Chapter 54 - Fierce Battle, Cocolia!

However, how could a creation empowered by the might of [The Preservation] be defeated by a single orbital strike?

A sinister crimson light flared once more from the body of the previously dormant Engine of Creation. Its massive form powered up again, and the Engine of Creation stood tall upon the earth once more!

"This is bad..."

Seeing the reactivated Engine of Creation bring its giant palm crashing down towards Stelle, Wende's heart tightened.

Please... don't let anything go wrong!

His eyes were glued to Stelle, who was running for her life, as he silently chanted in his heart.

"Not good!"

The others, who were busy holding back the Fragmentum creatures, also noticed Stelle's predicament.

March 7th, having just frozen a Fragmentum creature solid, cried out in alarm.

"Damn it! How is that thing moving again?!" Seele gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with rage as she watched the giant palm about to engulf Stelle.

Dan Heng's brows furrowed tightly. He remained silent, his grip on Cloud-Piercer tightening. The tip of his spear, having just slain a creature, trembled ceaselessly, and a heart-pounding power seemed about to erupt from his body.

"Hah!!!"

The instant before the giant palm fell upon her, Stelle leaped without hesitation into the blizzard!

ZING!!

A long spear tore through the sky, stabbing fiercely into the Engine of Creation's outer armor, providing a stable foothold for the falling Stelle.

Stelle reacted immediately, grabbing the shaft of Cloud-Piercer. The force of her descent caused the spear to bend slightly, and she used the resulting rebound to launch herself back up onto the Engine of Creation's shoulder—precisely where Cocolia was!

[Dan Heng, you're the best bro!]

[WOC, bros! That last scene was just too epic!]

[As expected of our MC! That was so cool!]

[Even though I knew she'd be fine, I still broke out in a cold sweat for her. The impact of that scene was just too intense!]

"Phew..."

Seeing Stelle land safely on the Engine of Creation, the group below let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Wait, where... did Wende go?" March asked, her expression grave as she stared at the cloud of dust kicked up by the giant palm.

"I didn't see... he was right there a second ago."

Dan Heng, having recalled Cloud-Piercer, also looked grim. His attention had been entirely focused on Stelle and his own internal struggle, and he had completely overlooked Wende, who had also been on the machine's arm!

[WC! Don't do this to me! My Wende isn't trapped under the Five Finger Mountain, is he?!]

[It's over... From now on, Wende's surname will be Sun (tragic)]

[Damn it, don't you dare kill off Wende! If you kill him, I'll... I'll cry for you to see!]

[Wake up! This is a space comedy! People don't die!]

[WEN!!!!!!!!!!! DE!!!!!!!!!!!]

[Yeah, but... have you noticed the two words before Star Rail are Honkai?]

"My Wende! You can't stop fighting here! Get up! If you don't get up, I'm going to start rummaging through trash cans!!" Sister Guoguo screamed hysterically in her livestream. As someone with Honkai PTSD, she really couldn't watch this scene!

[Don't worry, Sister Guoguo! There's smoke! And as the ancient saying goes: where there's smoke, there's no injury!]

[Be resurrected! My love!!!]

BOOM!!!

Another massive explosion erupted from the Engine of Creation. Plumes of dust and ice billowed up from the giant mechanical arm!

Zzzzt...

The crackling sound of arcing electricity filled the air, and a figure wreathed in violet lightning emerged from the Engine of Creation.

Wende walked out of the dust cloud, his face pale and grim. Lightning needles were embedded crisscross over his body, arcing with electricity.

"Dammit... I was so busy worrying about Stelle, I forgot I was in the attack range too."

Thinking back, Wende wanted to slap himself. How could you let your guard down in the middle of a battle!

Thankfully, there was an emergency body activation method in his memories. Otherwise, he really would have been done for...

But... no wonder this move can't be used lightly... It leaves you in a forced state of weakness afterward...

Feeling the Abundance power within him rapidly depleting, Wende's expression grew even more haggard.

"Wende! That's great! He's okay!" March shouted with excitement.

"Yes... Thank goodness..." Dan Heng nodded, the worry and self-blame on his face visibly relaxing.

"Wende..."

Stelle, standing on the Engine of Creation, let out a clear sigh of relief. She then turned to face "Cocolia," her eyes filled with a chilling iciness.

The "Cocolia" before her had completed the final stage of Stellaron corrosion. Cocolia... no, the being she was now had completely transformed into a Stellaron-corrupted monstrosity. She was no longer "Great Guardian Cocolia"!

Frigid ice crystals coated her form, concealing her true body beneath a shell of hard ice and corruption. Four ice-blue lances spun in the air behind her, emitting a terrifyingly cold gleam!

"Listen... This power surges, it sings... The promise the Stellaron gave me is this world's only hope!" "Cocolia's" voice was frenzied.

"Tch... Take this!"

Her heart filled with killing intent, Stelle gripped her baseball bat and charged head-on at "Cocolia"!

Silly child! Why are you so reckless!

Watching Stelle single-handedly clash with "Cocolia," who had transformed into the "Mother of Deception," Wende's mind screamed in conflict.

Although he knew this rebellious child getting stabbed would lead to her gaining the gaze of that plaster-working Aeon, this was still too...

Wende gritted his teeth. Looking at the Engine of Creation, which had for some reason stopped moving, it seemed all he could do now was wait for Stelle to obtain the power of [The Preservation].

Even though something felt off, it was the only thing Wende could think to do.

"..."

"Damn it, I still can't just watch!"

The usually gentle and refined Wende couldn't help but curse as he watched Stelle gradually lose ground on the platform of the Engine's shoulder. In the next moment, his entire body transformed into a bolt of lightning, scaling the body of the Engine of Creation!

...Meanwhile...

Sister Guoguo, engaged in a "hopeless one-on-one duel" with "Cocolia," stared at her dwindling health bar and bit her lower lip.

Right, how could a single protagonist possibly defeat the final boss? It looks like this is a plot kill...

Just as the "Trailblazer" in her game was about to fall, a figure radiating a sense of security joined her party and, with a wave of his hand, restored the "Trailblazer's" health to full!

"Don't you fall here. Everyone is still watching, you know."

Wende wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth and spoke softly to Stelle beside him.

Overloading his body had already pushed him to his limits. The power of [Abundance] within him was already showing signs of collapse, and in a place Wende could not see, a surge of Destruction's power was slowly welling up from within his body...