"Huh? You... you are..."
The person who'd just materialized out of thin air left Bronya utterly flabbergasted.
"G-grown up Lynelle?"
"Not grown up, just briefly merged with a certain senior for a bit."
Lynelle clapped her hands together, then, to Bronya's shocked cry, decisively drew a spear and slashed her own wrist without hesitation.
"Lynelle? What are you doing?"
Lynelle didn't answer. Instead, she swiftly controlled the blood gushing from her wrist, drawing a circle around the spots where Bronya and Cocolia stood.
"When the fighting starts, I might not be able to look out for you two. So, just a little precautionary measure."
"After all..."
Lynelle, who had already healed the wound with a pulse of white light, looked towards a point not far ahead.
"That slow-witted Stellaron probably realizes something's wrong by now, doesn't it?"
Sure enough, as Lynelle's words faded, a ripple of energy, intensely familiar to Cocolia, instantly spread across the entire Everwinter Hill.
Only, this ripple was accompanied by a palpable, violent fury that anyone could feel.
"This... Lynelle, what did you do? Why is the Stellaron so enraged?"
"Lynelle has no idea~"
Lynelle tilted her head slightly, stuck out her tongue, and made a cute face.
However, paired with the mature body she now possessed after using the Cecilia character card, the gesture carried a hint of a charming, almost wifely allure.
"Actually... I just got a little inspiration from the bird wallpaper. By following the threads controlling Cocolia, I could reverse-erode the Stellaron's main body to some extent. But because of the power gap, I couldn't really deal any effective damage."
"So, I just planted a cute Pom-Pom avatar inside it instead~"
"..."
Bronya fell silent for a moment. "You... and that Sampo from the Underworld, you'd definitely get along, wouldn't you?"
It seemed Bronya wanted to say more, but the Stellaron, now furious beyond measure, gave the three of them no chance.
With Cocolia no longer available as a vessel for its descent, the Stellaron could only conjure sharp icicles out of thin air, coalescing them into a vaguely humanoid monster that looked seriously unsettling.
"Finally forced to show yourself, huh..."
Lynelle's eyes narrowed slightly. She pushed off with her legs, launching herself instantly into the air. Then, the Black Abyss White Flower in her hand erupted with a blinding radiance.
"I am the black that devours all; I am the white that gives birth to all..."
"First Rated Power! Unleash the— wait no, Banish Bloom!"
An intense black mist, almost tangible, condensed along the tip of the black-and-white spear and extended forward, before Lynelle thrust it hard into the ice wall the Stellaron had formed.
However, perhaps because the Black Abyss White Flower's power leaned more towards being anti-biological, or maybe because Lynelle's own base strength was lacking—whatever the reason, after piercing through just four layers of the ice wall, the black mist at the spear's tip was completely spent.
"Gah! The difference from the real one is way too big! Is my base strength really limiting the Cecilia card this much?!"
Lynelle let out a frustrated cry at her poor results, quickly pulling the spear back and retreating.
She held the spear defensively in front of her, blocking several ice shards the Stellaron shot in quick pursuit.
She had initially hoped that the weapon accompanying the character card, the Black Abyss White Flower, wouldn't be as limited by her own strength as the card itself seemed to be.
Now, it was clear she'd been too optimistic.
But, if she couldn't win head-on, there were other ways. After all, Lynelle had arranged for another team as a fallback for the plan.
It's just... well, this way might require her and Stelle to endure a bit of hardship.
Hers would be physical, while Stelle's would be more... psychological.
--+--
Time rewinds to a few minutes earlier.
Just as Bronya and Cocolia were about to reach Everwinter Hill, Stelle and the others, following Lynelle's instructions, arrived at the location of the Engine of Creation.
In the original storyline, Cocolia had summoned the Engine of Creation, intending to use it against the Express crew.
But before it could land more than a few blows, Stelle, awakening to the Path of Preservation, took control of it instead—a classic case of "Hey, why is my own fist hitting me in the face?"
However, in Lynelle's plan, the arena for her clash with the Stellaron required Cocolia to be either an ally, neutral, or a dead enemy. In any case, there was no chance she'd be summoning the Engine of Creation.
So, Lynelle assigned this task to the Express crew and the Underworld team.
Of course, expecting Stelle to spontaneously awaken to the Path of Preservation here was also unlikely.
She needed a little... push. And as for what that push was... Ehehe?
Sure, Stelle might be furious afterward, but that was a problem for Future Lynelle to deal with after the Belobog incident was over.
Good luck, Future Me!
Perspective shifts back to Stelle's group.
"This Engine of Creation is so huge! If we could get it running, Mr. Yang would probably be over the moon, right?"
March, standing at the foot of the giant construct, let out a sincere praise.
"But how do we even start this thing? Do we use that black card Lynelle gave us?"
"Let me see..."
Stelle took out the cheat-code black card Lynelle had provided and pressed it against the Engine of Creation. But unlike the previous mechanisms, the giant didn't automatically activate. Instead, the card itself was repelled and sent flying.
Simultaneously, a block of text projected from the black card.
["Don't bother, the black card won't work on this thing. Don't let its big robot looks fool you; it's actually closer to an idealistic construct under the effect of Preservation, like the Geomarrow. Its mechanical structure alone could never support its movement."]
["So, you'll need to try other methods to activate it, like the power of the Path of Preservation, etc... Anyway, if it really doesn't work, just abandon starting the Engine and come join the team fight."]
"So all those puzzles we skipped along the way have accumulated into one big final exam here?" Stelle said, feeling a bit drained.
"The Path of Preservation... March, your Six-Phase Ice can create shields, right? Does that count as..."
"The Amber Lord would never consider something that simple as Preservation!" March retorted.
Just as the group was still debating how to start the Engine, a powerful wave of energy suddenly erupted not too far from them.
"Ah! It seems Lynelle has already started fighting the Stellaron!" March exclaimed. "Uh, wait, is that even Lynelle?"
"Without a doubt, aside from looking a full size larger, that's Lynelle," Stelle stated, able to clearly see the girl's signature pink hair from this distance.
"But, it seems Lynelle is losing to that... Stellaron avatar, or whatever it is," Dan Heng murmured, his brow slightly furrowed.
As the strongest fighter present (or at least, he used to be), his analysis of the battle situation was sharper than the others'. He could clearly see that Lynelle was definitely at a disadvantage.
Which meant, in Lynelle's plan, the Engine of Creation must be an indispensable part?
But why would she pin their victory on something we might not even be able to activate, especially since none of them had set foot on the Path of Preservation?
Unless...
Dan Heng stole a glance at Stelle, noticing her growing anxiety as she watched Lynelle lose ground. He silently averted his gaze.
Stelle had inexplicably awakened to the Path of Destruction back on the space station. Could it be... Lynelle wanted her to step onto the Path of Preservation this time?
But how could Lynelle be sure Stelle would definitely awaken to Preservation? And even if she did, how could she be sure Stelle could then activate the Engine of Creation?
"..."
Dan Heng's thoughts hit a dead end.
However, right at that moment...
"Ah! Oh no!"
"Lynelle!"
The cries from March and Stelle came simultaneously.
Dan Heng looked up to see the distant battle seemed to have reached a fever pitch.
To be precise, the Stellaron's side had reached fever pitch.
Whether the girl had left an opening or it was just a sheer power difference, by the time Dan Heng looked up, the girl who had been barely holding on was now completely impaled through the chest by a massive ice spear, pinned against a rocky cliff face.
For any normal person, that would have been instantly fatal. Even with the Trailblaze's blessing, Lynelle's chances looked slim.
But... hadn't Mr. Yang mentioned that Lynelle was notoriously hard to kill?
His mind wrestling with the contradiction, Dan Heng spoke decisively, "March, Seele, you two come with me to support Lynelle right now. Stelle, you can use Lynelle's black card, so you stay here and keep trying to start the Engine of Creation."
Based on his hunch about Lynelle's plan, Dan Heng specifically added over his shoulder, "Stelle, it seems the Engine of Creation is key to the outcome of this entire battle. It might even be a matter of life and death for Lynelle and the rest of us..."
"Do it for Lynelle! Use the Engine of Creation on that Stellaron!"
"Huh? But the black card already confirmed it's useless..." March sounded confused, but under Dan Heng's serious expression, she quickly chose to follow his lead.
"I..."
Stelle looked bewildered at the massive Engine of Creation. But the image of Lynelle being impaled by that ice spear flashed in her mind, making her grit her teeth.
She knew that with Lynelle's unique nature, that blow might not have killed her. But... what if Lynelle suffered even worse injuries later?
What if the Stellaron had some specific attack effective against data-lifeforms?
"I understand... I'll find a way to start it."
--+--
Meanwhile, at the main battlefield on Everwinter Hill.
"Lynelle! A-are you okay...?"
Seeing Lynelle impaled, Bronya cried out and almost immediately moved to step out of the "protective circle" Lynelle had drawn.
"D-don't worry..."
An intense black mist erupted instantly from Lynelle's chest, completely eroding the ice spear that had achieved a 'heart-to-heart' connection with her.
"It's just a mortal wound... No big deal."
"A-are you even human anymore...?"
Watching Lynelle stumble down from the air, the gaping hole in her chest straight out of an ancient history book, even Cocolia couldn't keep the horror from her voice.
"I said it's no big deal..."
Casually slapping a layer of Creation power from the Black Abyss White Flower over the hole in her chest, Lynelle raised her spear again, aiming it at the Stellaron in the sky.
As mentioned before, as a Divine Key drawn from the system, Lynelle only had one chance to use the Zeroth Rated Power of the Black Abyss White Flower.
Using that chance would restore her from any injury, no matter how severe.
And the Cecilia character card happened to include an ability similar to Battle Continuation, allowing her to forcibly sustain herself through enhanced regeneration from her holy blood, continuing to fight for a limited time.
So... for Lynelle, since she'd already been pushed into using her last stand state, it didn't matter how terrible she looked externally.
She could just wait until the effect was almost over before using the Black Abyss White Flower to reset her status.
More importantly... maybe Stelle, watching from afar, would see her current state and be stimulated enough to unlock the Path of Preservation...
Of course, if it didn't work, it was fine. Worst case, after the Cecilia character card's time limit expired, Lynelle could just 'break the cane' and call for backup.
Thinking this, Lynelle felt her fighting spirit surge once more.
"Again!"
A dazzling light shone once again from the Black Abyss White Flower. Lynelle didn't hesitate to use the character card's second and final chance to activate the First Rated Power.
"—!"
Similarly, the Stellaron, seemingly also surprised by Lynelle's tenacity, let out a sharp, piercing whine from its humanoid form. It raised one hand high, and streams of dark golden energy began converging in its grasp.
Lynelle, familiar with Cocolia's boss fight mechanics, recognized this immediately as the equivalent of Cocolia's second-phase ultimate attack in the game.
"I am the black that descends to hell; I am the white that arrives from heaven; I shall overturn heaven and earth, and restore order to the world..."
Almost in the same instant, Lynelle swiftly changed the chant for the Black Abyss White Flower, switching from the offensive First Rated Power to the defensive-counterattacking Second Rated Power.
"Black Abyss White Flower, Second Rated Power—Holy Lance Countercurrent!"
A white light surged forth, replacing the previous black mist enveloping the spear. Driven by the Black Abyss White Flower's power, Lynelle held the spear diagonally in front of her.
The white power of Creation enveloped the area where the three of them stood, bracing to directly receive the Stellaron's ultimate attack.
However...
Before the Stellaron could finish charging its attack, a gigantic fist wreathed in red flames descended from the sky, smashing down heavily upon the Stellaron.
If this were the game, the word 'WEAKNESS BROKEN' would probably be floating above the Stellaron's head right now.
"Get... away from my Lynelle!"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.