Black Herta showed a bitter smile: "I... I really don't have the face to see her. Perhaps it's not time yet. When I'm ready, I'll make up for the debt I owe from back then."
She looked at Xing with some hesitation and added, "Don't worry, that child Herta is actually very lacking in love inside, especially needing comfort from close ones, like a hug. Every time she was wronged outside when she was little, she would cry and run home, then hug me for a long time before she could recover..."
(Black Herta tried hard to keep her facial muscles taut, preventing herself from laughing.)
A scene immediately flashed in Xing's mind: a young Herta crying and throwing herself into her sister's arms, and her heart was filled with emotion.
(What a pair of deeply affectionate sisters whose fates were cruelly intertwined!)
She immediately felt that the task on her shoulders was incredibly sacred.
"Okay! I promise you!"
Black Herta nodded with "gratification" and handed the black curtain puppet in her hand to Xing: "By the way, this puppet will be my Meeting gift (first meeting gift) to her. She must... miss this puppet very much, right?"
Her tone was meaningful (chuckle~).
Xing solemnly took the puppet, as if accepting a sacred mission: "I will personally give it to her!"
Black Herta nodded reassuringly, then took out a card of special material with dark purple patterns on its edges: "This is your 'travel expenses' from your sister; I can't let you help for free."
Xing quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need! How can I accept money for doing good deeds!"
"Take it, it's just a small token," Black Herta insisted.
After several refusals, Xing finally "couldn't decline the kind offer" and accepted the black card. Her favorable impression of this "Sister Herta" soared:
(Herta's sister is so nice! Gentle and generous!)
"Um, Sister, I need to go find my companions," Xing said, putting away the black card and the puppet.
Black Herta nodded understandingly, turned gracefully, and looked out the window again, as if lost in her own thoughts: "Go."
Xing looked at her with gratitude, walked to the door, and put her hand on the doorknob.
The moment she turned the doorknob, a question she had overlooked suddenly flashed through her mind—(Wait! How did Herta's sister get in? I remember locking the door!)
As soon as this thought arose, before she could think about it further, she felt the doorknob in her hand... move by itself!
"Click."
The door was pushed open a crack from the outside.
Xing's eyes widened in surprise. Before she could clearly see who was outside the door, she heard a swift whoosh of wind by her ear!
"Mar...?" Xing only managed to utter one syllable—
"Bang!"
(Ugh... why is it... my head... again?)
Her vision went black, and she softly collapsed downwards again.
The figure agilely caught her, preventing her from falling directly to the ground, then respectfully reported in a low voice to Black Herta, who was still facing away from the door, gazing out the window:
"Madam, it's done."
And "Sister Herta," standing by the window, merely looked at Belobog's hazy sky outside the window, and a pleasant yet mischievous arc finally curved her lips, which she could no longer suppress.
[Pathstriders Interstice]
Jack stood in a chaotic yet dazzling peculiar space. Under her feet were flowing starlight, and all around were countless narrow Paths leading to unknown directions.
She looked around in confusion, quickly replaying the previous scene in her mind—Cocolia's ice-cold shot, infused with Stellaron power, had pierced through her body, and then... her consciousness was thrown here.
(Is this the 'Pathstriders Interstice' the Madam mentioned?)
She understood in her heart.
Her gaze was soon drawn to a weapon stuck in front—it was a long spear burning with scorching flames, standing silently in the center of the light, exuding the immense power of the Preservation Path.
She knew she needed to pick it up.
As she stepped towards the Flame Lance, the corner of her eye suddenly caught sight of a figure lying on the ground not far away.
She approached curiously, and when she saw the person's face clearly, she couldn't help but be stunned.
(Xing? Why is she here?)
The gray-haired girl in front of her had her eyes tightly closed, as if in a deep sleep, her breathing steady.
A trace of doubt flashed through Jack's mind, but the situation was urgent, leaving no room for detailed thought.
(Never mind, I'll complete the mission first.)
She bent down and carefully helped Xing up.
Xing's body was limp, relying entirely on Jack for support.
Jack half-held, half-supported her, walking step by step towards the burning Flame Lance.
The closer they got, the more they felt the scorching heat that seemed capable of melting the soul.
Jack gritted her teeth; she could feel a burning pain in her skin protesting.
She adjusted her posture, letting Xing's body lean against her, and then—she made a decision that went against her ancestors' teachings.
Instead of gripping the scorching spear shaft herself, she took Xing's dangling hand and guided it towards the Flame Lance's handle.
(Sorry, Xing. But this temperature... it's a bit too much.)
Jack thought without a shred of guilt.
When Xing's fingers touched the flaming metal handle—
"Hiss—Ahhh!!! Hot, hot, hot!!!"
The originally "unconscious" Xing, like a cat whose Tail had been stepped on, suddenly opened her eyes and let out a series of piercing screams, struggling violently, trying to shake off the source of the heat!
She was completely unaware of the situation, only feeling as if her palm was pressed against a red-hot branding iron, the pain so intense it felt like her soul was leaving her body!
Jack was prepared. Her arm, like an iron hoop, firmly held Xing's body, while she exerted force with her hand, forcing Xing's struggling palm to tightly grip the Flame Lance's handle!
"Ahhh—!! Let go! Who are you?! Let go of me!"
Xing was in such pain that tears were almost streaming down her face, twisting frantically, but Jack's strength far exceeded her imagination.
"Bear with it!"
Jack whispered in her ear, no longer hesitating. Using the force of Xing (being forced) to grip the spear, she suddenly exerted strength from her waist and abdomen, let out a low growl, and pulled upwards sharply!
"Chhh—!"
Accompanied by Xing's heartbreaking screams, the Flame Lance, deeply embedded in the aura, was forcefully pulled out!
Blazing flames instantly enveloped the spear body, also scorching Xing's "first to bear the brunt" palm.
The moment the Flame Lance left the ground, Jack's consciousness seemed to be infinitely elevated. A vast and boundless will, like a colossal entity constructed from countless dazzling yellow crystals—a fleeting glimpse of Preservation Qlipoth—was imprinted in her perception.
It was a gaze as heavy as a mountain and as expansive as the starry sky.
The next second, the world spun.
The senses of the real world instantly returned.
Jack found herself standing on the ground, tightly gripping the Flame Lance, which had now partially reined in its flames but still exuded immense heat and majesty.
Below, March 7th, Danheng, Bronya, and others were anxiously rushing up.
Cocolia, suspended in mid-air and deeply integrated with the Stellaron's power, showed an expression of disbelief for the first time.
Jack didn't hesitate. She raised the Flame Lance in her hand, her cold golden eyes locking onto Cocolia in the air, the spear tip pointing at her.
The ensuing battle was without suspense.
The Flame Lance, imbued with the power of the Preservation Path, became the final straw that broke the camel's back.
In despair and the Stellaron's backlash, Cocolia's body gradually transformed into ice-blue light particles, dissipating into Belobog's biting cold wind, leaving only Bronya kneeling on the ground, letting out uncontrollable, sorrowful sobs.
The cost of victory was suffocatingly heavy.
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