Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 224 - 046.Never Fade Away

Chapter 224: 046.Never Fade Away

Bang!

The last Beta-ranked guard in front of the Duke had his throat crushed. Alicxia pinched his artery and windpipe between her thumb and forefinger, squeezing them until his life ended.

Plop.

The corpse fell to its knees before collapsing to the ground.

Six Beta-ranked guards, all annihilated by Alicxia alone.

But Alicxia didn’t feel relieved. She raised her head to look at Duke Gamos ahead, the despicable comprador who sold out the interests of the people of Grante just for his own prolonged life.

Three hundred years, watching his sons die one after another. He didn’t care about the people of Grante; even if the entire country perished, he remained indifferent.

Duke Gamos slumped on his throne, his once robust body now immensely withered, muscles atrophied, his ashen skin rough and cracked like tree bark. His body was filled with various electrodes and tubes, maintaining normal voltage and injecting nutrients into him.

Thump, thump...

The strong heartbeat echoed throughout the room like a war drum, filled with a mysterious sense of oppression.

His clouded eyes could no longer discern colors. His head slightly turned, and his massive arm, like a Roman column, lay on the armrest. His gaze slowly fell on Alicxia’s face.

"Bride,"

The sound from the respirator echoed, reverberating within the Flame King Hall:

"Finally, you have arrived here."

Whoosh—

Alicxia had no words to spare. With a gesture, the spear pinning the Spirit Medium’s corpse flew back to her hand, reshaping into a scythe instantly, slicing a sky-breaking slash towards the opponent.

The Duke merely raised his eyelids in response.

Swoosh—

Instantly, a grotesque green creature, half-wolf, half-human, emerged from the void, blocking the sky-breaking slash with its thick arm, three eyes glowing blue.

’Lord Wolf knows you, haha, an old era ghost, just like you!’

The green Wolf Spirit sneered:

’Your comrades, I know them, haha.’

"...What do you know?!"

Alicxia halted her attack, urgently asking out of concern for her homeland.

"Cang Cui," the Duke said unsatisfactorily, "stop wasting time."

’It’s truly a pity, Gamos, she’s an old era remnant, just like you. Keeping the truth from her, isn’t that too cruel?’

Gamos didn’t speak, his labored breathing adding to Alicxia’s heavy heart.

"What happened to the comrades of Yamiriko?"

’Defiance tastes spicy, pain is slightly sweet, and despair is creamy smooth.’

The green Wolf Spirit grinned sharply:

’It was a feast for the taste buds.’

Snap!

Alicxia gripped the scythe tightly, a murderous intent gleaming in her dark gold eyes.

"In a hurry, just as I thought, old era people are too naive."

The green Wolf Spirit chuckled, its form fading, leaving a taunt before vanishing into the void:

’Don’t worry, they’ve fallen, and you’re next!’

Just as the green Wolf Spirit disappeared, Alicxia’s form instantly slashed through its residual image towards the giant on the throne, wielding the scythe of judgment!

Clang!

Duke Gamos remained motionless, but a vermilion radio, seemingly archaic, appeared abruptly in front of him. The red radio floated in mid-air, rotating slowly, emitting a crackling electric sound:

’Crackle—Welcome to Sunday, it’s Carey telling ghost stories.’

The deep, chilling male voice seemed to pierce directly into one’s deepest fears:

’Today’s story is: "The Death of a Giant."’

Alicxia’s pupils shrank. She tried to block out the voice, but the sound of the radio seeped into her mind, echoing deep within her consciousness.

’Ivan was a decrepit giant, standing at the brink of the world’s end. His arms abandoned him, legs ran away with other giants, his head rotted and was infested with maggots, and his trunk was a pile of sludge.’

Alicxia’s pupils contracted and dilated drastically, her mind becoming exceedingly hazy. She bit her lip to stay conscious through the pain.

’After his death, the evil giants once defeated by Ivan became more ferocious. People forgot Ivan’s greatest triumph over evil and considered their neighbor Tom to be their savior.’

The cold, an all-encompassing coldness, spread from her bones to every cell, freezing every molecule.

’How about it, did this story scare you, Lady Alicxia Yimanuel Justin?’

Clang—

The scythe was gently lifted by a claw, a gentlemanly eagle-headed spirit with a cane casually deflecting Alicxia’s weapon. It spoke merrily:

’Good day, lady. Pity you didn’t witness your great nation’s collapse before the catastrophe—but I, in the name of the great Greedy Speaker, Redd Gold, assure you, it was a grand spectacle!’

The eagle-headed spirit clutched Alicxia’s neck. Her resistance appeared feeble, incapable of breaking through as her will faltered.

Plop!

Alicxia fell to the ground like a broken doll, discarded. The eagle-headed spirit circled her, continuously mocking and defiling her sacred belief.

’Your faith is meaningless, for people only live for themselves. Even the poorest workers of Yamiriko, with their ideals of "breaking inequality," would proudly puff out their scrawny chests—don’t you find it laughable?’

’Nobody is willing to inherit such a will; you are just a bunch of anti-human madmen.’

’You represent the most evil regime worldwide, monsters void of humanity and conscience.’

’Yamiriko’s birth adds another demon to the evils of the world.’

’You dream of robbing the elites’ hard-earned fruits to give to the poor, yet a mere shrug from the giants would plunge the world into chaos.’

’Mortals are unworthy of ruling the world; only the noble elite are.’

"Eagle Emblem, finish her,"

Duke Gamos wheezed, but the spirit known as Eagle Emblem was unfazed, still wanting to torment Alicxia further.

’Let me have some fun, Gamos, you haven’t let me out for two hundred years. Let me relax.’

Eagle Emblem twirled its arm, jabbing Alicxia’s spine with its cane.

Gamos’ eyes glimmered with a blue glow. Eagle Emblem’s body shuddered as if struck by lightning, grunting unwillingly as it raised its claw towards Alicxia’s forehead.

Bang!

A thunderous crash resounded, coming from the sealed door of the Flame King Hall.

Eagle Emblem flinched, muttering:

’What’s going on? I sense a disturbing presence.’

Duke Gamos panted heavily, sweat dripping from his forehead, insisting:

"Eagle Emblem, kill her!"

’You’re annoying, nagging incessantly! I remind you to recognize your situation! Without the spirits sustaining your body, you’re just a pile of decomposing protein! Someone’s knocking? Doesn’t that matter to you?’

"Ignore it... My, my... spiritual... barrier blocks the door!"

’Is that so?’

It said so, opening its mouth as it siphoned the faint spiritual energy from Alicxia.

Bang!

The door, sealed by spiritual power, was struck again, the deafening impact sounding like a death knell. Gamos’ hand trembled, sickly purple rashes erupting across his skin.

"Eagle Emblem! Do it now!"

’I’ve had enough of you, Gamos!’

Overcome by rage, Eagle Emblem flung Alicxia to the floor, stepped on her spine, and then lunged at Gamos. Its void-like body merged with Gamos. The Duke’s pupils contracted as he opened his mouth, grayish light radiating from within.

Gamos lowered his head slowly, tearing off his respirator, donning a gentleman’s hat, and exclaimed triumphantly:

"Haha, you old fool! Did you think I didn’t know you were at your limit? Now, this body is mine!"

While speaking, Eagle Emblem raised its finger, and Alicxia’s body became enveloped in an invisible spiritual barrier, turning frosty.

"Goodbye, last remnant of the old era."

A cane appeared in Eagle Emblem’s hand, and as it aimed to shatter the frozen Alicxia, the door was struck once more.

"Damn it! Can’t this end already?"

Enraged, Eagle Emblem turned towards the door—its spiritual barrier shattered instantly, scattering spirit particles like sparkling dust, falling like snowflakes.

In that moment, Eagle Emblem suddenly realized why it felt so disturbingly uneasy.

Boom—

Flames, unquenchable, burned amidst the falling crystalline spirit particles, reflecting a brilliant red glow.

Alicxia’s eyeballs slowly moved. Within her frozen vision, she could barely make out a burning humanoid figure.

"Leo..."

The flaming humanoid spoke in a raspy voice:

"No gate can stop me anymore."

The flames enveloping the figure receded as flesh rapidly regenerated, revealing Li Aozi’s charred face beneath.

A super power pod emerged from his elbow, emitting purple and red heat streams.

Blood of Eternity—stacking

’Don’t die, live on!’

Nomi imparted to him the value of life.

Spontaneous Combustion—stacking

’If you have the chance, enroll in a university.’

Qiu Ran taught him the dignity of life.

The power of the arcane wove around him, and his soul made a vow.

More and more people placed their hopes in him, bestowing their abilities upon Li Aozi, wishing for him to accomplish something significant.

How detestable, he was foolish, stubborn, and arrogant.

Yet so many people believed in him, wished him well.

"Indeed, I still dislike thinking."

Li Aozi clenched his burning fist, with fresh flesh regenerating beneath the fire. Flame fed on flesh, flesh fueled the flame, like a phoenix reborn, embracing new life in the fire.

Boundless arcane energy filled him with endless power, and Alicxia on the ground always reminded him of Qiu Ran, who had turned into flames.

"Elise, you can’t die here."

Li Aozi said.

"Aozi—"

"If you fear you can’t find the meaning of living—then, do you want to see the sun?"

The sun...

Alicxia murmured.

"Blue sky, white clouds, the sun, the moon, and the infinite Starry Abyss."

"It’s too distant, impossible..." Alicxia dared not hope. "We all failed, and you can’t do it either—"

"True romance is doing what others can’t, going where others won’t go!"

"I think, even if your faith has long faded, for the entire Azure Star, nothing’s more romantic than journeying to the cosmos. If you trust me, I will take you to see space, the moon, and the sun, to walk on the edge of black holes."

"Don’t doubt me, Elise—history may forget, but those who forge ahead never vanish."

"Heading into that unknown Starry Abyss, dying on a distant planet, is humanity’s final destiny!"

Alicxia opened her mouth, whispering:

"...I don’t believe humanity can achieve it, but, I believe in my groom."

Li Aozi clasped his hands in fists, red and black expanding to fill his entire eyes, his body wrapped in blazing flames:

"Dual Entity—Phoenix Bomb!"