Phantylia, who had been about to invade Jade's body, was stopped cold by the sudden crash of the bulldozer-plane.
Of course, even if she had tried to take Jade's body, the [Sheep Talisman] would have taught her the true meaning of despair.
From the start, Phantylia never understood—coveting Jade's flesh was a fatal mistake.
And Yevenko, hearing her shriek, stepped on Hoolay's head and asked:
"I bashed Hoolay—what's it got to do with you?"
"If you've got anyone to blame, blame yourself for hitching a ride in him right when I was pounding him."
Phantylia nearly choked on her own fury.
He twisted it completely backward. She had been the first to claim Hoolay—her contingency plan always considered his body the backup vessel, a pawn in hand.
His release from Shackling Prison had been her scheme from beginning to end.
Yet no matter what path she took, Yevenko derailed it.
To her, Yevenko was just a Pathstrider—yet those absurd, unworldly cat and mouse actually obeyed his commands.
Forcing herself calm, knowing she was outmatched, she had to try another angle.
She drew a breath, and spoke:
"I don't know what promises the Luofu made to you, that you keep foiling my Destruction."
"But I can promise this: stand with me, join me in destroying the Luofu, and I'll grant you an audience with Lord Nanook."
"In time—you might even become a Lord Ravager yourself."
Phantylia knew he was one of the Nameless, but Nameless often changed masks—some even joined the IPC.
So why not the Antimatter Legion?
And she thought: his Path of Trailblaze was still shallow in him. The lure of becoming a Lord Ravager must be deep.
Yevenko's eyes lit—but not at the thought of becoming a Ravager.
What interested him was the chance to meet the Aeon of Destruction face-to-face.
For Yevenko, a meeting meant exploration points.
He opened his mouth:
"We can talk about this pri—"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Feixiao's figure striding near. He coughed and twisted his words:
"Ahem."
"To rid the Luofu of heresy is our righteous duty—we need no promises!"
"Phantylia, how dare you endanger the Luofu. Even if you were Destruction itself, I would never let you go!"
He finished by whipping out Tom's rapier and stabbing Hoolay in the skull.
Pain shot through Hoolay's body.
The eerie green flame in his eyes guttered, shrinking low. He clutched his head and leapt, howling:
"Ooo↑—hoo↓hoo↑hooorrrhhh—!!"
He scratched and rubbed his wolf head furiously, trying to ease the agony.
Just one stab—but it pierced him to the soul.
And that stab revived him.
Not life—but a flicker before the end.
Even a Borisin warleader couldn't recover from this chain of blows, especially with Phantylia having puppeted him just moments before.
Yevenko's thrust had only shoved her soul down briefly, letting Hoolay resurface—but he was a candle in the wind.
And his wild leap sent Yevenko, Tom, Jerry, and the entire Victory Hawk No.1 bouncing into the air.
Victory Hawk reacted first.
It swiveled its wings like hands, caught the still-flying red carpet, and snapped it open.
WHAP—!
A tidal wave of cloth smashed Yevenko, Tom, and Jerry flat into paper-thin sheets.
They fluttered to the ground.
Pop… pop…
Two soft sounds—Tom and Jerry sprang back to shape.
Only Yevenko lay there, still a flattened sheet.
Tom and Jerry rushed over. Tom conjured a speech bubble, reached in, pulled out a bicycle pump, stuck it in Yevenko's mouth, and pumped.
Huff-huff-huff—
Yevenko inflated back to normal.
He rose shakily, numb-eyed, staring at Victory Hawk.
It neatly rolled up the carpet, waved its wings in farewell, circled once in the sky—then dove straight into one of Tom's lingering dialogue bubbles and vanished.
Meanwhile, Hoolay gasped raggedly, his vision fading, green flames in his eyes burning wilder again.
His voice rasped low:
"I knew this escape was full of shadows."
"It was your hand…"
"The Borisin bow to no Destruction. We bow only to ourselves. To our warleader!"
"Phantylia—your plan will fail."
"I prepared a path…"
"…the Borisin's path to survival—!"
"Hahahahahahahaha!!"
Mad laughter shook his body. His right claw gleamed, then stabbed into his own chest.
He roared at the sky:
"I will die—and with me, half the Luofu will die too!!"
Blood sprayed out in torrents.
This site was remote; it couldn't annihilate the entire Luofu, but half was still possible.
From his chest he ripped a pulsing red moon of flesh, saturated with life force.
"The Red Moon in my chest will spill bloodlight everywhere!"
At its rise, crimson drenched the district, turning the scene grotesque.
"I'll drive every fox into frenzy—mad with slaughter without end!!"
Foxkin, too, were Borisin. Under the Red Moon they would fall to Moonmadness, bloodthirsty riots tearing the Luofu apart.
But Hoolay looked only at Feixiao.
This plan was for his fellow general alone.
It was an open trap—his blatant yangmou.
"What will you do now, Feixiao?"
"Hehahahahahahahaha!!"
The Red Moon floated high above him. His body melted, bloodlight rising into the sky.
Just then—
Tom darted up his back, pulled out a swatch of black cloth, tossed it over the Red Moon, tied a knot, and hugged it to his chest like a parcel.
The bloodlight vanished.
"Hahaha—"
Hoolay's laughter froze. He opened his mouth—but his body dissolved completely. Not another word.
Tom trotted back, grinning all eight teeth, and placed the bundle into Yevenko's hands, waiting for praise.
Yevenko stared dumbly at the parcel.
Now what?
The story had skipped. How would he meet the Hunt Aeon now? How was he supposed to farm berserk Feixiao for points?
But he couldn't break Tom's heart. He patted his head.
Then he walked toward Feixiao, parcel in hand.
"Feixiao—why don't you… go through the motions and swallow this Red Moon?"
Feixiao shook her head.
"The Red Moon's curse has already been contained by Tom. And besides—it's your spoils. I can't—"
"General."
Jiaoqiu's voice cut in. He walked forward, healed by Jade.
"You need this Red Moon."
"My research says—if you consume it, your Moonmadness will be cured. You won't die young."
"The Luofu, the whole Alliance, needs you alive."
Because the Alliance was caught in a vicious cycle—new blood unable to take up command.
The Luofu, shattered by the Imbibitor Lunae incident, had only Jing Yuan left of its five champions. Even he was old, grooming a successor.
The Zhuming ship was the same—General Huaijin impossibly aged, forced to remain because no heir could shoulder it.
And Daijie General Feixiao—her strength was indispensable.
Her azure eyes wavered. She looked at Yevenko, who smiled:
"Consider it a favor owed to me."
Feixiao was frank by nature. Seeing Yevenko's grin, and weighing the Alliance's plight, she smirked and said:
"Then I won't refuse."
"If I lose control—you'll have to restrain me. If not, call in Jing Yuan and Old Huaijin."
She knew—if she lost herself, the destruction would surpass Hoolay. She could only leave these words.
The group closed in around her, grim.
She unwrapped the parcel. Ordinary cloth, yet it held the Red Moon harmless, leaking nothing. Unfathomable.
At her side, her blue wolf-god, Feihuang, appeared.
The Red Moon rose—and Feihuang swallowed it whole.
At once, azure and crimson currents erupted, wrapping Feixiao in surging torrents.
When her eyes opened again, their rims burned with scarlet fury.
She roared forward:
"Borisin! Hoolay! Spawn of Abundance—DIE!!"
A storm of pressure blasted out, Feihuang's blue fur striped with red. The suffocating aura crushed the battlefield.
"Careful!" Jiaoqiu shouted.
"Follow the plan—steady and we can hold her!"
If Feixiao had full reason and power, the Luofu would be obliterated. But in madness, her technique would falter—there was a chance.
Still, the suffocating weight made hands tremble. Could they really hold?
Even if it cost her life—if this freed Feixiao from Moonmadness—it would be worth it.
But Tom and Jerry against a general of the Luofu? Not so easy.
Jiaoqiu's mind raced. Who will she strike first?
She stomped—
BOOOM—!
The earth caved, dust roared. Her figure blurred forward.
And then—
A rope appeared at her feet.
Her step caught. She tumbled, headlong into the ground—
THUD!
Tom and Jerry stood at either end, grinning, yanking the rope.
They spun round her, tying her into a bundle.
She writhed like a caterpillar, helpless.
Moze: "..."
Jiaoqiu: "..."
Yevenko knew time was short. He cracked his knuckles, stepping up for a "fair fight" against trussed-up Feixiao.
He shouted:
"Feixiao! Time to pay that debt!"
"FLYING PRESSSSSSSSS!" CRASH—!
Raiden Ei, to preserve Yevenko's dignity, quietly pulled a curtain of Void to cover what happened next.