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Chapter 92 - Honkai: Star Rail – From the Moment Tom The Cat Became My Passenger [92]

In his ears echoed the notes of merriment, and then that unmistakable Fool's mask—

Isn't this Aha?!

Though the figure had appeared without a sound and emitted no energy at all—looking completely ordinary—Yevenko was certain: this was Aha, the Aeon of Elation.

Realizing this, Yevenko instinctively panicked and prepared to bolt.

But then something occurred to him. A translucent screen appeared in front of his eyes. Opening his inventory, he spotted the Shrinking Milk, the nearly-expired [Transformation Stone (Tuffy)], and his trusty firework.

His confidence soared.

Besides, Aha had helped him back when he fought the Aeon of Nihility—maybe their relationship wasn't that bad?

But this Aeon was a pleasure-seeking trickster. Even the Aeon's own self could become the butt of a joke, let alone Yevenko himself. He needed to keep up his guard.

Still, with these three divine items in hand, he could splash even the mightiest Aeon's face with Shrinking Milk and then beat them senseless. What was there to fear?

Not to mention having Tom on his left thigh and Jerry on his right. Yevenko brimmed with confidence—confidence borrowed from his thighs!

Thinking thus, courage surged through him.

"Fuck!"

After blurting this out, Yevenko's mind quickly snapped into gear as he added:

"Pay me back for the milk!"

Under the Fool mask, Aha's wine-red eyes momentarily widened in surprise, then gleamed with delight, and the Aeon doubled over laughing once again.

"Hahahaha! Don't be so stingy, Yevenko."

"You and Tom invited Aha to such a delightful show; Aha lent a small helping hand. You treated Aha to milk, so now Aha treats you to popcorn!"

As soon as those words fell, Aha pulled out a popcorn bucket from thin air, setting it on the table, then produced a small party cannon from a pocket.

Aha promptly fired the party cannon.

Bong!

Countless popcorn kernels shot from the cannon into the sky, raining down everywhere. With gentle guidance, they neatly filled the bucket on the table.

Jade-chan caught a falling kernel. Her eyes brightened immediately upon tasting it.

She hurriedly ran over to Yevenko's table, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and stuffed her bulging cheeks full, mumbling:

"Uncle Yevenko, this popcorn tastes amazing! And after eating it, somehow my mood feels so much better!"

By now, everyone's attention had been drawn by the raining popcorn and Aha's sudden appearance. Seeing this, Yevenko rose abruptly and declared loudly:

"All popcorn expenses today are on Mr. Ha's tab!"

Immediately, Yevenko saw everyone approaching, partly due to curiosity about Aha, and partly because they likely had many questions about Tom and Jerry.

His small table was soon overcrowded.

With no other choice, Yevenko rummaged into his inventory again, pulling out a huge banquet table straight from the Tom and Jerry universe, complete with pristine white tablecloth and assorted Western dishes laid out lavishly.

This was something he'd previously pulled from a gacha draw.

Witnessing a feat so similar to Tom's, a peculiar glint flashed across Aha's wine-red eyes.

Unlike Aeons who harnessed Paths, Yevenko and Tom summoned items so casually that even Aha couldn't detect a shred of power behind it. It was genuine creation from thin air.

But that just made things more amusing.

Beneath the Fool mask, Aha's smile curved ever more wildly.

Others saw Yevenko's masked companion, but tacitly avoided questioning. First, it seemed Yevenko had a good relationship with this masked figure; second, hardly anyone in the universe wanted to entangle themselves with Masked Fools. Though some Masked Fools were "good," most were pleasure-seekers indifferent to good or evil, meaning trouble.

Meanwhile, Phantylia saw Jerry and Tom chasing and battling once more, while Yevenko's group seemed content hosting their own little banquet, watching from the sidelines.

This deeply displeased her. As a Lord Ravager, she was reduced to mere comic relief in a movie, and worse, she wasn't even the lead—only a supporting character. The real stars were the Hunt Aeon Lan, Tom, and Jerry.

At least Lan and Tom hadn't turned their attention to her yet.

Otherwise, the notorious Lord Ravager would surely become another victim of their outrageous torment.

However, Phantylia understood clearly:

This was Feixiao's inner world, and she'd entered purely as a soul wearing the skin of the deceased Hoolay, representing the Red Moon's power. Feixiao had to defeat her to fully inherit the Red Moon.

If others intervened rashly, unpredictable consequences might ensue, so no one dared help Feixiao carelessly.

This was her only chance.

If she destroyed Feixiao—the Xianzhou General, the Emanator of the Hunt Path—she'd surely draw Nanook's attention, which would solve everything and grant immense rewards.

The power of Aeons was unimaginable.

Lan's earlier embarrassment probably resulted from only sending a fragment of consciousness; that's why he'd been toyed with.

If Nanook simply unleashed a stronger power, victory would be certain.

Yet Phantylia miscalculated.

At first, the Hunt Aeon Lan had indeed projected only a fragment of his consciousness. But when Tom lassoed Lan's neck, the fragment transformed into his actual body, completely bound by the lasso and restricted by Feixiao's repaired inner world.

For Lan, the rope was now akin to a yoke.

Aha naturally understood all this but didn't care. What did restrictions matter, compared to this monumental delight?

Phantylia's spirit recovered swiftly. Realizing time was short, she stared fiercely at Feixiao, intense cyan eyes blazing with destruction. Gripping twin blades tightly, she stomped the ground viciously.

Bang!

With a thunderous boom, she shot toward Feixiao like an arrow.

Yet Feixiao's inner world had been strengthened by Tom and Jerry's repairs; her mental strength surged, and she snapped awake despite the comical sight of the Hunt Aeon being humiliated in midair.

Seeing Phantylia's sudden attack, Feixiao lifted her halberd, lips curving defiantly. With even greater ferocity, she exploded toward Phantylia like a cannonball!

They collided violently.

BOOM——!!!!

Massive shockwaves spread in all directions.

However, times had changed.

For Yevenko's audience, slapstick comedy easily overshadowed fiery battle scenes.

Right now, Tom was still chasing Jerry all over the place.

But Lan, hovering in the sky, had no patience left. Worse yet, he couldn't break the rope tied around his neck.

He had to eliminate whoever created the rope.

All power had a source, and that source was Tom. Normally, a single arrow from Lan could obliterate this inner world. But after the cat-and-mouse repairs, its structure healed and limited destruction inside.

Thankfully, the essence of Lan's power remained unchanged.

Recalling the pain still throbbing from his rear, Lan instinctively drew his bow again. Massive Path-energy condensed into a dazzling arrow which he released immediately.

The colossal planetary-sized arrow split instantly, scattering into countless smaller arrows like meteors, raining down to blanket Tom and Jerry's location.

Jerry, turning to mock Tom, froze mid-air in terror upon seeing countless meteors incoming. Its limbs and eyeballs shot out comically as it screamed:

"AAAAAH—!"

Tom also turned, spotting the meteor barrage headed straight at him, eyes bulging, mouth dropping open.

Bam!

Tom's jaw comically elongated, slamming into the ground and leaving a crater.

Jerry quickly recomposed, frantically searching for cover—but there was nothing around except Tom. Without hesitation, Jerry dashed into Tom's elongated jaw.

Inside, Jerry noticed Tom's teeth resembling an elevator with numbered floors. He quickly pressed the top floor, 22. Tom's jaw ascended swiftly like an elevator, restoring Tom's normal shape. Jerry ran upward, peeking from behind Tom's eyeball, saw the arrows approaching, and pulled a string inside Tom's head—closing his eyelids like curtains, hiding safely within.

Next second, infinite arrows pummeled Tom relentlessly.

"Tom…" murmured March worriedly.

But soon, the arrow storm ceased.

Everyone held their breath. At the scene—

—Tom stood utterly unharmed.

Tom turned, casually took a few steps, and inexplicably appeared beside Yevenko's table.

Jerry popped out of Tom's head like opening a manhole.

Tom grabbed a cup of water from the table, chugged it, and immediately water sprinkled from his body like a watering can. Feeling refreshed, Tom angrily marched toward Lan again.

But after a few steps, Tom suddenly crumbled into dark particles resembling soil, leaving only a small mound at the end of a new grass path.

Jerry fell, landed beside it, solemnly placed a tiny budding white flower atop the mound.

Everyone froze in shock.

"No… No way…" March covered her mouth, tears welling up.

Jing Yuan frowned, skeptical.

Then, the flower bloomed.

A tiny thumb-sized Tom, with transparent fairy wings, emerged, fluttering and sparkling around Jerry's head, mockingly sticking out his tongue:

"Bleeeeh~!"

SLAP!

Jerry promptly flattened him with a flyswatter.

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