When immortals clash, mortals bear the brunt.
Suspended in mid-air, Aya Tone unleashed the darkness within him.
Below, the others found themselves in a dire predicament, desperately holding onto their defensive artifacts.
“Vice-captain, the captain looks more like a villain than any actual villain.”
The area-of-effect damage raining down from above had already ravaged the mountaintop beyond recognition.
Had they not brought a plethora of defensive items, they would have met the same fate as the ravaged peak.
With a stroke of luck, they might have been utterly annihilated, their souls returning to the heavens, thus sparing them the burden of burial.
And if their luck ran out… ‘Hmph, hmph, hmph.’
“Hmph, the captain is human too. That man must have been a scumbag who bullied her. Otherwise, how could such a cute girl like our captain get so furious?”
Lin Qingfeng’s philosophy was simple: cuteness equated to justice.
Besides, Aya Tone was their captain; it was unthinkable to side with an outsider and speak ill of their own leader.
“But Vice-captain, if the captain continues with that level of destructive power, we might just fall off this mountain!”
“Hold on!”
‘…’
Most of Aya Tone’s attacks rebounded off the magical shield, redirecting their force onto the snow-covered mountain below.
As far as the eye could see, only the small patch of ground beneath Lin Qingfeng and his comrades remained relatively intact.
Yet, with the entire mountaintop already shattered by magic, the collapse of their precarious foothold was merely a matter of time.
As the vice-captain, Lin Qingfeng could only grit his teeth and desperately maintain their defenses.
Each beam of starlight that struck their overhead defense posed a grueling test of their resilience.
Their internal energy had been almost entirely depleted during their earlier skirmish with the copy, and now they were relying on a rotational system to sustain their efforts.
They were barely holding on.
If Aya Tone didn’t conclude the battle swiftly, they might very well be heading to meet the Grand Duke for tea much sooner than anticipated.
Aya Tone, of course, knew his teammates couldn’t hold out much longer, but he couldn’t stop now.
Prolonged defense inevitably leads to defeat.
Since the copy wouldn’t attack, then it shouldn’t attack at all; it should just transform back into melted snow, taking all that magic with it!
The magical power, infused with his resentment, surged exponentially.
The starlight transmuted into the darkness of night.
Once the first crack appeared, it swiftly spread like a spiderweb across the entire defensive shield.
“Die!”
Aya Tone’s eyes flashed with a hint of disdain.
His magical energy surged wildly into his staff, and the black magic instantly shattered the magical defense, directly engulfing the ‘Aya Tone’.
“Indeed, you are not me…”
Aya Tone watched ‘himself’ vanish silently into the magic, a profound disappointment welling up in his eyes.
To absorb such a powerful ultimate attack without any defense meant certain death.
The malice that had clung to him receded like a tide.
Other people’s copies directly replicated their memories, so why did his only possess a mere shell and that magical power?
It didn’t even come equipped with a single novel spell.
Was this dungeon looking down on him?
The black magic dissipated, revealing the ‘Aya Tone’ within.
Just as Aya Tone had anticipated.
At this moment, the magical attire on his body slowly dissolved into specks of light.
Surprisingly, these specks of light didn’t vanish; instead, they swirled around the ‘Aya Tone’, preventing him from falling to the ground.
“Feeling better now?”
The expressionless ‘Aya Tone’ suddenly spoke.
‘He has consciousness?’
Aya Tone froze for a moment, then quickly calmed down.
“Are you toying with me?”
He knew his own physical resilience; even with his magical attire shattered, the copy was merely a flickering candle in the wind.
“Not at all. I just wanted you to vent a little.”
The magical attire on the ‘Aya Tone’ completely faded, and his body gradually became transparent, as if he would disappear any second.
Yet, he showed no sign of panic at his impending disappearance.
He chuckled, saying, “Isn’t it strange why I’m different from other copies?”
Aya Tone replied, “I don’t want to know.”
The ‘Aya Tone’ acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing to speak to himself: “Actually, it’s nothing, the dungeon also wanted to control me, and then I counter-killed it. Aren’t I awesome?”
“I’m really sorry, but this time the MVP is me; you’re all just freeloaders! Hahahaha…”
The ‘Aya Tone’s laughter was so carefree, yet also like that of a child seeking praise.
‘…’
Upon hearing this, Aya Tone’s face fell, and the initial thrill of revenge instantly vanished.
His elimination of the dungeon’s consciousness meant that from the very beginning, his life had been on a countdown.
‘No wonder this ‘me’ was so weak…’
‘How to make someone feel guilty in three sentences.’
Aya Tone gazed at him with a complex expression. ‘It had to be ‘me,’ didn’t it?’
But to make him feel guilty?
‘What was he thinking?’
“What are you barking about? You’re about to disappear, yet you’re still yapping.”
“Nonsense! If I don’t bark now, I’ll disappear for good!”
“Tch, even if you die, the credit still goes to me.”
“That’s true, I suppose. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
The ‘Aya Tone’ looked at his body, which was already becoming transparent, and a grin spread across his lips.
He used his final flicker of will to control the surrounding specks of light, guiding them slowly towards Aya Tone.
He had come all this way; how could he return empty-handed?
Having been nurtured by the dungeon, he naturally knew that everything within it had been absorbed.
All of the dungeon’s resources had been consumed as nourishment; if not for its foolish mistake of copying a soul that didn’t belong to this world, it might even have devoured half of the Blue Star.
Alas, there were no ‘ifs’.
“What in the world is this?” Aya Tone swung his staff, attempting to scatter the specks of light.
The ‘Aya Tone’ watched his comical movements, unable to help but laugh.
‘So, is the female version of myself this cute?’
Boon.
The ‘Aya Tone’, already close to nothingness, suddenly burst apart, transforming into a puddle of melted snow that plummeted from mid-air.
“You damn dog!”
Aya Tone realized he couldn’t stop the specks of light from entering his body.
With every swing, more light specks would seize the opportunity to infiltrate him.
Moreover, as more and more specks of light integrated, his black magical attire slowly sank into his body.
A brand-new gown gradually materialized in a burst of light.
The gown was as white as snow, its hem adorned with delicate golden patterns that shimmered with a mysterious glow under the faint light, and a crystal-clear gem, radiating a soft halo, was embedded at the neckline.
Aya Tone lowered his gaze, observing the transformation of his body, his mind filled with shock.
Just then, a piece of information flooded his mind—’Sun’s Radiance’.
He vaguely heard another version of himself whispering.
“This is my final ripple…”
Aya Tone was utterly bewildered.
‘What the heck, no! What the heck am I doing?’
‘Dying is one thing, but giving me a new dress? What’s the meaning of this?’
‘I want men’s clothing! Men’s clothing! Men’s clothing!’
‘Important things must be said thrice!’
“Captain! Help us!”
“?”
The few people below clung together tightly, terrified of expanding beyond the defensive items’ coverage.
Consequently, the ice beneath them bore the full brunt of the assault.
However, it seemed to be reaching its limit.
Aya Tone no longer bothered to curse the vanished ‘Aya Tone’. With a flap of his light wings, he swooped down directly towards the ice pillar beneath the others.
One strike, and it would surely break!
His movements were fluid and effortless.
The others exclaimed, “Huh?”
“Whoa!”
As the supporting ice pillar shattered, the group tumbled down like dumplings into the already ravaged icy terrain below.