Chapter 8: The Gaze of an Aeon
“Hmph! Come down here! If you have the guts”
March 7th, with her bow drawn and arrow notched, shouted up at the Doomsday Beast hovering above.
ROOOOAAARRR!!
Seemingly provoked by March 7th’s taunt, the Doomsday Beast really did dive down from the sky!
“Be careful!”
Seeing the situation was getting dangerous, Wende immediately pulled March 7th and Stelle back a bit, while Dan Heng and Himeko quickly retreated to avoid the Doomsday Beast’s attack on the platform.
ROOOOAAARRR!!
The Doomsday Beast roared as it descended from the sky, then launched an attack on the train team.
“Attack its arms and the dark matter engine in the middle! That’s its weak point!”
Himeko sternly directed everyone, pulling out her multi-purpose toolbox.
Inside the space station, because the power of the railgun could potentially damage the station, Himeko usually fought using drones and her toolbox.
However, the external shield of the Herta space station had already been damaged by the Doomsday Beast, and they were outside the support module. Even using the railgun here would not pose a significant threat to the space station as a whole.
“March!”
“Got it!”
Dan Heng and March 7th moved into position, with Dan Heng charging ahead while March 7th began to form a shield for him with her bow, attempting to disrupt the Doomsday Beast with arrows.
Himeko took a more direct approach, controlling drones for close-quarters combat with the Doomsday Beast.
“Stelle, be careful.”
Wende glanced at Stelle, who was brandishing a baseball bat with a determined look, and reminded him.
“Mm! Don’t worry!”
Stelle smiled at Wende and then followed Dan Heng into the fray.
Seeing the four working together in front, Wende naturally didn’t just stand by—after all, he was a member of the Astral Express too!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh
Three lightning rods instantly formed in Wende’s palms and flew toward the dark matter engine of the Doomsday Beast.
Bang, bang, bang!
Seeing the three lightning rods leave shallow marks on the dark matter engine, Wende clicked his tongue in disappointment. He had forgotten that his character card had the lowest attack power in the entire game!
“Looks like I’m not cut out for damage dealing. What a waste…”
Wende sighed helplessly and then formed three more lightning rods to strike!
However, this time, the three lightning rods were aimed at the three members of the train team.
As Dan Heng was dodging an attack from the Doomsday Beast’s arm, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation behind him and then noticed his body felt much lighter.
“Thanks!”
Dan Heng knew this was Wende’s doing, and without worrying about whether Wend could hear him, he raised his gun and stabbed fiercely at the Doomsday Beast’s arm.
“Break!”
The armor on the Doomsday Beast’s left arm was instantly shattered by Dan Heng’s powerful wind element attack!
“Dan Heng! Nice work! We can’t fall behind either!”
March 7th, also empowered by Wende, became fired up and quickly shot an arrow made of six-phase ice at the Doomsday Beast’s right arm, freezing it solid.
With both of the Doomsday Beast’s arms controlled, Himeko’s railgun was now fully charged.
“Boom!!!”
A railgun shot descended from the sky, enveloping the Doomsday Beast in its blast, and the precise strike shattered the dark matter engine!
With the engine destroyed, the Doomsday Beast lost its ability to move, and its massive body fell towards the platform. Stelle, who had been waiting for this moment, seized the opportunity, swung his bat, and struck the beast’s head fiercely.
ROOOOAAARRR!!!!!!
But evidently, as a weapon of the Anitmatter Legion, the Doomsday Beast was not so easily defeated.
The moment she approached, the previously destroyed arm and engine instantly repaired themselves, and a strong wind accompanied by destructive force blew Stelle away.
“Watch out!”
Wende caught the flying Stelle in his arms, astonished to see the Doomsday Beast soaring again.
He had thought that real battles and games couldn’t be compared, but he didn’t expect that the beast had a second phase!
“Everyone, pay attention!”
Himeko, anxiously watching the soaring Doomsday Beast, realized that the railgun was not yet fully charged and they would have to endure this attack!
“March! Wende! Get ready to deal with the attack!”
In this critical moment, Himeko shouted to the only two members of the Astral Express with protective skills.
“Leave it to us!”
March 7th’s six-phase ice shield immediately enveloped everyone present, while Wende prepared his lightning rods. Contrary to the destructive power of lightning, the healing power was hidden within these rods!
“Honestly, real combat is so much more intense than turn-based battles!”
Wende thought to himself as he set down the unconscious Stelle, not noticing the overwhelming power surging within her body.
Whoosh!!
A strong wind blew in! The Doomsday Beast flapped its wings and, behind it, dozens of destructive forces began to concentrate into one point! The power of destruction was gathering in the anti matter engine!
“Boom!!!!”
Dozens of strikes, like Himeko’s railgun, slammed towards the train team!
In an instant, the entire support module shook violently! The once-flat platform was shattered into pieces by the destructive attack!
Fortunately, the train team dodged in time, and with the protection of March 7th’s six-phase ice, everyone only sustained minor injuries.
“Go!”
The healing lightning rods quickly restored everyone’s injuries and even added a layer of enhancement.
“Thank you, Wende, you’ve been a great help!”
Himeko thanked Wende and, taking advantage of the brief moment after the Doomsday Beast had just released its attack, the newly charged railgun precisely pierced through the Doomsday Beast’s head!
Sensing something, the Doomsday Beast, even under the railgun’s attack, released another destructive strike aimed at March 7th, whose shield had just vanished!
“March! Be careful!”
Himeko and Dan Heng both cried out in alarm. At this critical moment, a figure stepped in front of March 7th and took the attack with their body!
This figure was none other than Stelle!
As if destined, or perhaps according to the plot, Wende watched as Stelle, seemingly awakened by some power, quickly rushed toward March 7th.
That figure, not much bigger than March 7th, was gradually enveloped in light...
Then! A force even more terrifying than the Doomsday Beast’s energy cannon surged onto the platform.
The power of destruction was instantly infused into Stelle’s body, and her stellaron began to show signs of turmoil!
A powerful force erupted from within Stelle!
The Doomsday Beast was instantly melted by this force, and the others behind Stelle were pressed down by this overwhelming power.
From her perspective, that familiar and gentle voice appeared again, accompanied by a pair of cold golden eyes.
The gaze of the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook!
Uncertain if it was an illusion, Stelle felt as though the star god symbolizing destruction seemed to shift its gaze slightly...
With a crisp sound, her vision fell into darkness.
………………….
On the platform
March 7th held the unconscious Stelle in her arms, deeply moved as she looked at the now peaceful and quite nice-looking face.
“Thank you…”
Gently brushing the dust from Stelle’s face, March 7th smiled at the new arrival.
“Mr. Yang! Good thing you arrived in time! Otherwise, we’d have been in big trouble!”
Looking at the damaged platform nearby, Welt adjusted his glasses.
“It’s alright now, let’s move to another place to talk.”
Before leaving, Welt gave Wende a meaningful look.
Feeling Welt’s gaze, Wende felt helpless.
Because...
Just now, the Aeon’s extra gaze was on him! But the god didn’t seem very interested, just glancing at him briefly.
At that moment, Wende’s character panel briefly flashed the path of destruction next to the path of abundance, but Wende didn’t notice.
“Mr. Yang! Why did it take you so long to get here! We almost got done in by that Doomsday Beast!”
March 7th pouted and complained to Welt walking ahead.
“Sorry, I was indeed a bit late. The Astral Express needed protection too, so I spent more time dealing with that.”
Welt sincerely apologized to March.
“Ah! Mr. Yang! I was just kidding! No hard feelings!”
Seeing Welt’s serious expression, March 7th quickly waved her hand and explained.
“But, Wende fighting so well really scared us.”
March 7th looked at Wende, who was carrying the unconscious Stelle, and teased.
“Ha ha, you guys never asked me before.”
Wende replied with a smile. If he wasn’t carrying Stelle, he might have shrugged in resignation.
But indeed, when he first arrived here, he had stayed in the train’s cabin, not stepping out, focusing entirely on understanding this world.
If it hadn’t been for the appearance of the game system, he might not have even wanted to leave the train!
“Yeah, you were like a shut-in before. If we hadn’t been bringing you food every day, hum! You’d have starved on the train!”
March 7th crossed her arms, her small nose lifted high.
“But I remember that most of the time it was Pom-Pom who brought me food, right?”
Recalling the small Pom-Pom standing at the door with a tray, it had really startled Wind at first.
Due to the perspective, he didn’t see Pom-Pom at first and even thought there might be a ghost in the train!
"Eh? Didn’t we bring you meals too?"
March 7th’s big blue-pink eyes stared intensely at Wende’s handsome face.
"Um… well, thank you, March."
Wende turned his head to avoid March’s burning gaze.
"Mm! That’s better! What should we eat when we get back to the space station?"
Seeing Wende concede, March 7th nodded with satisfaction and took out her phone, which had just restored network communication, and started browsing the space station’s food ordering app.
"Ah..."
Watching March 7th focus intently on the various foods, Wende sighed helplessly.