"This place... is the Sacred Land of my people. Even if only this broken body remains of me, I will not allow you to defile it!"
Starlight's voice echoed through the crystal hall filled with order energy like an ancient bronze bell. A pale golden halo shield enveloped him like tangible armor.
He gripped the Origin Resonator trembling faintly against his chest, and the swirling starlight in his eyes blazed with fury and resolve.
Though his body was damaged, his memories confused, the pride and duty rooted deep within the soul of a Creators' guardian had been completely ignited when faced with this old enemy, the Purification Protocol.
Yet the gap in strength was an objective reality. He had only just awakened from an slumber lasting countless ages, with his protocols fractured, memories missing, and energy depleted.
The Piercer before him was the captain of an elite Key Hunter squad specially tasked by the Purification Protocol with hunting beings connected to the "Gate."
Its aura was as condensed as steel tempered a hundred times. The dark red beam lance in its hand emitted Destruction fluctuations that made one's heart tremble, and its two guards were no weaklings either.
"Stubbornly refusing to repent." The Piercer spat out four icy words, data streams flashing through its dim blue optical eyes.
It did not even make an unnecessary movement. The arm holding the lance merely extended forward ever so slightly.
Sshk—!
A dark red beam, condensed to no thicker than a hair yet seemingly capable of piercing stars and tearing apart laws, shot from the spear tip without warning!
It was not a straight attack. The instant it fired, it split into three beams, each tracing a bizarre arc.
They struck at the weakest Energy Nodes in Starlight's shield from three incomparably tricky