One Punch Man World
"…How is that possible?! How did she survive?"
At the Hero Association headquarters, Superalloy Darkshine, his eyes bandaged, stared in stunned disbelief.
The explosion on the Celestial Screen had burned the eyes of nearly 90% of the heroes. According to Child Emperor's calculations afterward, it was an energy release comparable to a small asteroid explosion.
—But that wasn't the point. The point was that Phantylia had casually compressed that energy in her hand, as if playing with a delicate glass marble, unleashing in mere seconds an energy that would take billions of years for a planet's destruction to release.
In the end… Child Emperor didn't share the rest of his calculations. He just stared at the long string of numbers on his screen for a long time.
The explosion's light had burned Darkshine's eyes too, but the Hero Association's advanced medical tech restored his retinas in under ten minutes for an S-Class hero like him.
Yet, the moment he saw Stelle leading the group out of the steam, Darkshine's jaw nearly smashed through the floor.
Why?!
Why, baby, why?
She didn't have the same shining, robust muscles as he did—how could she withstand an explosion that should have reduced her to dust?
Stelle alone was one thing… but why were the Astral Express crew and Jing Yuan behind her all completely unscathed?!
Could it be… that his lifelong belief in training was wrong? Was the key to perfect defense not in building muscle?
Darkshine trembled violently.
It was as if something he'd painstakingly built had quietly crumbled…
Atomic Samurai, also in the medical ward for his eyes, noticed Superalloy Darkshine and called out but got no response. Approaching, he saw the big man's vacant eyes and trembling body, clearly shaken to the core.
"Well… is it because of Stelle?" Atomic Samurai guessed immediately. After all, when he saw Jingliu's divine skills, he'd felt for a moment that his decades of sword training had been for nothing, and his expression hadn't been much better than Darkshine's.
So, he offered a bit of "senior" advice.
"If you want near-perfect defense, Darkshine, you might as well worship…" Atomic Samurai pointed to the faint glow of Preservation on Stelle's body. "Qlipoth… if They glance your way."
——
["'Everything in the universe will end in [Destruction], [Abundance] and [Hunt] included…'"]
["The shattered star's shell broke into countless burning embers, turning the entire mystic root of the Ambrosial Arbor into a sea of molten fire. Yet, within this inferno, a region remained shrouded in white steam, and as the steam gradually cleared…"]
["—The flame spear emerged!"]
["'Well said, but what about Preservation?' Stelle raised her right hand, her spear aimed directly at Phantylia's brow."]
["Perhaps too focused on the Emissary of the Hunt, it was only now that the Lord Ravager noticed the distinct aura on Stelle—not the sharp arrow of the Hunt, but… Qlipoth's gaze!"]
["A flicker of miscalculation and irritation crossed Phantylia's brow. At that moment, her appearance began to change dramatically."]
["Her ashen skin turned pale purple, her black lips curved slightly upward, exuding an eerie charm. But the one constant was the vibrant life force radiating from her connection to the Arbor."]
["With a gentle wave of her fan-holding hand, countless black mystic lotuses sprouted from the ground, nearly transforming the entire secret realm into her personal black flower garden."]
——
Teyvat
"Her Abundance aura has grown stronger. Phew… this is good, at least. It can help us heal a little."
At Narukami Shrine, Yae Miko had the eye-injured shrine maidens close their eyes, facing the Celestial Screen to collectively receive the gift of Abundance.
But looking at the unsettling purple form on the screen, Miko hesitated to let the maidens face it directly… What if Phantylia detonated another star? Wouldn't that worsen the injuries of ordinary people?
"If that move didn't work on Stelle, she probably won't use it again," Ei said calmly nearby. "As an Emissary of Destruction, she'll likely choose a more effective combat approach."
Miko looked at the blooming mystic lotuses in the secret realm and shook her head. "But hasn't that move already been countered by Stelle and the others? As long as they target the Arbor's mystic root, no amount of lotuses will matter."
"Not necessarily," Ei said, sharply noticing something. "These mystic lotuses… they're completely different from the last ones."
["—Life Devourer!"]
["As the lotus petals bloomed, the cyan buds within revealed themselves to the group."]
["The moment they blossomed, Stelle suddenly felt her life force draining rapidly, being siphoned by the buds!"]
["Under Preservation's protection, the star's explosion had left only minor burns on her skin, but as her life force ebbed, those burns began to faintly expand."]
["'Cough, Stelle…' In the blink of an eye, March 7th could barely hold herself up, dropping to one knee."]
["Seeing the situation turn dire, Welt hurriedly used his simulated black hole to destroy the Arbor's mystic root, but this time, his attack had no effect."]
"Take a closer look, Mine. The roots of the mystic lotuses don't seem to come from the Arbor, but from… Phantylia!"
Following Najenda's pointed direction, Mine saw countless tentacle-like roots behind Phantylia, connecting to the ground.
"The mystic lotuses generated by Phantylia herself carry not only the endless vitality of Abundance but also the power of Destruction… allowing them to directly harm Stelle and the others' bodies."
A bead of cold sweat slid down Najenda's forehead. "Even if the group destroys seven or eight lotuses, it's no use. Abundance allows them to regenerate instantly, and the life force they drain feeds back to Phantylia… What a cunning and brilliant tactic."
"Damn it! Come on, think of something, Jing Yuan! Where's Lord Divine? Please, let Lord Divine save them!"
Seeing Jing Yuan on the Celestial Screen struggling against the lotuses' drain, Mine was frantic but helpless. If her "Pumpkin" could shoot through the screen, she'd have aimed at Phantylia's head long ago.
"Wait, Mine."
Tatsumi's voice suddenly interrupted their discussion, pointing to his ear. "Do you… hear something?"
"Hear what?" Mine was confused, shaking her head. "What sound?"
Tatsumi's expression grew serious, and he spoke slowly, word by word:
"…A dragon's roar!"