"Enough, Masked Fool. If you are done speaking, then leave immediately."
Sunday's expression changed slightly as he spoke coldly.
"Alright, alright~ I'll go now~ But if you want to reach me, just shout 'Lady Sparkle,' and I'll come anytime to help you."
"After all, who could refuse a boy with nails hammered into chicken wings as ornaments? Hehe."
After finishing, Sparkle turned without hesitation and left. Before vanishing completely, she looked back once at Robin, who was still in a daze.
"Hehe, see you for now, superstar."
Sunday slowly unclenched his fist and let out a long sigh.
"There is not a single Masked Fool who is simple. Their deceitful tongues can anger anyone."
Robin stepped forward, her face full of doubt. "Brother, what exactly is going on between you and that Miss Sparkle? And how do you know the Emanator of Elation?"
"Brother, are you hiding some dangerous matter from me?"
Sunday shook his head. "It is merely business dealings. I regret ever making deals with a Masked Fool."
Robin looked outside the city. Compared to before, Penacony had become far too overcrowded. If not for the Family, the Interastral Peace Corporation, and that relic of Order, the planet itself would likely already have been destroyed.
She turned back toward her brother, worry written across her face.
"Although I don't understand everything Miss Sparkle said, what I did understand… I cannot say it was without reason."
"Now, Penacony has gathered who knows how many interstellar factions. Something is bound to happen. We must prepare for it."
"In this situation, even my voice will be of no help."
She might have been a galactic superstar, whose singing alone could bring an end to a war between civilizations. But when it came to the apocalypse, she could only soothe hearts, not solve problems.
And she was also aware of Lady Herta's broadcast mentioned by Miss Sparkle.
Yet because of the fragile order now in place, she had been forbidden to spread it.
She too believed that if the truth were made public, chaos would immediately follow.
Sunday's expression grew complicated. "I will take care of it. You just do as you always have."
How could he not know what the Masked Fool had said?
He agreed with the mechanism of the black beast tide: to wipe out all individuals of non-benevolent alignment, leaving only the purest essence of civilization.
It was like formatting a corrupted hard drive, restoring it to its best state.
But now, Penacony had gathered at least one-tenth of the top fleeing forces across the cosmos.
When the black beast tide descended, the major factions had already observed a certain mechanism at work.
In the face of death, every intelligent being would go mad—losing all conscience, committing any atrocity.
Especially with forces like the Interastral Peace Corporation and other cosmic factions entering Penacony, the Family no longer held complete control over the entire galaxy.
These fugitives were precisely the residue meant to be filtered out by the beast tide.
In order to avoid annihilation, they would go to any lengths. The entire Penacony Galaxy would be torn apart by them.
If not for the relic of Order, this chaos would have erupted already.
And as Penacony neared the arrival of the black beast tide, the collective survival will of intelligent life would continue to stimulate the relic of Order.
At that time, Robin, who resonated with the relic, would shine like a dazzling jewel.
Her Path of Harmony would instantly transform into the Path of Order.
Then, both the Aeon's relic and Robin herself would be forced by everyone into fusion with the relic.
She would become the last hope for all fugitives.
Even an Emanator was insufficient before the beast tide. Only the power of an Aeon could suffice.
But to fuse with an Aeon's relic—how dangerous and self-destructive a thing was that? Even if successful, would his sister still remain herself?
Sunday's heart turned icy cold. I will never allow anyone to harm my sister.
...
Meanwhile, within the Xianzhou Alliance—
The Alliance had already completely torn itself apart.
Within the Xianzhou Alliance, the profiteering class and those of non-benevolent alignment had already turned completely against the benevolent.
This division was no longer about race or culture. Among the Xianzhou's three great races—the Vidyadhara, the Foxians, and the Xianzhou natives—internal strife erupted. Command structures and combat strength all collapsed.
"Get lost! The monsters are here to devour you sinners! Why should we lay down our lives for you? All of this is your own doing!"
"Exactly! Why should we fight for you? Just let the monsters eat you already!"
"What! You damned bastards! We are colleagues, comrades, your superiors! This is serious violation and treason!"
"We are compatriots, the same Xianzhou people! Damn it!"
"Hahaha, die, all of you sinners die! When it was time to enjoy blessings, we weren't included—but when it's time to die, you throw us to the frontlines! Can't you see? The monsters won't even touch us! Hahaha!"
"The monsters won't eat us at all! The wounds on me were all caused by you bastards!"
"All you sinners should just die!"
In the Xianzhou Alliance's resistance against the black beast tide, those of the benevolent alignment were never harmed by the Abyssal monsters. Every death among them had only been collateral damage.
After Herta's broadcast spread, the feeling of betrayal flooded the hearts of all the benevolent.
So—the monsters hadn't devoured them at all. Instead, they were killed by their own.
And those attacked were all proven to carry sin, further deepening the rift in an instant.
This division went beyond the military—it spread into every aspect of life.
Even the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou and the Great Marshal were completely powerless. They could no longer command; few still heeded their orders.
"The most powerless collapse always comes from within—and now, it's both inside and outside…"
Jing Yuan gazed in despair upon the internal chaos of the Xianzhou, and the black beast tide raging outside. To expect him and the few still lucid to hold the tide at bay was nothing but a fool's dream.
With a deafening roar, the sky of the Xianzhou was torn apart. All of its sanctums were exposed as the black beast tide flooded directly into them, madly cleansing civilization.
"Save me! Dragon Girl, save meee!"
"Save me, Lady Dragon, save me first!"
"I am a Dragon Master! You must save me first! You are the Dragon Lord—this is your duty!"
At this moment, Bailu was surrounded by the Vidyadhara Dragon Master elders and a crowd of alchemists from the Alchemy Commission. Looking at those elders, who had shed all their usual dignity and now surrounded her with twisted, ferocious expressions, she clutched her medicine gourd in panic, utterly at a loss.
"Everyone! W-what should I do? I… I don't know what to do!"
She understood that an unimaginable disaster had erupted within the Xianzhou, but there was so much she did not know. She only knew many had died, and even with her abilities, she could not save the wounded.
What she did not know was that once one was tainted by the Abyss, unless recognized as a good person or an ordinary one by Noah, or unless an Aeon personally acted, no one could be saved.
Seeing Bailu's frightened pleading, the Dragon Master elder who had always disliked her glared ferociously, barking at her as if scolding a puppy: "Do nothing! If monsters come, you just stand in front of us!"
After saying that, he pressed down on Bailu's shoulder, ensuring she could not escape.
"Ah! Dragon Master! Y-you were also hurt by the monsters and agitated, right? I'll heal you now!" Bailu cried in fear, shaking the medicine gourd in her hand.
"Heal, my ass. Useless brat. A beast will always be a beast. Do as you're told!"
The Dragon Master elder paid no heed to Bailu's thoughts.
Many had already realized that if they used those untouched by the monsters as shields, the monsters' desire to attack them greatly decreased—sometimes even ceased entirely.
"Uuuu…" Bailu's mood instantly sank at the scolding, filled with sorrow.
She did not understand why so many elders disliked her.
She had just saved many people—even that very Dragon Master elder—yet they still berated her. What had she done wrong?
Was it because she had inherited the Dragon Lord's position, yet remained so weak, that the elders resented her?
Hmph!
Just then, a wave of icy cold aura swept across the area. The ground, the buildings, and even the Abyssal monsters, who were watching closely and calculating how to avoid Bailu while purging her captors, were all instantly frozen.
Crack—Crack—
The piercing sound of freezing erased all other noise.
Not only the Abyssal monsters, but even those alchemists who had been using Bailu as a shield were frozen up to their necks—not killed, but trapped in ice.
"Aaaah! What's happening! It's freezing!"
"W-what just happened!?"
"Who is it? Reinforcements!?"
"So cold! I'm going to freeze to death!"
Bailu's sorrow and confusion were shattered by the sudden turn of events. Flustered, she looked around until her gaze was drawn to a figure of white hair.
"Y-you are! Wh-what are you doing here? A-are you here to save us?"
The figure that entered everyone's vision had long hair of pale blue-gray, tied in a circular bun with a green hair ribbon. Over one eye, she wore a black eyepatch adorned with a silver moon pattern.
Her lips were drawn in a thin, indifferent line.
On her right ear, chest, and back hung teardrop-shaped earrings. Her garments, dyed in celeste and smoky blue, were patterned with cloud and fret motifs.
On her arm bloomed an epiphyllum; on the trailing ribbons of her clothes was depicted the lunar phases from crescent to full. In her hand she lightly gripped a longsword of pure ice.
A terrifying chill radiated from her body, spreading in all directions. In just an instant, the entire sanctum of the Alchemy Commission had turned pure white.
All things in motion were frozen still.
"How pitiful. In the face of death, no matter how revered one may be, all dignity is stripped away, leaving only hideous ugliness."
The icy, sword-immortal-like woman strode past the panicking, frozen crowd without sparing them a glance, stopping directly before Bailu.
"Are you unharmed, Dragon Lady?"
Her eyes were hidden beneath the eyepatch, so none could see her gaze.
"I-I'm fine. Thank you, big sister… are you an important figure of the Cloud Knights?" Bailu shook her head, uncertain. She did not know if this elder sister was good or bad—but since she had not harmed her, she must be good.
"To think our first meeting would be at such a time… so much has changed." The sword-immortal woman shook her head.
Although she had not been the primary participant in the Rebellion of the Imbibitor Lunae, it had nonetheless shaped the Bailu of today.
She had always kept an eye on Bailu's situation.
Though in the past her demonic yin body had erupted, driving her into madness and causing her to slaughter her own comrades—leading to her being wanted by the Xianzhou Alliance—now, under these circumstances, no one cared whether she had returned.
"As long as you're safe, Dragon Lady. The monsters won't harm you. Find a place to hide, and only come out when the wailing ceases."
"Don't think of saving people. You cannot save them… nor is it possible to save them."
Here, the sword-immortal women paused, then said after a moment's thought: "But knowing your nature, when you hear cries of suffering, you won't be able to sit idly by. Better I stay with you."
With that, she grasped Bailu's hand and pulled her away.
"Wait! Where are you taking me?" Bailu looked back at the frozen people. "Everyone…"
The sword-immortal girl replied: "Didn't I already say? They cannot be saved. Those who survive have no need of saving."
"Even if saved for a moment, they cannot be saved forever. And to be baptized in this way… it is not entirely a bad thing."
"Even I am the same."
In her view, for the universe to be completely cleansed by such a disaster was not a bad outcome.
It would return the universe's civilizations to their most benevolent, most pure state—that utopian-like world, no longer cold and hateful with survival of the fittest, but instead filled with kindness.
"Oh…" Bailu did not understand, but she looked back with worry at those frozen with only their heads exposed.
"Damn it! Come back!"
"Wretch! You are the Dragon Lord—you must protect us!"
"Come back now!"
"Save us! Let me go! Please, let me gooo…"
"I was wrong, I shouldn't have used Dragon Lady as a shield! Please let me go!"
After the sword-immortal girl pulled Bailu away, the Abyssal monsters were the first to break free from their frozen state.
Crack—Crack—
Rooaaar—
The Abyssal monsters, their crimson eyes gleaming, looked upon the frozen alchemists of the Alchemy Commission. With a low growl, they pounced, tearing into them amid terrified screams.
"Aaaahhh!"
"Help—"
If this was the fate of the fewer numbers in the Alchemy Commission, then the larger groups elsewhere were scenes even more horrifying.
In the Divination Commission—
Fu Xuan watched as her once-disciplined subordinates now repeatedly seized those untouched by the monsters as shields. No matter how she shouted or tried to stop them, they would not listen.
"Madness… they've all gone completely mad!"
"External dangers are terrible enough—but the trap of human hearts is the true abyss!"
At her side, Qingque—the diviner she had once most favored despite her habitual laziness—now stood trembling, her voice quivering as she asked:
"M-Master Diviner… w-what should we do…?"
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