In the ruins hall, under Lu Chen's pressure, the Abyss Herald finally reactivated the device.
Lu Chen glanced around. Miko and Ei stood on either side of Xiao, while he held his Skyward Blade to the Herald's throat. One wrong move, and he wouldn't hesitate to strike, even if it meant losing this rare opportunity.
After a moment, the Herald began to mutter, reciting obscure, hard-to-understand incantations as he channeled the power of the Abyss to activate the device.
In an instant, the floating core of the device burst with an eerie glow.
At the same time, Xiao let out a muffled grunt. His eyes shut tight, sweat streaming down his forehead. The usual calm on his face was gone—replaced by pain and forced restraint.
Then, the karma on Xiao's body began to manifest visibly, spreading outward in waves.
In seconds, black mist engulfed the entire hall. Lu Chen could feel the overwhelming presence of evil—filth, hatred, resentment... The immortal consciousness left behind by dead Archons had been corroding Xiao's body and mind like a malicious curse.
But today, Lu Chen saw a chance to end it.
He watched the twisting black mist fall to the floor, quickly morphing into all manner of grotesque monsters. The Archon remnants had truly been activated.
"Ei, Miko, they're here!"
Ei's expression hardened as she gripped Musou Isshin once again.
Miko's usual carefree demeanor was gone. A string of purple, bell-like Catalysts appeared in her hand.
Those pitch-black beasts were the incarnations of karma accumulated over millennia. Now, they had taken physical form—spreading fast, a vast black wave with no end in sight.
Ei moved first. With a phantom-speed slash of Musou Isshin, the entire ruins hall trembled. She carved open a massive gash in the upside-down tower above.
Everything in her path was instantly annihilated—slain and turned to black ash, vanishing into the air.
Of course, the hall itself didn't fare much better. A trench wide enough for two people cracked open at their feet.
"Ei, go easy on the building..." Lu Chen worried she might bring the whole structure down. He and Miko could escape if needed, but Xiao—already so weak—wouldn't survive that.
"Got it."
Right after she responded, Ei struck again.
Though she held back, her next slash still flattened the entire southern wall of the ruins. Another wave of evil spirits vanished without a trace.
Feeling the hall quake violently, Lu Chen glanced at the collapsing walls around him and muttered to himself.
This place... It had survived the destruction of Khaenri'ah and the Archon War, yet it couldn't withstand two casual swings from Ei...
He remembered there was supposed to be more story in this location. Guess history was getting rewritten. One day, when the Abyss Prince returned with his followers to check on his secret base, he'd find it completely demolished—and who knew what he'd think.
...
On the other side, Yae Miko, who had rarely acted since entering the real world, finally joined the battle.
Surrounded by black mist, her eyes flashed, and several enormous fox tails appeared behind her.
"Makoto's Eyes, reveal!"
Thunder roared down like the divine wrath of a celestial fox, instantly eradicating the evil spirits before her.
Naturally, this made the already crumbling ruins even worse.
The ground shook violently. Lu Chen nearly lost his balance but ignored it—rushing instead to catch Xiao, who was on the verge of collapse.
Xiao's face was pale, completely devoid of color. Lu Chen had never seen the vigilant Yaksha this weak.
All the evil spirits were targeting him. While Lu Chen had to keep the Abyss Herald in check to prevent sabotage, he also had to guard Xiao—becoming the protector of the protector.
"I'm fine..." Even in such a fragile state, Xiao grit his teeth and endured.
"If it gets to be too much, tell me right away!" Lu Chen urged.
"Okay." Xiao gave a slow, shaky nod.
Looking back at the battlefield, Lu Chen saw that during the distraction, a few twisted monsters had slipped past and were now rushing toward them. Scowling, he readied himself. These were the ones responsible for Xiao's pain.
Meanwhile, the Herald's chanting was slowing down. He glanced nervously around—maybe worried about being surrounded, maybe trying to buy time.
Lu Chen raised Skyward Blade, giving him no room to think.
In a blur of motion, all ten or so evil spirits were cut down so fast it was impossible to tell if he had swung once or many times.
"Focus on your job."
He gave the Herald another solid kick.
The Herald lowered his head and continued operating the device.
Ei and Miko, by now, had lost count of how many waves they'd taken out. The evil spirits manifested by a thousand years of karma seemed endless. Clear one area, and new ones would rise immediately.
Time passed amid ceaseless slaughter...
Lu Chen noticed Miko's eyes dimming with fatigue and grew concerned.
"Miko, if you're too tired, let's switch. I'll take over—"
"No need to worry about me, Guuji." Miko glanced at him mid-battle. "Compared to me and Ei, your role is more critical. Xiao's fate rests in your hands."
Lu Chen opened his mouth to respond, but she interrupted with a sudden smile.
"And don't underestimate me! You've been gone for five hundred years—I've gotten a lot stronger since then, you know~"
As she spoke, more thunderbolts rained down from the sky, as fierce as ever.
But Lu Chen could tell—she was summoning fewer of them now.
She had clearly pushed herself too far, yet she still maintained that breezy, relaxed tone when speaking to him.
"You're really doing your best..." Lu Chen gave a soft, helpless smile.
But just as he was still worried about her, his eyes caught something behind her—flickering, faintly visible fox tails.
"Huh?"
Lu Chen blinked, then his expression changed in sudden realization.
Inwardly, he mused:
"So that's where your tails were hiding... They only show up when you're fighting?"
"It's been ages since I saw Miko's tails."
"...Kind of missed them."
Miko, unaware of what he was thinking, noticed his gaze turning... weird. He'd been so serious just a second ago.
Following his eyes, she realized he was staring straight at her tails.
"What are you looking at!?"
Miko shot him a disgusted glance. The fluffy tails instantly vanished.
"Nooo..." Lu Chen felt a little disappointed.
He used to love those big fluffy tails. They were perfect to sleep on—soft, warm, great to the touch...
Miko glanced sideways at him. It didn't take much to figure out exactly what was on his mind.
"Hmph, pervert!"