"Huh? This thing actually starts?!"
March, who'd arrived late, stared blankly at the sky. "Wait, then what was the point of us running all this way?"
"Didn't Lynelle say it before? The fact this thing can move at all is a miracle. How much it moves depends entirely on the Preservation's divine power. And look at Stelle's hand."
Dan Heng pointed at Stelle, who was standing on the Engine of Creation's shoulder. "That red, shield-like spear... we've never seen it before."
"That is the lance of the first Supreme Guardian, Alisa Rand."
This time, Bronya provided the answer for them. "Theoretically, that weapon was lost long ago. After all, that Supreme Guardian walked into the Fragmentum alone with that lance at the end of her life... I never thought we'd see it again here."
"And also... sorry. Even though I followed Lynelle here, my combat ability isn't much help..."
"It's fine, look, we're in the same boat..."
March grinned sheepishly and rubbed her head. "Everyone just needs to do their part. For example, protecting our position can be handed over to me now!"
"Even though we both use ice, and I can't break its defenses... but breaking through my Six-Phase Ice isn't so easy either!"
"But right now, that Stellaron probably doesn't have the energy to spare for us."
Dan Heng summoned his Cloud Piercer, looking up at the two figures fighting above. "And also... if I go up there too, wouldn't the ratio of spear users in this team get a bit too high?"
"Oh, no, wait."
Dan Heng suddenly lowered his head again.
"Never mind. Let's just deal with these Destruction creatures and ice spikes the Stellaron spawned around us... Seems like it's not a good time to go up and support them anyway."
"Eh? Why..."
March took a quick glance upwards, then immediately understood and lowered her head. "Dan Heng, Seele, don't rush! Let this lady get everyone shielded first!"
Meanwhile, Stelle, who had just successfully landed a solid "Preservation's Iron Fist" punch on the Stellaron, also managed to catch Lynelle in the air.
"Lynelle, your body..."
"Don't worry about it."
Lynelle chuckled and puffed out her chest. Her previous 'Cecilia' cosplay outfit was now gone, replaced by... well, a rather alluring figure exposed through a large tear in her clothes. "I did that on purpose."
"On... on purpose?"
"Yeah..."
A proud Lynelle completely failed to notice Stelle's darkening expression.
"Because in this state, I have Battle Continuation! Even if my body suffers severe injuries, as long as I'm not chopped into mincemeat, things like getting stabbed through the chest or even cut in half can be fixed by using the Zeroeth Rated Power."
"So, since I'd already triggered the battle continuation anyway, I figured I might as well fight a bit more aggressively. Can't waste the revival chance from Black Abyss White Flower... Hey, hey, hey?!"
Before she could finish, Lynelle felt a sudden weight on her chest as a gray-haired head slammed into it.
"You're okay... that really scared me."
Perhaps because her whole face was buried in Lynelle's chest, Stelle's voice sounded muffled.
"Sorry, sorry... Ouch—"
Before Lynelle could finish, a slight stinging pain came from her chest. Of course, the sting was brief, almost immediately replaced by a damp, licking sensation.
'It's not fair that only I get punished when I make mistakes. Lynelle did something stupid, so she gets punished too.'
Stelle lifted her head from Lynelle's chest and puffed her cheeks angrily.
"That bite was just collecting a little interest. We'll settle the rest later... For now, let's deal with the Stellaron problem."
As she spoke, the girl nuzzled again into the soft, sweetly fragrant warmth of Lynelle's chest, then planted her War-Flaming Lance firmly on the Engine of Creation.
"This big guy mostly listens to me now, but there's not much Preservation power left in it. So, if you have any plans, Lynelle, better make them quick."
"Honestly, at this point, there aren't really any plans left..."
Her cheeks still flushed from the little 'raccoon's' earlier transgression, Lynelle nonetheless made a serious effort to compose herself.
"The amount of energy the Stellaron can release during each active period is limited. Plus, I severed the connection between the Stellaron and its host, Cocolia, right at the start of the fight, and I've been protecting Cocolia from being controlled again... So, the Stellaron's energy expenditure has actually been 'over limit' the whole time."
"Even if it's a Stellaron, the energy stored inside isn't infinite. And from what we've seen, this one doesn't seem to have the ability to self-destruct."
"We just need to hold out until it uses up all the energy from this tantrum."
Lynelle waved the communicator in her hand. "So next, just go ahead and control the Engine of Creation to pummel it boldly. I've already notified Mr. Yang and Himeko to come down quickly and seal the Stellaron."
"Oh, right, Mr. Yang said he's very interested in this big robot. If possible, save a little energy for him to study... Maybe next time he can handcraft an identical Engine of Creation."
"Okay."
Stelle nodded heavily.
"Then, in the name of Preservation—Engine of Creation, punch it!"
Unlike its original version which could only attack intermittently, with Stelle directly powering it via the War-Flaming Lance, the Engine of Creation slowly raised its hand.
And then...
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
The Engine of Creation gave Lynelle a live demonstration of how to hand-pound beef meatballs.
"Tsk tsk..."
Watching the Stellaron, which had just summoned a cluster of ice spikes only to be immediately smashed to pieces, Lynelle shook her head with a look of pity.
'If break effect teams had a character with this kind of shield-breaking efficiency back then, I'd have definitely pulled for them... But I guess it's just unlucky. Stelle just happened to gain full control of the Engine of Creation, and she just happened to be full of pent-up frustration...'
Completely unaware of where that 'pent-up frustration' would ultimately be directed, Lynelle remained immersed in her schadenfreude.
After a period of passionate mutual pummeling, finally, under yet another iron fist from the Engine of Creation controlled by Stelle, the Stellaron seemed utterly drained.
Its manifested form shattered layer by layer, and the core itself quietly dimmed, retracting its light.
"Finally, it's over..."
March 7th, who had been assisting with defense through several waves of attacks below, wiped the virtual sweat from her brow. "But... why does it look like there's a Pom-Pom printed on that Stellaron?"
Ahem...
Lynelle, who had descended from the Engine of Creation, guiltily turned her head away. "That... might be my doing."
"Alright, children."
A sound of clapping came from behind the group.
"You performed excellently. Next, leave the matter of sealing the Stellaron to me."
"Mr. Yang? When did you get down here?"
"Actually, I came down a while ago. I was just watching from the back."
Mr. Yang coughed awkwardly. "After all, it's not often one gets to see something this big... Ahem, I'm getting off track."
"In any case..."
The old man pointed towards the small group huddled together nearby. "You probably still have more important matters to attend to, right?"
"The Express will stay here for a few more days as originally planned... During this time, give your first shared adventure a proper conclusion."
--+--
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.