xing and March 7th.
It doesn't matter anyway, He doesn't care about awards at all; no amount of awards can compare to a cup of milk tea.
At the [ Interastral Tournament Festival ] arena, the organizer Giovanni is talking to Sampo has not appeared for a long time:
"I never expected that the final mysterious player would be Him... Oh, was this also part of your plan, Brother Giovanni?"
Sampo hadn't expected that besides the original Hook, there would be another expert. With Ye Yan personally taking to the field and having unlimited health, how was he supposed to fight?
"Haha, how could that be? I much prefer a ' Elation ' ending where events unfold naturally, rather than a staged drama."
"However, Sampo, as fellow members of the [ Masked Fools ] family, you never seem willing to share your aesthetic insights... Why is that?"
"Hmm, let me think of a way to put it that won't offend anyone..." Sampo thought for a moment, "Let's put it this way, among our group, there are a few who aren't very good at [keeping things in check]... I won't call them by name, okay?"
" Giovanni should know who's behind that funny story that Pier Point spread, right?"
Giovanni chuckled softly, "Oh~ now that you mention it, I think I understand whose work this was."
"... I don't like dealing with those guys, it's so boring!" Sampo waved his hand.
Everyone's pursuit of Elation is different, so why bother imposing your own aesthetic standards on others?
"Hey... jokes that are too risqué will get you into trouble, and when there's too much trouble, things that are funny... stop being funny, you know what I mean?"
"Haha, I get it... Speaking of which, [that friend] seems to be heading to Penacony, aren't you planning to...?"
"Ugh! If I could, I'd rather never have to deal with her again in my life..."
She dared to attack the [ Eternity ] Aeon (though she herself was unaware of it), but the result was obvious: that colleague from the [ Tavern ] had become a key target for the Church and Him.
Meanwhile, Blake arrived at the [ Tavern ] located at the end of the world, carrying a large bag of Church specialties.
Blake suddenly braked sharply and drifted, sending sparks flying through the air as the Black and White Cult members drifted.
He casually pulled a bar of pure white soap, engraved with scriptures, from the gift bag and hurled it like a shot put at the target [ the Tavern ], muttering incantations:
" Eternity light of purity! Purification your places of filth and defilement!"
"Ora ora ora ora ora!"
At the Ever-Flame Mansion, Afrit slumped against the throne, his body like a collapsed mountain, utterly powerless to struggle.
Its earlier declaration of burning everything had unexpectedly attracted the [ Eternity ] Emanator and the seafaring knights... This outcome was indeed beyond its expectations.
"... It seems the outcome was already decided." Its deep voice crackled like embers in ashes.
"They're still alive, and so are you." Acheron's voice was chilling, offering Afrit one last chance at survival. "As far as I'm concerned, you still have a choice. Leave the music box... and then go."
Acheron turned his gaze to his side. Fulisina remained silent, her robes fluttering without wind. Her usually gentle face was now ashen and icy, and the emotions churning in her eyes were unfathomable. Acheron rarely saw her like this.
"The path of choice [ Destruction ] has never allowed for hesitation." Afrit coughed heavily, and the Imaginary Energy within his body flowed away irrevocably like water bursting its banks, while the flickering flames gradually dimmed.
"The Fire Demon of Tophet... even if you offer your life to that Aeon, you will not gain His favor."
"Ranger, you travel within the narrow confines of [ The Hunt ], so naturally you cannot understand."
"We come from the fire, we are born from the fire, we spread, we burn, we destroy, until the firewood is burned out, leaving only ashes."
The flames of Afrit flickered, like its life drawing to a close.
"Burning is the life of the fire demon, its beginning and its end. We are born to die, merely to embody a universal truth: all things are born for [ Destruction ]."
"Your companions don't seem to think so; they fought for your life..." Acheron's gaze swept over the scattered remains of the fire demon in the distance.
A charred half-string of a musical instrument was wrapped around a broken beam, with a piece of burnt sheet music tied to the end of the string. The poisoned blade that bestowed [ Elation ] and pain ultimately became part of the River of Souls.
"Unfortunately, arrogant delusions must eventually come at a price." Fulisina and Acheron's eyes met briefly, a silent understanding forming in the air.
Afrit's voice lowered, carrying a strange, almost nostalgic calm. "They are my children, like I once was, flames yet to burn bright. They are still young, I will not blame them."
"But my flames are already hoarse, and time is running out. Do you see the Planet of Festivities in the distance? I will lead Purgatory there... So before that, I must cross over you."
"Why?"
Fulisina finally spoke, her voice icy and devoid of any emotion. A chilling light gathered at the tip of her staff as she slowly pointed it at Afrit, whose burning pupils locked onto the two powerful beings:
"For you have gone further than I have in the ways they opened up... [ Emanator ]."
The Acheron remained silent, as still as a deep pool.
"You can't hide your identity. Draw that knife. We will stay here, and we are destined to fight to the death, because I [choose] to do so."
" Destruction is a glorious moment; if one seeks survival through base means... life becomes far too long."
"Even if the final answer..." Fulisina's voice froze like ice, "Maybe... be your own annihilation?"
The answer isn't important; what matters is that it exists, just as you all exist.
Afrit's flames suddenly blazed, as if making a final, burning declaration of his life. "Everything exists to be Destruction —and so does the Emanator."
"Even in the void, beautiful dreams can be born; what seems impossible is merely something yet to come."
"I promise you." Acheron gently stroked the hilt of the sword with his fingertips.
Afrit's laughter echoed through the empty mansion.
"Hahaha... You will witness the most brilliant and violent fire in the world; may this burning illuminate your bottomless dreams."
"A bottomless dream... indeed." Acheron nodded slightly, his eyes seeming to hold the birth and death of countless worlds. "But you've misunderstood one thing."
Her hand rested steadily on the hilt of the sword, and an invisible pressure began to quietly spread.
"This knife remains sheathed, not out of pity or contempt. It holds a secret I do not wish to reveal, but as a form of retaliation..."
"... I will be honest with you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Acheron Quan's aura suddenly became deep and mysterious. Just as her aura drew all of Afrit's senses in, Fulisina took a step forward, and the light that had been gathering at the top of her staff suddenly burst forth.
It was not a violent surge of energy, but an extreme, icy radiance, as if Eternity itself had manifested in her hands.
The air instantly froze, emitting a faint cracking sound as the flow of imaginary energy was forcibly anchored.
Fulisina's voice lowered, carrying a barely perceptible sigh:
May death end your long, burning dream...
She respected Afrit's choice, granting the martyr the end he sought, fulfilling the responsibility that comes with [ Eternity ].
The staff's light reached its peak, completely engulfing Afrit's silhouette.
"... leading your soul... back to a world of clarity."