The grand stage for a duel to the death.
"Have you broken free from the dream of 'Order'?"
The pristine form of The Great Septimus questioned the Ranger before it.
"Don't use the words 'broken free.'"
Leon told it not to insult him.
"You make it sound as if I was truly trapped. I was just playing along, and you actually believed it."
Leon raised Vanquisher and aimed it at him.
The warm-up is over. Now, it's time to truly end everything!
"If your paradise can save more people, then come and cut off my path yourself!"
The Great Septimus showed no signs of retreat.
[Child, step aside. Leave this to me.]
The voice of the Dream Master echoed in Sunday's ears.
"Mr. Gopherwood, what do you mean by this?"
Sunday didn't understand what he was trying to do.
[We've underestimated him greatly.]
[The young lady with him is an Emanator of Enigmata. The foundations of Penacony have become extremely unstable; we must end this battle quickly!]
The Dream Master clearly hadn't expected Leon to have such backup.
This was a huge problem now.
Especially for a place like Penacony.
Enigmata and Remembrance were practically its Achilles' heel.
It was no exaggeration to say that a single Emanator from either of these two Paths was more difficult to deal with than two Emanators from the other sixteen Paths combined.
Truly, if Gopherwood had to choose.
He would rather fight an Emanator of Nihility than fight Emanators of these two Paths in Penacony.
If Emanators of Nihility even existed, that is.
"What?"
Sunday understood what this meant and was quite surprised.
Penacony's foundations were unstable.
This meant that most of the guests were waking from the dream.
They were escaping from his paradise. He hadn't managed to shelter anyone at all!
"What do you intend to do?"
Sunday hesitated for a moment before asking his plan.
[We will call forth 'Ena'!]
In this situation, the only option was to play his final, desperate card. He had to try and finish off Leon quickly to go and stop that girl.
"You want to resurrect an 'Aeon'?"
Sunday exclaimed. This went against his principles.
His ideal was not to resurrect an Aeon.
Nor was it to ascend to godhood.
He simply wanted to create a happy paradise that belonged only to humanity—one without Aeons, with only 'Order,' a place that could embrace the dignity and existence of all people.
If an Aeon descended, would it truly still belong to humanity?
[Not exactly. We are only 'temporarily' inviting Ena's presence, not 'resurrecting' it in the true sense of the word. The two are completely different.]
The Dream Master tried to persuade him not to be so obstinate.
This was a critical situation that required a critical solution.
Sunday remained silent.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Gopherwood. I can defeat him. Please, believe in me!"
After a moment, Sunday still rejected the proposal.
As the saying goes, it's easy to invite a god, but difficult to send one away.
He absolutely could not accept this proposal with the enormous risk of 'Ena' being resurrected.
[Sunday, don't forget, I am the true authority in 'The Family'!]
The Dream Master was left speechless and stopped his gentle persuasion.
[I have waited for this day for far, far too long. I will not tolerate failure! Do you want to see all your years of effort go to waste?!]
As his voice fell, the Dream Master forcefully seized control from Sunday, taking The Harmonious Choir "Dominicus" into his own hands.
Win? What's the use of winning?!
What it wanted was to kill!
To kill both Leon and that girl, eliminating the threat for good!
Not Sunday's sentimental approach of a simple defeat, followed by the soft-hearted mistake of trying to absorb them into the Dream of Ena!
The Dream Master realized there was one principle Sunday truly didn't understand.
That a gentleman knows there are those who cannot be saved!
Even the most selfless paradise should have guests who are denied entry. You can't just take in any stray cat or dog, especially not one that has already bitten or scratched you.
But Sunday, with his universal love, was like a saint!
He refused no one and wanted to redeem everyone.
He wouldn't even spare his enemies, spouting harsh words but lacking any true killing intent!
He was one step away from cosplaying Jesus on the cross!
So sentimental!
How could such a soft-hearted person be the face of 'Order'?!
"Mr. Gopherwood, you absolutely must not!"
Even as his consciousness was being suppressed, Sunday was still trying to dissuade him.
The might of an 'Aeon' was not something mortals could control!
Just like several hundred Amber Eras ago.
The 'Elation' Aeon transferred all of its power to a Noblesse Worm.
The very next second after the power was reclaimed, the worm's body exploded from the immense burden, and it died.
Their situation was similar to that of the Noblesse Worm.
The power they wielded wasn't obtained through proper channels to begin with.
The level of an 'Emanator' was their limit!
Just as he had said, it's easy to invite a god but difficult to send one away. Who knew what would happen if they took another step up!
"The work of all creation is complete."
As the words fell, the four abstract sprites positioned to the left, right, and front of The Great Septimus's massive body left their seats.
"The day of no doubt has arrived—"
The body of The Great Septimus began to glow with a faint golden light.
The Great Septimus raised its hand to the sky and tossed a small, round energy sphere high into the air. The four abstract sprites began to circle around the sphere!
"Embryo of Philosophy, reshape the heavens and the myriad things for us!"
Immediately after, a flash of golden-white light burst forth!
When the light dissipated, The Great Septimus had changed its form.
It had evolved from the "Harmonious Choir" into the "Embryo of Philosophy," and its voice had changed from Sunday's to the Dream Master's.
"On the first day, grant us truth!"
As the words were spoken, the rotating halo behind the Embryo of Philosophy shone with a sacred brilliance.
"So you've finally come out, you old crow."
Hearing this voice, Leon smiled happily.
"I was starting to think you were dead."
He had come for The Family, not for Sunday.
Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor.
'Vengeance' must be directed at the right target. What would it be if it were just unleashed indiscriminately?
The world that devoured people was the one controlled by Gopherwood's faction of The Family.
As someone who had witnessed Mikhail's entire life, he naturally knew who had backstabbed the Nameless.
The current Dream Master, Gopherwood—the old crow himself.
Sunday was just a dream-chaser.
If one had to be harsh, his actions today had only caused trouble, not any actual casualties.
He hadn't reached the point where he'd kill someone on sight.
That wouldn't be a 'Galaxy Ranger'; that would be a 'Lord Ravager.'
"Good, you're not dead. Because I'm here to send you to your death!"
If the one in control was Sunday.
He might have had to hold back a bit, to try not to kill his electronic pet.
But if it was this old crow, there was no need for that at all.
In fact, you could say he now had no choice but to use lethal force!
"To the dead 'Aeon,' I pay my respects!"
The 'Dream Master' ignored him, speaking to himself.
"On the second day, grant us a calendar."
The Embryo of Philosophy unfolded its crossed right arms.
"On the third day, grant us speech."
The Embryo of Philosophy raised its head.
Its face, marked with dark gold tear tracks, turned towards Leon.
_____
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