"Vidyadhara Dragon Lord—Imbibitor Lunae." Yun Fan watched as Dan Heng returned to his Dragon Lord form, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips. Seeing it in reality was undoubtedly more impressive—the majesty of the Dragon Lord simply couldn't be fully captured by the limited models in the game.
"You knew all along? Is this also the power of the Path of Causality?" Herta shot a glance at Yun Fan beside her. This guy looked utterly self-assured, as if everything was unfolding exactly as he had anticipated.
Tch. This feeling was truly irritating.
"You mean Dan Heng? I did know about his identity as Imbibitor Lunae, but him manifesting his Dragon Lord form here was somewhat beyond my expectations."
"Let's leave it at that for now." Herta didn't press further, instead turning her gaze to the platform to observe how events would unfold.
Meanwhile...
"Where am I?" Stelle stared blankly at the scenery before her, her mind filled with confusion. Hadn't she just been fighting the Doomsday Beast on the space station? How did she suddenly end up here?
Oh, right. She had taken the Doomsday Beast's attack for March. Could this be... heaven? But why did heaven look so much like outer space?
Just as Stelle was lost in thought, she suddenly felt an invisible force pulling at her body. With a whoosh, the gray-haired girl streaked across the starry expanse like a meteor, arriving in an even vaster stretch of the cosmos.
"This is..." Stelle's eyes widened. Before her stood a colossal stone giant—its size was beyond anything she could measure with her naked eyes. It was so massive that it likely spanned light-years.
As if hearing the girl's voice, the stone giant slowly turned its head. A golden light flashed in what might—or might not—have been its single eye.
Thud!
Stelle felt as though her entire body had been struck by a massive hammer. Blazing flames erupted across her form, and in that moment, she was like steel being tempered—broken down, only to be reborn anew.
Back on the space station's platform...
Dan Heng, now in his Vidyadhara Dragon Lord form, narrowed his eyes coldly. The Yin-Yang orb in his hand whirled, and in an instant, torrents of destructive Path energy surged forth like raging tides.
"Azure Dragon Purges the World—!"
As Dan Heng's voice rang out, a massive azure-green divine dragon, hundreds of feet long, materialized in the air. The next moment, Dan Heng's pupils flickered, and as if receiving a command, the dragon threw its head back and let out a deafening roar before charging relentlessly toward the Doomsday Beast.
Ultimate Skill: Delve-hidden moon, world-cleansing dragon!
"ROAR—!"
The dragon, wreathed in destructive energy, struck the Doomsday Beast. In an instant, the beast's armor was utterly annihilated, and the antimatter engine at its chest was ground into dust.
"GROWL!" The Doomsday Beast let out a pained howl as the power of Elation—bestowed upon it by Aha—erupted from its body, forming a multicolored shield that momentarily held firm against Dan Heng's assault.
Seeing this, Dan Heng's brows furrowed.
Having regained the power of the Dragon Lord, his abilities had improved across the board. Yet now, he could sense the energy of the Path of Elation emanating from the Doomsday Beast. Could it be that a Emanator of Elation was nearby? And that all of this was their doing?
With that thought, Dan Heng wasted no time.
He clenched the Yin-Yang orb in his palm, and as energy surged, the shaft and blade of a spear emerged, transforming back into the form of "Cloud-Piercer."
"By the name of the Dragon Lord, I call upon the power of Permanence—aid me in vanquishing evil and eradicating demons!"
As Dan Heng's decree resounded, the scattered energy of the Path of Permanence throughout the cosmos seemed to find its master, converging toward the Herta Space Station in waves. It poured frantically into the body of Cloud-Piercer, and within mere moments, the phantom image of a spear above Dan Heng's head had already grown to dozens of feet in length.
"Has it reached its limit?" Dan Heng sensed the feedback from Cloud-Piercer. The sentient weapon had reached the peak of what it could endure.
"Fall." Dan Heng swung his left hand downward, and the massive spear phantom descended like an apocalyptic lance, locking the Doomsday Beast firmly in its trajectory.
...
"Hey, is this guy trying to destroy my space station along with it?" Herta, who had been watching from the sidelines, could no longer stay idle. Even though this body was just a puppet, she could clearly sense the terrifying energy contained within that spear.
If it were allowed to strike unimpeded, the entire space station would likely be reduced to cosmic debris—along with the Simulated Universe she had spent the resources of multiple planets to build.
"Do something! Stop him, now!"
Herta, no longer concerned with appearances, grabbed Yun Fan's clothes with both hands, her tone urgent.
"Do something? Then beg me."
"I'm begging you, I'm begging you..."
Yun Fan: "..."
Yun Fan's lips twitched. Typical Herta—flexible in both principles and actions. Her rationality likely far surpassed her emotions, much like Dr. Mei from the Previous Era. In other words, as long as it served her goals, she could be... "ruthless." Of course, that was just a figure of speech. Herta still had her principles.
"Relax, no need to panic. Look, isn't someone already stepping in?" Yun Fan's gaze shifted to a spot behind the Doomsday Beast. At some point, a tiny figure had appeared there. Just as Dan Heng's spear descended, several powerful gravitational forces interlaced, forming a massive black hole behind the Doomsday Beast.
It swallowed the beast's remains and the residual shockwaves of Dan Heng's attack.
"Dan Heng, you..." After dealing with the Doomsday Beast, Welt landed steadily on the deck. He looked at Dan Heng, his eyes filled with unspoken questions, but he chose not to voice them.
"Mr. Yang." Dan Heng nodded slightly before silently walking over to Stelle's "remains."
"Stelle, wuuu..." March 7th hugged Stelle's lifeless body, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
"What happened?" Welt pulled Himeko aside, glancing at the silent Dan Heng and the weeping March 7th as he asked quietly.
"It's like this..." Himeko's expression was equally sorrowful as she briefly recounted the events that had just transpired.
After listening, Welt rubbed his temples. Then he walked up to Dan Heng and, looking at Stelle's "remains" in March 7th's arms, said solemnly to the two of them, "There might still be a way to save her."