"You filthy beast! Treacherous brats!"
Before anyone could speak further, Hoolay's roar echoed through the entire Shackling Prison, adding another layer of eerie dread to this already deathly place.
------------------------------------------
Stifling, an unprecedented kind of stifling!
Hoolay had imagined many possible ends for himself: leading his people to continue sweeping across the cosmos, or utterly shattering the Xianzhou Alliance. But he had never imagined he would fall to such a fate, controlled by a bunch of mindless plants!
He couldn't even struggle!
The contrast drove him mad!
Oh, right, he couldn't move now.
But a moment later, Hoolay shook his head. Complaining wouldn't get him out of here.
"General Jing Yuan, the ambushing Borisin have been completely annihilated!"
As they spoke, another report came in.
Hoolay wasn't surprised at all to hear that the Borisin reinforcements had been wiped out.
With three Arbiter-Generals working together, not to mention those blue little brats, even escaping in one piece would be impossible.
That was the real reason he gave up struggling, otherwise, he wouldn't have surrendered just because of these strange plants.
Seven hundred years of the Ambrosial Arbor's punishment hadn't worn down his body, why would he yield to these creepy vines that came from who-knows-where?
Lingsha looked at the vines entangling Hoolay and said with emotion, "I never thought they could burst forth with such tremendous power. Even I didn't expect this."
It was a pity, though, these plants were no longer by Godzilla's side, and their future evolution would inevitably slow.
Lingsha felt slightly regretful at the thought.
Still, being used to capture Hoolay was a remarkable achievement.
And as the one who set them up in the Shackling Prison, this merit would certainly be recorded under her name. With the right maneuvering, perhaps she could finally clear her master's injustice...
Lingsha fell into deep thought.
But Jiaoqiu spoke up: "Generals, I'd like to extract some of Hoolay's flesh and blood to make medicine, would that be allowed?"
Though Feixiao's illness could be treated more safely and efficiently by the Healer Lady, Jiaoqiu couldn't resist the lure of the rare human remedy that was Hoolay.
"You filthy beast!!!" Upon hearing Jiaoqiu's words, Hoolay's eyes widened in fury, and he growled in a low voice.
Victory or defeat, he wasn't the kind of creature to break down over a few taunts.
But he had remembered the scent of this filthy foxman!
Once he got out again, he would tear him apart!
No rush, Jiaoqiu could still be dealt with.
Three Arbiter-Generals, huh? You think you'll always stick together?
I endured seven hundred years, I can wait another seven hundred!
And the one who created these plants... he would make them pay too!
Besides... according to Mok Tok, the universe was more chaotic than ever, with countless powers vying for dominance. The universe never lacked schemers.
As one of the great cosmic forces, and with the Borisin being the strongest faction among them, Hoolay believed he could still rise again.
He just needed to wait, a little longer...
...
Once the judge had Hoolay, now bound into a ball by vines, locked back into the Shackling Prison, the matter came to a close.
"It's just a pity that my research isn't complete. I was only able to restrain Hoolay because it was our first encounter and he'd just escaped. If he had time to adapt, this trick wouldn't work again."
Lingsha gently shook her head and sighed.
Those creations had only been effective because of the surprise attack and Hoolay's greatly weakened state after seven hundred years of imprisonment.
Otherwise, with their incomplete form, there was no way they could have captured him.
"Miss Lingsha, you underestimate yourself. Without your efforts, who knows how much more it would've cost us to capture this madman? And hasn't this new security measure proven itself effective? Once perfected, it will surely make the Shackling Prison as solid as a rock!"
Jing Yuan chuckled softly.
He had judged that the vines could work based on the circumstances. If someone like him had been bound by them, he could still break free with the right technique.
Hoolay, while powerful, had been severely weakened, no water, no strength, no clarity of mind.
With time and a cool head, escape might have been possible, but he never had that chance.
His capture was inevitable.
And now, with another layer of defense added to the Shackling Prison, it was something worth celebrating.
"Hey, give me a few of those seeds, would you? I could really use them too."
Feixiao crept up beside Lingsha and whispered in her ear.
"If General Feixiao wants them, how could I refuse? But the Scalegorge Waterscape is, after all, Godzilla's domain. The plants that grow there all have their own unique properties. Whether they can be used medicinally still needs testing."
Lingsha covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"No worries, as long as I have them. They're super convenient. Once you get them working, we'll be able to clear out a huge amount of space in Yaoqing Prison, very efficient."
"Lingsha, if you've got good stuff, don't forget about this old man~"
"Elder Yan, how could I ever forget you?" Lingsha replied sweetly.
They chatted away without concern for the presence of Yanqing and Yunli nearby.
The two glanced at each other and turned their heads away.
...
Once Yanqing and Yunli had taken their leave, the others' expressions changed again.
"Those Borisin were acting very strangely. Yes, we lured them in on purpose, but the automaton's should've given them serious trouble, yet they dealt with it easily. That's not normal, not even for elite troops."
Feixiao spoke gravely.
As a front-line general, she understood the Borisin well. Those savage wolves definitely didn't possess that level of strength!
"It seems we have to add another task: investigate the force behind the Borisin." Jing Yuan shook his head helplessly and murmured,
"Let me think… Borisin's appearance hasn't changed, so it must be internal. Genetic modification? Abundance's blessings? Or perhaps some other encounter?"
Everyone was confused.
Unfortunately, those Borisin died too quickly, the vines consumed them too thoroughly, and the investigation was halted.
For now, they could only wait for someone behind the scenes to slip up, and then strike with thunder...
...
The disturbance in Xianzhou Luofu did not attract much attention.
Meanwhile, in Penacony, numerous forces had gathered, an event that could be called a crisis of the universe.
Dreamflux Reef.
Penacony's place of exile, and one of the few places untouched by the Family, the untouched Penacony.
"Who would've thought there was a whole town beneath Penacony… this is just…"March 7th didn't know what to say.
They were originally investigating a murder, and also trying to uncover what the Family were hiding in Penacony.
Then Aventurine, for some inexplicable reason, suddenly flipped out, everything had been fine at first, but then he just went berserk.
In the end… she remembered Miss Acheron swinging a blade, and then… nothing.
When they woke again, they were here.
Dreamflux Reef.
A place untouched by the Family.
The real Penacony.
Those who are 'killed' by that Memetic Entity of the Reverie Domain will fall here and live out their days. To travel back and forth requires the Memetic Entity known as [Death].
For example…
"Working in a dream and then running all the way back here after getting off? That's just way too weird! You two! Don't treat this like it's something normal!"
Pointing at the confused Misha and the indifferent Gallagher, March 7th let out a soul-crushing scream.
How many times are you going to shatter people's spirits?!
"So, Mr. Gallagher, after going through all this trouble to gather us, Stellaron Hunters, Family representatives, surely it's not just for tea and a chat, right?" Welt spoke up.
Gallagher nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping across the Nameless present, still with that same demeanor.
"Then, it's time to reveal the truth. The founder of Dreamflux Reef, the Watchmaker's assistant, and the one who sent out that invitation…"
"History Fictionologists, Gallagher, alias 'Penacony.'"
...
"History Fictionologist?" Stelle and March 7th looked at Gallagher, suspicion growing in their eyes.
So the one who sent the invitations and spread the Watchmaker's legacy was this guy in front of them?
And he even had them running around all over Penacony… Elio of the Stellaron Hunters might be involved, but since he/she isn't here right now, this guy became the perfect target.
"For Mr. Gallagher to go to such lengths gathering so many forces and focusing on us in particular… the problem he's trying to solve must relate to our specialties." Himeko said calmly.
The more Gallagher behaved as though his plan was proceeding perfectly, the more it revealed how critical the Nameless were to his intentions.
"A Stellaron? But Penacony seems perfectly fine, there's no sign of Stellaron corruption at all!"March 7th blinked in confusion.
What's even going on here? These people's thoughts jumped around too much, her smart little head just couldn't keep up…
No! It's these awful people hiding key information. No matter how clever she was, she couldn't pull clues from thin air!
"Stellaron corruption manifests in countless forms. You, seasoned Trailblazers, should know this best. And don't forget where we are." Gallagher said flatly.
"Asdana Star System… Penacony… Dreams?!"
Himeko's pupils shrank. With that, everything made sense: Stellaron, Penacony, the Watchmaker, Mikhail's betrayal of his family, it all fit.
Stellarons are never a good thing. Only something threatening Penacony could've driven Mikhail to break from the Family.
And a Stellaron is undoubtedly the most likely cause!
Gallagher didn't answer directly. Instead, she turned to gaze at the massive accretion disk formed of memory matter.
A foreboding aura enveloped all of Penacony, but only Dreamflux Reef could clearly perceive this unstable memory matter void. Penacony was still trying to cover up the fact that its dream was on the verge of collapse.
The Stellaron was still emitting dangerous resonance.
Harmony… Heh. Miss Robin only regained her voice after arriving in Dreamflux Reef.
To trample harmony in the name of Harmony, it was disgusting.
"Let's go. You're the Nameless, so it's time for you to meet those three."
Leaving those words behind, Gallagher walked forward without looking back. The others exchanged glances and followed.
...
"I used to think Penacony's dream was truly beautiful." Robin hugged her knees, voice low.
"Only after arriving in Dreamflux Reef did I realize, everyone here is closer to Harmony than those in Penacony's dream." Sunday sat beside her, listening to his sister's words.
...
"Razalina, Tiernan…." Gallagher recited the names etched into the three cold tombstones before him in a somber tone.
"Mikhail Char Legwork..." As for the one in the middle… it was a nameless grave.
"These are their cenotaphs. Now, the Trailblazers of the next generation have arrived. Aren't you happy?" Gallagher lowered his head, gazing at the tombstones.
He is guarding the silent tombstones of these three people from the time they fell.
He stays here, guarding these few monuments, inside of which there isn't even a single bone or a speck of ashes, just waiting, guarding the Express that Mikhail never managed to summon before his death.
"Heh... If Pom-pom could see you, I really don't know how hard they would cry." March 7th wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say.
Stelle searched her mind for a joke suitable for the occasion.
Gallagher chuckled softly, then tilted his head up, gesturing for everyone to look into the sky.
"Go there. Mikhail left something behind for you in that place. Though I have no idea what it is. That guy never told me, and there's no clue in what he left. Probably some kind of meme entity again, that old trickster… I didn't expect him to leave behind any backup plans anyway."
Himeko finally smiled: "Mikhail believed in the nameless of the future, and we will also unconditionally believe in the nameless of the past. They were willing to devote their lives to the land they loved, how could they leave with regrets for the future?"
"Ha, I'm someone who believes in mystery. My life philosophy is to believe in nothing. That kind of thing, you'll have to comprehend yourselves."
Gallagher shook his head and turned his gaze toward Stelle, who had remained silent.
"This gray-haired one, are you the one who can summon that Eidolon beast?"
"You know me?" Stelle looked up in confusion at Gallagher's voice. But since when did Godzilla become an Eidolon?
"Heh, that ruckus you caused spread across the entire universe. The kind of tourists who can make it to Penacony all have their means, it's not hard to trace your path."
Gallagher gave a short laugh and let out a long breath. "But if that's the case, maybe the chances of success really are higher."
A beast, an Eidolon who slashed open a rift, and this girl with something powerful behind her… perhaps, Mikhail, our efforts might really witness the rebirth of Penacony.
"Oh right…" Just as the group was about to leave, Gallagher suddenly spoke. They turned to look at him.
"...Before you go, could you show me a picture of that conductor named Pom-Pom? I'm curious, what does that Express conductor those drunkards keep mumbling about actually look like?"
Looking at the calm look in Gallagher's eyes, Himeko nodded with a smile.
...
Watching their departing backs, Gallagher lowered his head and looked at the photo on his phone.
This generation of nameless were posing with a cute creature that resembled a rabbit. March 7th had one eye closed and was sneakily raising her hands above the Express.
Stelle stood to the side, watching March 7th's antics.
Dressed in green, another nameless stood expressionless on the other side. Himeko and Welt, one reading a newspaper, the other sipping coffee, smiled at the scene.
A photo full of life…
"…Mikhail, maybe once upon a time, you were just as playful as they are."
...
Meanwhile, in the universe, a streak of crimson cloud moved swiftly like a burning flame across the sky. Wherever it passed, be it solid asteroids or life-rich planets, nothing could stop its advance.
Occasionally, a passing spaceship would witness the scene and instantly panic, turning around and fleeing.
That was no cosmic wonder, no nebular fire cloud. That was clearly a swarm of insects large enough to cover the sky!
A new, unrecorded Disaster swarm!
At such moments…
"Hey."
The group frantically working their ship's controls froze. On the screen, a blank-faced 'girl' was staring at them.
"Take a detour. Run straight after turning."
"…Oh oh oh!!!"
Finally coming to their senses, the crew quickly changed course. Just as the girl said, so long as they didn't block the way, those insects wouldn't even glance at them.
Letting out a long breath, someone suddenly realized,
"That person… that looked like Miss Herta!"
...
Ignoring those who were now panicking at having discovered her identity, Herta followed the Disaster swarm, the questions in her heart growing heavier.
"Strange, there's no one in this direction. Where are these bugs heading?"
The universe was vast, and the swarm's goal unclear, even Herta didn't know what they were trying to do.
Could it be mating season? Are they looking for a place to lay eggs?
But that didn't make sense. Jarilo's living conditions were far better than anything in space, what were these little creatures thinking?
No matter how much she speculated, the insects ignored her.
But from their perspective, the Herta trailing behind them… Was basically someone close to the true Sovereign. Their sharp senses instantly recognized the strong Godzilla aura on her.
The Sovereign is watching us!
Press forward! Victory is certain!
Of course, the insects' minds weren't capable of forming such complex thoughts.
They only knew that in front of the Sovereign, All enemies shall be crushed! Devoured completely!