Chapter 9 - 9 - The Gaze of Destruction

"Attack its hands and the dark matter engine in the center! Those are its weak points!" Himeko shouted to the others, taking out her all-purpose toolkit. Inside the station, Himeko usually fought with her drone and toolkit, as her orbital cannon was powerful enough to risk damaging the structure. But now, the Doomsday Beast had already destroyed the Herta Space Station's external shield. And here, on the exterior platform of the Support Zone, even deploying the orbital cannon wouldn't pose a significant threat to the station's overall integrity. "March!" "On it!" Dan Heng and March 7th flanked the beast. Dan Heng charged forward while March 7th, after conjuring a shield for him, began to harry the Doomsday Beast with her bow. Himeko was even more direct, maneuvering her drone into close-quarters combat with the beast. "Stelle, be careful." Wende glanced at Stelle, who was gripping her baseball bat with a face full of fighting spirit, and offered a reminder. "Mm! Don't worry!" Stelle flashed a smile at Wende, then followed Dan Heng's charge. Watching the four of them fight cooperatively up ahead, Wende certainly wasn't going to stay idle. After all... he was a member of the Astral Express now, too! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Three lightning needles instantly coalesced in his palm and, under Wende's control, shot toward the Doomsday Beast's dark matter engine. Clank! Clank! Clank! Seeing the three needles leave only three shallow marks on the engine, Wende inwardly clicked his tongue. He had forgotten that the character card he created had the lowest attack power in the entire game! "It seems a healer really can't deal damage. What a waste..." Wende sighed helplessly. He then formed three more needles and flicked them out with the back of his hand. Only this time, the needles were aimed at his three crewmates. Dan Heng, who was dodging a swipe from the Doomsday Beast's arm, suddenly felt a jolt of numbness from behind, followed by a sensation of his entire body becoming much lighter. "Thanks!" Dan Heng knew it was Wende's doing. Not caring if he could be heard, he raised his spear and thrust it fiercely at the beast's arm. "Break!" The armor on the Doomsday Beast's left arm was instantly shattered by Dan Heng's attack, which was wreathed in the power of wind! "Nice one, Dan Heng! We can't fall behind either!" March 7th, also enhanced by Wende, felt her fighting spirit ignite. An arrow formed from Six-Phased Ice flew from her bow, striking the Doomsday Beast's right arm and freezing it solid. With that, both of the beast's arms were neutralized, and Himeko's orbital cannon had just finished charging. "BOOM!!!" A blast from the orbital cannon descended from the heavens, instantly enveloping the Doomsday Beast. The precision strike directly shattered its dark matter engine! With its engine destroyed, the Doomsday Beast lost its ability to move. Its massive body collapsed toward the platform. Stelle, who had been waiting for this moment, immediately seized the opportunity. Gripping her bat, she swung it ferociously at the beast's head. "ROAR!!!!" But it was obvious that as one of the Destruction Legion's anti-astral weapons, the Doomsday Beast was not so easily defeated. The instant Stelle drew near, its shattered arm and engine regenerated in a flash. A powerful gust of wind, infused with the power of Destruction, blew Stelle into the air. "Careful!" Wende caught the airborne Stelle in his arms, his eyes filled with astonishment as he looked at the Doomsday Beast, which was once again flying. He had thought that a real battle couldn't be lumped together with the game, but he never expected this—the damn thing really did have a second phase! "Everyone, on your guard!" Himeko shouted, watching the rising beast with a tense expression. The orbital cannon hadn't finished recharging. It seemed they would have to take this next hit! "March! Wende! Prepare for impact!" At this critical moment, Himeko yelled to the only two members on the Astral Express with protective abilities. "Leave it to us!" March 7th's Six-Phased Ice shield instantly enveloped everyone present. Wende's lightning needles were also ready, but in stark contrast to the destructive power of lightning, the healing power of the Abundance was hidden within them! Gotta say, a real battle is way more intense than a turn-based one!! Wende thought to himself as he set Stelle down. He completely failed to notice that the ears of "Stelle," the embodiment of player will, had turned a vivid red for reasons that were clearly not from injury. WHOOSH!! A powerful gust of wind swept over them! The Doomsday Beast beat its wings and rose higher. Behind it, dozens of streams of destructive energy began to converge on a single point! The power symbolizing Destruction condensed within its dark matter engine! "BOOM!!!!!" A barrage of attacks, each like one of Himeko's orbital cannon blasts, hurtled toward the crew! Instantly, the entire Support Zone shook violently! The once-flat platform was shattered into pieces by the destructive assault! Fortunately, the crew's timely evasion, combined with the protection of March 7th's Six-Phased Ice, meant they only suffered minor injuries. "Go!" The healing lightning needles immediately mended everyone's wounds and, on top of that, applied another layer of buffs. "Thank you, Wende. That was a huge help!" Himeko said gratefully. Seizing the opening just after the Doomsday Beast had finished its attack, she fired her newly charged orbital cannon, which accurately pierced the beast's head! As if sensing something, the Doomsday Beast, even under the assault of the orbital cannon, managed to unleash one final blast of destructive energy. Its target was March 7th, whose shield had just vanished! "March! Watch out!" Himeko and Dan Heng cried out in alarm. But at that crucial juncture, a figure dashed in front of March 7th, taking the full force of the attack with their own body! That figure... was Stelle! As if fated, or perhaps as if the plot was always meant to unfold this way, Wende watched as Stelle, seemingly awakening some new power, rushed toward March 7th. Her figure, not much larger than March's, was gradually engulfed in light... Then, a power even more terrifying than the beast's energy cannon erupted across the platform. The power of Destruction poured into Stelle's body, and the Stellaron within her showed faint signs of going rampant! An immense force burst forth from her! The nearby Doomsday Beast was instantly vaporized by this power, and the crew members behind Stelle were pinned down, oppressed by the sheer force of it. From Stelle's perspective, that familiar and gentle voice appeared once more, accompanied by the merciless gaze of a pair of golden eyes. The gaze of Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction! Unsure if it was a hallucination, Stelle seemed to feel that this Aeon, the very symbol of Destruction, had briefly shifted its gaze... With a crisp tapping sound, Stelle's vision went dark. On the platform, March 7th held the unconscious Stelle in her arms, looking with deep gratitude at the girl's face, which was quite pretty when quiet. "Thank you..." Gently wiping the dust from Stelle's cheek, March 7th smiled as she looked at the newcomer. "Uncle Yang! It's a good thing you arrived when you did! Otherwise, we would have all been in big trouble!" Looking at the platform, which had been ravaged beyond recognition, Welt pushed up his glasses. "It's over now. Let's find another place to talk." Before leaving, Welt shot a meaningful look at Wende. Feeling Welt's gaze, Wende felt rather helpless. Because... The one who had just received the Destruction Aeon's extra attention... was him. However, that being didn't seem to have much interest in him, merely glancing his way for a moment. At that moment, on Wende's character panel, the symbol for the Path of Destruction flashed once beside the symbol for the Abundance, but Wende did not notice.