Looking at Aimou’s eager appearance, Kronin took a few seconds to realize what Aimou was doing. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
She was declaring war on two people, declaring war on two Prayer Believers?
Kronin almost laughed, not understanding where Aimou’s support was from, was it the Fantasy Species? Kronin, a Condenser from the Origin School, could clearly sense the continuous decline of Ether reactions on Aimou.
After six Time Reversals, the Fantasy Species gradually headed towards destruction. This was, after all, a power created by humans, completely incomparable to the Devil’s Power.
Gold stood beside Kronin, feeling a strange sensation at this moment, clearly meeting Aimou for the first time, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with her.
In a trance, Gold could see vague illusions, all segments of battle, seemingly with Aimou’s figure within them, and in more segments, he saw several other people.
Following this were extremely horrifying scenes, first Fast died, then he himself was severely injured, he witnessed Hood dying tragically before him, followed by himself being pierced through the chest by the Staff Sword...
Gold held his head, cold sweat running down his neck. What he saw should be an illusion, yet the feelings brought by this illusion were so real, as if in some timeline, all of this had truly happened.
Suppressing his inner anxiety, Gold advised Kronin, who was not disturbed by the illusion and didn’t understand what Gold was worrying about.
With vigilance, Aimou watched the two men, as a vessel for the Fantasy Species, she was very aware of the decline of the Fantasy Species. In the continuous collapse, the chaotic temporal sequences affected everyone.
In previous pursuits of Aimou, Gold was very close to contacting the Fantasy Species and naturally was also influenced by this power.
As the Fantasy Species gradually fell out of control and into destruction, memories meant to be obliterated started to flash back, but only as flashes.
These were coming from a Seeker of Glory’s last wish, and the lower the tier of Condensers, the more they were affected by it.
To perceive and escape from this chaotic Time Reversal, one needed at least a Defender tier, and even they could only perceive.
Kronin was the first to attack. With the support of Ethereal Amplification, he moved as fast as Thunder, reaching Aimou in the blink of an eye.
He drew two daggers, with sharp edges cutting arcs, weaving a deadly web.
Aimou raised her fists to guard her chest and head, like a tightly sealed shield, blocking all of Kronin’s arcs.
Her sleeve shattered, revealing the blackened arm beneath, then sparks burst forth from her arm, shallow scratches covered the metallic surface.
Kronin was somewhat surprised; he initially thought he could easily sever Aimou’s hands with this strike, but didn’t expect it was just a metallic prosthesis, with an astonishingly high hardness, even his cleaving only left marks.
Aimou wanted to match Kronin’s speed, but he was, after all, a Prayer Believer, his eyes’ halo constantly flickered, yet she couldn’t capture the trajectory of the daggers.
Aimou also tried to counterattack, but all resulted in misses, and every time she countered, Kronin seized the opportunity to deliver fierce heavy blows against her.
With the daggers’ trajectory shifting, Kronin spun and landed a direct kick on Aimou’s body,
as if hit directly by a cannonball, Aimou was kicked back but didn’t fall, her legs seemed welded to the ground, shattering bricks and keeping her standing.
Roots broke through the earth, wrapping Aimou’s ankles, then extending towards her torso. Seeing Aimou being controlled, Kronin stepped forward, slashing the daggers towards Aimou’s head.
Ripples surged from her chest, the Fantasy Species already deeply embedded in Aimou’s chest cavity, leaving clusters of glowing vein-like tendrils on her surface.
To avoid mishaps, Aimou covered her chest with one hand, and with the other, she picked up the Fire-Calling Staff, releasing fierce flames onto the ground below.
The ferocious fires instantly engulfed Aimou, as if she stood at a volcano’s mouth. Kronin raised his hand, Ethereal Barrier shielding him, simultaneously breaking through the sea of flames.
His speed didn’t slow at all, instead accelerated forward, stabbing towards the core of the blaze.
After the clear sound of metal, the Fire-Calling Staff was slashed in half by Kronin, yet behind the Fire-Calling Staff, Aimou’s figure had already vanished, leaving only roots burned to ashes, slowly collapsing.
As flames dissipated behind Kronin, a battered silhouette emerged from the fire.
Aimou was all tattered, her body covered in scorched black, but it was all worthwhile. Relying on Ethereal Concealment, she silently appeared behind Kronin.
In midair, Aimou raised her foot high, then smashed down towards Kronin like a guillotine.
Kronin abruptly turned around, flinging his hand, the dagger clashing with the limb, interrupting Aimou’s attack.
Aimou knew it wouldn’t be so easy. Upon landing, she flipped aside from Kronin, pressing her hand on the ground for support, her waist and abdomen driving her leg to kick towards Kronin again.
Humans require extensive training to gain muscle capable of releasing power, but Alchemy Puppet doesn’t need this and can be considered a natural combat machine.
Under the burst of Ethereal Amplification, Aimou kicked out a shadow, with an extremely fast tail end, as if a Whip Blade fiercely knocked on Kronin’s body.
Kronin wanted to retreat, but it was too late. He could only raise an Ethereal Barrier, with pure ether forming a defense line, appearing on his body surface.
After a brief contact, Kronin only felt a tremendous force striking him, and then countless cracks appeared on the Ethereal Barrier.
If Aimou were also a Prayer Believer like him, this strike might have broken the Ethereal Barrier and severely injured Kronin. Unfortunately, Aimou’s tier was only the First Stage of Condensation, and she didn’t have any directly lethal attack methods.
Aimou was not suited for direct combat with enemies, her Secret Energy had no effect in a solo situation.
Failing in her strike, Aimou tried to leap back to increase the distance, and suddenly the ground supporting her collapsed.
During the skirmish between Aimou and Kronin, Gold had long since taken control of the entire area. Under the drive of Secret Energy·Giant Wood Garden, countless branches broke out from the ground, wrapping around Aimou in layers.
She tried to struggle, but soon all her joints were locked firmly, turning into a wooden cage that trapped Aimou inside.
"Finally caught you."
Kronin toyed with the dagger in his hand, observing Aimou through the wooden cage.
At this moment, he noticed the peculiarity of Aimou’s body. Her limbs were all metallic, making Kronin wonder what Aimou really was. This might also be Aimou’s Secret Energy since there were indeed too many strange Secret Energies these days.
"Don’t waste time, prepare to return, Kronin."
After capturing Aimou, Gold did not feel relieved; the uneasy feeling in his heart grew stronger. He always felt something terrible was about to happen, and he just wanted to hurry back and regroup.
"Alright, alright, don’t rush. Let me think about how to disassemble her first."
Kronin examined the joints of Aimou’s limbs. He guessed he could use the dagger to pry into them and disassemble these metallic limbs. Without these limbs, Aimou would be essentially non-threatening.
Aimou looked at Kronin coldly, thinking about ways to resist, but just then, a discordant car horn sounded from afar, endlessly echoing.
Soon, the blurry sound gradually became clear; Aimou could even hear the roar of an engine.
Kronin looked around vigilantly. The street was empty, not even a pedestrian, let alone a car. He couldn’t figure out where the horn was coming from.
A jet-black shadow enveloped Kronin. He looked up, only to see a bright blue car bursting out of the mist, plummeting from high above.
Behind the car, a bridge extending from the mist was collapsing continuously, and as the car completely left the bridge’s surface, it collapsed into a cloud of dust.
A wild wind swirled around the car. This heavy metal construct actually began to glide in an eerie manner.
The car thudded on the ground, shuddering violently several times. The paint was scratched and scarred all over, and there were many dents in the car frame; the driver’s door was long gone.
It seemed to have driven out from a battlefield of gunfire and rain of bullets, showing no signs of slowing down after landing, fiercely rubbing against the ground, blazing a trail forward with sparks.
Aimou watched the car make its dramatic entrance in amazement, and then it barreled straight into the side, sending Kronin flying.
With a violent impact, the car came to a stable stop beside the wooden cage, while Kronin was completely sent crashing into a nearby dessert shop.
Even the Ethereal Barrier, under such fatal mass and acceleration, was easily knocked back like a pinball.
"Damn! Did we crash into something?"
"Don’t worry, I don’t have a driver’s license, so it won’t be revoked."
"Wait? That’s not what I’m concerned about!"
"Anyway, he wasn’t on the sidewalk, so he deserved it!"
Black smoke rose from under the hood, and strange conversations sounded from inside.
Gold came to his senses, roaring as he launched an attack on the car, and the people in the car began retaliating.
A gunstock shattered the rear window, followed by explosive rounds pouring out like a torrential rain.
"Good morning! Everyone from Opus!"
A figure wearing a black hood, looking like a bandit, poked out from the rear window, cheering while pulling the trigger of his gun.
A silver-white light flashed, serpentine blades slashed through the wooden cage, then retreated back into the car. Following the path of the serpentine, Aimou saw the person holding the steering wheel with one hand and waving at her like a taxi driver.
Bologue urged Aimou loudly, while repeatedly honking the horn on the steering wheel.