On a nearby isle.
Already transformed into the Vidyadhara High Elder, Imbibitor Lunae, Dan Heng was locked in furious battle with Yanqing and Blade.
Kafka, meanwhile, watched in silence from the sidelines.
Until—
A "line" shot out from the Divination Commission, linking all the way to the crown of the Ambrosial Arbor. From it came all sorts of chaotic noises—Tom and Jerry's battle echoing across heaven and earth.
Kafka's gaze shifted away from the clash before her to this new, far more outrageous clash above.
Her brows knit slightly, and she murmured:
"That's… Tom?"
At the sight of Tom, her eyes instinctively flicked toward Blade.
When she had reunited with him on the Luofu, his head still bore that ridiculous swelling horn. Naturally, she had asked.
After all, Blade was now in an undying body. Even if such bizarre lumps appeared, he should have healed instantly.
Yet his answer had been—he was beaten up by a blue-and-white cat in his dreams.
Kafka had immediately thought of Tom.
She had fought Tom personally before. She could sense his strange, impossible nature.
But she had always thought it was purely physical.
Now she realized—Tom's reach extended even into dreams, capable of wounding Blade from afar.
And if he could wound… then it was possible he could kill.
If Kafka had the capacity for fear, perhaps her skin would have crawled.
But she felt no fear.
Instead, she watched Tom and Jerry's fight with keen amusement.
As a Stellaron Hunter, she had seen countless duels across the cosmos, including battles of Dan Heng, Yanqing, Blade—had even fought in many herself.
But Tom and Jerry's battle… was something wholly different.
Like watching a cartoon come alive. Amusing beyond measure.
Far more entertaining than those three men tangled in their complicated relationships.
"Those two mice… They must be the ones I've heard rumored across the Luofu. Traits nearly identical to Tom's…"
Kafka murmured softly, rose-colored eyes thoughtful.
Just then, a warm voice sounded behind her.
"Indeed."
"But I can also add this: the little gray mouse is Yevenko in disguise. You know him, don't you?"
Jing Yuan approached at an unhurried pace, standing at Kafka's side, also watching the battle play out along the "line."
Honestly, if Tom and Jerry weren't wreaking havoc on his territory, Jing Yuan had to admit—it was fascinating to watch.
Kafka blinked in mild surprise at his words, then thought carefully.
In her eyes, Yevenko had always been strange too—the way he pulled milk out of nowhere was no different than Tom producing random objects.
She had already suspected the two might be "the same kind."
Now, from Jing Yuan's words, perhaps Yevenko's true form… was that gray mouse?
As for why Yevenko stuck so closely to the brown mouse—it wasn't hard to guess.
From her current observation, Yevenko wasn't helping either side. Tom and Jerry, meanwhile, fought with all they had, unleashing everything.
Were such attacks turned on anyone else, they would have died countless times already.
But for this cat and mouse—this was nothing but… play.
Play…
Jing Yuan thought the same. He remembered Feixiao, helpless under Jerry's fists. His own black circles. Hulei, nearly beaten to death. Even he shivered inwardly at the thought.
What could kill an Emanator was, to them, mere play.
The only mercy—their abilities didn't spread as wide as an Emanator's. Perhaps a limitation.
That was Jing Yuan's conclusion, at least.
Still, watching Tom stitch leaves into wings, soaring into the sky, he clicked his tongue in awe.
And then—
The next scene widened his eyes, pupils filling with shock, overturning every guess he had made of Tom and Jerry's limits.
...
At the Arbor's crown.
Whoosh—!
Tom shot up the tree, winged by its leaves, whipping up gusts that made Yevenko's ears flutter wildly.
The little mouse rubbed his eyes. No—he wasn't imagining it. Tom truly flew.
The next moment, Tom pulled out a black, round bomb, lit its fuse, and dropped it toward Jerry's mouse hole.
Fwoosh!
The bomb rolled right to the door.
Thunk!
But the hole had shut. The bomb bounced back slightly.
Then—it stood up.
Snuffed its own fuse. Straightened a nonexistent tie. Knocked politely.
Knock, knock, knock!
No one answered.
So it twisted the knob and let itself in.
There was Jerry, still drowsing on his sofa. The bomb poked him awake, then pulled out a clipboard and pen, holding it out.
Half-asleep, Jerry signed the delivery.
Satisfied, the bomb stowed the paper and pen, lit its fuse again, covered its ears, and squatted.
Jerry yawned and rolled back down… then froze.
His eyes shot open.
Too late.
BOOOOOOOM!
The blast tore the mouse hole's roof off like a lid, sent the furniture flying.
Inside was nothing but charred blackness, Jerry's white eyes peeking out from the soot.
Then—he crumbled into dust.
Moments later, Jerry stormed out, furious, scanning left and right.
Fwoosh!
He looked up just as Tom swooped down, rapier in paw, slicing past to spin Jerry's mouse-ears in circles before they plopped back on his head.
As Tom wheeled for another pass, Jerry snatched up Yevenko and bolted toward the line again.
But Tom roared in from behind. Jerry squeezed his eyes shut—then cracked them open.
He was unharmed.
He sighed with relief—only to realize Yevenko's outline flickered in his arms.
And then—he saw Tom, gliding by, Yevenko clutched in his paw.
Jerry's eyes bulged. He panicked, ripped branches together into a makeshift plane, propeller whirring, and launched.
Meanwhile, Tom reveled in his prize.
Until—
Biu! Biu! Biu!
Wooden bullets riddled the air from Jerry's plane. Tom zigzagged desperately.
The two clashed in a sky-duel over the Arbor's crown, chasing, fleeing, trading fire.
At last, Tom closed in with a bat, ready to knock Jerry from the sky.
But Jerry flipped his plane into a daring spin, propeller screaming with boosted power, slicing past Tom.
Everything in its path shredded—bat to baton, fur stripped bare, leaf-wings torn to tatters.
Tom looked at his sides, wings gone.
Spread his arms. Shrugged.
And fell.
Jerry swooped to catch Yevenko, then both looked down together.
SHOOOOOM—!
Tom plummeted like a meteor.
Straight into the Arbor's central fork.
The unkillable divine tree—cleaved by his crotch.
SKREEEEECH—!
The sound of a chainsaw split the heavens, echoing across the Luofu.
First came Tom, then came heaven—Iron Crotch cleaves trees like a god among men!
Tom's legs stretched longer and longer as he split down the trunk, until at last he slammed into the sea below.
He rose, towering one-third the height of the Arbor, striding on colossal legs—
The true King of Aluba!
Behind him, the Arbor cracked in two, collapsing into the waves.
BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
Twin crashes sent tidal waves surging.
Like when the Hunt's Aeon once severed it—except more outrageous. Tom had split it entirely in half.
A turquoise flame hovered nearby, just arriving—Phantylia.
She froze, stunned, unable to think.
"…My Arbor?"
Her Arbor. Planned for so long, cultivated so carefully.
And in a blink, cleaved in half.
Not just split. Its life-force leaked away. Leaves withered. No regeneration.
As if the Hunt's Aeon had loosed an even harsher arrow.
The flame trembled, then shrieked with rage, voice raw:
"No! NO! NO!!"
"My dreamed-for vessel cannot be destroyed!"
"I'll pour all my power to revive it—and make you PAY!!"
Her hatred locked onto Tom and Jerry. She dove toward the waters, the sea parting before her, rushing into the Lunarescent Depths.
Silence.
On the isle, all stared dumbstruck at the Arbor, sundered by Tom's crotch.
Blade especially.
He had once thought to avenge himself on the dream-cat, believing reality would weaken it.
Now, he only wished to hide. To never be noticed.
Blade didn't fear death—he welcomed it.
But to die in such a ridiculous way, before his comrades? That he could not accept.
Even without Kafka's words binding him, the thought alone nearly steadied his Mara-struck state. He cared little now for Dan Heng—only to flee.
That cat was terrifying.
Dan Heng, by contrast, recovered quickly. He had traveled too long with Tom. He was already numb.
He had decided long ago—he would stop trying to understand Tom.
Jing Yuan, meanwhile, forgot to breathe. His mind raced, only to return to a sigh.
"This… is beyond comprehension."
His guesses of their limits… had never been close.
The greatest miracle of Abundance—the Arbor, even the Hunt's Aeon could not kill it.
But Tom's crotch did.
Not only stripped of regeneration—it was dying outright.
If left long enough, the Arbor might truly perish.
This power… perhaps beyond even the Hunt's Aeon—
No. He dared not think it.
Still, with the Arbor's roots sealed in the Lunarescent Depths, life-force locked, the tree now decayed faster.
But for Phantylia, this was no blessing. The situation had turned against her.
Blade broke the silence.
"My task here is done."
He wanted to leave immediately.
Even being hunted later by Tom would be better than being recognized now, before old comrades.
Jing Yuan nodded.
"Yes. It's done."
He added:
"You've helped the Xianzhou greatly. Take him. I saw nothing."
Compared to Tom cleaving the Arbor, the loss of the Divine Foresight was nothing. He would have traded even the Divination Commission itself for this.
Blade strode off quickly.
Kafka blinked. Blade, in a hurry? She had never known him to rush.
"Ar-Blade, slower," she said softly.
Dan Heng too turned to leave, but Jing Yuan called him back.
"You cannot yet. Your friends are waiting in the Lunarescent Depths. Let us go together."
Dan Heng paused, then nodded.
A skiff bore them swiftly down.
There stood Stelle, March 7th, Welt, and Fu Xuan, still talking in awe.
"The Arbor was a miracle," Welt said. "Tom's crotch splitting it—that was a miracle of miracles."
Stelle's eyes shone.
"Big Brother Tom is amazing! I picked the right big brother!"
March 7th nodded fervently.
"If Big Brother Tom would just teach me that technique—I don't need to cleave an Arbor! Just let me chop a little planet in half with my hand and I'd be satisfied!"
Fu Xuan stood blankly, even her third eye dimmed, stunned beyond words.
Dan Heng joined them.
March 7th's eyes lit up.
"Dan Heng! You look so different!"
He opened his mouth, but she raised a hand.
"Wait! Let me guess!"
He stayed silent. He expected her to say he'd awakened hidden power. It was her favorite theory.
Her eyes widened in realization. She clapped her hands.
"I know! I know! You… got beaten by Big Brother Tom too!"
"Blade's lump was pink. Yours is teal. Wait—did yours lose a spike?"
Dan Heng: "..."
His lips twitched. He closed his eyes in pain.
Jing Yuan chuckled.
"Enough teasing him. There is work to do."
"Phantylia, the Lord Ravager, is still in the Luofu. Likely already deep in the Lunarescent Depths."
"Your sincerity has been proven. The Luofu owes you. We should ask no more.
"But—we need Dan Heng's strength to open the path to the Arbor's roots. And we need the Express's help to defeat Phantylia."
Welt met Dan Heng's eyes, speaking gently:
"Even if the crisis had nothing to do with a Stellaron, I would not stand idle. But my will cannot speak for the Express."
"To explore, to understand, to connect—our creed of Trailblazing. Hard to uphold, yet it is our path."
"Danger, fear, death—they bar the way. Few Nameless can endure."
"Whether we go forward or turn back—our destination should be chosen, as always, by our own vote."
Stelle and March 7th nodded, extending their hands.
And then—
"Wait! Don't forget me!"
Yevenko's voice rang out.
They turned. Jerry carried him in both arms, still treating him like Tuffy.
Tom clung tightly to Yevenko's head, perched on his shoulders.
At last, the time had come.
The final boss: Phantylia.
This time, Yevenko would farm the exploration points alone.
He clutched his glowstick tightly.
So… should I crash a plane at the end?
Without a crash, it wouldn't feel right.