Xingtie: Can’t you just let me focus on completing the commissions?

"Embrace me...become us...cleanse this world..."

"Meet me, become one, and unleash an endless vengeance against those who sneer at us!"

Chapter 048: Protective Power, come out!

The Jackal's grand scheme?

It doesn't matter anymore.

Holding the strange life form that was beginning to transfer power to her, Cleo could feel every inch of her skin being filled with imaginary energy.

Without the intervention of fate, that strange life form seemed to act as some kind of converter.

Her body began to fill with immense imaginary energy; before this, she had sought to open this door countless times.

However, there has been no response for more than 20 years.

The absence of destiny's power means a natural weakness in clashes with stronger opponents.

Therefore, throughout her past life, she had always carefully lay low, refraining from testing monsters whose life energy levels had surpassed hers.

According to her family's records, the power of the city builders came from a "protector" star god. She had seen all this in an ancient book from some unknown era, and she had fantasized countless times about one day being able to obtain that power like her ancestor.

but……

Reality seemed to have played a cruel joke on her.

That power was once very far away from her.

And now...

In the face of despair, two forces chose her.

One thing, a curse that afflicted her life.

One, a power that cursed Belloberg.

but……

All of this was now meaningless. She walked out of the corridor of the Technology Development Department and once again gazed upon the majestic Kripper Castle, and the Silvermane Iron Guards and their officers lined up in formation.

She stared at this descendant of the Langdao family, a strange smile appearing on her lips. Strange knowledge began to flood her mind, and her speech became incoherent and erratic...

"Landau? When did you arrive? Yes, I've been waiting for you too."

"Cleo Jackal, an arrest warrant is hereby issued for you on charges of seriously endangering public order, illegally trespassing on important government buildings, and illegally organizing a violent armed group. You have the right to remain silent, but every word you utter will be considered..."

"Arrest? What a long-winded talk! Why bother with such trivialities? I'm right here, you can come and kill me if you want."

"Your crimes must be made public."

"...Boring! Ridiculous! Ridiculous... Everything I, Cleo, have longed for has turned out to be such a pathetic thing..."

Like a madwoman, or like a wise sage who has seen through the ways of the world, a twisted and morbid smile suddenly appeared on her face.

"If that's how it is, then destroy it! What's the point of keeping all this boring stuff?"

"Star Core Power! Come forth!!"

In an instant, imaginary energy surged wildly, filling the entire space with terrifying freezing air. Scale-like silver-white armor began to cover the woman's body, and accompanied by a maniacal, mad laugh, the Cancer of Myriad Realms, bound for over seven hundred years, was finally completely released.

"Beasts of the Rift, I am here, gather here!"

As the source of the Rift's birth, the Star Core naturally possesses the ability to control the Rift's creatures. When Cleo's voice rang out, the entire sky seemed to echo with her manic laughter and roars, a voice mixed with joy, pain, anger, humiliation, resentment... hundreds and thousands of emotions, like a collection of the emotions of countless lives.

They are cursing, they are cheering, they are roaring ferociously, they are praising the greatness...

The beings from the Rift were originally the creatures that once inhabited the material world; they were once sentient beings.

Even if they lose their intelligence after transforming into beings from different realms, every being in this universe retains a "record" of "memory," which can be called a lingering obsession.

After countless emotions gather, they converge within the star core, which then selects the "sounds" suitable for its chosen ones to hear.

Praise, curses, shouts, and screams...

It was as if everything in the world, all the myriad lives, was calling for the sole savior, the one who would cleanse the world of its sins.

Our Lord! O noble and mighty Lord of Heaven!

Let us inflict heavy destruction upon this sinful world!

"Great Devastation! Great Annihilation! Great End!... I will strike you with the hammer of utter annihilation!"

Cheers and chants echoed across the sky above Beloborg, while curses and roars continued unabated, and countless distorted and disordered sound channels swept through every corner of this doomsday fortress.

The chaotic murmurs, like the whispers of the dead, drew countless Belobergians to them, causing them to gradually lose their senses and slowly make their way toward the nearest rift.

"A chilling judgment—!"

After summoning all the beings from the rift, Cleo, who had become one with the Star Core and transformed into the Illusionist Destroyer, lowered his eyes. Behind him, thousands of icy prisms appeared, instantly transforming into thousands of sharp arrows that shot towards the Silvermane Iron Guards not far away.

"That's enough—!"

The silver-blue violin case began to manifest its protective power. As the case landed on the ground, the deep blue protective force materialized it into a shield powerful enough to block the overwhelming ice crystals.

"The will to preserve and protect—!"

Like a sudden downpour of ice crystals, they rained down on the protective force. The arduous training he had undergone for decades, day in and day out, finally bore fruit. His tough and strong muscles, bones, and tendons allowed him to stand firm even as he resisted the immense force of the ice crystals.

Moved by his resolute figure, the Silvermane Iron Guards behind him roared in unison and began frantically pulling their triggers, firing continuously at Cleo, who was hovering in mid-air.

"The Star Core has granted us our revenge!"

With her arms raised high, Cleo coldly surveyed the nearly one hundred Silvermane Iron Guards, her gaze icy as if they were lifeless objects. She gathered the surrounding imaginary energy into her hand. While she didn't possess exceptional imaginary energy manipulation skills, the sheer magnitude of the energy rendered so immense that she no longer needed to consider so-called imaginary energy control; she only needed to gather and release it...

"This is the echo of world destruction—!"

"I'll fight you to the bitter end!!"

Gazing at the nascent sphere of imaginary numbers, Jepard suddenly let out a low roar, then abandoned his hold on the spot and sped off like a high-speed train at full throttle towards the location of the Illusion Destroyer.

"Please help me one more time, sister."

In his youth, his sister gave him the "harp case" that he used when he joined the Silvermane Guard. It became his "strongest support" in overcoming many difficulties and obstacles. As long as he had it by his side, it was as if his sister, no, as if all his family members were standing behind him, supporting him.

and so……

Not a single step can be retreated.

Behind him were his family, Bellenberg, and...

Lights of thousands of homes!

"In the name of Landau! Never fall—!"

The power of preservation!!

Come out here!

[P.S.: The book will be released tomorrow, so please subscribe to the first issue, brothers. At this stage, I'm not asking for a lot, just at least 400 first-issue subscriptions to keep me writing. If it exceeds 400 first-issue subscriptions, I'll add an extra chapter, a minimum of five chapters and a maximum of ten.]

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Chapter 049: The Builders' Inferior Stones, Worthless. (First Subscription Requested, 1/10)

Upon arrival in Belleburg, the entire city was already in a state of chaos.

Large crowds haphazardly huddled together on the street.

Upon arriving here, everyone seemed to hear countless chaotic murmurs. Cocolia gazed at the scene before her, slowly closed her eyes, and then spoke with certainty.

"It's the star core."

"The star core has been unsealed."

In the past, although the Land race could hear the voice of the Star Core, that was because of the first Land Alisa. But now... with everyone able to hear the voice of the Star Core, it is obvious that the Star Core has been freed from its restraints and has been completely released from the restraints that have been sealed for seven or eight hundred years.

"As expected, it's one thing after another."

Fireworks' entire design didn't have any precise purpose in essence. She simply saw through some undercurrents hidden within the upper echelons of Belloberg, and then laid them all out in the open, gently pushing things forward to cause all the conflicts to erupt completely.

"The star core is located near Krippar Castle."

Because she was once chosen by the Star Core, Cocolia still retained some of her sensitivity to it. She looked towards the west of Kripper Castle, where the Technology Development Department was located.

"I'll try to find a way to wake up the people and evacuate them."

Among the crowd, the intelligence officer volunteered to take on the most troublesome task, number 933. After hesitating for a moment, March 7th also raised her hand.

"I'll come along too. Although I'd like to go with you to cause trouble for those bad guys, I'm worried about some of the elderly people at the Goethe Hotel."

"Bronya, you stay."

Cocolia glanced at the situation on the street, then calmly began assigning tasks to those she could still influence.

"The star core is erupting in Beloberg, and the scale of the rift will expand rapidly. Try to gather as many Silvermane Iron Guards as possible and then protect the people and take them to a safe place."

"Linke, you go with Bronya too. If there are any injured people, you should give them emergency treatment first."

"I understand, Mother."

"I will help, Guardian."

“Hiluva…”

"Don't order me around."

"with me."

When Cocolia said those words, Hilva's expression clearly showed a moment of surprise. Mr. Emiya received another response from the emotion value system. These two blonde beauties seem to have very low defense...

"You know the truth."

After muttering something indistinctly, Hilva's face showed a clear increase in fighting spirit. Cocolia smiled. After losing the Star Core, looking back at the crimes she had committed in the past, she knew that her sins were unforgivable. But apart from those heavy sins, it seemed that she had something left behind from even earlier times...

Looking back now, it's a real pity. There were so many people around her, like Hilva and Changguang, so many people who shared the same ideals and worked hard and took action. But she let them down, was seduced by the Star Core, and abandoned her own stance... This may be her last dance, but there are still people willing to go to the battlefield with her. At this moment, she has no regrets.

"...let's go."

With a relieved and serene smile on her face, Cocolia strode confidently toward the final battlefield.

"Xing, which way do you want to go?"

Emiya's gaze fell on the little gray-haired girl. According to the normal script, the little gray-haired girl should have obtained the lance during her duel with Cocolia, thereby gaining the remaining protective will of Beloberg and receiving a glimpse from Kripper.

However, since the script cannot be replicated, the only person who can decide on a new path is Hoshi herself.

Upon hearing Emiya's question, the little gray-haired boy seemed to understand something. After a moment's hesitation, he chose to follow his heart without any doubt.

“I’ll go with March. Like March, I’m concerned about some of the elderly people and children there, and... I also want to go and see the lower city area.”

"good."

Emiya reached out and placed his hand on the little gray-haired boy's head, speaking softly.

"When you have the opportunity to make a choice, never let yourself regret it."

The little gray-haired girl's eyes widened slightly as she recalled the words the woman named Kafka had spoken to her when she first awoke. She opened and closed her lips, seemingly wanting to ask Emiya if there was any hidden meaning behind those words, but Emiya seemed to understand and smiled gently.

"There's no need to delve into the deeper meaning; we simply look forward to your growth, that's all."

He raised his hand again, constructing Alisa's lance and infusing it with a portion of the Great Guardian's spirit. If the little gray-haired girl could truly evoke the will of protection, the lance and the spirit of the past Guardians would be enough to guide her to that possible crossroads.

"Go."

Pushing the little gray-haired girl towards March 7th and Pella, watching the group of young people walk into the crowd, Cocolia, Hilva, and Emiya all showed a few smiles. Perhaps they were somewhat in sync, because they suddenly looked at each other and then laughed in unison. With this laughter, Emiya also felt a little more favorably disposed towards the two people beside him.

After that, the three of them didn't say anything more. They simply walked calmly against the flow of people and quickly headed towards the actual battlefield.

……

"A pointless struggle."

Jepard, who was trying to approach her location, was sent flying back for the fourteenth time. The voice of the Illusionist now carried a hint of mockery.

"The inferior stones used by the city builders are not worth mentioning."

"Those great beings never care about the fate of us ordinary ants."

“I have prayed to Him countless times, but all I get in return is the cold reality.”