"Big Sister Deconis! Are you alright?"
Sliding down the stream, Su Lin and the others landed right on the platform where Deconis was.
Lulu nervously scrutinized Deconis, who lowered her head, a little embarrassed.
"Sorry—I used a Totem of Undying."
"What?!"
Lulu and the others were shocked.
In such a short time, Deconis had actually died once?
They knew Deconis; although her Lich body had stripped her of all emotions, leaving her to seek her last sensations in pain.
But Deconis was not like other Liches who sought death—she had companions, and she was willing to live for them.
Therefore, actively seeking death was impossible for her, which meant—
The powerful Deconis, who was almost at the pinnacle of the Aetheram Continent, had lived for countless years, and had vast combat experience.
In the brief time she clashed with the Ender Guardian, she died instantly?
Lulu became even more nervous.
Although the Totem of Undying could save her life, who knew if Deconis, a Lich, would suffer any after-effects from using it.
"Big Sister Deconis, how do you feel?"
"Feel—"
Deconis was silent for a moment, then cautiously said:
"Pretty good?"
Su Lin rubbed his temples, a headache brewing.
"Didn't I tell you not to fight the Ender Guardian? What's wrong with you all!"
"Sorry—"
Deconis spoke softly, a rare hint of shame in her voice.
Su Lin sighed.
"Forget it, where's Tashiniya? Is she alright?"
Deconis hesitated, then raised her hand to point at the Ender Guardian.
"Tashiniya isn't dead, she's still fighting the Ender Guardian."
"What the hell?!"
Su Lin's voice suddenly rose as he turned to look.
In an instant, everyone's jaws almost dropped simultaneously.
In the somewhat distant center of the battlefield, a small white dot strangely weaved around the Ender Guardian.
Whether it was the Ender Guardian's single-target attacks, its powerful area-of-effect coverage, or even skills like teleportation and strong crowd control that seemed unavoidable to Hilulele and the others.
Not a single move managed to hit that small white dot.
Instead, in Su Lin's eyes, the Ender Guardian's health was still draining like water from an open floodgate.
That guy, like a War God, was in a one-on-one fight.
No!
She was absolutely dominating the Ender Guardian!
Tashiniya was single-handedly brutalizing the top BOSS of the Cataclysm.
"Damn it—"
Su Lin looked utterly bewildered.
Tashiniya, that guy who, like him, maxed out all her evasive and life-saving skills, actually had such a domineering side?
So everyone else was just putting on an act, and he was the only one who was genuinely bad at fighting?
"Is that really—really the Captain?!"
Let alone Su Lin, even Lulu and the others, who spent every day with Tashiniya, were dumbfounded.
Tashiniya, who had always embodied "run, retreat, sell, and escape," was now charging forward against the odds like a lone, brave knight.
One after another, peak-level maneuvers were casually executed?
Was this still their cheerful Captain?
"Captain—she's practically a War God!"
Lulu looked at Tashiniya with admiration.
While everyone was staring in a daze, Tashiniya had managed to push the Ender Guardian's health down to its last segment.
The most absurd thing was—
She didn't even block a single attack with a shield, and the Ender Guardian never managed to hit her.
Tashiniya seemed to perfectly predict all of the Ender Guardian's movements, then used a brain comparable to a supercomputer to calculate the optimal counter-attacks.
The more Su Lin watched, the more uneasy he felt.
It was like a friend who was equally poor suddenly discovering that the other was a hidden rich second-generation.
"Deconis, what exactly happened!"
Suddenly, Weini's anxious voice rang out, her eyes full of urgency as she grabbed Deconis's shoulders and shook her.
"I don't know either."
Deconis pursed her lips.
After a moment of thought, she said softly:
"Just now, Tashiniya and I were fighting together, and everything went smoothly at first. Her combat ability was strong—but not this outrageous, until the Ender Guardian suddenly went berserk and smashed through the ground. That's when I triggered the Totem of Undying."
"Tashiniya seemed very angry, told me to stay here, and then said she was going to kill the Ender Guardian."
This was the first time Deconis had spoken so much when she wasn't in her masochistic state.
It was clear that she was also bewildered by Tashiniya's situation.
It was as if she had become a different person.
"She only became like this after seeing you in trouble, right?"
After Deconis nodded, Weini seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and quietly retreated into the crowd.
Su Lin took all of this in, watching Tashiniya's battle without a word.
"Su Lin, there's something wrong with Tashiniya's situation—"
Hilulele suddenly whispered.
Su Lin nodded helplessly.
"I can see that—she's like a War God now, where's the silly Archangel she used to be?!"
Su Lin now suspected whether Tashiniya had some hidden personality.
Veronika, however, was unwilling to dwell on other people's private matters.
She was now itching for a fight, fueled by the stirring music and Tashiniya's god-like combat skills.
Veronika really wanted to fight alongside the current Tashiniya. "Mr. Su Lin, should we go and help Tashiniya?"
Su Lin silently glanced at Veronika.
Help?
Tashiniya was already showing off her moves while holding the Ender Guardian's head; in comparison, Su Lin felt he needed help himself. He was so shocked he could barely breathe and desperately needed artificial respiration from a beautiful girl.
Tashiniya now resembled a precise and cold-blooded robot, assisted by a supercomputer.
Her moves could outshine everyone.
Simply put, compared to the current Tashiniya, Veronika and the others were at most the strongest Challengers, while Tashiniya was a peak professional in the world arena.
Veronika also realized this, sighed regretfully, and fell silent.
"Weini, are we just going to watch Tashiniya fight alone?"
Li Qiaoqiao still couldn't help but worry.
After all, that was the strongest BOSS of the fifth-floor Cataclysm that Su Lin had mentioned.
But Weini shook her head, a nostalgic purple glint in her eyes.
"No! No one disturb Tashiniya, let her fight by herself. The current her is a true Archangel..."
Su Lin's heart stirred, and he exchanged glances with Hilulele.
It seemed that Weini and Tashiniya's relationship was deeper than he had imagined.
Could it be that Tashiniya's angelic power had returned?
But even so, that would only be a matter of level and strength.
The current Tashiniya was clearly dominating the Ender Guardian with pure combat skill. It was truly bizarre.
The members of the Tasiniya Demon Subjugation Squad were one more peculiar than the last.
Everyone was silent. After Veronika and Lulu recovered, they excitedly observed Tashiniya's battle.
They couldn't understand it or learn from it, but that didn't stop them from appreciating it.
Lulu still didn't understand why her Captain, who was clearly so powerful, always avoided fighting.
If she had that combat ability, she would feel restless if she didn't fight for a day.
Su Lin inexplicably felt a bit redundant—he didn't need to understand the Ender Guardian's combat characteristics at all; Tashiniya could handle it with ease.
Are all people from the Celestial Realm this outrageous?
If so, Su Lin would have to reconsider his plans for the Celestial Realm.
Everyone pondered for a long time, each with their own thoughts. Unbeknownst to them, the Ender Guardian was finally struck down by Tashiniya's last sword.
Once the Ender Guardian lay prostrate on the ground, completely dead, it dropped a Guardian Gauntlet and a music disc.
Tashiniya flapped her wings, floating in the air, her face full of pride.
A moment later, she flapped her wings and returned to Deconis's front.
She seemed not to notice anyone else, gently placing her hand on Deconis's head. The arrogance on her face vanished like a reflection in water, replaced by a gentle expression.
"It's dead."
"Captain is so cool!"
Lulu's face was flushed with excitement.
This Tashiniya was simply too reliable!
Tashiniya turned to look at the others.
Her gaze swept over Su Lin, Lulu, An Duo, and the others, one by one.
This aloof demeanor made Lulu, who had just been about to rush forward to hug Tashiniya and cheer for her great victory, freeze.
No matter how slow her reactions, Lulu sensed that something was off with Tashiniya.
Finally, Tashiniya's gaze settled on Weini's face, and her eyes, like still, dead lakes, showed faint ripples.
Tashiniya's crimson lips parted, as if to say something.
But Weini was a step faster, embracing Tashiniya tightly and whispering in her ear:
"Go to sleep, Tashiniya Palmica—"
Weini's words seemed to possess some magic. After they fell into Tashiniya's ears, Tashiniya slowly closed her eyes.
The biting, cold aura receded like a tide, and Tashiniya's legs went soft, causing her to fall into Weini's arms.
That silly smile reappeared on her face—she seemed to be having a beautiful dream.
"Everyone, this Archangel is super brave!" Weini helplessly picked up Tashiniya, then turned to look at the others, who seemed to want to speak but held back.
She never expected Tashiniya to suddenly go berserk today, but thankfully it was only because Deconis was in trouble.
But no matter what, everyone had seen it, especially with Su Lin present. How was she going to explain?
"I'll take her."
To Weini's surprise, Su Lin seemed to have no intention of pressing for answers, simply taking the now-snoring Tashiniya with a smile.
Aelita and Lulu also crowded around, curiously poking Tashiniya. Tashiniya instinctively opened her mouth and bit, and the smile on Lulu's face vanished.
Pulling her saliva-covered finger away, Lulu pouted, full of resentment.
"The Captain isn't cool and like a War God anymore!"
After Su Lin gestured for Lop to pick up the treasures dropped by the Ender Guardian, he led everyone out of the abandoned fortress.
Although a bit confused and sudden, this abandoned fortress had indeed been fully explored and was basically worthless now.
After this, the soldiers who were killing Ender Mites here could continue to slay dragons for Yamato, and continue to search for new abandoned fortresses.
Su Lin led everyone home.
Aelita thought Su Lin holding Tashiniya was taking advantage, so she forcibly took her over.
How to put it—
As expected of the elf tablet with the talent to perceive others' emotions and thoughts,
She was as accurate in judging people as Deconis!
Weini followed closely by Su Lin's side, and after a long hesitation, she couldn't help but speak:
"Don't you want to know what's going on with Tashiniya?"
"I'm still quite curious."
Su Lin shrugged, then added:
"But if you don't want to say, there's no need to force it. This is Tashiniya's secret, just like we haven't asked you what your relationship is with Tashiniya, or with the Celestial Realm."
"Moreover—"
After a moment of silence, Su Lin's gaze became exceptionally gentle as he looked at Tashiniya, who was being held by Aelita.
That guy really had terrible sleeping habits; saliva was all over Aelita's chest.
Perhaps it was also because the tablet wasn't comfortable to rest on?
Shaking his head, Su Lin said softly:
"No matter what Tashiniya's situation is, at least her sincerity and care for her companions are clear to everyone—"
"She only suddenly became like this because Deconis was in danger."
"That's enough."
Su Lin turned his head and smiled at Weini.
"Just as we won't ask who or what god you are, here, everyone is only a companion."
"Who doesn't have a secret or two?"
To be honest, his identity as the creator of the MC Dungeon, wasn't that even more outrageous than theirs?
But Aelita and the others didn't ask, nor did Tashiniya and her group.
Therefore, Su Lin didn't need to dig into the identities of Weini and Tashiniya.
He only needed to be sure that they were companions he could trust to have his back.
Weini breathed a sigh of relief, and a moment later, looked at Su Lin seriously and said:
"Sorry—Tashiniya still needs time, and so do I." Su Lin shrugged.
"Then let today's events be just a clumsy joke."
"...Thank you.""