Chapter 83: Dual-Colored Ultimate Skill

As the amber light of Preservation converged upon the tip of the spear, Qiong’s charging form became a dazzling, golden comet streaking across the ice. The conviction of her Path burned hot in her chest, a pure and unyielding furnace that forged her will into a singular driving force.

She would guard what was behind her. She would not retreat a single inch!

Yet, just as the power of Preservation reached its absolute zenith, a new thought, one filled with the seething desire for Destruction, detonated without warning in the depths of her consciousness.

Why did it have to hurt Chen?

Why was it allowed to stand so high above, a monstrous god passing judgment?

Why… why was it still allowed to exist?!

The will to protect had not wavered, not for an instant. But another, more primal and fiery emotion—pure, unadulterated rage—crashed over her, drowning all rationality in its wake. It was a fury directed at the thing that had harmed Chen, a fury at her own weakness, and a fury at the sheer desperation of their plight.

The light of Preservation remained brilliant, but deep within its amber glow, a spiderweb of countless dark golden cracks suddenly burst forth. The aura of Destruction, like a savage beast tearing free from its cage, roared into existence.

At that very moment, in the great depths of the distant universe, before the celestial wound known as the scar of the end, a colossal eye stirred. The eyelid, seared shut with a golden scar, trembled and twitched.

It saw.

It saw, within a tiny, insignificant individual on a minuscule planet, two diametrically opposed powers erupting in perfect, violent synchrony. One side desperately built towering walls of adamant, while the other roared with the intent to incinerate all of creation.

Contradiction. Conflict. Extreme, beautiful tension.

And… beneath the unshakeable will to protect, an impulse for Destruction had been ignited—born from the injury of a loved one, a motive so pure it was absolute.

Interesting.

And so, a gaze pierced the endless Star Sea and descended upon Jarilo-VI. It fell upon the gray-haired girl who was being torn asunder by the two warring forces within her.

This gaze, in and of itself, was the catalyst.

Boom!

The pure amber light that had defined Qiong’s charge was utterly devoured by the dark golden flames erupting from within! The very form of her amber greatspear twisted and warped in the incandescent torrent, as scorching streams of raw power wrapped around its core. In a flash, it was reborn, transforming into a Flame Lance that burned with an impossible, interwoven fire of dark gold and brilliant amber.

The will of Preservation acted as the bone, the unyielding core providing unmatched momentum for the charge and the absolute resolve to protect.

The angry flames of Destruction served as the blade, the outer shell granting the lance the ultimate power to burn away everything in its path.

This was no longer a simple charge. It was a new truth, forged in the crucible of desperation. With Preservation as its structure, Destruction as its edge, and the will to protect fueling the flames of annihilation—it was a singular, devastating strike.

“SCREEEEEEE!!!”

The Father of Falsehood seemed to sense the fatal threat and let out a piercing shriek that tore at the very air. It pushed the surrounding frost and Void energy to their absolute limits, constructing layer upon layer of dark blue ice crystal shields before it in a desperate, frantic attempt to resist.

But it was too late.

Qiong, driven by the power of dual Paths and now marked by the gaze of an Aeon, had already surpassed a critical threshold of speed and power.

Time itself seemed to stretch, thinning into a fragile film.

To the onlookers, all they saw was that meteor, burning with its contradictory flames, tear through the Father of Falsehood’s hastily constructed defenses with absolute, obvious resolve. The ice crystal shields didn’t shatter; they melted and vaporized like mist in the sun, hissing into nothingness as the tyrannical flames annihilated their very substance.

Then—

Pfft!

The tip of the Flame Lance pierced the Father of Falsehood’s core.

Time snapped back into its normal flow.

The Father of Falsehood’s massive, inhuman body suddenly went rigid. The ice and energy that composed its form began to disintegrate, peeling away piece by agonizing piece. The distorted armor and illusory limbs of raw energy quickly dissolved, turning into scattered motes of light carried away by the cold wind of Everwinter Hill.

With a single strike.

Under the unbelievable, contradictory power of Preservation and Destruction, the Father of Falsehood—a being deeply corrupted by the Stellaron and powerful enough to contend with the entire Mechanical Legion—was instantly slain.

The dust of light dissipated.

A figure fell weakly from mid-air.

Lord Bronya’s pupils contracted to pinpricks. A sharp, horrified cry escaped her lips.

“Father!”

It was Mr. Cocolia Rand, returned to his human form.

Qiong, the one who had delivered that world-shattering blow, also dropped from the sky, her strength seemingly spent. She landed hard on one knee, the brilliant light of the Flame Lance in her hand rapidly dimming. The swirling amber and dark golden lights around her receded like a tide, revealing her true appearance: panting heavily, her face as pale as the snow around her.

But her first action, even in her exhaustion, was to struggle to her feet and stumble to the side of the still-unconscious Chen. She carefully gathered him into her arms again, hugging him tightly as if to confirm he was truly there, truly safe.

Above Everwinter Hill, the raging wind and snow had, at some unknown point, quietly ceased. The Ancient Robots, whose eyes had flickered with menacing red light, froze in place like puppets with their strings cut, having lost their designated target. They stood rigid on the ice plain, their systems entering standby mode.

Only the mournful cry of the cold wind remained, a lonely sound between heaven and earth.

Just then, Chen, cradled in Qiong’s arms, slowly blinked his eyes open.

His first glance saw Qiong right beside him, her face a mask of worry. His hazy gaze drifted past her, glimpsing Mr. Cocolia’s fallen form not far away, and the surrounding battlefield—ravaged, but now eerily calm.

Chen’s consciousness was still a foggy mess, but the sight… the Father of Falsehood… knocked back to its original form?

‘Who did that?’he wondered.’I think… I think I saw Precious Qiong… holding a really cool Flame Lance… and charging forward?”And I think I sensed… two contradictory, terrifying auras?’

He blinked again, his focus weakly returning to the girl holding him. He managed a faint, slurred question.

“Precious Qiong… did you… just unleash a seriously incredible… dual-colored… Ultimate Skill?”

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]