"Roar—"
Tail, the little subordinate, bared its fangs and claws with a mighty roar, immediately gathering energy in its mouth and unleashing it toward the towering Train Gundam in one blast.
"Hmph… As expected, just as I predicted. This works out fine. As long as their attention is on that train, I'll have time to restore my physical form…"
Phantylia had just let a cold smirk rise in her heart when she was stunned to see a cyan beam sweeping toward her.
What? Was it just feinting at the train, with me as the real target all along?
Phantylia's heart jolted. Unable to spare concern for her physical form, she raised her arm to block, her mind swirling with uncertainty: Don't these guys fear the train self-destructing?
Zzt—
The cyan energy beam left a crack on Phantylia's arm, but it quickly shifted targets.
Swish—
Tail, the little subordinate, spun its neck at high speed in a full 360-degree rotation. Since this Godzilla-like creature was formed from a Heliobus spirit, unbound by a physical body, it twirled its neck with ease, almost playfully, in a bizarrely grotesque display. The beam from its mouth spun rapidly, faintly forming a curtain of light…
Phantylia: "…Nima."
As Phantylia was suppressed by this area-of-effect attack, unable to lift her head, she inadvertently glanced toward the Train Gundam and was dumbfounded—
The Train Gundam's chest-mounted railgun was slowly charging energy before unleashing a fierce blast! Then, its upper body began spinning at high speed, countering rotation with rotation!
The clever Jing Yuan had already recalled his Lightning-Lord to avoid taking stray AOE damage, while Stelle and the others, compared to these three "giants," were minuscule, untouched by this level of energy clash.
Thus, Phantylia alone became the sole victim of this energy showdown.
Caught in the crossfire of two "giants" blasting away, Phantylia's already crumbling physical form clearly couldn't withstand such an onslaught. Soon, amid her unwilling roars, her body exploded, painting the entire sealed space a blinding white.
…
"Ugh… my head hurts, I feel so exhausted…"
Bailu rubbed her head as she woke from the dream, murmuring, "Time to go to work again? Sigh…"
"Huh?"
Bailu's eyes suddenly widened. Beside her were March 7th, Himeko, and others who had just woken up, their gazes blank, clearly unaware of what had transpired in the nightmare.
"W-Why am I still here?" Bailu was bewildered.
"Yo, awake?" Huohuo glanced at Bailu and explained, "You were just pulled into a nightmare. My… little subordinate saved you. Take it easy for now."
Bailu froze, then asked in disbelief, "Y-You mean everything I just went through… was all… a dream?"
Her words carried barely concealed excitement, her breath trembling as she spoke.
Huohuo sighed, shaking her head inwardly: Poor kid. She must have gone through something utterly terrifying in that nightmare, or maybe endured some inhumane torment? She's so worked up…
With this in mind, Huohuo's tone softened rare for her. She patted Bailu's head comfortingly and said gently, "It's okay. It was all fake. It's all over now, and your life won't be affected at all."
"Fake… fake? Ha… hahaha…"
Bailu repeated the words, her gaze turning vacant as she began to laugh dazedly. "So, I worked my butt off for centuries in that dream, and I didn't even get a shred of results? Hahaha… this world might as well end."
"Where's the Destruction Aeon? Did you see him? My hatred could set the entire Dragonmaster family ablaze…"
"Hahaha… wuwuwu—"
Bailu covered her face with one hand, dejectedly finding a corner to cry in alone.
Huohuo: …
What in the world did she go through?
—"Ugh, where am I… the Ambrosial Arbor seal? Why am I here?"
As Huohuo puzzled over this, another voice spoke up. March 7th was looking around in confusion, muttering to herself.
Huohuo was about to explain but swallowed her words. The reason was simple: after explaining to Bailu, the girl had gone into full shutdown mode.
Perhaps it was better to let this girl calm down on her own first. The truth was harsh and needed to be accepted gradually.
March 7th glanced around, seeing no one responding to her, and gave a wry smile, muttering, "As expected…"
She walked up to Huohuo, boldly leaning in close.
Huohuo: ?
What's this train girl up to? What does she want?
"Hmph, Huohuo the helm master's little face is so soft~" March 7th muttered to herself.
Huohuo: ???
What's this girl babbling about? Did the nightmare hit her so hard she lost her mind? Why is she saying such weird things—
Huohuo: !!!
Without warning, March 7th reached out and pinched Huohuo's cheek hard.
"Ah~ Huohuo's little face feels so nice. Even better than Stelle's," March 7th mumbled to herself, ignoring Huohuo's face frozen in shock, and walked off to another spot.
"This girl… has she gone mad?"
Humming a tune, March 7th moved lightly and soon found Stelle and Dan Heng, who had just climbed out of the rubble. Her lips curled into a mischievous smile.
"Ugh, almost got buried alive. That damn Phantylia, phew! I'm exhausted."
Stelle, clutching her Blazing Lance, crawled out of the rubble and collapsed on the ground. "I don't want to say a single word right now…"
Dan Heng lay silently beside her, but the scene seemed to stir some unpleasant memories. Propping up his weary body, he tried to find another spot to rest. Just then, he noticed March 7th approaching.
Dan Heng opened his mouth to speak, but March 7th beat him to it, supporting him and guiding him to sit a safe distance from Stelle, smiling slightly. "Sit here, okay?"
As expected of my most reliable partner—so in sync, she even knows what I'm thinking, Dan Heng thought gratefully.
After settling Dan Heng, March 7th walked over to Stelle, looking down at the girl with a smile. "Battle-damaged version, huh? This is my first time trying this."
Stelle: ?
What's March talking about?
March 7th rested Stelle's head on her lap, and the latter sighed inwardly: March, you're the best.
But the next second, as March 7th leaned down, Stelle sensed something off: This isn't right!
It was one thing if March was just lending a hand, but… why was she acting like some kind of rogue, her hands getting so bold?
Don't tug at my clothes!
"March, this, this, this—this isn't okay, is it?" Stelle grabbed March 7th's cold hand, saying nervously.
"…"
Though March 7th didn't speak, Stelle keenly noticed her expression freeze for a moment.
"You… can see me?" March 7th asked.
Stelle tentatively covered her eyes. "Then… I can't see you?"
"Wuu…"
Who's boiling a kettle?
Stelle felt the lap pillow vanish instantly, causing her head to hit the ground. March 7th, muttering, "This galaxy has no place for me anymore," went off to sulk in a corner.
What's going on here? Stelle was utterly confused.
Clatter.
At that moment, something seemed to fall from above, landing in the rubble not far from Stelle.
She glanced over and saw a glowing Stellaron lying quietly in the debris, like a discarded toy.
"…"
Stelle fell silent. Her exhausted body somehow found a surge of strength, pushing her to walk toward the Stellaron.
Her fingers trembled as she picked it up, and a faint, childish voice seemed to echo in her ears: "Big sister, I like you."
Why the little Stellaron appeared in the form of a loli, she didn't know. All she knew was that, despite spending less than half a day together, the little Stellaron was still her companion.
But now, she had truly become just a Stellaron.
Even after trying so hard to create a "happy end" where no one got hurt, was tragedy inevitable?
"Big sister? Big sister? You've gotten so big!"
…It felt like she heard the little Stellaron's voice again. Was her grief causing hallucinations?
Lost in sorrow, Stelle thought as much.
"Big sister, why aren't you talking?"
—Wait, this… wasn't a hallucination?
Stelle looked at the Stellaron in her hand, her mouth falling open. Moments later, she laughed, both无奈 and relieved.
Little Stellaron: "Huh? It's not that big sister got bigger—it's that I got smaller!"
In such an absurd yet comedic world, was there anything that was truly impossible?