Chapter 39: Everyone is Here. Yun Zhou: Start the Raid!

“Oh my, oh my. I was wondering why I couldn’t find that child back then. So you were here all along.”

A smile appeared on Jenny’s face that was completely at odds with her usual style. She wagged her index finger. “But reality isn’t quite what you’ve imagined, you know?”

She didn’t take Ying Huo’s fury to heart at all. Instead, she spoke like she was coaxing a disobedient child.

“I didn’t directly swallow Jenny’s soul like I did with the Second Elder. Instead, I hid within her body, manipulating her soul to react to the outside world. Since her logic and memories still belong to Jenny herself, no one could see through the disguise. Pretty impressive, right?”

Jenny, or rather Y007, laughed maniacally. Boundless red shadows spread beneath her feet, forcing even the burning yellow flames to retreat. The fire shrank trembling into the corners, making the entire mine tunnel look exceptionally clean and empty for a moment.

Ying Huo couldn’t stand to listen any longer. He began secretly searching for an angle to attack, but the entire tunnel was filled with burning yellow flames. This appeared to be the underground living area where Mute and Liu Ming had been swept away by the fire tornado earlier. The concentration of spiritual energy within these flames was several times higher than in the outside world.

Hela acted with total impunity. She walked toward the other end of the tunnel, and only then did Ying Huo realize that the far end opened into a fairly spacious small plaza.

In the open space of the plaza, the continuous yellow flames seemed to possess a will of their own. They linked together into web-like strands, extending from the very core of the fire to the invisible end of the mineral vein.

And situated at the center of this sea of fire was clearly the Anomaly Core that Hela had snatched from the 6th District.

Ying Huo felt as if he could see the blood of the 6th District’s people staining that Anomaly Core. He didn’t hesitate any longer, intending to rush forward right then. However, the moment his own flames appeared, they seemed to receive some kind of summons, instantly merging into the surrounding thicket of fire.

The surrounding yellow flames shared the same source as his, and being the flames of the Y006 Anomaly Core itself, they could completely suppress his movements and devour his fire.

This was a disaster. Aside from the power of an Anomaly King, it seemed nothing could stop Hela.

“I was lying to you, child. Actually, I am Jenny. You don’t need to feel so sad for me. I’ve been Jenny from the very beginning.”

Hela clearly knew this as well. Brimming with confidence, she flashed an arrogant smile at Ying Huo and then walked gracefully toward the floating Anomaly Core.

“Wake up…”

“Please heed my wish… wake up.”

Hela pressed her palms together, pleading with great sincerity. The red shadows spread alongside the flickering yellow fire like a monster brandishing its claws.

But she didn’t get the chance to inject her spiritual energy into the Anomaly Core to trigger its activation.

Because a blade arrived just in time.

“Clang!”

The first thing seen was a bolt of blue electricity, tracing a beautiful, jagged path through the air. A sharp long blade unsheathed from an umbrella, viciously slashing through the blood-red shadow that was about to envelop the entire Anomaly Core. The flickering lightning tore through everything in an instant, cutting the blood-red shadow in half. Du Shui charged out from the falling red fragments, her clothes pristine and terrifyingly clean.

She slowly sheathed her blade, holding her umbrella in one hand while letting the sword hang at her side, ready to cut Hela again at any moment.

“…How did you break free so quickly? I thought the power belonging to… would trap you for a while longer.”

Hela slowly turned her head. Her eyes had turned a complete, abnormal blood-red.

“Are you talking about those memories that were as pale and easy to tear as paper? I’m sorry, but I’ve tasted more than enough of that in the Third District, so…”

Du Shui performed a flourish with her blade. The long sword cut through the air with a sharp whistling sound, closing the distance to Hela in an instant. She was too fast, and with the aura of Umizukimi-no-Mikoto fully unleashed, she actually caused the Hela inhabiting Jenny’s body to feel a flicker of fear.

I must avoid her edge, Hela thought instinctively. She had not yet fully merged with her Anomaly Core, and nothing could be allowed to go wrong at this critical juncture.

Once she fully merged with her Anomaly Core and Surtr woke from his slumber, then…

The Fifth District would have only one fate: to become a sea of fire, or a land of carrion like the Fourth District.

Du Shui’s attacks were sharp and relentless, successfully pinning down Hela’s movements for a time. Having cooperated many times before, Ying Huo didn’t hesitate. He rushed straight for the floating Anomaly Core, exerting all his strength to condense his bright yellow flame power. He tried to completely strip the Anomaly Core away from the array-like patterns of fire, but the effect was negligible.

Those bright yellow bursts of spiritual energy were devoured by the Y006 Anomaly Core the moment they left Ying Huo’s body.

“Don’t waste your energy. Since you’re working so hard, I’ll tell you…”

Hela leaned to the side to dodge a thrust from Du Shui. She wasn’t naturally a combat-oriented Anomaly King, yet even against Du Shui, the top combatant of the Third District who carried the power of Umizukimi-no-Mikoto, she still appeared to handle herself with ease.

That was the arrogance of an Anomaly King facing a human.

“The Y006 Anomaly Core has been absorbing the power of the chalcopyrite for so many years. It has nearly sucked both the Fifth and Sixth Districts dry. It is now only a few hours away from fully awakening. It’s like a phone with only one percent left to charge. No matter how hard you try to stop it from absorbing more, your efforts don’t compare to the influence a single wisp of an Anomaly King’s power can have on it.”

Hela laughed happily. “A pity, though. Where would you find an Anomaly King who could make it here in time?”

Ying Huo keenly sensed something slightly off in those words: They don’t have one now, but did they have one in the past?

Was there actually another hidden Anomaly King near them besides Hela?

This realization was too bizarre, making Ying Huo instinctively want to disbelieve it. He forced himself to stop listening to Hela’s nonsense. His Spiritual Body, the gyrfalcon, descended from above, joining him in his struggle to use spiritual energy to cut the lines connected to the Anomaly Core.

He had to succeed… even if he couldn’t, he must. Just as Kraken was Du Shui’s responsibility, the theft of Y006 was his own failure. He couldn’t just give up like this.

The years spent wandering, the fear of having a home he didn’t dare return to, the torture of knowing his family was alive but being unable to acknowledge them… all this pain, this suffering known only to himself, had to find a point of reckoning.

He took a deep breath, preparing to use himself as a medium to reverse-absorb the mental energy within the Anomaly Core. Suddenly, a white shadow streaked through the mine tunnel, rushed up to the Anomaly Core, and delivered a brutal kick to it.

How could that possibly work…

Ying Huo was about to shout a warning when he realized the Anomaly Core actually wobbled. Then, following the white shadow’s movement, it went flying!

It actually flew away!

Ying Huo’s eyes widened. He looked up at the white shadow’s face, only to see a familiar, foolish expression.

“The King of Anomalies… what a coincidence. That would be me.”

It was Yun Zhou’s face. The smile was as arrogant and confident as ever, yet this particular brand of idiocy carried a hint of malice, distinct from Yun Zhou’s usual pure temperament.

Who was this? Hadn’t Yun Zhou gone after Liu Ming because he was worried about him being alone? How had he changed like this in just a few short hours?

Wait, no. Although the temperament was different, he still felt… like he was Yun Zhou?

Ying Huo and Du Shui exchanged a glance, seeing the same realization in each other’s eyes: Is this guy’s acting addiction flaring up again? Why is he playing himself like this?

While Ying Huo was still in a state of confusion, The Exile had already stopped pretending. “I’ve had enough. You lunatic, you hid everything so deep that I thought touching this Anomaly Core lightly would cause a catastrophe. I didn’t expect it to just take one kick.”

The Exile rolled his wrists. Ying Huo hurriedly rushed over to wrap the Anomaly Core in his mental energy, isolating the flames spreading from within.

Though he couldn’t stop the Anomaly Core from absorbing energy, he could at least prevent it from continuing to release flames that burned the chalcopyrite, thereby reducing the energy it took in.

“…You again…”

Hela’s expression instantly soured, as if there were a blood feud between her and The Exile.

“I thought you would accept my proposal. If you were truly a savior, if you could truly do what was necessary, we wouldn’t have to waste time cursing each other here!”

Drawing strength from an unknown source, her red shadow twisted into a scarlet humanoid form and lunged at Du Shui. Du Shui raised her blade to parry; the red shadow let out a metallic clang as it struck the steel. Hela suddenly exerted more force, but she was jerked back by a cluster of silver-blue threads, her movements momentarily blocked.

“What’s going on?”

Hela was looking agitated now. She whipped her head around and saw Liu Ming watching her quietly.

Mute was busy trying to stop the Anomaly Core from spewing more fire.

“…Heh, you all certainly arrived in full force… Wait, who told you?”

Hela violently shook off the silver-blue threads and casually swatted away Du Shui’s blade. She stood her ground, pausing her attack, her face twisted with irritation.

Liu Ming knew exactly how to get under someone’s skin. He softly uttered two words: “Take a guess.”

The fury caused Hela’s face—already a red shadow—to flicker and waver. “Heh, fine, fine. I’ll guess. Since that’s the case, I’ll bet it was Ratatoskr, wasn’t it? Besides that prophetic lunatic, who else would backstab me in a place like this?”

Liu Ming paused slightly. Ratatoskr… No, the data map had clearly been given to him by Dian Zhu-

Ah, I see.

Dian Zhu was Ratatoskr. That explained why she had been so confident in her guarantee that he could find her for a trade at any place and any time.

Because Y009, Ratatoskr, was everywhere. She observed everything, watched everything, and tried to offer warnings.

Those floating words—weren’t they just a form of intelligence?

He had wondered how Y009 could lack a physical form when even Y006 was on the verge of revival.

What was meant as a vent of frustration caused the Liu Family member opposite her to show a look of sudden realization. Hela seemed even more enraged. “What exactly do you think you understand?! Forget it. I was originally reluctant to part with the power of the King of Anomalies within you, but since you can’t be used by me, you can all just die.”

Red shadows spread rapidly across the ground, enveloping everyone in the small plaza, including the Anomaly Core held in Ying Huo’s hands.

Hela’s movements were violent. Mute helped Jenny find a safe corner before running to Ying Huo’s side to help him stop the red arms from tearing at the Anomaly Core.

Liu Ming watched her frantic actions and suddenly spoke. “It seems you don’t care much for Y006 after all. I thought you went through all this trouble and planned for so many years—a plan much more serious than Y008’s—because you cared deeply for Surtr.”

Hela’s expression was grim. She didn’t speak, focusing entirely on controlling the red shadow arms to attack. However, Liu Ming wasn’t fooled. He nimbly flickered to The Exile’s side. His soft threads, once pulled taut, were sharper than any blade; they invisibly and decisively severed a scarlet wisp that was sneaking toward The Exile.

“As a King of Anomalies, resorting to a sneak attack against a few young Correctors… isn’t that a bit beneath your dignity?”

Liu Ming flicked away the scarlet wisp from his fingertips like he was discarding trash, his voice dripping with irony.

He wasn’t afraid of provoking Hela. After all, even if Hela truly went berserk, The Exile—who had a sharp conflict with her—wouldn’t just sit idly by. A battle between two Kings of Anomalies would provide him with enough of an opportunity to tip the scales of the current situation.

The Exile let out a cry of sudden realization. “Holy shit! So that’s it! That lunatic isn’t trying to resurrect Surtr at all. I was wondering why I showed up here, and why… why Yun Zhou won’t wake up… It’s because Yun Zhou was target all along!”