Seeing Lumina's gaze fall upon the battlefield, Herta stopped her own thoughts and also turned her gaze to the battlefield.
Although the exchange between Lumina and Herta had lasted only a dozen or so seconds, many things could happen in an instant during a fierce battle.
Phainon and the others had only just entered the battle, yet by now, it had already reached a fever pitch.
"Hey, Little Herta, do you think this Sky Titan has a second form?" Lumina looked at the Scorching Sun in the mural and nudged Herta's arm.
Being nudged by Lumina like this, Herta glared at her, but didn't say anything.
Without much thought, she blurted out: "When those big wings appeared, the Celestial Mural changed from Cloudy Weather to Scorching Sun Weather, and its current appearance is also very similar to the Scorching Sun."
"I guess it should have another form, corresponding to Cloudy Weather."
Herta simply analyzed it a bit and came to a conclusion.
Or rather, Herta didn't even analyze it, she just took a simple look and knew the specific situation.
"And..." But before Herta could finish her sentence, her expression tightened, as if she saw something through the Sky Titan's current body.
"And, there's another soul inside the Big Wings, which is at least still slumbering for now. But if the Big Wings die, which is to say the Scorching Sun and Cloudy States are destroyed, with that soul acting as a catalyst, there might even be a Third Form."
"A Third Form?" Lumina raised an eyebrow, not having considered this possibility.
Lumina could also see the soul within the Sky Titan's body just like Herta, but she hadn't thought much of it, simply assuming the soul was sealed inside.
She had assumed this soul wouldn't cause any problems, and thus concluded the Sky Titan had only two forms.
She never expected there might actually be three forms.
Is this the gap in intelligence?
Lumina sighed inwardly.
If Herta knew about Lumina's thought, she would probably burst out laughing on the spot.
Was this Little Lumina underestimating the concept of intelligence a bit?
Anyone who could see that soul would logically associate it with a Third Form, wouldn't they?
Isn't this common sense, isn't this a person's most basic, first reaction?
Lumina was probably the only one who wouldn't make that kind of connection.
To put it plainly, Lumina was just a complete airhead.
"It's only possible there's a Third Form, not certain. Maybe that soul is just there for decoration." Herta didn't know Lumina was inwardly lamenting the gap in their intelligence. Hearing Lumina's mutter, she shrugged, indicating it was only a possibility, not a certainty.
"But in any case, a Second Form is definitely coming."
Herta returned to her spectator's pose, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, you're right. We'll just act according to the situation." Lumina nodded, agreeing with Herta's words.
Then, she briefly observed the battlefield. Seeing the Sky Titan covered in wounds and the others fighting with increasing vigor, she nodded in satisfaction.
Not bad, not bad. Everyone's strength is impressive. Even Hyacine has contributed a lot to this battle.
If all goes well, this Scorching Sun state of the Sky Titan will be defeated by them in another round or two, and then it will enter its Second Form.
Just as Lumina had thought, as the Sky Titan's aura gradually faded, everyone began to close in, until Dan Heng's strike forced it into a stiffened state.
"Strike while the iron's hot! Cut off its wings!"
Although Stelle seemed unreliable most of the time, once she got serious and entered the fray, she became more dependable than anyone.
Seeing the Sky Titan in a stiffened state, she instantly recognized this as a perfect opportunity and immediately shouted, giving a signal.
"You, too, shall receive a golden bath!"
Phainon roared. Then, he stomped off the ground and raised Morning Invasion high, delivering a slash to the Sky Titan's wing.
"ROAR!" As if feeling pain, the Sky Titan let out a furious roar, its pointed head raised high as waves of heat condensed before it and instantly shot out.
"Watch out!"
Startled, Stelle hurriedly switched to her Fire Lance Preservation state, blocking the attack. At the same time, after Stelle blocked the attack, Little Ica, by Hyacine's side, simply charged up, rebounded, spun, and shot forward like a projectile, delivering a hard blow to the Sky Titan's head.
It seemed Little Ica's attack was more powerful than Phainon's. After taking the hit head-on, the Sky Titan flapped its wings, kicking up a fierce wind as it crashed into the Celestial Mural.
"RUMBLE!"
The next moment, thunder roared, and the weather in the Celestial Mural instantly changed from the Scorching Sun to Cloudy Weather... no, it changed to Stormy Weather.
At the same time, a bolt of lightning struck the platform where everyone stood, causing it to lose its levitation and plummet rapidly toward the ground.
The Sky Titan, now in its Second Form, launched an attack while everyone was in a state of weightlessness as the platform fell.
"Hmm... at this falling speed, I'm afraid we don't have much time," Herta said, landing on the falling platform and estimating the time with a simple gesture.
In other words, if they didn't defeat the Sky Titan within this time, it would count as a failure.
Of course, Phainon and the others failing would have nothing to do with Lumina and Herta. The two of them could simply step in at that point; at the very least, they had already proven their strength.
Fighting it to this extent on its own turf and defeating its First Form was already enough.
At least in terms of strength, it was already enough.
They could just keep getting stronger after that.
"No problem, the fight didn't take long just now, did it? Even if we need to defeat this form two or three times faster than the last, it's not a problem at all."
Herta said that, but they still had to defeat the Sky Titan before the elevator completely fell, and they'd need to be ready to land at the same time.
All of this had to be done in just a minute or two.
It sounded incredibly difficult, but Lumina believed they could do it.
And they would do it well!
"Whew... keep your footing. The elevator shaft is very long. Let's take it down before we plunge into the Golden Pool!" Even though the situation was now very unfavorable for Phainon and the others, they remained extremely calm.
Because feeling anxious or irritable in a situation like this would be completely useless. But if those emotions were to affect their mental state, things would go poorly.
"We might be able to use this weather," Dan Heng said, gesturing to the others as he observed their surroundings.
The thunderstorm was falling from the sky, and the Sky Titan's body was so massive. If they used it well, they could completely make the thunderstorm strike its body, which would save them a lot of effort.
Once they realized this, the group maintained their original tactics while utilizing the thunderstorm to fight the Sky Titan in its Cloudy State.
After some time, seeing they were getting closer and closer to the Golden Pool on the ground, they all knew they couldn't drag this out any longer.
They looked at the Sky Titan before them, its body covered in wounds and its aura growing faint, yet it still clung to the platform. It seemed to understand that even if it couldn't defeat them, it could still use underhanded methods to drag them all down with it!
The Sky Titan's intentions were crystal clear, and everyone else understood them perfectly.
Since they understood, they would absolutely not let it succeed.
"There is another world waiting for us to save. We have no intention of going down with you here!"
The Flame-Chase journey was already nearing its end. In this situation, the so-called "mutual destruction" was an utterly unequal trade.
Dan Heng and Stelle exchanged a glance, then nodded. They tightened their grip on their weapons and charged the Sky Titan, dodging bolts of lightning one after another to plunge their weapons into the two Ability Spheres beside the Sky Titan's body.
"Roar!"
This seemed to be the Sky Titan's weak point. A furious roar erupted. Seeing this, Stelle and Dan Heng quickly withdrew their weapons and retreated back to the platform.
The Sky Titan's energy was completely depleted, but its massive body remained its greatest advantage in this situation.
Flapping its wings, it hovered in midair before suddenly charging toward the platform. This move was not intended to defeat them, but to shatter the platform and send them all falling into the Golden Pool, to perish bathed in the golden glow!
"Hmph!"
Phainon snorted coldly, seeing through its scheme. He gripped Morning Invasion in his hand and stepped back with his right foot, facing the enemy and taking a powerful, charged stance.
Calmly watching as the Sky Titan's body closed in, he waited for the perfect moment. Then, Phainon leaped upward, slashing down along the Sky Titan's head and severing its most vital core in a single blow.
"Roar..."
A weak, final growl echoed, signaling the Sky Titan's complete defeat.
But because it had charged the platform just before death, its massive corpse crashed directly onto it. This caused the already rapidly descending platform to fall even faster.
"Oh no!"
Looking down at the Golden Pool, everyone inwardly cursed.
The distance was too short, far too short. They had no time left to react...
"Hey, it's time for you to show off your skills and win the favor of those beautiful girls." Seeing this, and realizing that Stelle, Hyacine, and the others didn't have time to recover from the fall, Herta nudged Lumina's arm with her elbow, just as Lumina had done to her before, signaling that she could go up and start her "favorability conquest."
"Favor?" Hearing this, Lumina didn't rush to save them but waited for a moment. During this pause, she even mumbled the word under her breath, slowly explaining, "I, Lumina, save people because I want to save them, not for some so-called favorability."
"Does saving someone always have to be met with a reward? Does it always have to be for some kind of benefit? I don't think so."
Lumina sighed softly and shook her head. "Little Herta, your enlightenment still needs improvement."
"I will definitely save them, but not in order to gain anything."
"Heh." Faced with this, Herta said nothing, only rolling her eyes in response.
If it were ordinary people, Herta might actually believe that Lumina didn't need a reward.
But when it came to beautiful girls, there was no way Herta could believe that Lumina would ask for nothing in return.
"Since you don't need a reward, then hurry up and save them before their little hearts get scared to death." Herta crossed her arms and sneered.
Herta didn't even know what Lumina was pretending to be. The reason why she wasn't going to save them right now was something Herta could figure out without even using her brain.
Wasn't it just because she wanted them to be saved by a "hero stepping on seven-colored clouds" when they were at their wit's end?
Being saved at the moment of despair versus being saved when in danger, the favorability gained from the two was like heaven and earth apart.
It wasn't that saving someone in danger didn't gain favorability, but the favorability gained from being saved at the moment of despair was simply too much.
"It's not that I won't save them, but I'll save them slowly, saving them according to the rules..." Hearing this, Lumina's face didn't blush, her heart didn't falter, and she steadily replied.
"This guy, her personality is really wicked."
But this single reply did verify Herta's thought.
After understanding Lumina's meaning, Herta muttered very helplessly in her heart.
The image of the Holy Maiden who selflessly dedicated herself from before instantly collapsed in Herta's heart.
Um... It seems that from the very beginning, even before she had met Lumina, this image had already collapsed.
After all, Herta knew back then that someone who selflessly dedicated themselves simply couldn't exist.
And just as Herta thought, Lumina wasn't that kind of perfect person; she had her flaws too.
And they were... the kind of flaws that made people feel a headache and displeasure.
Namely—Herta didn't dislike them.
"Although I don't know exactly what you're saying in your heart, it's definitely something bad about me, isn't it?" Suddenly, Lumina got the urge to sneeze.
Her first reaction was to cast her gaze on Herta. This guy is dishonest, secretly cursing this young lady in her heart, she must be severely punished, she must undergo my fierce **!
"That's right." Herta replied. Since she'd been caught, there was naturally no point in hiding or avoiding it, so she just admitted it directly.
Herta's behavior made Lumina's eyebrows twitch, and she instantly felt a bit displeased.
Such arrogance?
Fine, let her revel in it for a while.
Lumina shot Herta a glare and then stopped paying her any mind.
Right now, the most important thing was saving Hyacine and the others. At this distance and speed, if they actually hit the ground, they would either die or be gravely injured.
Her earlier comment about saving them only when they were truly desperate was just talk. Even if she was confident enough to rescue them with only a millimeter of clearance, Lumina wouldn't risk the beautiful girls taking even the slightest chance.
Now that they were well within the danger zone, she had to act. There was no more time to wait.
"This is about right."
As her words fell, a green light erupted from Lumina. In a mere instant, it enveloped the entire falling platform, halting its descent mid-air.